ROBBERY UNDER ARMS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19732, 3 September 1927, Page 2 (Supplement)

ROBBERY UNDER ARMS.

AMAZING STORY OF CRIME.

EXPLOITS OF TWO YOUTHS.

SENTENCED TO THE "CAT."

A VICTIM LOSES RIGHT ARM.

keminiscent of the bad old days when highwaymen exacted toll at the pistol point was an amazing story of robbery under arms in the Black' Country which was revealed at the Stafford Assizes''a-' few weeks ago. The culprits were not outlawed Turpins or Jarrfk Sheppards, but two young men of respectable parentage, who, in the eyes of their neighbours, apparently lived blameless lives, fnd who, until their guilt had been established, locked the picture of innocence as they • stood in the dock. For over three years the accused, who were both ' 21 years of age, had embarked upon numerous criminal expeditions, terrorising those j?ho crossed their path with lethal weapons. Late one night they hold up a tradesman who was carrying a large sum of money, and called upon Him to "Stand and deliver!" For two whole days a crowded court was held spellbound by the narration of a story 1 of criminal a#t«nture which might have belonged to a bygone century rather than to these well-disciplined times. To all outward appearance, the accused, Raymond Edward Willetts end Eric Leonard Lowe Walker, were of the highest respectability, but when the long drawn-out proceedings came to an end friends and neighbours were shocked by the record of their delinquency. Young Men With a Revolver. The pair were confronted with a formidable catalogue of charges, some of which were of the gravest character. There was, for instance, the alarming experience undergone by Francis Beaman, the.caretaker of a factory canteen at WillenhalL One Sunday evening last; December Mr. Beaman, _ who won the D.C.M. in the Great War, was surprised when making his rounds to find the,main ,docr of the men's department open, and, walking into the kitchen, noticed .chocolates and biscuits piled up or. the table. v; ; Hearing a rustling in the caretaker's room, Beaman, switched on a light, and was met by a young man with* a revolver, who shouted, " Hands up or I will blow your brains out The revolver clicked, but. fortunately, misfired, and -as Mr. Beaman stepped back two men dashed out~ of the door.' Mr.. Beaman had a good look at the man with the revolver, and.declared in Court that it was Walker. A quantity of chocolates and biscuits bad r? been packed ready for. removal, bat the only ■ article taken away wa3 a screwdriver, which was afterwards fotrad ia the possession of Willetts. Alfred North, a wholesale and retail tobacconist, of Wednesbury, did not come off so fortunately iu his encounter with the yonng bandits. It was Mr. Nortt'3 custom on Mondays to * collect from hotels in the district money for tobacco and cigarettes which he had supplied during the week. Having locked tip his shop, he usually walked home with his bag of money to his residence. It was suggested by the prosecution that the young desperadoes knew Mr. North's habits, and had waited for him on twe previous Mondays, the last being_ a bani holiday, when he finished business at two o'clock in the afternoon. . - ~ Loss of the Bight Arm. On the night of the outrage Mr. North, about nine o'clock* met Miss.Griffiths, an acquaintance., as he was on his way home with nearly £l2O ir« his bag. They stood talking on a piece of ground leading to his house, -when suddenly " a voice rang" out in the darkness: "Hand over yourmoney. Mr. North, or 1 fire!" . J r v Looking in the direction whence the voice came, Mr. North replied, "It's quite all right; none of that."' A . lightflashed in his faco and he could see the , figures of two young men only a few I yards away. Turning to walk toward * his home,"Mr. North heard the command, "Hand over your money, or I fire!" and as he did not stop he. heard the report of a gun, and felt a'peculiar . sensation in his. arm. Exclaiming "I am' shot," Mr. North staggered a few yards and Miss Griffiths shouted "Murder!" af the same time taking ...possession of his bag of money. • , ; . - The assailants disappeared in the darkness, and Mr. North, having been assisted home, was found to have been . seriously wounded in the right .arm. He , was taken to West Bromwich Hospital, , where after several operations' it was found imperative to amputate the arm near the shoulder. From the limb itself a dozen pellets were extracted, and 79 others were found in the coat he was wearing. When the garment was exhibited in Court a hole as big a§ a man's hand was pointed out in the top part of the right sleeve. Arrest of the Accused. Willetts and Walker had been associates for some years, and, on December 16, about the time of the startling events related above, Willetts left his brother's - public-house, where he lived, and went., away in a saloon oar in which he had a proprietary interest. Two days." later, Walker, who was in good employment and lived with his widowed mother, left home, and was nevt seen, with Willetts in the car at Wolverhampton. On January 8 the brothers of accused visited Wolverhampton to try to induce them to return home, and a remark was made that they were suspected of shooting at Mr. Beaman. . "We had better keep out of the district nntil that has % blown over," was Willetts' comment. - His surmise that Nemesis was on their track was correct, and, in order to cloak their movements, they sped away by car to Shropshire, but their trail was picked up in this country. Eventually, the young men were tracked to Manchester and arrested. j Fourteen Distinct Offences. When they were found guilty of the two offences already recounted, Willetts and Walker admitted various oth©p charges, in which goods to the value <£ £2OOO were involved. ' - Mr. Justice Wright, in passing sao*tence, observed that prisoners had to b» dealt with for fourteen distinct offences, "How it came about," he remarket!, - "that two jroung men like you entered upon this course of crime, and carried it to the culminating point of committing two very grave offences, 1 do not know, and it is not desirable to speculate. It was a very grave and flagrant crime of which you were first -convicted.' When people carry lethal weapons and use them in the course of their nefarious pursuits, they must be punished with severity, if the amenities of civilisation are to be preserved." - * . The judge passed concurrent sentences of se\en years' penal servitude on several indictments, with 15 strokes with the "cat," fot assault with intent to rob Mr. North while armed. The culpr ts glanced at one another with an astonished look as they were conducted from the dock.