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1924: Three gangsters identified and arrested in Ashcreek bank robbery

Subhead
Bits by Betty
Lead Summary
By
Betty Mann, President, Rock County Historical Society

The following appeared in the Rock County Herald on May 30, 1924:
 
THREE ARE ARRESTED FOR ASHCREEK BANK ROBBERY
 
Members of Notorious Gang Are Apprehended and Positively Identified at Sioux Falls
 
Largely through clever work on the part of C. D. Brown, of St. Paul, who has been the directing head of the criminal detection department of the Minnesota Bankers’ association for many years, three of the four men who participated in the day-light robbery of the Ashcreek State bank Wednesday afternoon of last week, are now under the care of Sheriff Frank Wiggins.
The alleged bank robbers under confinement are Carroll Denbow, Ray Lage and Frank Davis, all rated as hardened criminals, with Davis as the brains of the organization. All three of the men were apprehended at Sioux Falls, Sunday afternoon. Denbow and Davis were brought here later the same night by Sheriff Wiggins and Deputy Sheriff Kitterman and Mr. Brown arrived Monday with Lage.
A fourth member of the party, who is thought to be in possession of the new Buick automobile which the robbers used, and which it has since been ascertained was stolen at Spencer, Iowa, is still at large. It is expected, however, that he will be apprehended in a short time.
Several bank robberies, including that of the Wall Lake, S. D. bank in April are laid at the door of this gang by Mr. Brown, and his information was that the robbers had planned to hold up the bank at St. Leo, a small inland town near Northfield Tuesday, and then go to the twin cities to dispose of their loot. But, of course, the arrest of three members of the gang Sunday upset these plans.
Before the men were brought here Sunday night, Geo. M. LaDue, who was in charge of the Ashcreek bank at the time it was robbed, was called to Sioux Falls, to identify the suspected men. And the identification was considered unusually complete for Mr. LaDue not only instantly recognized Denbow and Davis as the two men who entered the bank, but they also gave unmistakable signs of recognizing him, when they were led into the waiting room at the county jail, where Mr. LaDue was seated with about twenty other people.
Hardened criminals as they appeared to be, those who were watching them declare that the moment their gaze became focused on Mr. LaDue, the twitching of Denbow’s eyes, and Davis’s jaws clearly indicated unwilling recognition, although they sought to put up a bold front when confronted by Mr. LaDue, and declared that he was mistaken.
The arrested men had been under surveillance at Sioux Falls since Friday, and are known to have entered that place on the afternoon of the robbery in an old Ford automobile, which they are thought to have secreted near Sioux Falls, before the robbery. Lage is believed to have been the driver of the new Buick car on the trip to Ashcreek.
Denbow and Lage were arrested Sunday afternoon while in front of the place where they had had rooms. Davis was then in a down town restaurant, but in some mysterious way he received word of the two men’s arrest, and attempted to effect an escape out of the back way at the restaurant. He was captured after a chase that ended near the Queen Bee mills.
Just before he was captured he was seen to throw his gun into the river, and considerable pains have since been expended to recover it, for it is believed to be a peculiarly marked army revolver, that was the property of the cashier of the Wall Lake bank, which was taken at the time of this robbery.
Mr. Brown has a fairly complete record of Denbow and Lage, both of whom were involved in the Milwaukee railway jewelry robbery at Sioux Falls, and who but recently gained their release from the South Dakota penitentiary. Both are Sioux Falls boys.
Who Davis is, is a mystery to Mr. Brown, and in an effort to get his record, pictures of him were taken Wednesday, and arrangements made to send them broadcast. He is somewhat older than the other two, and is thought to come from Oklahoma.
In the opinion of those who professed to be versed in criminology, he is a bad actor, commonly dubbed a “killer,” who will stop at nothing to go through with any job that he attempts.
A studied effort is being made to prevent the three men from communicating with each other. Davis and Lage occupy cells on different floors in the Rock county jail, and Denbow is confined in a cell in the Nobles county jail at Worthington.
Owing to the absence of County Attorney Canfield, the preliminary examinations of the accused men has been postponed until the fore part of next week. Denbow will be given a hearing Monday afternoon at 2 o’clock before Judge Reynold’s; Davis Tuesday morning at 10 o’clock, and Lage Wednesday morning at 10 o’clock.
Thorough rechecking following the robbery of the Ashcreek bank disclosed that they secured $1,316, of which $960 was in Liberty bonds and war savings stamps. This loss is fully covered by insurance.
Donations to the Rock County Historical Society can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, P.O. Box 741, Luverne, MN 56156.
Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.

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