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Roy Gardner (bank robber)
Encyclopedia
Roy G. Gardner was once America's most infamous prison escapee and the most celebrated outlaw and escaped convict during the Roaring Twenties
.
During his criminal career, he stole over $350,000 in cash and securities. He also had a $5,000 reward for his head three times in less than a year during his sensational career. He was the most dangerous inmate in the history of Atlanta Prison and he was dubbed by the newspapers across the West Coast as the "Smiling Bandit", the "Mail Train Bandit", and the "King of the Escape Artists". He was one of the most notorious offenders of the Federal Bureau of Prisons
, one of the most notorious inmates at Alcatraz and one of the most ruthless criminals in American history.
Gardner is said to be the most hunted man in Pacific Coast history. While legend has it that he was the first to escape the McNeil Island Federal Penitentiary, this has been confirmed to be not true. The first escapes occurred before Gardner was even born, and, by the time of his imprisonment, several dozen inmates had made their escapes. McNeil Island, in fact, was the only Federal Penitentiary never to have a wall and was never considered a maximum security facility. Gardner was the "Most Wanted" gangster of 1921.
He is now largely forgotten for his daring acts. No longer the household name that he was in 1921, he never lived as an outlaw on the Western frontier, was never a Depression Era gangster, and was never in a gang, all things that may contribute to him being largely forgotten in modern times. He was a lone bandit and his reputation and notoriety made him a touchstone of his time.
and was raised in Colorado Springs. He was said to be attractive and charming, standing just under six feet tall, with short, curly auburn hair and blue eyes. He spent his early manhood as a drifter in the Southwest, learning the trades of farrier and miner. Supposedly, he joined the U.S. Army to escape the dangerous world of petty crime, reform school escapes, and the mining business, but he deserted in 1906 and drifted to Mexico.
Gardner began his criminal profession as a gunrunner around the time of the Mexican Revolution
. He smuggled and traded arms and ammunition to the Venustiano Carranza
forces until he was captured by soldiers from Victoriano Huerta
's army and was sentenced to death by firing squad, but, on March 29, 1909, he broke out of the Mexico City
jail along with three other American prisoners after attacking the soldier guards. Gardner arrived back in the United States, where he was a prizefighter
in the Southwest. He was good enough that he became a sparring partner for Heavyweight Champion J. J. Jeffries
at Ben Lemond Training Camp in Reno, Nevada
during the summer of 1910.
Eventually, Gardner ended up in San Francisco, where he gambled all of his boxing money away, and robbed a jewelry store on Market Street. He was arrested, and spent some time in San Quentin, but he was paroled after he saved a prison guard's life during a violent riot. Gardner landed a job as an acetylene welder at the Mare Island Navy Yard, married, fathered a daughter, left the Schwa - Batcher Company in 1918 on Armistice Day
and began his own welding company.
.
Roy Gardner was sentenced to 25 years at McNeil Island Federal Penitentiary for armed robbery of the U. S. Mails, and he vowed he would never serve the sentence. On June 5, 1920, he was transported on a train with Deputy U. S. Marshals Cavanaugh and Haig. Some way outside Portland, Oregon
, Gardner peered out of the window of the train and yelled, "Look at that deer!". The lawmen looked, and Gardner grabbed Marshal Haig's gun from his holster. He then disarmed Marshal Cavanaugh at gunpoint. The daring outlaw then handcuffed the two humiliated lawmen together and stole $200. He jumped off the train, and made his way to Canada.
He slipped back into the United States the next year, and started robbing banks and mail trains across the country as a lone bandit. Gardner came back to California, where he tied up the mail clerk to Train No. 10 eastbound from Sacramento and robbed the express car of $187,000 on May 19, 1921. The next morning, Gardner told the mail clerk of Train No. 20 to throw up his hands or he would blow his head off. When the train reached the Overland Limited, the elusive bandit darted down the tracks with an armful of mail. The home office recognized the gunman as Roy Gardner, the notorious train robber with a $5,000 reward on his head.
Gardner was recognized at the Porter House Hotel and a convoy of police arrived in Roseville while Gardner was playing a game of cards in a pool hall. Three federal agents came up behind Gardner and captured him. The bandit was arrested, and was sentenced to another 25 years at McNeil Island for armed robbery of the mail trains.
