Intensive Manhunt Near Levin

Chronicle (Levin), 26 March 1946, Page 4

Intensive Manhunt Near Levin

ARMED BANDITS STEAL £2300 Hooded Klu Klux^Klan fashion, three armed men executed one of the most audacious daylight robbefies in the history of ]£ew Zealand when they held-up the Bulls branch of the pank of New Zealand at 1.10 p.m. yester day. After firing a shot and striking a teller over the head with a revolver butt, the bandits robbed the bank of a sum estimated to be £2300 and m&de off in a car. Receipt of this information by the police shortly after the occurrence instigated a man hunt of an intensity rare in the annals of the country. Late last night at least one of the four criminals — the three bandits and their car driver — had been run to ground in the rugged eottHtty around Ihakara, about five miles north of Levin, and altbough no arrests had been made the police had the area closel'y cordoned and were keeping a watchful vigilance. Both the car in which they made oif and another into which they later changed, had been fmmd. Evidence that the robhery had heen well planned can be deduced from the fact that yesterday was sale day. at F-itlls, when the bank would be handling a great deal more casb chan usual, and the time of day when most of the people would be either at ^ the s'ale or at lunoh.

The Bulls branch of the Bank of New. Zealahd stands at the corner of the main s'treer and the ro-.d leading to Parewanui, with the front entrance fac ing the main street. immediately m front of the door within the premises are three cubicles with their gruls used by the bank for the depositmg and pay ing out Oi money. Tne teller, Mr. K. A. Alien, was in the cubicle nearest the door, while a customer, Mr. D. W. Wilson, of Parewanui, was at the desk provided for clients at the end of the room. A clerk, Miss Barbara Carson, was working in the cubicle furthest from Mr. Allen. This was the set-up as three men at 1.10 p.m. yesterday, hooded and armed with two revolvers and stan gun, entered throug^i tlie front door. One of the three covered Mr. Wilson. The second one half closed the front doors and stood guard. The third man went to Mr. Allen and presenting a revolver inf ormea him in piain language that it was a hold-up. SHOT PIBED AT TELLER. Mr. Allen made a nlove down below the counter wnere he had a revolver. This action on his part vjas quickly followed by a shot from the gun held by the bandit at the griil, the bullet lodging in the plaster wall directiy beh'ind -where Mr. Allen had heen stsiriding and nine feet above lus head. Mi-. ALen then 'made his way out of the cubicle through the door at the rear but in doihg so slippcd to fall full length on the floor. Before he could rise one of the bandits had hit him a severe blow on the liead, it is presumed with a revolver butt, which stunned him. This man then entered the cubicle and scooped up all the money he could lay, hands on, estimated at the moment to amhimt to £2300. BANK MANAGER THREATENED The three hooded men then lei't by the front door by which they had entered and on the steps of the building encountered the branch manager, Mr. S. L. E. Torrens, who was returning from lunch. He was also told in plain language tnat it was a hold up and advised r.o put his hands up. Mr. Torrens was backed against tne wail and was obliged to stay there while the men entered a Mas„er Chevrolet car painted grey in which they then drove away in the direction of Palmerston North, keeping the streets covered with the sten gun until they were out of siglit. Another person involved in the hold--up was Sergeant G. Sherlocn, a mernber of the R.N.Z.A.F. station at Ohakea v;ho ha'fl just arrived in the town with his wife and chiid. He had parked his car in the main street just ahead of tne bandits' car while they were in the bank. Mrs. SheHock had emerged from the car and was crossing the street, While Sgt. Sherlock was' proceeding towards thb bank when the bandits came out on to the street. He also was menaced by the step gun.. DESCRIPTION OI" BANDITS. Sgt. Sherlock gave a clear picture of the three bandits. The apparent leader was a man about 6 feet tali and powerfully built. The other two were of medium build. All tbree were wearing hoods which reached down to their Slioulders, made of a grey materiai. ihe leader had a brown felt hat on over his hood. One of the men was wearing Air Porce blue trousers, and two were wearing old style military great-coats with brass buttons. Sgt. Shermck, who has had a wide experience with arms during his service career, identiiied tne machine gun as a sten gun. While Mr. Torrens was coming along the street towards his hank, an eifort to warn him of the hold-up was made by a man painting on the other side of the street. He had heard the shot. It ] was at this moment that the bandits j came out of the bank and the efforts to warn the manager came too late. E. W. Wood, a chemist with a shop near the bank, heard the commotion going o'n inside the bahk and guessing what was iip phoned the guard room at the Ohakea Air Force Station. Although the Air Eorce police kept a close watch on the ioad there, the bandits had by then changed cars and escaped undetected. BANDITS CHANGE CARS. The scene now changes to Weightman's Road which leaves the main highway on the Sanson side of the Bulls bridge and runs north parallel With the Rangitikei River. A search along this road revealed the Chevrolet a,bandoned in a patch of thick gorse &nd empty. From subsequent inquiries the police discovered that this car had

been seen along this road earlier in the morning parked aiongside a biacx Bu.c.. straight eight, hut in the afternooh there was no Sxgn of this second car. The obvious cono.us-on was that tne bandits had changed vehicies to evade swii't detection. WIDHSPitEAD MANHUNT. The various police stations through out the countryside were quickly notihed of this move and the hunt was taken up in earnest by all secuons oi' the police force right down to Wellington, north as far as Wanganui, along the central highway througii the Noi'uit island and across the ranges into Hawke's Bay and Wairarapa, "with tne ! niany subsidiary highways tbe police were faced with a very difficuit tasx as it was almost impossible to keej the whole network under completo sin-veii-lance. Later inquiries showed that the injured teller, Mr. Allen, had been medically examined and found to be suffering from an extensive abrasion on tho head. He received medical treatment but it was not necessary to renlove him to hospital. The bullet taken from the wall of the bank was either a misfit for a .38 revolver or a real .33 sten gun bullet. Some dispute appeared to develop aS lo the number of men involved, The hank manager, Mr. Torrens, said he was certain only three came out of the bank. Sgt. Sherlock, who was in a good position to see both the car, and the han dits, said there was a fourth man seated at the driving wheel. His face was iargely obscured by his hand, and his head was hent forward.