Wanna Be Jewel Burglar Gets A Surprise

July 1884--Two employees, Henry Hawley and Dillon Brooks, of the W.W. Bostwick jewelry store surprised a would be burglar while said burglar attempted to drill through a rear entry.

According to the Coshocton Daily Age, the two employees remained in the store at night to guard the valuable contents. Hawley heard the sounds of scraping and boring coming from the rear door. He alerted Mr. Dillon who, at first, heard no noise, but after the resumption of noise, watched an auger bit come through the rear door.

Once the hole appeared, Dillon placed his revolver muzzle into the hole and fired. After hearing the burglar run away, the men discovered blood near the doorway, confirming the would be burglar had been shot.

Telegrams were sent throughout the county and former convict Frank Markley was captured at Dennison with a bloody hand. Upon Markely's late night return to Coshocton, the Age described Markley, "Young Markley came marching down the street, under escort of officers, with a swaggering air, chewing the end of a cigar stub, his face showing traces of the pain he must have suffered, his face colorless from the loss of blood, and his whole appearance indicating premature depravity and swaggering don't-care-ativeness."

Markley, who had served prison time for burglary, was charged with an earlier burglary of a blacksmith shop and sat in the stripey hole until the fall court session.