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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

100 years ago in Spokane: Teen boys terrorize Chinese residents

From our archives,

100 years ago

Three high school boys were charged with robbing and terrorizing Chinese residents in several incidents.

Two of the boys were described as white, and the third was a Chinese-American.

All three were accused of robbing Sue San in his Garden Springs home a week earlier. In that incident, police said the boys held San at gunpoint and spilled coal oil in a puddle around his feet. Then they threatened to toss a lighted match on the oil unless he surrendered the rest of his money.

However, San did not reveal the whereabouts of all of his money. The Chinese-American boy told police he finally stabbed an ice pick into a phonograph “in anger over failure to obtain money he knew the victim possessed.” The boy also said he was retaliating as San once told his parents where he was after he ran away.

The two white boys also robbed Wong Fong, a laundryman, although the Chinese-American boy stayed away for fear that Fong would recognize him. The two boys forced Wong to disrobe and stand at gunpoint while they ransacked his house.

All three boys were accused of holding up another Chinese man on Post Street, stealing money and a lantern.

One of the boys also confessed to stealing a large number of autos. He went joy riding and later abandoned them. Police found keys to 15 autos on the boy’s person, who was described as a 15-year-old Lewis and Clark High School student.