Behind bars in Weston County, Part II

The tales of Newcastle’s earliest jails and their inhabitants

The next major break from the jail came in the summer of 1920. The News Letter Journal’s headline read, “Prisoner Held on Charge of Murder Here Breaks Jail,” with the subheading “Third Escape From Institution Recorded When Alleged Slayer Makes His Escape.” The paper reported that Fred Sims, held on a charge of murder, sawed through bars at the jail, and despite efforts from authorities, no word on the prisoner had been received. It was thought that he made his escape with the aid of friends from the outside. Sims was awaiting trial for the murder of Fred Walker, an employee of the Briggs Oil Co., due to a leasing dispute with Freel Oil Co. Another section of the News Letter Journal titled “Was Model Prisoner” expanded on Sims: “A model prisoner, according to Sheriff Howell, at no time did he show a disposition to rouse uneasiness, and it has been stated that the old idea of locking prisoners within the small cells in the county jail, having been abandoned, Sims was allowed to stay in the large room. This room is protected by iron bars, which when found this morning on the west window in the south end of the jail had been sawed and bent back from the inside. Every effort to recapture the prisoner is being made and a sharp lookout is being kept in every direction.”
After many breakouts, the News Letter Journal reported on the issue in “What is a Jail?” The article explained that every county in America had a jail besides Weston County. The News Letter Journal reported that the jail built in 1890 was no longer sufficient. The paper said, in part, that “today Weston county’s jail is nothing more than a rest room for men with charges hanging over them – a place where they can rest after the exertion of their crimes and then sally forth at will. Several ways have been used to make this exit in the three escapes during the past year – in one case the hazardous experiment of walking out the front door being resorted to and then, after the prisoner had walked thru the jail he climbed the high board fence in broad daylight and made to the hills. He has never been captured. The second prisoner was not so dare-devil. He merely let himself out. But the third, Walter Sims, held on a charge of murder in connection with an Osage oil field shooting affray, who escaped Friday morning, sawed his way to freedom. 
“It is stated by authorities in charge of the county place of confinement that he must have had aid from the outside, which is evident unless hack saws can be manufactured within. 
Within the jail proper are a series of steel cells in which prisoners are supposed to be confined at night. Yet in the case of Walter Sims – alleged slayer, facing a court in November – it is said by one of these officials that he was not confined within these small cells but allowed to roam at will in the jail proper during the night.”
Despite problems, the city of Newcastle kept using the same jail for another 15 years, and the tales continued in the meantime. On Sept. 2, 1920, it was reported that 28-year-old Charles Morgan confessed to robberies of the Ardmore, South Dakota; Newcastle and Osage post offices within the past two weeks. Morgan said he entered other establishments to “collect” small sums too, and he was also a stamp collector. The article said that unlike many others, Morgan still had most of the money and stamps in his possession at the time of his arrest. He was thought to have robbed Upton and Newcastle’s pool halls as well. 
Two weeks later on Sept. 16, 1920, Morgan broke out of jail and then admitted to robbing the Newcastle Drug Co.’s store and the post office in Gillette. More than $9 was stolen from the drug store, while $34 and stamps were taken from the Gillette post office. The article noted that Morgan managed to rob Gillette even when officials were notified to be on the lookout for him. According to the article, Morgan was transferred to  Cheyenne to face his series of charges. The same article also reported that a Mr. R.W. Castel escaped the jail after a lock had been picked. Castel reported back to the jailer Sunday morning, claiming that he wanted to retrieve his coat. Uncoincidentally, he showed up around breakfast time, seemingly wanting to put away a small portion of ham and eggs.
Oct. 14, 1920, brought yet another robber to Newcastle. The News Letter Journal article “Slugged, Robbed, Thrown Over Embankment Citizen Crawls to Phone for Aid” with the subheading  “C.F. Barnes held up and robbed of several hundred dollars while driving into city on Salt Creek Road late Saturday Night; Arrests are Made.” 
The article explained that Barnes crawled to the Wantz ranch and telephoned local authorities. James C. Chambers was arrested and charged with assault, battery and attempted robbery. R.C. Tillotson and John Chambers were also arrested. It was also reported that the car Barnes was driving belonged to G.W. Jones, and it had since disappeared. 
The plot thickened on Oct. 21, 1920, when the News Letter Journal followed up on the story, reporting that “C.F. Barnes, victim of a holdup a week ago Saturday night when he was beaten, robbed and thrown over an embankment for dead, has been hauled into court on two charges this week. The first in District court, is a charge of unlawfully selling intoxicating liquors. He was released on a $500 bond. The second count lodged in the justice court and made by Edna Tillotson charges that Barnes has  been running a house of prostitution. Defendant waived hearing on this count and was placed under a bond of $500 to appear in the District court which convenes November 1.” The holdup was said to be regarding a theft of a car Barnes was driving on Salt Creek Road. Three arrests were made in connection to the holdup, according to the newspaper. 
The tales from Newcastle’s jails continued into December, 1920 when a decomposing body was discovered 13 miles north of town. The assailant was unknown, as was the found victim of gunshot wounds, according to the coroner. According to the News Letter Journal, the theory around town was that the corpse might have been Walter L. Sims, who escaped from the county jail where he was held for the murder of Roy Freel. At the time of the first article, the mystery was still unraveling. 
A Dec. 26, 1920, article titled, “Cold Springs Farmers Say Alleged Slayer Stayed There 20th of August” added to the story. The News Letter Journal reported the following: “Declaring that a man answering the description of Walter L. Sims, prisoner held on a charge of murder and who broke from the county jail here August 19th, had stopped on the night of the 20th in a field near the home of John MacAnniny, on Cold Springs creek. MacAnniny, John and Rawleigh Sellers and Carl Anderson came to Newcastle Saturday to try to identify the corpse in Newcastle’s most baffling murder mystery. While the state of the body makes positive identification impossible, they are all of the opinion that it is not the corpse of Walter Sims.”
In the midst of the Sims saga, another crime occurred, as reported on Dec. 16, 1920. There were five robberies on a Tuesday night when $40 in cash, a Nash automobile belonging to Raymond Miller and articles from four stores amounting to several hundred dollars were stolen. The activity was said to have thrown the city into a  “fever of excitement,” according to the News Letter Journal. LeRoy and Harry Curtis were arrested driving the stolen car in Casper.
“Well, 1920 must have been a bad year!” said Cash, as he finished reviewing his reports for the year. 
The year 1921 was a bit less eventful, but it was not without its crimes. On Jan. 20, 1921, the sixth jail break within a period of as many months occurred. Harry Curtis was held on a charge of robbery in connection with the theft of Raymond Miller’s motor car. The News Letter Journal reported that the detained Curtis did not have to work too hard to escape – instead, he “calmly walked from the front door of the county jail to freedom.”
Several months later, Bob Tillotson also escaped the Weston County Jail, where he was being held on a charge of grand larceny. The Aug. 11, 1921, article said that Tillotson must have broken the lock on the grated iron door that shuts off the corridor from the rest of the building with the piece of the cast iron used to close the air vent in the room. The News Letter Journal reported that “the lock on the door is faulty, and if the door is not shut carefully, does not fasten. This is probably the condition in which Tillotson found it, and it would then be simple to slop back the trap with a spoon (the only thing that he is known to have had when could do the work) which opened the door and allowed him to step to freedom.”