Detective Chief alkoholfria drycker Desperate Robbers

På December 3, 1896, tre män kom in i Home Brewery kontoret i St. Louis på runt 2:30 p.m. Kassör Robert Hofferkamp närmade män. De män som produceras revolvrar och berättade Hofferkamp och hans assistent att kasta upp sina händer.

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Chief Desmond Artikel från söndagen, Oktober 30, 1904 upplaga av St. Louis republiken

De män tog $10,000 från kontoret i vad som skulle vara en flera miljoner dollar heist idag. The robbers tied up and gagged Hofferkamp and his assistant. Instead of fleeing the city though, the men stayed around St. Louis. It would be a big mistake on the men’s part.

St. Louis Chief of Detectives William Desmond was known as the “thief-taker” throughout the United States. Desmond would again work his magic. Desmond captured the three robbers, Joseph Stanley, Joseph McLaughlin and Billy Wolf, on January 6, 1897.

Chief Desmond received a tip on the men’s whereabouts from Stanley’s mistress. Desmond then personally arrested Stanley and McLaughlin in East St. Louis, Illinois as they were attempting to board a train for Indianapolis. Desmond sent detectives to pick up Billy Wolf, a local barber.

In contrast to their bold heist, all three men quickly confessed to Desmond. They all admitted to their part in the robbery. While all three men probably served some time in prison, I have not found any reference to the eventual outcome of the trial.

Billy Wolf did continue to ply his trade in St. Louis as a barber. He died in 1930 vid 80 years of age after being run down by an automobile. The St. Louis Coroner could not determine if Wolf was killed or if it was an accident, which indicates a hit and run accident.

Desmond would be the bane of men like Stanley, McLaughlin and Wolf. “The Sherlock Holmes of St. Louis” was more than a match for the criminal element.

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Cover of The Sherlock Holmes of Saint Louis: St. Louis Chief of Detectives William Desmond

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