BATTLE BETWEEN THIEF AND POLICE.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXV, Issue 1048, 9 January 1913, Page 4

BATTLE BETWEEN THIEF AND POLICE.

A pitched battle took place in the Hotel Elsmere, one of the smaller hotels of Harlenij frequented by foreigners, where detectives attempted to arrest Henry Vogel and bis wife for jewellery thefts. In the battle Vogel and his wite and two detectives were killed, and three other detectives were so seriously wounded that they'cannot live. The detection of Vogel came about through the arrest of a maid servant in one of the fashionable hotels in New York on a charge of stealing diamond rings from one of the guests. Upon her arrest she confessed that she had stolen the jewellery, but not for herself, declaring she was acting lor Vogel, who had formerly been a chef in some of the principal hotels in New York and other cities.

Vogel, she said, had ladies’ maids also in his employ, who acted in concert with the chamber maids. For a long time, though several suspects were arrested, nothing was proved against them, so- carefully were Vogel’s plans laid, and in no case until the present was any information given against the chief himself. , Acting on this information, four detectives went at a late hour to the Hotel Elsmere, and, rousing the manager, Louis Mondscheim, went to the room where Vogel and his wife were sleeping, hoping to surprise them. BEDROOM BARRICADED. Mr Mondscheim knocked at their door, saying he wished to see Vogel for a moment, but the latter, evidently suspecting trouble, refused to come out, and those outside could hear the chef and his wife moving furniture about in order to barricade the door.

The detectives attempted to break the door in, but the couple were both armed and immediately began firing upon the attackers. The detectives responded, and for some time there was a rapid exchange of bullets, which roused the rest of the guests, and an excited throng gathered inside and outside the hotel.

Detectives Gallon and Fay were killed, and when the door was finally burst open after the shoot’ ing ceased both Vogel and his wife were found lying on the floor dead with three revolvers beside them. The other two detectives and Mr Mondscheim, the hotel manager, were shot, and were taken to the hospital.

Other officers who arrived on the scene before the final acts took place on searching the trunks of the Vogels found thousands of gems, most of which had been torn from their settings. The value of the booty runs into many thousands of pounds, and it is expected that other stolen jewellery will be found in safe deposits, which will bring the total value up to more than £ 100,000. It is known that Vogel had been accumulating these valuables for the past five or six years.