Category Archives: #courts

Officer Cracks Mysterious Case

Posted on July 18, 2009 by lmharnisch

  July 18, 1899: Officer C.L. Foster unravels a series of mysterious thefts. A deliveryman from the butcher shop is helping himself to whatever he can take.

Posted in #courts, LAPD | 1 Comment

Police Court

Posted on July 16, 2009 by lmharnisch

  July 16, 1899: Malicious mischief … selling lottery tickets … speeding … theft and robbery. And yes, The Times refers to a "slant-eyed disciple of Confucius."

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Found on EBay — The Courthouse

Posted on July 15, 2009 by lmharnisch

A postcard showing an unusual view of Broadway, with the courthouse in the foreground at left and City Hall in the background, has been listed on EBay. Bidding starts at $7.99.

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Young Florita Tears Up the Town

Posted on July 15, 2009 by lmharnisch

Jan. 31, 1899: Many people, especially the noir fans, prefer the newspapers of the 1930s and '40s, but I love the turn of the century papers because The Times wrote about everything that happened and didn't spare the details.

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Police Court

Posted on July 15, 2009 by lmharnisch

July 15, 1899: An old panhandler … a man arrested for speeding … theft … prostitution and public intoxication. Yes, The Times referred to an Asian as a "slant-eyed celestial."

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Killing in Chinatown

Posted on July 15, 2009 by lmharnisch

  July 15, 1889: Siegel the Hatter, under the Nadeau Hotel. July 15, 1889: A killing in Chinatown. The old newspapers never spared the gruesome details.

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Streetcar Official Arrested for Speeding

Posted on July 14, 2009 by lmharnisch

July 14, 1889: A streetcar company official is arrested for speeding. He says he was late to work and driving briskly but not dangerously fast.

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Woman Turns Informant in Jewel Robbery

Posted on July 13, 2009 by lmharnisch

July 13, 1889: A smash and grab robbery at 1st and Spring … an old man robbed by a prostitute … a forgetful woman … and The Times finds fault with the new City Hall on Broadway, shown below left. … Continue reading →

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Chef Joseph Goes on a Bender

Posted on July 12, 2009 by lmharnisch

July 12, 1889: Millionaire P. Beaudry's chef, Joseph Garson, is an artist in the kitchen but when he's been drinking he becomes "a rather disagreeable personage."

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Clerk Refuses to Marry Chinese Man to White Girl

Posted on July 11, 2009 by lmharnisch

  July 11, 1899: A Chinese man accused of raping a white 16-year-old girl wants to marry her. The girl and her mother consented, but intermarriage of whites and Asians was illegal at the time.

Posted in #courts, Eurasians | 1 Comment

Police Commission Studies Regulation of Prostitution

Posted on July 11, 2009 by lmharnisch

July 11, 1889: One of the best things about the 1880s newspapers is that The Times wrote about everything. One of the more controversial issues before the Police Commission is what to do with all the prostitutes in Los Angeles. … Continue reading →

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Black Man Survives Lynching

Posted on July 10, 2009 by lmharnisch

  July 10, 1899: Dick "Trilby" Williams, an African American charged with killing two white men, survives being lynched because the marshal of Alma, Kan., cut him down after six minutes. Although this story says Williams wasn't expected to live, … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Countdown to Watts, Homicide | 2 Comments

Executive’s Killing Reveals Double Life

Posted on July 9, 2009 by lmharnisch

View Larger Map Seco Street, Pasadena, in the vicinity of the killing, via Google maps' street view. George T. Judd lived a model life as far as anyone could tell. He was a respected financial executive, and he and his … Continue reading →

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Funeral Home Refuses to Give Up Body of Murder Victim

Posted on July 9, 2009 by lmharnisch

July 9, 1899: The coroner gets enmeshed in a grim dispute over the body of a murder victim. Before C.D. Howry, the coroner's preferred funeral home, could claim the remains of Mrs. Earl Hanchette, Bresee and Shafer, a rival company, … Continue reading →

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Officer Arrests Boy, 7, in Burglary

Posted on July 8, 2009 by lmharnisch

July 8, 1899: Officer Ziegler arrests a couple of youngsters in the theft of some tools. "Officer Ziegler holds the record for being a terror to small boys," The Times says. "All lawbreakers look alike to him, regardless of age, … Continue reading →

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Policewoman Admits Perjury in Brenda Allen Case; Jive-Talking Sports Scribe!

Posted on July 7, 2009 by lmharnisch

July 7, 1949: Charles Stoker surrenders his police badge to defense attorney S.S. Hahn after being accused of burglary by Policewoman Audre Davis. In this story, Davis admitted lying to win the conviction of Hollywood madam Brenda Allen. She accused … Continue reading →

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Mayor Orders Crackdown on Animal Cruelty

Posted on July 3, 2009 by lmharnisch

   July 3, 1899: Dog races continue at Agricultural Park despite the mayor's order of a police crackdown. According to testimony in an 1899 animal cruelty case brought by the ASCPA, these races consisted of two greyhounds chasing a California … Continue reading →

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Griffith Park Hermit Is War Veteran; Dodger Case May Go to Supreme Court

Posted on July 1, 2009 by lmharnisch

July 1, 1959: Coming soon, "Porgy and Bess" and "Anatomy of a Murder" David Williams became the first African American federal judge west of the Mississippi. At left, African American Judge David Williams is overruled in dismissing cases against blacks. … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, City Hall, Dodgers, Downtown | 1 Comment

Holy Barbarians — Police Beat Man in Raid on Gay Club

Posted on July 1, 2009 by lmharnisch

There's a lot of rambling, self-important navel-gazing in "Holy Barbarians" and although these meandering insights are vital to the people in the book, they can be fairly tedious reading. But there are also rewards. Here's an account of a group … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, #gays and lesbians, art and artists, books, Nightclubs | 1 Comment

Neighbors Accuse Foster Mother of Beating Boy With Buggy Whip

Posted on June 30, 2009 by lmharnisch

June 30, 1889: Mrs. Noles is accused of beating a 3-year-old boy with a buggy whip. Nonsense, she says, she doesn't own a buggy whip. She was just correcting the lad, as good parents do … and zanjas are for … Continue reading →

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