Earl Northern

George Earl "The Kid" Northern (1903–1936) was a Prohibition-era bank robber and early associate of Harry Pierpont. He was the older brother of Pierpont's girlfriend, Mary Kinder.

Early life He was born in 1903 in Morgan County, Indiana, the son of Lewis W. and Viola J. (Tansey) Northern.

By the 1910 census, the family was residing in Washington Township, Morgan County, Indiana, where Earl's father's occupation was not listed.

By the 1920 census, the family was living at 1060 West McCarty Street in Indianapolis, Indiana. Earl was not listed as living with the family.

Criminal career

Pierpont-Bridgewater-Northern gang, 1924–1925 Northern was associated with a group of Jeffersonville ex-cons, led by Harry Pierpont, who were staying at a Kokomo, Indiana boarding house run by Pearl Elliott.

Pierpont was implicated as the ringleader of the gang who struck several Indiana banks. Newspaper reports indicated there were seven members in all, and all identified Pierpont as their leader.

Most members of the gang were arrested and convicted before Pierpont was arrested in Detroit in the spring. Mrs. Everett Bridgewater was arrested at her home in Indianapolis and sentenced to two to fourteen years; James Robbins arrested at Lebanon, Indiana; Marion “Red” Smith arrested at Indianapolis; George Frazer arrested at Marion; and Robert Morse arrested at Indianapolis were all given sentences of between ten and twenty years; and Mrs. Emily Morse pleaded guilty and was given a sentence from two to fourteen years. The round up of these bandits was reported as one of the biggest roundups of any gang of robbers in the state.

South Marion State Bank, Marion, Indiana, November 26, 1924 At 2:45 in the afternoon of November 26, 1924, seven young, unmasked, well-dressed bandits held up the officers and two customers of the South Marion State Bank at Thirty-first and Washington streets in Marion, Indiana, robbing the bank of approximately $4,000.00 in cash. No one was injured, and not a shot was fired. Five men went inside, two stayed outside. Grant County Sheriff Bert Renbarger and his deputies stopped a Nash car matching the description at Sweetser, Indiana but the occupants were found to be out of town businessmen.

While three robbers rushed to the rear of the bank to cover officials, the other three ordered several customers and the cashier to hold up their hands. The leader of the bandits cautioned his associates to listen for an alarm repeatedly.

Shelby Hardware Store, Lebanon, Indiana, December 22, 1924 On December 22, 1924, the John D. Shelby Hardware Store of Lebanon, Indiana was robbed of two rifles, two double barreled shot guns, one hammerless double barrel shot gun, two single shot rifles, one Marlin rifle, repeater, two Remington repeating rifles, eight pocket knives, one six inch barrel pistol, one 32 German automatic revolver, about fifty boxes of ammunition, four flashlights, several batteries, and other articles.

Boone County, Indiana Sheriff Joe C. Cain notified Grant County, Indiana Sheriff Renbarger of the list of items stolen from the Lebanon store and stated that the robbers were driving a Moon sedan, with the license 443-554, which was stolen from Indianapolis the night of the Lebanon robbery.

The bandits attempted to lock the cashier and a female employee in the bank vault. Finding that the safe would not work, they began scooping all of the money in sight as well as all the money in sight in the safe, consisting of paper and silver. Robbins confessed to his involvement in the Upland State Bank robbery, the attempted robbery at Noblesville, and the robbery of the Lebanon hardware store. Smith had been tracked down by an operative of the Webster Detective Agency of Indianapolis, and was arrested after returning via train from Springfield to Indianapolis. She denied having anything to do with the robbery, and claimed to not be with the gang when other robberies where committed. Mrs. Bridgewater had been visiting relatives in the southern part of Indiana and was not aware of the other arrests. Morse and his wife both admitted to being part of the gang of seven people, five men and two women, who took part in the South Marion robbery, but denied being a part of the gang at Upland or Noblesville.

On January 10, 1925, George R. Frazer, 23, of Kokomo was turned into the Marion police by his father as being part of the bandit gang who robbed the South Marion and Upland banks. Frazer stated that Mary Bridgewater and Emily Morse knew all about the robberies, and that Mrs. Bridgewater had scouted out the South Marion bank by cashing a check just before the robbery. The bandits locked the employees and customers into the safe and scooped up $6,000 in cash and $4,000 in bonds from the vault. Peace officers throughout the midwest were wired descriptions of the men and advised to take no chances.

Stopped by police in Kokomo, Indiana, March 22, 1925 On March 22, 1925, Harry, along with Everett Bridgewater, was arrested by Kokomo, Indiana police on suspicion of possessing a stolen car. However, the possession of the Ford roadster they were driving was found to be legitimate and they were released.

Pierpont later visited local attorney C.T. Brown, along with Dewey Elliott and Pearl Mullendore after midnight on March 22, 1925, to explain that two of his friends had been detained at the police station and needed representation. Pierpont, alias Mason, refused to give the names of his friends who were detained, but gave him a gold certificate worth $100.00. The bandits made off with $4828.40 in cash and $4300.00 in Liberty bonds. Escaping in a blue Moon touring car, the bandits were witnessed by local resident, J.E. Fernung, switching their car for two Ford cars, which then headed south.

Initial reports stated that an additional $2000.00 in non-negotiable securities had been stolen as well. The bandits tore the telephone from the wall, broke a shotgun and took away the extra cartridges. Reports of the bandits tracked them fleeing in two autos to Warsaw, Indiana, but failed to generate new leads. Due to the similarity of the robberies and its location, Pierpont and his gang were suspected.

Wabash County Sheriff Summerland went to Marion in response to call from the Grant County sheriff. Other clues had the bandits stopping in Lagrange County, Indiana, where there were reports of three men in a Willys-Knight car. After leaving the bank, they sped away in a Ford touring car and headed north before any alarm could be given. Police believed that Northern was the brains behind the outfit that had struck a number of banks recently in Indiana, particularly the South Kokomo bank on March 27. Witnesses for the prosecution included A.E. Gorton, cashier of the bank, and representatives of the New Harmony State bank.

The hearing was unprecedented in Howard county and without judicial landmark of procedure in Indiana.

Bank robbery, Amo, Indiana, 1932 Northern confessed he was one of the bandits who robbed the Amo State Bank at Amo, Hendricks County, Indiana on April 27, 1932. The confession did not implicate William Behrens and his wife, Margaret, both of Detroit, Michigan, who were being held in connection with the case. Behrens had been identified by bank officials as one of the bandits.

Suffering from the effects of tuberculosis, his sister, Mary Kinder, made repeated efforts to have him released or transferred to a sanitarium. Mary appealed to Capt. Matt Leach of the Indiana State Police, who referred her to Governor McNutt.