Historical feature: Jewelry heist strikes 1918 Davenport

If there was ever a year in history that rivaled 2020's embrace for the rapture, it would have to be the year of 1918. It was a year that, like 2020, saw our country in the middle of a global pandemic, while also still in the midst of battling World War 1. Historians suggest crime in the United States decreased that year, just like it supposedly did in 2020, but if you lived in Davenport at that time you'd probably have a different opinion. In addition to the world events of the day, the people of 1918 Davenport bore witness to one of the most captivating criminal events in local history. The event itself sounds like something from an old western movie complete with local law enforcement heroes, yet the story remains largely forgotten today.

It was Monday, March 4, 1918 between 3 and 4 a.m. Fred Miller was asleep in his living quarters of his business (J.A. Miller Company) on the south side of Morgan Street when he heard what sounded like an explosion. Believing someone may have had a tire blow out on an early day automobile, he peeked out of the window, only to see a man standing at the entrance of Charles Myers's jewelry store armed with a pistol. (At that time this jewelry store was located where the entrance to the Davenport Pharmacy building is today.)

The man was looking around as if he was on watch, and when Miller adjusted his window shade from across the street he turned and pointed the gun at him. Miller ducked down, reached for the phone and dialed the operator, who patched him through to both Lincoln County Sheriff John Level, and Davenport Marshal John Pebles.

Miller heard a second explosion and grabbed his .22 rifle. Peeking out the window again, he saw two men running away from the jewelry store east on Morgan Street carrying a large gunny sack and several semi-automatic pistols. The heavily armed men turned south onto Harker Street behind the current Warwick building. Sheriff Level had been at his office in the courthouse at the time of the call and grabbed his shotgun before running down Fifth Street to pursue the burglars. Miller followed behind the sheriff as he chased the men, who now turned onto Spring Street. The sheriff ordered the men to stop, but they failed to comply with his orders and he shot at them. Due to the distance between them, he was unable to strike either man.

Marshal Pebles lived on the east end of town and responded towards the incident armed with a .32 Winchester Special rifle. Pebles saw the two men turning onto Spring Street with Sheriff Level and Miller running after them and ran southwest to cut them off. Marshal Pebles pointed his rifle at the men, ordering them to put up their hands at a distance of only 30 feet away. Instead of complying, one of the men turned and fired several shots towards the marshal. Pebles later described seeing the muzzle flash in line with his chest and knew at that moment that the man was shooting at him with the intent to kill. The March 8, 1918 Lincoln County Times claimed the men had fired five to six shots at the Marshal, with two shots passing dangerously close to his head. This angered Pebles, who lined up his rifle at the men firing one shot and both men immediately fell to the ground.

Marshal Pebles covered the two men with his rifle while Sheriff Level approached from behind, ordering them to put their hands up. The men again appeared to ignore his commands and he told them he would shoot if they did not show their hands. One of the men responded raising his hands at which time it was discovered both had been injured by Pebles' single shot.

Upon inspection it was discovered that the bullet had gone through the right leg of the first man before entering the second man's right leg where it became lodged, causing severe blood loss. Sheriff Level ran back to the courthouse to get his automobile while Pebles stood watch over the men. The less injured man slowly stood up and began pacing around in circles acting dazed. Marshall Pebles later explained this man stared directly into his eyes while he held him at gunpoint and started walking towards him. The man was ordered to back up. This "flight or fight response" was realized by Pebles who remained on guard, and when Sheriff Level returned it was discovered the man had been pacing near another semi-automatic pistol that had been left on the ground within his reach.

The injured men were transported to the Lincoln County Jail, which at that time was located on the second floor of the courthouse. Dr. O.L. Adams was summoned and came to the jail to assess the two criminals. The men were identified as C.H. Lea and Edward Lucas, both of Spokane. Lea's leg was treated and bandaged and he was returned to his jail cell. Lucas had sustained the worse of the two injuries and provided authorities his name with a request that they notify his wife, who was in Spokane. Mr. Lucas passed away in the jail several hours later from blood loss and shock, despite treatment from Dr. Adams.

The investigation revealed Lucas and Lea had entered Myers' jewelry store by prying open the back door with a crow bar, axe and a small amount of dynamite. They then used a stronger charge of dynamite to blow the safe door off its hinges before entering the safe and stuffing the jewelry into a gunny sack. It was estimated the two thieves took $2,000 worth of jewelry (equal to about $38,000 in today's dollars) from the safe before fleeing on foot towards their getaway vehicle, which they had parked at the east end of town.

Officials immediately recognized the experience of these two criminals and discovered part of the reason they had been caught was due to the actions of Senator Charles Myers, who owned the jewelry store. It seems Mr. Myers, in fear of falling victim to safecrackers, had been filling the cavity between the safe's doors with containers of formaldehyde and a permanganate of potash (on advice of a local druggist) which when mixed caused toxic fumes. When the burglars set off the dynamite, they also set off the chemical reaction, making it difficult for them to breathe. This was later confirmed from two damp towels left in the jewelry store by the thieves, which appeared to have been used as face coverings.

Advertisements in local newspapers of the day showed the Mansfield and Rambo drug store (the former location of Lincoln County Pharmacy) having formaldehyde on sale for $4.00 per gallon. It seems this chemical was being widely used at this time as a household disinfectant for influenza. Three days after the botched jewelry heist, Myers placed an ad in the Davenport Tribune addressed to "professional cracksmen." The ad warned that since the heist, the gas formula had been perfected and suggested the next criminal to attempt such an act might not make it out of the store alive.

Meanwhile, Lea remained in jail. Who was Lea, and what happened to him? To find out, read Part 2 in an upcoming issue.