Brazen Burglary in Richland Leaves Storekeeper Empty-Handed
Thieves looted a general store and commandeered a local horse and wagon to escape the scene.
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.
Richland—For the second time in less than a year the general merchandise store of H. F. Yedica and company was broken into by burglars Sunday night. Entrance was gained through a window in the rear of the building, the robbers using this means of egress to carry out their plunder as well. About $300.00 in shoes, overalls, knives and gloves were stolen. The men were extremely bold, entering the stable of Wheelhouse Wheelhouse and taking their horse and wagon and using them to drive out of town with the spoils. The horse and wagon were found in the morning abandoned in Kennewick. Mr. Yedica is out of town but his chief assistant, Otto Haieusen immediately notified the sheriff’s office of the robbery and Sheriff C. E. Duffy has been on the job continuously ever since and has several good clues which he is following up. To date no one has been arrested in connection with the affair. Sheriff Duffy is confident that the Wheelhouse rig was used more as a blind than as a means of carrying away the goods. By piecing together fragmentary evidence it seems very probable that the robbers made their getaway in a boat and that the loot was carried to Pasco. Sheriff Duffy, assisted by S. C. Overstreet, special officer for the N. P. railroad, and the sheriff’s office of Franklin county, has made several searches in Pasco. The Chinese and negro quarters were both closely searched but none of the missing articles found.
“The Chinese and negro quarters were both closely searched but none of the missing articles found.”
This 1916 account reflects a era of casual, aggressive police targeting of marginalized neighborhoods under the guise of crime prevention. While Richland has transformed from a small rural outpost into a national laboratory site, the story reminds us that systemic prejudice often dictated how law enforcement chose to expend their resources.
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