Robert Ashenfelter
Robert Patterson Ashenfelter
ROBERT PATTERSON ASHENFELTER was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on March 13, 1884 to Reuben Ashenfelter and his wife, the former Amelia Hipple. The family was still in Philadelphia when the 1900 Census was taken, at 3103 Cambria Avenue.
He was still living in Philadelphia in 1910, and a newlywed at the time of the 1910 Census. He and then-wife Mabel were living at 215 South Millick Street.
After serving in the United States Army as a Second Lieutenant in the Ordnance Department, Robert P. Ashenfelter came to Camden and was appointed the Camden Police Department sometime after 1924. He was living at 800 Market Street when the 1927 City Directory was compiled. The 1929 Camden City census shows him as working as a Camden Police officer, but living at 119 Manheim Avenue in Oaklyn NJ with his wife of nine years, Alberta, son Joseph, 8, and his father Rubin Ashenfelter, 78 and still working, as a shoe salesman. He was still in Oaklyn in April of 1930.
Robert Ashenfelter was promoted by 1931 to detective. During that year he broke up a store robbery in Cramer Hill. In the exchange of gunfire Detective Ashenfelter was wounded, and his assailant, Charles Rettberg, was slain.
Robert Ashenfelter recovered and continued to serve as a detective on the Camden Police force throughout the 1930s and 1940s. His draft card reveals that by 1942 he had moved to 307 Morse Street in East Camden. The 1947 Camden City Directory shows him still residing with his wife Alberta at 307 Morse Street.
Robert Ashenfelter passed away on June 13, 1952 and was buried at Locustwood Cemetery in Delaware Township (present-day Cherry Hill), New Jersey. By 1956 the Ashenfelters had all left Camden. Last a resident of West Berlin, New Jersey, Alberta Ashenfelter joined her husband in March of 1968. Son Joseph resided in Berlin until his passing in 1995.
Not checked against a scan. The following items on this page are transcribed from site copies or printed books whose scans are not in the scan mirror, or are captions for photographs with no printed text; their wording has not been verified against the printed page:
- Jobless Son Kills Jake Schiller Who Saves Boy's Wife From Gun — Camden Evening Courier — September 18, 1933 (story body is a site copy; only the portrait strip is scanned)
Locals Bow to Warders by 4 to 1 Before 4,000 Fans at King’s Park; Deciding Game to Be Played There
Trenton Times —
Homer by Weygand and Single with Bases Full by Loeble Are Damaging Blows in Upset of Firemen—Trentonians Given Superb Reception
Playing before a crowd estimated at close to 4,000 people at the spacious King’s Park diamond in Camden last night, Standard Fire bowed to the Twelfth Ward Republican Club, of the Camden Twilight League, by a score of 4 to 1. Followers of the “Warders” jammed every nook and cranny of both seating and standing space available to see the champions of Trenton’s City League go down to defeat before the Skeeter nine managed by Bill Langdon.
As Standard won the first game of the series, played last Tuesday night at Trenton, last night’s triumph for the undefeated pace-setters in the Reesman loop evened the intercity championship play with one win apiece. Ed Sutton, pilot of the Standard Fire ship, announced shortly after the contest last night that the third and deciding tilt of the series will be played on Thursday, August 22, at the same place as last night’s affair, King’s Park, Camden.
A home run by Pete Weygand, husky Camden right fielder, that sailed over Al Harrison’s head in centre field and a single by Third Baseman Loeble with the bases full gave the Skeeters all their runs. Trenton’s representatives tallied their lone count when Bennie Wood singled, went to third on the centre fielder’s error and scored on one of Gene Beckner’s three singles of the day.
Hits were plenty in this contest but scoring was rare. Of the eight innings played and the 18 hits made, on only three occasions were more than one hit made in a half inning. On no less than ten times at bat did the team hitting connect for one hit and then fail to advance the runner or have him caught on base with two out. The game was just that hard fought.
One of the most elegant receptions was given the Trenton team. On the way down the Firemen’s bus was met at the city limits by three members of the Camden police, Earl Stopfer, Bill Moll and Robert Ashenfelter, who guided the vehicle to the scene of action. After the game the locals were given free access to the “Y” swimming pool and then were escorted out of the city by Earl Stopfer. The Lyric Band, of Camden, rendered excellent music at the game.
Commissioner Clay Reesman, after whom the Camden Twilight League gets its name, threw out the first ball; and the commissioner seemed a trifle wild, Catcher Albrecht just about snaring the pellet on the official’s high heave.
Jimmy Haines, whom the Camden fans were waiting to see because of his reputation for fly-chasing, made a dramatic entrance. James missed the bus, but rode down with a friend. Arriving rather late he just had time to appear in diamond attire in time to face the Camden pitcher, Werking. In fact, the umpire had already yelled “Play ball” before James appeared on the field.
No score was made until the fourth inning when Weygand, with two out, hit a terrific drive over Al Harrison’s head. The former Pennington Road star raced after the ball and secured it, but it traveled so far that there was no chance of stopping the runner.
Just previous to Weygand’s clout Jimmy Haines—“Lightning” as the Camden scribes call him—made one of his sensational catches off the bat of Al Bearint.
Standard Fire evened the count in the sixth only to have the Warders forge ahead in their half. With two out, Boots Snyder fumbled Dannenhower’s grounder after Bearint had singled. Weygand singled to centre, and the bases were full. Loeble then came through with a hard enough hit single to score all three runners.
Bill Werking, better known as “Inky,” was on the mound for the Camdenites again and did an excellent job of it. In addition to holding the Trenton sluggers to one run he struck out eight. Joey Renyo, who twirled for Standard Fire, deserves lots of credit for his effort. He allowed only one earned run, and it was not his fault that his comrades did not give him some kind of a lead to work on.
From a Trenton standpoint Gene Beckner was easily the hitting star of the game, getting three singles. Weygand’s two blows, a homer and a single, however, had a much more telling effect.
| Standard Fire | ab | r | h | o | a | Twelfth Ward | ab | r | h | o | a |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Haines, lf | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | J. Snyder, ss | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Harrison, cf | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | Reeves, 2b | 4 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 |
| Wood, 2b | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | W’rshing, cf | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Beckner, 3b | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | Bearint, lf | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Lewis, c | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | Dan’h’wr, 1b | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| G. Snyder, ss | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | Weygand, rf | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Happ, rf | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Loeble, 3b | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Scully, 1b | 2 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 1 | Albrecht, c | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| Renyo, p | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | Werking, p | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 30 | 1 | 8 | 21 | 14 | Totals | 29 | 4 | 8 | 24 | 11 |
Standard Fire ........... 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0—1 Twelfth Ward ........... 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 x—4
Errors: G. Snyder, 2; Wearshing. Home run: Weygand. Sacrifice: J. Snyder. Double play: J. Snyder to Reeves to Donnenhower. Base on balls—off: Werking, 1. Struck out by: Werking, 8; Renyo, 2. Passed balls: Albrecht. Winning pitcher: Werking. Losing pitcher: Renyo. Umpires: Westcott and Irvine.
Bandit Gun Found
Camden Courier-Post —
Sawed-Off Weapon Discovered by Workman on Sewer at Second and Federal Streets
A double-barreled sawed-off shotgun, loaded with two shells, was found in a sewer at Second and Federal streets today.
The weapon was dug out of the thick mud in the bottom of the drain by a highway department worker who had been cleaning the sewer.
It was turned over to Detective Robert Ashenfelter, who attempted to identify it as one of several guns stolen several months ago from the William Stein hardware store, 313 Federal street.
Ashenfelter also expressed a belief the weapon may have been one used by bandits who held up the saloon of Freeholder Leonard Brehm at Front street and Kaighn avenue. He bases his opinion on the fact the thugs after the robbery had been chased north on Second street and lost near Federal.
Boy Suspects Caught in Running Gun Fight
Camden Courier-Post —
Arrested after a chase during which shots were fired at them, two boys, who already have criminal records, according to police, were released last night in $[?]000 bail each.
The youths are Merritt Hall, 17, of [?]14 Ray street and Phillip Schatz, 19, of 214 Arch street. Both are charged with attempted larceny of an automobile and an additional charge of carrying concealed deadly weapons was lodged against Schatz.
Hurlock, a detective, and Ashenfelder [sic], a policeman, saw the boys trying to start a car parked on Cooper street near Fifth. The boys fled amid a volley of shots, but were not captured until several hours later by Beutler and Roger, policemen who recognized the two from description.
Schatz, police say, threw a pistol into the gutter while police pursued him. Both boys are believed responsible for thefts of a number of cars in the vicinity of Cooper street.
Jamesburg Boys Caught at Camden
Trenton Times —
CAMDEN, N. J., Aug. 6 (AP)—After escaping from the New Jersey State Reformatory at Jamesburg, two boys were captured today by police through an anonymous telephone call. They are Anthony Kosho, 16, of Mansville, and Herbert Alloway, 17, of Berlin.
Detective Robert Ashenfelter, arriving at a house on Cedar Street near Tenth in response to the call, heard a shuffling and saw the boys attempting to escape by a rear door, carrying their shoes. He said one of them threw a chair in his path but both surrendered when he threatened to shoot. They had escaped last night.
Camden Burglar Slain; Cop Wounded in Gun Duel
Camden Courier-Post —
TWO SUSPECTS HELD IN FATAL FIGHT AT STORE
Detective Robert Ashenfelter in Serious Condition at Hospital
NO WARNING IS GIVEN AS SLEUTH IS FELLED
‘Tip’ on Robbery at Thirty-Second and Pierce Given By Telephone
Wounded Sleuth and Companion
—Courier-Post Photo
City Detective Robert Ashenfelter, wounded three times in a gun battle with a burglar suspect early this morning, is shown in his bed at the West Jersey Homeopathic Hospital, talking to Detective Benjamin Simon. The latter, who was two feet behind Ashenfelter when the latter was hit, is shown telling the wounded man that the burglar, Charles Rettberg, 21, was killed in the volley of machine gun and revolver shots. The shooting occurred at the rear of a chain store at Thirty-second street and Pierce avenue.
