Imperial Valley press., 1921-01-17
NIGHT CHASE
OVER DESERT
AFTER. TWO
BANDITS
Fiends Who Held Up Auto
Party, killing Man, and
Fatally Wounding Woman
Are Sought by Ell Centre
Officers.

Almost the entire force of deputies
from the criminal department of the
sheriff's office We're engaged all Of
Saturday night in wide flung
search for the two bandits who some
hours previously had held up an au-
tomoblle party near Palm Springs,
and killed one man and fatally
wounded woman.
AT one point of the search in the
early hours of Sunday it was believed
that the persons responsible for the
crime had been captured, but the
people taken into custody, one man
and two women demonstrated their
innocence of any connection with the
tragic affair and were released from
the city Jail at Imperial where they
had been held for investigation.
1t was early Saturday night that
Sheriff Applestill received word that
on the highway between Indio and
were Francisco Ceja, Senorita Julia
Hernandez, Mr.. and Mrs. Jose Roder
igues and their eight months old
baby, and Miss Lorenza Carmano,
had been held up by two masked
bandits, who were travelling in a
Chevrolet car, had stopped the party,
shot and killed Ceja, when he did not
put his hands promptly and fired three
bullets through the body of Miss
Hernandez. Then with Ceja dead and
Miss Hernandez fatally wounded the
bandits dragged Mr.. and Mrs. Roder-
CUES from the car and while one of
the men held them at the point of
a pistol, the other fiend dragged Miss
Carmano Gin to the bushes near by
and assaulted her. The entire party
was then robbed, the bandits taking
$3.50 from the body of Ceja, some $40
from Miss Hernandez and $40 from
Rodriguez.
The bandits then jumped into their
car and sped in southerly direction.
Under Sheriff Barker, who was in
charge of the office at the county
Jail at once gathered his forces and
in high powered machines two-party
posse armed with rifles and auto
-matics started out in search for the
bandits.
Under Sheriff Barker, with Dep
uty Sheriffs Cummins, Blake, and
Crerar, with City Marshal f. c. Kemp
Of Imperial took in the general direc-
tion of Fish Springs covering all of
the roads between FL Centro and that
point The run to Fish Springs was
made in record time, despite the con-
dition of the roads, and more than a
dozen machines were held up and ex-
amined. Beyond Fish Springs it was
learned that a posse of Riverside
county officers had searched that vi
cinity and the local officers made the
return trip by another route, stopping
and searching all machines come
across.
At the same time the Barker party
left here, Deputy Sheriff Sam Griffin
and Officer Slaughter Of the Ell Cen
tro police department, went to Ca
lexico to close all lines to the border,
and then swung to the eastern side
Of the valley to cover the Arizona out
let's. Miles beyond Imperial a Chev-
Tolet car containing one man and two
women, the man answering IN gen
eral way the description Of one OF
the bandits, was overtaken and the
party taken into Imperial where the
man was placed in jail and the two
women detained at residence. An
investigation to find out who they
were was at once begun and after sew
cral hours of long distance communi-
cation the identity of the people was
ascertained and a perfect aIibi estab-
lished for them. They were then re-
leased and allowed to go.
All of the FL Centre officers got
back home about daylight Sunday.
A description Of the bandits was
furnished to the officers by Mrs
Rodriguez. She said that one was
about five feet six inches tall and
weighed about 140 pounds. He wore
black coat and khaki overalls, a
red sweater and a dark cap. He ap-
peared to be bout "a or 25 years Old
The other bandit, the one who at