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Show Swift Action By Officers Catches Robber Robbery Committed Tues., Robber Caught That Nite; Sentenced Wednesday; Taken To "Pen" Thnrs. Swift action dominated the arrest ar-rest and sentencing of a man giving giv-ing the name of Jack Herman Gordon, who was sentenced to the state prison for a term of from five years to life. Wednesday night at 7:30 by Will L. Hoyt, judge" of the Fifth Judicial district. Gordon pled guilty before Judge Hoyt to the state's charge that he" had robbed G. W. Simmons of Salt Lake City of his car. money, watch, and overcoat and had left him tied in a gulch just west of Santa Clara. The robbery occured Tuesday afternoon at approximately 3 p.m., the arrest was made that night soon after 7 p.m., a confession was made by Gordon that evening, he was arraigned before George Whitehead, justice of the peace, the next morning and pled guilty, that evening he was taken before Judge Hoyt, and this morning he is on his way to the state penitentiary. Picked Up At Las Vegas Simmons had picked him up in Las Vegas when Gordon "thumbed him" for a ride. He reports that Gordon seemed jovial and was a good companion until Gordon suddenly sud-denly stuck a gun in his ribs just west of Santa Clara and told him to stop.' Simmons says that he-stopped he-stopped so quickly that he killed the motor in his Buick car. Forcing him to get out, Gordon made him walk down a gulch out of sight of the road where Gordon made him take his own handkerchief handker-chief and tie his legs together. Gordon then tied Simmons' hands behind his back. During this time Simmons says that Gordon questioned ques-tioned him several times as to "whether I knew him or not". After robbing Simmons and taking the keys to his car, Gordon left him with the threat to not fry (Continued on page ten) Robber Caught (Continued from first page) to get loose for several hours. As soon as he loft Simmons states that he got up and tried to get loose. But, since he didn't hear the car start, he decided he better sit down in the position that Gordon left him. Simmons declares that he had just seated himself when Gordon appeared and demanded that he tell him how to "start this car". "I told him," says Simmons, "he disappeared. disap-peared. I heard the car start and saw it go over the' hill toward St. George." Gets Loose Quickly In approximately 15 minutes, Simmons says that he had released his hands and was on his way to the highway where he flagged down Yellow Jacket, who drives the Indian Reservation school bus. Calls were made from the Santa Clara checking station to St. George, Washington, Cedar City and Las Vegas. First notice that he was still in this section came from J. E. Jankele of Washington who phoned that he had sold a ticket to a man who might be the robber. The ticket was for Las Vegas over the Union Pacific Bus line. Officers were on hand to investigate when the bus pulled in, but Gordon became be-came suspicious and escaped through the emergency door of the bus on the opposite side from where the officers were waiting. Running from the bus, Gordon came behind the Nelson Fruit stand. Patrolman Lee Owens and Sam Fullerton took a car and followed fol-lowed him while Sheriff Antone B. Prince and G. P. Howell, deputy sheriff, ran the sheriffs car up and pointed the headlights behind the buildings. As the Sheriff and Deputy De-puty came around the empty building in back of Nelson's market. mar-ket. Mr. Howell heard a noise and called to Sheriff Prince. They pointed their flash light in, covered cover-ed him with their guns and ordered order-ed him to come out with his hands up. Had Them Covered Gordon later told the officers that he had the mcovered, but "lacked the guts to shoot them". He dropped his gun at the time the officers discovered him and it was later found nt that place by the officers. At first he refused to admit his guilt but later confessed con-fessed and told them where he had left the car over by the swimming swim-ming pool at Washington. |