Introduction
Frank Doris was born in Pennsylvania around 1906 to Joseph Doris Sr. and his wife Mary. His father was born in Pennsylvania, his mother in Ireland. She had come to America in the 1880s. His mother’s name was reported as Mary in the 1910 Census and as Emma in later records.
The 1910 Census shows the Doris family at 546 Randolph Street in Philadelphia. Of the six children born to the family, five were living: James, 10; Joseph Jr., 9; Frank, 6; John, 4; and George, who was 11 months old at the time of the census. The Census gives Joseph Doris’ occupation as “special police” and states that he worked in theatres. Joseph Doris Sr. passed away in February of 1917.
The four of the Doris boys got into trouble as youths, and in the case of Joseph Jr., Frank and John, serious trouble. On December 19, 1918 Joseph Doris Jr. was wounded in a gun battle with Philadelphia police. Frank Doris was involved in a shooting in 1922, and in 1926 took part in a bank robbery where a Philadelphia policeman was shot and killed. For this offense he and three other members of the gang that robbed the bank were executed in March of 1927. The gang went to their deaths refusing to give up the name of the man who escaped.
Frank Doris had married Ethel Phillips in 1919. It is unknown as of this writing as to whether there were any children from this marriage.
Younger brother John Doris, who also had a long record in Philadelphia, began coming over to Camden when his mother and younger brother moved to 132 York Street in the late 1920s. In April of 1929 he got into a fight with a local gangster, Joe O’Connor. John Doris was shot and seriously wounded O’Connor. Even though O’Connor refused to testify against him, John Doris was convicted and given a ten year prison sentence. He was serving his sentence at Trenton State Prison when he was stabbed on April 10, 1930. Mortally wounded, he too refused to name his assailant, and no one was ever charged with his murder.
Younger brother George, who also had a police record in Philadelphia, was arrested on robbery charges in Camden in June of 1930. Both George and his mother were using the surname McGovern when they moved to Camden; this may have been his mother’s maiden name.
Man Shot in Quarrel Over Young Woman
Philadelphia Inquirer —
Assailant Escapes by Threatening Pursuer After Seriously Wounding Rival
In a quarrel over a young woman in a room at 1025 Walnut street last evening, John Villano, 26 years old, of 2124 South Fifteenth street, was shot and seriously wounded by a man who escaped after a short chase. Villano is in a critical condition at the Jefferson Hospital.
Lieutenant Belshaw and Detective Scheller, of the murder squad, are searching for the assailant, whose name is said to be Frank Doris, but whose address the police do not know.
The quarrel began over Margaret Hastings, 20 years old, who told the police she was a waitress in an Atlantic City restaurant. Villano is said to have gone to see Miss Hastings at her room in the Walnut street apartment house last evening and to have found Doris there.
A quarrel followed, and Dorris shot Villano twice, once in the left arm and the second time through the lungs, the bullet entering the left armpit and passing through the right armpit.
Romeo Berna, of Twelfth street near Bainbridge, who heard the shot, rushed into the apartment. He tried to stop the fleeing assailant, but Doris threatened him with his revolver. The assailant escaped after a pursuit of a block.
Miss Hastings was taken into custody by the police of the Fifteenth and Locust streets station and then sent to the Twelfth and Pine streets station. The wounded man operates a fruit stand at Eighth and Walnut streets.
Man Is Shot When He Forces Door to Room
Harrisburg Patriot —
Philadelphia, Jan. 19.—John Vallini, a fruit dealer, who was shot last night while visiting Miss Margaret Hastings, a cabaret performer, in a rooming house, died today. The girl, who recently came here from Atlantic City, was held as a material witness, and the police are seeking Vallini’s assailant. Warrants have been issued for the arrest of Frank Doris, of this city, in connection with the case.
Miss Hastings was said to have told the police that she had never before seen the man who did the shooting.
According to the police, Vallini was in her room last night when there was a knock at the door. The girl answered it and a man pushed his way in. Seeing Vallini, the intruder, without a word, struck Miss Hastings in the face, and she fell unconscious.
As Vallini sprang forward to protect her, the man fired twice. One bullet struck Vallini in the side and the other was embedded in the floor near where the girl lay.
Vallini died without regaining consciousness.
Later developments, the police said, led them to believe that Vallini had broken into Miss Hastings’ room and was shot by a man already there. Romeo Verna, a friend of the slain man, was quoted as having said that he and Vallini went to the girl’s room and when they received no response to their knocks, Vallini forced the door. A few minutes later he heard a scuffle, followed by shots. Then a man, a stranger to him, rushed out with a pistol in his hand and fled down the steps.
Doris, for whom the police are searching, is known to them as “Tenderloin Frankie.”
Frank Doris, Murder Suspect, Is Arrested
Harrisburg Patriot —
Philadelphia, Jan. 20.—Frank H. Doris, known to police as “Tenderloin Frankie,” who has been sought by police in connection with the fatal shooting of John Villano at the apartment of Margaret Hastings Wednesday night, tonight surrendered to police. He refused to discuss the case.
Villano, who died Thursday morning, is said by police to have told friends Doris stepped behind a curtain and shot him when he went to the woman’s room. The woman was held by police as a material witness.
Suspect Waives Hearing in Death of Girl Singer
Harrisburg Patriot —
Philadelphia, Jan. 23.—Frank M. Doris, charged with killing John Villano, in the room of Margaret Hastings, a cabaret singer, last week today waived a hearing and held without bail to await the action of the coroner. Doris surrendered to the police last Friday night. He denies he did the shooting.
Frank Doris Held in Villano Murder
Philadelphia Inquirer —
Detained Without Bail to Await Action of Coroner on Friday
Charged with being implicated in the shooting of Frank Villano, a fruit merchant, who died from wounds he received in the apartments of Margaret Sailer, at Tenth and Walnut streets, last Wednesday, Frank Doris, 19 years old, of 307 North Marshall street, yesterday was held without bail by Magistrate Renshaw to await the action of the coroner. Miss Sailer was not present at the hearing.
Doris was sought by detectives for two days following the shooting, and finally surrendered after his friends had raised a defense fund of $2500.
As the defense decided to waive a hearing, but one witness testified at the magistrate’s hearing. He was Detective Peter Sheller, of the murder squad, who attempted to obtain an ante-mortem statement from the wounded man, but failed. The detective testified that physicians had told him Villano was in no serious danger, but Villano died before the statement could be obtained.
It is believed Doris will be arraigned before Coroner Knight on Friday when an inquest will be held. Margaret Sailer who is being held in Morals Court, at Twelfth and Wood streets, also will be produced then as a witness.
