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3ieri and his bakery shop (green front) #82 J.A. Cuevas (VF MJS VIH 00 350 )
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5ieri, Mr. A. Ghas a lengthy and interesting communication in today's issue of THE ECHO, in which he well defines his position in the circumstance regarding his action in the prosecution of young Thorn. (SCE 02/18/1893)
Piery's Drugstore - (A.G. Pieri)
Editor Echo, Dear sir:	The	robbery	of	my store being an
offense committed against the public and one therefore of general interest, I write to give a correct account of the affair to appease the minds of "those few" who have "thought" little enough to judge me cruel in my action of the case .
As our city's means are inadequate to furnish a sufficient police force for the absolute protection of its citizens,* the duty of ferreting the criminal devolved upon my son and myself and we therefore made it our duty to observe everything and everybody closely. It was a sacred duty we owed to every man and woman in this community to find the guilty party, that even the faintest suspicion might not hover over the innocent ones. Was it chance, luck or coincidence or was it the power of that "Strongest Will" that guided our footsteps, in a straight line to the criminal, in justice to those who were entitled to it?
Like all other evil doers he had little fear of detection and exposed one of the stolen articles, a hair brush, on his dressing table and on the night of his wedding, my son, being one of the invited guests, could not help noticing the peculiar smell from the fumes of a cigar the groom was smoking and its aroma and its shape showed that it was a Corono Victoria, one of the brands that we missed. Then commenced a closer inspection of the surroundings, and the brush alluded to above, showing that it had been little used induced my son to a closer examination and on the back he recognized my private cost mark, and reported his discovery to me. Mr. Maynard, our town marshal, was called in that night and arrangements were made for a search warrent and, with that paper, the next morning the arrest was made and the young man acknowledged his crime, producing some of the stolen goods and promised to reform and asked for mercy at my hands. His foster father's grief was such,, that being a father myself, I could imagine his feelings and under the impulse of the moment promised him that I would not make my prosecution a bitter one. The first affidavid was made by my son Warren, and read for larcency only. On the evening of the arrest of the prisioner I was notified by the Marshal that I was wanted at the court house, at one for the purpose of making a second^charge - that of buglary, and going there I was told to do so, to which I asked if it were compulsory or optional on my part, then I was answered that I could do as I pleased. Then I refused to make a second charge and said to all present that my reason was that I had given my promise to that effect to Mr. Thorn and the matter then rested in the hands of the State.