Introduction
Portrait photograph of John Doris, Camden racketeer, associated with the gang shooting at Second and Kaighn avenue, April 1929.
JOHN DORIS was born in Pennsylvania around 1906 to Joseph Doris Sr. and his wife Mary. 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 1927. The gang went to their deaths refusing to give up the name of the man who escaped. John Doris, who 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 aka Joseph Connors. John Doris 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.
John Doris 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.
Shooting May End in Murder Charge
Trenton Evening Times —
(United Press)
CAMDEN, N. J., April 29.—John Doris, 24, was held today on the charge of shooting John O’Connor, 28, of Gloucester City.
If O’Connor dies, the Prosecutor said Doris would be charged with murder. Doris’ brother, Frank, was executed several years ago for complicity in a murder committed during the Olney bank robbery.
Police said the shooting occurred during an argument over a woman and a $4 liquor bill.
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.
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.
Gang War Figure
Camden Courier-Post —
Gang War Figure
Action Delayed in Gang Shooting
Camden Courier-Post —
Shooting Witness
MRS. ROSE GIBBS
Who is held as material witness in shooting of Joseph Connors Sunday night near Broadway and Kaighn avenue.
Indictment of Doris in Flannery Murder Revealed After Arrest
Assistant Prosecutor Rocco Palese was prepared last night to go to the bottom of all charges against John Doris, brother of an executed Philadelphia bandit murderer, in an effort to determine whether to press for his immediate trial on indictments accusing him of the killing of Joseph (Mose) Flannery, or to seek other indictments first on charges of shooting Joseph Connors, at 6 a. m. Sunday.
The condition of Connors, a reputed Gloucester racketeer, remained the same last night in West Jersey Homeopathic Hospital, where doctors said the crisis was not yet passed. He has bullet wounds in the lung, abdomen and the hand, physicians saying it was too soon to predict whether he had a chance for recovery.
Doris Arraigned
Doris was arraigned before Police Judge Pancoast yesterday charged with shooting Connors near Broadway and Kaighn avenue, after a brawl which took them into two resorts and finally ended on the street outside. The judge held him for grand jury action on that charge, and was about to close the case when City Detective J. Wesley McGrath took the stand and revealed that Doris was wanted in the mysterious murder of “Mose” Flannery, Camden racketeer, seven months ago at Front street and Kaighn avenue. Pancoast promptly denied him bail.
Records at the prosecutor’s office disclosed Doris was indicted secretly by the grand jury two days after the killing of Flannery, September 20, 1928. The indictment was kept secret when it was learned Doris had disappeared and Judge Shay automatically ordered the indictment impounded against a fugitive.
Palese Studies Case
The Flannery case was placed before the grand jury by former Assistant Prosecutor Samuel P. Orlando, who left his notes with the indictment in the office when he relinquished his post to Palese.
“I will study the case tomorrow,” Palese said last night. “Until I do, and can learn the strength of the old case against Doris in the Flannery murder, I can’t say which charge I might take before a jury, provided, of course, that we can get an indictment in the Connors case against the youth.”
Connors, who is 28, lives at 135 North Broadway, Gloucester. He has been arrested twice, once in Gloucester for disorderly conduct in 1924, and later on a grand larceny charge, on which he was acquitted.
Doris is a brother of the late Frankie Doris, who with three other youths went to the electric chair for the murder of a policeman in the famous Olney Bank robbery in Philadelphia. The man held here was tried and acquitted of another murder charge in Philadelphia, at which time the trial judge predicted that he, too, would die in the chair.
A detainer warrant asking that Doris be held for the Philadelphia police was received by Chief County Detective Lawrence T. Doran, in the afternoon. According to the detainer, Doris is wanted in “the State of Pennsylvania” on charges of being a fugitive from justice; carrying concealed deadly weapons, and attempting to kill. No amplification of the charges is made in the warrant which was turned over to Warden Edward Powell of the county jail.
Doris pleaded not guilty to charges of atrocious assault and battery with intent to kill and carrying a concealed deadly weapon, before he was held for the grand jury.
