Prohibition was in effect in Colorado from 1916-1933. The law was not universally popular, and the prevalence of bootlegging kept law enforcement agents hopping and gave newspapers plenty of crime stories to report.
106 Years Ago
The January 11, 1917 Colorado Transcript described the final arrest made by the retiring Jefferson County Sheriff, Joe Dennis, and the first arrest made by new Sheriff Bert Jones.
On January 4, 1917, Sheriff Dennis arrested Nathan Geltman, a Denver junk dealer. “A number of Golden women complained that Geltman had been selling whiskey to their husbands, but when the time came to testify in court, all of them refused to take the stand. Geltman was released.”
Sheriff Jones took the oath of office on January 9, 1917, and a few minutes later arrested 16 year old Teddy Felt for horse theft. The boy appeared before Judge Jameson the following week.
Teddy Felt, the 16-year old boy arrested by Sheriff Jones last week for stealing a horse from August Bergman, was taken before Judge Jameson Monday, where he pleaded guilty. The boy’s mother appeared before the judge and stated that the boy provides her main means of support. Judge Jameson remanded the boy to the care of the mother, who promised to report any future wrong doings. This is in line with the policy of Judge Jameson, who seldom sends a boy to the reformatory on his first offense unless he believes the lad is really bad at heart, or that his home environments are such that the boy would really be better off in an institution.
Colorado Transcript – January 18, 1917
The same boy was arrested the following May, for stealing a bag of beans from a neighbor. The bag had a hole in it, and the woman who owned the beans was able to follow his trail and report him to the police.
I was unable to find the result of his second trial. I hope he went straight, because he did not seem to have a talent for crime.