Indict Doris for Murder
Philadelphia Inquirer —
The grand jury found true bills of indictment charging Frank M. Doris with murder and manslaughter for the shooting of John Villano, 27 years, of 2124 South Fifteenth street, on January 19 last, in a rooming house on Walnut street above Tenth, as a result of rivalry over a young woman known as Margaret Hastings.
Girl’s Low-Voiced Tale Acquits Youth
Philadelphia Inquirer —
Testifies Jealous Attack by Spurned Suitor Preceded Villano Killing
Margaret Hastings, 23-year-old divorcee and former cabaret singer, took the witness stand yesterday before Judge Barnett in Quarter Sessions Court and described in a low, scarcely audible tone the events which led up to the killing, in her room at 1025 Walnut street, of John Villano, fruit-stand vendor, whose jealousy for her affection cost him his life last January.
After a trial lasting only one day the jury arrived in eight minutes at a verdict acquitting 20-year-old Frank M. Doris, known as “Tenderloin Frankie,” of the slaying of Villano. Testimony showed that the bullet which killed Villano came from his own revolver, which was discharged as he and Doris grappled with each other when the fruit vendor obtained admittance to Margaret Hastings’ room.
The girl, attired neatly in a black dress with a white collar, silk stockings and low pumps, showed plainly that the tragedy in which she had been a central figure had affected her deeply. Assistant District Attorney Maurer, who prosecuted the case, and John R. K. Scott, attorney for Doris, several times requested that she speak louder, but the girl pleaded that she was “a bundle of nerves” and unable to raise her voice. She was attacked by Villano with the butt-end of his revolver but a moment before he engaged in the struggle with Doris which ended in his death, and the girl appeared at the Coroner’s inquest with a badly discolored eye. Yesterday she said that the force of Villano’s blow had been so great that it had been necessary to take several stitches in the flesh above her eye.
Bandit Sentenced to Death Penalty
Trenton Evening Times —
Second of Accused Quartet Condemned to Die For Killing Policeman
(Associated Press)
PHILADELPHIA, May 26.—Harry Bentley, one of four men charged with killing a policeman in an attempted bank messenger robbery, was today convicted of murder in the first degree with death as the penalty.
The jury retired late yesterday and was locked up for the night. It reported its verdict when court opened today.
Bentley is the second of the quartet to receive the death penalty. The first was Joseph Curry, who was convicted two weeks ago.
The other two men to go on trial are William Juliano and Frank Doris. Like Bentley and Curry they will receive separate trials.
Curry in his trial was identified as the man who killed Policeman Harry M. Cooper. Bentley on the stand yesterday denied he was a member of the robber gang, testifying that he was on an errand in the neighborhood of the attempted robbery when he was arrested and falsely accused.
The attempt to rob William O. Miller, the messenger for the Olney Bank and Trust Company, occurred May 4. Miller had approximately $100,000 in a motor car standing outside a branch bank in the northeastern part of the city when attacked by the bandits. They were repulsed and fled. They were pursued and firing killed Cooper.
Last of Bandit Gang Must Die in Chair
Trenton Evening Times —
(Associated Press)
PHILADELPHIA, June 11.—Frank M. Doris, last of four men to be tried for the killing of Patrolman Harry M. Cooper during a holdup here May 4, was today found guilty of murder in the first degree with death in the electric chair fixed as the penalty. The jury had deliberated since 3:30 p. m. yesterday.
Patrolman Cooper was shot while pursuing the men after they had held up and robbed a bank messenger carrying $100,000. The bandits had secured $80,000 and were attempting to flee in an automobile when a bullet put their machine out of commission. The $80,000 was recovered from the bandit car.
The other three men captured with Doris were Joseph Curry, Harry Bentley and William Juliano. They were also convicted of murder, their punishment being fixed as death.
Jersey Raid Is Admitted by Robbers
Trenton Evening Times —
Bandits Go To Chair After Attempting To Clear Prisoner Here
Refuse to Divulge Companions’ Names
ROCKVIEW, Pa., March 7.—Four men, condemned for killing a policeman in an attempted holdup in Philadelphia last May, paid the penalty with their lives in the electric chair in the Western State Penitentiary today.
They were Joseph Curry, 29, years; Harry Bentley, 23; William Juliano, 27, and Frank Doris, 27, all of Philadelphia.
The men went to their death in the order named, the first being led to the chair at 7 a. m., and the last man was pronounced dead at 7:32.
Curry, as he left his cell for the death chamber, called out “goodbye” to the other three who bade him farewell. Beyond this none of the four had anything to say and went to their deaths without breaking down.
In a last interview with their counsel on Saturday, Bentley and Juliano made a statement clearing Mathew Overnack from a bank holdup in Westmont, N. J., near Camden, in April, last year. He is serving ten to twenty years in State Prison at Trenton. Bentley and Juliano said there were four men in that holdup, but they declined to name the other two. Their statement will be turned over to Overnack’s counsel and the New Jersey authorities.
Bentley’s sworn statement was made in the presence of C. Stuart Patterson, Jr., his attorney, Deputy Warden McFarland and a notary public.
“Overnack was never in on that job,” said Bentley. “This robbery was”
Four Die Clearing Trenton Convict (Continued from Page One)
planned by one of us two weeks before the holdup was committed, but the care of the homeless was the city’s major problem.
“I walked into the bank and got four or five thousand dollars. I got the cashier to give me time to observe the number of the bank’s bills.”
Bentley’s statement goes into considerable detail but its authenticity cannot be verified. The camera marks in the safe, the precise denominations of the bills and other details are furnished by Bentley, but Prosecutor Harry M. Cooper, of county detective chief, asked Juliano if he had anything to say and the latter replied: “Nothing.”
“Confessions,” now held by a supporting affidavit, were made in the presence of two of the four bank bandits who were unable to reply on more than the most minute details. The statements reached the conclusion at the same time and on the same minute details. Prosecutor Doran made it clear he was going to the grave with me.
The crime for which the four men were sent to the chair was a holdup of the Other Bank & Trust Company; an attempted holdup in Philadelphia. Miller had $60,000 in an account. In the fight that followed in the bank, the station agent was killed. Prosecutor Wescott was one of the Board of Pardons was filing the information with the authorities at Trenton. The documents contain the bare assertion that county prosecutor Ethan P. Wescott was at the center of activities. The movements contain the bare assertion that county prosecutor Ethan P. Wescott is not only one of the best legal experts, but is the far-head of the most complex criminals this decade has seen.