CHARLES RETTBERG
Twenty-one-year-old East Camden burglar who was shot to death during a gun duel with police early this morning. Trapped in a chain grocery store at Thirty-second street and Pierce avenue, Rettberg seriously wounded Detective Robert Ashenfelter. The latter emptied his pistol at Rettberg, while Policeman Frank Evans opened fire with a machine gun.
A burglar was shot and killed by policemen armed with a machine gun after he critically wounded a city detective during a gun duel in the rear of an East Camden store early this morning. The slain man was Charles Rettberg, 21, 1189 North Thirty-sixth street.
In grave condition at the West Jersey Homeopathic Hospital is City Detective Robert Ashenfelter, 39, of 119 Manheim avenue, Oaklyn. Ashenfelter, who is married, was shot three times, one bullet lodging over his heart, another in his right shoulder and another went through the right hand.
Two men are under arrest on suspicion of being Rettberg’s accomplices in the fatal attempt to rob the American Store on the southeast corner of Thirty-second street and Pierce avenue. They are Theodore Rettberg, 24, brother of the dead man, and a man who gave his name as Melvin James, 38, of Pottstown, Pa.
Theodore Rettberg was arrested at his home after the shooting when detectives found his clothing soaked by rain. James, who is believed to be a Camden man despite the address he gave, was found lying on the front step of the store prior to the shooting, ostensibly intoxicated. He was armed.
Police believe that James was feigning intoxication and actually was the lookout. Clothing worn by a third man seen running across a vacant lot immediately after the shooting tallied with that found in Theodore Rettberg’s room, according to the police.
A truck said by the police to be owned by Theodore Rettberg was found parked within half a block from the store.
Both James and Theodore Rettberg denied any implication in the attempted robbery, although they were subjected to questioning for several hours by Captain John Golden, of the city detectives, and Chief Lawrence T. Doran, of the county detectives.
Police was unable to determine how many times Charles Rettberg had been shot, or who had killed him. Detective Ashenfelter emptied his revolver at the trapped men, while Policeman Frank Evans manned the machine gun.
The fatality occurred at about 3.1[?] a. m. Desk Sergeant Gus Koerner received an anonymous telephone call at police headquarters shortly after 3 a. m. The caller declared that burglars were breaking into the American Store at “Thirty-second Bergen avenue.”
“You meaned Thirty-second and Pierce?” quizzed Koerner.
The caller mumbled something and hung up without giving his name. His mistake in the address — Thirty-second street and Bergen avenue run parallel to each other—led police to believe the caller was a stranger in that section of the city, if not in the city itself.
Koerner dispatched Policemen Evans and Charles Wainwright to the scene in a bandit chaser, which is equipped with a portable machine gun. Koerner also notified the detective bureau, and Ashenfelter and Benjamin Simon started out in another car. A third call was made to the Third district police station by Koerner, and the patrol crew, Joseph Shreeves and Elwood Humphreys, hastened to the store.
Evans and Wainwright arrived first, parking their car when they saw James sprawled on the front step. They questioned him, but he talked incoherently. Ashenfelter and Simon arrived in their car. Believing James was a lookout and that the burglar or burglars might still be in the place, the two detectives ran toward the rear to cut off escape from that exit.
Ashenfelter was about two feet ahead of Simon. With his gun in hand, Ashenfelter reached the rear of the building and started to turn the corner.
Burglar Opens Fire
Without warning a shot rang out from the interior of the shed at the rear. The bullet struck Ashenfelter in the right hand, tearing the butt off his revolver and then entering his chest. The revolver dropped from his hand.
Ashenfelter sank to his knees, crying, “They got me!” Nevertheless, he grasped his revolver in his uninjured left hand and emptied it into the shed, as four more bullets ripped through the door from the inside at the already wounded detective. One bullet struck Ashenfelter in the right shoulder, but the other three missed him.
Unable to reload, Ashenfelter drew himself to his feet and staggered out of line of fire. He fell into the arms of Simon, who pulled him out of danger.
Meanwhile Evans, hearing the shots, left Wainwright in front of the building with their prisoners, James. Seizing the machine gun, Evan’s [sic] ran to the rear. He pointed it at the door and shouted.
“Come out or I’ll shoot.”
There was no answer. Evans waited a moment, again shouted his warning, and then fired a burst from the machine gun. Seven bullets crashed through the door and wall of the shed.
The Third district patrol arrived and Ashenfelter was placed in it. He had attempted to rise three times, but on each occasion he slumped to the ground.
Hearing no sound from inside, police tore the door off its remaining hinge. They found Rettberg lying on the floor in a line with the door. He was dead. In his right hand was a 25-calibre pistol. All its cartridges had been discharged. Near his body also were a brace, bit and jimmy.
Policeman Wainwright then saw a man running east across the vacant lots in the rear of the store. Humphreys shouted to him to stop but when his command was not heeded, fired a shot at the fleeing figure. The fugitive disappeared on Bergen avenue, but not before Humphreys ascertained that he wore a yellow shirt.
Gun Found on Suspect
James was searched, and a .38-calibre revolver was found in his possession. He denied knowledge of the attempted robbery, and was taken to police headquarters.
A short time later, District Detectives Louis Schlam and Richard Donnelly, and Policemen Charles Johnson and Lewis Smith, all of the Third District, went to Rettberg’s home. There they found Theodore Rettberg clad only in underwear. He denied he had been at the store or with his brother, but the officers declared they found a bright yellow shirt and a pair of duck trousers in his room. The two articles of clothing were wet. As it had been raining at the time of the robbery, Theodore Rettberg was arrested on suspicion.
The manager of the store, Charles Schultz, 1618 Pierce avenue, stated it was the second time burglars had visited the establishment. About a month ago robbers stole $100 worth of goods, entering the place by forcing the shed door and then drilling a number of holes around the lock of the inner rear door.
This leads police to believe that Rettberg was implicated in the first robbery, as the same method of entrance was tried this morning. The thieves took off one hinge of the rear shed door and in that manner, opened that door this morning. Then the thieves attacked the door leading from the shed to the rear room of the store. A number of holes had been drilled around the bolt and a hole large enough to admit a man’s hand had been punched through the door.
However, Schultz had barricaded the inside door to prevent a second burglary. He had braced a heavy timber against the door, nailing the other end to the floor.
Hospital physicians at first feared that Ashenfelter had no chance for recovery. This forenoon, they said his condition had become fair, although it was too serious to permit them to remove the bullets.
The wounded detective was conscious this afternoon, and when Simon visited him, asked,
“Did they get him?”
“Yes, he’s dead,” Simon informed him.
“That makes me feel better,” sighed Ashenfelter. “That does me more good than medicine, and now I’ll get better quick. I’m glad they got him, for he tried to kill me and almost did.”
Where Burglar Was Killed and Cop Wounded
Here is the scene of this morning’s gun battle between a burglar suspect and police, as reconstructed by photographer and artist. The photo shows the rear of the American Store at Thirty-second street and Pierce avenue, in which Charles Rettberg was shot to death as he opened fire on police who trapped him. Rettberg is pictured lying in the shed, a small revolver, discharged, grasped in his hand. Outside the shed is the figure of City Detective Robert Ashenfelter, wounded three times. Detective Benjamin Simon is shown pulling Ashenfelter out of the line of fire, not knowing whether the trapped man was dead or alive.
Burglar Is Killed
Cleveland Plain Dealer —
Burglar Is Killed. CAMDEN, N. J., Aug. 24—(U.S.) Police, with a sub-machine gun, trapped two burglars in a grocery here today and killed one. Robert Ashenfelter, detective, was shot and is in critical condition. The second burglar escaped.
3 Men Quizzed in Gun Fight of Cops and Thief
Camden Courier-Post —
Detective Ashenfelter, Wounded in Battle, Improves
TWO CONFESSIONS IN THEFT REPORTED
Girl is Held by Police as Witness in East Camden Affray
While city and county authorities continued to question three alleged accomplices of the young robber who was fatally shot by police yesterday, City Detective Robert Ashenfelter was waging what apparently will be a successful fight for life today.
Shot over the heart, in the right shoulder and the hand, Ashenfelter’s life was at first despaired of by West Jersey Homeopathic Hospital physicians yesterday morning. However, his remarkable stamina and his expressed determination to “pull through” led physicians to state today that his condition is no longer critical, though he is not yet out of danger.
He was wounded by Charles Rettberg, 21, of 1189 North Thirty-sixth street, who died a few seconds later when a slug tore through his heart as he tried to shoot his way out of a shed in the rear of a chain grocery store at Thirty-second street and Pierce avenue at 3.15 a. m. yesterday. Another bullet struck the youth in the arm.
Whether Rettberg was killed when Ashenfelter emptied his gun into the shed after he was wounded, or when Policeman Frank Evans opened fire with a police sub-machine gun will be determined from the two bullets which struck the youth. The bullets were extracted at a post mortem held at the city morgue yesterday by County Physician Edward B. Rogers and Coroner Melvin Cain.
Meanwhile three men, one a brother of the dead man, are being held without bail on charges of atrocious assault and battery with intent to kill, and breaking and entering, while a young woman is being detained as a material witness. All four will be arraigned in police court tomorrow morning.
Under arrest are James Melbourne, who first gave his name as Melvin James, 38, of 820 Beideman avenue; Theodore Rettberg, 24, and Gordon L. McCrea, 20, of 820 Beideman avenue.
Melbourne is the alleged “lookout.” He and McCrea are from Pottstown, Pa., and have lived in East Camden only a short time.
According to Captain of Detectives John Golden, Melbourne and Theodore Rettberg confessed to their part in the robbery after questioning last night. They implicated McCrea, who steadfastly denies he had anything to do with it.
The girl detained is Miss Emmalinda Canilus, 22, who lives at the Rettberg home and who declares her only connection with the Rettbergs is that she is a close friend of Theodore Rettberg’s wife. Miss Canilus said she is a resident of Trenton and has lived in Camden only a short time, stopping at the Rettberg place until she might obtain employment.
Although he would not disclose the nature of her statement, Captain Golden said it was through Miss Canilus’ help that confessions were obtained from Melbourne and Rettberg. The girl is being held until questioned today by Prosecutor Baldwin.
The burglary was planned several hours before the accused were surprised by the police, according to Captain Golden. The four men talked over their plans while playing cards at the McCrea home, he said.
