CONEJOS COUNY — In Conejos County, history has revealed the “Great La Jara Bank Robbery,” which eventually involved the whole town.

Conejos County once had an airport between La Jara and Sanford, and La Jara had its own bank. Remnants of the runways are visible from the air if one knows where to look. The bank is still there, though under different management.

It was June 19, 1969, when four men entered the First National Bank of La Jara and robbed it at about 1:45 p.m.

People were on main street conducting business and many saw two men run out of the bank, carrying pillowcases.

An appellate court found that William Henry Carpenter and James Albert Gonzales were involved in the robbery itself and both were described as having also been armed with handguns. Two other men, Charles Von Roeder and Donald Lee Schriener were accused of aiding and abetting.

Farmers stationed themselves around town and were armed with hunting rifles in case the robbers returned. They also began chases of their own.

The money taken from the bank was stuffed into pillowcases by the robbers, who fled to the airport, only to find that construction activities had changed its nature and the field was muddy. They tried to take off in a small plane, which got stuck. As they attempted to get it out of the mud, authorities arrived.

A man in the area said his company was building a feedlot on the site of the airport and that he was working there on the day of the robbery.

At approximately 2 to 2:15 p.m. that day, he saw a small plane having difficulty trying to take off and drove over to it. Carpenter said they wished to use the other runway and went with the construction worker in his truck to see if certain construction equipment could be cleared away. When Carpenter returned to the plane, it was taxied toward the other runway. The area between the runways had been torn up by construction work and the plane got stuck in the mud.

Some of the persons in the plane tried to push it out of the mud and when they could not do so, they abandoned it.

Some of the witnesses testified they saw three persons running away from the plane and others saw four. Arrested and charged were Carpenter, Van Roeder, Gonzales and Donald Lee Schreiner.

One of the men running was carrying a rifle and another was carrying a white sack. These were dropped in an open field and the men continued running.

Colorado State Trooper Elvin E. Boss drove up and the four men separated: Two ran behind a meat packing plant which was located at the side of the runway, one ran south across an open field, and the fourth ran west.

As the two approached the back of the plant, they were met by an employee, who was armed and ordered the two to drop everything and put up their hands, which they did. He fired a warning shot to emphasize his demands.

Boss arrived almost immediately after the warning shot and ordered the two men to lie down. He then took everything out of their pockets. The contents of their pockets, the gun, the binoculars and the scabbard were placed in the pillowcase. The patrolman later identified the two as Schreiner and Von Roeder. He handcuffed the two and turned them over to a sheriff’s deputy.

Boss then picked up the pillowcase and returned to his car. As he approached his car, he was given another pillowcase by a witness who had picked it up where it had been dropped by some of the individuals running from the plane. The bystander said when he picked up the pillowcase in an open field, he looked into it saw it contained money. Boss placed the two sacks in the back seat of his car and started after the man who had run south. He drove across the field until he could go no farther and then got out and walked another 50 yards where he arrested Gonzales hiding in the brush.

While Boss was arresting Gonzales, the two pillowcases remained in the unattended car. Boss testified that when he was returning to his patrol car people were just beginning to arrive in the vicinity; he did not see anyone enter or leave the patrol car and the sacks appeared to be in the same condition as when he left them. This was part of the allegations offered to the appellate court regarding chain of evidence.

Boss gave the pillowcases to Carter Watts, his superior, who marked one No. 1 and the other No. 2. Pillowcase No. 2 contained money, the serial numbers of which had been recorded at the bank before the robbery.

William Henry Carpenter was arrested at approximately 10 p.m. the night of June 19, hiding in a nearby irrigation ditch. A witness claimed the suspect was wet and had removed most of his clothing, at which point the mosquitoes had a feast. Carpenter was taken to the hospital for treatment, then booked into jail.

The Conejos County Sheriff at that time was Amos Abeyta, Undersheriff was Toby Madrid and the deputy was Joe C. “Candy” Gomez. All three have served as sheriff.

