Roanoke Rapids Herald

JACK AND THOMAS BARKLEY JAILED: ROBBERY CHARGE

Fred Forest Pool Room,
Jackson Service Sta.
Entered Sat. Night
Jack and Thomas Barkley, who
give their ages at 17 and 16 respec-
tively, were arrested at their home
off Bolling Road Sunday morning
on charges of breaking and enter-
ing the Fred Forest Pool Room and
Jackson's Service Station. They
waived their preliminary hearing
before the city court and were
taken to the county jail in default
of heavy bonds to await trial at
the next term of Superior Court.
Tracked by local policemen, who
did some expert sleuthing on the
case, the boys were found in their
home with muddy shoes and trou-
ser legs just after the robbery oc-
curred Sunday morning about 2:00
o'clock.
Questioned about their
activities during the night, the
boys were unable to prove their
whereabouts.
A package of cigarettes, several
shotgun shells, and a piece
of chewing tobacco all said to have
been taken from the pool room,
were found in the possession of the
boys. None of the money taken
from the cash register, estimated
to have been about $40.00, could be
found.
Policeman Erwin was on duty in
the uptown district when he heard
a noise about 2:00 o'clock Sunday
morning. After investigating, he
found the pool room had been en-
tered by a rear window, which was
screened but not barred. Further
investigation proved that the
screen had been torn from the
back window of Taylor's Drug
Store, bars preventing the robbers'
entry. Later it was discovered that
the same two persons, the tracks
being identical, had tried to force
their way into the main salesroom
of Jackson's Service Station. The
robbers had broken windows lead-
ing into both rest rooms and the
oil room, but locked doors kept
them from getting into the sales-
room where the cash register is lo-
cated.
Chief of Police H. E. Dobbins,
who was called to the scene of
the robbery a few minutes after it
happened, said this week that he
figured immediately that the two
boys were involved, the circum-
stances of the case pointing to the
methods that they have pursued in
the past and the tracks of the rob-
bers being too small for grown
men.
The Barkley boys have long po-
lice records, both having been in
the toils of the law off and on
since they were small children, ac-
cording to Mr. Dobbins. The two
boys arrested last week-end were
released last fall from training
school where they had served a
term for attempting to enter Mrs.
Collins Fitts' store on Fifth St.
Previously they had served time in
reform schools for breaking into
the Roanoke Hardware and the
City Lunch. Joe Barkley, an older
brother, was involved in the latter
crime.
Mr. Dobbins said this week that
he was reasonably sure that the
same two persons involved in the
robbery of last week-end were the
ones who entered the Tri-City Mo-
tor Company about two weeks ago
and took some pennies from the
cash register and the ones who
attempted to enter the home of
Allridge Boyd about the same time.
Tracks found in the snow at that
time prove identical with those
found outside the pool room.
After the two boys were arrest-
ed they said that they had been
at State Line from about ten to
twelve o'clock Saturday night. A
check up showed no evidence of
their being there at any time re-
cently, according to police. The
boys were also unable to verify
purchases of the tobacco, shells,
and cigarettes.
Acting on a hunch, Chief Dob-
bins sent officers to arrest the two
boys, meanwhile going to the
Eight Street extension to try to
pick up a trail of the criminals.
There he found two bicycle tracks.
These were traced through the
woods until the wheels were found
hidden and abandoned. From there
footprints led through the mud to
the vicinity of the Barkley home.
The bicycles proved to belong to
the daughters of J. O. Brown and
had been stolen from the porch of
the home about 11:00 o'clock Satur-
day night.
Photographs and plaster of paris
casts were made of the footprints
and H. L. Pitman was called from
Halifax to get finger prints. It was
discovered, however, that the rob-
bers had used gloves in gaining en-
trance and obtaining the money
from the pool room, making finger
prints unavailable.
Footprints proved easily trace-
able as one robber wore leather
bottomed shoes which had a heel
knocked off. The other person
wore crepe soled shoes, the crepe
imprint being easily discernable on
the floor of the pool room and in
the mud outside.