Title supplied by cataloger. Gerald L. Richards, 19, was booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon after a skirmish with hotel employees over a $32.00 hotel bill. Upon his arrest, the 19-year-old medically discharged soldier confessed to two slayings, identifying the first victim as Charles Vuykov, and the second as Tom Nitsch. The shooting in the Biltmore lobby was a completely separate incident, which occurred as Andy Martin, assistant manager, and Milton Sweat, house detective, questioned Richards about the hotel bill which he had run up in a single day. The youth allegedly pulled a German .25 automatic from his waist and fired, the bullet grazing Martin's cheek. Then turning the gun on Sweat, jammed it into his stomach and pulled the trigger, but there were no more bullets inside the gun. Richards was taken into custody and booked. Photograph dated November 12, 1947.
Type
Image
Format
1 photographic print :b&w ;24 x 20 cm. on sheet 26 x 21 cm. Photographic prints
Millennium Biltmore Hotel (Los Angeles, Calif.) Young adults--California--Los Angeles Murder--Investigation--California--Los Angeles Assault and battery--California--Los Angeles Murderers--California--Los Angeles Murder--California--Los Angeles Los Angeles Evening Herald and Express photographs Herald-Examiner Collection photographs Portrait photographs
If you're wondering about permissions and what you can do with this item, a good starting point is the "rights information" on this page. See our terms of use for more tips.
Share your story
Has Calisphere helped you advance your research, complete a project, or find something meaningful? We'd love to hear about it; please send us a message.
