Young Bicycle Thief

Young Bicycle Thief

WANT OF MONEY AND BREAD MAKES A BOY ONE.

His Hard Working Mother Came on From New York to Reclaim Her Only Child.

The case of LeRoy Pardee charged with larceny was dismissed before Justice Doty Tuesday afternoon. It is a case with a peculiar story, which made the recommendation of Prosecuting Attorney Kirk and the action of the justice in the matter very commendable. LeRoy Pardees' mother is a hard working woman being engaged as cook in a hotel. She has relatives near Grass Lake, and sent her son to spend his vacation with his step grandfather at that village. The boy's parents had separated and it is supposed that his father is in Detroit. The latter has married again. After the boy had been for two weeks in Grass Lake, his grandfather told him to go to his father in Detroit, bought him a ticket to Ann Arbor, gave him 50 cents and put him on the train. When the boy arrived in this city he did not know what to do. At last he went to Leon Shaw's bicycle store and hired a bicycle for three hours. With this, he went to Detroit to hunt his father. This was on June 29. In Detroit he aroused the suspicions of the police by his trying to sell the bicycle to get something to eat. The police telephoned to Marshal Gerstner, who with Leon Shaw went to Detroit and identified the wheel and the boy. Mr. Gerstner communicated with the mother and she borrowed the money and carne on. With a true mothers devotion she said the boy was all she had ; that he had always been good, honest boy and so far as he was able had always helped her. The boy was very penitent and realized fully the position he was in. The mother wanted to take the boy along. After consultation the county being held harmless the mother was allowed to take her son and leave. She made a good impression upon the officers as a hard working honest woman. She appeared to be about 35 years of age. She said her place in New York would be kept open until Aug. 1. She intended going to relatives in Jackson county to try and earn enough money to go back east.