“Jenkins Brothers caught trying to sell sickly looking stolen chickens”
“Two bedraggled, mud-smeared Chevrolet sedans with three rustic youths and numerous empty bottles redolent with moonshine, and last, but not least about forty sickly looking chickens that had been tied for many hours, drew up Wednesday morning at the City Produce Co., at Luray, the purpose of the youths being to dispose of their chickens.
The cars which had made many weary miles over the clay roads of Page and Warren Counties at once struck the eye of Clarence Fox and his helpers and it was not long before Town Sergeant G. W. Slushel sauntered by as by accident to watch the young adventurers.
In a few minutes Sheriff E. L. Lucas joined the curious party and began to ask questions. Arrests were quickly made of the boys who gave their names as Willie Jenkins, age 20, and Brice Jenkins, age 22, brothers, of Browntown; and Charles Henry, age 16, of Bentonville. The Sheriff asked the boys to produce their auto license cards. They did not have them, and in view of this and the other suspicious circumstances, arrests were made and Sheriff Roy Collins, of Front Royal was communicated with.
A little after noon Sheriff Collins, and son, Deputy Sheriff Shirley Coins, drove to Luray, accompanied by three poultry owners who had been visited by thieves the night before. Mrs. J. B. Hedrick, of Front Royal promptly recognized fourteen fowls that had disappeared from her hennery the night before. G. B. Manuel, of Browntown, who had been relieved of twenty-eight chickens definitely identified a number of them in the motley bunch brought to the Luray market. Walter Shipe, who lives between Front Royal and Browntown, also picked out several birds that more properly belonged to his hennery. Three turkeys and a guinea, that pertained to the stolen bunch, were not claimed.
The owners of the chickens said that there had been much poultry stealing going on. Sheriff Collins took the boys out of the Luray jail and started home, the owners of the chickens leaving at the same time, while the two mud-smeared sedans which are really the property of the boys or their families, joined the odd looking motorcade.
Before leaving here the boys confessed to the thefts. The odor of liquor hung about one or two of them. The bottles lying on the floor of the car were all empty. Sheriff Lucas says that ten chicken thieves from other counties have been arrested at Luray in the last year. It is a frequent practice of the thieves to carry their wares to a distant point for sale, consequently every up-to-date chicken thief must have an automobile. Sheriff Collins said the three boys arrested had been under suspicion, but definite proof against them was lacking heretofore.”