Evening star., 1932-06-10
FIVE ARMED MEN
ROB BANK OF S9,031
|NDAR|NG HOLD-UP
Six E Employees Are Herded Into
Rear Room of Georgia
Avenue Branch.
THREE BANDITS VAULT
RAIL WITH DRAWN GUNS
Woman Patron and Little Girl
Guarded by Leader-$20,0O0
in Cash Overlooked.

Forcng f1ve men and one woman en-
pioJe OF the Washington Mechanics
Saving Bank, 1903 Georgia avenue. to
lie on their faces, five armed bandits
robbed the bank of s9,O31 in a daring
daylight hold-up about 1870 O'Clock
this morning.
Rushng into the bank from a car
they parked outside with motor r,1n-
nlng. the bandits vaulted over the rail
OF the tellers' cage and with drawn guns
herded all the employees into a rear
room.
AS one man stood guard over tho
prisoners and another at the door, three
rined the tills in the tellers' cages.
$4,000 Is Overlooked.
Lloyd w. Davis, 6214 Fifth street as
sistant cashier, who was in charge of
The bank, said they overlooked anprori-
mately $4,000, $1,000 of which was in
charge. 49,
Inc entire holdup was over in less
IMAM minutes, and the robbers made
cash for their car and escaped. west
on Otls place to New Hampshire ave
i!ue, where they turned south toward
tne center OF the city. The car bore
Maryland license tags.
woman and little girl were the
only patrons in the bank when the
hold-up occurred. They were held near
the front door by the apparent leader
9! tne gang who stood on guard. and
oHecteo the activities of the others.
Enter With Drawn Guns.
Thomas E. Elgin, 140l Fairmont
street, teller, whose cage is nearest the
door, said the robbers had guns in their
hands as they entered the door.
suck EN- up and keep quiet" he
quoted one of them as saying
Together with Mr.. Davis and Samuel
tlngerhut. who were in the lobby of the
bank with him, Elgin raised his hands
above his head.
lnen three OF the men jumped over
the railing" he explained and showed
guns against our ribs. They herCed us
INTO the back room with the three
otners VINO were already there. and
mace US lie fiat on our faces on the
moor. One man stood over us with a
gun In his hand and warned us to lie
still"
Wear Working Clothes.
The other employees who were forced
to lie on the floor besides Elgin. Davis
and Fingerhut, were Mrs. Maude H,
Clarke, 1888 Sixteenth street; Richard
S. Sanderson. 1925 Kansas avenue, and
L. j. Lam. 210 Taylor street.
-Four OF the robbers were described as
being about 25 years old. and of
medium size. The fifth, the leader,
who was about 35 years old. was con-
siderably larger than the others. Two
were dressed in coveralls and the others
wore rough clothes.
The whole thing was over SO quick
ly," declared Mr.. Davis, we hardly
realized what was happening. No one
made any attempt to appose them. and
they did not offer any violence
The section of Georgia avenue where
the bank is located is a busy COM
mercial community, with numerous
small stores lining the streets for blocks
In either direction.
Police were able to obtain deScrip-
tionS of the robbers and their automo-
bile from several persons in the vicinity,
who saw them make their getaway.
President i. Called.
A. Scott Offutt vice president of the
bank, the main Office of which is located
at Eighth and G streets southeast. was
summoned Immediately after the hold
up and began a check Of the banks
funds to determine the exact amount
stolen. A representative of the Globe
Indemnity Co. arrived shortly after
ward aid said he stood ready to write
out check for the loss as soon as the
exact figures were arrived at.
Capt. Bernard Thompson of the De-
tectlve Bureau. who is investigating the
hold-up, said the tatgs on the robbers
automobile are listed to taXlcab COM
pany in Cumberland. Md. The car,
however. bore no signs to indicate that
, 1t was a taxicab.
The Washington Mechanics e. Saw
| ings Bank branch at Ninth and East
Capitol streets was held up the after
| noon of January Is last by bandits
, using an automobile equipped with four
machine guns.
On that occasion the bandits escaped
with Slabs after herding four clerks,
| janitor and three customers into a
| rear room in the bank.