Joe Earlywine, a former convict from Indiana, gained notoriety for his involvement in a bank burglary and his attempt to murder Special Agent William R. Ramsey. This incident was directly linked to a December 1937 bank robbery.
On the morning of December 3, 1937, the cashier of the State Bank of Lapel contacted the Indianapolis Field Division of the FBI, reporting that the bank had been burglarized the previous night, on December 2nd. As the deposits of this bank were insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the burglary fell under the purview of the Federal Bank Robbery Act and became a crime within the investigative jurisdiction of the FBI.
The Bureau promptly launched an investigation, revealing that the burglars had entered the bank by loosening a grate over a rear window and attempted to access the safe using an acetylene torch. However, seemingly disturbed, the burglars fled, leaving the torch and equipment behind, having only stolen a meager $5.45.
Collaborating with the Indiana State Police, information surfaced suggesting that Earlywine, Steffler, and Hulett were implicated in this burglary and others across Indiana, involved in the theft of acetylene torches and other burglary tools.
During the probe into this burglary, the First State Bank and Trust Company of Indianola, Illinois, and the State Bank of Oakwood, Illinois, were also burglarized on March 3, 1938, and April 29, 1938, respectively. The State Bank of Lapel suffered a second burglary on April 25, 1938.
The FBI's investigation revealed that the modus operandi in each case mirrored that of the initial State Bank of Lapel burglary on December 2, 1937.
Regarding the second burglary on April 25, 1938, a night watchman observed unusual activity in the bank during his rounds. Unfortunately, the burglars noticed him, and before he could seek help, they fled, leaving an acetylene torch and equipment near the bank. The night watchman later identified Fred Steffler as one of the culprits. Armed with this information, the FBI and local law enforcement focused on locating and apprehending Earlywine, Steffler, and Hulett.
A federal warrant was issued on May 2, 1938, charging Steffler with violating the Federal Bank Robbery Statute for his role in the April 25, 1938, burglary of the State Bank of Lapel. State warrants were also issued for the arrest of Earlywine and Hulett, charging them with the theft of acetylene equipment used in various bank burglaries mentioned above.
The investigation culminated in the discovery of Earlywine and Hulett residing on a farm near Penfield, Illinois. After closely monitoring Earlywine and Hulett's activities for several days to determine the whereabouts of Fred Steffler, the decision was made to apprehend Earlywine and Hulett.
Agent Ramsey, accompanied by another special agent, the local sheriff, and members of the Illinois and Indiana State Police, approached the farmhouse with the intention of taking Earlywine and Hulett into custody. As they arrived at the farm, Hulett was spotted plowing in the field and was promptly taken into custody.
Agent Ramsey, along with two Indiana State officers and the sheriff, entered the house, while the other FBI agent and local officers remained outside to prevent any potential escape. Upon entering the house, Earlywine was identified, and the arrest was announced. However, instead of surrendering, Earlywine brandished a firearm and fired multiple shots at Agent Ramsey. In self-defense, Agent Ramsey returned fire, fatally striking Earlywine in the forehead. Despite being mortally wounded, Agent Ramsey was rushed to a local hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries early the following morning.
In the chaotic outburst, Earlywine unleashed gunfire recklessly, endangering even the lives of his own family members. Amidst the shooting, Earlywine's seven-year-old son, Virgil, entered the room excitedly and was tragically wounded in the chest by a bullet from his father's .45 caliber automatic.
Subsequent to a thorough search of Earlywine's farmhouse, numerous burglar tools and equipment, including acetylene and oxygen gas tanks, gauges, torches, dynamite, and an array of stolen items, provided irrefutable evidence of Joseph Earlywine's extensive involvement in criminal activities as a burglar.
In the afternoon of May 2, 1938, special agents from the FBI, in collaboration with local law enforcement, apprehended Fred Steffler, a 41-year-old man with hazel eyes and distinctive facial scars, as he entered his residence at 210 Stroup Street, Danville, Illinois.
A search of Steffler's residence yielded a .45 caliber Army Model Colt revolver with obliterated serial numbers, making it untraceable. Additionally, three ounces of nitroglycerin were discovered. Steffler was promptly taken into custody and placed in a local jail, where FBI agents conducted an interrogation.
