Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1900-05-22
Last But One of Eldon Bank Rob-
bers Caught.
he WAS CAPTURED IN BALTIMORE
Sheriff SHUTS Left Saturday Night for
That Place-E1istory OF tho Rob.
bery-Reads Like Romance
y Terms In PrIsons
From MONDAYS Daily.

fdon bank robbers, has been caught in
Baltimore. Maryland, after chase
lasting about three years. Sheriff
Frank Suits left Saturday night on
Burlington No. 2 bound for that place
armed with requisition from Cover
nor Shaw giving him authority to bring
him back. The sheriff left Chicago at
1880 Sunday morning, arrived at Bal
timore at 1880 this morning and if
nothing unforeseen happened, was on
his way to Ottumwa with his prisoner
within an hour. Richie was captured
by Pinkerton detectives after being
Swallowed for a week in the town
where the principal Offices of the FL
deity & Guaranty company which in
sured the bank against loss by robbery,
are located and which has proven that
they never let up where case Of this
kind occurs.
Richie is smooth crook, has many
friends in all the principal cities of
the Union and unless caught in a cor
ner from which there is absolutely no
show for escape may be depended up
on to make hard fight to regain his
liberty. He was captured Wednesday
and Pinkerton detectives have been
very solicitous that the affair be kept
out of the papers, hence until Sheriff
Suits was well on his way no public
mention was made of the affair. Now
that the Baltimore authorities have
held him thus far it is safe to assume
that Sheriff Suits will have but little
difficulty in getting out of the state.
Should he come back by way of Chi
cago and Ritchie's crook friends get
onto the fact that he is passing thru
in the custody of the sheriff,it may be
that an effort will be made to serve
some kind of a process on the sheriff,
issued by subsidized court such as
Chicago has had in the past and which
there is no reason to believe does not
exist now. Ritchie is too great prize
to lose and, subterfuges looking to his
detention*at any other place than OF
tumwa will be fought with all the
might powerful corporations have. Joe
Menard got away after having been
placed in custody thru peculiar cir
cumstances and taking that as an eX-
ample, the officers do not propose to
be again caught.
Richie is the sixth man to be caught
and will undoubtedly be the fourth to
serve time for the offense of robbing
the Eldon bank on the morning of
February 1, 1892. In all probability
Stevens, who was recently liberated
from the penitentiary, having served
time for the offense. and who made a
confession, together with Dodd, who
tprned states evidence, and thereby
saved himself, will be put on the
stand Murray, one of the men, was
sentenced to nine years in the peni-
Tertiary and is now serving his time;
There is no reason to believe that
Richie will get less.
The story of the Eldon bank rob-
berry reads like a leaf from dime nov
Gland concerns residents of Eldon and
Ottumwa who with the assistance of
professional crooks, but one of whom
as now at liberty, on dark aud sleety
night in February, after much prelim-
mary work, drove from this city to Ell
don and cracked the safe in the Brad
ley bank, securing $4,000. The money
was brought to Ottumwa the same
night and divided by Richie in Dick
aDodd's house in South Ottumwa. The
robbers hid in the cellar and the even
ing OF the next day left this place
bound for Chicago on Burlington No.
whilesthe whole police force and the
ssheriffs were looking for the perpetra-
tors of the deed.
Description Of Murray.
Thos. Murray, alias s'Buck'' Murray,
alias Ryan. resides in Buffalo. He is
an American born. He is marble
cutter by trade, and his criminal occu-
patton is that of burglar. He is thirr-
ty-three years of age; five feet. six
and a half inches tall and weighs
about lbs pounds, and is of medium
build. He is light ,complexioned, has
light curly hair and blue eyes. He is
smooth-shayen. He was arrested at
Burlington, VT, May is, '97, on the
charge of picking pockets. He was in
dicted for Eldon bank robbery. with
Richie, Hamilton, Menard and others.
His distinguishing marks are two
Scars on right temple quarter of an
inch long and one-half inch wide.
Story Of the ssfe Cracking.
Early Monday morning, February /,
1897. Bob Durkin. Dick Dodd, Buck
Murray. Sam Richie and Joe Menard,
sa1ldS luulau Joe Win The aid and
connivance of Charles Stevens, the
city marshal of the town of Eldon,
raised a window in the Bradley bank
building, quietly crawled into the
room and with the proper tools cut a
hole in the vault large enough for a
man to crawl into the inside. With
but curtain shielding them from the
view of passersby on the strets they
did the work. They drilled hole in
the safe in the vault, inserted charge
of nitroglycerine and blew open the
door, securing $4,000 in cash. The
bank was in portion of the hotel Ell
I don and directly under the room of a
lawyer named Coombs. who was look
ing up data at that time connected
with the famous Davis will case in
Montana. Many people heard the ex-
plosion but as the hotel is situated
near the railroad tracks, nothing was
thought of it. Those that did hear it
supposed that it was the crash of two
freight cars coming together while be-
ing coupled in the yards but a short
distance away. The crime was not
discovered until the next morning
h. 81 ~ L : II - d.