They reached the scene in a truck belonging to the Rettbergs. The truck was parked about 100 yards from the store and police believe the four men were planning to carry away much of the store stock. The truck was impounded.
All Work in East Camden
Captain Golden said all of the men are employed by an East Camden concern. The two who are alleged to have confessed place the blame for the affair on the shoulders of the slain robber.
He was the “brains,” they declare, and induced them to accompany him. They also declare he was the only one to fire on the police.
A revolver found on Melbourne was loaded with “dum-dum” bullets, Captain Golden said.
Chief of County Detectives Lawrence T. Doran co-operated with Capt. Golden in questioning the suspects last night.
The city detective head praised Ashenfelter for his fearlessness and also complimented District Detectives Louis Schlamm and Richard Donnelly and Detective Benjamin Simons, for the efficient manner in which they cleared up the entire case.
“There was nothing left to do, after Schlamm, Donnelly and Simons got through their work,” Golden said.
Held in East Camden Gun Battle
Camden Courier-Post —
Two of the three purported accomplices of the burglar slain by police yesterday, and the young woman whose statements helped to implicate them, are shown in the accompanying photographs. Above are James Melbourne, right, and Theodore Rettberg, left. The latter is a brother of Charles Rettberg, 1189 North Thirty-sixth street, shot in a gun battle yesterday with Detective Robert Ashenfelter, who was seriously wounded, and Policeman Frank Evans. Miss Emmalinda Canilus, a material witness, is shown at the right. Melbourne and Rettberg confessed to planning the robbery with the youth who was slain, the police say.
Alleged Pals of Slain Burglar
Camden Courier-Post —
Three alleged accomplices of Charles Rettberg, 21-year old East Camden burglar shot and killed by a detective, are shown during their police court hearing today. From left to right they are Gordon McCrae, Theodore Rettberg, a brother of the slain youth, and James Melbourne. All three were charged with atrocious assault and battery with intent to kill and breaking and entering, while Melbourne was additionally charged with carrying a gun. They were held without bail for the grand jury.
Bullet Upsets Theory Thief Shot Detective
Camden Courier-Post —
[Bu]llet Found in Ashenfelter Declared From Gun of Slain Burglar’s Pal
[O]PERATING SURGEON TAKES OPPOSITE VIEW
[W]ounded Cop ‘Got His Man’ With Left Hand, Police Reveal
[I]nvestigation of the attempted [rob]bery which ended with the [dea]th of a young burglar veered [off] on a new tangent today when [it w]as reported that City Detective [Rob]ert Ashenfelter may not have [bee]n wounded by the slain youth [but] by an accomplice.
[A] ballistic expert may have to be [calle]d in to examine the bullet which [was] removed from above the detective’s heart in a delicate operation at [the] West Jersey Homeopathic Hos[pital] yesterday afternoon. It was [offi]cially reported at the hospital [this] morning that the bullet was of […]alibre, whereas Charles Rettberg, [… ] North Thirty-sixth street, the [slain] burglar, had a .25-calibre Luger [auto]matic. However, Dr. H. Wesley [… ], who performed the operation, [sai]d that in his opinion the bullet [is a] smaller calibre than a .32, and [possi]bly is a .22 or .25.
Probe Ordered
[Bo]th County Detective Chief [Law]rence T. Doran and Captain of [Dete]ctives John Golden, stated that [they] would obtain determination of [the b]ullet’s calibre. It was pointed [out t]hat the bullet struck and sev[ered] the butt of Ashenfelter’s gun [befor]e it entered the detective’s [body], so that it might have flattened [b]efore hitting the sleuth. There [is al]so the possibility that the dead [ma]n’s revolver, empty when he was [foun]d dead, might have contained [dum-]dum bullets, which also were [use]d in the gun of an accomplice. [Dum-]dum bullets flatten out when [they] hit a target, making a much [large]r wound than the original size [of th]e bullet.
[Ca]ptain Golden also announced to-[day t]hat the shot which was fatal to
(Continued on Page Two)
Bullet Casts Doubt in Shooting of Cop
(Continued from Page One)
Rettberg when he was trapped robbing a chain store at Thirty-second street and Pierce avenue Monday was fired by Ashenfelter.
It was first thought that Policeman Frank Evans, who fired into the store with a machine gun after Ashenfelter fell wounded, had slain Rettberg. But Captain Golden said the calibre of the bullet taken from the dead youth’s heart proved to be 38, the size fired by Ashenfelter’s gun. The detective’s gun was shot from his hand, but, though wounded in the chest and shoulder, the game detective picked up the weapon with his uninjured left hand and emptied it at the shed from whence the robber bullets came.
Three Arraigned
Three alleged accomplices of the slain robber and a girl witness were arraigned before Judge Pancoast in police court this morning and held without bail for the grand jury. They are Theodore Rettberg, 24-year-old brother of the dead robber; Gordon McCrea, 20, of 820 Beideman avenue; James Melbourne, 38, of the Beideman avenue address, and Miss Emmalinda Canilus, 20, who lives at the Rettberg home.
Theodore Rettberg and Melbourne are alleged to have confessed to taking part in the attempted robbery; but McCrea has denied any connection with it. However, when stolen goods worth about $500 were found in his room yesterday, he confessed to three other robberies, implicating two men.
McCrea, Rettberg and Melbourne were arraigned first on charges of atrocious assault and battery with intent to kill. Rettberg pleaded not guilty, McCrea asserted that he had nothing to say, while Melbourne pleaded “guilty to what I confessed.” That was that he helped plan the robbery and acted as lookout. Then they were charged with breaking and entering, to which all three pleaded not guilty. Melbourne was further charged with carrying a concealed deadly weapon, as he had a 38-calibre revolver loaded with dum-dum bullets when nabbed. He pleaded guilty to that complaint. All of the complaints were signed by Detective Benjamin Simon, who was two feet behind Ashenfelter when the former was wounded.
Girl Hysterical
Miss Canilus was arraigned as a material witness. Judge Pancoast said he would have to hold her without bail but that the prosecutor’s office could fix bail for her release. After being taken back to her cell, the young woman became hysterical, attracting a crowd to the corridor outside the city jail cells. She repeatedly cried out:
“I have nothing to do with this. I told them all I know. Why are they keeping me here?”
McCrea and Melbourne are newcomers to this city, having recently moved here from Royersford, Pa. They boarded with Mrs. Anna Bowden, an aunt of McCrea’s, at 820 Beideman avenue. Mrs. Bowden was taken to city hall for questioning yesterday after the loot was found in her house but satisfied Chief Doran and Captain Golden, chief of the city detective force, that she knew nothing of the robberies.
The loot was located by District Detectives Louis Schlamm and Richard Donnelly and Detective Benjamin Simon. With Chief Doran and Captain Golden they moved the stolen merchandise to city hall.
Last night, McCrea admitted that some of the loot came from three robberies, but he said he knew nothing about the rest of the merchandise. He confessed to robbing the store of Jacob J. Friedman, 18 King street, Gloucester, on Aug. 13, of shoes, hats and other articles of clothing worth $123. Friedman identified some of the loot at headquarters today.
Tells of Tire Theft
McCrea also said he stole two tires from the S. M. Brothers on Crescent boulevard in Pennsauken, and five boxes of cigars and a sprinkler from a road stand owned by Ida Carver on Burlington pike in Burlington county.
He implicated two companions, giving the police the name of one and saying that the other was a close friend of the one he had named.
Chief of Police Jesse Neiman, of Royersford, Pa., identified McCrea and Melbourne yesterday as two youths wanted in Pennsylvania for questioning in several recent robberies there. He declared the two were “well known hoodlums who were always in trouble.” According to Chief Neiman a brother of McCrea’s is serving a long prison term in the Eastern Penitentiary for highway robbery.
Robbery Gang of 4 Given Long Terms
Camden Courier-Post —
Two Figured in Wounding of Cop and Slaying of Pal
Four members of the notorious North Cramer Hill gang, two of them participants in the robbery in which one bandit was killed after wounding a city detective, were sentenced to state prison terms by Judge Samuel M. Shay yesterday.
They were among more than a score of defendants who were arraigned in special session of Criminal Court for sentence. Among the others was Robert S. Ballentyne, 32, of 130 South Thirty-second Street, shipping clerk for Congoleum-Nairn. Inc., who pleaded non vult to embezzlement of $2985 from his employers and was sentenced to one year in the state penitentiary.
The Cramer Hill robbers and the sentences they received are:
David Allaband, 18, of 297 Sycamore Street, pleaded non vult to carrying concealed deadly weapons and participation in five robberies, six years.
Gordon McCrea, 20, of 820 Beideman Avenue, pleaded non vult to seven robberies, five years.
Melbourne James, 24, no home, pleaded non vult to carrying concealed deadly weapons and breaking and entering, five years.
Frank Tiedeman, 18, of 820 Beideman Avenue, pleaded non vult to four robberies and carrying concealed deadly weapons, five years.
McCrea and James admitted taking part in the attempted robbery of the American Store at Thirty-second and Pierce Avenue when Charles Rettberg, 21, was shot to death after he seriously wounded City Detective Robert Ashenfelter. Rettberg’s, brother, Theodore, was arrested and tried for implication in the attempted burglary, but was acquitted. One more alleged member, Thomas McCrea, who was arrested in his hideout at Towanda, Pa., last week, awaits trial. James was the only one who stood trial besides the exonerated Theodore Rettberg, but he changed his plea to non vult to the weapon and entry charges, receiving a directed verdict of acquittal on the charge of attacking Ashenfelter. Allaband was given the heaviest sentence because of a criminal record. He and Tiedeman took no part in the fatal “job.”
Ballentyne, who was arrested July 24, was sentenced to one year for embezzlement after his attorney made an impassioned plea for clemency stating that his client, who is married, has offered to make restitution.
James Miller, who would not reveal his address, pleaded guilty to breaking and entering the grocery store of Samuel Pearl, 1101 Cooper Street, on September 10. He was sentenced to three years.
Floyd Coates, of 3408 North Twenty-fifth street, Cleveland, was given a one-year’s sentence in state’s prison on a charge of deserting his wife, Edna, of 935 North Twentieth street, and two minor children, Robert, nine, and Floyd, Jr., six.
