Kennewick Citizens Nab Depot Burglar
A quick-thinking group of Kennewick locals catches a safe-cracker in the act at the old passenger depot.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
On a Saturday evening in Kennewick, citizens near Root & Gerry's store noticed a flickering light in the old passenger depot, then serving as an office for irrigation canal manager G. Ranson. Suspecting foul play, the group surrounded the building. T. Cosgrove covered the suspect with a firearm just as he was attempting to escape through a window. The man, identified as Harry Williams, had successfully opened the safe and strewn its contents on the floor, but was caught before he could abscond with any valuables. He was taken into custody by Constable A. V. MacReynolds and processed before Justice Breithaupt.
“Mr. T. Cosgrove soon had the burglar covered just as he was slipping through the window.”
Community intervention in crime is a perennial civic topic, shifting today from physical standoffs to digital surveillance and neighborhood watch apps. This story highlights the reliance on local vigilance in early 20th-century frontier towns.
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