The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-05-16
Lombard and Lowe
Are Held For the
Superior Court.
BONDS ARE $4,000.
Congressman Thayer Coun-
sci For Alleged Ash
burnham Robbers.


morning when the trial of James Lowe
and John Lombard, the alleged Ash
/ burnham bank robbers, was begun be-
! fore Associate Justice James A. Stiles
T. B. Dunn of Gardner conducted the
case for the commonwealth and J. r,
Thayer of Worcester was counsel for
the prisoners, who appeared in court
handeuffed together.
Detective Gutman of Boston, Detec-
tive Peleg F. Murray of Worcester
Deputy Sheriff w. H. Richardson and
officer William R. Gilmore of the Bos-
ton police force, were present.
The commonwealth qualified IA wit
nesses. The first to take the stand was
Oliver ]. Sawyer, cashier of the bank.
He testified that at about o'clock on
the morning of Jan. 8, the First Ma
tional Bank at Ashburnham was
robbed. His attention was called to it
at about o'clock He said the safe
had been blown open and about $1,000
in cash and promiSsory notes amount
ing to $4,000, were taken. The former
was in gold. silver, bank notes and le-
gal tender
No one else had keys to the door ex
cept Mrs. E. P. Lombard, who was re-
lied upon as a substitute for cashier in
case of the latter's absence. He said
the combination of the safe.
The first he knew of the trouble was
about o'clock, Monday morning. Five
minutes before that hour he learned it
at his boarding place and went to the
bank. He saw several people about
and found the door unlocked. He said
the safe was a large portable one. 1t
was there when he became cashier in
October 1896, and had the appearance
of being an old one. The combination
was set on four letters.
There was from $50 to $40 in gofd in
the bank at the time of the robbery,
and it was in S. and $40 pieces. There
was about 5000 in silver, in halves and
quarters. The silver was in the upper
part of the safe, and there was only
one door with combination lock to open
to reach it. The bills and gold were
in the treasury chest and another COM
bination had to be reached to get to it.
The notes were mostly individual
notes and ranged from $50 to $500. The
four largest were $350O, $4,000, $2500 and
$1,000. On the request of Mr.. Gutman,
a detective, Mr. Sawyer went to Bos-
ton, and at Detective Peleg F. Muir
rays request, he went to Fitchburg to
try to identify Lombard and Lowe
Lawyer Dunn took the witness again
to ask him if he recalled a man coming
into the bank within a week of the
robbery to get a bill changed. Mr.
Sawyer replied that he had heard steps
upon the stairs and young man en-
tered and asked if he would change
$40 bill.
He said he went to Boston but did not
positively identify a prisoner as the
man who had changed the bill. He
then went to Fitchburg and recognized
the prisoner at the bar designating
Lowe and it was his opinion that Lowe
was the man who had had the bill
changed.
Deputy Sheriff William H. Richard
son, of Ashburnham, said that his
house was the next one to the bank
and about so feet distant. His bedroom
was in the centre of the building with
the door on the opposite side from the
bank. At about 2 o'clock on the morn
ing in question, he was aroused by
noise and arose. He looked out of a
window ard across the street. He saw
a man apparently on his knees. The
man arose and sank back upon his
knees three times, and then started
dagonally across the street in the direc-
lion of the bank building. He and his
wife saw the man. When the man
started across the street Sheriff Rich
ardson went back to his room, dressed
as quickly as he could and then went
out into the centre of the street and
looked at the bank windows but could
not see any of them broken and the
bank door was closed.
He then ran down to the depot He
rang two door bells. He met Charles
Willard on Main street and they went
to the postoffice and saw a piece of
glass on the snow. Another man
stepped on glass. Deputy Sheriff Rich
ardson with Mr.. ellison and John Crit
fin then went into the bank and found
it total wreck.
He said that he had seen a man whom
he thought was the man he had seen
kneeling on the ground, recognizing
him by his peculiar gait, as either his
ankles or knees were weak. and the
weakness was more discernible when he
ran. He had seen him in Boston as
he came through the court room after
being discharged in the municipal court
as vagrant. He brought him up to
Fitchburg, and bad seen him several
times since, and the man was Lowe
He said he had seen him within 10
days of the break walk over and step
on the brick sidewalk in the
bank block, and go past the
store door in the block. but did not see
what became of him. as he was busy
in his Office opposite the bank build
ing.
Sheriff Richardson said he had also
seen Lombard about week before the
break, leaning against a pillar Of the
piazza in front of his office.
The next witness was Henry E. Pill
cher, who said that he had been station
agent at South Ashburnham since Oct.
/. He saw Lowe at about SIS on the
afternoon of Dec. %. Lowe had come
to the ticket window to inquire about
connections and fares to Manchester,
n. H, and Aver Junction, that even
ing
When Lowe came to the ticket office
he was seated at his desk, turned half
around from the ticket window. Know
ing that there was some one at the Win
dow, he wished to finish some work he
was engaged in, he said. half a min
ute.' When he went to the window,
he found the two cash drawers on
either side of the ticket case, which
was between the ticket windows,
opened. Lowe said he would have time
to leave on the 7.46 train for Manches-
ter.
The witness later went to the hotel
to see a Mr.. Mcintyre, and while wait
ing for him, Lowe came up and put his
hand on his shoulder and said: MY
friend, you're a pretty easy mark; most
any one could come in and take every
dollar you had"