Trying to reduce his sentence he told Southern Pacific Railroad
detectives that he would lead them to the spot where he buried his loot. The officers found nothing, and Gardner announced, "I guess I have forgotten where I buried that money". He was heavily shackled, with the addition of an "Oregon Boot", and was once again transported on a train to McNeil Island, this time by U. S. Marshals Mulhall and Rinkell, both fast shooting veterans. During the journey, Gardner asked to use the bathroom, in which an associate had earlier hid a .32 caliber pistol. Gardner came out of the bathroom, pointed the gun at Mulhall's protruding pouch, and ordered another prisoner to handcuff the two humiliated lawmen to the seat. He relieved the officers of their weapons and cash before hopping onto another moving train outside Castle Rock, Washington
.
The largest manhunt in Pacific Coast history began after this. He was known all over the country as the boldest hold up man, the cleverest and most slippery prisoner to ever be placed under arrest. Gardner was described as a dangerous man who would shoot on sight, and must be captured at all costs. He once again had a $5,000 reward on his head.
He arrived in Centralia, Washington
, where he was almost recognized by Jack Scuitto at the Olympic Club. Roy plastered his face with bandages to hide his identity, leaving one eye slit. Gardner told the Oxford Hotel staff that he had been severely burned in an industrial accident near Tacoma. Proprietor Gertrude Howell and Officer Louis Sonney became suspicious of the bandaged man, and when he saw a firearm in Gardner's hotel room, he accused him of being the "Smiling Bandit". Gardner fought back, but was arrested and a doctor removed the bandages to show that he was indeed the notorious train robber. This time Gardner, who was sentenced to another 25 years, was heavily ironed, and finally brought to McNeil Island. Dan Sonney
, son of Louis, tells the story of the arrest in the 2001 documentary Mau Mau Sex Sex, and Louis's subsequent career change to the entertainment industry. The documentary also features a clip of an interview with an aging Gardner promising his reform, and showing his release from prison.
Guards scoured the beaches and confiscated every boat on the shoreline, but no trace of the dangerous outlaw could be found. Gardner lived in the prison barn, getting nutrition from cow's milk, and then swam the choppy waters to Fox Island where he lived off fruit in the orchards. Warden Maloney claimed Gardner was still on McNeil Island, but the same day the statement was made, Gardner was already on the route to Oregon. Gardner taunted marshals and detectives on McNeil Island when he sent a letter to the Seattle newspaper stating, "Come and get me, you sleepy dicks." Two weeks later, the warden had to admit that Mr. Gardner, the notorious bloodless bandit and badman, had probably gotten off the island.
Roy Gardner was now the "Most Wanted" criminal, and committed several crimes in Arizona
before he was captured by a mail clerk during a train robbery in Phoenix
in the fall of 1921. Gardner was sentenced to an additional 25 years, this time at Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary. Headlines screamed, "Gangster Gardner brags, 'Leavenworth will never hold me'".
Gardner, now known as the "King of the Escape Artists", raised more hell when he was transferred to Atlanta Federal Prison, the toughest prison in the country in 1925. In 1926, he tried to tunnel under the wall and saw through the bars in the shoe shop. The following year, he led a prison break and attempted an armed escape with two revolvers holding the Captain and two guards hostage, but the escape failed and he was placed in solitary confinement for twenty months for shooting at officers. When he came out of solitary confinement, he was placed in a Mental Hospital in Washington, D. C..
In 1929, the warden described Gardner as the "most dangerous inmate in the history of Atlanta Prison", and that year he began a hunger strike, protesting prison food
and threatened suicide. He was then transferred to Leavenworth Annex Prison in 1930, and in 1934 he was transferred to the infamous Alcatraz prison. Gardner was one of the first hardened criminals at Alcatraz during the hardest years.
Roy Gardner was a prisoner at the same time Al Capone was. Al Capone was a very unpopular man in prison. Supposedly, an unidentified inmate threw a lead sash at Capone shortly after work; but Capone only suffered a deep wound to the arm because Roy Gardner pushed him out of the way.
While at Alcatraz, his wife divorced him. He worked and supervised at the Mat Shop with Ralph Roe and they planned an escape, but Gardner was paroled and released in 1938 after his appeal for clemency was approved.
.
Roy attended crime lectures, and he and Louis Sonney made one of the first re-enactments on a short film called, "You Can't Beat the Rap". The ex-convict landed a job as a film salesman and an exposition barker. A 1939 movie called "I Stole A Billion" was based on his life. The movie was a failure.
On the evening of January 10, 1940, Garder wrote four notes at his hotel room in San Francisco, one of which was attached to the door warning: "Do not open door. Poison gas. Call police." He sealed the door from the inside, then killed himself by dropping cyanide gas into a glass of acid and inhaling the poison fumes.
