Missouri Outlaw History (Kansas City, St. Louis, Springfield: apartments, farms, vehicles)

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In 1931, St. Louis burglar and safe-cracker Henry "Monte" Bostleman along with St. Louis gangsters Edward "Cocky" Leonard and Abe Levin were captured after a shootout when they blew the safes of the Golden Eagle department store in Denver, Colorado. They all were given long sentences in the Colorado Territorial Prison.

Pictures of the blown safes;

https://www.facebook.com/denverpolic...0367531401568/





About 18 years later Bostleman teamed up with two Kansas City ex-convicts, Robert A Pinkerman and William H Flowers and stole over $222,000 in jewelry and cash from the safe of the Scwarzschild jewelry store in Richmond, Virginia. Richmond police said it was the biggest job ever pulled in the state of Virginia.

The Scwarzschild Jewelry Heist | From the Archives | richmond.com



https://www.styleweekly.com/richmond...nt?oid=1388914




http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1...f-221-955-gems

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Sullivan Tri-County News November 19, 1959

Four Men And One Woman Charged With Bank Robbery Caught At Steelville

Five young persons of St. Louis, four men and a woman, are in the Scott County jail charged with the $11,000 gunpoint holdup of the bank of Oran, Mo., after being caught and held at Steelville.
They are Kenneth Beardsley, 26, his sister Lavetta June Beardsley, 23, Eugene Franklin Busbey, 19, Francis Gerald Hrabozski, 21, and Henry Leon Hood, 21, all of St. Louis.
They are accused of having held employees and patrons of the State Bank of Oran, Mo., at gunpoint Monday while they made away with $11,000 cash. The report went out over the state-wide Missouri Highway Patrol radio, and as trooper William Prenger listened in Steelville he met a car of the right description on Steelville's main street.
He stopped the car and working single handedly, covered the occupants with a riot gun while he ordered the driver, Hrabozski, to get into the patrol car. Hrabozski was searched and handcuffed and a Steelville citizen named Plank put in a call to Marshal James Decker and Deputy Marshal Frank Richardson for help.
Meantime, trooper Prenger had radioed patrol headquarters at Rolla, and Ed Burk of the Webster Groves, Mo., police department arrived just in time to help herd the other four accused persons into police cars. Burk had gone deer hunting near Steelville and was on the way home from the hunt as he drove along main street at the scene of excitement.
The accused were lodged in the Crawford County jail and kept under guard by Sheriff Turnbough and the highway patrol until 2:30 Tuesday morning, when Scott County police arrived to remove the prisoners to the Scott County jail.



The Sullivan News March 5, 1931

Prisoner Is Killed

Arthur Crawford, who was serving a 15-year term from Franklin County in the state prison, was shot Monday by the sheriff from Osage County as he attempted to elude arrest after escaping from the prison hospital. Crawford was sentenced in this county for robbery.
He was a brother to Mrs. Irene Schroeder, who was electrocuted in Pennsylvania Monday.

[aliasfinn]

Doctor By Day, Burglar By Night

Dr. Paul Trotter was a doctor at St. Louis General Hospital who made a meager living treating his patients so he formed a gang of burglars that prowled the city at night robbing homes, some even belonging to the patients he tended to during the day. One night they were shot at and one them was wounded and was carried away to safety where the doctor treated his wound. They were all caught in Chicago in 1909 and given prison sentences.




Sullivan News July 29 1915

Shooting Fish

Deputy state game and fishing commissioners Charles F Roach and John G Leslie of Jefferson City were called to Camden County last week where they arrested a man on a charge of shooting bass with a rifle. He entered a plea of guilty before a justice of the peace and was fined $50 and costs.




Police Dog Wins Scrap With Home Burglary Suspect

Police dog wins scrap with home burglary suspect | Crime and Courts | joplinglobe.com

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St. Louis Post-Dispatch May 7, 1935

Ex-Convict Arrested With Jewelry Taken In Burglary

Michael Bowler admits robbery after being picked up for routine investigation. Jewelry stolen from Saturday night in a burglary at the home of Harry M Zattrella, 8020 Harney avenue, was recovered last night with the arrest of Michael Bowler, 24 years old.
Police who picked Bowler up when they encountered him at Grand boulevard and Cass avenue, found a wristwatch and tie holder in his pocket. These were identified by Zattrella as among the articles taken from his home. Bowler admitted the burglary, police said, and told them he had given other pieces of Zattrella's jewelry to women friends.




Sikeston Standard (Sikeston Mo) July 1, 1941

Faces Burglary Charge

Officers reported obtaining a signed confession from Dennis Gray following his arrest in May to breaking into Putnam's store, the H&H Grocery, Skelly service station and Reiss Dairy.




St. Louis Post-Dispatch June 11, 1926

15 Year Old Boy Boasts Of 200 Robberies In City

Charles Bird Jr, whose brother is serving a life term, points out 100 places he says he looted, sometimes alone and sometimes with companions. He has been committed to Boonville Reformatory.

[elkotronics]

Doctor By Day, Burglar By Night

Dr. Paul Trotter was a doctor at St. Louis General Hospital who made a meager living treating his patients so he formed a gang of burglars that prowled the city at night robbing homes, some even belonging to the patients he tended to during the day. One night they were shot at and one them was wounded and was carried away to safety where the doctor treated his wound. They were all caught in Chicago in 1909 and given prison sentences.

Glad they caught him. The honorable Dr. Smug.

