Old St. Nick Was Behind one of the Wildest Bank Heists Ever

A clever idea turned tragic as it unfolded in the small Texas town

It sounds like a decent idea. Disguise yourself as Santa Claus a couple of days before Christmas, and rob the bank. No one would recognize you, the surprise element would be in your favor. You could get away before people got over the shock of seeing jolly ole’ Santa make off with a big bag of cash.

It sounds like an action movie that has some potential. It really happened though. Marshall Ratliff, a known and experienced conman from the area, came up with the scheme and robbed the bank dressed as Santa on Dec. 23, 1927, in Cisco, Texas. The string of errors that followed would make the writers of Blazing Saddles proud, but they really happened too.

It set off one of the biggest manhunts in Texas history and was one of the most flamboyant crimes anyone had ever seen. You might think an experienced criminal like Ratliff would have thought things through a little better than he did. The string of errors, everything that could have gone wrong did and more is downright comical. Even so, six men were killed and several were injured in the ensuing shootouts and car chases. No doubt many children in town were traumatized by seeing their hero rob a bank.

Ratliff, along with fellow cons Henry Helms and Robert Hill, planned the robbery while staying in Wichita Falls. They also enlisted the help of Louis Davis, a relative of Ratliff who had some skill with safes.

Ratliff had recently been paroled after being convicted of robbing a bank in Valera, Texas, 60 miles away. Originally he planned to rob the bank in Cisco with his brother, but his brother was arrested again for some other crime.

Bank robberies were common in those days in Texas. So much so the Texas Banking Association offered a reward for anyone who shot and killed a bank robber in the act. Apparently, jailbreaks were not that uncommon either.

The group planning the robbery stole a car in Wichita Falls. Ratliff “borrowed” the Santa Claus outfit from Midge Tellet, who was running the rooming house where they were staying. Tellet was interviewed a few days later by one of the newspapers. She said the men were very clean and polite. She never suspected they were bank robbers, but she was upset about the Santa costume being gone.

Ratliff and crew made the drive to Cisco. Ratliff got out of the car a few blocks from the bank. The other three drove the car to the alley behind the bank and left it there for their getaway.

Ratliff thought getting out of the car and calmly walking up Main street would be a good idea, but that is where his troubles began to unfold. No one thought it odd that Santa was walking down the street two days before Christmas. He fit in with all the decorations. Children were attracted to Santa and began following him. Ratliff acted the part and interacted with the children in the way only Santa Claus could.

The problem was the children did not stop following him, even when he entered the bank. There were several children standing around him as the robbery unfolded.

With “Santa” milling about inside the bank, Helms and Hill entered the brandishing firearms. They shouted “hands up,” and the robbery began. Ratliff grabbed the cashier and forced him to open the safe, and he took a gun from the Cashier. Santa then handed his bag to the cashier and ordered him to fill up the bag.

At this point, a woman and her young daughter fled out the back door. Helms and others told her to stop and threatened to shoot, but they could not bring themselves to shoot a woman and her child. She ran straight to the police department and notified authorities. By the time Ratliff and crew were exiting the bank with a bag stuffed with cash, the police and most of the town knew Santa was robbing the bank.

A shootout soon erupted. The robbers had automatic weapons. Police and some townspeople had guns as well and were shooting at the robbers. Ratliff grabbled some hostages, including two young girls, and used them as shields to get to their car.

The police chief and one of his officers were killed in the shootout, and several other people were injured. At least one of the hostages was wounded, and one of the robbers — Davis — also suffered serious wounds.

They fled in the getaway car, firing shots at the police and other citizens who were chasing them. One of the tires was punctured by a gunshot. They then realized they were almost out of gas. They had not thought to fill up the gas tank before the robbery.

They stopped another car, an Oldsmobile, driven by a 14-year-old boy. They forced him out of the car and chased him away. While the gunshots continued they transferred everything, including the injured Davis, to the Oldsmobile. Then they realized they could not start the car. The boy fled when he was forced to, and he kept the keys.

Having no other choice they transferred everything back to their first car. They left Davis behind. They also left the bag of stolen cash in the Oldsmobile.

The mob focused on Davis and the bag of cash and quit the chase for a time. Davis, who had never before been involved in a crime, died a few days later in the hospital.

The robbers sped out of town even though their car was nearly out of gas. They threw nails out of their car to slow down the cars that were chasing them. Eventually, they left the road and tried to drive through a pasture filled the cactus, mesquite, and scrub oak. The car got bogged down. They abandoned the car as well as the two young girls they had as hostages. They then fled on foot.

They stole another car the next day. Remembering the Oldsmobile, they held onto the driver this time and kept him as a hostage. The father of the hostage saw what was happening and shot at the robbers as they fled. The shot hit his son, but he was not seriously injured.

That afternoon they let their hostage go, and gave him his car back.

They stole yet another car, and planned to try to go back to Cisco and “hide in plain sight.” They were caught up with by another sheriff as they tried to cross the Brazos River, and another shootout erupted.

This time the sheriff was Texas Ranger Cy Bradford who was a famous lawman with a reputation for bringing criminals to justice. Bradford hit two of the three with shotgun blasts.

Ratliff was hurt and could not run anymore, and was arrested. He was found to have six bullet wounds when he was captured. Hill and Helms managed to escape again but were badly wounded and bleeding. They were caught on Dec. 30 in Graham Texas, too weak to run.

Santa on trial

Helms tried an insanity plea during his trial, but that failed. He was sentenced to death and was executed in the electric chair on Sept. 6, 1929. He was identified as one who had killed at least one of the deputies.

Hill pled guilty to armed robbery and begged for mercy on the witness stand while testifying on his own behalf. He was sentenced to life in prison. He escaped three times but was caught each time. He was paroled in the late 1940s and is said to have changed his ways and become a productive citizen.

Ratliff was first convicted of armed robbery and sentenced to life in prison. He was later convicted of killing one of the deputies and was sentenced to be executed. He appealed and lost. Then he started acting strange, hoping to get off with an insanity plea. He actually convinced the jailers he had gone insane.

The townspeople were getting angry because Ratliff had not yet been executed. They were further aggravated when Ratliff was transferred to the county jail in nearby Eastland. He stayed there a while and convinced his jailers that he had become paralyzed.

Eventually, he managed to steal a pistol from one of them. He shot and killed one of the jailers. He and the other jailer engaged in hand-to-hand fighting. Townspeople watched from outside the jail as the two men fought. Ratliff was finally beaten unconscious and put back in his cell.

The townspeople had enough at that point. A day later they overpowered law enforcement, broke into the jail, and pulled Ratliff out. He was taken to a vacant lot and hanged to death. Even that didn’t go smoothly. The first time they tried the rope broke and Ratliff fell to the ground. The second time, on Nov. 19, the rope didn't break and Ratliff was hung to death. It was the last known public lynching in Texas history.

The bank is still in operation but has moved. The building was eventually torn down and a new building was put up. The new building today houses an auto parts store and there is a historical marker on the outside. There is a marker in Eastland, marking the spot where Ratliff was lynched.

Note: I happened to run across the historical marker in Cisco on a recent trip to Texas. That was something I had to investigate. This story is based on newspaper accounts that I was able to find, as well as other websites.

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