Roaring Twenties
The Roaring Twenties is a phrase used to describe the 1920s, principally in North America, but also in London, Berlin and Paris for a period of sustained economic prosperity. The phrase was meant to emphasize the period's social, artistic, and cultural dynamism...
.
During his criminal career, he stole over $350,000 in cash and securities. He also had a $5,000 reward for his head three times in less than a year during his sensational career. He was the most dangerous inmate in the history of Atlanta Prison and he was dubbed by the newspapers across the West Coast as the "Smiling Bandit", the "Mail Train Bandit", and the "King of the Escape Artists". He was one of the most notorious offenders of the Federal Bureau of Prisons
Federal Bureau of Prisons
The Federal Bureau of Prisons is a federal law enforcement agency subdivision of the United States Department of Justice and is responsible for the administration of the federal prison system. The system also handles prisoners who committed acts considered felonies under the District of Columbia's...
, one of the most notorious inmates at Alcatraz and one of the most ruthless criminals in American history.
Gardner is said to be the most hunted man in Pacific Coast history. While legend has it that he was the first to escape the McNeil Island Federal Penitentiary, this has been confirmed to be not true. The first escapes occurred before Gardner was even born, and, by the time of his imprisonment, several dozen inmates had made their escapes. McNeil Island, in fact, was the only Federal Penitentiary never to have a wall and was never considered a maximum security facility. Gardner was the "Most Wanted" gangster of 1921.
He is now largely forgotten for his daring acts. No longer the household name that he was in 1921, he never lived as an outlaw on the Western frontier, was never a Depression Era gangster, and was never in a gang, all things that may contribute to him being largely forgotten in modern times. He was a lone bandit and his reputation and notoriety made him a touchstone of his time.
Early life
Roy Gardner was born on January 5, 1884 in Trenton, MissouriTrenton, Missouri
Trenton is a city in Grundy County, Missouri, United States. The population was 6,006 in 2009. The population according to the 2000 census was 6,216, indicating a 3.4% decrease in population from 2000 to 2009. It is the county seat of Grundy County...
and was raised in Colorado Springs. He was said to be attractive and charming, standing just under six feet tall, with short, curly auburn hair and blue eyes. He spent his early manhood as a drifter in the Southwest, learning the trades of farrier and miner. Supposedly, he joined the U.S. Army to escape the dangerous world of petty crime, reform school escapes, and the mining business, but he deserted in 1906 and drifted to Mexico.
Gardner began his criminal profession as a gunrunner around the time of the Mexican Revolution
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz. The Revolution was characterized by several socialist, liberal, anarchist, populist, and agrarianist movements. Over time the Revolution...
. He smuggled and traded arms and ammunition to the Venustiano Carranza
Venustiano Carranza
Venustiano Carranza de la Garza, was one of the leaders of the Mexican Revolution. He ultimately became President of Mexico following the overthrow of the dictatorial Huerta regime in the summer of 1914 and during his administration the current constitution of Mexico was drafted...
forces until he was captured by soldiers from Victoriano Huerta
Victoriano Huerta
José Victoriano Huerta Márquez was a Mexican military officer and president of Mexico. Huerta's supporters were known as Huertistas during the Mexican Revolution...
's army and was sentenced to death by firing squad, but, on March 29, 1909, he broke out of the Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
jail along with three other American prisoners after attacking the soldier guards. Gardner arrived back in the United States, where he was a prizefighter
Prizefighter
A prizefighter is a boxer.Prizefighter may also refer to:*Don King Presents: Prizefighter, a video game by 2k Sports released in 2008*Prize Fighter, a video game by Digital Pictures released in 1994 for the Sega CD...
in the Southwest. He was good enough that he became a sparring partner for Heavyweight Champion J. J. Jeffries
James J. Jeffries
James Jackson Jeffries was a world heavyweight boxing champion.His greatest assets were his enormous strength and stamina. Using a technique taught to him by his trainer, former welterweight and middleweight champion Tommy Ryan, Jeffries fought out of a crouch with his left arm extended forward...
at Ben Lemond Training Camp in Reno, Nevada
Reno, Nevada
Reno is the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The city has a population of about 220,500 and is the most populous Nevada city outside of the Las Vegas metropolitan area...
during the summer of 1910.
Eventually, Gardner ended up in San Francisco, where he gambled all of his boxing money away, and robbed a jewelry store on Market Street. He was arrested, and spent some time in San Quentin, but he was paroled after he saved a prison guard's life during a violent riot. Gardner landed a job as an acetylene welder at the Mare Island Navy Yard, married, fathered a daughter, left the Schwa - Batcher Company in 1918 on Armistice Day
Armistice Day
Armistice Day is on 11 November and commemorates the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany at Compiègne, France, for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front of World War I, which took effect at eleven o'clock in the morning—the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day...
and began his own welding company.
