The Union daily times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1918-current, 1922-07-06
BOLD BANDITS
in COLUMBIA

Daytime bandits and midnight
providers operated in Columbia Tues
day night and yesterday and Chief
Strickland is pushing his force to
cope with the situation. Mrs. Ethel
Harmon, wife of DR.. S. +. Harmon,
1880 Sumter street, was the victim of
a daytime holdup yesterday afternoon
and $1,000 jewelry robbery was re-
ported by P. X. Xepapas OF 14Os Bull
street. Robbers also entered three
business houses and a negro residence
tuesday night. The Harmon and
Hepapas homes are about six blocks
apart.
Mrs. Harmon summoned officers to
her home yesterday afternoon short
ly after a o'clock and related the de-
tails of one Of the boldeSt attempts
at robbery ever reported to the CO.
lumbia police. She was sitting on
her front porch, she said, and walked
into the house, where she was con-
frontcd in the dining room by two
white men who grabbed her and said,
You got us Sunday night. but We
have got you now" Mrs. Harmon told
officers one man held her and the sec
ond bandit covered her head and
mouth with cloth. She said the men
commanded her to open a safe so they
could get "the Liberty bonds" and
carried her to the place where the
safe was. She was at the mercy of
the two men when a negro boy ap-
peared on the porch and frightened
them before Mrs. Harmon had opened
the safe. The men ran out of the
house and she gave the alarm.
Detectives Shorter and Bob Broom
and Officer McAlister rushed to the
house and got the details of the bold
deed from Mrs. Harmon, who was
nervous from shock. She described
one man as being tall and heavy with
a red face. He wore a blue shirt,
gray coat, overalls and slouch hat.
!hc other bandit was described as
short and small and was bareheaded
during the holdup. Mrs. Harmon said
the small man stood behind her
during the scuffle.
Chief Strickland and his force went
to work on the case and everything
possible is being done to locate the
guilty parties. Determined officers
were working energetically at an
early. hour this morning ~
Last Sunday night cityNdetectiVes .
hurried to the Harmon home to learn
the details of an attempted robbery.
Mrs. Harmon heard noise across
the hall and when she opened her
room door she saw masked robber
peeping through another door. She
fired at the form and the bullet lodged
in the window facing close to the
point where the robber stood. Mrs.
Harmon said the intruder said, Hand
me your pistol. It's woman and I
will get rid of her" The bluff failed
to alarm Mrs. Harmon, who held her
ground The robbery made a dash for
the staircase and Mrs. Harmon step
ped into the hall and fred another
shot. The bullet passed through a
screen door the robber had opened in
his race for fresh air Running into
a room. Mrs. Harmon looked out of a
window and saw the form of a man
moving toward Sumter street and she
fired the third shot. City detectives
were working on this case when they
were summoned to the house yeStcr
day to investigate the daytime hold
up.
Dr. Harmon said he had no Liberty
bonds at his residence and that th-
small safe in his home never CON
tanned anything that would attract
thieves. DR.. Harmon sand he would
keep bonds and Other valuablcs in
secure places. He said nothing was
missed from the house yesterday
The State.