Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-06-30
AUTOMOBILE BANDITS
RAID SUBURBAN BANK

Thirteen dollars and fifty cents
was the net loss of the Bank of Col
lege Park Tuesday in the bold day.
light holdup to which one bandit has
confessed and for which two others
are being sought
The holdup was more of Ben
Turpin comedy than a Bill Hart
thriller. The bandits rode in a Ford
car that broke down. One of them
had black moustache like Ambrose.
The druggist who fired at them
bile, and the pursuing sheriff had
his face all covered, with sAmvang
lather.
Even the blood-hounds seemed deN
termined to make it laughing mat
ter. After baying through four miles
of forest around Hapeville, they fl
nally chased to earth a pole-cat
One bandit and one suspect thus
far are held. The bandit is ]. r.
Brooks, youth of ". He drove
the robbers car, but he says he was
forced into the holdup by his two
companions and that he was scared
to death" all the time.
The suspect is Eddie James, of
Stewart avenue. He was arrested
near Hapeville by County officer
Pettis soon after the robbery, but he
declares he knows nothing of the
crime, that he was out blackberry
picking. Brooks too, asserts that
Two other suspects were arrested
Tuesda yaftarnooa at East Point
but they were released after all in-
vestigatioa which proved they knew
nothing of the robbery.
told briefly. II. c. loumans, as
sistanta cashier WAS alone in the
bank at 12:45\ o'clock. Other em-
ployes had gone to lunch. The BAN
dts drove up in Ford car. While
helpless at the pv.::-- of a gun, the
other two ransacked the vault. Thei.
they put Mr.. Youmans in the vault
and made their getaway.
Woman Sees Them
But the bandits had been seen.
Mrs. J. H: Stallings, of West Palm
Park, was the heroine of the piece.
She loked in the window and behelds
instead of the usual quiet and orr
ishing a pistol in Mr.. Youmans' face.
Mrs. Stallings screamed
Then things really began to pop.
The bandits made dive for the
his drug store, looking for the band
it's. He saw the bandits and cut looss
with his gun, simply running the
top of brand-new automobile some
body had parked near the Ford.
Deputy Sheriff J. d. Bazemore, get
inc a n
made one leap for the door. A few
minutes later the Ford was going
out Virginia avenue at full Ford
speed, with Deputy Bazemore, his
face still covered with lather, pursu-
ing in another car and stepping on
the gas for all he was worth.
Shots were exchanged between
pursuers and pursued in true movie
style. Then, on side-road, the
Ford wheezed it's last. The bandits
| took to the cornfields, but they were
better runners than Mr.. Bazemore
and his two companions, Roy Stone
and j. w. Stephenson, and were
quickly out Of sight in the woods.
1t was then the point of the joke
was revealed. The bandits loot was
found in the Ford-abandoned. 1t
consisted of about SIS in pennies, all
of which was intact save $3.50.
They got just that And they over
looked in the cash drawer of the
cashiers cage between $4,000 and
$1,000.
Man-Hunt Begins
A man-hunt began in the woods
around College Park and East Point,
with Mr.. Bazemore and his posse,
assisted by dozen county police
men sent out from Atlanta. Results
were swift-young Brooks, white
faced and trembling, came out of the
brush and surrendered himself to
Pat Maley, of College Park.
But the other bandits, with the ex.
ception of the arrest of the suspect,
James, could not be found, even
though blood-hounds were brought
to the scene from a convict camp
and trailed through the woods for
hours until they unearthed the pole
cats lair.
Brooks was taken to the Fulton
county jail, where he told the fol-
lowing story of his part in the hold.
up:
II work for Mr. J. II. Clark. This
morning a little after II o'clock !
met two men in a pool room near 40
Marietta street. One of these men
was named Charlie. I don't know
Weiss They invited me to go out
in the country and get some whisky.
Il was driving my brothers Ford
car, My brother is w. A. Brooks and
works for the American Express
country to Stewart avenue and we
stopped out there and took two or
three drinks. Finally, as we were
standing there, one Of them said to
to College Park There is bank
over there that is a cinch.' I said
to them, NO am not going to break
into any bank. One. of the men took
0" by By God if if" You 1A1 Won't go with us
we will shoot you and leave you
here in the. road;' SO 1 went with
them. We went right on through
bank The two men each took an
other drink. They offered me some
was Scared
81 was scared to death. We stood +
there for minute and finally one
Of the men took a pistol from his
pocket un1oaded it and handed 1t to
me. He told me to go into the bank
in front of them and make the cash
Ter hold up his hands. I walked on
into the bank. Only one man was in
there. He was at the farthest win
down. I stuck the empty gun be-
tween the bars and said: Hands up
The two men came behind me; went
through the door into the bank, and
then into the vault. They came out
in a few minutes, put the cashier in
the vault, and then we left.
II don't know whether l had the
gun in my hand when we left or not.
was so scared 1 did not know what
1 was doing. we got into the car
and drove off One man got IN the
front seat and the other in the rear.
The man in the front seat told me to
drive like hell
"a man shot at US as we drove
off towards town. We cut across
into Virginia avenue and went down
Virginia avenue about mile. We
then cut to the left and went over
towards the cotton mills, because
someone was chasing us in another