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Sullivan News August 11, 1921

Fifth Bank Bandit Gets 25 Years For St. Clair Robbery

Walter Casey, 30 years old, of St. Louis, arrested February 8 at St. Clair, shortly after the robbery of the Farmers And Merchants Bank at that place, was found guilty in the circuit court at Union last Thursday and sentenced to serve 25 years in the penitentiary. Casey gave bond and stated he will appeal the case.
Casey is the last of the bandits to stand trial.
Barrington, Maloney and Montgomery were freed when the state dismissed the charges against them. Brown was sentenced to 40 years imprisonment when he pleaded guilty. Walsh, alias Whealen, received a 20 year sentence when he was found guilty by a jury. Hays was given 40 years and Ayres 32 years after jury trials.
Casey pleaded that he was unaware of the reputation of his associates and did not know that a robbery had been planned. He also denied that he took any part in the bank robbery or that he knew the loot was stored in the house. He said that he went to the club to get some whiskey. He said that he had drunk a great amount of moonshine the night before and had slept until noon the following day.




Gasconade County Republican (Owensville, Mo) March 2, 1950

Chester C Fritz, 41, has been charged with forgery after he had allegedly cashed a check signed with another person's name in a St. James café. The amount of the check was $15. Fritz told prosecuting attorney Ronald Fuller that he had been in the penitentiary five times, four times for automobile theft, and once for burglary. He waived preliminary hearing at Rolla Saturday and bond was set at $2,500.




Gasconade County Republican August 31, 1950

Two Crawford County men were arrested this past weekend on a charge of car stripping. After their arrest, Vernon Copling, 28, and Leroy Copling, 18, admitted to arresting officers they had stripped an automobile in Cuba about 6 weeks ago and at least one in St. Louis recently. The two were taken into custody following a car stripping in Leasburg last Saturday.

[aliasfinn]

Originally Posted by elkotronics

Doctor By Day, Burglar By Night

Dr. Paul Trotter was a doctor at St. Louis General Hospital who made a meager living treating his patients so he formed a gang of burglars that prowled the city at night robbing homes, some even belonging to the patients he tended to during the day. One night they were shot at and one them was wounded and was carried away to safety where the doctor treated his wound. They were all caught in Chicago in 1909 and given prison sentences.

Glad they caught him. The honorable Dr. Smug.

At least he made house calls, even if the patients were asleep.

[elkotronics]

At least he made house calls, even if the patients were asleep.

Ain't that right!

[aliasfinn]

The St. Louis Republic May 7, 1902

Woman Burglar In Male Attire

Masquerading in male attire, May Willard, alias May Rodgers, alias Nellie Woods, a prisoner at the Four Courts, acknowledges that she has entered residences by day and night and has stolen fine wearing apparel and valuables. Detectives Keeley and Cordell arrested the woman last night in her room at 2337 Olive street. She led the officers to various places where she claimed to have disposed of her booty. They recovered personal property which is valued at $300. Two suits of clothes and an overcoat that were stolen Monday from the room of R. Park Von Wedelstaedt, at 2832 Locust st, were recovered. A suit of clothes stolen from the room of William Harvey at 2925 Olive st., was found. This property has been identified. Two ladies' gold watches, a lot of silverware, three rings, a baby's neck chain, 3 silk shirts, underwear and lace curtains were recovered by the officers.
The woman admits the taking of all the goods. She has promised to accompany the detectives today to other places where she disposed of her spoils, and, as she put it, "You will get enough truck to fill a patrol wagon." For several months many reports have been made to the police of houses being entered by duplicate keys. A bunch of door keys were found in her room, and she admitted using them for that purpose.
" I worked day and night," said the woman to acting chief of detectives Smith. " Sometimes I went around in the night time in men's clothes. I would enter the house with one of the keys and help myself to anything I could carry away. And in the daytime I wandered around in fashionable neighborhoods and waited for a chance to get into the houses. Sometimes I did not have to use my keys, as I found the door open. I went into a house a few days ago and got into a room where a man was asleep. I took his clothes and got out without disturbing him. I have been at this business for several months. I never wore men's clothes during the daytime."
The police believe the woman is the burglar who entered three houses in North St. Louis several weeks ago, and who was shot at, she denies this. When asked to tell where she had been, she replied, " To be honest with you, I don't know, for I have been in so many houses, it would be impossible for me to keep track."
The woman was using the name of May Rodgers at her rooms. She is well known to the police. Last summer she was sentenced to the workhouse for larceny. The police records show that she has served a sentence in the Illinois Penitentiary at Joliet for burglary and larceny.
Over a year ago, May Willard played the role of heroine at the city hospital, by saving Mrs. Sadie Woodruff, a matron, from the attacks of Joseph Dunn, who is now in the insane asylum.

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The St. Louis Republic January 6, 1900

Burglars At Kirkwood

Strange Men Seen Trying To Open Windows

The western end of Kirkwood was wrought up Thursday night when Marshal Secrist returned to his home about 11 o'clock and found a half dozen excited persons awaiting him. They reported that strange men had been seen prying the windows of houses in different parts of the town. One lady said that she had heard them rattling her shutters, that she had screamed and that they ran away. The marshal had patrolled the town for several hours. He heard shots in various quarters and attempted to discover the cause of them, but by the time he arrived at the place where he heard the shootings there was not any signs of suspicious persons.
Yesterday Gus Knepp, a blacksmith on the Manchester road, said that his shop had been entered the night before and a saw and hammer and several other small tools were taken.




Sullivan News March 14, 1912

Dixon Man Robbed

Mr. Luman Stevens of Dixon, mo., was robbed while in St. Louis Friday a week ago. He was lured into a taxicab by two men who beat him and robbed him after they had taken him near the outskirts of the city. They took from him about $100 in money and a watch, then threw him out and proceeded on their way.