Vancouver Voyager: Julius Levy

Friday, January 8, 2016

Julius Levy

When we left off on Wednesday, Constables Nebisuk and Burton had just entered the tailor shop. Constable Nebisuk spoke to the victim. The man said his name was Julius Levy and he was eighty years old.

Levy had been alone in the store when tweed jacket man entered. The man asked if he could try on a pair of pants and since he only had $3.00, any type would do. Julius felt sorry for the man. He could tell he had been drinking and seemed down on his luck. So Julius offered him an old pair of his pants and, if they fit, the man could have them for nothing.

The man took the pants into the changing room and soon called for Levy to come check the fit. As Julius went to do so, the tweed jacket man came out of the cubicle and began to hit Julius about the head with a cane. The two fought for awhile and the stranger grabbed his wallet, taking out the $8.00 cash that was in it. Tweed jacket man only stopped his assault when Mary yelled at him.

Julius described his attacker as a man who was five foot nine inches tall, weighing about 150 pounds. His hair was brown with a reddish tint and he wore glasses with partial rims. The attacker was wearing a tweed jacket, maroon sweater and blue pants. He carried a dark-coloured cane with a curved handle and was around 36 years old.

The Constable asked Mr. Levy if he was hurt but the elderly man said he wasn't, just a little shaky. Julius didn't want to go to the hospital but asked if he could be driven around to look for the robber, who he would have no trouble identifying.

But, when Levy stood up, he felt pain in his left thigh. Once again, he declined the offer to go to the hospital. He got into the police car with some difficulty and the police drove him around for a short time. Then the two constables became concerned that Julius was in more pain than he was letting on and they drove him, despite his protests, to St. Paul's hospital.

Once at the hospital, a staff doctor examined Mr. Levy and told the officers there didn't appear to be any serious damage but he ordered x-rays just to be sure.

The police left to continue their search for the suspect but, within ten minutes, they were called back to the hospital.

X-rays showed that Julius had suffered an unusual fracture to his pelvis, which was caused by a low blow to the groin or gluteal area. When questioned about it, Mr. Levy couldn't receiving any such blow during the struggle but it could have happened.

The excitement of the robbery wore off and Levy's condition continued to deteriorate. He went into shock and, on the following evening, he died. He injuries were too great for his frail body to stand and his heart failed.