Expert Safe-Cracker Cleans Out Local Dry Goods Store
A thief bypassed heavy security and locks without force, leaving police baffled.
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.
An expert safe robber broke into the dry goods store of W. H. Hartsell & Co., at 939 Pacific Avenue, Thursday night, opening the safe and escaping with $625 in cash and $200 worth of checks. There were no marks on the steel door of the safe, leading police to believe the thief deduced the combination. Entrance was gained via a rear door, where a jimmy was used on the seam to snap the bolt. The safe was located beneath a counter, allowing the thief to work undetected for hours.
“There were no marks on the steel door of the safe to indicate that the robber had used force in opening the door.”
Pacific Avenue remains a central spine of Tacoma’s downtown, though it is now better known for commercial development and residential conversion than for uncracked safes in dry goods stores.
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