66 years ago: An ‘unusual robbery’ discovered in historic O’Fallon building

On Dec. 31, 1957, an unusual robbery was discovered in the building that’s now home to Bike Surgeon in O’Fallon.

Here’s what the O’Fallon Progress wrote about it:

“Burglars broke into the Schmidt Motor Co., 201 East State Street Monday night or Tuesday morning and took $850 in cash and checks after cutting the door off the safe with an acetylene torch.

“The thieves used the firm’s torch in the burglary after entering through a rear window.

“The theft was discovered at 7 o’clock Tuesday morning by William Schmidt, owner of the place. He said he last checked the establishment at 8 o’clock Monday night and found everything in order.

“The burglars entered by breaking the glass in a window in the east end of the building. As they came through the garage portion of the building they broke the coin box off a soft drink machine. Two peanut machines were also smashed and their contents strewn on the floor.

“The safe was first attacked, apparently as it stood in its usual place in the showroom of the business. The combination was knocked off. However, the burglars were unable to open it and it was then moved into a private partitioned office in the corner of the show room.

“A torch was put through a telephone opening in the wall leading into the garage and the safe’s hinges cut through.

“Some coats belonging to Schmidt were hung over the door and other openings of the office so they could not be seen from the outside. The loot included about $300 in cash and the remainder in checks.

“They also took $3 in small change from the cash register.

“While working on the safe the burglars moved a small file cabinet from the office into the show room into the position occupied by the safe. This was apparently done so that a passerby would not notice the absence of the safe. The burglars even placed the cash register on top the cabinet. The register usually sat on the safe.

“Nothing else was taken. A shotgun in the office was left behind by the thieves.

“Police dusted the safe and other parts of the establishment for fingerprints. None were found, however. Schmidt was unable to determine immediately if the losses were covered by insurance.”

That wasn’t the end of the story, however. The following week, this follow-up appeared:

“The habit of Chief of Police James Tiley in mentally taking inventory of all cars parked in downtown O’Fallon paid off in the capture of three young men who admitted the safe burglary at Schmidt Motor Co. last Monday night.

“Tiley furnished the office of Sheriff Leonard O. Reinhardt with information that led to the arrest of three men, two of them brothers.

“They admitted the burglary and are identified as Walter Kingsley, 17, a laborer, 416 State street, Belleville; Willis Mathes, 21, Caseyville, a salesman, and his brother Ronald, 19, of 327 West Lincoln, Belleville.

“Tiley reported seeing the car with the young men in town the night of the burglary. He said he noticed where they were parked on North Vine near the burglarized showroom.

“Tiley said he makes a mental catalog of all the strange cars in town and could not locate the three young men in any of the places open at night.

“The chief of police said he had three or four calls during the early part of the night so could not keep the car under observation. Making a mental note of the license number Tiley recalled it when the burglary was reported the next day.

“The car was not owned by any of the three but had been borrowed by one of them.

“The trio said they got only $158 in cash from the burglary. However, the original reporte indicated $350 was taken.

“The safe was broken open by burning the hinges off the safe door by using the garage’s welding torch. A number of checks and some papers were burned by the three, police reported.”

75 years ago, Nov. 18, 1948

Last Thursday night the sheriff’s office was contacted by telephone by Claude Heilman, 54-year-old worker on the B. & O. railroad maintenance crew asking for deputies to call for him for his safety.

Heilman made the call from Corral Inn, near the western city limits, claiming he had been chased by three fellow workers who threatened to do him bodily harm.

Deputies Herman Schade and Philip Lippert came here and took the frightened man to county jail, where he remained voluntarily for the night.

Departing the next morning, Heilman told sheriff’s deputies he was leaving for Kentucky.

50 years ago, Nov. 15, 1973

Last Wednesday afternoon, Patrolman John Truax (now Corporal) pulled over John Truax.

He got out of the squad car and asked himself for his own license. Truax gave Truax a ticket.

If the whole thing sounds like a lot of double-talk, don’t fret. Truax, while on patrol last Wednesday, ran the new stop sign at Oak and State Streets.

When he realized what he had done, he pulled over and wrote himself out a ticket.

“I did it because I violated the law. There’s bound to be someone who saw me run the stop sign and the only fair thing to do was write myself a ticket.” Truax said.

The traffic court judge was a little hesitant in leveling a fine against Truax.

A $10 fine plus $5 for court costs was brought against Truax and then waived by the judge.

The moving violation, however, still goes on Truax’s record.