Show FOR STEALNG SHEEP Gang of Thieves Captured By the Police THY BROKE INTO A BARN + BAN OFF PBOPEBTT BELONGING TO JOHN C MACKAY JIU t 4 He Was Covered With a Shotgun and a Sixshooter and Forced to Retire A Fine Piece of Work Accomplished Accom-plished By Chief Pratt and H Men + After a hard chase yesterday Chief Pratt and his officers rounded up a gang of thieves who on Saturday night broke into a barn of John C Mackay jr at Granger and stole eight head of sheep a calf harnesses and saddles worth 65 and a quantity of oats and lucern seed The men who are charged with committing the offense and had possession of the articles are Jack Richards B Y Lamb Arthur Curtis and Norton Curtis The officers also arrested Raymond Curtis and C Wil son who are held as accomplices although al-though it is not believed they were present when the steal was made They are all held at the city jail on the charge of grand larceny About 1 oclock yesterday morning Mr Mackay rushed into police headquarters head-quarters and said he wanted the patrol wagon and a half dozen policemen togo to-go with him at once He then related that upon arising in the morning he discovered that his barn had been I entered and the property Stolen The tracks in the snow indicated the direction direc-tion they had taken and Mackay followed fol-lowed up the trail which led across the Jordan on the Redwood road near Thirteenth South and Thirteenth West to a house where he saw Jack Richards Rich-ards and attempted to place him under arrest At this juncture Norton Curtis and Arthur Curtis made their appearance I appear-ance the former covering Mackay I with a doublebarreled shotgun and the latter with a sixshooter The order was given to retreat or receive a skin full of lead and Mackay chose the latter lat-ter concluding it expedient to secure assistance from the police He secured two men to watch the place but is said they made themselves safe by getting a half mile away After Mackay gave his thrilling account count Sergeant Tom Hilton and Detective De-tective Gillespie jumped into the patrol wagon and were driven by Marcena Cannon to Poplar Grove When near the house where Mackay encountered the men the officers saw one of them I start to run but after a good chase he was overtaken and proved to be I I Jack Richards Lamb was found in the I I house and placed under arrest In a stable near by were found the sheep which had just been killed and skinned I I The calf was found alive and the harness and other articles were recovered re-covered The officers returned with their prisoners carcases and hides to the police station The men had attempted at-tempted to disguise their faces with paint Shortly after noon another posse consisting I con-sisting of Chief Pratt Sergeant Hilton Detectives Sheets and Gillespie and Policeman I Po-liceman Shannon started out to capture cap-ture the balance of the thieves They were aided by Mackay identifying the picture of Norton Curtis in the rogues gallery as one of the men who held him at bay At 520 South Eighth West they arrested Raymond Curtis and C Wilson who were left In charge of Policeman Po-liceman Shannon The officers then made a hasty search of a half dozen suspected houses in the neighborhood and finally rounded up at Wilsons I house on Washington avenue near Ninth South and First West Sheets and Gillespie dropped off to reconnoiter reconnoi-ter and saw Arthur and Norton Curtis out near the barn Intent in watching the chief and Sergeant Hilton they I failed to observe the detectives who slipped UP and had them under arres I I in a jiffy They were taken to the station sta-tion and locked up together with Shan I nons prisoners who had immediately preceded prC Ced The capture of the gang is an important im-portant achievement as some of the membersnotably the Curtis brothers have well established criminal records Arthur Curtis recently completed a term of ten years in San Quentin for burglary Norton Curtis has served I three terms in the Utah penitentiary Lamb is 65 years cf age and came from Wyoming He said he become broke and was stopping with Jack Richards until he secured enough money to return re-turn to Wyoming Wilson who is 4 of had 5S737 in his years age possession posses-sion and it is believed that he has been cashing in for the gang |