Woman accused of stealing gangster’s vintage watch
An antique pocket watch that once belonged to one of South Florida’s most notorious gangsters was stolen last week by an art exhibit volunteer, city police said.
Police say that Jennifer Ellen Maggard, 44, was volunteering for an art exhibit at the Grassy Waters Preserve when she stole an Elgin pocket watch that belonged to John Ashley, a member of the infamous Ashley Gang.
The watch is valued at $10,000, according to a police arrest report. Maggard, who lives west of the city, was arrested Friday on one count of grand theft. She was released Friday after she posted $3,000 bond.
According to the report, the owner of the watch allowed it to be displayed at the preserve for an exhibit on the Ashley Gang. On May 27, the exhibit staff was setting up the public displays when someone noticed that the pocket watch was missing from its case.
Surveillance video showed the watch disappear during a time frame in which only Maggard would have had access to the case, police said. She reportedly could be seen reaching her hands into the display.
On Friday, Maggard agreed to go to the police department for questioning. She denied putting her hands into the case. However, when presented with evidence, she admitted to opening the case and possibly moving the watch, police said. She later told she dropped the watch and took it to an unspecified shop on the Antique Row section of Dixie Highway to have the broken glass face repaired, according to the report.
According to the report, Maggard admitted to helping the owner and other people look for the watch “after she had taken it and had deprived the owner of the right to the watch by denying having taken it.” The report does not indicate whether authorities either verified Maggard’s story about the broken glass or traced the watch to a repair shop.
The Ashley Gang was connected to a series of crimes across South Florida in the early 1900s, including robbery, hijacking, rum-running and murder. According to public reports, John Ashley, among other crimes, was responsible for the December 1911 murder of DeSoto Tiger, the son of Tommy Tiger, the leader of the Cow Creek Seminoles.
Tiger’s body was found in a canal northwest of Fort Lauderdale. In November 1924, Ashley was killed by law enforcement officers at the St. Sebastian Bridge.