The Bank Bandit Who Stayed Behind
After twice being convicted of attempting to rob the First Bank of White Bluffs, C. L. Potter remains at large after a daring escape from the Walla Walla jail.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
C. L. Potter, twice convicted of attempting to rob the First Bank of White Bluffs, together with Charles Verbera, another convict, escaped from Walla Walla jail at 6:30 last Sunday night and at last reports was still at large. Potter, with John Burke and Blondy Martindale, alias John Morrison, were arrested at Ephrata on March 23, 1922, after a sensational all-night chase by officers. They were brought back and tried in Prosser. The jury brought in a verdict of guilty, but on an appeal to the Supreme Court, they got a new trial on a technicality. They were transferred from Walla Walla to the Pasco jail shortly before the second trial. About a week before the date set for the trial, Burke and Morrison escaped and no trace of them has ever been found. Potter, although he had a chance to escape with the others, evidently figured that his chances of acquittal were better than his chances of being captured by the officers, and he stayed in the jail. He was tried the second time last fall and the jury again brought in a verdict of guilty. He was transferred to Walla Walla about two months ago after his second appeal to the Supreme Court had been denied.
“Potter, although he had a chance to escape with the others, evidently figured that his chances of acquittal were better than his chances of being captured.”
Bank robbery cases in small Washington towns often dominated local news, reflecting how central these institutions were to the survival of the agricultural economy. The First Bank of White Bluffs was a focal point of regional anxiety during the economic instability of the early 1920s.
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