Jasper County Democrat, Volume 22, Number 32, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 July 1919 — AUTOMOBILE THIEVES CAUGHT [ARTICLE]

AUTOMOBILE THIEVES CAUGHT

After an Exciting Gun Chase in Northern Newton County. Two youths of Slavonic blood were captured in the north part of Newton county Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning after an exciting chase In which guns and automatic revolvers played a part In true wild west movie style. The boys, who are about 17 and 18 years of age, respectively, are now safe in jail, one in Rensselaer and the other in Crown Point, and will probably receive good, stiff sentences as a result of their stealing a Buick Six roadster at Indiana Harbor, their home, and their resistance of officers who attempted to arrest them in Newton county. The car was the property of A. M. Bourke of Indiana Harbor and bore the initials of A. M. B. on the door. The story of the chase and capture of the boys, who are a tough looking pair, x is interesting. About noon Tuesday, a farmer of Colfax township, riding a horse, saw a car ditched south of the home of O. B. Tolln, and two young men were walking down the road. He stopped them and enquired If they were having car trouble. They made a brief reply, and he asked them why they did not phone a garage for help. Their answers to his questions were unsatisfactory and bred suspicion. The farmer rode Into Enos and related his experience to Mark Templeton, John Colburn, Frank Busey and W. Branch. These men jumped Into a car and soon overtook the thieves. They asked the men If they did not want to ride, and presumably having no excuse not to comply they got Into the car. A short distance down the' road one of the men. tipped his hat back on his head and It blew off, and In getting out for his hat pulled two revolvers and began firing at the car. The young man In the car then drew two guns, a .32 automatic Colt and a .36 6shot Colt. The guns were knocked out of his hands and he was disarmed, but In the meantime the other fellow had made his escape through the fields. The young mam captured gave his name as John Luptak, aged 17, and his home as Indiana Harbor. He was taken to Morocco and turned over to the officers and later taken to Kentland and thence to Lake coumty, to answer to the charge of stealing the car. Rallying reinforcements 'at Morocco and throughout the country a search was started for the gunman.

The search continued until about 9 o'clock Tuesday night 'When the felloe was seen in Lake Village, walking west, Daniel Onsby, deputy sheriff, who resides on the Henry Burton farm, west of the VIL* lage, was notified and with his son went out to Intercept the fellow. They met him on the highway and demanded surrender, but he pulled his two guns and fired five times, one bullet lodging in the calf of Mr. Onsby’s leg. This stopped 'the chase for the time being while Mr. Qnsby was being cared for. The wound bled so profusely that it was deemed best to get him iii a hos-

pital and he was taken to Chicago Heights. Sheriff Gardner of Newton county and a large posse of men continued the search. All through the dark hours of the night the sheriff and his followers fought their way through the underbrush that skirts' the Kankakee, through cornfields and oats fields, every man in the party loaded with all manner ot firearms and assisted by a pair of bloodhounds. About 10 o’clock Wednesday morning they located their man, worn out and asleep, by an oats shock 5 miles west of Schneider, near a little station called Illinoi.

The posse surrounded him and demanded surrender, and the young desperado dropped his guns aind held up his hands, was placed under arrest and taken to Kentland. He gave the name of John Valsk and told a rambling story, but later in the afternoon an officer from Indiana Harbor, Mr. Bourke, owper of the car, and Bob Wartena, formerly of Rensselaer and with whom Bourke makes his home, arrived in Kentland and jphen the boys were faced by these gentlemen they made a full breast of the whole matter. They stole the car Monday night, leaving Harbor about 'midnight, and started for Lafayette, where they intended to abandon the car, according to their story; but they got lost and were on the way to Hammond, stating that they intended to abandon the car there and make their escape. They also admitted to the Lake county official that they had robbed a store Sunday night, getting the battery of arms which they carried and admitted being implicated in two or three other robberies. Luptak was turned over to Lake county officials as the stealing was committed in that county, but Valsk is held to answer to the charge of shooting Onsby. He was brought to the jail in Rensselaer Thursday morning to await the action of the Newton county grand jury which convenes in October.