During the questioning, Steffler provided a detailed signed statement about his criminal activities. He confessed that, in the fall of 1937, he and Joseph Earlywine had burglarized a safe at an automobile agency in Muncie, Indiana, netting approximately $900. They also blew open a safe at a theater in Petersburg, Indiana, shortly thereafter, securing $245. In early 1938, the duo robbed a safe in Mattoon, Illinois, yielding around $500. Subsequently, Steffler solo-burglarized a safe in Bloomington, Illinois, obtaining $300.
Steffler disclosed that on the night of March 3, 1938, he and Earlywine attempted to burglarize the First State Bank and Trust Company of Indianola, Illinois. However, they had to abandon their plan due to a gas bomb exploding in the bank. While Steffler didn't directly admit to the December 2, 1937, burglary of the State Bank of Lapel, he acknowledged that Earlywine had informed him of his involvement in that crime.
Steffler clarified that Hulett was not involved in these burglaries. Due to a lack of evidence linking Hulett to the crimes, he was not prosecuted federally. Hulett faced trial on August 17, 1938, in the state court at Danville, Illinois, on a charge of receiving stolen property, but he was acquitted.
On June 27, 1938, a federal grand jury in Indianapolis, Indiana, indicted Steffler for violating the Federal Bank Robbery Statute by unlawfully entering the State Bank of Lapel on the night of April 25, 1938. The following day, June 28, 1938, Steffler pleaded guilty in federal court and was sentenced to 15 years in a federal penitentiary. Following the Attorney General's directive, he was sent to the United States Penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kansas, to serve his sentence.
But who are these three individuals exactly? According to records from the Identification Division of the FBI, Earlywine, Hulett, and Steffler had a history of encountering the legal system long before their involvement in bank burglaries in Indiana and Illinois.
In 1921, Earlywine faced an arrest in Frankfort, Indiana, for stealing chickens, resulting in a suspended sentence of one to eight years at the Indiana Reformatory. In 1922, he was arrested in Noblesville, Indiana, on a rape charge but was acquitted by the jury. In 1926, he was convicted of grand larceny, leading to a sentence of one to fourteen years at the Indiana State Reformatory in Pendleton. He was granted parole on March 11, 1927. Subsequently, on July 27, 1934, he entered the State Prison in Michigan City, Indiana, serving a sentence of two to fourteen years for conspiracy to commit a felony. However, he was paroled on December 23, 1935.
John William Hulett, too, had a history of parole. He was received at the Indiana State Reformatory in Pendleton on July 28, 1934, sentenced to one to ten years for grand larceny, and paroled on June 27, 1935.
The third participant, Fred Steffler, had also experienced clemency through parole. His criminal timeline began on June 27, 1916, when he was received at the State Farm in Greencastle, Indiana, serving 215 days for petty larceny. However, he escaped on July 4, 1916. Later, he was arrested for stealing a motor vehicle and entered the Indiana Reformatory in Jefferson, Indiana, on November 11, 1917, serving six months to five years. After being paroled, he was transferred to the Indiana State Farm on July 12, 1918, for a two to five-year sentence due to his escape. Steffler was again paroled on May 14, 1919.
Moving on, Steffler entered the United States Penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas, on June 19, 1920, for violating the National Motor Vehicle Theft Act, receiving a five-year sentence. On December 9, 1924, he was incarcerated at Leavenworth for four years for unlawfully breaking into and entering a United States Post Office. Transferred to the United States Penitentiary at McNeil Island on October 6, 1926, he was released on January 7, 1928.
On January 22, 1928, Steffler found himself at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla, Washington, on charges of burglary and grand larceny, serving not less than fifteen years on each charge. Remarkably, he was paroled on April 3, 1933. However, on January 6, 1934, he entered the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City, Indiana, for a two to fourteen-year sentence, yet he was paroled again on February 7, 1936.
His troubles continued as he was declared delinquent on November 5, 1936, for failing to report and being suspected of safe cracking. A warden's warrant was issued for his arrest, but he managed to evade capture until special agents of the FBI and local officers apprehended him on May 2, 1938, on the bank robbery charge that resulted in the previously mentioned 15-year sentence.
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