More On the Somerset State Bank Robberies of 1933
Bernard Pyron
Saturday November 18, 1933
Lubbock Morning Avalanche
THREE SOUGHT IN ROBBERY OF SOMERSET BANK
A few people who were alive in the late twenties and early thirties, that lived in or near Somerset, Texas, and were old enough then to know what a bank robbery is, have some memories of a bank official being involved in a swindle to take the deposits and perhaps also the Somerset Bank Bonds of the people of the area. Most, however, do not know the details of the robberies/swindle. My older sisters both remembered the robbery or robberies and one wrote about a Mr. Owens, a bank official, being involved. My second cousin, Patricia Kenney Anderson, described for me on the phone this summer how she and her younger sister were playing in the parking lot between the Will Kenney store and the Somerset Bank when a black car pulled up by the bank and two men got out with guns. The two young girls ran back inside the grocery store and told their father, Billy Kenney, who got his gun and went outside. Patricia also said that Owens, the bank officer, was sent to Huntsville, Texas for his role inthe robbery or robberies and was released from prison a few years before he died because he had TB. He died in 1940. At present I do not know exactly what the role of Owens was in the robbery/swindle or how and who found out about his role. It is possible also that the embezzlement of funds by a bank official was not related to the robberies of the Somerset bank, but was a different event.
A newspaper article, San Antonio Light, October 20, 1933, Page 19, says one of the robberies of the Somerset State Bank was on July 20, 1933. In this article of November 18, 1933, from the Lubbock Morning Avalanche, the newspaper report says "Descriptions of the three men were said to tally with those of the trio who robbed the bank of about (word not clear) last summer. So, there may have been two robberies of the Somerset Bank in 1933, one in July and another, perhaps by the same robbers, in the Fall.
"Bandits got $700 in loot in holdup. Intensive search started. Trio is believed in San Antone. San Antonio, November 17th - Three who held up and robbed the First State bank of Somerset of approximately $700 shortly after noon Friday are being sought in San Antonio by deputy sheriffs and police.
An intensive search was started in the belief that the robbers are in hiding here. Descriptions of the three men were said to tally with those of the trio who robbed the Bank of about (word not clear) last summer.
While one man remained at the wheel of an automobile at the curb. the two others walked into the bank brandishing pistols. All three men wore dark glasses. One of the men who walked inside also wore a cardboard mask.
Miss Lois Owens, 21, assistant cashier of the Bank, set off several electric tear gas bombs when she saw the pair enter. One of the bombs exploded (word not readable). Whereupon both men fired, one of the bullets splintering a window sill, (near) which Garland Owens, the girl's father, cashier of the Bank, and Dr. T.P. Ware, Somerset physician, were standing..
Although the gas fumes filled the room, quickly the robbers marched the girl and the two men into the vault and ordered Miss Owens to open the safe. She protested that she was unable to do so as the time lock was on.
The two men tried unsuccessfully to lock the two Bank employees and the doctor in the vault, but the lock failed to catch. They then took the cash in the cashier's cage, estimated at $700, and fled."
Page 19 of San Antonio Light , August 2, 1936
"GARLAND Faces S. First state bank of who Friday afternoon was placed under 55000 bond following the filing of a federal charge of embezzlement against The filed by H. C. Van of the federal bureau of in- alleges that Owens em- from the bank or which was cashier December 14, 1935, while the bank was a member of the Federal Deposit and Insurance Owens is now under six ments in the Criminal District court of Bexar four of which charge One charges theft by and and one charges theft over He has been at liberty under bond on the stale charges for several...."
Page 10 of San Antonio Express , October 14, 1936
"Garland former Somerset First State Bank was charged with embezzlement..."
"Alleged to have embezzled and Garland Owens, former Somerset First State Bank cashier, was charged...the cashier of First State Bank of Somerset... .. was alleged to have embezzled and Garland Owens, former..."
Page 18 of San Antonio Express , February 29, 1936
"CASHIER INDICTED IN THEFT CASES Passing False Note for Also Charged set Man Garland cashier of the First Sate Bank of which is in process of was named defendant in three ments returned Friday by a Bexar County grand The ments charged passing of a false instrument in connection with a theft over in con- with allegedly taken from Charles A. Fischer of Von president of the and theft by bailee and embezzlement of 5250 from the First State Bank of ..."
It may be that the reason these copies of newspaper articles from the thirties are so full or errors and omissions is because some kind of primitive optical character recognition software was used in connection with scanned old newspapers which did not work very well, and the people who produced the copies did not take the time to correct the mistakes which would have been time consuming.
We can tell that Garland Owens was indicted by a Bexar County Grand Jury in 1936 for embezzlement of funds from the Somerset State Bank. Apparently federal charges were also filed against him for the same crimes. Maybe there is an online newspaper article somewhere telling the outcome of the trial in Bexar county of Owens - or there is some way to get access to records of Bexar county trials in the thirties. There is nothing in these brief newspaper articles about who and how the activities of Owens in the swindle of people's money in the bank was discovered.
