Crime almost pays
Justice Willey’s court was bursting with curious onlookers on
March 17, 1903 as the preliminary trial of bandit Frank Herman got
underway. Charged with resisting an officer, the robber had been
brought in by Deputy Sheriff Stayton, the very man Herman had
kidnapped three weeks before.
Justice Willey’s court was bursting with curious onlookers on March 17, 1903 as the preliminary trial of bandit Frank Herman got underway. Charged with resisting an officer, the robber had been brought in by Deputy Sheriff Stayton, the very man Herman had kidnapped three weeks before.
A crime at Bell’s Station had first aroused suspicion in January, when two strangers dressed as soldiers came into the bar for a drink. When proprietor John Guillhamet briefly left the room, they opened the till, took $200 and left. The men were later spotted in Volta, clad in new civilian duds.
On Feb. 25, Deputy Sheriff Stayton tried to arrest Herman at San Felipe. He recognized a robbery suspect description issued four days earlier when Herman had held up John Hudner in Edenvale. Rather than submit to Stayton, the detainee kidnapped the deputy, taking him on a wild 20-mile ride for the hills.
When news of the abduction reached Gilroy, Constable Jack White and Deputy John Rea started for Pacheco Pass to capture the brigand and assist their brother officer.
Deputy Sheriff Stayton had started the fateful day easily enough, having traveled to San Felipe that morning to buy cattle. He stopped at the local hotel around 10:30, expecting to meet his partner, Harry Dexter. The hotel proprietor, Mr. Niggle, his wife, and two vaqueros were present in the lobby when Stayton noticed Herman, seated at a table, unobtrusively reading a newspaper.
Having no pistol, Stayton quickly plotted the arrest. He followed the stranger into the saloon and began a conversation. Upon casual questioning, Herman said he was recently discharged from the Army, where he learned to enjoy shooting and served in the Spanish-American War. Taking a casual approach, Stayton asked to see his revolver. As the stranger pulled it from his belt, explaining it was a 12-cartridge magazine pistol with a 200-yard shooting range, he caught sight of Stayton’s deputy badge. Herman recoiled, stating he wouldn’t give him the gun after all. The two men wrestled with the firearm, Herman gained the upper hand, wrenched it away and commanded the deputy to head outside, untie his horse and get into his buggy. He threatened to kill him if he disobeyed.
While Mr. Niggle, his wife and the vaqueros observed from the hotel entrance, the stranger mounted a saddle horse. Keeping his revolver leveled at Stayton, he rode alongside the buggy for about a half-mile before turning his horse loose and getting into the buggy himself. Meantime, Stayton tried to rein in the horse, hoping a posse would catch up. Herman again threatened to kill him, nearly pushing Stayton out of the buggy as the two headed toward Pacheco Pass. He ordered him to hand over his watch and cash. Stayton reached for his knife, claiming he wanted a chew of tobacco, but Herman forced him to take a chew of his plug instead.
Around noon, the pair pulled up at Bell’s Station. The horse was tired and the deputy refused to drive further. Once inside the restaurant, the robber demanded all the bread, cheese, sardines and crackers in the place, paying Mrs. Guillhamet a dollar for the provisions. While the men sat down to order dinner, Stayton requested she stall the table service, and hand him a big knife when she brought the meat. He indicated the boy should bring him a shotgun sitting by the door. Seated opposite Stayton, Herman nervously watched everyone’s movements.
The Bell’s Station staff, fearful of bloodshed, refused to bring the weapon, but did slow dinner preparations. Observing their pace, Herman became agitated, fearful a posse might be on the way. Despite Stayton’s efforts to restrain him, he bolted, rushed out the door and ran off down the road. Stayton arose, went to the stable, saddled a horse and asked for a gun. By now the fugitive had 20 minutes’ lead. Stayton galloped down the road and caught sight of Herman, who made a dash down a canyon, disappearing into thick brush.
It was 2:30 p.m. when Constable While and Deputy Rea arrived from Gilroy and searched the nearby roads. Stayton sent word to alert Volta officials to be on the lookout. Then he followed the canyon where Herman had disappeared, coming to a deserted cabin, which showed signs of human activity.
Meanwhile at Bell’s Station, Mrs. Guillhamet said she was sure Herman was one of the uniformed men who had robbed the restaurant on Jan. 24. That day, when he returned with Stayton, he had asked her if the robbers had ever been caught. When she said no, he replied, “You never will find them.”
But Herman’s fate was sealed. He was captured on March 5, six miles from the Firebaugh-Fresno slough, arrested, and brought in by Deputy Sheriff Stayton. The citizens were pleased to note, once again, that crime didn’t pay.
Or so they thought. Herman’s case was heard before Judge Leib on May 9, 1903. After spending a day deliberating, the jury brought in a verdict of not guilty. Herman was released.
But by the end of the month a wanted poster was again circulating. Local officers, not mindful of the Edenvale holdup, had failed to hold him under suspicion when they had the chance. In the end, his old partner from the Bell’s Station robbery did him, when he confessed to the till robbery and turned State’s evidence.
