Ottoville Bank Robbery 1964

Wednesday, October 28, 1964 Delphos Herald

FBI arrest Ottoville Bank robbery suspect in Indiana

by John Hollister

Agents of the Federal Bureau Of Investigation in cooperation with the South Bend Indiana Detective Bureau, last night arrested George Austin Carpenter of Bangor Michigan, on suspicion of committing the $33,000 robbery of the Ottoville Bank yesterday afternoon.

According to Putnam County Sheriff James Ruhe, Carpenter was arrested about 9:30 p.m., when he attempted to return a rented car used in the holdup. Upon his arrest at the auto and truck rental agency and South Bend, Carpenter gave a verbal confession. All but $100 of the money he had stolen from the Ottoville Bank was found in the car. Carpenter was identified as the man who had robbed the bank in a South Bend lineup by Ottoville Bank manager Richard Bernard.

The robbery occurred at 3:02 p.m. according to miss LaDonna Hilvers, a neatly dressed man entered the bank, and asked to see Mr. Bernard, the manager. At this time, Mr. Bernard was waiting on the last customer of the day. The man made some small talk with Ronald Horstman, assistant cashier, while Bernard finished the banking transaction. As the customer left, the holdup man spoke to Mr. Bernard and walked into his enclosed office at the front of the bank.

“I knew the fellow,” said Mr. Bernard, “as he had been the bank several times before on the pretense of opening a checking account. He had said he was interested in opening a business in the area.”

Once inside the enclosed office of the manager, the stickup man drew a revolver and ordered bank employees to comply with his holed up instructions.

“I remember that when he walked around the door, he was holding a big revolver in his hand,” said Mr. Bernard. “He said, this is it -- a holdup, and ordered us to lie down on the floor.” When asked what his reactions were to the order, Mr. Bernard said: “I felt like doing just what he wanted me to do -- a gun can be a mighty potent persuader.”

From under his olive green quilted jacket, the bandit pulled lengths of rope, handkerchiefs for gags, and a green shopping bag. He proceeded to tie the employees with their hands behind their backs, and gag them. He then call we waited 20 minutes for the automatic lock on the door the ball to open.

According to Mr. Bernard, the robber took $33,654 in paper money from the bank. The money range and denomination from $1-$100 bills.

“He took only paper,” said Ronald Horstman, “input in that shopping bag. He never even bothered with the silver.”

The bandit operated with the sheer poise of someone who would plan his operation thoroughly. “He was cool to cucumber,” said Mr. Bernard, “she tied us up as though he had been doing it all his life. He says gun was a pellet gun, but if it was it was the biggest pellet gun on the scene. I’ll bet it shot 38 caliber lead pellets.”

As the banner left the bank by the side door, the employees work to get loose. Mr. Horseman was the first to free himself.

“Although he did a good job of tying us up,” said Horstman, “he had tied me with the rope across my wristwatch, leaving a little slack. I had just enough to work with to slip one hand loose, from there to free the other. I pulled myself over to my desk or add little penknife. Cut my legs free and then cut Dick and the girls loose. We then called share freely and the FBI in Cleveland.”

According to the employees of the bank, the whole robbery had an air of unreality about it.

“I couldn’t believe it was happening,” said Miss Hilver’s, my mind just went blank.” Mrs. Ronald Warner month describe your feelings as being somewhat scared, and and do just what bandit ordered. Mr. Bernard praised the reactions of the bank employees as being “very well ordered” under the circumstances.

“Anybody who tells me that he would know what to do in a situation like that is a fool,” said Mr. Bernard. “The reactions of the people in here were wonderful -- they were almost as calm as the bandit.”

Sheriff James Ruhe arrived at the scene of the robbery 10 minutes after Horstman free himself.

“I was in the area Fort Jennings,” said Sheriff Ruhe, “and I got the call that the Ottoville Bank and been robbed. I had my office notify all police departments in the area, as well as the FBI, and responded to the robbery scene. In a few minutes, we had 22 cars on the road -- from our office, from the Ohio State patrol, and from Lima. Of course, this was about 40 minutes after the robbery occurred, so there was not much chance of the bandit would still be in the area. The deployment was mainly on the chance that he would stay in the area. I imagine that he was already out of the state by the time that we had our our block set up.”

According to share freely, the bandit left the bank and walked to his car is parked on Fourth Street in Ottoville. “As far as we can determine,” said the Sheriff, “he went west on fourth Street to route 66, south on 66 to Delphos, and then west on Route 30 to Indiana.”

Do the alertness of employees, police were able to determine the identity of the getaway car and trace it to the rental agency and South Bend. Becoming suspicious of the repeated loitering of Carpenter, Miss Hilvers and Mrs. Warnimont followed them outside on his last visit to the bank and took down the license number of his car. They turned it over to Sheriff Ruhe on Saturday.