The four defendants were tried on one count for a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113(a) (bank robbery), and a second count for a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113(d) (bank robbery with a dangerous weapon). The jury found Gonzales and Carpenter guilty on both counts. These were the two defendants who were identified by witnesses as being in the bank and armed, then did the actual holdup.

Defendants Schreiner and Von Roeder were found guilty only of violating 18 U.S.C. § 2113(a). Gonzales and Carpenter were given concurrent sentences under the two counts. All four defendants lodged a consolidated appeal from these convictions and sentences.

In the briefs on appeal there is one argument raised mutually by Schreiner, Carpenter and Von Roeder that the items seized in the and put into Boss’s car should not have been admitted into evidence.

Basically, the contention was that Patrolman Boss did not have the authority to arrest Schreiner and Von Roeder and therefore the items he seized were inadmissible. It is conceded by appellees that because of Colorado law Patrolman Boss did not have the authority to arrest the defendants. The trial court, finding such a lack of authority, suppressed all items actually taken by Boss from the persons of Schreiner and Von Roeder in his search of their pockets. The gun, scabbard and binoculars which had been placed by Boss in the pillowcase found near these two defendants were admitted as was the pillowcase itself, but all other contents of this pillowcase were suppressed because of the commingling with items illegally seized from the persons of the defendants. Appellants contended that the pillowcase, gun, scabbard and binoculars should also have been suppressed.

The argument is that these four items were found under the control of defendants. In other words, they contended that since officers might search the immediate area under defendants’ control incident to a valid arrest, it follows that if the arrest is invalid there is a similar immediate area which is off limits to the officer.

In reply, the local authority argued that the items in question were either abandoned by Schreiner and Von Roeder or were in the control of the airport employee and thus not subject to constitutional restrictions.

The record shows as to these items there was actually no search at all. “It is not a search to observe that which occurs openly in a public place and which is fully disclosed to visual observation.” The only real objection to the seizure of the items in our case is that had it not been for the coercive actions of the employee, they would not have been lying on the ground in plain sight. Citing an earlier, similar case, the appellate judges wrote, “We find no distinction between this situation and that situation.
contended that since there were several spectators in the vicinity, the contents of that pillowcase could have been tampered with during the 10 minutes the car was unattended.

“The trial judge’s determination that the showing as to identification and nature of contents is sufficient to warrant reception of an article in evidence may not be overturned except for a clear abuse of discretion.”

Schreiner claimed he was an accessory after the fact, that the trial court committed reversible error in refusing to give instructions concerning accessories after the fact. The desired instruction stated:
“Even though you should find beyond a reasonable doubt that any defendant, after the robbery was committed, assisted those who committed it in their escape, you cannot find the defendant guilty unless you should believe beyond a reasonable doubt that prior to or during the robbery he aided, counseled, or in some manner abetted or assisted in its commission.”

All evidence concerning appellant Schreiner indicates he participated in the escape phase of the bank robbery. It is true that there is no evidence placing Schreiner in the bank, but that is not necessary for him to be found guilty as a principal. The escape phase of a crime is not, as appellant apparently argues, an event occurring “after the robbery.” It is part of the robbery. One who participates in and assists in the escape of the parties who were in the bank aids and abets the bank robbery and is properly charged as a principal.

During the investigation of the robbery, several of the potential witnesses were shown photographs which included those of the defendants. Appellant Carpenter contends that his counsel should have been present at the time his picture was identified by one of the witnesses. The appellate court found this was not necessary.

Appellant Carpenter also alleges error in sentencing him to concurrent sentences under both citations and the court agreed that Carpenter was improperly sentenced. He and Gonzales were both remanded to the trial court for resentencing.

The wheels of justice were akin to propellers of the plane, yet all the cases were reaffirmed, though Carpenter was remanded for resentencing as was Gonzales.

When the bank got its money back, the town has the bank robbery in the annals of its history.