Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (April 16, 1961)
Intensive Investigation Leads to Burglary Ring Break-Up in Area By GREG NOKES . Mail Tribune Staff Writer When a Medford city police officer on routine night patrol came upon four men who were in the act of burglarizing a safe at a local supermarket last December, it set off an intensive investigation that led to the break-up of an inter-state burglary ring. By the time police had fin ished with the ring, eight men all of them from Medford- had been arrested and charged with safe burglaries in Med ford, Central Point, Ashland and Happy Camp, (Jam. ;" The discovery of the safe burslary ring merely con firmed what local police offi cials have known for a long time there are lots of i safe burglars in Medford. : . -. Det. Lt. Lyle Perkins esti mates there are 20 "potential ' safe burglars living in Med ford and vicinity. By poten tial Perkins means that while most of these men have rec ords of safe burglary, not all of them are actively "engag ing in their trade" at the pres ent time. Difficult Criminal '.""The safe burglar is one of the most difficult of all crimi nals to catch. If he knows his trade, as most of them do, he leaves no evidence at the scene of a crime through which police can trace the crime to him; .Verv often police have to Tely on a "break" or stroke of luck to help catch a safe bur glar. This was the case in De cember when a police office happened to drive by a local supermarket at the same time lt was being burglarized. Most safe burglars are pro fessionals in their work. The amateur or : beginner will work with an experienced burglar until he knows enough to go it alone, or he will learn It while in prison, according to Lieutenant Perkins. Safe burglary is not neces sarily a lucrative business. Po lice estimate the Iiftime wage of a full-time safe burglar at 25 cents per hour. This sum takes into account the time spent by the average burglar in prison. Depend on Luck - Luck has a lot to do with how much a safe burglar will make. Lieutenant Perkins said some safe burglars will hit a half-dozen safes only to find them all empty, while others will net upwards of $1,000 per burglary. : In some cities safe burglars are highly organized; while in others there is no organization at all, with each safe burglar operating on his owp. , ; Perkins said the safe bur glars who were arrested in Medford in recent months were not highly organized, but they did maintain some sort of communication with one another so that each usu ally knew what the others were doing. They kept a sort of informal headquarters in a local hotel. Police were fortunate in December's supermarket bur glary in that one of the four men had also operated with another group in Happy Camp, Calif. With the infor mation gained from this bur glary, police arrested three more men in Medford and a fourth, was picked up in Grants Pass. . Police Led to Another These four were taken into custody by Siskiyou county, California, authorities and re cently faced trial in Yreka. One of these four later led lo cal police to another safe bur glar. A convicted safe burglar in Oregon faces a prison sen tence of from 1 to, 10 years, depending on his prior record. Nearly every safe burglar serves some prison time dur ing his career. Perkins said a few safe burglars are in prison more than they are out. i Each safe man has his own trademark or distinctive meth od of opening a safe. Some will enter a building through the roof and "peel" a safe. Others will always force open a door and "punch" a safe. , Because of this trademark, it is sometimes easy to tell who committed a particular burglary. 'But it is another thing to prove it; 1 Four Methods , - Perkins listed four methods by which a safe burglar can open a safe: -. He can pel it. This is done by pounding on the safe door with a sledge hammer until the vibrations cause one edge of the door to stick out. A crowbar is then inserted un der the edge of the door, and the safe door is peeled back done by taking a sledge ham mer and knocking the dial off the safe door. A rod which controls the safe mechanism is located under the dial, and if the burglar hits this rod, in the right spot hard enough, it will break the safe mechan ism, thereby opening the safe. He can burn it. This is done by merely taking an ace tylene torch and burning a hole in the safe. He can blow it open with dynamite or nitroglycerine. Perkins said this used to be a common method of opening a safe