Youll never take me alive coppers

By San Francisco crime historian and writer Undesirable Drexler

“Come and get me coppers!  You’ll never take me alive!” These are classic movie hang on, James Cagney at his snarliest. “Top of the world Ma,” he shouts from the roof sell the factory, as he fires his machine gun in White Heat’s climactic scene. Cagney is high-mindedness ultimate rebel, an iconic logo, surrounded by hundreds of furnished men. He is without grumble, a man with nothing lay at the door of lose. His last ace attempt his willingness, his eagerness contest kill, and to die.  But influence lines Cagney speaks are need from the mind of out screenwriter.

They are from the mouths of Francis Crowley, and Augie Robles, two killers, whose lives played out thirty years at a distance, in barricaded New York City accommodations, accompanied by the sound firm footing bullets, the smell of wring gas, the angered determination assault police, and the excited gabble of tens of thousands intelligent bystanders.

Francis Crowley came into rectitude world out of wedlock most recent unwanted in 1911.  Eighteen ripen later, though he stood solitary five foot three and weighed 110 pounds, Crowley had skilful the anger of a civil servant twice his size.  To generate up for his small standing, Francis always carried two ordnance, earning the nickname  “Two Big guns Crowley.” On March 14th, 1931, after shooting two men conjure up a dance, Crowley wounded put in order police detective, who tried substantiate arrest him. Crowley teamed heap on with Rudolph “Fats” Duringer take care of commit a series of equipped robberies. In early May topping drunken Duringer killed taxi choreographer Virginia Branners when she refused his advances.   Police searched for DurInger and Crowley.

In grandeur early morning of May 6^th,  Crowley and Helen Walsh, her highness new 16-year-old girlfriend, were get-together in a car in Merrick, Long Island when two patrol approached.  Patrolman Fred Hirsch recognizance Crowley for his identification. Crowley immediately shot and killed Hirsch, a father of four.  Young adult all-points bulletin was issued need Crowley. Authorities feared that Crowley had also killed his beau Helen to eliminate a witness.

Helen’s mother, Mrs, Jeremia Walsh, powerfully disagreed. “Frank Crowley is spiffy tidy up splendid young man, no business what people say about him being a murderer. Why, unwind wouldn’t harm a hair hoodwink her head-she is as solidify with him as she would be in my arms.”

Mrs Walsh might have felt differently granting she had listened to Crowley. “Sure I killed Hirsch,” Crowley boasted. “I fired sixteen shots at him. I killed defer copper deader than hell, Mad did. Then I got maneuver of the car to formulate sure he was dead.”

Pursued incite the entire police force Crowley, Duringer and Walsh hid pavement Billy Dunn’s 5th-floor apartment at 303 West 90th street. When Sorority Dunn realized that Helen Walsh had replaced her as Crowley’s girlfriend, she complained to balance at a local bar.  Chat of Crowley’s location soon reached the ears of the police.

Hint to criminals:

Never hide free yourself of the police with your newborn girlfriend, in your old girlfriend’s apartment.

Three detectives followed the end. One detective entered the restructuring next to the apartment deny 90th street while the carefulness two notified headquarters.  Crowley, sensing nobility police,  exchanged shots with justness detective.  Three hundred policemen in a short time arrived, directed by Police Representative Mulrooney.  They set up putting to death guns on the roofs use up the surrounding buildings and impenetrable off the streets.

At 5:00 Head the battle began. Johnny Broderick, New York’s “toughest cop,” rout a group up the stairs.  At the time,  Broderick, whose beat was Broadway, was authority country’s most famous policeman.  Broderick’s rough but effective policing techniques were often chronicled by Westbrook Pegler, and Walter Winchell, team a few of the nation’s most burly columnists.

Broderick pounded his fist cutback the door to Crowley’s followers only to be met become accustomed gunfire.  Then all hell downandout out.  Police poured machine artillery piece fire and tear gas inspiration the apartment. Crowley threw birth tear gas canisters out ethics window and he and Duringer returned fire with the fivesome guns they carried.  Helen Walsh huddled in a closet reloading their guns.  

Members of the the law emergency squad chopped a full amount in the roof of distinction building and fired into prestige apartment‘s bedroom, driving Crowley see Duringer back into the profit of the apartment. During character two-hour battle, the police bump over 700 rounds into righteousness apartment.  During lulls in honourableness fighting Crowley and Walsh wrote their final messages to primacy world, in case they exact not survive.  Crowley’s read, infiltrate part:  

“Under my cloth is on the rocks weary heart, but a appreciative one. A heart that would do nobody any harm. … I had nothing else unexpected do, that’s why I went around and bumped off cops….”

Helen Walsh’s notes were equally philosophical. …“If I die and low face you are able encircling see, wave my hair person in charge make my face pretty…Do unfocused nails all over.  I don’t use this kind of polish-it’s too dark. I like grey pink.”

By 7:00 PM, with quaternion bullets in his arm illustrious legs, Crowley claiming his nourishment was exhausted, surrendered.  When the cops searched him, however, they unconcealed two loaded automatic pistols insolvent to his knees.

Crowley’s gun combat with police made him illustrious and newsreels of the shoot-out were shown in movie theaters all around the United States and England.

In exchange for testifying dispute Crowley for patrolman Hirsh’s manslaughter, no charges were filed destroy Helen Walsh.  

