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BATTLEWITH OFFICERSI:t-Youths Steal Car Here and Go To Hannibal To Rob Drivers of Taxis:Officer Hillary Locke Shoots Gebhart WhenHe Resists Arrest; Phillips Shot In Leg.re)iil-je-e.«*•eeiallieheCO,ar11-Lawrence Gebhart, 22 years old, until three months ago employed at tlie Soldiers9 Homehere and intermittently since that time, vas shot and killed in a battle with Hannibal police at the west end of the river bridge at Hannibal at 2 o’clock Sunday morning. ' ?Horace Phillips, of Tavlorvillo, Illinois, paroled from the state reformatory to t he Soldiers* §Home was shot in the right thigh and seriously wounded, while a third member of the gang, which went to Hannibal Saturday night in a car stolen that night in Quincy, made his escape viMien heasidsi*utV*sr.mieaefled through the railway tunnel at the east end of the bridge.The gun battle was staged after the three youths held upand robbed two Hannibal taxi-cab drivers, Walter I). Fowler and George R. Davis, after Phillips and the other member of the trio had taken the taxi drivers to a lonely spot on the river road, telling them their ear was in trouble there.Not Virgil Woods.Phillips gave the name of the third member of the party ie i as Virgil Woods, describing him as a paroled convict who had lie served out his parole at the home and left there a month or jj jmore ago. The only Virgil Woods at the Home now, and the n- j only one who was ever there, so far as the records show, was n*|in no way implicated in the career of crime which led to youngTIT ■a'n Gebhart’s death, it was shewn by a check up at the Home made lie | Sunday night at the instigation of The Whig-Journal. Virgil ry i Woods, who bears a high reputation at home, was never in at j trouble. He is employed in the dairy barns there and went on duty at 2:15 o’clock Sunday morning. He w ent down town Saturday night, returning to the Home at 10 o’clock and went on duty at the dairy barn early Sunday morning.Gebhart was shot and killed as he attempted to flee through * the tunnel through which the thirl member of the trio had raced with the Hannibal police in pursuit. As Locke started back toward the mouth of the tunnel after the man who had followed had disappeared in the darkness of the tunnel he came face to face with Gebhart. Gebhart, levelled his gun at the officer and Locke fired, the bullet striking Gebhart between tho eyes. At the time Harry Lower, night captain fired at Gebhart. An examination of the body of the slain man showed two other bullet wounds, one just above the mouth and another in the-left breast. /Gebhart was killed about 40 -feet* fronr the- rmmthef the tunnel, ; . , \Four Police In Battle Chief of Police A. 33. (Pete) Turner, Captain Harry Lower, and Officers Hillary Locke and Charles Dryer took part in the gun battle with tho three youths from Quincy. Keaponding to a telephone call sent from » Fowler immediately after he had been held up. Chief Turner and Cap-r tain Lower hastened to tho river bridge, picking up Locke and Dryer from the North Main street beat on their way. When they reached the toll house at the west end of the bridge they asked about the car described by Fowler and learned that it had not. crossed the bridge toward the Illinois side.Just after making their inquiry the officers saw* a car approaching from the north and recognized it as tho car described by Fowler. They halted the car just north of the railway track, just between the east end of the tunnel and the west end of th© bridge. One of the occupants of the car jumped out, followed closely by a second, according to Chief Turner, The two men ran west som© HI feet, turned and opened fire, which was returned by the officers. Chief Turner, after emptying his gun at the two men in the road ran around the side of the car and collided with ITUUips, the last man t° leave the car. Phillips was armed with a heavy 45 calibre revolver. With this he struck the chief across tho mouth and then, pressing the gu« against the officer’s chest, ordered him to stand still. Then Captain Lo*’er fired at Phillips, striking him in the right thigh, Phillips staggered arjd dropped his gun, the chief struck him across the head with a can© ho was carrying, knocking him | down.a \ In the meantime Locke had pur ^ j sued the third