Bold Robber of Rhodes and Kehoe's Hardware Store, April 14, 1922

Bold Robbery Occurred in Heart of City Last Night. . . Hardware Store in Business District Visited by Thieves. . . Robbers Gain Entrance to Rhodes and Kehoe’s Establishment in Early Hours of Last Evening and Open Safe and Cash Register, Getting Away with $200 and Watch

One of the boldest and most daring robberies to occur in this city in a long while took place between 6 o’clock and 9:15 o’clock last evening, when an unknown party or parties broke into Rhodes and Kehoe’s hardware store at No. 86 Middle street, right in the heart of the city, managed to open the big safe in the office and took therefrom $250 and a gold watch worth $75. In addition to the money and watch taken from the safe, the thief or thieves also went into the cash register and took therefrom 35 cents, all the cash that it contained.

The robbery was discovered by Mr. Claude White, who is employed by the firm and who went into the store shortly after 9 o’clock for the purpose of using the telephone. Going back to the office he found that one of the rear windows was open and that the safe doors were also open. He realized at once that a robbery had taken place and lost no time in getting in touch with members of the firm who were soon on the scene.

Mr. Kehoe was the first to reach the scene. He found that the contents of the safe, $250 and a gold watch worth $75, had been taken by the intruder. Further investigation brought to light the fact that the cash register had also been investigated and its contents taken.

How the safe was opened is a mystery. Mr. Kehoe stated that he had placed the day’s receipts in the safe before closing for the night, and after closing the doors, turned the combination knob. There was a possibility, he admitted, that in turning the knob he did not get it full around and the thief slowly turned this back until the tumblers fell, gained access, secured the money and watch and left via the window route, through which he had entered.

That the thief or thieves had as fair knowledge of the store and the location of the various things therein seems probable. This fact is substantiated by the nerviness of the burglary so early in the night and in a building which hundreds of persons wee passing every hour. However, the management of the store has no idea as to the identity of the guilty party or parties and the police were also in the dark.

Persons who were in that section during the early evening were questioned as to whether they had seen suspicious characters hanging about the place, but so far as is known, no one of this type was seen about the place.

From the front page of The New Bernian, New Bern, N.C., April 14, 1922. Yes, the headline said $200 and the story said it was $250 in two different places. According to Dollar Times, $200 in 1922 would be the same as $3,011 in 2021.