“One of the first things I said when I arrived was ‘was it the same man?’,” said Sheriff Ruhe. “When they said that it was, I immediately notified the South Bend police and the FBI that this man was a prime suspect in the case, and that he should be picked up and held for interrogation.”

The aftermath of the robbery as was observed by several Ottoville residence. Mr. Ronald Wessel who owns an appliance store next to the bank was the first person not involved in the robbery to know about it.

“I looked out my back window and saw Dick Bernard climbing out of the back window of the bank,” said Mr. Wessel. “I said, ‘Dick, what are you doing?’ And he said the banks pay robbed, let me use your phone to call the FBI’.” Mr. Bernard left the bank by the back window in order to preserve fingerprints left by the robber has he entered the front door and left by the back door. He thought from a faulty dial tone in the bank that the telephone lines have been cut.

The robber was seen by several residents of the area in which the bandit parked his car among those was Mrs. Elma Bedink.

“I was washing windows, and I saw this fellow walking across the parking lot and back of Wessel’s,” said Mrs. Bedink. “He was walking along as calm as you please large green shopping bag in his hand, I thought he was a salesman and no more. He walked to his car in no hurry, but as soon as he got in, he pulled out so fast that he threw leaves and gravel all over the street.

Carpenter is to appear before the United States commissioner and South Bend today, on charges on file in Toledo. According to Sheriff Ruhe, seven agents from the FBI in Cleveland and Toledo arrived yesterday to investigate the robbery. Charges will be probably filed litigation process in federal courts, as bank robbery is a federal offense involving interstate jurisdiction of the FBI. If convicted under the laws of Ohio, Carpenter would face a maximum jail term of life imprisonment.

Thursday October 29, 1964 Putnam County Sentinel

Lone Bandit Arrested After Hold-Up At Ottoville Bank

Alertness Of Teller, Officials Credited For Quick Arrest

A lone bandit, who entered the Ottoville Bank at 302 Tuesday afternoon, waiting for 39 minutes for the electric clock to open the day safe, and then escaped with $33,654, was arrested at 9:30 that night in South Bend Ind.

The arrest was brought about through the alertness of one of the bank tellers, who became suspicious by previous visits made to the bank by the bandit, and a hunch played by Sheriff James Ruhe, after consulting with the FBI which had been called into the case immediately after the burglary had taken place.

George Austin Carpenter, 28, is confined in the South Bend prison, following his arrest by police that city and Indiana FBI agents, who had been alerted, and who had made the arrest on Carpenter, a resident of Bangor Michigan, returned to the car to that auto-truck rental agency in that city.

Sheriff Ruhe, FBI agents and prosecutors George E Schroeder, are discussing the legal actions to be taken against Carpenter. The robbery, classified as a federal offense, will very likely find Carpenter arraigned and tried in the federal courts, the officials stated late Wednesday.

Prosecutor Schrader prepared charges, which Sheriff really filed this morning charging Carpenter with armed robbery. In that case, if the charge is approved by the federal authorities, Carpenter would be brought back to Putnam County to face trial.

Further word from South Bend Thursday morning was that Carpenter had been ordered held under $25,000 bond, and that he is being held in the St. Joseph’s County Jail in that city.

All but about $100 of the amount taken was recovered by the FBI and South Bend police, after making the arrest, and after Carpenter had admitted the robbery. He had hidden the money and some underbrush several blocks from the auto rental agency, before returning the car, it was stated.

Carpenter, who had been at the bank evidently “casing” the institution on no less than six previous visits, entered the bank at 302 Tuesday afternoon, as Richard Bernard, cashier was waiting on the last customer. He waited until Mr. Bernard was through and then asked if he could speak with him in the office.

Immediately after entering the small reception office set apart from the lobby and tellers room Carpenter pulled out a revolver and told Mr. Bernard, assistant cashier Ronald L. Horstman, and tell her, Mrs. LaDonna Hilvers to lie on the floor. Mrs. Donna Jean Warnimont, another teller, was order to lock the front door in the usual manner.

The four bank employees were then tied hands and feet together with rope, and gagged with cloths that the bandit had brought with him.

When told that the money was in the day safe which operated with an electric clock, Carpenter decided to wait until 340, time separate the saved open. In the meantime he paced back and forth in the room, talking to the employees.

Noting that the rope on the wrist of Mr. Horseman were causing some inconvenience, he took his knife and cut the rope holding hands and feet together, and then also loosen the ties on the two men, and open their shirt collars, remarking “I may be desperate, but I’m also human.”

When the day safe was open, $30,000 was taken from the vault in the balance of $3, 654 was the amount which was to have been placed in the safe when the days checking had been completed.