Death Certificate
Death Certificate – Frank Doris
Secrecy Hides Date Doris Goes to Pen
Camden Courier-Post —
Trial for Flannery Murder to Be Called Later
Secrecy will conceal the date when John Doris, Philadelphia gangster, who was convicted of shooting Joseph Connors, Gloucester, will be taken to state prison, according to Sheriff Walter T. Gross.
Gross said last night he is taking no chances with Doris, whose brother Frank was electrocuted with three others for the Olney bank robbery and murder. Gross said the prisoner will be taken to state prison any time within the next 21 days heavily guarded.
No attempt will be made by the state to try Doris on an indictment charging him with the murder of Joseph (Mose) Flannery, before he begins serving the sentence of 10 years meted out by Judge Shay yesterday.
“The state is not ready to move the murder indictment against Doris,” said County Prosecutor Clifford A. Baldwin yesterday.
Gangster Shot as Racketeers Open War Here
Camden Courier-Post —
Gloucester Man Near Death After Attack at Broadway and Kaighn Avenue
FELLED NEAR QUARTERS OF CAMDEN GAMBLERS
Brother of Frank Doris Accused After Police Round Up 10 Men
In Gang Shooting
JOHN DORIS
Brother of Frank Doris, who was electrocuted for murder in connection with the Olney Bank robbery. John Doris is under arrest for shooting an alleged racketeer here yesterday.
Shooting of an alleged racketeer at Broadway and Kaighn avenue, near the threshold of one of South Jersey’s notorious reputed gambling joints, threw Camden police into renewed warfare on gangdom yesterday.
Like the shots that riddled Hughy McLoon, the dwarfed Philadelphia hunchback—shots that blew off the lid off Philadelphia vice and police corruption—those that echoed in the recognized rendezvous of Camden gangdom promised to have far-reaching effects.
The victim was Joseph Connors, 28, of 135 North Broadway, Gloucester, alleged beer racketeer. With a bullet in his lungs and another in his abdomen, he was conceded “an even chance” to live at West Jersey Homeopathic Hospital last night
John Doris, 24, brother of Frank Doris, who died in the electric chair for murder during the Olney Bank holdup is under arrest charged with the shooting.
A roundup by a special squad of detectives immediately following the shooting resulted in the arrest of 10 men, among them some well-known gangsters and racketeers. All were held in bail as material witnesses.
Those netted in the roundup and the bail demanded follow:
Russell Sage, 426 Mechanic street, several times suspected in Camden gang shootings, held without bail for trying to help Doris escape; James “Jimmie” Toland, former Philadelphia pugilist and now operator of the Nonpariel Club, $2500 bail; Joseph Simms, cook in the Nonpariel Club, $500 bail; Charles Riehm, 1051 Haddon avenue, manager of the club; William Kelly, alias Leo Morton, 425 Van Hook street, $500; Harry Selah, 1240 South Third street, a spectator who named Doris as the assailant, $500; William J. Merrick, 1128 Liberty street, $2500; Lorenzo Cole, 920 Jefferson avenue, $500; Ernest Matsius, 506 Kaighn avenue, $500; Leo McKenna, 426 Mt. Vernon street, $500.
Motive in Doubt
Motive for the shooting was so tangled in the mazes of gangland’s intrigues of love, avarice and rivalry that police confessed they were unable to fathom it. Gangland’s glib explanation was that Doris and Connors quarreled over change for a $5 bill in the Nonpariel Club, Second and Kaighn avenue several hours before the shooting.
The shooting took place in front of the American Restaurant, 506 Kaighn avenue after the two men had engaged in a bitter quarrel at a table inside. Other patrons saw both arise and punch viciously. Doris suffered severe cuts on the face in the exchange. Then the fighters walked out to the street to finish the battle.
But as Connors raised his hands, the other pulled a pistol and began firing at point-blank range. Connors screamed and ran back toward the restaurant with Doris, the pistol still in readiness, in pursuit.
Shot Shatters Pane
Three shots were fired. One crashed through a window of the United Shoe Repair Shop on the opposite side of the street at 505 Kaighn avenue.
In his haste to escape, Connors lunged through the glass panel of the restaurant door, cutting his hands and face.
The wounded man ran through the kitchen into Amber street at the rear. Doris pursued him as far as Broadway, but turned from the chase when a group of pedestrians ran toward him. Connors collapsed near the corner as he cried “Get the wagon. I’m shot.”
Sage, the suspect denied bail, tried to put the fugitive board [sic] a Philadelphia-Pitman bus, police said, but the driver refused to take him as passenger because he said he was not permitted to make stops in Gloucester, where Sage asked the driver to discharge Doris.
Meanwhile available detectives and patrolmen were hurried to the scene. When the search ended Doris had been in a cell in Camden police headquarters several hours as a “drunk.”
Picked Up as Drunk
He was “sent in” by Policeman Joseph Leonhardt after telling an incoherent story of “bumping off a guy.” Leonhardt sized him up as helplessly drunk and arrested him near the Nonpareil Club less than 30 minutes after the shooting.
It was not until later, when Doris’ friends, a woman among them, called police headquarters for news of him. All asked for him by his right name except the woman. She asked first for Doris and then for “John King.” This was the alias Doris gave when “slated.” He was questioned in his cell by Detective Sergeant Samuel Johnson, but it was not until he actually was identified as the assailant that police were certain they had the right man.
As Detectives Koerner, Cheesman, Carpani, McGrath and Troncone continued to bring suspects into headquarters for questioning, Selah, one of those arrested near the scene of the shooting, was asked as a detective pointed to Doris:
“Is that the man?”
Selah nodded.
Doris Record Bad
Doris has a criminal record that dates back to his school days. Once, Judge James E. Gorman, Philadelphia, told him he was headed for the electric chair—an end that looms as a distinct possibility. Doris also was suspected in the murder of Joseph (Mose) Flannery, in Kaighn avenue, between Front and Second streets, a few doors from the Nonpareil Club.
So far as Camden authorities were able to determine last night, Connors has no police record. He has been linked, they said, to a beer racket and is known as a frequenter of gambling joints, police said, but local records show no mark against him.
Machine Gun Holds Mystery
Two mysterious elements stand out to further baffle scrutiny of the motives behind the shooting. One is the sudden closing of two South Camden gambling joints—one in a second floor room in Broadway, below Kaighn avenue and the other at Tenth street and Kaighn avenue. These places, both operating at full blast, closed their doors on Friday without an explanation that could be reconciled with the circumstances.
The other mysterious touch to yesterday’s affair was an apparently well-authenticated report that police arrested a man in a car with a machine gun. Efforts to learn the identity of this man were fruitless.