Robbery career
Gardner had gambled all of his money away on a business trip in Tijuana at the racetracks. On the night of April 16, 1920, outside of San Diego, Gardner robbed a U. S. Mail truck of about $80,000 in cash and securities. The job went smoothly, but the outlaw was arrested three days later burying his loot. His name would become just as familiar to the lawmen of California as Jesse JamesJesse James
Jesse Woodson James was an American outlaw, gang leader, bank robber, train robber, and murderer from the state of Missouri and the most famous member of the James-Younger Gang. He also faked his own death and was known as J.M James. Already a celebrity when he was alive, he became a legendary...
.
Roy Gardner was sentenced to 25 years at McNeil Island Federal Penitentiary for armed robbery of the U. S. Mails, and he vowed he would never serve the sentence. On June 5, 1920, he was transported on a train with Deputy U. S. Marshals Cavanaugh and Haig. Some way outside Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, Gardner peered out of the window of the train and yelled, "Look at that deer!". The lawmen looked, and Gardner grabbed Marshal Haig's gun from his holster. He then disarmed Marshal Cavanaugh at gunpoint. The daring outlaw then handcuffed the two humiliated lawmen together and stole $200. He jumped off the train, and made his way to Canada.
He slipped back into the United States the next year, and started robbing banks and mail trains across the country as a lone bandit. Gardner came back to California, where he tied up the mail clerk to Train No. 10 eastbound from Sacramento and robbed the express car of $187,000 on May 19, 1921. The next morning, Gardner told the mail clerk of Train No. 20 to throw up his hands or he would blow his head off. When the train reached the Overland Limited, the elusive bandit darted down the tracks with an armful of mail. The home office recognized the gunman as Roy Gardner, the notorious train robber with a $5,000 reward on his head.
Gardner was recognized at the Porter House Hotel and a convoy of police arrived in Roseville while Gardner was playing a game of cards in a pool hall. Three federal agents came up behind Gardner and captured him. The bandit was arrested, and was sentenced to another 25 years at McNeil Island for armed robbery of the mail trains.
Trying to reduce his sentence he told Southern Pacific Railroad
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....
detectives that he would lead them to the spot where he buried his loot. The officers found nothing, and Gardner announced, "I guess I have forgotten where I buried that money". He was heavily shackled, with the addition of an "Oregon Boot", and was once again transported on a train to McNeil Island, this time by U. S. Marshals Mulhall and Rinkell, both fast shooting veterans. During the journey, Gardner asked to use the bathroom, in which an associate had earlier hid a .32 caliber pistol. Gardner came out of the bathroom, pointed the gun at Mulhall's protruding pouch, and ordered another prisoner to handcuff the two humiliated lawmen to the seat. He relieved the officers of their weapons and cash before hopping onto another moving train outside Castle Rock, Washington
Castle Rock, Washington
Castle Rock is a city in Cowlitz County, Washington, United States. Nestled between the Willapa Hills and western base of Mount St. Helens, Castle Rock is at the heart of Washington timber country in the Pacific temperate rain forest...
.
The largest manhunt in Pacific Coast history began after this. He was known all over the country as the boldest hold up man, the cleverest and most slippery prisoner to ever be placed under arrest. Gardner was described as a dangerous man who would shoot on sight, and must be captured at all costs. He once again had a $5,000 reward on his head.
He arrived in Centralia, Washington
Centralia, Washington
Centralia is a city in Lewis County, Washington, United States. The population was 16,336 at the 2010 census.-History:In pioneer days, Centralia was the halfway stopover point for stagecoaches operating between the Columbia River and Seattle. In 1850, J. G. Cochran came from Missouri with his...
, where he was almost recognized by Jack Scuitto at the Olympic Club. Roy plastered his face with bandages to hide his identity, leaving one eye slit. Gardner told the Oxford Hotel staff that he had been severely burned in an industrial accident near Tacoma. Proprietor Gertrude Howell and Officer Louis Sonney became suspicious of the bandaged man, and when he saw a firearm in Gardner's hotel room, he accused him of being the "Smiling Bandit". Gardner fought back, but was arrested and a doctor removed the bandages to show that he was indeed the notorious train robber. This time Gardner, who was sentenced to another 25 years, was heavily ironed, and finally brought to McNeil Island. Dan Sonney
Dan Sonney
Dan Sonney was a director, producer and distributor of exploitation films. He was the son of Louis Sonney, who founded Sonney Amusements, the husband of Margaret Sonney, and a long term business partner of David F. Friedman....
