Bootleg River Boat Murders

May 17, 2018

Bootleg River Boat Murders

The Roaring Twenties; a time when Western Civilization was full of jazz music and the liberation of women. It was the time of the development of television, automobiles, sports, motion pictures, radio, and electric appliances. It was the decade of dynamic economic growth. It was the decade of Hollywood Starlets and glamour. It was the aftermath of World War I, and a time of the Prohibition.

It wasn't until the Wall Street Crash of 1929 that the true hardships of our Nation were about to be realized.

The Great Depression began and times became troubled.

Crime was on the rise.

"Californian police agents dump illegal alcohol in 1925, Prohibition-era photo courtesy Orange County Archives" -Wikipedia

Many think of our region and may not think of organized crime, but it was here.

In 1890, Sutter County was 1 of only 2 prohibition counties in California.

By 1919. Congress passed the Volstead Act, and widespread Prohibition was alive. The act established the legal definition of intoxicating liquors as well as penalties for producing them.

Yuba and Sutter counties were both dry counties of course, but keeping illegal alcohol out of the twin cities proved unsuccessful.

The largest bust made in the area was in Sutter County, in 1932.

According to an article written by Daniel Witter of the Appeal Democrat, in a 1932 edition of the Appeal there was a story about the bust. It states-

"Sutter County Sheriff Bert Ullrey along with Deputies raided John Goffitzer's dairy ranch two miles north of Knights Landing "and confiscated large quantities of wine, whisky, alcohol and beer.".

Deputies found 11 50-gallon barrels of wine, 32 cases of beer, 15 gallons of alcohol and 10 gallons of jackass whisky. They also found cases of malt, empty wine and whisky bottles and large supplies of cheese and salami. Deputies needed two trucks to haul away the liquor.

Goffitzer was arrested on a liquor possession charge and was released pending a hearing after he put up $5,000 cash bail set by Judge E.E. Proper.The liquor was worth about $3,000 and later destroyed."

Also-

"Gus Tolis of Marysville learned that the hard way when he became the first man arrested and prosecuted in California for selling a bottle of whisky to a state officer, according to a Dec. 8, 1933, Appeal-Democrat article."

But that wasn't all that happened. Before then, in 1929, a wave of murders occurred.

July 30, 1929
Woodland Daily Democrat from Woodland, California

DEATH PLOTS LAID ALONG RIVER SAY DETECTIVES

From the lips of habitues of a floating barroom on the Sacramento river may come new clues in ten Sutter county murders in the last decade, Sutter county officials stated today.

The houseboat bootlegging establishment, anchored on the Sutter side of the river, was raided last Friday and six men were arrested.

That houseboat, believe investigators, is the rendezvous for the plotters of the killings and was the scene wherein the murders were laid.

Follows Search

The raid on the houseboat was staged as the result of a search made by Constable K. L. McCune. Deputy Constable C. F. Yonce and Detective M. A. Carpenter for suspects in the recent burglaries in Yuba City.

Descriptions of one of the men wanted for robbing four Yuba City stores on the night of July 1resm - 9 corresponded with the description of Willian Herder, sought since July 13, 1923, for the murder of Deputy Sheriff Charles W. Carpenter at Burnt (sp?) Ranch Trinity county. The murdered deputy was a brother of Carpenter, Yuba City detective. Report: that Herder was in the river jungle led the officers to seek there. During their hunt they came upon the bootlegging houseboat.

Scene Of Murder
The jungles at the point of the raid were also the scene of murder of Nick Weis on September 16, 1928. Weis died as the result of an overdose of morphine and his death has been attributed to drug peddlers who lived along the Sacramento River.

Deaths of a number of the ten persons murdered during the last decade in Sutter County are believed t have been plotted in this same stretch of river and officer express the hope that sufficient information may be gained from present investigation to justify laying the matter before the Gran Jury.

The fact that the bootleg camp was on the site of the murder of Weis added to the suspicions of the

(Continued on Page Five)

MURDER CLUES SOUGHT FROM FLOATING BAR
(Continued from Page One)

...officers. They have long believed that some of the men about the camp knew more about the death of Weis than they have ever told. Carpenter declares that it is his opinion that had not Deputy Coroner Hugh Pryce Jones arrived at the time he did to get Weis' body, it would have been slipped into the Sacramento river to join other victims of drug and bootleg rings, known to operate along the river.

May Yield Clues

It also believed that clues to some of the other unsolved murder mysteries of Sutter county may be discovered by questioning of residents of the jungle district.

The 10 unsolved murders of the county during the past decade are:

Unidentified man found with head crushed with rock in old baseball park on the south side of Bridge street in Yuba City in 1919.

Jack Winters, ex-convict, shot to death on levee north of Yuba City, September 3, 1923. Bullet holes in body. No arrests.
Few Arrests Made

Unidentified man taken from Sacramento River Nov. 5, 1925, with hands tied and head wrapped in burlap. No arrests.

Unidentified man found dead on shores of Coon creek near Trowbridge, Dec. 31, 1926. Wrongly identified as Louis Hart. No arrests.

Cabina Lopez, murdered July 26. 1927, and body weighted with irons sunk in borrow pit of Sutter by-pass. Bullet holes found in body. Bella Singh arrested for questioning July 4, day after body was found, but released for lack of evidence.

Unidentified man taken from Feather river at O'Neil's camp six miles south of Yuba City, July 27, 1927. Thought to have been consigned river from jungle camp. No arrests.

'Taken For Ride'

R. Mehra of Sacramento "taken for ride" March 28, 1928. Body riddled with bullet holes found weighted with concrete slap in Coon creek canal at Verona May 27. Slab later stolen from in front of Verona store, Suspects questioned at Sacramento but released.

The next murder was that of Nick Weis.

Antonio Ocegeda shot to death and A. Elizandro wounded near Live Oak by Alban Ramirez, March 31, 1929. Ramirez escaped.

Deswanda Singh who disappeared from Marysville March 14, 1929, was found dead near Encinal July 4, evidently having bled to death from wound in side. No arrests.

To Quiz Prisoners

Officers plan to quiz six men who were jailed following the raid, as well as others known to have visited the bootlegging resort.

James Hill, Paddy Condon and James Ryan, arrested in the raid on the floating bar, pleaded guilty to charges of possession of liquor Monday before Justice of the Peace W. E. Tucker at Yuba City.

Judge Tucker assessed fines of $250 each or terms of 250 days in jail. The men are still in Jail.

James O'brien, J. E. Newton are El Colgan, arrested on vagrancy charges during the same same raid, pleaded guilty and were given $60 fines or 60 days. They took the 60 days in jail.