Speculation concerning the closing of the gambling houses jumped from rumors of a war of rival gamblers, to warnings of a holdup or of a police raid. Paraphernalia was removed from both places and sentries posted to spread discreet warnings for patrons to keep away. The place at Tenth street and Kaighn avenue was closed by police three months ago. Its reopening was unexplained.
The shooting spurred police officials to what Chief Lewis Stehr declared would be a wholesale cleanup of South Camden’s hangouts, and gaming dens.
“Orders went out three months ago,” said Stehr “to clamp on the lid. We have been working hard to keep it on. This shooting may have no significance in itself, but it stresses the need to wipe out the practice of carrying weapons.”
Extra details of plain clothesmen were on duty in the Kaighn avenue district last night, Stehr announced.
Supreme Court Justice Frank T. Lloyd, Merchantville, recently appointed to serve the district including Camden, declared he intends to review the facts in yesterday’s shooting to determine if his intervention in alleged Camden racketeering is warranted.
Justice Lloyd’s charge to the April grand jury demanding a curb on the carrying of firearms and asking a campaign to curb the influx of Philadelphia criminals into South Jersey, caused widespread anticipation of a general review of vice conditions here.
Commissioner David S. Boone, director of public safety, said the police department “has its hands full” in attempting to execute orders for a cleanup he issued some months ago.
He declared he issued special orders yesterday to Chief Stehr as a result of the most recent shooting. But he declined to disclose their purport.
The shooting was subject of a lengthy conference of the county’s law-enforcement officers in the prosecutor’s office. Lawrence T. Doran, chief of county detectives and Rocco Palese, assistant prosecutor, refused to comment on the possible effect the shooting might have on demands for a review of conditions here.
Doran, who entered the investigation on orders of the prosecutor’s office, attempted unsuccessfully to induce the wounded man to name his assailant. He permitted Connors’ brother, Raymond, to see Joseph, hoping that the brother would aid him.
Instead, Raymond walked to his brother’s side and whispered:
“Don’t say a word. Keep your mouth shut.”
Doran arrested him immediately as a material witness.
Scene of Shooting That Renewed War on Gangdom
—Courier-Post Photo
This diagram shows where John Doris shot down Joseph Connors, alleged racketeer, in a mysterious feud of Camden’s underworld. Doris, gunman, gangster and racketeer, shot his foeman at point-blank range. The dotted line shows how the victim ran for his life into the American Restaurant, 506 Kaighn avenue, with the gunman in pursuit.
Brother Follows Killer’s Footsteps; Held for Shooting
Albany Evening Journal —
CAMDEN, N. J., April 29 (UP).—Slipping down the same path of crime that led his brother to the electric chair, John Doris, twenty-four, today was held for shooting an underworld character.
The prosecutor declared that if the man shot, John O’Connor, twenty-eight, Gloucester City, died, a murder charge will be preferred against Doris. Doris is a brother of Frank Doris, who was electrocuted for his part in the Olney bank robbery some years ago. Both had criminal records as youths and has [sic] long been known as underworld characters, police said.
Police understood the shooting was over a woman or a $4 liquor bill.
Doris Convicted at Quick Trial; Gets Ten Years
Camden Courier-Post —
Shay Warns Gangdom Shootings in Camden Must Cease; Jury Out 40 Minutes
WIFE FAINTS IN COURT AS JUDGE SETS PENALTY
Brother of Olney Bank Bandit Acquitted on One Charge in Kaighn Avenue Brawl
Wheels of justice spun quickly yesterday when John Doris, 30, ambitious young Philadelphia gangster, was tried, convicted, and sentenced to 10 years in New Jersey State Prison in the shooting of Joseph Connors, Gloucester, in Kaighn avenue, near Broadway, last April 29.
To the sentence which nips a brief but hectic underworld career in which Doris also faces a murder indictment for another Kaighn avenue gun duel, Judge Shay added a stern ultimatum to gamblers and racketeers that they cannot use Camden streets for their sanguinary warfare.
“There have been too many racketeer shootings in Camden lately,” the jurist declared. “They all seem to have the same code—to shoot it out and then keep silent in the courts. Even Connors, the man who was shot, comes before this court and denies Doris was the guilty man. Fear may silence these witnesses, which in itself is serious, but these shootings must end and they will.”
Tries to be Tough
Then he sentenced Doris. The young gangster, brother of Frank Doris, executed Olney bank bandit, blanched. The confident air with which he approached this trial, following a disagreement at the first trial of the charges last June, had failed and left him a trembling, shaken boy who tried to be tough.
Pathos was added to the drama as Helen Doris, frail, [?] wife of the convicted youth, suddenly seemed to realize what had happened. She screamed. Her slender body sagged perilously toward the floor. Doris’ brother and a friend carried her from the court room.
On the main floor of the building the girl went into a dead faint, from which she was revived by Edward Holloway, custodian. She then became hysterical, in which condition she was taken away.
Guilty on Two Counts
The jury which convicted Doris, the first drawn from the “million dollar” panel, cleared the youth of one count but found him guilty of two after 40 minutes of deliberation.
Deliberations were started at 3.25 p. m., and at 4.05 o’clock Judge Shay was called back to the bench to receive the verdict from Fred Euhenfeld, 3100 Highland avenue, jury foreman.
Solemnly he announced that in the eyes of the jurymen Doris was guilty of atrocious assault and battery, and guilty of carrying concealed deadly weapons, but was not guilty on a third count alleging atrocious assault and battery with intent to kill.
All eyes in the courtroom turned to the immaculately-clad Doris, who started forward in his chair and looked appealingly to his counsel, Walter S. Keown.
Assistant Prosecutor Rocco Palese reviewed the high points of the case and called upon Judge Shay to give Doris the maximum possible sentence, 15 years.
Attorney Asks Clemency
Keown in his final appeal pointed out Doris stood before the court as a first offender, that he and Connors had been engaged in a heated fistic combat when Connors was shot, and that Doris’ youth should entitle him to consideration.
“The jury gave Doris a ‘break’ in clearing him of the intent to kill charge,” Keown pleaded. “Will the court give him a ‘break’ in its sentence?”
Judge Shay responded with his dramatic broadside against the gun toters of the underworld and gave the defendant a seven-year term for atrocious assault and three additional years for carrying weapons.
Although Connors, on the witness stand shortly before court adjourned for the noon recess, denied Doris shot him, Lorenzo Cole, a cook in the American Restaurant, Kaighn avenue, testified Connors ran into the place early in the morning, groaning and holding onto his stomach, with Doris, a gun in his hand, following him.
