- Police/Fire - Janesville Sesquicentennial
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- Crimes have caputred attention, headlines
- The April Fool's Day murder.
- The famous snake venom plot.
- And the night $360,000 worth of pens were stolen from The
PARKER Pen Co.
- Those are some of the most interesting crimes in Janesville's
150-year history.
- Two of the first recorded major crimes involved deaths.
- In 1863, a Mr. PRATT, a jeweler from Michigan, moved
his family and his wife's sister to
- Janesville. A black man arrived soon after, claiming to be
well-acquainted with the PRATTs. One night, the sister
heard someone creeping around her window. The alarmed woman fetched
PRATT, who crept to the bedroom armed with a revolver.
When PRATT saw a man raise the sash, according to a historical
account, "he did exactly what any other man would have done."
He fired. PRATT first was charged with murder, but he
was released after authorities claimed the homicide was justified.
- In 1869, Dr. William DUVALL was convicted of murdering
his wife, Elizabeth, in their boarding
- house after a coroner's inquest said post mortem showed she
died of poisoning.
- Other early crimes as they were reported in the Gazette:
- 1905: Eddie FAYE, bandit and burglar of the old school,
broke out of jail. Local residents, discussing the jailbreak
later, compared FAYE to gangster James Dillinger, though
his crimes were far less serious.
- 1919: In Demember, the sixth month of Prohibition, only 18
people were arrested. It was a far cry from the first half of
the year when "liquor remained in all its glory" and
158 people were nabbed.
- 1923: Mrs. Nels BRICKSON, Janesville, was killed.
Her slayer was never found.
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- Safe-crackers busted
- 1940: George O'BRIEN of Wyoming and George LANAHAN,
57, Califonria, were captured March 27 while looting a safe at
Rock County Service Co-Op. They later admitted to cracking 40
safes in Wisconsin.
- 1941: The thrill of seeing the cherries, plums and oranges
of one armed bandits go round-and-round was banned in the city
Nov. 24 when gambling machines were removed from public establishments.
- Theda PETERSON, 32, pleaded guilty to a charge of
bigamy and was sent to prison. Though divorced from her first
husband, she had married two other men before the decree became
final.
- 1942: Alfred JACOBSON, 62, was burned to death in
a "drunken brawl" with his wife. She later was charged
with fourth-degree homicide. First hit on the head with a small
lamp, the woman retaliated by hurling a kerosene lamp at JACOBSON
as he sat on the couch.
- 1944: Noval CARR, 37, a Janesville ice-truck driver,
was run down by tavern-owner Ben VINCENT, 44, while making
a delivery on Racine Street. VINCENT later was charged
with the April Fool's Day murder on allegations that he killed
CARR to win a woman's affections. One year later, Edwin
BAIRD told the story, "Murder in the Modern Manner,"
to the American Weekly magazine. VINCENT pleaded guilty
to second-degree murder.
- 1945: A 5 1/2 foot diamond-backed rattlesnake was shot here
Aug. 3, the same day Beloit police captured a lioness and black
bear. The snake came from a local man with a reputation for making
snake-oil ointment; the other animals came from property of a
rural Janesville showman.
- 1948: The postwar crime wave, predicted by FBI Chief J. Edgar
Hoover, reportedly struck in June. The police chief was more
than a little concerned, as "criminals have been enjoying
something of a field day."
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- Parker Pen robbed
- 1949: Three men held up The PARKER Pen Co. on March
19. They bound a 66-year-old night watchman with wire and made
off with gold-capped pens and pencils valued at $363,000, leaving
behind three cartons marked rejects.
- George L. SCHOONOVER, 20, Janesville, was found guilty
of manslaughter for the December 1948 death of a South Beloit
Navy veteran and golf star in a fight outside a Beloit tavern.
- A magazine salesman admitted in federal court Jan. 13 that
he fleeced his middle-aged Janesville sweetheart out of at least
$8,000. The judge sentenced Martin Bloomfield of New York City
to five years in jail, saying: "I have more respect for
robbers than I have for a man of your type who steals from an
incompetant woman."
- 1959: Albert BUEHL, 62, was found dead of two 16-gauge
blasts in the walk-in freezer at CRONIN-HOVLAND
Liquor Store, 1620 W. Court. Nothing was believed stolen. The
case remains a mystery.
- 1972: Darlene RETZLAFF, a 32-year-old mother of four,
was charged with the decapitation of her 13-month-old son Bart
with a butcher knife on Sept. 27. She said the murder was committed
to "test her faith" in God.
- A Rock County Grand Jury returned 17 indictments Jan. 25
against eight companies and seven men - including former City
Council President James BARRY - charging bid-rigging on
26 construction projects since 1962. The projects included the
Municipal Building, Rock County Youth Center, UW-Rock County
Center campus buildings and Parker High School.
- 1973: Lisa SPANTON, 23, of Janesville, was fatally
shot Oct. 8 in the UW-Rock County Center campus parking lot by
her former husband, John. Sentenced for 22 years in prison, he
was released in 1983.
- Five men were arrested Oct. 18 for their role in an armed
robbery in which they stole $13,000 from the CRONIN Hotel.
Four of the men were caught after a wild chase south of Janesville.
- 1974: Four local men were arrested May 31 after Edwin KLUKAS,
62, picked up in downtown Janesville, was robbed of $32 on the
Afton Bridge and subsequently drowned in the Rock River. One
of the men, Otis JEWELL, was sentenced to 15 years in
prison for causing KLUKAS to fall in the river during
the robbery.
- A John Doe probe into the theft of television sets from ADAMS
Furniture Co. for discount sale to area law officers resulted
in the arrest of Larry TOLLISON, former Edgerton police
officer, on seven counts of theft and the implication of police
officers David BARNES, Robert FURAN, William HILLS
and James STOWERS for receiving stolen property. HILLS
and BARNES were acquitted; the others were convicted.
- 1976: Larry SOLLES and Steven DRENNING, both
of Janesville, each were sentenced to 60 years in prison after
they shot and killed a local gas station attendant March 22 during
an armed robbery that netted $24.81.
- 1977: Charlotte DURFEE, Janesville, and Loren MOORE,
Milton, were arrested and later convicted of plotting to kill
wealthy businessman Miles DURFEE, 73, with deadly snake
venom.
- 1979: Former Beloit firefighter Russell DIBBLE was
arrested after a downtown fire seven days earlier killed Cheryl
KLEMMAN, who was six months pregnant, William LYONS
and Mary McGOWAN. The fire caused losses estimated at
$171,500. DIBBLE pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree
murder in 1980 in a plea bargain.
- 1981: Randall BLEILER of Janesville was beaten and
stabbed to death in a McKinley Street home on June 27. Jody MAYO
and Michelle LAMBERT, both of Janesville, were sentenced
to life in prison after a lengthy investigation - including a
John Doe probe - led to their arrest and conviction.
- 1982: Diane ELLIS, 23, was charged with setting nine
fires in downtown Janesville since May 15. Three other substantial
arson fires, occurring at the YMCA, a dental firm and a professional
building, remain unsolved.
- 1983: Janesville policeman Craig FRITZ, 28, was saved
because of a bullet-resistant vest he wore on Dec. 15 when an
armed robber shot him during a dramatic chase that led to the
800 block of East Memorial. Albert W. EMMONDS, 40, was
convicted of attempted first-degree murder.
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