 TRAPPE BRANCH BANK HELD UP LAST SATURDAY Believed One Of the Robbers Has Been Found- No Interruption To The Business Of The Bank- Talbot County was much startled last Saturday morning when word was flashed from one end to the other that the Trappe Branch Bank had been held up and robbed of about $1,900. To make the news more startling the job was pulled about ten o’clock in the morning and the robbers were without even a mask... Courtney Valliant was in the bank when the robbers entered. They waited until Mr. Valliant got through his business when they wheeled about and leveled revolvers at Cyrus Mallonee and Norman Leonard. These two officials were treated very kindly. They were told to get inside the vault at first, then they were told to go in the directors’ room, and from here they were sent to the cellar. In the meantime one of the robbers was busily engaged in taking the paper money in the bank, which amounted to $1,958. The gold was taken but not the silver. Another large lot of money they missed entirely. After the men left the bank Mr. Leonard crawled out the cellar window and hurried to the first telephone station to call the sheriff. By this time the robbers were well on their way toward Easton. Mr. Leonard then opened the door and let Mr. Mallonee out. The sheriff was in the jail and took the call himself. He dispatched several men in different directions in an effort to catch the fleeing robbers. The sheriff went to Trappe road and waited. Just who he was waiting for was hard to determine. The message came over the phone said it might be a Ford or a Chevrolet car, with three young men in it. Another message came saying the car was a Chrysler, while further information said it was a Pontiac. At any rate the robbers got too much headway and made good their escape... EXTRA! BANK ROBBERS CAUGHT Chaney Burt was arrested in Baltimore last Wednesday and brought to Easton, and J.H. Mansfield and Harold Duffy were picked up in Washington yesterday all on suspicion of being the ones who held up the Trappe Bank on Saturday last. The sheriff leaves today to bring the two boys here.” [from The Easton Star Democrat April 8, 1932]. BANK ROBBERS GIVEN HEARING LAST TUESDAY Trappe Magistrate Held Them In $15,000 Bail Each For The Grand Jury. Only Part Of The Loot Recovered All Three Confess- the Trio Separated Shortly After Leaving Easton And Divided The Money. [Easton Star Democrat April 15, 1932]. Trappe had its only bank robbery when three men robbed the Farmers and Merchants bank on Main St. The trio was soon caught and most of the money recovered. It was thought they had originally planned to rob an Oxford bank, but decided that was not a good idea because it had a burglar alarm. On their way to Trappe, they stole some license plates to put on their car, the make of which never was identified.  Norman Leonard, 1936 Photo courtesy Ormond Adams |