Jasper County Democrat, Volume 22, Number 39, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 August 1919 — ARRESTED BY LAFAYETTE COPS [ARTICLE]

ARRESTED BY LAFAYETTE COPS

Edmond Murray, Ute of California, Robs Store at Moaon. Arrested here at 4 o'clock Saturday morning, Edmond Murray, 23 years old, was taken to Monon in the afternoon to answer charges of arson, automobile theft, burglary and passing worthless checks. Murray was taken into custody by Captain Arthur Eversole and Officers Connell, E. C. Smith | and Charles Arman. It is said that Murray drove to the electric shop of Archie Lee at Monon at 11:40 o’clock Friday night and told the night policeman, James Wilson, that he was assisting Mr. Lee in doing some electrical work at nolds, and had come for seme supplies. He unlocked the door and began loading the electrical into his Ford touring car. To deceive Mr. Wilson be pretended to list the goods on a pad. After he had placed almost the entire contents of the store in the car, he drove away. When the policeman made his rounds again he discovered the electric shop on Are, and calling Mr. Lee, he assisted in extinguishing the flames. It was not until then that Mr. Lee discovered that the store had been robbed. Mr. Lee obtained a description of the man from Mr. Wilson, and knowing that Murray’s mother lived in Lafayette, notified the authorities here to be on the lookout for ihim, and came here at pnce. The officers went to the Alpha Gamma Rho house, 201 Russell street, /West Lafayette, where Murray’s mother has been staying this sumr mer. Two of the officers went into the house and the other two, Connell and Smith, remained on the outside. Murray ran to the fire escape on the second floor, leaped out and ran up the street almost a block and then took to the fields. The officers pursued him, and after a lively chase, in which the officers ran into a barbed wire fence and were badly scratched and their clothing torn almost to shreds, they succeeded in capturing Murray when he slipped and fell* • The electricaW goods that Murray took from the shop were found still in the car in a barn three doors from the Alpha Gamma Rho house, and it was discovered that the car that he had used belonged to Ray Phillips of Park avenue, and had been taken from the Third street side of the Lafayette Life building on Friday, August I.* It was learned that the officers at Monon were in search of Murray for passing worthless checks at Wolcott and as the charges filed there are graver than those filed here, he was allowed to go with the officers to Monon," where lhe was given a preliminary hearing and taken to Monticello for trial. It is said that Murray admitted taking the automobile and the electrical goods, but denied having set fire to the Shop. Edmond Murray formerly lived in California, and claims to have

been in the army. His father died about four months ago, and the family returned to Rensselaer, and then came here. Relatives started the young man in the electrical business at Wolcott, but he failed. He came here several days ago and was Instrumental in organizing the local branch *bf the American Legion, and was made one of the committeemen of the local branch. He said that he formerly lived In Fresno, Cal., and that he was chairman of the world war veterans' organization of that city.—Monday’s Lafayette Journal.