MASKED ROBBERS.

Taranaki Daily News, 3 July 1924, Page 9

MASKED ROBBERS.

MELBOURNE HOLD UP. CARD PARTY ATTACKED. Sydney, June 20. Melbourne’s list of serious crime with violence is an unenviable one, and was added to last Sunday, wnen four armed and masked men entered a residence it Glen Huntly and robbed a party of m'n at revolver point, even going to the length of firing a shot. The outrage was carried out nt the shop occupied by Roy M. Conroy, to- j hacconist, just as Conroy and a pa*-cy of friends had finished playing cards and were preparing to go home. One of the party wa,s downstairs telephoning for a conveyance at 11.15 p.m., when a persistent ringing was set up at the front door. He concluded it was someone wanting cigarettes, and intended administering a rebuff when he opened the door. Instead, he found that four masked men pushed through the opening, and, with revolvers pointed it his heart, ordered him to lead the way upstairs. He commenced to argue, so they left one of their number downstairs with him, and made their own way up to the cardroom. There were seven men at the table upstairs, and they grinned when they saw the strangers with revolvers in their hands. Thinking it was a joka by one of their friends, they told the visitors to unmask and stop fooling. One of the card players rose and moved towards one of the strangers with the object of tearing away his mask, but the latter fired at once, the bullet embedding itself in the wall about two inches behind the other man’s head. He sat down. The leader of the raiders ordered all the players to stand up while they were searched. The robbers found little money, and a diamond ring Worth £BO was the principal booty. One of the players, while turning towards the wall, caught a diamond ' ring in his teeth and pulled it off his ; finger, keeping it in his mouth and so saving it from the robbers. Another | man slipped a ring down the back of ; his neck, while a third placed a £5O note and five £lO notes in hie mouth. , The thieves in their hurried search I missed al] of these. As the bandits prepared to depart, | they ordered all their captives to put nn their bands, and remain «o for five ’-ndAr a threat of being shot. They locked the door from the outside, i though a few minutes later one of the inijrigojied party used * downpipa 40

reach the street, and then telephoned for the police. But the robbers made a clean getaway in a fast motor car which was patrolling up and down the street all the time they were inside. The police subsequently arrested one man who has been identified by one If the card players. The others are still at large.