Tony Locantore, 20, of 314 Walnut Street, received a premature Christmas present from Judge Shay when he pleaded guilty to a charge of assaulting Jennie Balassia, 16, of 576 Walnut Street. He was sent to jail and Judge Shay instructed the sheriff to release him on Dec. 24.
Another Christmas present was handed out to Mrs. Mary Bieliniski, of 1041 Thurman Street, who was convicted of violating the child welfare act. The complaint was made by Mrs. Louise F. Walsh, secretary of the S. P. C. C., who charged that on Sept. 19 the woman became intoxicated and brutally beat her seven children and put them into the streets. The children range in ages from two to 14 years. When Mrs. Walsh visited the house, she said, Mrs. Bieliniski threw a lamp at her. She also will be released from the county jail on Dec. 24.
Given Suspended Sentence
Norman Buckingham, of Oaklyn, who pleaded guilty to the charge of breaking and entering the Puroil gasoline station, Bettlewood Avenue and White Horse Pike, Oaklyn, on September 18, was given a three-year suspended sentence when he told the court he had a position in Hawaii.
The court stated that sentence would be suspended on condition that the defendant leave Camden at once and not return. Two other defendants who received prison sentences were James Lynch, of 39 North Ohio Avenue, Atlantic City, and Edward Lynch, of 39 Atlantic Avenue, Collingswood. The complaint against the pair was made by Edwin Lovell, of 1836 South Seventh Street, who charged that on July 4 the Lynches attempted to flirt with Lovell’s wife while she was walking along Morgan Boulevard. When he remonstrated with them they beat him.
They were sentenced to two months in jail and the sentence was suspended and they were placed on one year’s probation.
William Moztioz, no home, pleaded guilty to carrying concealed weapons and received a suspended sentence of one year in state’s prison and was placed on probation. The defendant was arrested on June 22 at Sixth Street and Ferry Avenue on a disorderly conduct charge and a black-jack was found in his possession.
A 72-year-old man, grandfather to 16 children, pleaded guilty to attacking a 12-year-old girl. The man is John Bayer, of 1329 Princess Avenue. He was given a one-year suspended sentence and placed on probation.
Judge Disbelieves Story
Cornelius Crimmins, of 5725 Woodland Avenue, Philadelphia, a window decorator, was found guilty by Judge Shay of deserting his wife, Ella, of 817 South Sixth Street. Crimmins was sentenced to one year in prison but the sentence was suspended and an order of $7 a week placed against him. Mrs. Crimmins said she had not seen her husband since May 22, 1931, and that after an absence of six months, he returned home and left next morning. The husband declared that his wife told him to leave because she had a friend and wanted to be free. Judge Shay told him that he did not believe his story.
Charles C. Small, 154 Texas Avenue, Atlantic City, was found guilty of obtaining money under false pretense. He was sentenced to six months in jail. The complaint was made by Mrs. Agnes Hamm, of 530 Cooper Street. She stated that on August 14 while she was standing at Fifth and Cooper Street watching a golf game, Small approached her and told her he was a retired lawyer and that his father had died and left him $38,000. Mrs. Hamm asked him to bring suit against a prominent physician and he said he would take the case for $25 and quoted Small as saying, “All the Camden lawyers are in a click.”
Missing Girl Weds Bandit On Way to Pen
Camden Courier-Post —
Bridegroom Linked in Ashenfelter Case; Mother Faints
By ERNIE TALBOT
A prisoner in the Camden county jail awaiting removal today to state prison, married his sweetheart yesterday afternoon.
Last night the bride was reported as having been missing from her home in Westville Grove for two days.
The bride is Mary Lillie, 22, of Second and Cedar Avenues, Westville Grove, and her mother with the same name, was almost frantic when informed by a reporter from the Courier-Post of the marriage.
The bridegroom, Frank Tiedeman, 18, of 820 Beideman Avenue, was sentenced to five years in prison when he pleaded non vult to four robberies and carrying concealed deadly weapons, by Judge Samuel M. Shay last Monday.
Tiedeman was a member of the “North Cramer Hill gang,” two of whom participated in the robbery in which one bandit was killed after wounding City Detective Robert Ashenfelter.
The marriage was performed by Rev. Carlton R. Van Hook, of First M. E. Church, at the request of the prisoner.
Mary is a dressmaker. She is the sole support of her mother and two unemployed brothers. The family lives in meager circumstances. The bride’s weekly wage is their only provender.
Last night, it was learned the mother had heard from neighbors that her daughter loved Frank. Mary had expressed it by saying “I will wait ten years or longer, if he is found guilty and sent to jail”
Mrs. Little, however, laughed it off. She didn’t believe Mary would marry Tiedeman.
When she heard the news she almost collapsed.
She told a reporter she would “report it to the police” and have a search made for Mary.
The girl left home Tuesday.
Mary’s two brothers, George and Edward, last night started to hunt for their sister and will order her home, if successful in their effort to locate her.
The others receiving sentences with Tiedeman were David Allaband, H. Gordon McCrea and Melbourne James. The last two, each got five years apiece and Allaband 6 years.
Second Slug Removed From Cop Shot in Duel
Camden Courier-Post —
Detective Robert Ashenfelter, who was shot August 24 by a burglar he later killed, returned to West Jersey Homeopathic Hospital yesterday for a second operation.
A bullet, which physicians thought they would not have to remove, has moved from a few inches above his lung to the rear of his shoulder blade and must be taken out of the detective’s body to prevent it moving further.
Ashenfelter was shot by Charles Rettberg, 21, of 1189 North Thirty-sixth Street, whom he surprised while he and several others were attempting to rob an American Store at Thirty-second and Wayne Avenue.
One of the two bullets has already been removed from the sleuth’s body. The operation yesterday was not a serious one and the sleuth was permitted to return home after the pellet had been recovered.
Chain Store Held Up by 3 Armed Bandits
Camden Courier-Post —
Take $40 From Cash Drawer, Flee After Threatening Manager
Three armed bandits held up and robbed the manager of an American Store at 752 Ferry Avenue, Saturday night and escaped with $40 taken from the cash register.
The victim of the robbers was F. M. Willis, of 109 Wayne Terrace, Collingswood.
Willis told police the three men entered the store shortly before 10 p. m., all flourishing revolvers. They commanded him to stand against the wall and while two of them kept their guns leveled at him, the third man ran to the cash register and took its contents, about $40.
“If you make any noise for the next five minutes we’ll come back and kill you,” one of the bandits said as they bolted out of the door.
Willis waited several minutes before venturing out of the store to summon police.
He gave Detectives Edwin Mills and Robert Ashenfelter descriptions of the bandits but was unable to tell whether they had made their escape by automobile or on foot.
Parked Car Looted
Camden Courier-Post —
Alexander A. Lederer, 1528 Park boulevard, reported to police that some one had broken into his automobile, parked in the rear of his home, and stole $100 in merchandise he had in the rear of the machine. Detective Robert Ashenfelder is investigating.
Thieves Foiled in Attempt to Rob Sears, Roebuck Store
Camden Courier-Post —
Two Youths Believed to Have Plunged in River to Escape Police; Shots Fired as They Elude Pursuers
Surprised in the act of forcing their way into the Sears-Roebuck store at Bridge boulevard and Federal street, two youths escaped last night amid a burst of bullets.
Chased by an attendant of a nearby service station, the pair fled across the boulevard and were lost in the swamp along the Cooper river. Police believe they swam the river to escape.
Humphrey Toomey, 60, of 1640 South Sixth street, outside watchman of the Sears store, discovered the youths attempting to pry open a window on the north side of the building—the same window through which entrance was gained several months ago when several hundred dollars worth of merchandise was stolen.
The window is ten feet above ground. One youth was standing on the shoulders of the other, and had succeeded in removing the wire screen.
Toomey blew his police whistle, attracting the attention of Frank McClernan, of Clementon, a gas station attendant, who ran to the scene as Toomey fired one shot after the disappearing marauders.
Handing his revolver to McClernan, Toomey asked him to chase the youths. McClernan fired all four remaining bullets in the weapon after the rapidly disappearing pair, and chased them to the bank of the river where he lost them.
Meanwhile, an alarm had been sounded by Toomey, and a detail of police, headed by Lieut. Herbert Anderson, arrived and joined McClernan in the search.
McClernan said he did not think he had wounded either of the youths, who were described by Toomey as being between 16 and 20 years old. Darkness, Toomey added, made it impossible for him to describe them any further.
Although there is no electrically operated burglar alarm system in the Sear’s [sic] store, there are two watchmen—one inside and the other outside.
The detectives who aided in the vain search are Robert Ashenfelter, Walter Smith, John Trout and Harry Kyler.
Camden Courier-Post — January 6, 1933
Robert Ashenfelter
Man Named in Theft Censured by Pancoast
Camden Courier-Post —
Charged with larceny of merchandise from the Mechling Brothers Chemical Company, where he has been employed 11 years, Guido Adezio, 32, of 340 Lincoln Avenue, West Collingswood Heights, received a suspended sentence yesterday from Police Judge Garfield Pancoast.
Detective Robert Ashenfelter testified most of the articles, worth about $25, have been recovered.
“You are very foolish and ungrateful to your employers,” Judge Pancoast told Adezio. “After working there for 11 years you should have been grateful for a steady job. Your children will be the ones who will suffer now.”
Sleuth Back on Duty
Camden Courier-Post —
After an enforced idleness of several weeks due to the amputation of one of his fingers, Detective Robert Ashenfelter returned to duty last night at detective headquarters.
Patrolman John Opfer, assigned to the detective division to fill Ashenfelter’s place during his absence, has been transferred back to uniform duty, Acting Police Chief John W. Golden announced the change last night.
Youths Peddling Radio Arrested on Suspicion
Camden Courier-Post —
Two youths were arrested late last night on suspicion of stealing a radio when one of them was interrupted by detectives while attempting to sell it.
Detectives Benjamin Simon, Clifford Del Rossi and Robert Ashenfelter became suspicious of a car parked at Norris and Sheridan Streets. The occupant, Stephen Stanziak, 19, of 1279 Sheridan Street, said he was waiting for a companion who was in the store of Michael Gucik, northeast corner of Norris and Sheridan Streets. The detectives entered the store and found Joseph Fiume, 16, of 1349 Van Hook Street, attempting to sell a radio to Gucik. The youths said it had been given to them by a man they did not know.