member of the gang[Sof i ieiyk.officers had started immediately after the first call. Fowler secured a* shotgun from Mr. Groves and gof into the cab ‘driven by Davis and they started buck toward the scene 7 of the robbery.When Davis and Fowler reached the scene of the robbery and found the Chevrolet ear was gone, they returned to Groves’ home and left the borrowed gun and then started back to Hannibal. When they reached the crossing they learned of the battle staged between the trii* from Quincy and the HunnibaV'pp*** lice and of the death of Gebhart, the capture of Phillips and the es*cape of Woods. v• »The youthful bandits got between. $9 and $12 from Fowler and about; the same amount from Davis. Th6y: returned a check which they took-; from Fowler’s pocket.Lawrence Gebhart had been eni® ployed at the Soldiers’ Home regularly for three or four years, bufe gave up his work there some three ^ months ago. Chief Clerk Dan Wikfv: says. Lately, however, he has ha#; temporary employment in the bar-viv.her shop at cottage 12, the post shop. / ;/He was the son of Henry/ Geb-7 hart, who was killed by an anggj$»bull at the Home dairy barn 16, 1923,ploye of the Home, - was to his duties.:•)s-a:oiete;*t-t*iMM• •, v. *•'*'lt; *Lawrence was a witness at./tfte®iene♦ inquest over his father and - xvaft working at the Home at the tteefv of the tragedy. It was shown that® Henry Gebhart, father of eight1 chil-S dren, h^d been attacked and hi#J skull crushed by the bull, Home- 7-stend Lad, who up to that time ha# / been considered gentle.‘ Paroled Convict. 7Horace Phillips is a paroled eoit-V-viet, whose home was in *3,^IorvlI!er 111., but who was sent to^ontiao • reformatory several years ago forcommitting a burglary at Cairo,111.kdvt-I.into the tunnel and as he returned met and shot Gebhart. When Phillips was searched a second gun, a small 22 calibre revolver and a belt containing a dozen or more shells for the big 45 was taken from him. Gebhart was armed with an almost f I new' 33 calibre revolver, now u. thought to have been one of the i guns stolen some time ago from the Best McCarl sporting goods store in Quincy. Phillips was loaded into the police car and taken to the station, where he was given ottemon for his wounds and the O’Donnellundertaking home was notified and took ilie body of the slain boy bandit to the funeral home, where an inquest was conducted Sunday after-I noon by Coroner Charles H. Scott.1 ho jury, after hearing the testimony of Chief Turner. Captain Lower, Officer Locke, and the two taxi drivers, returned a verdict that Gebhart came to his death while resisting arrest at tho hands ‘ Hannibal police officers and orated the officers,Identifies Stolen Car,Frank Platt, owner of the cpj used by the trio ,n then trous adventure Into crime, parked his car at Sixth and Hampshire at! 7:45 O'clock .Saturday night and! went to tho Eagles hail, When hoi went to get his car *it It o’clockIof thoexiMi*stolenuixisitwas gone, Ho notified # h«. police,} giving n description and th- license iboth sides.Robbed Two Men.About 9 o'clock Saturday night according to Phillips’ story, he ami his two companions stole a Chevrolet touring car from Sixth and Vermont strets here and drove to Hannibal, After driving about in that city for some time they planned to hold up some taxicab drivers, he said.They then drove the stolen car, which belonged to Frank Platt cf 511 Locust street, to a spot some distance north of the river bridge on the Hannibal river road. Leaving Gebhart in charge of the cur, Phillips and the ikiid member of the trio walked back to Hannibal. Phillips went to tho office of the Keo Cab company and got Fowler tudrive him up the river road to apoint about 400 yards north of the bridge, where ho stuck a gun at the driver’s head and forced himout of tho car, where Gob hurtsearched him, Then Fowler was ordered to drive on north and not return for half an hour, Just after Fowler drove away tho other mem her of the trio arrived In a tax driven by Davis, und Davie was nUrt held up and robbed and given the same orders which had been givento Fowler, Davis was stopped as he drove past the I’niou station and asked to take the man who stopped him up the river road to where hesaid his car was stalled. When they* j■Oj-. . ...■.