On http://www.texasescapes.com/SouthTexasTowns/Somerset-Texas.htm
there is a photo taken in 2007 across the street from the Old Somerset Bank Building. The Bank building is on the right and the store which was the Will Kenney grocery store in 1933 is on the left. After the Bank went out of business sometime in the thirties after 1933, the Post Office was in the north part of the building and a restaurant occupied the south part of the building when I was in grade school
Bernard Pyron
Saturday November 18, 1933
Lubbock Morning Avalanche
THREE SOUGHT IN ROBBERY OF SOMERSET BANK
A few people who were alive in the late twenties and early thirties, that lived in or near Somerset, Texas, and were old enough then to know what a bank robbery is, have some memories of a bank official being involved in a swindle to take the deposits and perhaps also the Somerset Bank Bonds of the people of the area. Most, however, do not know the details of the robberies/swindle. My older sisters both remembered the robbery or robberies and one wrote about a Mr. Owens, a bank official, being involved. My second cousin, Patricia Kenney Anderson, described for me on the phone this summer how she and her younger sister were playing in the parking lot between the Will Kenney store and the Somerset Bank when a black car pulled up by the bank and two men got out with guns. The two young girls ran back inside the grocery store and told their father, Billy Kenney, who got his gun and went outside. Patricia also said that Owens, the bank officer, was sent to Huntsville, Texas for his role inthe robbery or robberies and was released from prison a few years before he died because he had TB. He died in 1940. At present I do not know exactly what the role of Owens was in the robbery/swindle or how and who found out about his role. It is possible also that the embezzlement of funds by a bank official was not related to the robberies of the Somerset bank, but was a different event.
A newspaper article, San Antonio Light, October 20, 1933, Page 19, says one of the robberies of the Somerset State Bank was on July 20, 1933. In this article of November 18, 1933, from the Lubbock Morning Avalanche, the newspaper report says "Descriptions of the three men were said to tally with those of the trio who robbed the bank of about (word not clear) last summer. So, there may have been two robberies of the Somerset Bank in 1933, one in July and another, perhaps by the same robbers, in the Fall.
"Bandits got $700 in loot in holdup. Intensive search started. Trio is believed in San Antone. San Antonio, November 17th - Three who held up and robbed the First State bank of Somerset of approximately $700 shortly after noon Friday are being sought in San Antonio by deputy sheriffs and police.
An intensive search was started in the belief that the robbers are in hiding here. Descriptions of the three men were said to tally with those of the trio who robbed the Bank of about (word not clear) last summer.
While one man remained at the wheel of an automobile at the curb. the two others walked into the bank brandishing pistols. All three men wore dark glasses. One of the men who walked inside also wore a cardboard mask.
Miss Lois Owens, 21, assistant cashier of the Bank, set off several electric tear gas bombs when she saw the pair enter. One of the bombs exploded (word not readable). Whereupon both men fired, one of the bullets splintering a window sill, (near) which Garland Owens, the girl's father, cashier of the Bank, and Dr. T.P. Ware, Somerset physician, were standing..
Although the gas fumes filled the room, quickly the robbers marched the girl and the two men into the vault and ordered Miss Owens to open the safe. She protested that she was unable to do so as the time lock was on.
The two men tried unsuccessfully to lock the two Bank employees and the doctor in the vault, but the lock failed to catch. They then took the cash in the cashier's cage, estimated at $700, and fled."
Page 19 of San Antonio Light , August 2, 1936
"GARLAND Faces S. First state bank of who Friday afternoon was placed under 55000 bond following the filing of a federal charge of embezzlement against The filed by H. C. Van of the federal bureau of in- alleges that Owens em- from the bank or which was cashier December 14, 1935, while the bank was a member of the Federal Deposit and Insurance Owens is now under six ments in the Criminal District court of Bexar four of which charge One charges theft by and and one charges theft over He has been at liberty under bond on the stale charges for several...."
Page 10 of San Antonio Express , October 14, 1936
"Garland former Somerset First State Bank was charged with embezzlement..."
"Alleged to have embezzled and Garland Owens, former Somerset First State Bank cashier, was charged...the cashier of First State Bank of Somerset... .. was alleged to have embezzled and Garland Owens, former..."
Page 18 of San Antonio Express , February 29, 1936
"CASHIER INDICTED IN THEFT CASES Passing False Note for Also Charged set Man Garland cashier of the First Sate Bank of which is in process of was named defendant in three ments returned Friday by a Bexar County grand The ments charged passing of a false instrument in connection with a theft over in con- with allegedly taken from Charles A. Fischer of Von president of the and theft by bailee and embezzlement of 5250 from the First State Bank of ..."
It may be that the reason these copies of newspaper articles from the thirties are so full or errors and omissions is because some kind of primitive optical character recognition software was used in connection with scanned old newspapers which did not work very well, and the people who produced the copies did not take the time to correct the mistakes which would have been time consuming.
We can tell that Garland Owens was indicted by a Bexar County Grand Jury in 1936 for embezzlement of funds from the Somerset State Bank. Apparently federal charges were also filed against him for the same crimes. Maybe there is an online newspaper article somewhere telling the outcome of the trial in Bexar county of Owens - or there is some way to get access to records of Bexar county trials in the thirties. There is nothing in these brief newspaper articles about who and how the activities of Owens in the swindle of people's money in the bank was discovered.
On http://www.texasescapes.com/SouthTexasTowns/Somerset-Texas.htm
there is a photo taken in 2007 across the street from the Old Somerset Bank Building. The Bank building is on the right and the store which was the Will Kenney grocery store in 1933 is on the left. After the Bank went out of business sometime in the thirties after 1933, the Post Office was in the north part of the building and a restaurant occupied the south part of the building when I was in grade school
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