(Reprinted
April 15, 2013, from the Lewiston Tribune of May 15, 1930) [See previous post for introduction.]
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| Marvin Dickson in 1925 |
Marvin
Dickson, 21, teacher of the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades in the Kendrick
school, is behind the bars of the county jail in Lewiston a confessed auto
thief, according to Prosecuting Attorney, Ray E. Durham. He is implicated with
[two others who were brothers] in the theft of automobiles belonging to Ray
Spiker and Dr. J.W. Mullinix, in Lewiston Friday. [The brothers, from Orofino,
were captured Saturday and had confessed.]
When
Dickson dismissed his last class at school yesterday Deputy Sheriff Steve
Douglas was waiting for him with a warrant charging grand larceny. Dickson at
first professed his innocence but when reaching Lewiston and being confronted
with tell-tale evidence he admitted his guilt.
Destroyed Car
for Thrill
In
the arrest of Dickson the mysterious theft and ultimate destruction of the
Spiker car was solved. It was taken from in front of the Spiker home by Dickson
[and the brothers] and driven to the steepest point on the Lewiston highway and
deliberately rolled down the grade for a quarter mile after one tire had been
removed. The rolling of the car to its destruction was “just for excitement,”
Dickson told the officers.
Besides
the theft of the automobiles in this city, Dickson was a co-conspirator . . . .
in the destruction of a third car by fire Thursday afternoon on the highway
between Kendrick and Troy. This car was the property [of the brothers] and
their object in burning was to defraud. The plates of the burned car were used
in place of those on the Mullinix car, the change of licenses being made in
Lewiston orchards, with Dickson in his own car present. Dickson purchased a
file at a local hardware store with which the [brothers] obliterated the
numbers on the Mullinix car to conform to those on one they formerly owned, and
which was stolen in Lewiston in 1929, and wrecked when it was being driven over
the Lewiston highway.
By
changing the engine and serial numbers of the Mullinix car to correspond with
those on the car they previously owned, and on which they had been paid
insurance and given a “paid” receipt, the [brothers] traded the stolen sedan for
a coupe at Spokane, using the receipt as a bill of sale. The numbers changed
conformed with those entered on the receipt.
When
it was learned that [the brothers] had left for Lewiston after being seen to
set their car afire near Kendrick, the officers were informed they had gotten
into a car driven by Dickson. When [the brothers] drove the Mullinix car to
Spokane Dickson returned to Kendrick in his own car to resume his school work.
Teacher a Good Blind
The
defendants detailed their trips to Lewiston to the prosecutor last night and of
how they had planned their careers of crime. The fact that a school teacher was
aiding in the car thefts led [the brothers] to believe they would not be
suspected when they would “prove an alibi” by a statement from Dickson.
Dickson’s
home is also at Orofino. He is well known in Lewiston.
The
three will be arraigned today, Prosecutor Durham said.
5 comments:
Guess thrill seeking is nothing new. I did get kind of confused over the part about the burning car and changed numbers though.
I'm glad to hear you were confused because I was, too. Let's just say they were intent on defrauding.
Agreed. :-)
This story is NOT organized in an easy to understand way.
Here's how it went down:
Car #1: Spiker car: rolled down hill for excitement. This probably happened LAST after everyone realized how easy it was to steal cars.
Car #2: "the brothers" car. This car was stolen in 1929 and wrecked. It was owned by the bank, so when the insurance company covered the loss, the bank was paid and "the brothers" received the title ("paid receipt") for the wrecked car, which they kept.
Car #3: Mullinix car stolen and altered to match the numbers on car #2. Car #2 burned to destroy any remaining evidence.
Car #3 driven to Spokane for a trade using the title received for Car #2. Now "the brothers" have a new, usable coupe and their useless, wrecked insurance car is in the past.
Ha-ha! Hallie points out that I accidentally published the brothers' surname. So typical of what happens to me. I've fixed it now. Good thing it was old history.
And thank you, Hallie, for explaining the crime.
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