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A senior who told Milwaukee, Wisconsin; police that he needed money to return to college, faces charges of armed burglary there after police seized him early last Saturday ina filling station.
Arthur J. Stroebel '53, of Milwaukee, was arrested after he had smashed his way into a filling station with an axe to get train fare to Cambridge. Police said that he was carrying a 38 caliber revolver.
A woman who heard the crash of glass spread the alarm, and within minutes a dozen policemen surrounded the gas station and reportedly found Stroebel inside.
A delegate to the National Student Association convention in 1950, Stroebel was arrainged in District Court. If found guilty of the burglarly charge, he faces a maximum penalty of three to eight years in the State Prison. His father put up a $1,000 bond and the case was continued until next Monday.
When arrested, he had $51 and a pay check for $73 in his pocket. He allegedly said he needed $30 to resume his studies.
Questioned at police headquarters about the gun in his pocket, detectives said Stoebel told them: "I bought this gun from another student at Harvard. I took it along to give me courage. If there were just one officer, I would have shot it out with him. But I knew that against three or four I wouldn't have a chance." Stroebel later denied making the statement.
Police quoted him as saying circumstances played a large part in his decifirst criminal attempt.
He gave this story to police: sion to turn burglar and that it was his
"My father refused to help me fnancially for the last year. The University had promised me a $400 scholarship for good scholastic standing, but that would not be sufficient. I decided to sell my car and was polishing it when I saw the gun I carried for protection in the car."
He continued: "I thought of the fellow at the filling station. I remembered when I purchased gas that I saw the combination knocked off the safe. During my eleven-hourshift at work, I thought about it, left work, and drove to the station."
Stroebel's acquaintances here said that he was a "quiet, unassuming person" who worked term-time to get expense money. He was one of nine undergraduates elected to go to Madison, Wisconsin, for the annual N.S.A. convention.
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