Man Shot by Cop Runs From Building 43 Minutes Later
Camden Courier-Post —
Bandits Trapped in Boulevard Garage Ram Through Auto Doors and Flee
Thieves Steal Machine for Getaway; Abandon Own Loaded With Tools — One Suspect Arrested
Shortly after burglars rammed a stolen car through the locked doors of a Collingswood garage early yesterday and fled before shots from police revolvers, one suspect was arrested in Camden and the discovery made that one of the burglars was wounded.
The burglars, either two or three, were surprised shortly before 3:30 a. m. by Sergeant William Ruth and Patrolman Earl Wilson at the Airport Garage, Crescent Boulevard near Haddon Avenue. Three-quarters of an hour after police left the darkened garage, a woman declared she saw a man run from it, his right arm bound in a handkerchief.
The suspect, said to have a police record and now awaiting questioning at Collingswood police headquarters, is Stanley S. Geda, 19, of 1273 Whitman Avenue.
Geda is also suspected by Collingswood police of implication in the theft of three new automobiles last Tuesday from the show rooms of the Community Motors at 622 Haddon Avenue.
Recorder Herbert R. Schooley committed him without bail last night for a further hearing today so that police would have time in which to check Geda’s fingerprints against specimens taken from the three recovered automobiles.
Ruth and Wilson were touring Collingswood in a police car when they found a parked car in the rear of the garage on City Line avenue.
Wilson went to the front of the garage, gun drawn, and called to Patrolman Samuel Bell, who was stationed on the Crescent Boulevard-Haddon Avenue corner. When he returned to the garage, Ruth was entering through a window. Wilson went to another window, in time to see a man inside walking toward Ruth.
When the man refused to halt, Ruth fired and the intruder fell, presumably wounded. Just what happened after that is uncertain because the garage was dark, and many cars were parked inside at all angles. At the sound of a shot another man ran downstairs and a large sedan, parked facing the locked front doors, was started. Before Ruth or Wilson could interfere, the machine rammed its way through the doors and to the boulevard, nearly hitting Bell.
As the car sped away, it was fired on by the three policemen.
Three-quarters of an hour later Mrs. Charles Pinto, of Crescent Boulevard and Haddon Avenue, saw a man run from the garage, his right arm bound in a handkerchief. Mrs. Pinto called to policemen but the wounded man escaped.
Police had thought he was one of two men who escaped in the car. The bandits’ original car was abandoned where it was parked.
Tools, including an electric drill, were found on the floor near the doorway, apparently ready for loading into a machine. The tools included cutters, a hack saw and other equipment. An attempt was being made, it was said, to steal a new car and one of the burglars was attempting to exchange a new battery for the get-away when the police appeared.
Geda was arrested when a car said to have been in his possession and owned by the Watson Shallcross Company was found parked near his home without tags. The arrest was made by Robert Ashenfelter and Clarence Arthur, city detectives.
Geda was arrested as a material witness in the Radio Condenser Company holdup a few weeks ago and is still under bail.
Two Armed Men Rob Gas Station and Flee
Camden Courier-Post —
Two armed bandits last night held up a Camden gasoline station attendant, scooped $T from the cash register and disappeared in a maroon coupe driven by a third man.
Carlton G. Weatherby, of 1 Kings Highway, Haddonfield, attendant at the Gulf station, Ferry and Mt. Ephraim avenues, reported to Detectives John Opfer and Robert Ashenfelter the two men jumped out of the car which the driver parked a short distance away on Ferry Avenue. Entering the station, they forced Weatherby to turn away from the cash register and after one of them took the money, the other struck him on the head and warned him to make no outcry. Then they ran out and disappeared. Both bandits carried steel-colored pistols. Both were of medium build and wore dark clothes.
In Family Tragedy
Camden Evening Courier —
JACOB SCHILLER WILLIAM SCHILLER
Jobless Son Kills Jake Schiller Who Saves Boy’s Wife From Gun
Camden Evening Courier —
SLAYER CRAZED BY SEPARATION, RELATIVES SAY
Dazedly Insists He Had No Intention of Shooting Sire
ESTRANGED WIFE SEEN IN SUICIDE TRY
Slain Man Long Was Prominent Figure in Camden Politics
Jacob Schiller, 72, for 45 years a political figure here, is dead, shot by his own son.
The slayer, William Schiller, 30, a former summer policeman now unemployed, was held over today to the grand jury on a charge of murder. He made no comment whatever during his police court hearing.
A few hours later, young Schiller’s wife, Augusta, whom he had also tried to shoot, was found wandering through the city street, in a hysterical condition.
She had written a note which police believed showed intent to commit suicide, and had staggered dazedly through the streets last night. Both in her note and in her incoherent statements to detectives she declared she was to blame for the tragedy.
She said her father-in-law had tried to save her and was killed in the attempt.
The slaying occurred Saturday night at the elder Schiller’s home, 2420 Carman Street. It climaxed an estrangement between young Schiller and his wife, with “Jake” Schiller attempting to reconcile the couple.
Mrs. William Schiller, who had had her husband arrested several months ago, said she believed he had become mentally deranged, but Police Judge Pancoast was informed that an alienist had examined young Schiller in July and pronounced him sane.
Couple Separated
Young Schiller had been living with his father at the Carman Street address, while Mrs. Schiller has been residing with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. John I. Green, 409 North Thirty-seventh Street. The cause of the estrangement has not been revealed by police, but it is stated that young Schiller refused to consent to a reconciliation.
“Jake” Schiller was a Republican worker in the Twelfth ward for years, and was at the time of his death inspector of city street lights.
Were Alone at Home
The father and son were at home 9:00 p.m. Saturday night and apparently were quarreling when the young Mrs. Schiller, her brother-in-law and sister, Mr. and Mrs. William Miller and another sister, Mrs. Lottie Bennehler, reached the house.
“Don’t come in here,” the older Schiller shouted as they started to enter the front sun parlor. But Miller did enter and said young Schiller was clutching a revolver in his right hand. He declared he closed in on his brother-in-law and tried to wrench the revolver from him. Two shots rang out and the father fell to the floor.
Patrolman Joseph Keefe was standing at Twenty-fifth and Federal Streets when two boys ran up and told him there was a shooting at Twenty-fifth and Carman Street. He ran to the scene and said he reached there in time to see young Schiller shooting up the street at his wife.
Keefe said Schiller ran into the house when he saw him. Aided by Miller, Keefe overpowered Schiller and placed an iron claw on his right hand after disarming him.
Jacob Schiller Jr., another son, learning of the shooting, went to his father’s home and took him to Cooper Hospital in a passing automobile. As he was being taken into the hospital he failed to recognize City Detective Robert Ashenfelter and died five minutes later.
Expresses No Regret
Police Sergeant John Potter joined Keefe and Miller and they took young Schiller to police headquarters.
Keefe said the son expressed no regret at shooting his father.
At about 5 a.m. today, Policeman Keefe was patrolling his “beat” when he passed the Schiller home on Carman Street. He noticed the front door was standing open, and he went inside to investigate.
The officer saw a note on a smoking stand. Picking it up, he read:
“Dear Everybody:
“Please forgive me … You have all been so wonderful … But I couldn’t go on to see you all suffer for what is my fault … Lottie was right … He killed his father because of insane love for me … But he didn’t. I killed Pop and now am sending Bibs to jail for my weakness.
“Tell him I love him and ask my poor mother and dad to forgive me. I should have done this long ago and saved everyone all this suffering … I love Billy and I know he loves me but I am afraid he has been turned against me. But I forgive him for all.
“Gussie”
“Gussie” is Mrs. Schiller.
Finds ‘Gussie’ Hysterical
Keefe ran to Federal Street, but could not see Mrs. Schiller.
Meanwhile, Constable Dugan of the Twelfth Ward, saw Mrs. Schiller walking on Federal Street near the Cooper River. She was mumbling to herself and was in a hysterical condition, Dugan said.
Dugan telephoned police headquarters. City Detectives Rox Saponare and Maurice DeNicoli went out Federal Street and took her back with them to detective headquarters. There they sought to quiet her, but she continually sobbed.
“I want to take the blame—if I hadn’t gone to Pop’s home he would be living now.”
“Pop wanted to save me,” she said. “and he was shot. I can’t eat or sleep. I think I’m going crazy.”
Later, she was permitted to return to the home.
Young Schiller had been held in the city jail over the weekend. Today he was taken into police court. He wore no necktie and carried a raincoat over his arm. He was represented by counsel, C. Lawrence Gregorio, who said he had been retained “by friends” to act as attorney for the accused man.
City detective Benjamin Simon had signed the complaint in which he charged “on information received” that Schiller did feloniously and with malice aforethought shoot and kill his father.
The complaint was read to him and Gregorio told him not to say anything, as Judge Pancoast would enter a plea of “not guilty” in his behalf. This was done by the court and Schiller was then held without bail pending grand jury action. He was taken to the county jail.
Declared Sane
After the hearing, Mrs. Etta C. Pfrommer, acting overseer of the poor, told Judge Pancoast that on July 26, Dr. Harry Jarrett, Broadway and Cherry Street, well known alienist, had examined young Schiller and declared him sane. The examination was made on the request of Mrs. Schiller in police court on the previous day. At that time young Schiller had been released by the court in the custody of his father.
County Detective Chief Lawrence T. Doran, who was among the first to question young Schiller Saturday night, said the man did not seem repentant over what he had done. He said Schiller did not give authorities much information. According to Doran, young Schiller declared he had objected frequently to his father that he did not want his wife to come to their home.
“It doesn’t seem possible,” said young Mrs. Schiller some hours after the tragedy. “It seems as though it was only a dream. I don’t seem to remember anything.
“Poor Bill. He must have been crazy. He idolized his father. You can blame this all on the depression. He has been without work since they eliminated summer policemen two years ago. He has been worried as a result of being unable to obtain work. Just recently he started to drink.
“Bill intended to shoot me but his father tried to get the gun away from him and I believe it went off accidentally. Nothing could convince me that Bill would shoot his father in cold blood.
“I went to his father’s home last night to try to effect a reconciliation with my husband. He had been drinking.”
