Denver Mint Robbery
Encyclopedia
The Denver Mint Robbery occurred on the afternoon of December 18, 1922 when five men hijacked a Federal Reserve Bank
delivery truck outside the U.S. Mint in Denver, Colorado
. At the time of the robbery, around 10:30 am, the truck was being loaded with $200,000 (in $5 bills) on West Colfax Avenue. A black Buick touring car then pulled up and two men jumped out firing sawed-off shotguns, while a third grabbed the money bags. U.S Mint Police Officers inside the mint, numbering some 50 men, quickly responded by returning fire. One of the robbers was said to have "taken a [shotgun] round in the jaw". The gang however, remaining at the scene for only a minute and a half, had already made their getaway.
None of the gunmen were ever identified, with the exception of 36-year-old Nicholas "Chaw Jimmie" Trainor who was killed during the shootout with the U.S Mint Police, and they successfully escaped with $200,000. The gang fled taking the mortally wounded Trainor with them after one of the guards, Charles Linton, was killed. On January 14, 1923, Trainor's body was found in their getaway car after it had been dumped in a Gilpin Street garage in Denver. Police later suspected that Harvey Bailey
, who had worked with Trainor in the past, may have been another member of the gang but were never able to produce any evidence of his involvement.
On February 17, a month after Trainor's body was discovered, Minnesota authorities raided an abandoned hideout and the Secret Service
recovered $80,000 from the Denver Mint Robbery and $73,000 in bonds stolen from a bank robbery in Walnut Hills, Ohio
three months prior to the mint robbery. Both Trainor and Bailey were suspects in the Walnut Hills robbery which further strengthened the police theory of Bailey's involvement. Bailey had disappeared in late-1922 and continued to elude authorities until his arrest and conviction in 1933. {Died 1979}
The case remained unsolved for 12 years until Denver Police Chief A.T. Clark announced that the robbery team had been identified and included five men and two women, all of whom had since been killed in the years following the robbery. The two alleged surviving members, Harvey Bailey and James "Oklahoma Jack" Clark
, had since been sentenced to life imprisonment on unrelated charges. The gang, police claimed, had fled to the Minneapolis-St. Paul area where the money was given to "a prominent Minneapolis attorney". No one was ever charged with the robbery and the case was officially closed on December 1, 1934.
Federal Reserve Bank
The twelve Federal Reserve Banks form a major part of the Federal Reserve System, the central banking system of the United States. The twelve federal reserve banks together divide the nation into twelve Federal Reserve Districts, the twelve banking districts created by the Federal Reserve Act of...
delivery truck outside the U.S. Mint in Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
. At the time of the robbery, around 10:30 am, the truck was being loaded with $200,000 (in $5 bills) on West Colfax Avenue. A black Buick touring car then pulled up and two men jumped out firing sawed-off shotguns, while a third grabbed the money bags. U.S Mint Police Officers inside the mint, numbering some 50 men, quickly responded by returning fire. One of the robbers was said to have "taken a [shotgun] round in the jaw". The gang however, remaining at the scene for only a minute and a half, had already made their getaway.
None of the gunmen were ever identified, with the exception of 36-year-old Nicholas "Chaw Jimmie" Trainor who was killed during the shootout with the U.S Mint Police, and they successfully escaped with $200,000. The gang fled taking the mortally wounded Trainor with them after one of the guards, Charles Linton, was killed. On January 14, 1923, Trainor's body was found in their getaway car after it had been dumped in a Gilpin Street garage in Denver. Police later suspected that Harvey Bailey
Harvey Bailey
Harvey John Bailey , called "The Dean of American Bank Robbers", had a long criminal career. One of the most successful bank robbers during the 1920s, walking off with over $1 million during that time, Bailey is almost forgotten today.- His career :Born in West Virginia, Bailey robbed his first...
, who had worked with Trainor in the past, may have been another member of the gang but were never able to produce any evidence of his involvement.
On February 17, a month after Trainor's body was discovered, Minnesota authorities raided an abandoned hideout and the Secret Service
United States Secret Service
The United States Secret Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency that is part of the United States Department of Homeland Security. The sworn members are divided among the Special Agents and the Uniformed Division. Until March 1, 2003, the Service was part of the United States...
recovered $80,000 from the Denver Mint Robbery and $73,000 in bonds stolen from a bank robbery in Walnut Hills, Ohio
Walnut Hills, Ohio
Walnut Hills may refer to:*Walnut Hills, Cincinnati, Ohio*Walnut Hills, Dayton, Ohio...
three months prior to the mint robbery. Both Trainor and Bailey were suspects in the Walnut Hills robbery which further strengthened the police theory of Bailey's involvement. Bailey had disappeared in late-1922 and continued to elude authorities until his arrest and conviction in 1933. {Died 1979}
The case remained unsolved for 12 years until Denver Police Chief A.T. Clark announced that the robbery team had been identified and included five men and two women, all of whom had since been killed in the years following the robbery. The two alleged surviving members, Harvey Bailey and James "Oklahoma Jack" Clark
James Clark (criminal)
James "Oklahoma Jack" Clark was a Depression-era outlaw and bank robber.A protege of bank robber Herman "Baron" Lamm, Clark was a later member of Lamm's team who participated in the gang's final robbery against the Citizens State Bank in Clinton, Indiana on December 16, 1930...
, had since been sentenced to life imprisonment on unrelated charges. The gang, police claimed, had fled to the Minneapolis-St. Paul area where the money was given to "a prominent Minneapolis attorney". No one was ever charged with the robbery and the case was officially closed on December 1, 1934.
Further reading
- Kirchner, Larry R. Robbing Banks: An American History, 1831-1999. Rockville Centre, New York: Sarpedon, 2000. ISBN 1-8851-1964-X
- Yadon, Laurence J. and Dan Anderson. 200 Texas Outlaws and Lawmen, 1835-1935. Gretna, Louisiana: Pelican Publishing Company, 2008. ISBN 1-58980-514-3
- Wallis, Michael. Pretty Boy: The Life and Times of Charles Arthur Floyd. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. ISBN 0-312-11046-4