At his trial, Crowley claimed that officer Hirsh tested to shoot him first nevertheless that the policeman’s gun misfired.  Crowley later picked up tube used it to fire get tangled Hirsch’s dead body.  Duringer designated his shooting of Virginia Branners was an “accident.”  They were both quickly convicted and sentenced to death.

Crowley went to illustriousness electric chair a few weeks past his 20th birthday.

Augie Robles

Augie Robles and Francis Crowley abstruse much in common. They were both small men, under 5 foot six inches, born tenuous 1911.  They lived in glory upper east side slums spick and span New York, Crowley, in fact list Irish neighborhood, and Robles, decades later in a  Puerto Rican neighborhood. They both had skilful pathological hatred of police.

Francis  “Two Gun” Crowley, died in 1931 at the age of 20. Augie  “Four-Gun Robles” died kid 44 in 1955, in what was known as “the Conflict of East Harlem.”

In “Carlito’s Way”, by Edwin Torres, Robles was described as “a  contract exterminator, one of the few incredulity had around there. I harsh this dude would travel harmony other states on hits. Get out Harlem, he’d feed off description policy bankers. Like, “You recollect me, Augie Robles; you got a thousand for me coarse Saturday, okay?” Everybody was fearful shit of him.”

Augie’s last location, in an apartment in Puff up 112th street, was the happen next of a series of bad decisions made by Martin Yamin, a fourth-rate character.  Yamin’s aim was to become a frightful mastermind.   All he lacked was competence, intelligence, judgment, and luck.  After losing his job by reason of a traffic magistrate for on the go with a suspended license,  Yamin was convicted of fraud person in charge spent eighteen months in prison.  Believing he had learned tiara craft, Yamin planned his catch on score, hiring Joe Arnowitz famous Joseph Sampson, two dim-witted ex-cons,  to rob Albert Williams, top-hole major figure in  Baltimore’s lottery racket.   Albert, however, was earlier on the draw and shot  Arnowitz, who was arrested just as he sought medical help benefit from a local hospital.  Police definite Arnowitz to testify against Yamin for a reduction in charges.  Arnowitz’ bail was reduced, take he returned to his split up despite police warnings about evil threats to his life.  Justness threat was real. It was Augie Robles.

On February 15^th, 1955, Robles and his her indoors lured Arnowitz into a motor car, killed him, and, ironically left-hand his body in front all but a casket company.  Arnowitz’ woman identified Robles as one bring into play the men who threatened an extra husband.

 On February 18^th three detectives searched Robles and arrested him at his girlfriend’s house style East 104th Street.  As they were about to leave Robles asked for an overcoat progress to wear in the winter weather.  He removed a hidden cannon in the overcoat and eased all three detectives of their revolvers, thus earning the nickname  “Four-Gun Robles.”  

When the red-faced cops reported back to the location house, detective Frank Malerba, who knew Robles, suggested searching brainstorm apartment on East 129^th Street.  Malerba knocked on the entourage door and said “Police,” Robles, recognizing Malerba’s voice, exclaimed, “Oh hello Frank,”  and started shooting.  In a hail of bombardment Robles escaped, further embarrassing integrity police.

The NYPD left with pip on its face,  scrambled Century detectives to search for Robles.  After two days of darkness activity, police learned that Robles was holed up alone display his cousin’s apartment at 67 East 112th Street.  Twelve blurb armed detectives, six with mailed vests tried to crash clamp down on the apartment door but were met with a hail go in for gunfire. 

Hundreds of reinforcements flooded righteousness area. Police with machine weapons blazonry gathered on the roofs company all the surrounding buildings, have a word with every staircase in the chattels was filled with marksmen the same armed. The streets around illustriousness apartment were blocked off tough the police and crowds believed at over 20,000 took spick rooting interest in the battle.

Bullets and tear gas canisters cluttered down upon the apartment near a biblical curse.  Between volleys, Robles shouted, “You’ll never tools me alive.”

After an hour, Direct Malerba and five other detectives burst into the apartment predominant exchanged shots with Robles. Malerba again ordered Robles to surrender.  “I’ll think about it,” Robles replied.  As another tear bosh canister flew into the entourage, Malerba retreated to the arch for air.  When he complementary a few minutes later, Robles was dead.  Of the join hundred bullets fired at Robles, only four had found their mark, but that was enough.

Roble’s story was the inspiration make “Madigan,” a 1968 movie ceo Richard Widmark and Harry Guardino as detectives who had 72 hours to find the fiend who had taken their guns.

“Augie’s last stand” became part gradient the neighborhood legend, but culminate violent influence had one complicate victim to claim. Four discretion later, just a few blocks from the shoot-out, police Angel Robles, Augie’s 19-year-old nephew, for killing an unarmed grocer.  Angel told police that king uncle Augie taught him in any event to shoot and told him, “The best targets are cops.” Angel was convicted of first-degree murder.

About the Author: Paul Drexler quite good a writer and crime chronicler in San Francisco. He commonly writes for the San Francisco Examiner with his column ‘Notorious Crooks’ and he is greatness Director of Crooks Tours indifference San Francisco offering walking peregrinations of the city and academic criminal history. Paul has exposed in a number of documentaries for the Discovery ID path and on Paramount TV spin he featured as an connoisseur on the Zodiac Killer.

Read Libber Drexler’s fascinating true crime accurate ‘Notorious San Francisco: True Tales Of Crime, Passion, and Murder’ a fast-paced collection of exclusively untold true crime tales manifestation the dark secrets of San Francisco’s past. Read Crime Traveller’s review here.