Jasper County Democrat, Volume 23, Number 14, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 May 1920 — STOLE AUTO, IS NOW IN JAIL [ARTICLE]

STOLE AUTO, IS NOW IN JAIL

John Pipkin Failed to Make His Getaway With Ford. A Ford touring car belonging to Frank Hamer, residing in the former W. H. Postill property north of the railroad, was stolen some time Tuesday night from the alley in the rear of the Hamer home where it had been left during the night. Sheriff Woodworth notified the surrounding towns Wednesday morn-t ing and the car was located through a conversation in the Jacob Cheever garage at Demotte, Mr. Cheever telling a traveling man who came in his garage about a car being stolen at Rensselaer. The traveling man stated that he had passed such a car standing at the side of the road, about a mile north of Mt. Ayr. Sheriff Woodworth was notified and Mr. Hamer went over to Mt. Ayr Wednesday evening and found the car to be the one taken from him, but the car being out of commission he could not bring it home with him. On returning for the car Thursday morning he found it had been towed in to Mt. Ayr for repairs. It was learned that the car had been brought in by a party who had been employed by John Pipkin to do so, and the latter, who had stayed about Mt. Ayr and tried to get some one to haul the car in Wednesday, was arrested Thursday morning and brought here and lodged in the Jasper county jail. He admitted the theft of the car and had a preliminary hearing before Squire Irwin Thursday and was bound over to the September term of the circuit court under bond of SSOO. Pipkin is about 22 years of age and claims Laporte as his home, where his people reside, he says. He has been around Rensselaer for two or three months and worked for awhile at the Main garage and later was employed on the Alex Quinn farm, southeast of town. He will probably get a few years in prison to ruminate over the fact that the way of the transgressor is hard — especially when one gets caught.