Typed as written -
Lena Stone Criswell
THE DAILY DEMOCRAT
Thirty-First Year - Number 48
Marlin, Texas, Friday, June 28, 1931
CHARGED WITH ATTEMPT TO BREAK INTO
CHILTON STORE
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Sheriff Follows Trail to Hillsboro and Back to Rosebud to Nab Negro
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A trail picked up at Chilton, leading to Hillsboro and backtracking to Rosebud
by Sheriff Reese has ended in the Falls county jail for Willie Phillips, negro,
against whom a complaint has been drawn up by C.M.Pearce, county attorney,
charging the defendant with attempting to break into J. B. Featherstone's store
at Chilton. A negro by the same name is wanted at Hillsboro and also Corsicana
in connection with burglary investigations, the Hill and Navarro county sheriffs
have advised authorities of this county.
Officers apparently were without a single clue on which to work following an
alleged attempt to burglarize the Chilton store recently. It occured at night,
Constable Freeman of Chilton being in the building on watch at the time.
Attracted by an attempt of what appeared to be two persons trying to get into
the building through the skylight, reports stated, he left the building for
assistance, but on returning the alleged intruders had disappeared.
Glass in the skylight of the building had been removed, but nothing was
reported missing from the store. A fingerprint expert called into the case from
Waco was unable to detect any evidence of this nature that would be of
assistance, leaving authorities seemingly emptyhanded so for as any lead to
solving the case was concerned.
In the midst of the quandary, a tiny bit of evidence was picked up. A negro
of the type commonly referred to as a "stray" had been seen in Chilton on Sunday
and again on Monday before the attempt that night. He had been seen conversing
with negroes residing in that vicinity and inquiry elicited the information that
there had been mention of a proposal to burglarize the Featherstone store and
approaches with reference to furnishing means of transportation to haul away the
loot. However, the Chilton negroes did not know the "stray" and he had
disappeared, leaving investigators still at sea.
And then came the development that led to unraveling of the case like the
yielding thread of a sock. The negro had been seen talking to another negro
known to reside aat Hillsboro.
Thence, Sheriff Reese hied himself, and accompanied by two deputy sheriffs of
that county, proceeded to interview the negro there. Yes, he knew the negro-he
was sometimes called "Rusty." Prevailed upon to ransack his brain a bit further,
the negro finally told officers the name of the party they sought was Willie
Phillips.
"Why, we want a negro here by that name!" the Hillsboro officers exclaimed.
"You'll find him at Rosebud," Sheriff Reese and the Hill county deputies were
informed, and it was learned further that the negro wanted was sometimes refered
to as "Big Hand."
So to Rosebud the sheriff went. And there he found his quarry. And now the
negro is held in the county jail awaiting further developments in the
investigation, having been identified by some Chilton negroes as the aforesaid
"stray" they saw there prior to the
alleged attempt to burglarize the Chilton store, Sheriff Reese states.
Copyright Permission granted to Theresa Carhart and her volunteers for printing by The Democrat, Marlin, Falls Co., Texas.