UNCLE RAY

My memories of my grandmother's brother are of a man in his 60's. Quiet, always well-dressed. I was surprised to find out that he had something of a past.

Raymond GOINGS
picture: 1930's? prob. Los Angeles

The first surprise was finding him in the 1920 census - in the Yuba county jail. What was he doing hundred of miles away from home? (Besides getting arrested that is.) No answer so far.

Then a few months later, while searching through the LA Times index I was led to the following series of articles:

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1. POLICE CAPTURE TWO MEN AFTER GARAGE ROBBERY

2. NEGROES WHO ROBBED GARAGE ARE CAPTURED

3. NEGROES DENY ROBBERY OF KNOB HILL GARAGE; WANTED IN LONG BEACH

4. NEGROES BOUND OVER TO SUPERIOR COURT

5. 4 PRISONERS ESCAPE FROM OXNARD JAIL

6. NO TRACE OF ESCAPED PRISONERS FOUND YET

POLICE CAPTURE TWO MEN AFTER GARAGE ROBBERY

Two men describing themselves as Charles Jones and Raymond Goings, carrying a load, the police say, of twenty-eight automobile tires, were stopped in Cahuenga Pass yesterday by Hollywood police and held for the Ventura county authorities.

Sheriff Clark of Ventura notified the Sheriff's office here shortly before midnight that a garage at Camarillo had been entered by burglars, who were believed to be headed toward Los Angeles.

Deputy Sheriffs Cooper and Purrier went to the Chatsworth road on the Ventura Boulevard and waited, also notifying the Hollywood police, but the two men apparently passed the deputies.

The police assert Jones and Goings admit the burglary.

Oxnard Daily Courier, July 16, 1923, page 1

NEGROES WHO ROBBED GARAGE ARE CAPTURED

Two negroes broke into the Knob Hill garage at Camarillo at 2 a.m. yesterday morning and robbed the place of 30 tires. Peter Swan, who was sleeping in a room in the garage was awakened by the noise the men were making. He had no gun, so kept quiet. He watched them load the tires into their Cadillas (sic) tourning (sic) car and as soon as they left the place he got in touch with the Camarillo night watchman. He also notified Sheriff Clark.

The robbers headed in the direction of Low Angeles. Swan telephoned ahead and the bandits were caught at Chatsworth by Los Angeles officers. There were to be brought to the Ventura county pail (sic) today from Los Angeles.

NEGROES DENY ROBBERY OF KNOB HILL GARAGE; WANTED IN LONG BEACH

Raymond Gorings (sic) and Charles C. Jones, negroes held in connection with the robbery of the Knob Hill garage last Saturday night when 30 new tires and a quantity of accessories were stolen, were takn (sic) from the city jail here today by Sheriff Clark for a preliminary hearing either at Ventura or Camarillo. They have been in the city jail here since Sunday night when they were brought from the Hollywood jail.

The two men claim they conveyed the tires from Camarillo to Cahuenga grad, where they were caught, but deny stealing them from the Knob Hill garage. They state that a man named Williams met them in Los Angeles and asked them if they wanted to make $25 to which they readily consented. Williams is alleged to have told them he was a partner to the man who operated the garage at Camarillo and that he had severed his partnership. The supply of tires and other material was supposed to be his share of the stock. They said he had piled it beside a shed at the rear of the garage. They merely acted as expressmen, they said.

Williams was declared to have driven a Buick touring car. The night watchman at the Knob (sic) Hill garage is said to have heard two machines drive up to the garage. He declares he heard men enter the garage, but as he had no gun he remained in bed and kept quiet. He was sleeping in a room which hangs from the roof in the center of the garage. Three men are said to have entered the garage. They turned out the light in front and made several trips back and forth while removing the tires and accessories. As it was dark the garage man cannot identify the negroes as the men who robbed the tires.

After the robbery the garage man notified Sheriff Clark who in turn notified Los Angeles officials who nabbed the negroes on their way to Hollywood.

E. DeLacey, fingerprint expert from Los Angeles was here yesterday and took the fingerprints of the two men. According to Chief Murray they are wanted in Long Beach. Photographs of the two men were taken by Edwin C. Arnold to be sent to the Long Beach officials for identification.

NEGROES BOUND OVER TO SUPERIOR COURT

Raymond Going (sic) and C. C. Jones, two negroes arrested in connection with the burglary of the Knok (sic) Hill garage in Camarillo a short time ago, appeared before Judge Dimmick for their preliminary hearing yesterday and were bound over to Superior Court.

They pled not guilty to the charge of stealing $1,000 worth of tires.

After the hearing they were returned to the Oxnard city jail by Sheriff Clark and Deputy Ayala. The prisoners are being kept in the local jail as there is not proper accommodations in the county jail at this time on account the building of the new county jail and removal of certain equipment from the old jail which will be used in the new bastile (sic).