A few minutes before Doris was arraigned yesterday, Mrs. Rose Gibbs, 18, of 411 Henry street, was arraigned as a material witness in the shooting. She repeated the story that she told detectives, in which she said Connors accused Doris of stealing her pocketbook, and an argument ensued. She was held in $500 bail as a material witness.
It was revealed that 12 men were arraigned before Judge Pancoast at a special hearing on Sunday and held as material witnesses in the shooting. Included among these were Connors’ brother and Russell Sage, who was also held as a material witness in two other Camden gang shootings, one of which was the Flannery case.
Mrs. Gibbs declared that she, Connors and Eli Conaghy, 28, of 814 South Sixth st., were at a party in the 2200 block on Broadway, and went to the Nonpareil Club, Second street and Kaighn avenue. There they met Doris and Sage. Mrs. Gibbs said she suddenly missed her pocketbook, which contained $4, and she told Connors, who accused Doris of taking it. An altercation between the two men started, and all five left the club. Mrs. Gibbs said she parted from the men outside. The men went into a restaurant, came out later, and the shooting followed.
Doris has a long criminal record, though but two minor convictions rest against him. Police dockets show him arrested as follows: January 7, 1925, arrested tried and acquitted in the murder of Joseph Rika, Philadelphia; December 12, 1925, arrested for larceny of automobile, dismissed; August 23, 1926, arrested for gambling, fined $13.50; September 11, 1926, gambling on the highway, dismissed; January 9, 1927, arrested as suspicious character, dismissed; April 9, 1927, arrested for disorderly conduct, sentenced to ten days; February 26, 1928, arrested for carrying concealed deadly weapon, and aggravated assault and battery, and was found not guilty; February 26, 1929, arrested and found not guilty of assault and battery and carrying a weapon.
Connors was arrested but twice, as far as police can learn. Once he was arrested in Gloucester on a disorderly conduct charge, while in 1924, he was tried on a charge of grand larceny, and was acquitted.
Sage was held as a material witness in the fatal shooting of Joseph Gannon, Philadelphia, in the Sixth Ward Republican Club, for which Joseph “Polack Joe” Devon received a state prison sentence, and in the murder of Flannery. He was arrested June 3, 1919, on a charge of larceny of a car on complaint of Margaret Chapman, 410 Federal street.
Doris Indictment Studied by Police
Camden Courier-Post —
Begins Probe of Flannery Case Records; May Press Connors Charge First
Assistant Prosecutor Rocco Palese yesterday began to prepare his office to take John Doris to a quick trial for the murder of Joseph “Mose” Flannery.
Although uncertain whether to try Doris immediately on the Flannery murder indictment, or to seek an indictment first on charges of shooting Joseph Connors, alleged Gloucester racketeer, at Broadway and Kaighn avenue early Sunday, Palese decided to learn the full strength of the old case against Doris. Connors, 28, appeared on the road to recovery last night, doctors in West Jersey Homeopathic Hospital said.
The Flannery indictment, handed up by the grand jury two days after the killing last September 18, reached Palese from the former regime in the prosecutor’s office. He filed a detainer against Doris as soon as he received a certified copy of the old indictment yesterday. Doris, brother of one of the four executed Olney Bank bandits, is in jail on the Connors charges.
To be certain he would be prepared for either case, Palese also questioned several witnesses who had appeared before the grand jury on the Flannery case. He also said the present grand jury might reopen the Flannery case.
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.
John Doris, Fugitive
Camden Courier-Post —
Supreme Court Justice Lloyd is to be congratulated upon his firm and unequivocal handling of the bail application of John Doris, who has been indicted for the murder of Joseph Flannery.
Not only did he refuse the application, but he made plain that no mollycoddling of gangsters or gangster suspects will be tolerated. And to emphasize his point, he rebuked two constables for not handcuffing Doris as a “desperate character.”
John Doris’ police record, a sizeable one, was given in full in these columns some months ago.
But what is one to think when it is revealed that Doris, while technically a fugitive from justice, made virtually no effort to elude Camden police.
Wanted for murder, Doris did not flee to the coast. He did not make for Canada or Mexico. He didn’t even go into hiding.
Wanted for murder, Doris stayed right in Camden, where he was indicted.
