Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-01-14
Hold Clerks and Customers
at Bay While Store Is
Looted.
VANISH AFTER THEFT;
RECOGNIZED BY VICTIM
Raided Grocery Last November
Taking $2,OOo-Police Throw
Out Dragnet.

In neatly engineered holdup. tw.
bandits lined up four men before tn
muzzle of pistol in the rear room
the Sanitary grocery store. II 1880 |
street early today and in broad day
light robbed Raymond Whitmer. coil
leCtor for the chain stores. for the
second time within two months tax
ing satchel containing S689.19 ant
IN undetermined amount from the
cash register.
On November q. at virtually t.a
same time of day, the san two mer
held up Whitmer at the Sanitar2
store at Eighteenth street and Ore
eon avenue, escaping with $1,000 As
in the previous case, today's hold-ur
was conducted in the rear of the
store, the men worked coolly and eff
ciently and then made their escape
by means unknown, seemingly van
ishing away.
Whitmer, carrying his little black
Satchel, went into the grocery StOr.
shortly after 9 o'clock. He was not
inside more than a few minutes when
the first hold up man-whom he later
cosnized-entered. Whitner Went
to the rear room where he was given
the accumulated funds from that
store by Manager l. L. Laws He put
the money in the satChel and was
getting ready TO leave when d short.
slight individual. in q slouch hat and
a dark overCoat. whom Whitmer rec
ognized as his acquaintance of No
vember -. entered with u pistol, in
structing all present TO remain in
their places.
Guard Personal Funds.
Meanwhile, the confederate had
ia ken command of the front Of the
store. Monroe Miller, clerk turned
around from his task of unpacking
oranges TO look into the threatening
mouth of a pistol. The thickset,
heavier man with a red face, who ac-
companied the first one on the hold
up of November "a, was in charge
Miller was ordered to the rear room.
When Miller reached the back of the
store he found Whitmer, Laws and
Kenneth Laws, son of the mana ger,
in charge of the short bandit.
The last named had taken charge
of the satchel, inspected the safe 70
see that it was cleaned out. and was
talking to Whitmer about a pocket
book. Whitmer convinced the bandit
that the pocketbook contained his per-
sOnal funds, and with greater Consid-
Grafton for individual personal prop
erty than for the property of the com
pany. the bandit allowed Whitmer t.
retain his own money.
Out in the front of the store by this
time things were happening to demon
strate the adroitness of the bandits
woman customer came in. She
found herself being ordered by the
bandit to stay where she was. a sec
ond came in and got similar orders
Then the short bandit, finishing UP
his work in the rear, came out, lin
gered at the cash register taking only
the paper money, an unestimated
amount. and took his stand at the
front door while the larger confeder
ate issued final orders:
We are not in any great hurry 10
leave. See to it that none OF yoT
break your necks following US. Re
member, il might be unhealthy
Pair Eanish Completely.
And then followed the vanishing
act.
Detectives Cullinane and Trammell
were assigned the case by Inspector
of Detectives Henry G. Pratt. Every
point of departure from the city was
covered. Every small town in the
vicinity was notified to be on the look
out for the two escaping bandits. Po-
lice in nearby cities were requested
to have men watch the arriving trains
from Washington, and, as far as hu-
manly possible, a dragnet was
thrown out for the bandits in the
hope that this recurrence would not
be the start of another series of hold
ups such as characterized crime rec
ords in the latter part of November
and early December.
Although Whitmer did not get
glance at the larger bandit, the dc
scription given by Miller. the clerk,
fits him to a IT" Police are ah
solutely convinced that both he Eight.
eenth street and Oregon avenue mold
up and the occurrence today were
planned and executed by the same
persons, because of the exact similar
ity of procedure in both cases.
Both were daylight hold-ups and
both were marked with neat strokes
by the bandits. In neither case was
there any hurry, hustle or confusion,
ard so smoothly did the case work to
day, that Laws, the manager, said
he knew exactly what was going on,
felt absolutely powerless and. never
theless, was not frightened in the least
degree.