The Pawnbroker's Brawl
A search for a stolen watch ends in a chaotic scuffle at a South Second Street pawn shop, leaving the proprietor handcuffed and the shop window shattered.
One of the numerous highway robberies that occurred a year ago last spring was directly responsible for a big excitement on South Second Street, in front and inside of Joseph Hoeslech's pawn shop last evening. The actors in the scene were Chief of Police Rogers, Detective Cudihee, and 'Uncle Joe' Hoeslech, the pawnbroker. When the curtain was rung down, the pawnbroker wore handcuffs, and a big hole in the glass door of his shop showed where he had stuck his head. Chief Rogers recovered a gold watch taken from J.P. Rooney, who had been held up on Cedar Street in North Seattle in March 1893. Rooney had spotted his watch in Hoeslech's window and obtained a search warrant. When the police arrived to inspect the books and retrieve the watch, Hoeslech refused to comply, leading to a violent struggle where the pawnbroker tried to break away and smashed his head through the glass door. He was eventually booked for refusing to show his records.
“Inside the store there was a lull, the officers having got the handcuffs on 'Uncle Joe' after being compelled to use him roughly. Suddenly he broke away, and with the words, 'I am desperate, I am desperate,' ran at the front door and jammed his head through a pane of glass.”
Pawn shops have been central to the economy of Seattle's downtown for over a century, often serving as the primary clearing house for stolen goods. This scene captures the gritty reality of 1890s law enforcement, where obtaining evidence was often a physical, high-stakes confrontation on the sidewalk.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.