Detective Desmond Closes Pawn Shop

Running a pawn shop has always been a tough business because you constantly have to be on the look out for thieves attempting to pawn their stolen goods in your shop.  In the late 19th Century, police detectives worked with pawn shops, as they do today, to try to stop the fencing of goods.  In August 1885, future St. Louis Chief of Detectives William Desmond and his partner Detective Pat Lawler found a pawn shop purposefully acting as a fence for stolen goods.

On Saturday, August 7, 1885, a citizen named John Mockler was heading to his home at 1305 Belt Avenue.  For some reason, he stopped for a rest at Ninth Street and Washington Avenue.  When he woke up and entered a streetcar, he went into his pocket to check the time.  He realized someone had taken his watch, chain and locket.

The following Monday, Mr. Mockler reported it to the police.  Detectives Desmond and Lawler were assigned the case.  They made the rounds of all the pawn shops including Emile Sasse and Son at 806 Franklin Avenue.  The proprietors told the detectives they would be on the lookout for the stolen items.

On Thursday, August 13, 1885, Detectives Desmond and Lawler stopped in at Agnew and Reinhold Jewelry Manufacturing Company.  The detectives found the watch case, chain and locket.  The only thing missing was the watch itself.

When the detectives asked the jewelers where they obtained the items, they produced a receipt made out to Emile Sasse and Son Pawn Shop.  They paid $24.50 for the items considered old gold to be used in the manufacture of new jewelry.

The detectives returned to Emile Sasse and Son Pawn Shop.  In one of the cases, they found the stolen watch.  At first, Emile Sasse, his son Otto and clerk Charlie Woods, who sold the items to Agnew and Reinhold, denied knowing how they missed that the items were stolen.  Eventually they admitted to knowing they were fencing stolen property.

The detectives looked through the transaction book and realized the men were not logging all transactions as required by law.  A further check of the inventory turned up several other stolen items.  Desmond and Lawler arrested the three men and took them to the Four Courts.  They were charged with disposing of stolen property and running a business in an illegal manner.

Detective Desmond and Detective Lawler spent most of the day on Friday, August 14, 1885 logging property into evidence.  They would also have to contact the victims to identify their property.  Based on their evidence, Emile Sasse and Son had to close up until the case could be resolved.

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Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 15, 1885 edition, p. 2

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