[Newspaper]
Publication: The St. Louis Post Dispatch
St. Louis, MO, United States
vol. 41, no. 215, p. 2, col. 2
WRITING ON THE WRAPPERS.
How the Detectives Fixed a Case of Larceny
on a Suspect.
Conviction was secured in a case in the Court of Criminal Correction yesterday afternoon under decidedly peculiar circumstances. By a neat piece of detective work Robert Hemingray was clearly connected with an old theft and on a plea of guilty was sentenced to serve thirty days in the city jail. One evening last October James Carroll, the Superintendent of the Work-house, happened into a pool-room in the Merchants’ Exchange building and engaged with a friend in a game of billiards. His overcoat he placed in a chair near by. While Carroll was knocking the balls about on the table some sneak-thief made away with the overcoat. The garment contained a number of papers valuable to Carroll alone. The following day those papers were received by mall at Carroll’s home. The wrapper on which the address had been written was sent to police head-quarters.
About a week later Mr. Hoffheimer, a traveling salesman for a New York liquor house, placed his overcoat on a desk in the reading room at the Southern Hotel while he wrote a letter. When he had finished he found that the coat had been "nipped." Two days later a package containing all the papers in the coat was found lying on the key clerk’s desk. The wrapper on this parcel was sent to the Four Courts and an examination showed that the handwriting was the same as that on the Carroll package.
During last February a couple of Central District police officers arrested the man Hemingray and locked him up on the charge of stealing a gold-headed umbrella from the Merchants’ Exchange. Detectives Lawler and Desmond saw the fellow and suspected him of complicity in the overcoat thefts. Hemingray having been found guilty of stealing the umbrella was sentenced to three months in the Work-house. Judge Campbell told him, however, that if he could bring forward any reliable party to prove good character he would stay the execution on good behavior. The detectives took advantage or this and had the prisoner write several addresses on a slip of paper. At a glance it was seen that the handwriting was the same as that on the wrappers sent to Carroll and Hoffheimer. When charged with these thefts, Hemingray admitted having taken Carroll’s coat, and turned up the garment. He denied the other charge. He was sent to the Work-house and served his time. Early this week he was released. Detectives Lawler and Desmond re-arrested him at once on a warrant they had sworn out, charging him with grand larceny in stealing Hoffheimer's coat. Hemingray became frightened at the prospect of going to the Penitentiary and "fessesed up." The coat was found where it was pawned and returned to Hoffheimer.
Hemingray was then allowed to plead guilty to petit larceny and was sentenced to thirty days In jail. During the recent developments it came out that Hoffheimer and Hemingray were old friends and school companions, having been raised together in the same part of Cincinnati.
