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179 stories matching robber
- A Deadly Encounter at the Pharmacy
A South Tacoma druggist is fighting for his life after a masked intruder opened fire during a robbery attempt.
- A Spyglass in the Cascades: How a Ten-Man Tacoma Posse Foiled a Northern Pacific Train Robbery
An informer, three weeks of hiding in the mountains, and a masked gang waiting on the tracks near Cle Elum — the trap was set for Friday night and it worked.
- A Brutal Robbery at a Wealthy Fruit Farm
After withdrawing a large sum of money for wages, a fruit farmer in the Hall’s Prairie area was shot by intruders in his own home.
- A Nighttime Intimidation at Dreamland Park
The proprietor's wife turns the tables on two would-be robbers, prompting a new era of vigilance at the local attraction.
- The Notorious Mail Robber's Local Swindle
Albert K. Bell, a known forger and mail thief, finds himself in trouble with Tacoma police after conning a local woodenware company president.
- The 'Pirates' of Hood Canal Were Actually the Men Who Chased the Thieves
A Port Townsend dispatch mistakenly branded two Bangor residents as robbers; they were the ones who caught the real thieves and recovered a boatload of plunder.
- Five Armed Robbers Hit Roslyn Bank on Payday
Armed outlaws storm a Washington coal town, robbing a bank in broad daylight and shooting bystanders before disappearing into the mountains.
- The Midnight Stand-Off at the Grand Restaurant
A breakfast patron turns into a bandit, but gets more than he bargained for from the night cook's poker.
- The Torch That Saved the Train: How a Fireman’s Light Scared Off Bandits in South Tacoma
In a dark stretch of rail near Lakeview, engineer H.W. Burke faced down armed robbers until his fireman charged them with nothing but a lit torch.
- Smelter Workers Robbed at Gunpoint
Nine men and one woman were held up by masked bandits near the Tacoma Smelter on payday night, but clever victims managed to hide their cash.
- Colfax Burglar Foiled by Quick-Thinking Resident
When a stranger confronted Mrs. A. Coolidge in the night, she bypassed the directory to summon help via telephone.
- The Ballard Roulette Heist
A masked gunman terrorized a Ballard gambling hall, making off with the house cash while twenty players stood frozen in surprise.
- The Great Tacoma Brake-Man Mystery: Was It a Brutal Assault or a Tragic Accident?
Railroad officials and witnesses in Tacoma are debunking the claim that brakeman Cook was beaten by a robber, pointing to a bridge strike as the likely cause of his skull fracture.
- The Midnight Hold-Up Near Hot Springs
A masked trio halts a Northern Pacific sleeper, terrifying passengers and making off with $1,200 in cash and gold.
- Armed Robbers Hit the Kitsap Pacific Train at Shelton
Two men boarded the morning train at Shelton, broke into the express car, and held up the messenger and a passenger, making off with money and jewelry.
- Brazen Burglary in Richland Leaves Storekeeper Empty-Handed
Thieves looted a general store and commandeered a local horse and wagon to escape the scene.
- The Bank Robber Who Got Away—Twice
A fugitive accused of targeting the First Bank of White Bluffs has slipped through the hands of the law yet again.
- The Kiona Store Heist
Local merchants report a break-in at the Kelso-Hughes shop, where thieves made off with merchandise under the cover of darkness.
- Robbed at the Depot: A Warning to Night Prowlers
A Chinese laborer for E. H. Bennett is set upon by two men near the railroad crossing and relieved of his wages — and the paper warns the robbers to be out at night no more.
- The Bold Heist at the Washington Hotel
Thieves in Seattle cracked a 500-pound safe in broad daylight after rolling it from the city's finest hotel.
- A Brave Escape on the Road to Chehalis
A young woman encounters a would-be robber on the road, outwitting him with nothing but her voice and her speed.
- The Stranger and the Starving Boy
A hungry child caught stealing a loaf of bread on a steamer finds an unexpected defender in a kind-hearted passenger.
- The Shadowed Streets of Old Tacoma
A late-night robbery on Jefferson Street leaves a local man penniless and sparks public outrage over a surge in city crime.
- The Great Snohomish Jailbreak: A Bank Robber’s Midnight Escape
While the town slept, a prisoner charged with robbing an Olympia bank picked his way out of the Snohomish jail. He is still at large.
- The Struggle for a Fair Count
A biting 1892 editorial captures the intense partisan fury over gerrymandering and the systematic suppression of voters, drawing parallels between the American South and New York’s political machines.