but now that the law provides a 40-year prison sen tence for burglary by explo sives, this practice has lost much of its popularity. Depends on Safe The length of time required to open a safe depends on the kind of safe to be opened. A top-notch safe burglar may need as much as three to four hours to open a money-chest wall safe, while he can some times get inside a box floor safe within three minutes. Perkins said it is his opin ion that while box floor safes are good for fire protection, most of them present no prob lem to the experienced bur glar. Because safe burglary is one of the most popular of crimes, police agencies have employed special methods to deal with it. Each police department Is responsible for compiling up-to-date data on every known safe burglar within its juris- -He can punch itThis:is diction. This data includes his Greater Utilization Of Raw Products Is Needed in Industry Grants Pass-Greater utiliza tion of raw forest products is the key to expanded produc tivity of both public and pri vate timber lands in southern Oregon, according to reports presented recently to some 50 lumber industry representa tives who met here for a com bined meeting of the truck and timber committees of the Southern Oregon Conser vation and Tree Farm associa tion. . ' ' Better usage of the present 842,000,000 board feet of tim ber used annually by the mills in Jackson and Josephine counties could add materially to local payrolls, it was point ed out. Improved logging and mill ing practices and equipment in the past 10 to 20 years has added materially to the value of the average acre of harvest ed timber, but even greater research is needed to develop new techniques and new uses for presently unusable by products of the forests. Serves as Chairman Glen Duysen, Kogap, head of the timber committee, SOCTFA, served as chairman of the meeting, which attract ed both public and private timber managers from Jack- SSI NS VETERA IF YOU HAVE APPLIED FOR A G. I. LOA BE SURE TO GET YOUR TITLE REPORTS FROM THE . . . JACKS TITLE TYCO.' YOUR LOCALLY OWNED TITLE COMPANY 121 East Sixth Street Phone SP 3-4551 TITLE INSURANCE ESCROWS Jackson Countys' Oldest and Most Reliable ,( . Title Company Established 1885 son and Josephine counties. Darrell Davis, chairman of the truck committee, acted as cochairman of the meeting, and presented a detailed re port on action taken by the committee to resist legislation on the state and national level which, if enacted, could place undo taxes and restrictions on the lumber industry, the prime economic factor in both counties. Details of several research projects in forest practices and regeneration studies were reviewed by spokesmen at the meeting in response to a ques tion relative to the reforesta tion job being done on both public and private lands in southern Oregon. Scarcity of Seed : Scarcity of - seed sources, weevil infestations, difficult terrain and adaptability of seed to the area were cited as reasons for the difficulty in securing a high percentage of regeneration on cutover lands. Most of the lumber men were optimistic about the job be ing done in spite of difficul ties encountered, but stressed the need for continued re search in the field. Cal Smith, Industrial For estry association, a private in dustry sponsored lumber or ganization active in tree farm ing, reported on the work be ing done by the Roseburg ex periment station in genetics, and pointed out the need for more work on the problem of eradication of brush on cut over lands which takes nour ishment, water and sunlight from seedling trees, and cre ates other problems in reforestation. Committee Named To Judge Entries Members of the judging committee for' the Oregon-Nevada-California-Southern Cal ifornia freight lines $300 scholarship have been an nounced by C. C. Proctor, southern Oregon ONC-So. Cal. sales representative. Headed by Alf. B. Mekvold, Jackson county school super intendent, the committee con sists of Donald E. Faber, G. A. Cottingham, Archie C. Fries, O. A. Eden, Dean Anderson and John R. Rcid. The panel of judges will se lect one student from the Jackson county area to re ceive a $500 scholarship for the 1961-62 school year. The award is one of 26 such edu cational grants given through out Oregon, Nevada and Cali fornia to high school seniors who will graduate this spring and attend college in the fall. Proctor said recipients of the awards may attend any four-year college or universi ty in the country, and that there is no condition