A “desperate character” roaming at large among law-abiding citizens. An admitted gangster, he did pretty much what he choose. And when he was arrested, he was arrested on another case.
Just what view will the man on the street take of this case?
Did our county detectives and city police lack means for identifying Doris?
Were they waiting for a formal letter of introduction?
Or weren’t they interested?
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.
Jailed 10 Years
Camden Courier-Post —
JOHN DORIS
Philadelphia gangster who was sentenced yesterday to 10 years in state prison after his conviction on charges growing out of the shooting of Joseph Connors last April.
Woman Missing as Doris Trial Is Opened Here
Camden Courier-Post —
WOMAN MISSING AS DORIS TRIAL IS OPENED HERE
Key Witness in Cafe Shooting Fails to Appear; Jury Selected
ONLY THREE ARE MEN; PRISONER PICKS THEM
Police on Guard to Block Any Attempt to Free Gangster
A key witness in the shooting of Joseph Connors, of Gloucester, by John Doris, Philadelphia gangster, Mrs. Rose Gibbs, 18, of 411 Henry street, failed to answer her name when called during the trial of Doris today in Criminal Court.
Mrs. Gibbs had been held in $500 bail as a material witness. Her bondsman, Abraham Lutz, was ordered by Judge Shay to produce her this afternoon in lieu of forfeiture of bail.
It was Mrs. Gibbs, according to police, who recounted details of an argument between Connors and Doris, after her pocketbook was missing, while the three and Eli Conaghy, 28, of 818 South Sixth street, were at a party in the 2200 Block on Broadway on the morning of April 28 when Connors was wounded.
The trial of Doris opened shortly before noon before Judge Shay and a jury comprised of nine women and three men whom Doris had virtually selected single-handed.
Doctor Is Called
Doris is charged with atrocious assault and battery with intent to kill Connors, and also is charged with carrying concealed deadly weapons, to wit, a loaded revolver.
The first witness called by Assistant Prosecutor Rocco Palese, representing the state, was Dr. Ralph Warwick, an interns in West Jersey Homeopathic Hospital. Walter S. Keown and William King are representing Doris.
Dr. Warwick testified Connors was admitted to the hospital, suffering from bullet wounds, at 7.45 a. m., April 28, and was discharged on May 15.
Patrolman Joseph Lenhardt testified he heard a disturbance and saw a man trying to break into the Nonpareil Club, Second street and Kaighn avenue, the morning of the shooting. The man was bleeding from the head, and there was blood on his coat and shirt, Lenhardt said.
John B. Toland, 1043 Haddon avenue, caretaker of the club, said he was awakened and recognized Doris as the man trying to enter the place. He said Doris threatened him when warned to leave.
Dr. Warwick testified Connors was admitted to the hospital, suffering from bullet wounds, at 7.45 a. m., April 28, and was discharged on May 15.
Patrolman Joseph Lenhardt testified he heard a disturbance and saw a man trying to break into the Nonpareil Club, Second street and Kaighn avenue, the morning of the shooting. The man was bleeding from the head, and there was blood on his coat and shirt, Lenhardt said.
John B. Toland, 1043 Haddon avenue, caretaker of the club, said he was awakened and recognized Doris as the man trying to enter the place. He said Doris threatened him when warned to leave.
(Continued on Page Three)
Woman is Missing at Trial of Doris
(Continued from Page One)
Conaghy was the next witness. He told of entering a restaurant at Broadway and Kaighn avenue with Connors and Mrs. Gibbs. When he started to tell a different story than that which was revealed to the prosecutor’s office in a statement, Palese announced that the witness had “turned hostile to the state.” Palese quickly excused Conaghy and called Mrs. Gibbs.
There was no answer. It was at this point Judge Shay ordered the girl’s bondsman to have her in court not later than 1.30 p. m.
How Doris attempted to board a bus for Pitman after the shooting and how he was prevented by Russell Sage, a friend of Doris, was described by William Jones, of Barnesboro, driver for an independent bus line between Philadelphia and Pitman.
Court recessed at 12.30 for lunch.
Mrs. Lillie R. Kelton, a clerk, of 405 State street, Camden is foreman of the jury, selection of which took almost an hour, with Doris questioning each of the 29 veniremen called.
