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5 C£ *Sharp11Weeks BanditI IHasnBeenBy Kalph Gage“I found out one thing/** Wayne Weeks said Wednesday morning. “You can’t tell a criminal by his looks/*Police are searching for the robber — believed armed — who held up the Weeks grocery and department store Tuesday evening; The robber got $2000, all in $20 bills. The loss is insured.t . : , . .The holdup man Is.described as ^bout 22 years old, between 5 feet, 10 inches and 6 feet tall and weighing 160 to 180 pounds.'The episode started. about 8:15 at the store in the 500 block ofSouth Santa Fe.m * * * *; Weeks was at, the front of thestore in the check-cashingbooth.• » ■* «VI wm admiring this fellow who was coming toward the front of the store/9 Weeks said.“He was wearing this new coat. It was sharp and he looked good in it.“He asked about some boots. He said he wanted some stove-► i • #pipe cowboy boots and he couldn’t find any.“I told him I was sure we had them/*Weeks got Mrs. Rosa Johnson. 860 Choctaw, to help the man in his search for the boots and went back to the check-cashingstand.• • ■“Then I saw him coming back up the aisle. He had bis hands in his pockets and he came up to the booth and I asked him if I could help him.“He threw this note on thp counter.“It said, ’This is a stickup. I have a'38 caliber pistol in my pocket*.“Well% I thought it was a joke. I looked on and I knew it .wasn’t any joke,”The rest of the note advised Weeks to keep smiling, keeptalking — or else.The note said the man wanted $3000.I got all the $20s — $2000/* Weeks said.“I asked him what he wanted it in. Re said a bank bag. I told ham I didn’t have one. \ * Then the man sought Weeks* advice.What, he wanted to know, would be the b*st thing to use to carry the money,• iWeeks advised use of a papersack. But he didn’t have one in the booth. When Weeks asked the man if he should get a sack,the robber told him to do noth-*ing funny or he’d “let you haveit/*The pair finally settled on asack full of pennies, which weredumped in favor of the bills.“Come with me/’ the rob-• • *ber said,• • * • •Weeks did. . vAH the while he had been' • • ' 1 , .In the booth, he. could have snapped a picture of the robber with a device which can be used ,to photograph persons cashing checks.But the man’s constant warnings for Weeks to act naturally, keep talking and keep smiling —. or else — had made their impression.“I didn’t waist to do anything to get him upset. The first thing you’d do to make him think lie was going to get caught and he’d start shooting his way out/’ Weekssaid.The robber was “very cool/' Weeks said.The only time he got nervous was when a customer approached the' check. - cashing booth. He just told me to actnatural or he*d drill me/’*The money in hand, Weeks and the robber began taking their leave of the store.The man wanted to know if there was a side exit on the north. Weeks said there was not, although there is.“I wanted him to walk through the store so everyone could see him.“We walked by all the clerks and went out the back/’4The man walked close behindWeeks and to his left, pushing something against his back allthe while.“I couldn’t tell if it was a gun. It could have beenhis finger but I wasn’t going to find out,” Weeks said.Once outside, the robber ordered Weeks-to walk north along 5th street.The bandit then apologized to Weeks for the robbery.“He said he needed the money for bis sick mother. I sympathized with him andLiCaughtS I *-I c? Ithe: ' . r Wayne Weeks revisits spot where robberforced him to lie on ground and shows how he• J •turned to see holdup man. (Joumal'Photo)told him I was sorry to hear that/’ Weeks said.The man directed Weeks to walk between houses at 440 and 438 S. 5th and to lie down.IIThat’s when I figured I’d get it/’ Weeks said.He flopped onto the ground,Skies WillBe Fair(Detailed Forecasts, Pg. 2)positioning himself so he could look back toward the man.The robber fled. Weeks list-,. .iened and watched for a car. He neither heard nor saw one. Weeks stayed on the ground afew seconds, Ihen; darted intothe back yard of the house‘at438 S. 5th, hopped a low wirefence and ran back to the store.The. sequence had taken but five minutes.It was. the first time In 20 years of business that Weeks has esperienced a holdup.Wednesday, Sept. 28—TOPEKA (AP)—Fair weather is in prospect for Kansas through Thursday.In Tuesday’s mostly cloudy weather, only traces of precipitation were reported.The Weather-Bureau said top temperatures today and Thursday would be in the 70s with lows tonight in the 40s and low50s.Top temperatures Tuesday ranged from 64 at Olathe, Dodge City and Emporia to 83 at Hill City; lows this morning from 39at Abilene to 53 at Goodland.JournalIndexArea News . 25 Courts .... 27Deaths ____ 27Hospitals . 27 Local 14, 26, 27Markets ____ 2i iOpinion Sports .. TV-Films417-19 28• *WeatherWomen* *• *2 MliVitham Jewelry Loan moved to 221 S. Santa Fe, Adv.* f £ ■= iri 1z lt;§ ] | i1 ]§ iWant-Ads 29-31 I
Newspaper Details
Salina Journal
Salina, Kansas, US
Wed, Sep 28, 1966
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Salina P.
KS, USA 21 Feb 2023
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