May 16, 1895, Detective Wooldridge, accompanied by Officers Kern,
O'Connor and Cameron, located Matt Kelly at 411 State street, who was
wanted for a criminal assault. Kelly was a hold-up man, ex-convict
and a notorious safe-blower, who several years prior to this shot two
officers in St. Louis, Mo. Kelly was found behind locked doors on the
second-floor and refused to open the doors. Detective Wooldridge went
to the adjoining flat, opened a window and crawled along the ledge
until he had reached Kelly's room; with a revolver in his mouth he
pushed up the sash and was faced by Kelly and his wife.
"Go back or I'll kill you," said Kelly as he pushed his revolver in
Wooldridge's face.
Wooldridge had meanwhile secured a good hold on the sill of the
window, but was not in a position to defend himself. The Kelly woman
tried her best to shove him off; she succeeded in loosening one of
his hands, and for an instant Detective Wooldridge thought he would
have to fall. With an almost superhuman effort Wooldridge broke in the
window and covering Kelly with his own revolver ordered him to throw
up his hands, which he did. He was taken to the police station and
heavily fined.