When J. A. Sailer, one of the merchants of Protection, went to his store on Tuesday morning he discovered that the store had been robbed of several suits of clothing and a number of silk shirts and numerous other articles. Entrance had been made by breaking in a window and removing the bolt in the back door. Some of the Protection folks immediately got busy, and in a short time were on the trail of the burglars. It was learned that two men and a woman boarded the early east bound freight train Tuesday morning out of Protection; that they went as far as Belvidere and from there went by auto across to Haviland, which is on the Rock Island; that they purchased three tickets at Haviland for Hutchinson, but afterwards got their money back on the tickets and that they then hired a car and went to Pratt. One of the men and the woman secured a room in a hotel there and the other man found lodging in a rooming house in another part of the city. The Pratt-co. sheriff was promptly notified, and one of his deputies proceeded to round up the travelers. With the assistance of a deputy sheriff from Greensburg. The Pratt official soon had the trio under arrest. Mr. Sailer and some other parties from Protection proceeded at once to Pratt, and on arriving there identified the contents of the suit cases as the stolen goods from the Sailer store. There were also other evidences that the officers had the right parties, and that the men were the same ones who held up and robbed Grant Stephens and Joe Taylor in this city on last Saturday night. One of the men still had the watch belonging to Mr. Taylor and it was learned that the watch belonging to Mr. Stephens had been pawned by the men to an auto driver in Haviland as pay for taking them and the woman from that place to Pratt.The accused men and woman were brought to this city on Tuesday evening and placed in safe keeping, awaiting further developments. One of the men gave his name as V. L. Johnson, of Tulsa, Okla., and claims that the woman is his wife. The other man claims that his name is Joe Smith, and that he is from "most anywhere." The trio arrived in Protection on last Friday. The holdup in this city occurred on Saturday night and the store robbery in Protection in Monday night. It is quite evident that they are not novices at the business.
It is said that the accused parties have so far shown no disposition to plead guilty. It is probable that they will soon be arraigned and a time for their preliminary hearing set. The charge of robbery against the men for the Saturday night offense and of burglary for the Monday night offense seems probable. At the time of going to press on Thursday no definite announcement as to further procedure had been made by the county attorney.
A HOLD-UP During the past few weeks quite a number of hold-ups have occurred in this state and especially throughout the wheat belt where several outside harvest hands still linger. Coldwater is now in the list of towns which have had a hold-up thrill. Last Saturday night about 11, Grant Stephens and Joe Taylor started home together, and when at a point in the road near Mr. Stephens home, about one block east of the court house, they suddenly found themselves halted by two men, who demanded that they throw up their hands, one of the men emphasizing the demand by presenting a revolver. The looks of the gun was such that Messrs. Stephens and Taylor concluded that obedience was the better part of valor. Up went their hands, and while one of the robbers held the gun, the other went through the pockets of their victims, securing from Mr. Taylor about $13 in money, his watch and pocket knife and from Mr. Stephens about $8 in money and his watch. The robbers then made their getaway, going westward. They were alone as far as seen. The alarm was soon spread and in a very short time about 40 persons were in search of the robbers. Farm houses in all directions were notified and the principal roads and fields carefully watched and searched, but no trace of the men could be found, but after the arrest of the two men in Pratt on Tuesday for the theft of a number of articles from the Sailer store in Protection on Monday night, it was evident that the same men were responsible for the two crimes. An account of the Protection robbery will be found elsewhere in this paper. Messrs. Stephens and Taylor will, in time, recover their watches, but they are out the cash stolen from them. Mr. Taylor's watch, however, will be of little use to him as the robbers had practically demolished it and appropriated the mainspring. A small pocket knife and the mainspring of the watch were found secreted about the underwear of one of the men.
The Western Star, August 6, 1920. The two men and one woman who figured in the burglary case in Protection last week, an account of which was given in this paper last week, were taken before Judge L. M. Day in this city on Monday afternoon. The men plead guilty to the burglary charge and each was sentenced to a term in the penitentiary (from five to ten years), and on Tuesday morning Sheriff L. D. Haydock started with the men for Lansing. The men talked freely of their experiences during the past few weeks and admitted that they had a part in burglarizing stores in other cities - Elk City and Argonia, this state. They also admitted that they had been mixed up in some way in a few other robberies and burglaries. One of the men gave his name as V. L. Johnson, recently from Tulsa Okla., and the other man finally admitted that his real name is Wm. L. Dobkins instead of "Joe Smith," and claimed Okmulgee, Okla. as his home. The woman in the case is supposed to be Johnson's wife and gives her name as Mildred Johnson. She claimed that she had no part in the crime for which the men were sentenced. Judge Day, after hearing her story, sentenced her to a maximum of two years in the pen, and then paroled her.BURGLARS PLEAD GUILTY
Johnson and Dobkins were not arraigned for the crime - that of robbery - which was committed by them in this city a couple of weeks ago, when Grant Stephens and Joe Taylor were held up and robbed. The men told parties here that they were started on the road to crime by suggestive moving pictures which came to their notice.
Thanks to Shirley Brier for finding, transcribing and contributing the above news article to this web site!
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