The headline is now “Clever Work”. Several officers returned to Hanna’s rented room and conducted a more thorough search, uncovering some additional incriminating material. The suspect, in the meantime, had engaged the services of local attorney Col. Walter W. Scott for a brief arraignment, which occurred on Wednesday. The reading of any charges was waived, and a plea of not guilty was entered. The prosecutor asked that any hearing be continued to Saturday, and that was approved.

The investigation, however, was not over. It had now turned into a search for one Robert Broadbent, a local Dover boy, “who had followed no occupation except that of leisure and hanging around pool rooms”. His present whereabouts being unknown, Dover police sent out circulars to departments throughout New England. The reporter from Foster’s assured readers it was only a matter of time before “they will locate the “much wanted youth”. And by this time, they had a report of yet another attempted Monday night burglary, this time at Louis Hobby’s grocery store on Washington Street. It appeared to have been unsuccessful, because after breaking the glass in a window at the rear of the building, the age and construction of the window prevented its removal to gain entrance. “Hobby is consequently receiving today the congratulations of his friends”.

Come Saturday morning, the evidence against Hanna was presented by City Solicitor George T. Hughes, and Attorney Scott for the defendant. The first witness was Mrs. Mary Heffron, the owner of the house on Fifth Street where Hanna had rented the room. He had been there for two weeks and, according to Mrs. Heffron, had not paid his bill for his room and meals. Under cross-examination, she agreed that Hanna had stayed in her home on a prior occasion and was showing some signs of being ill upon his recent arrival.

Next up was George Bernard, owner of the pool room located in the Kennedy Building, a brick structure still standing on the Upper Square at the corner of Broadway. He had seen Hanna around for the past several months, but every day for the previous two weeks. On the Monday in question, he was there between 7 and 8 p.m., and later, after 10 p.m. Under questioning by Atty. Scott, he agreed it might have been later, perhaps closer to midnight, and acknowledged that Hanna was “an expert player.” Dover Officer Fody testified that he knew Hanna, and recalled seeing him in the company of Robert Broadbent approximately 11:15 p.m. on Monday. He could not recall exactly what they were wearing at the time, but he was certain of the contact because Hanna had spoken to him. He was followed by Thomas Hughes, who stated that he had closed the store around 7 p.m. on Monday, with no prior damage to the exterior of his store. He identified the cash register that was produced as evidence and testified as to the amount and denominations of the bills missing from the drawer in his office.

The final witnesses were Officer Cornell, Marshall McKone, and Deputy Marshall Wilkinson, who testified regarding the search of Hanna’s rented room, where they found the money in a sock and a pair of pliers and two screwdrivers on a high shelf. A comparison of one of the latter appeared to match the damage found on Thomas Hughes’ cash register. While they were there, Hanna, for the most part, remained silent and did not object to the search, but according to Wilkinson, at one point said, “I saw Broadbent this morning in Haverhill; he was in the police station”. The State rested its case. Attorney Scott offered no evidence in rebuttal, but asked for a reduction in bail. Solicitor Hughes objected in view of Hanna’s previous criminal history, and bail was set at $2,000. He was transferred to the County jail pending Grand Jury proceedings in the February Term of Superior Court.

In the typical case — those you have read about up to this point — the Defendant is now in jail, and the next step in this story would be a Grand Jury indictment, a Superior Court appearance, a plea of guilty, or a trial on the merits. That has been the standard course of events, but not everything goes as planned. And here… well, on Saturday, the 21st of January 1906, three people escaped from the Strafford County jail: Cleophas Valle, a resident of Somersworth, John Rogers, who was from Portsmouth but charged with a breaking and entering in Dover, and… would you believe it… William Hanna. Keep in mind that this was supposedly an escape-proof revolving jail, as noted previously, designed to prevent more than one individual prisoner from having access to the outside unless under proper supervision. It’s not entirely clear how it all came about, but with a little help, these three were able to gain their freedom. (Subsequent investigation showed that other prisoners may have had the opportunity to join them but had second thoughts.)

This is how it was done: A woman named Rosie Grenier went to Neal’s Hardware Store and purchased a saw. She appeared at the jail as a visitor to John Rogers on the 17th, and somehow transferred possession of the tool. During the next several days he was able to spend time in the outer, non-revolving section of the building where he used the saw to cut through the tops of two iron bars, then remove them fully from the surrounding frame, leaving enough space for a body to squeeze through. Late Saturday afternoon, the three did just that, and using some lumber that was stacked in the outer yard, they built a ramp to the top of the perimeter wall. Having reached that point, they dropped to the ground, a distance of about 18 feet, and off they went. Sheriff Parker was described as “the most surprised man in his city” when the break was discovered, perhaps an hour later, or maybe even less, after the fact. County and local law enforcement personnel quickly organized a search, and other communities within a 75-mile radius were notified of the event.

It’s not clear what put them on the scent, but within a short time following the prisoner’s escape, officers appeared at the home of Mrs. Eugene Tatro on Washington Street. John Rogers was there, but at the sight of the officers, he headed to the cellar, and after breaking a window that was a connection to Jeremiah Goggins’ drug store next door, he made his way into a side alley. A later report had him in the area of Portland Street heading toward the freight yards. Officers were already on duty there to prevent any of the men from boarding a train, but saw no sign of Rogers. It was duly noted that all three of the escapees would have been wearing their prison garb, consisting of “summer trousers, black cotton shirts, and jumpers”, and each also wore “low bicycle shoes”, and here it was in the middle of December. This followed a report that two men had appeared at the home of William Whitely on Payne Street (the present-day Henry Law Avenue; River Street was renamed as Payne Street in 2024) and asked if they could have some more substantial outer clothing. A short time later the men were observed in the same neighborhood, heading in the direction of Court Street. A special effort was made to notify all nearby residents, and to make a search of all barns in the area as possible hiding places (still a lot of active farms in that part of the city), but no sign of the fugitives. The attendants at the Dover Point Bridge were alerted to be on the lookout. By 3 a.m., and with no results, many of the officers were given time off to catch up on some sleep.

(more to come….)