The spectators’ gallery was bare, however, more than a score of lawyers and law students were seated in the courtroom.
Besides Mrs. Kelton, the jury is composed of:—Bessie Kunitz, housewife, 926 Fern street; William Wescott, painter, 628 Walnut street; Bernice Branch, clerk, 722 Mt. Vernon street; Mrs. F. L. Barber, housewife, 204 Maple avenue, Merchantville; David Rolle, retired, 1047 North Twentieth street; Abbie Lewis, housewife, 119 North Thirty-sixth street; Mary Heake, housewife, 105 Kingston avenue, Barrington; Stella McGowan, housewife, 780 Walnut street; Catharine LeSage, housewife, Haddonfield; Michael Carrigan, Laurel Springs; Alva P. Joseph, 327 Harvard avenue, Collingswood.
Before the trial began, the jury was used to settle a “friendly” damage suit. After being out of the room 15 minutes, the jury returned and the Doris trial was opened, with Palese making his opening argument.
Palese outlined the shooting of Connors by Doris near Broadway and Kaighn avenue. It was the shooting that led the April grand jury into the investigation of vice and crime in Camden county.
John Doris is a brother of Frankie Doris, who participated in the Olney Bank robbery in Philadelphia nearly two years ago and in which a policeman was killed. Frankie Doris was electrocuted in the penitentiary at Bellfonte, Pa.
Several days ago Assistant Prosecutor Palese received a tip that a number of Philadelphia gangsters were coming to Camden to hear the trial. Prosecutor Baldwin then announced that during the trial only newspapermen and witnesses would be allowed in the courtroom.
Doris also is under indictment charged with the murder of “Mose” Flannery, in a saloon at Second and Kaighn avenue one year ago. While police searched the eastern United States for him in connection with the Flannery murder Doris was living with his mother at Second and State streets. When he was arrested in the Connors shooting he was recognized as the man long wanted in the Flannery murder.
On the night of the Connors shooting Doris and Russel Sage, his companion, were drinking in a night club at Second and Kaighn avenue. An argument started and Connors left and went to a restaurant on Kaighn avenue, east of Broadway.
The men met again there and a fight started. Doris is alleged to have drawn a revolver, chased Connors from the restaurant to the street and fired several shots. He was captured several hours later.
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.
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.
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
The world that knew John Doris paid him final tribute today.
The funeral of the Philadelphia and Camden gangster, who was murdered by a fellow convict while serving a 10-year term in the State prison at Trenton, was held this morning from his home at 132 York street. High Requiem Mass was held in the Church of the Holy Name, Fifth and Vine streets. Interment was in Holy Cross Cemetery in Philadelphia.
A crowd of men and youths gathered at the Doris home last night and this morning. Silently they filed from the house into 15 funeral cars to begin the journey to the cemetery.
Two automobiles filled with flowers from his friends preceded the hearse. Doris’ casket was a very expensive one.
With the exception of members of his family, nearly all the mourners were men. All of the cars in the funeral procession bore Pennsylvania license tags.
Doris died in the State Prison Hospital after one of his fellow convicts in Wing No. 2 had driven a 12-inch blade of a butcher knife, stolen from the prison kitchen, into his abdomen. Doris lived 28 hours. He lived up to the code of gangland by refusing to be a “mouth-organ” and tell who stabbed him.
Five men have been put in solitary confinement in the prison in an effort to make them tell who killed Doris. So far none of the convicts has made any statement.
Last night more than 2000 persons passed Doris’ bier in the York street home. More than 450 automobiles were parked on the streets near the home, and nearly all bore Pennsylvania license tags. One car had a Louisiana license.
Early in the evening the curious were admitted freely into the little parlor and were greeted by the dead gangster’s mother. Later when the crowd became enormous, only the friends of the slain gangster were admitted.
The parlor was filled with floral tributes which bore such titles as “My Pal,” “My Buddy” and “Our Pal.”
A half-dozen policemen in plain clothes were detailed to the house to prevent disorder.
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.
Camden Morning Post — November 26, 1930
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.
Camden Morning Post — November 28, 1930
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.