On this day in Santa Clarita Valley history, on Dec. 11, 1922, four “compassionate” bandits kidnapped a bank manager and his young daughter after successfully robbing $6,000 from Fillmore State Bank in Piru.

Piru is a small community in northeast Ventura County that began as a small town in 1888 and the community’s size and architecture have changed very little since that time, according to the Ventura County Executive Office.

C.S. Spencer, the bank’s manager, and his four-year-old daughter (sometimes reported as age 6), Mary Ella, were forced to accompany four bandits to Los Angeles after the bandits noticed that their revolvers made Spencer’s daughter cry and promptly put their guns away as a result.

During the drive, the four bandits asked Spencer to pick a drop-off location and Spencer chose his sister-in-law’s home as a destination.

After he was dropped off at his sister-in-law’s home, Spencer called the authorities and two deputies were assigned to investigate the robbery and kidnapping that took place at the Fillmore State Bank.

When the robbery occurred around 2:15 p.m., Spencer was in the process of closing the bank because he had allowed his employees to leave early.

Authorities were informed by Spencer that three men approached him while his daughter stopped by to visit while on her way home from school.

One of the robbers was carrying a suitcase while the other was carrying a handbag, according to Spencer.

One of the men approached the window and asked, “Did Jenkins leave any money here for us?”

The men were unaware of Spencer’s position as a manager and his immediate knowledge of the bank’s staff, until Spencer told them he knew no one by that name.

As a result, the men took out three large-caliber revolvers and told him to put his hands up, with one burglar covering him and his daughter and another burglar locking the doors and drawing the shades.

The designated driver, who was arrested several days later, told Spencer that two customers tried to show up during bank hours but were forced to leave after the driver intimidated them.

The burglars allegedly stole $5,000 in small bills, $900 in silver, and $100 in postage stamps, according to Spencer.

It was around this time that the burglars decided to kidnap both Spencer and his daughter, according to Spencer.

The burglars were allegedly driving about twenty-five miles per hour during the drive to L.A., according to Spencer

During the drive, Spencer’s daughter cried because she was scared of the burglars’ guns and they ultimately ended up putting them away after they asked her what was wrong, according to Spencer.

Spencer added that the burglars even offered them two overcoats after his daughter complained about being cold.

The burglars allegedly discussed how easy the robbery was and expressed relief that no one got hurt when they were in the process of obtaining the money during their drive to L.A., according to Spencer.

Despite being close to his sister-in-law’s home, Spencer was forced to stay in the car because the burglars wanted to change the car’s license plate before dropping him and his daughter off, according to Spencer.

The bank’s monetary loss was covered by insurance, according to Spencer.

Spencer’s description of the burglars ultimately helped authorities arrest the suspects a couple of days later during a raid.

A few days after the Fillmore State Bank Robbery, six suspected perpetrators were arrested during a raid administered by federal officers, county officers, and private detectives.

Authorities discovered loot that they believe was connected to the Fillmore State Bank Robbery that took place a few days prior to the raid.

The suspects were identified as Jenk Harris, Mrs. Lucy Hoggins, her husband, Henry C. Loggins, Virgil B. Moore, and George F. Pruitt.

Constable Jack Pilcher spotted two members of Harris’ gang in Newhall, but the robbers escaped before a squad from the Sheriff’s office arrived. A resident, held at gunpoint, unwillingly drove the criminals in a taxicab to a mountain cabin in the hills behind Newhall.

Upon his eventual capture on December 19 in Los Angeles, Harris, the alleged leader, named Harold Gillette, Loggins, and Pritt as his main confederates in the crime, according to authorities.

Gillette was arrested at his apartment at 111 South Beaudr, due to his car playing a key part in the Fillmore State Bank Robbery, according to authorities.

Both actors, Gillette and Harris, became acquainted at Universal Studios, in which a plan was made to use Gillette’s car to take film folk “on location,” according to Harris.

Harris later told authorities that the group’s original get-rich-quick plan involved smuggling Chinese citizens across the Mexican border at $500 a head, before setting their eyes on the Fillmore State Bank.

Gillette allegedly expressed his willingness to accept the punishment for his crime and announced his intention of “going straight” after serving his prison sentence, according to authorities.

To read yesterday’s Today in SCV History, click HERE.

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