The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1921-10-20
BANKER CONFESSES
PART IN ROBBERY
OF SAFE CONTAINING BETWEEN
$4,000 AND $4,000 IN BONDS
AND SECURITIES

With the arrest of j. Hugh Tru-
luck, assistant cashier of the First
National Bank of Olanta, last Friday
afternoon, and his signed confession
to the part he played in the robbery
of the home cf Sam w. Young, Flor
ence county farmer, of an iron safe
containing liberty bonds, war saving
stamps and mortgages and other Sc
curities, amounting 10 between $780,
900 and 100000, events followed
thick and fast in robbery that has
created no little interest in this sec
ton of the state. In the absence OF
Mr.. Young the safe was removed
from the house and was found later
in Lynches river, riaed of its contents,
Arrest was made in Sumter of two
brothers, M. A. and A. H. Truluck,
and they were taken to Florence and
questioned closely by Mr.. Smithfeld,
a representative of the Burns Detec-
tive Agency, who has worked up the
case and caused the arrest Of two
men in Sumter.
When the third Truluck boy, a
cousin of the two men arrested in
Sumter, was arrested while in the
bank at Olanta, a sensation was Gre
ated. 1t was found later that M. a.
Truluck had nothing to do with the
actual theft of the safe and he was
released. 1t was declared that the
other Trulucks, however, had made a
confdant of him and that he knew all
about the business from beginning to
end.
AS a result of the work of the de-
tectives $4,000 worth of bonds, war
saving stamps and securities have
been recovered so far, and the officers
believe they will get the rest of the
stolen loot.
When they walked into the sheriff's
office at Florence, they entered at
once into a continuation of their al
legged confession to Mr.. Whitefeld, a
Burns Agency detective, who put the
clinchers on the information he had
previously received by having one of
the Truluck boys sign the same name
to a check he had signed on a check
drawn on the First National Bank of
Florence for $4,000. This check bore
the signature of Fred A. Jones, which
the boy confessed, was the assumed
name he had adopted to carry out in
Florence the disposal of the stolen
liberty bonds.
With confession from Hugh Truluck,
the master mind who engineered the
sale of the stolen securities, and al
legged confessions from the two Tru-
luck cousins, who committed the ac-
tual theft, Mr.. Whitefield believes that
he has closed a case upon which he
has been working for several months,
and one that has led him from Florida
to Maryland and on to New York, for
it was in a New York bank that he
found the first trace of one OF the
stolen bonds, through a check signed
for it's purchase.
It was stated in the alleged confes-
sion of NJ. A. Truluck that. the only
registered bond in the lot had been
burned; it was a bond for $1,000. 1t
was stated today by Mr.. Whitefield
that, following the confession of the
Truluck boys, he visited the Presby-
terian church at Olanta and found
stored under the steps the war savings
certificates, which, they declared, had
been hidden there.
1t was stated that Mr.. Young some
time ago withdrew his funds and Sc
curities from the First National Bank
of Olanta because of some disagree
ment. This fact is believed to
SCf6nPLQ6Il IIlS cNluSllSS slSoIAoS SiiS
assistant cashier, who, officers believe,
concocted the plot to take possession
of the bonds.
After six weeks of dilligcnt end un-
tiring work, in which many detectives
were used, A. P. Truluck and M. A.
Truluck were taken into custody
charged with robbery of the safe of
Mr.. Sam Young, farmer who lives
between Olanta and Lake City, the
safe and contents having suddenly
disappeared about August 16. Repre-
sentatives of the Burns Detective
agency of Atlanta, operating under
l.. P. Whitfield made the arrest with
the assistance of Geo. Hatchell, local
officer.
Saturday morning upon the arrival
of Mr.. Whitfield from Atlanta, full
confession of the robbery was made
IVA. P. Truluck, who statcvd that ne