Carpenter left the bank by the rear door, and walked to his car, which had been parked at the intersection of Church and Cherry streets, a good half block from the rear the bank. Officials were notified, and the roadblocks were immediately set up by the state Highway Patrol, the FBI, and the Putnam County and neighboring Sheriff’s departments.

Sheriff Ruhe and Ottoville Bank officials state that Carpenter’s visits to the Ottoville Bank started several weeks previously. In those visits he talked of establishing a business in Ottoville, that he was also eager to establish a credit rating with the bank, where he expected to transact his financial affairs.

During those visits he went under an assumed name and stated that he with other men were in business in Indianapolis.

His last visits to the bank, prior to the holdup were on Saturday, and again on Monday. In the meantime, however, one of the bank tellers had followed him out of the bank and secured the license number on his car. Mr. Bernard then contacted Sheriff Ruhe gave a complete account of the man, and his proposed business dealings. Sheriff Ruhe was making contacts to secure information on Carpenter at the time the holdup occurred.

When FBI agents arrived at the scene Tuesday afternoon, Sheriff really immediately provided them with the information available. Sheriff contacted the South Bend police, and the FBI at their agency’s office in Indiana. The hunch that Carpenter would return to the city paid off.

When informed that Carpenter had been arrested shortly before 930 in South Bend Tuesday night, an FBI agent and Mr. Bernard flew to that city where the cashier immediately made identification when Carpenter appear to line up at the jail.

On Wednesday morning, Mr. Bernard and Mr. Horseman are high in praise of the work of Sheriff  Ruhe and his department as well as the FBI, the state patrol in the manner in which the robbery was handled, and the short time in which it was sold. It was the alertness of the bank teller, the information given to share freely by Mr. Bernard, and the cooperation of all law enforcement agencies, which were especially helpful in the case, it was stated.

The Ottoville Bank robbery was the first bank robbery in Putnam County since 1947. At that time the bandits took $10,000 from the Continental Bank and were captured about an hour later in Henry County.

Wednesday October 28, 1964 The Lima News

Thug Nabbed In $33,000 Heist

An armed bandit, bound and gagged for employees of the Ottoville National Bank and escape with $33,654 at 3:02 PM Tuesday, was captured less than nine hours later in a South Bend Indiana car rental agency. All but $100 of the loot was recovered.

Federal Bureau of Investigation officers identified the gunman as Charles Austin Carpenter, 28, of Bangor, Michigan.

He offered no resistance is FBI and Indiana State police moved in when he arrived at the car rental agency with the money still in the green and white shopping bag using the holdup, FBI agents report.

Richard Bernard, bank cashier, and Ronald Horstman, assistant cashier, assisted officers and identifying Carpenter as the man who appeared at the bank just as is being closed for the day at 3 PM.

Bernard said Carpenter first appeared at the bank last Saturday attempting to secure a business loan. The bandit at the time gave his home address as Indianapolis Indiana.

Bernard said one of the bank employees became suspicious at the time and took down the license number of Carpenters car.

The license number was given to Putnam County Sheriff James Ruhe, who checked with Indiana police and found the license was issued to a South Bend agency.

Carpenter entered the bank Tuesday just as employees were pulling the drapes to outside windows and prepare to close for the day, Ruhe said.

He walked to a teller’s window and talk to Horseman and made inquiries as to the outcome of his application for a loan. Bernard then joined Horseman and told the man that they were unable to run a credit check on.

Carpenter at this point pull out a gun and said, “This is it.”

Your both men to the center of the room and called to two women employees, Mrs. Donna Jean Warnimont and Mrs. LaDonna Hilvers to join them.

Carpenter ordered the four to lie face down the floor and tied their hands to their ankles. He gagged them with white handkerchiefs, but not until he asked them when the time lock would open the door of the bank’s fault.

The four victims said he sat calmly in a chair waiting for the door to open.

The vault door swung open at 3:38 PM and Carpenter took a green and white shopping bag from an inside pocket, went to the vault and filled it with currency and walked out of the bank, the victims said.

Bernard worked for 10 minutes to free himself and then untied the others and reported the robbery to Putnam County authorities.

Carpenters being held in a South Bend jail on a federal charge of suspicion of bank robbery.

Sheriff  Ruhe said he will see Carpenters returned to Putnam County for prosecution.

Sheriff said there are at least two other witnesses to the holdup. Two women residing in the neighborhood reported seeing a man and the bank empty-handed just as it was closing and coming out about 45 minutes later carrying shopping.

State Highway Patrol post, County Sheriff’s deputies and police departments in more than a score of counties in Ohio and Indiana set up roadblocks within a 40 mile radius of the bank robbery scene.

Carpenters escape route as yet has not been learned, Ruhe said.

The bandit reportedly told FBI agents that he spent $100 the money taken the robbery. He was being questioned in detail today.