HIGHWAY ROBBERY ON ROUTE 66.
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CAPTURED 7 MINUTES AFTER HOLDING UP
LOUIS ZULPO’S FILLING STATION
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Seven minutes after they held up and robbed Louis Zulpo’s gasoline filling station five miles east of St. James on Highway 66, George Morton, 30, Clifford Armstrong, 20, Alice May Morton and Esther Armstrong, all of St. Louis, were arrested, brought to Rolla and lodged in jail Sunday morning to await trial for the offense.
About nine o’clock Sunday morning the hold-up party stopped at the filling station of Louis Zulpo, just west of where you turn off of Highway 66 to go to Knobview. Louis Zulpo, Jr., about 15, and Miss Victoria Zulpo about 18, were in charge of the station. It is reported that the two men of the party who were armed, drew their pistols and aimed at Miss Zulpo and her brother and demanded their money. They turned over to the bandits between $7 and $8. Immediately after the party drove off toward St. James, young Zulpo ran to a telephone about 100 yards distance and called up Chas. Peters, Constable at St. James, and told him what had happened and that the bandits were headed toward St. James. Constable Peters jumped in his car and hurried to meet them and just east of St. James he crossed them up and captured the entire troop. Chas. Peters says he had them within seven minutes after he received the notice. He and Marshal Ivan Hall took them to Rolla and lodged them in jail to await preliminary hearing before Justice A. M. Light on Monday. In the meantime they secured the services of attorney J. A. Watson, and on being brought into Justice Light’s Court Monday, Mr. Watson took a change of venue and the case was sent to Justice Denison’s Court.
Although Prosecuting Attorney Walker made every effort to have the hearing Monday, Justice Denison set Thursday (today), July 24th, for the hearing.
As a result of the trial there were present in Rolla Monday, Louis Zulpo, his son Louis, and daughter Miss Victoria Zulpo, also R. M. Cardetti and Dave Gentilini, all of Knobview.