What do you know about a bank holdup in Hatch, New Mexico?

What do you know about a bank holdup in Hatch, New Mexico?

Tink Burris
Silver City, New Mexico

I believe you’re referring to the holdup by 32-year-old Gideon L. Redding who, on June 1, 1932, rode into town on a black horse and robbed the First National Bank of $2,000. He placed adhesive tape across his face to conceal his identity. Lawmen arrested him eight days later as he was milking a cow at a ranch in Big Lake, Texas, east of Cambray, New Mexico. He told friends that he needed the money to pay off some debts.

You could call Redding the last of the horseback bank robbers. For a cowboy, he was pretty talkative. Texas writer Paul Patterson, who did trail time with Redding, said seven lawyers defended the robber—but Redding did most of the talking.

The whole experience must not have been too bad. Redding died in 1993, a couple months short of 93.

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Marshall Trimble is Arizona’s official historian.
His latest book is Wyatt Earp: Showdown at Tombstone.

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