SENSATIONAL LYNCHING.

Taranaki Daily News, 14 December 1920, Page 5

SENSATIONAL LYNCHING.

FOLLOWING OUTRAGES' BY EX-PUGILISTS.

By Tek-graph.—Press Assn —Copyright. New York. Dee. 10.

A sensational triple lynching occurred in Santa Rosa, a suburb of San Francisco.

During recont weeks S.tn Francisco lias been roused 'over the operations of a gang of ex-pugilist?, who kidnapped girls and took them to a lonely house, where they were terribly maltreated. The police broke up the gang after twenty girls had been assaulted, and subsequently traced the gang to Santa Rosa. A pitched battle with revolvers followed in which three San Francisco detectives were shot dead before the men were captured and lodged in the Santa Rosa jail, on Sunday last. ■Yesterday morning a posse of fifty masked men visited the jail and removed three prisoners, Boyd, Fltts and Tarento, and hanged them on a single branch of a tree.

Five companions of the lynched men who were arrested with them were removed from the custody of the San Francisco police and placed in charge of State officials.

The Chief of Police is investigating statements that policemen, friends of the murdered officers, participated in the lynching. There are indications that it was arranged that no resistance should be made by the jail officials at Santa Rosa when the lynchers arrived. The motors conveying them received an ovation on returning from their mission of vengeance. The belief is that friends of the dead policemen took this method of dealing the severest warning to members of the San Francisco underworld.