The Scotsman, Saturday 30 August 1845, p. 3. This contemporary report describes two arrests made by Edinburgh criminal officers William Mulholland and James McLevy in connection with a housebreaking in Jedburgh. The text below preserves the newspaper’s wording.
Original newspaper report
APPREHENSION OF TWO HOUSEBREAKERS.—On Friday se’nnight, the dwelling-house of a blacksmith, named Storey, residing in Jedburgh, was broken into, and a quantity of wearing apparel and some money carried away by the thieves. Information of the robbery, together with a description of two parties suspected, having been sent to the police here, Mulholland, the criminal officer, succeeded in capturing one of the thieves, named Kerr, in Blackfriars’ Wynd, on Wednesday evening. His coadjutor in the robbery, named Taylor, was apprehended the following morning in the Cowgate by M’Levy. Most of the stolen goods have been recovered in different pawn-offices in town; but the money appears to have been all spent. They were brought before a magistrate on Friday, and having been fully identified, they were to be sent to Jedburgh to-day.
Historical context
The two suspects were reportedly arrested in Edinburgh even though the original burglary occurred in Jedburgh. Mulholland apprehended Kerr in Blackfriars’ Wynd, and McLevy arrested Taylor in the Cowgate. The report illustrates cooperation between criminal officers and the role played by Edinburgh pawnshops in tracing stolen property. It does not record the eventual outcome of the case at Jedburgh.
Source: The Scotsman, 30 August 1845, p. 3, “Apprehension of Two Housebreakers”. View the original clipping in the research collection (access may depend on Drive permissions).