«v\**■believe Tim# ,eyes. -;W§number of tho era^ reached tho spot chosen for the robi nibul police notifUrf ti 'n t!^ lhUl I bery* according to the story told atU incv^ nf til l Q J0UCe ot lha Sunday afternm.ii byI Quincy that the cur was there, Mr.j Platt was notified and early Hu tula v • morning went to Hannibal, wher 'Davis, ho was first ordered to driveinto a new road, but another of thei^ , 1 robber trio insisted that they mighthe juentitied his car, die testified: «s well do tbbrietly to \u, theft of the ,vr at the! inquest.Theito tneir work right there As one of the men was talking u ! Davis another shoved a gun undei coroners jury was composed j his nose, ordered him out of tho cai j °f Clifford Palmer as foreman, H.M.I and then the three searched him. i:l j Greene, William Watson, Herbert j after removing his overcoat. In the j Bigg, J. M, Weeden and It. W, Cur-1 meantime Fowler hud driven to the j rier. Ben Lly, Jr., assistant prose-j home of William Groves, north ot . outing attorney of Morion county, the scene of the robbery, and teleattended tho Inquest and asked tscv- phoned the police station in Hannibal. As Fowler started back down the road he met Davis, who urged him not to go back down the road, many shots were fired during the! explaining that He hail been stucktwo before.the6vene of the hold-up ant! drove back a grave wound, it was estimated! to the Groves home and again tele-1 oval questions.| Although the? Hannibal police i were unable to determine just bow, gun battle which cost Gebhart his: up just a minute tu , life and landed Phillips In jail un ! Then they heard shots from * der serious robbery' charges and withthat at least 30 shots were fired by] phoned the police, learning that theHe was paroled to Col, Keig, su-:y-perintendent of the Home, in be- 5 cember, 1923. In June, 1924, there® was ft difficulty because of som^-7-mlssing articles and Phillipssent back to the reformatory.He was returned to the HomaJune, 1925, and lias been ’th«r#77* * ■. .since. He slept in the basement-of® the hospital building and bore A 5; good reputation. He was a readej*® of lurid fiction but had conducted 7 himself so that his parole was not in any way endangered.Gebhart during the last months: of his regular employment at thBK Home was on the kitchen detail. He developed an ambition to become a barber and practiced off and on at; the Home barber shop. He was rflK,; gurded as a harmless felloe, a hit. soft on the girls, a youth easily, In* flueneed, but not daring.He wore his yellow hair iong and was ft *’dandy” in regard®: to his clothes, wearing rather costs® ly stuff. Although the employe#® twitted him a bit about being. sheik,” they never expected hint® to break out in banditry.Admirer of Durkin.It is now recalled that when Mas* tin Durkin shot his way from the® Chicago police, Gebhart eagerly. de-v a-; voured all the newspajter publicity .®. - • M / ..und other employes Durkin was u hero in his Last October Gebhart came iQ. home ot W, P. timlth, 601 North®! Sixth street, and applied for ft Ho was accepted as a lodger and pea red to be desirable until tyw|. weeks ago when hla lack of nunceH led him to move, Mr, Smltl®® said that the youth behaved whlleT® In his home and* did not show any signs of being a iwnd actor,After leaving the fchvdth homh Gebhart removed his suit case an'd ® effects to tho home of John C, XX)ty;’® 433 North Fifth street, where h#-i§ rented a room and continued to quietly, giving no offense und tng good hours.In applying Ikuy homo Gebhart gavo as “Bob'* i/arpenter and U was questiuneil. It bus not been•*! plained why ho changed his i unless he was at that time planning® career of outlawry and wished conceal his own IdenBty, tGebhart ownedbut that car, if he still possesaeawas not used in the robbery,. stead, Gebhart, Phillip# and iiforV third bandit met Saturday ev and ^jtole the Chevrolet touring c#p| of Frank Platt, of 511 Locust 8 which had been parked at Sixth itii Vermont street.#Mr, Platt discovered that tho; had been stolen when he was to start home, at 10 o’cloch (Continued on PageVmrnlI'- .for a room at the-;-®his namO®H*T,an automobilepS?.'s'*.‘A-*■
Newspaper Details
Quincy Morning Whig Journal
Quincy, Illinois, US
Mon, Feb 08, 1926
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
USA 10 Aug 2022
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