100 years ago in Spokane: Two boys make daring jail break

From our archives, 100 years ago

Two prisoners – ages 13 and 15 – made a daring jail break from the Spokane County Courthouse.

Charles Turpin, the 15-year-old, showed the most ingenuity. He had been held in the juvenile detention ward for only a few hours, but he used those hours productively. He fashioned a rope made out of blankets. Then he pried open a door lock, made his way to the roof of the building and used the blanket rope to rappel three stories to safety.

The other boy, Orphel Jones, 13, was watching from a window and was inspired to make his own leap for liberty. Since Jones was on a lower floor, he didn’t need a blanket rope. He simply dove headfirst through a window screen and hit the ground running.

Both boys were still at large.

Turpin had been arrested earlier in the day when police detectives saw him offering silverware for sale on the street. He claimed the items were his mother’s, but police found several items missing in recent burglaries. Turpin told police he was a bugler (as opposed to burglar) and was on furlough from the 211th Canadian Expeditionary Cavalry forces. “He wears his hair pompadour, and had on a blue serge suit,” the paper said.

Jones was being held in Spokane after a previous escape from juvenile authorities in Montana.

The county probation officer said the escape wasn’t unusual. “Boys are constantly getting away,” he said. He planned to demand that county authorities put bars on the windows as soon as possible.