Denies Doris Shot Him
“Doris and I fought, that’s true,” testified Connors. “But Doris didn’t shoot me. Somebody, I don’t know who, sneaked up on us during the argument and fired on me.”
Doris talked with his wife before the case was called. Mrs. Doris was the only woman in the spectators’ section.
The first witness, Eli Conaghy, 29, of 814 South Sixth street, testified he was at the Nonpareil Club, Second street and Kaighn avenue on the night of the shooting, with Mrs. Rose Gibbs. Conaghy proved to be a reluctant witness. He mentioned an argument Doris had “with somebody,” over the loss of the Gibbs girl pocketbook.
Mrs. Gibbs, 18, who said she lived “on Henry street,” was next called. She said she had not met Doris before the night of the shooting. She had gone to the club with Connors and Conaghy, who, she testified, had an argument with Doris over the loss of the pocketbook. Under cross-examination, the Gibbs girl admitted she had been drinking. She said she went to the Nonpareil club at 12:30 a. m. after visiting two “parties,” one in Fairview.
Restaurateur Tells Story
Then Ernest Matsios, proprietor of the American Restaurant was called. He testified that about 6.30 a. m., Connors came into the place, followed by a man who looked like Doris. An argument started, Matsios said, and he was forced to eject the men. A short time later, he heard shots, he said. “That’s all I know about the shooting,” he added.
Matsios was followed on the stand by Lorenzo Cole, colored, 904 Jefferson street, a cook in the restaurant. Cole testified he was in the kitchen looking through a window into the restaurant. He heard the argument, saw Doris and Connors leave the place, and saw them “swapping punches” on the sidewalk.
“I saw a gun in Doris’ hand and heard two shots,” Cole said. “A few seconds later, Connors staggered into the restaurant, holding onto his stomach, ran through the kitchen into an alleyway, known as Amber street. Doris, the gun still in his hand, followed, but tripped and fell, and then got up and continued the chase.”
Almost identical testimony was given by James Sims, also a cook.
Doris Remembers Nothing
Doris was the only witness for the defense. He “remembered nothing,” other than being “punched in the nose, some place in South Camden.” Doris was on the stand only a few minutes. As he left, Keown rested his case.
Doris first was tried in the Connors’ shooting last June. Arraigned on charges of atrocious assault and battery and carrying concealed deadly weapons, he was returned to the county jail pending a second trial when the jury, although believing him guilty, disagreed as to the charge upon which to convict him. The jury comprised nine women and three men.
Doris, in addition to being involved in the Broadway and Kaighn avenue shooting, is believed by police to hold the key to solution of the mysterious murder of Joseph (Mose) Flannery, for which he is under indictment. Flannery was found dying September 18, 1928, in front of a saloon at Front street and Kaighn avenue.
Dying Convict Refuses to Identify Assailant After Mystery Attack
Trenton Evening Times —
John Doris, 25, of Camden, serving 10 years at the State Prison here, was stabbed by an unknown assailant this afternoon as guards rounded up 500 prisoners for inspection before dinner. The 12-inch blade of a bread knife stolen last night from the prison hospital, was sunk into the victim’s lower intestines. His death is expected momentarily.
Doris was marching with squads of other prisoners from the shops to their cells in Wing 2, where the fatal shooting of Guard Frank Butcher took place a few weeks ago. On the third tier of the latticed cell chamber, with the convicts crowded against the iron guard rail, someone lunged the knife into Doris.
The victim sank to the floor without an outcry. Guards attracted by the restless movement among the convicts rushed to the spot. Doris’ lower abdomen was gashed open. He did not lose consciousness. Colonel Edward B. Stone and other prison officers questioned him after he was swiftly taken to the prison operating room. Doris smiled weakly at his questioners attempts to make him “squeal” on his assailant. He refused to answer questions.
With prison officers still trying to make him talk, he took ether administered by physicians. Dr. Martin W. Reddan performed an operation, assisted by Dr. C. Walter Carroll. It was found that his intestines were punctured in several places. The physicians reported to Colonel Stone that Doris has not a chance to live.
Knife Was Stolen
The knife used in the stabbing was reported missing from the prison hospital last night and Colonel Stone ordered a thorough search of all convicts and their cells. The search was futile.
As is customary before the noonday meal, all prisoners are returned from the shops to their cells before mess, to submit to a count and search. The convict who had the knife probably feared detection in the search and was speeded in his resolve to attack his victim. With Doris’ lips sealed by the underworld code, the motive for the assault is as mysterious as the identity of the assailant.
Doris worked in the print shop of the prison. He “locked” with another prisoner in Wing 2, hotbed of intrigue. His cellmate was already in their cell when Doris was stabbed.
Doris’ brother was electrocuted in Harrisburg last week, for murder. Another brother, George, resides at 132 York Street, Camden. The victim is married and his wife resides at 1105 North Street, Philadelphia. He was received at the prison last September to serve 3 years for carrying a concealed deadly weapon and 7 years for atrocious assault and battery.
The butt and part of a blade stump of the knife used in the attack were found beside Doris. The knife was snapped off and six inches of the blade are believed to be in Doris’ body.
Chief County Detective James Kirkham and Detective Frank Naples went to the prison soon after the stabbing and tried to procure an ante-mortem statement from the dying man before he went under ether. Doris would not talk to them.
Colonel Stone was mystified at the manner in which the knife was concealed during the search for the weapon last night. He was also at a loss for a motive for the assault. Convicts who were well acquainted with Doris shrugged their shoulders and would say nothing about the affair, if they did know anything.
Late this afternoon Colonel Stone was informed by deputies that a clue to the assailant had been found. The identity of the stabber had not been established at the time this edition of The Times went to press.
Lips of Knifed Convict Sealed as Death Nears
Trenton Evening Times —
Prosecutor English and Detective Spend Day Hunting for Assailant
His lips stilled by coma from which he is not expected to merge [sic], John Doris, critically wounded convict, will probably take with him in death the secret of the identity of the prisoner who stabbed him. Prosecutor Charles H. English and Chief County Detective James Kirkham spent the day at the prison questioning prisoners known to have been on the third tier of Wing 2 when Doris was stabbed with a 12-inch bread knife yesterday afternoon.
Prison Closely Watched After Deadly Knifing
Trenton Evening Times —
Officials Suspicious of Attempt to Avenge Slaying of Convict
Autopsy Results Are Being Awaited
John Doris, convict, is dead but State Prison officials are inclined to believe that extreme vigilance alone will prevent an attempt to avenge his death.