Registered as Sober
The police docket at headquarters shows Schiller registered as sober. The entry was not made until 2:15 a.m., and the shooting occurred shortly after 9:30 p.m.
Relatives said the father had attempted for months to patch up the marital difficulties of the couple.
Young Schiller had been living lately with his sister, Mrs. Bennehler, 2530 Bank Street and his wife with her parents at 409 North Thirty-seventh Street. He formerly lived at that address with his wife. He was appointed a summer policeman in 1929 and served until they were all dismissed two years ago.
Coroner Holl and Dr. Edward B. Rogers, county physician, yesterday performed an autopsy on the senior Schiller’s body and ascertained that death was due to an internal hemorrhage caused by a bullet wound of the upper portion of the abdomen. They said a .32-calibre revolver had been used in the shooting.
Camden Lodge of Elks will hold services tomorrow night at the Schiller home, at which time the body will be on view. The funeral will be private on Wednesday with burial in Evergreen Cemetery.
Judge Pancoast last night recalled that young Schiller was arrested two months ago after he had kept his wife a prisoner on a lot all night. At that time “Jake,” as he was affectionately known to his friends, tried to act as a mediator between his son and daughter-in-law.
The young Mrs. Schiller at that time told Pancoast she believed her husband was deranged and asked permission to have him examined by physicians she would name. Pancoast released young Schiller in the custody of his father. The police judge said the examination had apparently not been made as no commitment papers had been sent through his office.
Few political workers were better known than “Jake” Schiller. He was born in Philadelphia and was brought to Camden in early life by his parents, who conducted a saloon near Twenty-third and Federal Streets. East Camden was then the town of Stockton and the scene of Saturday night’s shooting was a farm. Schiller recalled to friends that he drove cows through a pasture on which his house now stands.
He was originally a Democrat but became a Republican through persuasion of the late U. S. Senator David Baird and remained a friend of the former leader for 40 years.
Schiller had been melancholy over the death of his wife on February 13 last, friends said.
When his son was arrested he remarked to Pancoast: “What is next?”
Figured in Shaw Case
None was more in the public eye 35 years ago in South Jersey than Schiller. It was then that he figured prominently in one phase of the locally celebrated Shaw murder trial.
It was during the second trial of Eli Shaw for the murder of his mother and grandmother, Mrs. Anna Shaw and Mrs. Emma Zane. They were found shot to death in September, 1897, in their bedroom of their home on Line Street near Third. Detective John Painter had found a revolver hidden in the chimney, one of several points in the circumstantial evidence that resulted in the indictment of Shaw. He was then a widely known young man about town and his arrest caused a big sensation. As time drew near for the trial feeling was intense, for there were adherents for and against the son and grandson, those arguments often grew bitter.
Henry Sidney Scovel, then one of the prominent criminal lawyers of Camden county, was retained to defend Shaw. Scovel was son of James Matlack Scovel, himself one of the leading barristers of this section. When the trial of Shaw was under way the city was astounded when it was charged Scovel had tampered with the jury. It was Schiller who made the charge.
The trial stopped abruptly. Scovel emphatically denied the story of Schiller and demanded vindication. An indictment for embracery was returned and at a trial, which had Camden on the tip toe of expectancy for days, it developed there was absolutely nothing to verify the charge, and Scovel was acquitted. He acted in two subsequent trials of Shaw, the second being a disagreement and the third acquittal for the son and grandson of the slain women.
Schiller, strangely enough, in later years became friendly with Scovel and when the latter was prosecutor from 1905 to 1912, “Jake,” as he was familiarly known, was usually to be found in the office at the courthouse. Scovel was then a white haired man of flowery speech and impressive personality who let bygones be bygones.
Long Excise Inspector
For more than 20 years Schiller was inspector of the Excise Commission in Camden. It was during the days when the principal object of the inspector apparently was to keep the saloonmen in line. He was considered pretty good at that job, by no means an unimportant one from the organization viewpoint. It was also during that period the city had its troubles enforcing the Sunday liquor laws. There were those who considered they had enough pull to keep their back or side doors open on the Sabbath to let in their regular thirsty trade. Some succeeded in getting by, but “Jake” had his own troubles in keeping the boys straight and sometimes causing their arrest, although that was not frequent by any means.
His reign as inspector, too, was in the halcyon days of free lunch and schooner beers. Saloonmen themselves were against the lunch idea eventually since it meant too much of a financial burden. Jake kept tabs on the recalcitrants so that the liquor dealers knew who was obeying the order and who was “cutting corners” to get some extra trade.
Schiller was virtually raised with the saloon trade since his father was one of the old time German beer garden owners here, having had a place at Fourth and Line Streets. That was in the days when that section was largely populated by the German, English and Irish families lately come from the motherlands. When he was a boy, Schiller entered the U. S. Navy and served several years. When he came out he went to the old Town of Stockton, now East Camden, where he opened a saloon on Federal Street near Twenty-fourth. At that period, some 45 years ago, Stockton seethed with politics and it was just as natural for a young man to get into the game as it was for a duck to swim. Jake at that period was a Democrat and during the battle in the middle 90’s when the West Jersey Traction and the Camden Horse Railway Company were fighting for the rail franchises in the town he was a candidate for council from the old Second Ward. The late Robert Lee was the Republican candidate and won out by the narrow margin of two votes. In later years Schiller became a Republican and was elected a constable.
Never Ran From Scrap
Throughout his career Schiller never quite forgot his training in the navy, particularly with reference to boxing or fighting at the drop of a hat. He was a scrapper in his early years and never ran from a fight. That was just as true in political battles, frequent then around the polls, as in purely personal matters. And Jake would battle for a friend just as readily as for any personal reason. He was usually in the thick of the political fracases of the years when it was the accepted thing to fight at the drop of a hat. But he also had lots of native wit which kept things interesting when he was a frequenter of the prosecutors’ office during the Scovel and Wolverton regimes. In late years, with the approach of age, he had tempered his propensity to get into an argument and liked nothing more than to tell of “the good old days” when he helped the elder Baird in his organization battles.
He made his last political stand for leadership of the Twelfth Ward in 1926 when he supported the candidacy of Sergeant Ray Smith against Commissioner Clay W. Reesman for ward committeeman. Schiller was supporting Congressman Charles A. Wolverton and the late Senator Joseph H. Forsyth in a campaign against former Congressman Francis F. Patterson and State Senator Albert S. Woodruff.
Reesman won and among the first to visit the hospital after learning of the shooting was the city commissioner. Reesman was his latest chief as lights inspector as he was attached to the highway department. Commissioner Frank B. Hanna also visited the hospital.
“In all the years I have known him he has always been an enthusiastic and loyal friend with a good heart for everybody in trouble,” Congressman Wolverton said when he learned of Schiller’s death.
Schiller was also a familiar figure at the Elks Club, where he was an ardent card player. But after the death of his wife he gave up this pastime, contenting himself with watching the games. He was also a frequent visitor among old friends at the courthouse.
Feitz First Cop Slain Here; 6 Others Survived Wounds
Camden Evening Courier —
Three Shot, 2 Stabbed and Another Beaten with Pipe But All Recovered, Police Records Show—First Case 30 Years Old
The murder of Detective William Feitz by bandits early Sunday marked the first slaying of a policeman in the history of the Camden department.
Three other members of the department have been shot in battles with bandits, two stabbed and a sixth beaten with an iron pipe, but all survived.
More than 30 years ago Patrolman George Miller was stabbed in the abdomen during a Third Ward election fight in which a Philadelphia man was slain.
The late Capt. William F. Schregler, head of the detective bureau for years, was wounded in a duel with safe crackers at Broadway and Carman street about 28 years ago. He was a patrolman at the time and was rewarded with promotion to head of the detective bureau when he recovered.
Another casualty was Patrolman Thomas Brothers. He went into a house to capture a burglar. The man was standing in a dark spot behind a door and as the patrolman passed he struck him down with an iron pipe. Brothers suffered a fractured skull and was in the hospital for several weeks. The suspect was never captured. Years later Brothers was a special officer at the Lyric Theatre.
Patrolman Robert Ward was shot June 16, 1925, at Sixth and Jackson streets as he stepped up to an automobile to question its occupants. One of these suspects was captured. Ward recovered after being in the hospital for weeks.
Policeman Maurice Minch was shot and severely wounded in an attempt to arrest a man responsible for a race riot. Minch was wounded in a bicycle store and the proprietor was killed about seven years ago.
Detective Robert Ashenfelter was wounded on August 24, 1931, and a burglar suspect slain in a gun fight at Thirty-second street and Pierce avenue. Police surprised three suspects robbing a chain grocery store. Going inside of the store Ashenfelter was felled with a bullet in the dark. Police opened fire with a machine gun and one man was slain.
Patrolman John Taylor was stabbed by a man he attempted to arrest on Taylor avenue on May 18, 1930. He wounded the man after the stabbing. Two months later he and his brother, Robert, were beaten up by a gang at Eleventh and Cooper streets when he tried to break up rowdyism with fireworks.
Feitz Witness Dies in 5-Floor City Hall Jump
Camden Evening Courier —
Should Have Been Kept in Cell, Stewart and Orlando Say
WOMAN TRIED IN VAIN TO TALK WITH WARD
Colsey Will Conduct Investigation in Attempt to Fix Blame
A complete investigation was ordered today by Mayor Roy R. Stewart into the suicide yesterday of Mrs. Emma Heisler, 38, who plunged five floors from a detective bureau window in city hall.
Mrs. Heisler was the key witness to the murder early Sunday of Detective William T. Feitz. It was in Mrs. Heisler’s alleged disorderly house at 243 Sycamore street that Feitz was killed.
Mayor Stewart, ordering the investigation, freely admitted today that Mrs. Heisler should have been locked in a city hall jail cell instead of being permitted to roam about detective headquarters.
Colsey to Conduct Probe
Mayor Stewart delegated Police Chief Arthur Colsey to conduct the probe and determine whether there is evidence of police laxity in the suicide of Mrs. Heisler.
From two sources since the woman was taken into custody were the police warned against permitting her to walk unguarded in city hall. The warnings were ignored.
Only yesterday, a short time before the woman leaped to her death, a Courier-Post reporter made the comment in detective headquarters:
“You’d better watch that woman, or she’s liable to jump from a window and sprain her ankle.”