Oxnard Daily Courier and the Oxnard Daily News, Monday, August 20, 1923, page 1

4 PRISONERS ESCAPE FROM OXNARD JAIL

Breaking several locks on steel doors in the Oxnard city jail early Sunday morning, four county prisoners, with the aid of an accomplice outside, escaped. Sheriffs' offices, police and detectives in every Southern California county are today participating in the search for the escaped prisoners.

Up to late today no trace of the men had been found. Raymond Goings and C. C. Jones, the two negroes who robbed the Knob Hill garage at Camarillo of $1,000 worth of tires a few weeks ago; Roy Wilkinson, who confessed to the theft of over $300 worth of scrip books from the Standard Oil company here, and a Mexican bootlegger were the men men (sic) who made their getaway. They probably are miles away by now or perhaps they are hiding only a mile or two away.

The men were all county prisoners, incarcerated in the city jail because there was no room in the old county jail, much of the material in that bastile (sic) having been moved to the new county jail.

Last Friday morning, about 1 o'clock a man claiming to be the brother of Wilkinson hunted up Night Watchman Lilley who has a key to the jail. The man said he wanted to see his brother who was in jail. Lilley took the man to the jail and allowed him to talk to his "brother" through the bars. Lilley was the only officer at the jail at the time. It would have been an easy task for the visitor to cover Lilley with a gun and release his fiends, had that been his intention. Whether or not that was his plan is not know. While he was at the jail Officer Ted McLeod happened to visit the place on his rounds. With the two officers there the man had little chance to start anything.

All went well until Sheriff Clark, who took a prisoner to the city jail at 1:30 yesterday morning, discovered the locks broken and the doors open. Four men were missing. Sheriff Clark and Chief Murray immediately communicated with every sheriff's office in Southern California advising the officers to be on the lookout for the escaped prisoners.

An investigation showed that someone had climbed over the back fence, made his way to a rear door in the jail where he pried off the big padlock. There is a socket for a light over the door but there was no globe in the socket. The high fence in front of the driveway beside the jail and the high buildings at the rear prevented anyone from seeing the man work. Whoever he was, he hust (sic) have studied the surrounding some time before undertaking the task.

It was an easy job to slip an iron bar between the padlock and break it. The door opened, allowing the man to enter the jail. His next job was to open the steel door on the "tank", the big cage inside, in which are a number of smaller cells. He apparently knew where the keys to the door were. He got a blanket from his friends in the "tank" and fastened it to the door which leads into the office at the front of the jail. The blanket was long enough to reach from the door to the "tank" giving several men opportunity to pull on it. In this way the lower corner of the big steel door was bent and the man slipped through, got the keys to the other doors from the office and returned. He opened the main door to the "tank" and released all who wanted to get out. This included the four men already mentioned. Other prisoners who may have been awake at the time apparently were satisfied with their lodgings. The men made their exit through the rear door, put a ladder up to the back fence and climbed over a water wagon in the alley. No one saw or heard them.

Other men in the jail at the time said they heard the two negroes making a lot of noise, singing, talking loud and yelling. They paid little attention for the colored men had been making a noise ever since they were put in. The three men left in the jail seem to know little about what went on during the early hours of the morning. One man said he saw someone working with the blanket but paid little attention. He showed the officers what he saw.

Raymond Goings and Jones were awaiting their trial at Ventura. They were in jail for failure to put up $5000 bail money. Wilkinson was awaiting his preliminary hearing. He stole a number of scrip books from the local office of the Standard Oil company and was caught in Los Angeles a few days ago. The Mexican was in jail for six months for operating a still on Enterprise street.

Chief Murray is of the opinion that the man who visited Wilkinson last Friday morning is the man who helped the prisoners escape. He believe the "brother" made observations while in the jail and returned later. Once he knew the lay of the land it was an easy job for him to get inside without being noticed. He entered the jail at a good time for local officers visit the place at intervals during the night. Sheriff Clark arrived about an hour too late.

Daily Oxnard Courier and Daily News 8/21/1923

NO TRACE OF ESCAPED PRISONERS FOUND YET

To date no trace of the four men who escaped from the city jail early Sunday morning has been found. They are still at large enjoying life. Every officer in Southern California has been notified of the escape and has been asked to aid in the hunt. In the meantime an extra padlock has been put on the rear door of the city jail.

Raymond GOINGS and Vestula (LEWIS) GOINGS
picture: 1960's ?, Los Angeles>

My mother hadn't known about this episode, but she wasn't terribly surprised by it. As far as I know Uncle Ray was never caught. Shortly after this he joined the merchant marine and served until his retirement.

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updated 4 September, 1998