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TWO THOUSAND DOLLAR ROBBERY
Thieves Make a Big Haul at Lane’s Jewelry Store
[Welland Telegraph, 22 December 1911]
Between two and three thousand dollars worth of jewelry was stolen from the store of H.C. Lane, East Main Street, sometime between midnight and seven o’clock Tuesday morning. The thieves gained admission to the store by removing the putty from one of the panes of glass in a rear window.
Just what time the robbery occurred is not known, but it is believed that it was about five o’clock.
Mr. Lane left the store on Mondy night about twenty minutes to twelve. Two hundred dollars, the amount of money in the tills, was placed in the safe, but all the valuable gold watches, rings and diamonds were left in the show cases and window.
Two lads delivering their morning papers Tuesday morning discovered the broken window and several cuff buttons and a gold handled parasol lying on the ground outside the window. They notified James Nixon and Chief Jones was in turn notified of the theft.
The theory is that there were two men in the job. Chief Jones believes that one man handed out the booty while the other remained outside to receive it. The electric lights in the store were left burning all night.
A number of valuable diamonds in the window were not touched and no attempt was made to rifle the safe.
No description of the men could be secured. It is believed they have been planning the theft for some time and that they made themselves conversant with all the details of the store as the theft was by no means a crude one. Chief Jones has notified the police in neighboring towns and cities.
Included in the jewelry stolen were fifty gold-filled watches, tray of rings and eleven wedding rings, three dozen lockets and bracelets.
A Clue
Later in the day the police were informed that three suspicious characters had been seen in the vicinity of the robbery earlier in the evening. One of the men was rather tall while the others were short and of slight build, probably boys. The pane of glass through which the thief entered the store would not admit a large man, so the theory that these men were implicated seems probable.
It is believed that Officer Tattersall, who was on duty at the time, was followed and watched by one of the men.
Chief Jones believes that the theft was committed by local men and he holds the opinion that they were boys or young men.
That the thieves went through Griffiths’ alleyway toward Division Street after the robbery was learned as several rings, jewelry boxes and prices were picked up along the lane. These were apparently dropped or thrown away by the men.
Chief Jones made a search of the market square on Tuesday morning in an effort to locate more definitely the direction taken by the men.
Found Cases
Chief Jones on Wednesday morning recovered three empty ring trays which had been dropped outside the window by the thieves and which were picked up and taken home by T. Hannigan. Mr. Hannigan informed the Chief that he had found the trays.
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