County Physician Charles H. Mitchell is expected to disclose the results of an autopsy which was in progress this morning upon the body of the prisoner who was fatally slashed by an unidentified assailant Thursday.
Doris refused to point an accusing finger at any fellow-inmate before he lapsed into the coma from which he never revived. When one of his brothers leaned over to hear his feeble words, Doris said:
“I ain’t going to squawk—I’m no squawker.”
Prosecutor Charles H. English was non-commital [sic] yesterday concerning the probability of having the crime considered by the May term Grand Jury. At the Prosecutor’s home today, it was said that he will be out-of-town until tonight.
Information which vaguely ties up the stabbing of Doris with the operations of a gang of racketeers who operated between Philadelphia, Camden and shore resorts has been obtained in the investigation.
The bread knife used in the attack had been stolen from the prison hospital. As a result, suspicion has narrowed down to a dozen convicts who had access to the cutlery. However, it is considered likely that the thief may have obtained the knife for a fellow prisoner to use for a deadly purpose.
It was learned today that suspicion pointed at one particular prisoner, as far as the disappearance of the knife was concerned, but close questioning left his explanation unscathed. Because gang rivalries persist behind the prison walls, despite every effort to prevent actual hostilities, it is felt that pals of Doris, who have professed ignorance about the slaying, may single out Doris’ slayer for the same treatment.
BAFFLING UNDERWORLD CODE
John Doris, State Prison convict who was stabbed by a fellow prisoner last Thursday, has gone to his death without revealing the identity of his assailant. And therein is contained an interesting commentary on the ethical code of the underworld.
Authorities have suspected that Doris hoped to recover and work personal vengeance on the man who attacked him. It is also likely that he was motivated by that unwritten law which proscribes the squealer and the squawker.
This criminal reticence is one of the most baffling conditions with which officials are forced to deal. Guilty persons are sometimes protected indefinitely by reason of the victim’s unwillingness to place the blame.
In the Doris episode, every effort was made to obtain a statement from the dying man. But even the pleas of his wife proved unavailing. Official persistence may yet penetrate the mystery, though probably without benefit of criminal assistance.
Suspicion Closing Around Prisoner
Trenton Evening Times —
But Prison Stabbing Probe Still Fails to Uncover Definite Evidence
A whisper from the underworld last night narrowed suspicion down to a single State Prison convict as the perpetrator of the knife attack costing the life of John Doris, another inmate.
Unsupported by any evidence to warrant an indictment or trial, prison authorities as well as county officials find themselves at a standstill in their investigation.
Because of the bitter hatreds that exist among the penned up thugs and racketeers, the “tip” from gangland is alternately viewed as a good lead and as a blind “steer.”
Meanwhile, the menace of “Death Valley,” as No. 2 wing of the prison has come to be known because of the tragedies that occur periodically there, is being given renewed consideration. With Doris slain just a month after Frank Butcher, a deputy, was shot down in the same wing, “Death Valley” has been living up to its reputation. In addition, the tragedy which cost the life of Joseph Tinney occurred in the same place.
Another outbreak may be in the making because Doris had many friends among the convicts. According to the prison authorities, Doris had not “squealed” or given any information concerning others in the institution.
The investigation has brought to light that a prisoner, whose name has not been disclosed, was hit over the head in the sight of several prisoners in the yard several days ago. The blow has no serious results but an effort to identify his assailant also failed. Doris did not figure in that offense, the authorities feel certain.
Prosecutor Charles H. English, who went to the prison Friday to aid personally in the inquiry, stated last night that “there doesn’t seem to be much possibility of getting any further information at the present time.”
The wing is said to contain more than 20 killers, although all are not serving time at present for such offenses. Several lifers are also reported included.
Although the total in that wing approximates 450, with the men scattered in four tiers of cells, only two guards are on duty. A suggestion has been made that a “crow’s nest” be built so that a full view of the interior can be commanded.
Doris’ body was transferred from the Swayze & Margerum morgue on Greenwood Avenue yesterday afternoon to Philadelphia. Doris’ mother, who buried another son 10 days ago after he had been electrocuted in Pennsylvania for murder, arranged for the burial with B. H. Cavanaugh, Philadelphia undertaker. The funeral will be held Tuesday, with interment in Holy Cross Cemetery in that city.
Five Convicts Are Isolated in Knife Probe
Trenton Evening Times —
‘Chair for Somebody,’ Warden Comments, As Prison Investigation Continues
Colonel Edward B. Stone, warden of the State Prison, today placed two more prisoners in solitary confinement, making a total of five convicts now in absolute confinement for refusing to “squeal” on the murderer of convict John Doris.
“It means the chair for somebody,” said Colonel Stone, “and it will be harder to make them talk. But if it’s possible, we’ll break their ungodly code of honor and make them come through.”
Doris was fatally wounded by a knife thrust Thursday afternoon and died the following night.
“The knife went in where soldiers were taught to thrust the bayonet and it looks as if someone with a soldier’s training killed Doris,” Colonel Stone said.
The warden is convinced that the killing of Doris was engineered from outside the prison. Doris, although only 25 years old, was an important figure in Camden’s gangland. Among other things, he knew who killed Mose Flannery in a Camden holdup. He himself was under indictment in connection with that murder.
Colonel Stone said today that the crime bears every evidence of a grudge that sifted in through the prison walls from gangsters on the outside, who wanted Doris disposed of because he knew too much. It is possible that several convicts were hired to plot the assassination of Doris, for more than one man negotiated the theft of the bread knife with which he was slain and the palming of the six inches of the knife blade after it snapped off in Doris’ body.
Doris was serving a 10-year sentence for wounding a Gloucester man in an attempted robbery in Gloucester. As a mere boy he had followed his brother Frank in a career of crime. Frank was electrocuted in Pennsylvania several weeks ago for murder. John was faced with murder charges at the expiration of his term, as a result of the Flannery killings.
The five men in solitary confinement are known to have witnessed the stabbing of Doris, according to Colonel Stone. It is regarded as possible that one of them is the killer. Nearly a score of convicts were close about Doris when the knife was thrust into him as the prisoners were being herded to the cells in the third tier of Wing 2, scene of two other prison tragedies. Like Doris, who refused to name his assailant before he died, the others are tight-lipped.
In the same wing where the convict was stabbed, Deputy Frank Tinney was murdered in an attempted prison break in February, 1928, and Guard Frank Butcher was shot and killed by Charles Evans, a convict, who blew his brains out after the murder.
Gangsters Attend Funeral of Doris
Trenton Evening Times —
Gangsters Attend Funeral of Doris
Slain Convict Buried in Phila. After 2000 View Body
Doris Kin Held in Attempt to Rob Store Here
Camden Courier-Post —
George Doris.
