Combat Sports Historian and Martial Artist
Posts about police history with special emphasis on St. Louis police history.
On December 3, 1896, three men entered the Home Brewery Office in St. Louis at around 2:30 p.m. Cashier Robert Hofferkamp approached the men. The men produced revolvers and told Hofferkamp and his assistant to throw up their hands. The men took $10,000 from the office in what would be a multi-million dollar heist today. The robbers tied up and
St. Louis Chief of Detectives William Desmond created a bit of a mystery in January 1903, when he attempted to sneak off and get married. It was to be the 45-year-old Desmond’s first marriage. Chief Desmond was to marry Hannah McLaughlin, the daughter of a local builder. The couple was to honeymoon in Southern California before returning to St. Louis
On Monday, December 15, 1902, St. Louis Police Assistant Chief of Detectives James H. Smith retired from the police department to take a position in the coal industry. Chief of Detectives William Desmond attempted to convince Smith to stay but he decided to retire from the force as his fortieth birthday approached. Smith compiled a commendable record as Desmond’s Assistant.
St. Louis Police Chief of Detectives William Desmond made many tough criminals talk over his career. John Huey, an Indiana murderer, was not one of these cases. Huey freely spoke with Desmond about his criminal past. Huey escaped from Indiana after serving 13 years for a murder in 1874. John Huey came to Lyon, Indiana in 1874 as a 22-year-old.
On Monday, March 5, 1900, St. Louis Police Officers Thomas Meagher and Thomas Degnan apprehended men who robbed an East St. Louis Officer of his gun. Ed Sullivan, a 22 year-old transient, robbed an East St. Louis Police Officer of his gun, jewelry and possessions in late February 1900. Officer Thomas Meagher observed Sullivan and Harry Davis walking near Olive
On Friday, October 21, 1904, one of the greatest tragedies in St. Louis Police history occurred when two train robbers and three St. Louis Police detectives died in a shootout. The gunfight occurred in a small hotel room on Pine Street. Two days later on Sunday, October 23, 1904, a burglar attempted to gain entry to a realty office at
During April 1885, St. Louis experienced one of its most sensational murders. Two English travelers had checked into the Southern Hotel in early April 1885. C. Arthur Preller and H. M. Brooks, who was going by the alias of Dr. Maxwell, appeared to be very friendly. Although they had separate rooms, they often stayed in the same room together. At
In early April 1900, St. Louis Police arrested David Johnson, a 69 year-old man who claimed to be a Civil War veteran. Johnson had burglarized the home of G.H. Johnson, no relation, in the 1900 block of LaSalle Street. One of the most striking things about the case of the white haired and bearded Johnson, who walked with a slight
H. H. Holmes was America’s first known serial killer in the modern definition of the word. Holmes operated “the Murder Castle”, a Chicago hotel during the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. Holmes would eventually be convicted of sixteen murders but may have murdered more than 100 people during his operation of the hotel. What is less well known is that St.
Sunday morning, August 12, 1900, St. Louis Police arrested four former Transit Line streetcar workers for blowing up the Olive Street line on Maryland Avenue between N. Taylor and N. Euclid Avenues on the previous night at 11:00 p.m. Police arrested Maurice Brennan, Fred E. Northway, James Schwartz and James Finnesey. Police found 30 pounds of dynamite and 30 feet