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Rivers objected, in fact refused, telling about his previous Hillsboro experience. Sure enough as they journeyed on to Howard county a squad of officers passed chasing a bank rob-bdt out of Cisco. It was learned later that the captured criminal was the one they started to pickup in Abilene.(Harris, whose relatives live inJ. Rivers Torrence, a local pioneer, quit picking up hitch-hikers back in 1932.The reason for the decision which he has kept ever since, was when he took a ride with Raymond Hamilton and Clyde Barrow and a companion. Torrence read the Frank Hardy story last week in the News-Citizen which brought to mind his hair-raising trip to Hillsboro.It was on the night that the Hillsboro merchant was slain by this gang just outside Hillsboro on the Fort Worth cut off.Torrence was making a trip to Mt. Calm that day. There was no direct road from Waco then.Hence the route through Hillsboro. It was raining; about 10:10in the daytime and very cold. Te He saw these youngsters tryingto catch a ride and feeling sorry for them out in the weather, picked them up, not knowing who they were.On the way up no one was talking, other than a ward or two topass the time away. Presently Torrence looked back through the rear view mirror as Barrow’s coat flew open, brandishing a big automate six-shooter, as they approached West Station. They were in a Model T FordLuckily Torrence had strapped a six-shooter to his belt before leaving Waco. He quickly thrust his hand under his coat bringing out his gun which he stuck in hisfront-seat companion’s breastTorrence assured the desperadoes that he would shoot,, at least getting one of them if they made a move. Reaching West he was afraid to put them out because he felt like he would lose, shooting it out with them. In (Hills-later, however, he got his nerve up to get rid of his undesirable passengers. They had crossed the street out of shooting reach before Torrence took off.Next morning he read about the killing and holdup in the newspapers. Then he really became frightened. He wished he had never given them the free ride. He learned also that the geng had been living near his home in a neighbor house.William Turner said that Clyde Barrow, Raymond Hamilton and Bonnie Parker left hi3 home in Waco in a car that night of the killing. The plans could have been changed. Turner furnished the picture printed herewith from a newspaper clipping telling of the episode printed in a Waco daily newspaper.Next few days Torrence was making an auto trip to westISCHOOLBOY CLYDE BARROWWaco, praised Torrence for not picking up the hitch-hikers. The motto has been kept, says Torrence.Texas. Luther Karris, former arret 0f Hardy Wacoan, was accompanying him.The Frank Hardy story was of considerable reader interest lastweek. It told of a few episodes of the Barrow, Raymond Hamilton, Bonnie Parker gang which terrorized Texas in the early thirties.This thirty was spelled out this time because last week the linotype operator hit the five instead of the 3-key which made a glaring error. It was in 1930 that Clyde Barrow broke out of the McLennan county jail, not 1950. The gun was supposed to have been smuggled into the jail by Bonnie Parker. It was borrowed from William Turner out of his home, she having been loaned akey to get in the house.Another thing, city detectiveswho were on the force whenFrank Hardy made his confession to the safe burglary at Pardo’s store in 1952, resented the statement that Hardy had been fed iepe to obtain his confession. Asa matter of fact Woodrow Barronson of former chief of police Hollis Barron, who himself was a chief deputy sheriff for some * time, says the smell of dope andtaking it away from an addict wonld obtain more results that giving it to them.Hardy’s sister kept reporting the dope charge to his lawyer when Hardy was in jail in aneffort to get him out on bond but she didn’t succeed in getting his release. All the detectiveson the force then worked on thecase, Captain Wiley Stem Sr. explained. Guy Akard was one of those who actually made theWhen they reached Abilene Her ris wanted to stop and pick uphitch-hiker. The roads were full of them, Torrence aakLBut Stem says be made the trip to the county jail after Hardy had been transferred from the city jail, where he personallyaoptrvised the ccifemion, prom*ising Hardy that the habitual criminal act would not be placed against him. Stem, of course, kept his word and the statement linked Jesse Werthen and Otis DeHart in the case. They served 10, 6 and 8 years in the penitentiary respectively. The Pardo safe was recovered from a ditch in Spring Valley by deputy sheriffs.Woody Barron refuted Hardy’s statement that Clyde Barrow was in the Missouri bank robbery. In response Hardy says he wouldnot have gone up there if Barrow had not been in on it. Anyway, all agreed there was a lot of shooting that day with the loot very small. The robbers said they had to go on with the job because they couldn’t get out for the shooting outside. The stolen car that they were in was filled with bullet holes but they managed to get some distance away in it.Henry Abernathy escaped with the gang from the McLennan county jail. He died later in the Texas penitentiary from an overshot of dope. The jail break was on March 11, 1930, Turner stated.Raymond Hamilton got more than one death penalty and broke out of the death house, along with Joe Palmer, who was killed climbing over the walls at Hunts ville. Hamilton’s sentence was commuted to life imprisonment.He was again given a death sentence for killing a guard on the Eastham prison farm in 1933,Turner stated. This time effort to get the sentence commuted was futile. He was electrocutedin Huntsville, being the only one of the gang to die in the electricdulr.
Newspaper Details
Waco Citizen
Waco, Texas, US
Fri, Sep 19, 1958
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Anne A.
MD, USA 15 Jun 2020
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