Alertness of Citizen Halts Thief in Getting $2500 Loot
Defendant’s Arrest Recalls Dual Tragedy
One Brother Slain in Prison, Other Killed by Gangster
Surprised while looting a Broadway women’s wearing apparel shop, George Doris, 23, of 738 Race street, Philadelphia, was held without bail to await the action of the grand jury today when arraigned before Judge Pancoast in Camden Police Court on charges of breaking, entering and larceny.
When arrested early yesterday morning, Doris told police he was George McGovern, a Camden cafe entertainer, but fingerprints and photos taken by Camden police and compared with those of George Doris at Philadelphia detective headquarters resulted in his identity being established.
The accused man is a younger brother of John Doris, Camden and Philadelphia gangster who was slain under mysterious circumstances while serving a sentence in the State Penitentiary at Trenton, and Frank Doris, who was electrocuted in Pennsylvania in connection with the killing of a policeman in the Olney Bank robbery. In court today, Doris, not represented by counsel, entered a plea of not guilty to the charges.
He told Judge Pancoast that he was busy yesterday and did not remember being in the Pomerantz Dress Shop at 601 Broadway when he was taken into custody.
Neighbor Gives Tip
Had it not been for the quick thinking of William Henion, of 532 Royden street, City Detective Joseph Carpani and Judge Pancoast, Doris might have gotten off with $2500 in women’s coats, dresses and lingerie.
Henion, according to the story which Carpani disclosed to the court, was aroused from his sleep early yesterday by somebody hammering against a rear door of the Pomerantz store, which is opposite his home.
Getting up, Henion went down to learn the cause of the disturbance and found Doris using a pick-ax which he found in Henion’s yard to force the door.
Doris became talkative as soon as he saw Henion and confided that he had a contract to do some work in the Pomerantz store.
Surprised that a man should be at work so early on a Sunday, Henion detained the man and went into his own home and decided to telephone police headquarters and communicate his suspicions.
Patrolmen George Schuyler and Milton Cahill were dispatched to the scene. Entering through the rear, the same as Doris had done, the two patrolmen came upon the suspect as he was carrying an armful of women’s dresses from the front of the store to the rear.
Doris surrendered without a struggle and was taken to police headquarters where he said his name was George McGovern.
A search of his clothing, revealed which he had taken from a cash register in the store but $600 in receipts, from Saturday night which S. Pomerantz, proprietor had placed in a jar and hidden under a counter, was not disturbed.
Police Record
Doris has a police record in Philadelphia, having been arrested at one time or another for having an opium outfit in his possession, as an inmate of a disorderly house and in connection with operation of a gaming house.
Burglars who are believed to have used a small boy to force a way into the Keystone Stationery Store, at 414 Market street early yesterday, made off with $1700 in stationery supplies, including many expensive fountain pens.
City Detective William Boettcher who investigated the robbery, found a small bar had been broken and a blossom on a rear door forced, allowing a child to be passed through and the door opened from the inside. The burglars were evidently in great haste as they missed considerable other stationery supplies, police said.
Gangland Is Blamed in Camden Shooting
Trenton Evening Times —
(Associated Press)
CAMDEN, N. J., Nov. 13.—Joseph O’Connor, 29, of this city, was shot and seriously wounded near his home at Fifth and Walnut Streets today. His assailant, who fired from an automobile, escaped. Police believe Philadelphia gangsters did the shooting as one of three cars that drove away from the vicinity bore Pennsylvania license tags.
This was the second attempt made on O’Connor’s life within 18 months. He is a brother-in-law of Albert Sandes, who is on trial charged with the murder of a sailor in a brawl here a year ago.
On April 28, 1929, O’Connor was shot in the abdomen and chest. John Doris, brother of Frank Doris, one of the executed Philadelphia Olney bank bandits, was convicted of the shooting and sentenced to 10 years in State Prison at Trenton, where he was stabbed to death by another convict in April of this year.
Gang Bullets Are Fatal to ‘Joe’ O’Connor
Camden Morning Post —
GANG BULLETS ARE FATAL TO ‘JOE’ O’CONNOR
Another Dead
South Camden Man Dies From Shooting on Street, Nov. 13
ARREST EXPECTED WITHIN FEW HOURS
Victim Adheres to Code Of Keeping Lips Sealed to End
Joseph O’Connor, “man about town,” is dead.
Critically wounded on the early morning of November 13, the man who police say “lived by his wits alone,” died on his cot in the West Jersey Homeopathic Hospital at 4.45 p. m. yesterday.
Police were spurred to renewed activity by the death of O’Connor. Detective Sylvester McGrath said an arrest would be made in a short time, possibly today.
It was rumored that a prominent South Camden “racket man” has been disclosed as the killer and police were searching for him. This could not be confirmed, however, when police were questioned.
Wide Search Instituted
A dragnet was thrown about the city and all district stations were notified to pick up anyone known to have been friendly with O’Connor with the idea of gaining additional information.
A search was also being made for the two men who took O’Connor to the hospital. It was learned police know the identity of one of these men.
Surrounded by his closest relatives and constantly watched by a police guard. O’Connor breathed his last abiding by the gangland code by which he is alleged to have lived.
He would not “squeal” on those who shot him down at Fifth and Walnut streets while he was on his way to his home “from somewhere.” In moments of consciousness he steadfastly refused to name his assailants.
O’Connor was in a delirious condition for more than 24 hours before his death and police would not disclose whether he had unwittingly divulged the names of his slayers. They admitted that several promising clues have been unearthed.
The shooting was the second time in 18 months that O’Connor had been put “on the spot.” He was seriously wounded April 28, 1929, at Broadway and Kaighn avenue by John Doris, notorious gangster. Doris was sentenced to ten years for that crime and subsequently was stabbed to death by a fellow convict at Trenton.
3 Cars in on Kill
As in the previous shooting affray O’Connor refused to tell police the names of those who ambushed him, thus abiding by the code of silence which fear of reprisal inspires.
O’Connor, who resides at 520 Walnut street, was enroute to his home on the morning of November 13 and was walking in Walnut street, near Fifth, at 3.30 a. m., when a volley of shots rang out. He was struck in the leg and stomach and lost a great amount of blood before his wounds were treated.
Witnesses saw three cars leave the vicinity immediately after the shots were heard. One of the machines bore a Pennsylvania license plate. One man was seen runing [sic] west on Walnut street and was picked up by one of the cars after he had traversed about a block. A short time later a stranger appeared at the hospital with O’Connor.