A similar warning that Mrs. Heisler should be locked in a cell was delivered by Prosecutor Samuel P. Orlando.
Less than an hour before she took her death leap, Mrs. Heisler had pleaded with Lieutenant Ward to let her talk to him.
“I’ve got something in my heart I must let out,” she told Ward, interrupting him as he gave a last-minute telephone report of the murder probe to Mayor Stewart. The mayor was about to catch a 4.20 p. m. train to his Ocean City summer home.
Three times, Ward said, she tried to drag him from the telephone as he talked to Stewart, each time insisting she had something to tell him.
Ward Refused to Listen
Ward concluded the conversation with Stewart and then left the bureau instead of talking to her.
At 5.12 p. m. Mrs. Heisler rushed from the detectives’ room into Ward’s private office, raised the only window not guarded by a glass ventilator and leaped to her death.
Whatever she had in her heart was still there.
She never regained consciousness fully and died at 6.12 p. m. in Cooper Hospital.
With her, police believe, went their best chance of learning the identity of Feitz’s slayers.
After Ward brusquely rebuffed the woman as she attempted to tell him something that he, by his own admission, believes might have been the identity of the killers, she went back into the desk room where all detectives sit when idle.
A Courier-Post reporter was outside the counter separating the detectives’ office space from that area reserved for the public—barred from the inner sanctum by Ward’s orders.
The reporter said the woman was disheveled in appearance, her blonde hair straggling about her face, her eyes showing that she was under a severe emotional strain.
Detectives Laugh
“You’d better watch that woman,” he told Detective Robert Ashenfelder. “She’s liable to jump from a window and sprain her ankle.”
The detectives laughed.
A few minutes later she sat at a desk near the entrance to Ward’s
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private office, in the corner of the bureau.
“She was about to break. I think she was ready to tell us who killed Feitz,” Detective Sergeant Gus Koerner said afterward.
After Ward refused to let her unburden herself—possibly of information the entire department has been seeking night and day since Feitz’s death—she appeared highly agitated.
The woman leaped from her desk and rushed into Ward’s private office.
Body Broken Badly
She raised the only window not guarded by a ventilator and leaped. She landed on the iron windshield bar of a roadster, and the force of her fall almost cut her body in half. She bounced into the seat of the car owned by Andrew Stewart, 143 West Cottage avenue, Haddonfield.
Detectives Clifford Carr and Robert Ashenfelter were the only members of the force in the bureau. Carr was answering a telephone. Ashenfelter was questioning Camillo Cinelli, 848 South Third street, a former pugilist known as Billy Hart, about some matter not connected with the murder.
“We were standing almost at the door of Ward’s office,” Ashenfelter said. “Cinelli wanted a drink of water and I followed him to the water bottle, away from the door. We drank and started back.
“Cinelli was in front of me and I could not see the woman. All of a sudden we heard the sound of tinkling glass. Cinelli ran into Ward’s office. I followed him. The woman was gone. We looked out the window and saw her in a roadster with the top down.
Takes Her to Hospital
“I went downstairs in the private elevator, loaded the woman into a car and went with her to Cooper Hospital. Carr went downstairs with me, but he had to return to the office.”
Carr said he was answering a telephone when he heard the sound of glass, looked about for the woman and saw she was gone. Then he too rushed to Ward’s window and looked out to see her in the car below.
The woman’s skull was crushed. Her fall bent the metal bar of the windshield almost to the dash and shattered the glass—to give notice of her death to her previous captors upstairs.
At the hospital, Dr. Roscoe Kandle examined the woman and shook his head, then ordered her removed to a ward cot. She was in a semi-comatose state.
Carpani and Lieutenant Ward, who had rushed to the hospital for his delayed reception of her story, found her unable to tell what was in her heart.
Her brothers, Albert and William Slonski of 1300 South Broad street, Philadelphia, arrived before she died.
Father James Foley, pastor of Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church, administered extreme unction to the woman. He happened to be in the hospital, asked if she were a Catholic, and gave her the last rites of her faith for the living.
Neither Mayor Stewart nor Chief of Police Colsey would criticize any member of the detective force for the woman’s leap, but Prosecutor Orlando was outspoken in his belief that police laxity, in spite of a warning from him, had caused her death and had removed the state’s chief witness against Feitz’s slayers, “if they are caught.”
Orlando Warned Mayor
“At 2 p. m. today,” Orlando said. “I told Mayor Stewart that woman ought to be locked in a cell and held on the charge of maintaining a disorderly house.
“It is a regrettable thing that she was permitted to commit suicide. It may prove costly in the prosecution of Feitz’s slayers, if they are caught.
“I am not having much to do with the investigation. I am hoping the police will bring it to the point where I can prepare to prosecute.”
“I will not criticize any member of the force for Mrs. Heisler’s leap,” Chief Colsey said. “We had agreed to allow Ward to have his way. He felt, and convinced us, that we could get more from her by treating her kindly.
‘She Appeared Contented’
“As a matter of fact, she appeared contented. When Mayor Stewart and I questioned her earlier in the afternoon, she appeared in better condition than at any time since she was brought here.
“If she had wanted to leap from a window, she had had ample opportunities. She could have leaped while the mayor and I were questioning her, for that matter. We did not suspect she would attempt her life.
“She anwered [sic] questions better—more straightforwardly—for Mayor Stewart and me than at any time before.
“I believe she knew who killed Feitz. She said she didn’t. I think she would have told us tonight who killed him. She was beginning to open up.”
Ward, silent since Monday morning, said virtually the same thing, although he insisted he was “not talking anyway.”
Ward Calls It Fear
“She was about ready to tell what she knew,” the chief of detectives said. “It probably was fear that had kept her from it before. She feared she would be killed if she did tell. I think she knew who killed Feitz.
“She came to me three times while I was talking to Mayor Stewart on the phone and I had to put my hand over the phone to send her out,” Ward confessed. “She kept saying she had something to tell me. I think she was ready to tell it all.
“I had to leave the office after talking to the mayor,” Ward continued. “I didn’t get to question her further. I wasn’t here when she jumped. I’m not talking, anyway,” Ward said.
It was Mayor Stewart who revealed that the woman told Ward “I’ve got something in my heart and I must let it out.”
This, the mayor said, Ward told him on the telephone, interrupting the conversation to hear that much and then leaving the bureau before hearing what it was.
Disagrees With Colsey
Mayor Stewart’s opinion of the woman’s nervous condition was the reverse of Chief Colsey’s, however. He said:
“The death of the Heisler woman is very unfortunate. But we believe it will not retard our investigation into Feitz’s murder. We are hopeful that there are others who know just as much as Mrs. Heisler knew.
“I noticed this afternoon as Chief Colsey and I questioned her that she was in a very nervous condition. Several times she became flustered and appeared bewildered when attempting to answer questions.
“Her mind at times seemed to become a total blank.”
‘Ward’s Idea’
Asked why the woman had not been booked and locked in a cell, Mayor Stewart said:
“This angle had been gone over very carefully several times and it was Ward’s idea that Mrs. Heisler be given freedom of the bureau and treated with kindness, with the hope that she would reveal valuable information.
“I am sorry now I did not insist that she be placed in a cell.
“In the future, definite steps will be taken to prevent like happening.”
Asked whether any disciplinary action would be taken against members of the detective bureau as punishment for laxity in watching the woman, the mayor said:
“No. There will be no such action. I acquiesced in Ward’s desire to allow the woman freedom, trusting his judgment that this course might reduce the best results.”
Voluntary Prisoner
Mrs. Heisler was allowed many privileges during her detention. She was held as a voluntary prisoner, Chief Colsey said, adding:
“But if she had wanted to leave, we would have booked her and put her in a cell.”
He admitted the woman was held—though technically not held—in excess of the 48 hours police are permitted to hold a prisoner without filing charges.
“You can hold them as long as necessary in a murder case,” Colsey said.
Rests in Comfort
For two days the Courier-Post Newspapers had been printing pointed stories to the effect that Mrs. Heisler was allowed free run of detective headquarters, being treated as a guest while all others linked in any way with the murder were locked up in cells.
She was not even sent to a cell to sleep. Detectives converted a bench in the line-up room, which opens onto their quarters, into a bed, using blankets, overcoats and other pieces of clothing and bedding, impounded as stolen, to make her comfortable.
Detectives Served Her
An unidentified friend was permitted to bring her $10 in cash. She was allowed to smoke at will, to eat when and what she desired, and to have coffee brought to her by detectives at any and all hours.
That the Heisler woman had operated disorderly houses for six or seven years in Camden was generally known, although police would not admit the knowledge.
She ran a place at Sixth and Spruce streets for a time; then operated another house at Third and Mechanic street, a third at Ninth and Pine streets, and still another at Second and Chestnut streets. Then she ran a house at 242 Sycamore street, moved away, and then opened a new place at 243 Sycamore street, where Feitz was killed. This place had been in operation about seven months.
Sergeant Koerner said the woman had shown every indication that she was on the point of “breaking.”
‘Bad Break’ for Police
“She would walk up to me and other men as though she wanted to tell us something. Then she would turn and walk away. She was getting ready to tell everything, I believe. It is a bad break that she is dead.
“I think she knew who killed Feitz. The men had been there before. They had asked for her by name at the door, and she had admitted them. She is bound to have known them.
“She was ready to tell who they were, I believe, but every time she got to the point of telling, something would come up in her throat. I think it was fear.”
Chief Colsey continued to drive all members of the force night and day on the investigation, determined, he said, to clean it up as soon as possible.
Woman Fails in Suicide at Home and in Patrol
Camden Courier-Post —
Failing in a suicide try, Mrs. Alice Brown, colored, 35, of 1135 South Eighth Street, made a second unsuccessful attempt at death in a patrol wagon van last night.
Detective Robert Ashenfelter said the woman’s husband, Clarence, called detective headquarters when Mrs. Brown, reputedly drunk, took poison at her home.
After treatment at Cooper hospital the woman was placed in a patrol for transportation to detective headquarters. En route, Ashenfelter said, she battered her head against the iron screen surrounding the wagon, almost knocking herself unconscious.
Mrs. Brown was held on a charge of attempted suicide for hearing today in police court.