, son of Louis, tells the story of the arrest in the 2001 documentary Mau Mau Sex Sex, and Louis's subsequent career change to the entertainment industry. The documentary also features a clip of an interview with an aging Gardner promising his reform, and showing his release from prison.
Escape from McNeil Island
After six weeks at the penitentiary, Gardner had convinced two unlikeable prisoners, Lawardus Bogart and Everett Impyn, that he had "paid off" the guards in the towers. On Labor Day, September 5, 1921, at a prison baseball game, Gardner said, "Now" during the fifth inning when someone hit a fly ball into center field, as the guards in the towers had their eyes on the ball and the runners. Gardner, Bogart, and Impyn ran 300 yards to the high barbed wire fence where Gardner cut a hole, and the three men made it to the pasture as bullets whirled about their heads. Gardner was wounded in his left leg, but made it behind a herd of cattle near timber. About the same time, he saw Bogart fall, badly wounded. Impyn was shot dead; his dying words were, "Gardner told us those fellows in the towers couldn't hit the broad side of a barn". Bogart later stated that Gardner had deceived them and used his companions as decoys, to better his chances of escape.Guards scoured the beaches and confiscated every boat on the shoreline, but no trace of the dangerous outlaw could be found. Gardner lived in the prison barn, getting nutrition from cow's milk, and then swam the choppy waters to Fox Island where he lived off fruit in the orchards. Warden Maloney claimed Gardner was still on McNeil Island, but the same day the statement was made, Gardner was already on the route to Oregon. Gardner taunted marshals and detectives on McNeil Island when he sent a letter to the Seattle newspaper stating, "Come and get me, you sleepy dicks." Two weeks later, the warden had to admit that Mr. Gardner, the notorious bloodless bandit and badman, had probably gotten off the island.
Recapture and Alcatraz
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
before he was captured by a mail clerk during a train robbery in Phoenix
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
in the fall of 1921. Gardner was sentenced to an additional 25 years, this time at Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary. Headlines screamed, "Gangster Gardner brags, 'Leavenworth will never hold me'".
Gardner, now known as the "King of the Escape Artists", raised more hell when he was transferred to Atlanta Federal Prison, the toughest prison in the country in 1925. In 1926, he tried to tunnel under the wall and saw through the bars in the shoe shop. The following year, he led a prison break and attempted an armed escape with two revolvers holding the Captain and two guards hostage, but the escape failed and he was placed in solitary confinement for twenty months for shooting at officers. When he came out of solitary confinement, he was placed in a Mental Hospital in Washington, D. C..
In 1929, the warden described Gardner as the "most dangerous inmate in the history of Atlanta Prison", and that year he began a hunger strike, protesting prison food
Prison food
Prison food refers to the meals served to prisoners while incarcerated in correctional institutions. While some prisons prepare their own food, many use staff from on-site catering companies.-United States:...
and threatened suicide. He was then transferred to Leavenworth Annex Prison in 1930, and in 1934 he was transferred to the infamous Alcatraz prison. Gardner was one of the first hardened criminals at Alcatraz during the hardest years.
Roy Gardner was a prisoner at the same time Al Capone was. Al Capone was a very unpopular man in prison. Supposedly, an unidentified inmate threw a lead sash at Capone shortly after work; but Capone only suffered a deep wound to the arm because Roy Gardner pushed him out of the way.
While at Alcatraz, his wife divorced him. He worked and supervised at the Mat Shop with Ralph Roe and they planned an escape, but Gardner was paroled and released in 1938 after his appeal for clemency was approved.
Final years
Gardner published his autobiography, "Hellcatraz", a sensational book that contains not only descriptions of his interesting life but also such familiar names as Al CaponeAl Capone
Alphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone was an American gangster who led a Prohibition-era crime syndicate. The Chicago Outfit, which subsequently became known as the "Capones", was dedicated to smuggling and bootlegging liquor, and other illegal activities such as prostitution, in Chicago from the early...
.
Roy attended crime lectures, and he and Louis Sonney made one of the first re-enactments on a short film called, "You Can't Beat the Rap". The ex-convict landed a job as a film salesman and an exposition barker. A 1939 movie called "I Stole A Billion" was based on his life. The movie was a failure.
On the evening of January 10, 1940, Garder wrote four notes at his hotel room in San Francisco, one of which was attached to the door warning: "Do not open door. Poison gas. Call police." He sealed the door from the inside, then killed himself by dropping cyanide gas into a glass of acid and inhaling the poison fumes.