Evening star., 1939-06-02
Six Held, | Shot
After Six-Hour
Crime Rampage
Taxi Man Kidnapped
And Robbed, Liquor
Store Held Up
pictures on Page BIZ

Six arrests and a shooting climaxed
spectacular criminal rampage of
six youthful bandits early today
after two men had been brutally
beaten during armed robberies and
kidnapping.
The closing link in a Six-hour
chain OF events took place in
sparsely settled, wooded area of
Nichold avenue Sc, where a posse
of more than so policemen and
scores of civilians captured one of
the men after companion had been
felled at the scene by police bullets.
The arrest of three others at the
captlve's Washington address and
the subsequent holding of a sixth
suspect came in the nature of an
anti-climaX.
Cab Driver Picks Up Four.
The startling series of events
began shortly after a cab driver,
Walter T, Trittipoe, "a, of 2l08 First
street NV, picked up four men
about 9 o'clock last night at Thir-
teenth and H streets NV, and they
asked to be driven to Alexandria.
I knew then something was
going to happen the driver said
today, because they didn't look
like the type who would pay a cab
fare all that distance
The taxicab had just turned into
Mount Vernon boulevard off the
Fourteenth Street Bridge when one
OF the men stuck a pistol in Mr..
Irlttlpoe's neck and forced him to
surrender the steering wheel to one
of the others.
Car Returns to District.
After beating the driver on the
back OF his head with the revolver
and forcing him to lie on the floor
OF the back seat, the new driver
turned the cab around and came
back into the District.
Before picking up two additional
companlons-one at Sixth and H
streets NV. and the other at Sec
ond and 1 streets N.W.-the thugs
LOOK Sl8 from their victim. who was
IN the back seat being kicked and
slugged.
Il remained so quiet they said
they thought was dead" Mr.. Trit-
tipoe related.
Inc cab then was driven to a SPOT
on Livingston road Sc. near the
District line, where the men carried
MP. Trittipoe behind signboard and
began slugging him with a whisky
bottle.
Two Stand Guard.
They beat me with their fists and
the bottle until the thing broke" the
driver said, "and then they tied nv
wrists with belt and took nv shoes
and bound my legs together with NV
/ socks.''
Leaving two of the men to stand
guard over their victim, in case he
wasn't dead" the others returned to
the cab and drove away.
All the way out they talked of
places they were going to hold up
iater IN the night" Mr.. Trittipoe
| recalled. One said they were going
to make Dillinger and that bunch
look like so many pikers before the
night was over
I About 30 minutes after the time
Mr. Trittipoe judged the men left
IN MS taxicab, three men, one
orandlshlng a revolver. walked into
! nquor store at 1872 Hamline street
street NE. and one announced to
the proprietor, Samuel Alderman:
This is a stick-up. Get in the
back"
Father-in-law Beaten.
Mr.. Ackerman walked to a rear
room OF the store with his hands in
the air. Suddenly his father-in-
law, Joseph Mestesky, Sc, OF 649
Quincy place NE. came in the room.
They forced him to accompany
them to the front of the store after
warning Mr.. Ackerman mot to
move" The bandits took Mr.. Mes
teskys watch and wallet containing
about s25.
Then one of them grabbed a
bottle and started beating me on
the nead," Mr.. Mastesky said this
AAAOAAAAAi6' 4ildt dll ISIHSInDeI.
He was admitted to Casualty Hos
pital a short time later with severe
head wounds.
The men left. after rifling the
cash cash register of an under
termined amount of cash, in a
taxicab driven by an accomplice.
Police said the cab was described
to them as Mr.. Trittipoe's stolen
machine.
Return to Other Men.
The injured cab driver was left
with the two men on the roadside
for more than an hour and q half.
He said that at regular intervals,
they grumbled something about
being double-crossed."
The cab returned, however, about
1.30 am. The pair left standing
(See BANDITS, Page AID