Bandit Band Raids Oshkosh Bank An interesting document relating to Oshkosh’s own ‘Public Enemies’ is located in the archives of the Oshkosh Public Museum. It is a letter written in 1931 by J. Edgar Hoover, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, to the superintendent of the Central State Hospital for the Insane in Waupun, Wisconsin. The document is a copy sent to the Oshkosh Police Department by the FBI in reference to Charles Turner, alias Harry Grotemaat. Turner, who was transferred to the Central State Hospital for the Insane in 1925, had been charged with numerous crimes including bank robbery, breaking and entering, assault with intent to kill and assault with intent to rob and kill, and he was wanted in the States of Iowa and Arkansas before he was arrested for bank robbery and assault with intent to kill on September 27, 1920, in Oshkosh. The bold bank robbery of September 24, 1920, was the biggest event in Oshkosh history since the Great Fire of 1875. A group of six men pulled up in a green 1920 Buick touring car at the side of the Exchange Bank, located at the corner of South Main Street and Eighth Avenue. A look-out man was left outside, and four heavily armed men entered the bank at 3:00 pm. They ordered the employees at gunpoint to hold up their hands. Assistant cashier, John E. Glatz, was behind the counter that day. Glatz was about to comply with the order when one of the robbers fired three bullets from his .45 caliber pistol, one of which smashed into Glatz’ face. Falling to the floor, a bullet in his jaw, Glatz had the forethought to hit the alarm button. At the same time, cashier Robert E. Jones rushed into the vault in the back and set off another alarm. The sound of the alarm bells caused the robbers to panic, but two robbers entered the vault and forced Jones to hand over $850 before fleeing to the street where their get-away car and driver were waiting. The five passenger car sped south on Main Street and turned onto Ninth, with one of the robbers standing on the running board. Doctors were quickly summoned to attend to Glatz’ wound and the Oshkosh Police Department was soon on the scene and in pursuit. They searched nearby streets and county roads without finding a trace. The robbers’ raid and escape had been well planned. Prior to the robbery, the men and their ‘wives’ had been staying at cabins at Stoney Point and in Butte des Morts. They had carefully staked out the Exchange Bank in Oshkosh and learned of the daily schedules. They then moved their headquarters to a cabin in Waupaca, where they intended to make their get-away before fleeing further north. Prior to the raid, they also left a Ford Touring car in front of St. Mary’s Hospital on Merritt Street. Instead of leaving town after the robbery, they drove north to St. Mary’s Hospital, abandoned the Buick and left Oshkosh unnoticed in the new vehicle. When the abandoned car was finally located, fingerprints were taken from the car and the bank. Wisconsin law enforcement agencies were notified and the Pinkerton Detective Agency was called in. Two days later, John Glatz positively identified the man who shot him from a photograph and the manhunt was started in earnest for Charles Turner. Three of the robbers and their female companions fled to Waupaca after the robbery, and it was here that their activities aroused suspicion. A check of their license plate number revealed that the plates had been stolen in Waukesha. Two of the men and their female companions left by train that same day for Chippewa Falls while the other couple drove off in the car with the stolen plates before the authorities could question them. Chippewa Falls police were notified of the car and license plates and that the bandits were now entering their city. Oshkosh police were also notified and Winnebago County Sheriff Peter Carlson and Assistant Police Chief Art Gabbert were soon on their way to make the arrest. On September 26, the men’s hotel rooms were raided by officers, one of whom posed as a bellboy, and two couples were captured without incident. The other couple was arrested after they were recognized eating in a restaurant. When their luggage was searched, police found large quantities of cash, jewelry taken in a previous bank robbery in Prairie Farm, Wisconsin, bonds stolen from a St. Paul bank robbery, expensive fur coats from a clothing store robbery, a Marlin rifle, seven pistols and two revolvers. The other three robbers, later described by witnesses as youths, were never apprehended. The suspects were taken to Oshkosh where a large crowd gathered to see them arrive at the Soo Line depot. Many onlookers recognized the three as having frequented local stores during the summer. One of the men was identified as Charles Turner; the other two men were identified as Joseph James Meehan and James Robert Kelton. Later in the evening, the three men were taken to St. Mary’s Hospital where John Glatz, lying in his hospital bed, identified Turner as the gunman who shot him. Joseph Meehan was identified as the leader of the gang, and all three men were later found to have long criminal records including bank robberies in several states and even murder. On October 8, 1920, all three men had preliminary hearings and were bound over for trial. The three women were released, only to be extradited to Antigo, Wisconsin, where they were charged with stealing fur coats. A bail of $25,000 for each man was renewed. On October 12, all three were charged with armed assault with intent to rob John Glatz, the attempted murder of John Glatz and armed bank robbery. A change of venue from the municipal court to the circuit court was granted on November 8, 1920. The trial of the three began on January 10, 1921. With the courtroom filled to capacity, the trial created a sensation in Oshkosh over the next ten days, with new evidence and testimony introduced each day. On Wednesday, January 19, jury deliberations began. After twenty-four hours the jury returned with a guilty verdict for all three men on all charges. The following day Judge George W. Burnell sentenced the three men to thirty years of hard labor at the Wisconsin State Penitentiary at Waupun. The three men were delivered to the penitentiary on January 24, and thus ended the careers of Oshkosh’s ‘Public Enemies.’
Posted on: Mon, 11 Aug 2014 03:41:36 +0000
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