Fort Mill times. [volume] (Fort Mill, S.C.) 1892-current, 1921-09-01
ODD BANK ROBBERY
Fort Mill Man Tells of Mvsteri.
Gus Case He Heard Tried

my observation some wears aoo
IN small Southern city in which
was making my home for a few
months. a day or two ago said
Fort Mill man to The Times
In that community then. as in
most communities now, there was
y great deal of lawlessness. Rob
Ibery OF. the homes of citizens and
business houses occurred every
night or two, and finally the
town s principal bank. the CITY
bank, was robbed of practically
all the funds it had on deposit,
several thousand dollars. Natu-
rally the citizens were worked up
to Il high state of excitement and
there were threats of summary
punishment for the guilty parties.
The bank robbery occurred
at ii O'Clock one Friday night,
the 23d day of December, shortly
after the arrival of the passenger
train from the north. recall the
date distinctly because of an IN
cldent which afterward came out
in connection with the ease. The
robbers must have used an unu-
sual amount of explosives TO
crack the safe or they failed to
take the usual precaution to
deaden the report, for it was
heard by many for several blocks
in each direction. The city police
responded to the alarm at once,
but were unable to find any
trace of the robbers. The sher-
IFS office also immediately went
to work on the ease and an hour
or two later one of his deputies
brought to the county Jail boy,
unknown in the community and
scarcely 20 years old. He was Sc
verely wounded and unconscious
and had been arrested as IA SuS-
pect. The officer said he had shot
the hoy who was running away
and had refused to submit to ar
rest. -,
"'The boy was Immediately ia
ken to the city hospital and for
several days it was not known
whether he would live or die. III
nally he began to regain his
strength and then he was taken
back to the Jail. The boy said
he had had nothing to do with
any hank robbery; but the Off
GERS flOuted his claim of mno-
ccnse. SO certain were they that
they had made an important ar
rest. The fact remained. how
ever. that the boy did not have
IN his possession when he was ar
rested the least thing to connect
him with the robbery. But cir
cumStanceS We're against him.
lie had come into the community,
as he had admitted, on the very
night the bank was robbed, and
had been shot by an officer while
fleeing from arrest. Further
more suspicious circumstance
was that he had refused abso-
lmtely to talk about himSelf-to
give his uame, the name of amy
o. his people or to tell where his
home was. When the boy was ar
rested the only writing of any
kind found on his person was
small memorandum book, giving
The daily expenditures he said he
had recently made while away
from home.
Finally some weeks later. the
case against the boy came to trial.
The presiding judge was an
old man, well past 10, greatly
loved by all the people Of his clr-
cuit, and especially by the people
OF his home community, where he
was now holding court. For sew
cral months he had been in feeble
health and some surprise was cx-
pressed that he should undertake
to preside over the court. Gener-
ally /, was felt that il would be
Tia, last court he would ever hold.
In answer to the usual questions,
the prisoner said he was not
guilty, that he had no lawyer to
represent him and that so far as
hc knew there was no one he
could have called as witness in
hls behalf.
.The State made out what ev-