Long before I asked this question I could see moisture in Lumas' eyes,
and he finally began to cry. When he stated that he had received but ten
dollars, I said to him, "Now, Lumas, wait a moment until I call in Mr.
Brazee, who is your friend."
Mr. Brazee had heard every word, and I went to the door and asked him to
come into my room. As he entered I also noticed moisture in his eyes. I
asked Mr. Brazee to write down what Lumas said, and he complied.
"Lumas," I said, "who were the two men who robbed your car?"
He replied, "Denny Downer and a friend of his whom he called Little Al.
I never did know his real name." Lumas went on and stated that he had
met Denny Downer in a saloon in Detroit and that Downer had evidently
known that he was an express messenger; that as he had gotten well
acquainted with him and had got to drinking considerable, Downer had
induced him to let him know when he would be carrying a large sum of
money, or what they called a "big run," and that Downer had explained
that he would have a party with him and would board his car at an
out-of-the-way station and bind him, without injuring him, and shoot a
few bullets through the side of the car so as to make it appear that he
had made a fight, and that they would divide the spoils and nobody would
even suspect him (Lumas) by reason of his good standing with the
company. He finally agreed to enter the plot, and learned that there was
to be a safe containing a sum of money, nearly four thousand one hundred
dollars, and some other valuables, on the day of the robbery, shipped
over on his train. This might not be considered a big prize, but it was
above the average. He notified Downer, and he and Little Al took a
train from Detroit and reached Rohan a little ahead of his train. After
the robbery, and he had returned to Detroit, Downer sent him a letter
containing ten dollars, with the understanding that he would give him
more later on, but that he had never received any more. He had become
sorry that he had gone into the plot, and had begun drinking. He further
stated that he was now positive they had tried to kill him by strangling
him with the gag.
Mr. Brazee and the express company officials were all surprised at
Lumas' confession. I turned Lumas over to my operative, and took the
first train for Detroit, where I arrested Denny Downer. On being
arrested Downer acknowledged his connection with the robbery, and told
me that Little Al was Al Perry of Boston, Mass., a noted porch climber
and thief.
I lodged Downer and Perry in the county jail at Wabash, Indiana, where
in the course of time both were put on trial, pleaded guilty, and were
sentenced to six years in the penitentiary at Michigan City, Indiana.
Their sentences were made lighter by reason of their having pleaded
guilty. Lumas also pleaded guilty and was used as a witness before the
Grand Jury against Downer and Perry, and it having developed that Lumas,
who was much younger than the other two, being inexperienced in crime,
was persuaded by them to do this thing, sentence on him was suspended.
After the robbery the express company offered a reward for the arrest
and conviction of each of the robbers, and after they had been arrested
and convicted Pat O'Neal, the private detective, filed a claim against
the express company to recover the reward. He had nothing whatever to do
with the obtaining of the information which led to the arrest and
conviction of these two men, and, therefore, his claim for the reward
was nothing more than an attempt to obtain money under false pretense.