concern ing educational endeavor. Applications are available at Medford, Phoenix, Crater, Eagle Point, Prospect, Ash land, Butte Falls and St. Mary's High schools. Candi dates from Rogue River High are included in the Grants Pass terminal area. All applications must be submitted by May 15. residence, his vehicles, his friends and associates, his de scription, his method of opera tion and his criminal record. Data Compiled This data is continually be ing compiled into book form by individual police depart ments and police associations, and copies are sent to other police agencies. Also, a police department ordinarily keeps tabs on safe burglars in its area, and if one of them is seen to head out of town, an all points bulletin is sent via teletype informing other police agencies of his direction, possible destination and his means of transporta tion. Police agencies along the safe burglar's route are then alerted to keep an eye out for him. If he enters their area, they record this fact, and if he leaves, they also record this fact. But police don't always know who all of the safe bur glars are. Of the eight men who were arrested here re cently, only two of them had previously come to the atten tion of police. The remaining six were apparently first of fenders. Medford police hope that with the recent arrests the ac tivities of safe burglars may be curtailed locally. But, Per kins said it is only a matter of time until new ones crop up, or the old ones get out of prison and resume their trade. Medford Tribune SECTION D MEDFORD, OREGON, SUNDAY, APRIL 16, 1961 PAGES 1 to 8 Village Variety AND GARDEN SHOP IN THE PIGGLY WIGGLY SHOPPING CENTER BEDDING PLANTS! CHECK OUR BIG SELECTION OF FRESH & HEALTHY PLANTS Petunias Pansies Parsley Lettuce Tomato Cabbage AND MANY, MANY OTHERS STORE HOURS: MON.-SAT. 9 TO 9 SUN OPEN TODAY 10 to 6 JUST ARRIVEDI ' Big Shipment of Wooden Picture Frames 10-6 Begin your summer lounging with patio furniture that's way ahead in savings . . . value ; . . styling . . . comfort SPECIAL! WEB CHAISE LOUNGE! Sit back and relax on Penney's new chaise of lightweight tubular aluminum , . . (double tube arms) ... 5 straps wide and 16 straps long assure you sturdy and long lasting satisfaction . . . straps of poly webbing in green white, turquoisewhite, yellowwhite to coordinate handsomely with any patio decor. Handy folding . . . for easy storage , , . and carrying. 4-position adjustment. ' PATIO SHOP - PENNEY'S STREET FLOOR 8 WEB FOLDING CHAIR! Sturdy web patio chair (double tube arms) at a new low pricel Lightweight tubular aluminum and long-life plastic webbinq in qreen while, turquoise white, and yellow white. Folds for 1 storage . . cleans easily. B d CI ,Wkj ,oragi cleans 1 SKt JfmK&L DsmW. easily. Li - T'-V?-V H PAT, SHOp- : 'mw-k '''.." '-- V ,' PENNEY'S STREET FLOOR !'. "i,rV&. UvSM Y t w. . . . 1 1(1? WJ'-'i 4 Jtsife- - (SeLVC DOUBLE tVbE5! , J SPECIAL! INNERSPRNG LOUNGE 88 A lounge that invites you to relax . . . designed to give comfort and never a weather worry. 2-pc. Innerspring cushions upholstered In heavy vinyl print . . . sturdy double bar construction . . . strap and helical supports , , . big easy roll wheels. PATIO SHOP STREET FLOOR SPECIAL! Padded Lounge 1488 5 POSITION BACK ADJUSTORI Real valuel Aluminum tube frame folds easily for stor agel Plus comfortable cotton filled plastic covered chaise pad. Charge it todayl PATIO SHOP - STREET FLOOR 7 FT. GARDEN UMBRELLAS Supper on the patio ... to enjoy your summer to its fullest you will want this - big 7' umbrella with 3-position push button tilt, polished aluminium pole, 8 sturdy ribs. Laminated plastic top of solid colors with large floral print under side. 42" STEEL TABLE 14.98 j. heavy ireel b'l J. i ,ul",,ar ,,al '"'n Ti "T!n J . .h,om.-pU..rJ, t& -ttS&lF , erank-hlt grid draft control 3 5!fii,4 I;:;"' sturdy steel li-jH -?iS 1 twin-leg frame U i ' I, 5'i-lnch rubber. jj 11 l 1 REPLACEMENT LOUNGE PADS 22 24-INCH OVEN BARBEQUE HEAVY VINYL PRINT COVER! It's easy lo make your old lounge look new . ... with a large 24"x72" replacement pad. Heavy vinyl print covering is waterproof nd easily cleaned . . , smart button tufted . , . cotton and foam filler. Shop and Save at Penney's Patio Shop 6 98 Cook outdoors the tasty way with our fine motorized spit on a big portable brazier. Coppertone-finish hood, adjust able grill, U.L. approved motor. Terrific Patio Shop Penney's Street Floor . 18 CHARGE IT! DON'T MISS OUT ON A SINGLE ONE OF THESE TEStlllHC SAVINGS! .4
