Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-31
MEMORY REVEALS
BANK BANDIT TRIO
Fingerprint Experts Sharp
Mind Led to Death of
FleagIe Gang.

Bureau of Investigation finally has
brought TO justice three perpetrators OF
the Lamar, Colo, bank robbery and
murder, in 1923, has just been revealed
by ]. Edgar Hoover, director of the
bureau.
The trio of bandits, whose crimes at
tracted Nationwide attention and led &c
formation Of vigilante groups in the
West, was executed a. few days ago, but
ironically. the man whose peculiar ringer
markings broke the case had sue
ceeded In eluding capture.
The fugitive, whose index finger
pointed the way to apprehension and
conviction ol his companions, is one
Jake Fleagle, alias William Harrison
Holden. He is the object of an intensive
search.
The hngerprint examiner, whose un-
canny memory of the distinctive twists
and whorls which Fleagle's finger left
on the automobile of murdered victim
OF the gang resulted In solution Of the
crime, is Albert B. Ground, employed in
Director Hoover's National Division of
Identification and Information,
The story of the Lamar outrage and
the part played by the Government In
Its solution is one of the most interest,"
ing ever to come TO the attention of the
Federal Bureau.
The robbery occurred on May %. 1928
-Four bandits Swooped down on the First
National Bank OF Lamar. killed the
president and two employees, looted the
vaults and fed into Kansas. Arriving
IN Dighton, Kans., the bandits prevailed
upon DR.. Wineinger to treat the
wounds of one of their party who had
been shot during the hold-up. In re-
ward DR.. Wineinger was taken for q
ride" brutally murdered and his body
thrown over a cliff. near Liberal,
Kans.
The bandits took the precaution to
push the physicians car over the cliff
also. officials believe it was during this
showing process that one of the gang
LETT his tell-tale flngerprints on the
plate glass of one of the doors. The
latent print was carefully brought out
clearly with the aid of fine powder
busted on it, and photographs were
taken. The prints were sent to all po-
lice departments and Federal agencies.
One OF the photographs came to the
division OF Identification, located in the
old Southern Railway Building. It was
to lay eyes scarcely more than q dark
smudge. Part Of the print was oblit-
Grated altogether. but some of the curv-
ing ridges made by the skin we're dis
cernible to trained eyes.
Here was puZZler for the Federal
experts. One partial print to be COM
pared with more than 100000 finger
prints on file In the bureau! Manifestly
an impossible undertaking with the linz
tied force available. The problem was
put up TO Hoover. He saw only one
possibility. II the Government exam
liners could impress indelibly on their
minds some characteristic distinguish
ing the Lamar case print, perhaps in
the course of their daily routine exam
nation Of thousands of prints they
might run across one with the same
peculiarities
Almost n FOrIOrn Hope.
1t was more or less of q forlorn hope.
but Hoover felt 1t was worth try. He
issued instructions, accordingly, that
the print be memorized by the exam
liners to the best Of their ability.
year went by without success. The
examiners did not forget the peculiar
pattern nor relinquish vigilance, how
ever.
In the meantime several suspects had
been arrested and positively identified"
by witnesses as the bank robbers want
ed in Lamar. None Of the finger prints
Of the suspects tailed with that found
On the doctors car. The "identiflcations
Of the suspects had been so definite,
however that investigators decided the
finger print was irrelevant.
Examiner Ground learned Of the ar
rest of the suspects, but he still con-
tinued to look for print to match the
one sent in to the bureau. So firmly
had he impressed that smudge on his
mind that he could not forget it now, ii
he tried.
1T was like nothing I had ever seen
before" Ground explained later. 1T
aaeu IN rasY1arthaP rThnra were
three 'deltas,' several recurring loops
and one or two other distinctive mark
ings that were unusual. could see the
design with my eyes shut.
II was looking over prints sent in to
the bureau when one of them seemed to
hit me right in the eye. II had three
'deltas the recurring loops had noted
in my mind and the other whorls
looked at the notation on the card. The
print was that of Jake Fleagle, alias
Holden, who had been arrested on
minor charge by sheriff in Stockton,
Calf but later released.
Il got out the print in the Colorado
case and compared 1t carefully with the
one that had attracted me. There could
be no doubt about it. Jake Fleagles
finger had made the print on the car of
the murdered physician"
Ground was too modest to add that
the Fleagle print was but one of about
six thousand that had passed through
his hands that day. Some days he aver
ages more than ten thousand prints.
The magnitude OF his feat Of memory
thus becomes apparent.
Brother Names Aceomplices.
The authorities In Colorado and
Kansas were advised by wire immedi-
ately of the discovery. Police in Garden
City, Kans., promptly recalled that
Fleagle had lived there. A local investi-
cation ended In the arrest Of his brother
Ralph, The brother confessed to COM
plicity in the crime and named two
others as accomplices. The latter two,
Howard L. Royston and George j.
Abshir, were taken in custody the next
day. The trio was returned to Colorado,
tried, convicted and executed,
Although rewards offered by officials
of the bank, police and private agencies
totaled thousands of dollars, Ground
could not accept q penny, under Govern
ment regulations. Hoover saw that he
obtained promotion, which, though
small, was the best that could be ar
ranged under civil service rules.
Ground declined a handsome reward
recently in another case, the solution
OF which was possible through his
work. Many Of his CO.
workers also have been unable to ac-
cept money offered for the clearing up
of crimes.
These men, while unable to take
money from outside sources, are
wrapped up in their work" Director
Hoover stated today. "They gain the
intense personal satisfaction OF know
ing they have helped 10 clear the inno-
cent and apprehend the guilty. Even
money could not give them that sort of
The remarkable results daily being
obtained in the Governments httle-ad-
vertised identification division are
amazing to those unacquainted with the
During the past year
alone total Of 1883 fugitives were To-
Gated as a result of identifications by