The Proceedings of the Old Bailey

 

566, 567. (M.)   John Brass , otherwise Cade, otherwise Masters , was indicted, for that he, in the dwelling house of   Mary Hubbard , did make an assault on her the said Mary, putting her in corporal fear and danger of her life, and violently taking from her person a silver watch, value 40 s. a thirty-six shilling piece, a moidore, seven guineas, and five shillings in money numbered, her property ; and   James Murphy for receiving the watch, well knowing it to have been stolen , Sept. 25 . *

  Mary Hubbard . I live in  Chiswell-street , and am a pawnbroker ; on the 25th of September, about nine at night, my street-door was shut; my maid,   Anne Rimmington , went and opened it; the prisoner came in with a handkerchief in his hand, and asked a groat upon it; I was sitting in a little room; my maid came in with the handkerchief, and was going to show it me; he followed her, and put a pistol over her shoulder, and said to me, make no resistance, your watch and your money; my maid turned round, and clapped her hand upon the pistol, and drove him back into the shop; I got up and followed; then the evidence was standing holding the street door.

Q. What is his name?

M. Hubbard. His name is   William Guy ; I found I could not make any resistance; the prisoner said to the maid, let go; she said, for God's sake, do not let the pistol off, do not kill my mistress; Guy at the door said, if she does not let the pistol go, blow her brains out: the prisoner

then wrenched the pistol out of my maid's hands, and turned round to me (I was got behind the counter;) he presented the pistol to my head, and said, give me your watch and your purse; I said, I carry no watch; then, said he, give me your money; I took out of my pocket a thirty-six shilling piece, a moidore, and about three guineas; he then said, give me your watch; I took it out of my pocket, and gave it him, a silver watch, with box and case in one; then he put his hand over the counter, and said, give me your pocket; then I put my hand in my pocket again, and took out some more money, and threw it at him, and said, there is all; then he put his hand over, and said, open the till; I said, I have no till; he put his hand to it, and found it was a large drawer, then they both ran away.

Q. Are you certain to the prisoner?

M. Hubbard. I believe the prisoner to be the man.

Q. How was he dressed?

M. Hubbard. He had a handkerchief tied over his nose, it did not reach over his eyes, nor down to his chin; I think I can take upon me to say he is the real person.

  Anne Rimmington . I am servant to Mrs. Hubbard; the prisoner knocked at the door about the time my mistress has mentioned, I opened it; he said he wanted to pledge his handkerchief; I seeing a handkerchief tied over his nose, asked him how he came to be disguised; he said he had a sore nose; I went to my mistress, and he followed me, and clapped a pistol over my right shoulder, and said to my mistress, your watch and your money; I turned round, and clapped hold of the pistol, and pushed him out of that room into the shop, and struggled with him some time; he said let it go, I will not hurt you; he got it away; then he went to my mistress, as she was behind the counter, and said, your watch and your money; she gave him first silver, then gold; then he asked for her watch again; she gave him a silver watch; then he not being contented wanted more money; then she gave him gold again, then he wanted more; she then took out some, and said, here, take all; then he wanted to see the till, and put his hand over, and found it a large drawer, then they went out.

Q. Are you sure it was the prisoner?

A. Rimmington. I am very positive of it that he is the man, I looked very much in his face.

Prisoner. She would not swear to me till the evidence was sworn before the Justice.

A. Rimmington. When I went in I looked at   William Guy , and said, that is the man that was at the door, I believed, and I looked at the prisoner, and said, this is the man that robbed my mistress, he had a handkerchief tied cross his nose when he robbed her.

Q. How was he dressed when he robbed your mistress?

A. Rimmington. He had a brown wig on, and a flapt hat, and I perceived he had short hair under his wig *.

* The prisoner, when at the bar, had no wig on, but his own short hair.

*** The last Part of these Proceedings will be Published in a few Days.

 

Continuation of the Trial of   John Brass .

  William Guy .

ON the 25th of September I went to Shadwell to ask for work; coming through Wingfield street, at the sign of the Sun, Whitechapel, I heard a tap at the window; I went in, there was the prisoner   John Brass ; I said, are you going to sea; he said, I do not know whether I am or not; they have made a sailor of me, but I will have another suit of clothes before Saturday night; I said, how; said he, I know where to make something to night; I sat down and drank a pint of beer with him; then we went to the Skettle-ground; then he told me of this pawnbroker's house, in Chiswell-street; he said, she wore a purse, and a watch, and has some gold rings, and he would have them; we went to go there, but was rather too soon to go there; then he said we will go and get 2 or 3 s. in picking of pockets; we went and got as many as came to 8 s. in handkerchiefs; we carried them to the prisoner Murphy, and his wife paid me for them; then we said it was too soon, so we staid till about a quarter before nine; then we went to Chiswell-street, and went by the window two or three times; then we slept over to the horse-ride; there I pulled off my coat, a blue one, with brass buttons, and put on his flannel waistcoat, and he put on a brown wig and my coat; then he went to the door, and went in; I held the street door; he went in and demanded her money, and after that came out again, and said, I have got it, and we ran away into Pickax-street; he showed me what money he had, and by all accounts he cheated me out of five guineas; we did the robbery on the Friday night, and on the Sunday in the forenoon I carried it to Mr. Murphy's, the other prisoner at the bar; I asked his wife if she would see it; she called her husband; he asked me how I came by it; I said, we had been robbing a woman of some money, and that watch; he asked what I would have for it; I said, a guinea and a half; at last I came to 27 s. he desired us to call in the afternoon; when I called, he said he could not give us any more than a guinea; then I went to Brass, and told him what Murphy had said; and he said, then let him have it; I went on the Monday, and his wife gave me the guinea.

Murphy. I never saw this evidence in my life before.

Guy. I have sold Murphy many a dozen of handkerchiefs.

Q. How old are you?

Guy. I am twenty-two years of age, the 3 d of March.

Q. What do you expect to come to?

Guy. I hope to get an honest livelihood.

  James Brebrook . A man came and told me there was an advertisement of Mrs. Hubbard, a pawnbroker in Chiswell-street, being robbed; he said to me, go directly away, and I should see the person that did it, playing at skettles, at the Sun in Wingfield-street, Whitechapel; I went, and there took the evidence and prisoner, and carried them before Sir   John Fielding .

Q. When was this?

Brebrook. This was about a fortnight ago.

Q. to prosecutrix. Was the watch ever found?

Prosecutrix. No, it never was.

Guy. Murphy said he would take care that the watch should never come to light.

Brass's defence.

I know nothing at all of the matter, I never was concerned in such a thing in my life; I was at Chatham at the time of this robbery, on board

she Squirrel; I came up on the Monday, and was taken up on the Wednesday; the evidence treated the thief catchers with a bottle of wine, so got himself admitted evidence, and I had no money to treat them with.

Brass Guilty . Death .

Murphy Acquitted .

See Brass tried three separate times for picking pockets, No 450 in Mr. Alderman Beckford's, No 222 in Mr. Alderman Blakiston's and No 132 in Sir Richard Glyn's Mayoralty.

See   William Guy tried for picking a pocket, No 99, 154, in this Mayorality.