The first arrest of a crook suspect from Philadelphia since the Butler clean-up started there, occurred early yesterday morning in Queens, when a man giving the name of John E. Kelly, 19, of Philadelphia, was arrested, along with Martin Lapinsky, 19, of 4 Fifth avenue, Maspeth, by Detective William Barrett and Thomas Reddington, of the Newtown Precinct. The two admitted, upon being questioned by the sleuths, that they had participated in the hold-up of a restaurant in Maspeth about 2 o’clock this morning. Kelly would say nothing about himself further than that he had left Philadelphia several days ago.
These two men were found at the L. I. R. R. depot in Winfeld early this morning by Patrolman Flynn, of the Newtown Precinct.
When they could not give a good account of themselves, they were arrested and locked up on a charge of vagrancy. They were taken to the Flushing Police Court this morning and arraigned before Magistrate Conway, who held them in $500 ball each until Monday While they were being arraigned Patrick Murphy, owner of a restaurant at New Fisk Avenue and Grand Street. Maspeth went to the police station and report that about 2 o’clock this morning two masked men entered his restaurant and held up the night man at the point of a revolver. They said to John Codey, who was behind the counter.
“Give us all the money in your shop and be quick about it or we will ill you full of lend.” Codey emptied the cash register which contained a little more than $18, and after abusing him because there was no more, the two men ran out and disappeared down Grand Street.
After the report of the robbery Detectives Barrett and Reddington took Kelly and Lapinsky, who had been returned from the court where they had been held for vagrancy and questioned them about the Maspeth affair for nearly two hours. The two finally admitted doing the Job. On searching Lapinsky the detectives found a pawn ticket for a watch. They are investigating this watch, which is believed to match the description of a watch taken in a burglary on Juniper Avenue two nights ago. Additional charges will be made against the two as a result of their confession to the detectives.