Delivers the Victim
“Take this man and fix him up,” the stranger told attendants. “I’m going and don’t try to stop me.”
Hospital attaches claim the stranger was a tall, thin man, apparently young. He wore a tan overcoat and light cap. When he left the hospital he entered an expensive sedan and was driven away by a second man who had remained at the wheel.
Police scouted the theory that O’Connor may have been slain by friends of Doris, seeking revenge.
Detective Sylvester McGrath asked O’Connor if the shooting had been done by any of Doris’ friends to which O’Connor replied:
“I didn’t squeal on Doris. I never said he shot me.”
Was Known to Police
O’Connor was the brother-in-law of Albert Saunders, who was recently acquitted on a charge of murdering Angelo Solury, a U. S. sailor, at the “Little Club,” a South Camden speakeasy, last June. O’Connor was in court during the first day of the trial.
“I don’t know if O’Connor was a racketeer,” said Detective Captain John Golden, “however, I do know that he didn’t work, so he must have lived by his wits.”
O’Connor had been arrested twice previous to being shot by Doris. He was arrested in Gloucester on a disorderly conduct charge, and in 1924 he was arrested on a grand larceny charge but acquitted.
O’Connor’s wife, Louise, his parents and a brother, Raymond, were at his bedside when he died.
Patrolman Russell Young who was on guard at the bedside said O’Connor was unconscious for an hour before death.
JOSEPH O’CONNOR
South Camden man died in hospital without violating gangland code of silence, and refused to tell who showered him with bullets on November 13.
Joseph O’Connor
Camden Morning Post —
JOSEPH O’CONNOR
Funeral services will be held tomorrow for Joseph O’Connor, Camden gangster who died Tuesday in West Jersey Homeopathic Hospital, after being shot in the hip by an unidentified gunman two weeks ago.
Services will take place at the home of his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Michael J. O’Connor, 135 North Broadway, Gloucester. Burial will be in New St. Mary’s Cemetery.
O’Connor is also survived by his widow, Louise, and a brother, Raymond.
Doris Brothers’ Pal Is Given Six Months
Camden Courier-Post —
James Trainer Jailed on Charge of Loitering With Intent to Steal
Found guilty of “loitering with intent to steal,” James Trainer, 31, was sentenced to six months in the county jail by Police Judge Garfield Pancoast today. Trainer pleaded not guilty and gave as his address the home of the Doris’ brothers mother [sic], Mrs. Emma McGovern, 132 York street.
Trainer had just left an automobile and started to enter the McGovern home at 3 a. m. yesterday when District Detectives Walter Smith and Alfred Shire arrested him on suspicion.
Mrs. McGovern said Trainer was a friend of her late sons, John and Frank Doris, both underworld figures, and that he occasionally had spent the night at her home. Trainer declared he had been living in the McGovern home for a year.
Frank Doris was one of the four Olney bandits executed several years ago. John Doris was mysteriously stabbed to death in state prison while serving a sentence for wounding Joey O’Connors [sic], man-about-town.
Trainer’s record, produced in police court today, showed 17 arrests and three convictions from 1917 to 1930. It showed that he had served sentences of three years, one year and 30 days. He was shown to have been arrested for larceny, robbery, breaking and entering, and as a suspicious character.
Connors Refuses to Name Assailant in Shooting at Club
Camden Courier-Post —
Fails to Identify Doris, Held on Atempted [sic] Murder Charge, After Brawl Over Girl
VICTIM LEAVES HOSPITAL
Clinging to gangland tradition, Joseph Connors, 28, Gloucester, yesterday refused to tell who attempted to murder him at 6 a. m. April 28.
Connors was discharged from West Jersey Homeopathic Hospital yesterday, a shadow of his former self. He was taken to police headquarters and later arraigned before Police Judge Pancoast, who held him without bail.
After the hearing, Connors was quizzed by Assistant Prosecutor Palese and county detectives. He was brought face to face with John Doris, who, witnesses say, wounded him in a brawl over a girl on Broadway near Kaighn avenue.
Fails to Identify Doris
“I cannot identify him as the man who shot me,” was his laconic reply to a question from Palese.
Still suffering from bullet wounds through the lungs, abdomen and hand, he sat pale and seemingly disinterested as the detectives tried to get him to talk.
Prosecutor Galdwin [sic] ordered him held in $1500 bail as a material witness. He furnished bond and was permitted to go home.
Brother of Olney Bandit
Doris, who was a brother of the late Frank Doris, one of the four Olney bank bandits who went to the electric chair for killing a Philadelphia policeman, is also unuder [sic] indictment for the murder of Joseph (Mose) Flannery, who was shot in front of a saloon near Front street and Kaighn avenue last September.
About a dozen witnesses are either in jail or out on bail. According to the investigators, several have identified Doris as the man who shot Connors in a quarrel over a girl losing $4 while attending a party. She is Mrs. Rose Gibbs, 18, of 411 Henry street. She said she went home before the shooting and found the missing money.
Precautions Taken to Prevent Outbreak by Gangdom Friends
Camden Courier-Post —
Spectators to Be Barred at Hearing Thursday; Gunman Denounced by Justice
JUDGE DENIES FREEDOM
Precautions are being taken by Prosecutor Clifford A. Baldwin to prevent any gangster demonstration Thursday when John Doris, alleged racketeer, goes on trial in Criminal Court on a charge of shooting Joseph Connors, 28, Gloucester, April 28 near Broadway and Kaighn avenue.
The prosecutor said no one will be admitted to the court room without first showing a subpena unless they are court officials, attorneys or newspapermen. He said the court room will be guarded heavily during the trial.
“We are not going to take any chances on Doris,” Baldwin said. “We do not know that Philadelphia gangsters will attempt anything here, but are going to be on guard.”
Doris recently was brought before Supreme Court Justice Lloyd by two constables but not handcuffed. Justice Lloyd branded Doris as a desperate character and ordered him taken from his presence until he could be handcuffed. At that time Doris asked for release on a writ of habeas corpus but the court refused.
The gangster also has been indicted in connection with the murder of Joseph (Mose) Flannery last Fall at Front street and Kaighn avenue. This indictment was disclosed after his arrest in the Connors’ case.
He will go on trial Thursday on a charge of atrocious assault and battery with intent to kill Connors. Connors was in West Jersey Homeopathic Hospital several weeks. When he was released he refused to identify Doris as his assailant. It is alleged the two quarreled over a woman.
Doris is a brother of Frank Doris, one of four bandits executed for the murder of a policeman in the Olney Bank robbery in Philadelphia two years ago. Doris has been living at Front and York streets since the murder of Flannery.