Woman Gets Court Aid to Regain Motorcycle
Camden Courier-Post —
Camden and Collingswood authorities joined forces Saturday to aid a Philadelphia woman, attempting to recover a motorcycle which “disappeared” last week and which was “found” on a Collingswood used car lot.
Mrs. Mabel Bennett, of 1224 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, first asked help of Camden Detective Robert Ashenfelter. He and Sergeant William Ruth, of Collingswood, accompanied her while she swore out a writ of attachment from Justice of the Peace Edgar B. Wallen, of Collingswood, when an attendant at the lot, on the 1700 block Haddon Avenue, refused to surrender the ’cycle.
A writ to show cause also was taken out against Mrs. Bennett’s husband, Harry, of Collingswood, who is believed to have taken the vehicle from Mrs. Bennett’s Philadelphia home, according to Wallen.
“Bob” Ashenfelter, Shot in Duel With Burglars, Asks Pension
Camden Courier-Post —
John Sheeran Claims Disability
Gladney and Roy Smith Ask to Leave Fire Service
Applications of four policemen and two veteran firemen for pensions will be considered today at a special meeting of the Police and Firemen’s Pension Commission in the offices of Mayor Roy R. Stewart.
Included in the list are Detective Robert Ashenfelter and Accident Investigator John Sheeran, both seeking retirement because of disability suffered while members of the department.
Others whose pension request will receive consideration at today’s session include Patrolmen Robert Ward and Jesse Smith and Charles M. Gladney and Roy M. Smith, members of the fire department.
Ashenfelter, who is 40, and lives at 352 Berwood street, was one of the first members of the police force to receive the Gold Star when that award for bravery was established by Mayor Stewart in 1931. He was appointed to the force by Mayor Victor King on July 1, 1926, and served as a motorcycle policeman until April 17, 1929, when he was appointed acting detective.
His physician stated that Ashenfelter was suffering from an infected right lung as a result of wounds he received in a sensational pistol battle with a burglar whom he killed in the robbery of the American Store, Thirty-second street and Pierce avenue, on August 24, 1931.
Receiving the report of the robbery, Ashenfelter went to the store with Detective Benjamin Simon. Ashenfelter walked to the rear of the store. As he reaced [sic] the door of a shed in the rear, he met a volley of seven shots fired from inside. One bullet knocked the gun from his right hand, another pierced his arm and a third entered his chest over his heart.
Despite his wounds, Ashenfelter was able to pick up his pistol with his uninjured hand. He emptied it through the door.
A moment later other officers arrived. When they opened the door they found Charles Rettberg, 21, of 1189 North Thirty-sixth street, lying dead on the floor.
Arrested on the scene were the dead man’s brother, Theodore, who later was acquitted, and Melbourne James and Gordon McCrea, who were sentenced to five years each in prison.
Ashenfelter was in the hospital for several weeks after the shooting.
During the World War he served as a lieutenant in the ordnance department attached to the 118th Field Artillery.
“Johnny” Sheeran, 57, was appointed to the police department July 15, 1913. He still lacks several months of the required years service but is seeking the pension on the disability clause because of a wound received several years ago.
Sheeran, attached to the Second Police District at the time, was helping to move some large steel cases in the old city hall when one of them fell on his left hand. Physicians at Cooper Hospital managed to patch the hand up, but Sheeran has never had the use of it since that time.
Lately he has been working in the Accident Bureau. He lives at 777 Wright avenue.
Ashenfelter Pension Decision Is Deferred
Camden Courier-Post —
Three policemen and two firemen were granted pensions yesterday afternoon by the Camden Police and Firemen’s Pension Commission but action was deferred on the application of Detective Robert Ashenfelter.
Ashenfelter seeks retirement because of disability. As his application was not accompanied by a proper medical report action was delayed. He will be examined by Dr. Garnet P. Summerill, police surgeon.
The commission approved the applications of Robert Ward, police investigator of accidents; Patrolmen John Sheeran and Jesse Smith and Firemen Charles M. Gladney and Roy M. Smith.
Mystery Woman Found Hurt in Fall
Camden Courier-Post —
Friend Identifies Victim and Tells of Accident Near Railroad Here
A severely injured woman, who was found lying in snow near railroad tracks at Front and Division streets early yesterday, was identified last night as Ida Bernardi, 31. She mumbled the word automobile when she was found and after regaining consciousness at Cooper Hospital she mentioned the name of Samuel Alersi, 215 Federal Street, a friend. Police first thought she had been struck by a train as she was suffering from a compound fracture of the leg among other injuries.
Detective Sergeant Joseph Carpani, acting detective John V. Wilkie and Detective Robert Ashenfelter questioned Alersi, who said the woman fell on the ice and he had to walk to Second Street and Kaighn Avenue to get a telephone to call police. He declared the woman had been removed to the hospital by police before he could return to the scene.
Wilkie said an examination of the scene revealed that her foot had become wedged between a gas pump and a high curbing, causing a fracture of the leg as she fell.
Alersi’s statements were corroborated by Frank Losito, 42, of 331 Benson Street. The two men said they had been companions of the woman on a drinking party during the night. Neither was held.
The woman gave her address as a taproom at 221 Federal Street.
Wife Identifies Body of Man Found Dead
Camden Courier-Post —
A man found dead in a vacant lot in the rear of 610 Kaighn Avenue Saturday was identified yesterday by his wife as William Peterson, 50, of 803 Pine Street.
Following discovery of the body, City Detective Robert Ashenfelter, who investigated the case, learned Peterson had been seen in the neighborhood for more than a week. Coroner Frank J. Leonard issued a certificate of death by heart trouble.
Bathtub Gin Maker Is Held for Court
Camden Courier-Post —
Police Judge Liberman Also Frees Two Youths Accused by Tailor
Two district detectives yesterday told Police Judge Lewis Liberman that Earl Bundy, 24, was making bathtub gin in the family was [sic] boiler at his home, 824 Sycamore street, when they raided the place Tuesday. He also had four barrels of mash, John Burns and John Huston, the sleuths, testified.
Bundy denied the charge, but Prosecutor Samuel P. Orlando asked that Bundy be held without bail to await the action of the grand jury. Bundy was held.
The court also listened to “The Tale of a Coat.” John Erconani, a tailor, of 976 South Eighth street, accused Edward Hargrove, 18, of 1178 Penn street, and James Walter, 15, of 1185 Penn street, of taking the garment from his store yesterday.
According to the evidence Hargrove presented a ticket calling for a coat that had been left for repairs. The tailor and his customer searched for the garb, but couldn’t find it.
Then Hargrove left and Erconani said another coat left with him. Erconani asked that the youths be convicted, declaring that if the coat was gone he would have to pay for it, and that he had a sick child that required the money for medicine and professional attention.
Detective Robert Ashenfelter asked for a further hearing to make an investigation, but Herbert Richardson, attorney for the boys, said no evidence had been introduced to prove that they had taken the coat.
Judge Liberman agreed and dismissed the charges, but told Ashenfelter that if further investigation disclosed evidence to the contrary, the youths would be re-arrested.
Francis Murtagh, 24, of 117 North Thirty-fourth street, paid a $3 fine for reckless driving. It was testified that Murtagh was doing 55 miles an hour at 2.30 a.m. and that he was chased a mile and a half before he was overhauled.
5 Youths Arrested as Holdup Suspects
Camden Courier-Post —
Police Believe Bandit Gang Plans of Group Halted by Roundup
Police believed they had frustrated the formation of hoodlum bandit mob yesterday with the arrest of five South Camden youths after a holdup of a grocery store at Tenth Street and Ferry Avenue.
Two of the five suspects were identified by the grocer, John Jacobs, as the bandits who entered his store at 960 Ferry Avenue, held him up at gun point and escaped with $23.95. Jacobs told Detectives Heber McCord and Clarence Arthur that he recognized one of the bandits as Anthony Mona, 19, of 947 South Third Street, a former boxer, whom he saw fighting in the ring, McCord said.
A radio call was sent to all cars to pick up Mona. A short time later, District Detectives Leon Branch and John Houston arrested Mona as he was eating in a restaurant near Broadway and Kaighn Avenue.
After questioning by McCord and Arthur, Mona implicated the others. They are Dominick Spinagotti, 17, of 251 Mt. Vernon street; Vito Brandimorto, 20, of 245 Chestnut Street; Salvatore Martorano, 21, of 344 Cherry Street, and Victor Labato, 19, of 274 Mt. Vernon street.
Mona was searched in the detective bureau. Police found $6.65 in change in his pockets. The others were rounded up at their homes by Detective Sergeant Benjamin Simon and Detectives Joseph Mardino and Robert Ashenfelter.
According to Simon the youths were “just beginning to embark on a career of crime.”
When the others were brought to the detective bureau for questioning, all but $2 of the loot was recovered, Detective McCord said.
McCord said the youths signed statements saying Mona and Labato entered the store while the others waited in Mona’s car outside the store, all fleeing together after the holdup.
Intruder Wounded in Return to Party
Camden Courier-Post —
So. Camden Legion Post Houseman Held in Probe of Shooting
Charles Flacco, 22, of 1615 Fillmore street, was seriously wounded by a shotgun discharge in the chest early today when he attempted to return to a party that had already ended.
He was found at 2 a. m. by passersby lying on the pavement at Broadway and Viola street and removed to West Jersey hospital. There he repeatedly muttered: “Don’t shoot, I have a wife and small child.”
Detectives Edward Mills and Robert Ashenfelter learned that Flacco had attended a party at the George Booz Post, American Legion, 1944 Broadway, earlier in the night. Questioning of Pietro Damario, 59, houseman at the post home, revealed he had been awakened by the crash of a window, grabbed a shotgun and fired.
“But I didn’t know that I had hit anyone,” he said. “I didn’t see anyone in the street and went back to bed.”
Albert diGiacomo and Guistino Fizzallo told police they saw Flacco in a taproom at 12.30 a. m. after a party at the Legion hall had broken up. “He left,” they said, “apparently to go home.”
The detectives believe the victim returned to the Booz post home and broke a window while trying to enter the darkened building, still under the impression a party was in full swing. Damario was held on a charge of aggravated assault and battery.
World War II Draft Card
World War II Draft Card — One can only speculate as to the discrepancy in the age reported on this card. Multiple sources indicate the 1884 birthdate.