| Notes |
- Niagara Gazette - 3/24/1952
LOCKPORT, March 24-Law enforcement
officers of Lockport and
Niagara county today were checking
maroon-colored autos to locate two
youthful holdupmen who arc wanted
for murder after the fatal shooting of
John Ralph Tall, 50, Plank road
grocer, during an unsuccessful holdup
attempt early Saturday evening rn
his store on the north side of the city.
Mrs. Louise Tall, 48, who witnessed
the tragedy and burled a
small adding machine at the
masked gunmen as they fled after
firing the fatal shot, saw them enter
a maroon car and speed north toward
the Old Niagara road.
Road blocks hastily set up by
Sheriff Henry E. Becker and state
police within a short time after the
shooting were maintained for several
hours, but the car and its occupants
had vanished.
Pair Quizzed in Medina
Yesterday morning Detective Sergeant
Benjamin D. Furlong, who is
heading the investigation, drove to
Medina with Sgt. Robert C. Buchanan
and Sheriff Becker to question
two youths with a maroon car who
were held by police there. They were
released after giving a satisfactory
account of their Saturday night activities.
The owner of a maroon car in
Lockport also was questioned by
authorities without success.
Neighboring residents told police,
Sheriff Becker and Trooper Kenneth
W. Hemmer, of the state police
bureau of criminal investigation at
Lewiston, that they had seen a maroon
car loitering in the vicinity on
several recent nights. They said it
had distinctive rear lights similar to
those on a late-model Buick.
One neighbor told authorities that
.the car had stopped in front of the
store for several minutes the night
before the holdup. Others had seen
it at other times but no one had obtained
the license number.
Left Alone In Store
Mrs. Tall told authorities a customer
had just left the store about
6:30 p.m., leaving her alone in the
place, when two young men, carrying
dark colored guns and wearing
khaki handkerchiefs over the lower
part of their faces, walked in.
About the same time, Mr. Tall
entered the back of the store and
started toward them. Apparentlysurprised
at his appearance, one of
the men fired at him at almost
point blank, range. Then both holdupmen
turned and ran.
"I picked up a small adding machine
from the counter and threw it
at them but it went over their heads
and landed in the vegetable counter,"
said Mrs. Tall.
Mr. Tall dropped to the floor
practically at the spot where he was
hit and never attempted to rise.
"I asked him to get up but he told
me he couldn't," Mrs Tall told authorities.
Bullet Severs Spinal Column
A Lockport physician who was
called pronounced him dead on arrival.
An autopsy later performed
under the direction of Dr. Lemuel R.
Hurlbut, coroner, disclosed the bullet
entered the left chest, punctnred the
left lung and severed the spinal column.
Death was attributed to hemorrhage
of the lung and thee spinal
injury.' Dr. Hubbard issued a certificate
of homicide.
Mrs. Tall told authorities the two
holdupmen looked "very young.M
She said both were hatless. One
was about six feet tall, blond and
light complexioned. He wore a tan
overcoat or topcoat. The other,
about a head shorter, had black
hair and wore a dark jacket. .
"Neither spoke a word while in
the store." Mrs. Tall told police.
"Both had black guns in their hands."
The emergency car of the Fire department
and an ambulance were
called to the store before it was
discovered that Mr. Tall was dead.
Automobiles of police, sheriffs deputies
and state troopers quickly converged
on the spot, which is ah isolated
rural area a short distance from
the north city line.
X-ray Locates Bullet
After Mr. Tall was pronounced
dead; his body was taken to the Taylor
and Reynolds Funeral home,
where the autopsy was performed,
yesterday by Dr. William F. Jacobs,
Buffalo.
The doctor was unable to locate
the bullet by probing and the body
was'moved to Lockport City hospital
where an X-ray picture disclosed
the small leaden pellet lodged in the
spinal column. Although badly flattened,
the bullet was identified as a
22-calibre missile.
The missile was of the same caliber
as one of the two weapons stolen
from the window of Regan's
sporting goods store, 29 Market
street, early the morning of February
9, just three days before the start of
a series of holdups.
About 9 p.m. February 12, two
armed and masked youths hefd up
Lawrence Whiteknight, 18, attendant
at Wynes Service station, at the
West avenue city line and took $700
from the cash register. They ran
through a field but were believed
to have had a car waiting in the
vicinity.
At 11 p.m. February 28, two
armed and masked youths entered
the Gould restaurant, 653 West avejiuc,
forced Emmet Gould, the
proprietor, to lie down behind the
counter, and escaped with $200 from
the cash register. Mr. Gould did
not see the car they drove.
Holdups Linked
While descriptions of the holdupmen
in each case have been rather
meager, authorities believe there is
enough similarity in their method
of operation to create a strong supposition
that all the holdups were
committed by the same pair.
They also said that there is a
strong likelihood that the men are
around with the same pistols stolen
from Regan's storc^.
One of the guns was a 22-caliber
-pistol and the other ap air gun commonly
used for target practice. The
latter, authorities said, will propel a
leaden slug with enough force to
penetrate deeply into a board.
Either weapon is capable of caus-
ing death if the missile hits a vital
spot.
The guns are known to have been
stolen by two youths because an unidentified
person called police headquarters
after the burglary and reported
he saw two youths in an automobile
stop in front of the store.
While one waited in the car, the
other broke the window, took the
guns and jumped back into the
auto, which then sped away.
In each of the three holdups authorities
believe the youths "cased"
the job carefully to be sure that only
one person %was present. At the Tall
store, however, their plans apparently
were upset by the unexpected
appearance of Mr. Tall.
3 Escape Routes Available
After fleeing from the scene of the
shooting, they could have gone in
either of three directions. At the Old
Niagara-road, only a few hundred
feet to the north .they could have
turned left toward the Ridge road.
They also could have turned right
and doubled back into the city or on
to the Lockport-Olcott, road. Their
third alternative could have been to
take the Beebe road north toward
Newfane.
Mr. Tall, a native of Locllport,
has operated a grocery store in the
Plank road since the death of his father.
Charles Tall, in.T93~2. His
father had run the store before him.
Born May 2. 1902. he was educated
in the public schools. He was
a member of Tioga tribe, Improved
Order of Redmen.
Besides his wife. Mrs. Louise
Bluhm Tall, he is survived by two
daughters, Mrs. John Vosburgh. and
Miss May Betty Louise Tall; a
brother. Charles Tall, and a sister,
Mrs. Howard Litz, all of Lockport.
Funeral services will be held tomorrow
at 2:30 p.m. at the Taylor
and Reynolds Funeral home, with
the Rev. Herbert L. Siegner, St.
Peter's Evangelical church, officiating.
Burial will be in Glenwood
cemetery.
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1902 - 1952 (49 years)