The Carbon County news. [volume] (Red Lodge, Mont.) 1924-1931, 1930-12-18
five INVOLVED IN
SERIOUS FEDERAL
P0ST0FF|CE CRIME
TWO FROM RED LODGE, THREE
FROM WASHOE ADMIT BURG
LARIZING MOLT POSTOF-
FICE AND GEN. STORE
ATTEMPT GETAWAY BUT HELD
AS SUSPECTS IN LAUREL. AR
RAIGNED BEFORE U. S.
MISSIONER

Five young men, two from Red
Lodge and three from Washoe, are
prisoners in Billings, having been
bound over to federal court on
charges of breaking into the Mott,
Saltwater county, postoffice and
stealing federal government prop
erty. The young men signed con-
|fessions to their guilt. They are
Jack Sewell, 23, the oldest of the
quintet, and Troy Lane, 20, of Red
Lodge; Steve Costello, 20, Steve
Bonovich, 81, and Frank Osnick,
81, all of Washoe. They were ar
raigned before U. S. Commissioner
Cline in Billings Monday afternoon
and their bonds set at $1,000 each.
The robbery is said to have oc-
CURED early Sunday morning, fol
lowing a dance at Mott that lasted
until midnight. The postoffice is
combined with general store and
the young men stated they gained
entrance into the building through
the basement, broke open the outer
door of the safe with a hammer,
knocked off the dial but were I'M
able to finish the job because the
drill bit broke when they were
trying to open the inner safe door.
The boys obtained $50 in cash and
between SIS and $40 in stamps
from small cash box in the store,
a large amount Of merchandise,
including cigarettes to the value
of $25; IL flannel shirts, 10 pocket
knives, 5 ladies' handbags, bill
folds, 2 pairs of mems dress shoes,
2 pairs each of mems and women's
gloves, dozen handkerchiefs, 6 suits
of overalls, dozen drill bits and
a steel box in which to carry the
looted money.
The quintet were seen in Column
bus Friday by Saltwater county
sheriff Jack Benjamin. Being sus-
picious of their actions he took
down their car license number.
When he learned of the Sunday
morning burglary he checked up
on the license number and learning
that the car belonged in Red Lodge
he notified John Albert.
The young men returned to Red
Lodge Sunday after the robbery
but took care not to pass through
Billings, Columbus or Laurel. Sher-
| if Albert searched the car when it
was parked on a local street Sun
day. The young men learned of
the search and decided to go to
Laurel and leave for the west
coast. John Miller, 16, drove the
boys to Laurel that night, the boys
told authorities. Miller returned
to Red Lodge and the young men
went to sleep in a sandhouse in
the Laurel yards. Early Monday
morning they were aroused by a
special agent of the Northern Pa
cific railway company, who turned
them over to Laurel authorities as
suspects. In the presence of How
ard Coonen, postoffice inspector for
eastern Montana, Sheriffs John
Albert and Jack Benjamin, Laurel
and Billings police authorities the
young men admitted their crime
and signed confessions. They also
told authorities they had two guns
| in their possession at the time of
their arrest, but disposed of one
by dropping it in some weeds while
the railroad agent was walking
them to the station, and the other
gun was hidden in the railway sta
ton lavatory.
Sewell has previous criminal
record. In 1924 he was sent to the
state reformatory at Miles City
when he was implicated in a Bird
ger postoffice robbery. Last sum-
mer he served 100 days in the coun-
ty Jail in Red Lodge upon convic-
ton of first degree assault.