The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1932-05-26
Says north DAKOTA
JOB WAS WORK OF
GANG FROM MIN0T
Sioux County Men Are Exoner.
ated in Story Given to
South Dakota Man
TRICK BRINGS CONFESSION
Anger One Of Gang to Make Him
Talk; Three Get 3O-Year
Sentences

Out of the robbery of the Bank of
Ipswich, S. D., last week and SUBJ
sequent pleas of guilty by three of
the four bandits in that holdup has
come solution OF the robbery of the
Farmers and Merchants State Bank
of Hurdsfield, N. D., Aug. IA, 1880. for
which four Missouri Slope men were
held for some time during the in
vestigation.
Phil Ray, one of the three Ipswich
robbers who pleaded guilty Wednes-
day, confessed to Is bank robberies
and told officers how Eugene Van
Tress, another of the Ipswich rob-
bers, and two other Minot, N. D..
men robbed the Hurdsfield bank, &C
cording to an Associated Press dis
patch.
He said Van Tress and his asso-
ciates framed" the North Dakota
men who were arrested In the in
vestigation and subsequently released.
The four North Dakotans were
Sheriff John r. Gates and Deputy
Sheriff Joe Wicks, Sioux county,
Kenneth Mcdonald. Fort. Yates at
torney, and A. r. Nord, former con-
Wet and Fort Yates insurance man.
Makes Written Statement
In a written statement made In
the presence of G. j. Martineson, Bis
marck chief of police, Walter s. Cor
don, of the Burns Detective agency,
st. Paul, and Charles Bostock. Ed
munds county magistrate at Ipswich,
Ray declared Van Tress told him four
North Dakota men were taking the
rap for him and two other guys who
lived in Minot."
Van Tress would not talk when
questioned about 1t.
II heard Van Tress talk about his
Hurdsfield robbery proposition OF
about two years ago, naming two
others who were with him that lived
in Minot and helped with the Job"
Ray told officers.
ivan Tress told me Somebody else
Is getting the bum rap for this job"
The admission was made after Of
ficers had melted Rays anger against
Van Tress by telling him that Van
Tress had confessed everything"
He said he had forgotten the names
of the two other Minot men and said
officials would have to find out who
they were from Van Tress.
Osjord, Kelly There
Gunder K. Osjord, head OF the
North Dakota bureau of criminal
Identification, and Joseph L. Kelley.
Burleigh county sheriff. also were at
Ipswich to question the robbers In
regard to other North Dakota rob-
berie-.
Ray. Van Tress and Sidney Roy
craft were sentenced to serve 30 years
each in the South Dakota state peni-
Tertiary when they pleaded guilty to
robbing the Bank of Ipswich. Sen
tence was pronounced in circuit court
at Ipswich BY Judge ]. H. Bottom
Wednesday.
Reinhold Engel, confessed leader Of
the robbers, told the court he was
not ready to enter a plea and he will
make his plea at 10 a. m. Friday.
The trios sentencing came exactly
one week after they robbed the bank,
kidnapped Cashier Chester Doolittle,
and shot M. Pin Beebe. the presi-
dent, In the thigh. Doolittle was re-
leased in North Dakota by the rob- |
bers after quickly formed posses had
pursued the bandits for many miles.
Beebe is recovering.
Van Tress and Ray were identified
as the men who entered the First
National Bank of Park River, N. D.,
Nov. Is, 1881. locked several persons
in the vault, and escaped with 81 400
in cash and bonds, according to David
johnson, sheriff of Walsh county.
Identification was made by K. D. Ben
nett and william McSachern, Park
River men who were among those
locked in the vault, according to the
sheriff. johnson said Van Tress told
him that Engel drove the bandits car.
The bonds, non-negotiable. were burn
ed, according to Van Tress'. story.
Pair Denies Implication
Engel and Ray denied implication In
the Park River robbery. Van Tress
told Sheriff johnson he and his as
sociates had planned to rob bank
at Harvey following the Park River
Job but that their plans did not ma
terialize.
North Dakota vigil nee was
aroused TO- a high pitch by the Hurds-
field robbery. the third in North Da-
kota in eight days. In the previous
week the Dakota National Bank and
Trust company, Bismarck, and a
bank at Michigan had been looted
by raiders.
Three unmasked men entered the
Hurdsfield bank. A fourth sat at the
steering wheel of an automobile
parked in front Of the bank. Two
bank officials and. customer were
forced to lie on the floor. the custom
er being, kicked when he failed to-
comply quickly with the bandits ord
ers. Outside. the crime car chauf-
feur fired one shot across the street
1t curious barber. sa4 s-
It took five minutes to commit the
robbery. The robbers sped away
with 12,l6e and, although trailed for
many miles by q hastily organized
posse, the fugitives eluded the pur-
(ConAnue0 "a peSo two)