ROBBERS SHOOT LEADWOOD MAN
Published by THE LEAD BELT NEWS
Flat River, St. Francois Co. MO
Friday, November 20, 1925

Last Saturday evening about 8:40 when preparations were being made to close up the place of business of J. R. Mason & Son at Leadwood, four masked men staged a successful holdup and escaped after shooting Sam'l. [Samuel] Sutton through the left thigh as they were making their getaway. Sutton was given medical attention by Leadwood physicians, after which he was removed to the Bonne Terre hospital. An infection developed in the wound and it was found necessary to amputate his limb Wednesday of this week. He is in a serious condition. The robbers realized the sum of $28 as payment for their evening's work.

At 8:40 p.m. as Lester Mason and wife were leaving the place by-way of the back door, young Mason noticed that a light which had been burning to the rear of the store had been extinguished. As he reached up to turn on this light he was accosted by a man who ordered him to put up his hands. After some argument young Mason complied when he saw that there was more than one of the hold-up men, and when J.R. Mason appeared in the back door, he was covered also. J. R. Mason also argued with the men and grasped one of the pistols in his hand, but he, too, quickly realized that four to one was too heavy odds to resist. The Masons were forced to go to the cash register in the filling station where what money it contained, about $28.00, was taken. All this time many people on their way home from church services were passing the place, none of them apparently noticing what was taking place. Sutton, who was passing the filling station as the men came out, was accompanied by his wife and several other women were close by. The robbers fired but one shot at him, this without provocation of any kind whatever as he had made no move to interfere with them and, in fact, did not know what was going on.

Following the shooting the four men ran down the hill past the depot, where they had parked their car, a light machine of some kind, and drove rapidly away toward Desloge. Efforts were made to communicate with Desloge in order that officers might intercept them, but it was impossible to get connection until sufficient time had elapsed for the robber machine to have gotten through. No clew (sic) was left that would lead to identification of the robbers.