1954 | A Bank Robbery in Maurice Turns Bloody
Louisiana Bank Heist Ends in Car Chase, Shootout and Two Deaths
5 MINUTE READ | NUMBER 5
While visiting my sister in Milton, I ran to the meat market for her. In the checkout line, I met an elderly man who immediately wanted to know who my momma was. He didn't know her, but we got to chitchatting about local news. It eventually led to him telling me about a bank robbery in Maurice he witnessed as a kid. I didn't think much about it until he told me about the car chase and shootout. He had me at "car chase." Here’s the story.
Shattered Small-town Peace
1954
On February 17, 1954, around noon in New Iberia, Kenneth Holdcraft hailed a taxi to Maurice. The 30-year-old war veteran provided the cabbie with an intersection outside Maurice to stop at, intending to meet a friend. But, when they reached the corner and found no one there, Holdcraft asked the driver, Alton Gonsoulin, to drive down a gravel road. Holdcraft then pulled a gun on his driver, gagged, and bound Gonsoulin, leaving him by the roadside.
Holdcraft proceeded to the local branch of the Abbeville Bank and Trust Company in Maurice. Inside, he encountered Dr. J.A. Villien, the bank manager, who happened to be alone. Holdcraft approached the 84-year-old manager and demanded, "Do you have a substantial amount of money here? Well, I'm here to take it."1
The bandit, revealing his gun, informed Villien that he had recently been released from Angola Prison and needed money. He instructed the bank manager to enter the vault and retrieve the cash. While Villien was collecting the money, Phillip Trahan, a bank teller who had returned from his break, approached the robber and attempted to overpower him.
Shots Fired
"Trahan had backed up against the wall with the robber and was trying to hit him with a heavy iron bar which was lying on the floor," recalled Villien to the Lafayette Daily Advertiser. "He managed to give the robber a blow on the head, but the bar was too heavy to handle. Somewhere in the scuffle, the bandit's gun had been knocked to the floor. I was trying to grab the bandit around the neck, and just as my hand slipped around his chin, I was able to gouge into one of his eyes."
Holdcraft produced another gun and discharged it, hitting Trahan in the heart, causing him to collapse to the ground. Then he turned the firearm on Villien and fired, hitting him slightly above the heart. Holdcraft instructed Villien to retrieve the money, despite his injuries and bleeding.
"There was a bag filled with silver, but he didn't want that, so I emptied the bag and put the currency in it," said Villien. "I didn't give him all of it. I left $5,000 in the vault."
Holdcraft grabbed the money, cut the phone lines, and ran to the taxi parked outside the bank, speeding off.
The Chase Begins
Villien followed Holdcraft to the door, where he cried out for assistance. Alerted by Villien's shouts, two nearby farmers quickly came to his aid. One of the farmers pursued Holdcraft, while the other stayed behind to support Villien.
The farmer chasing Holdcraft, unfortunately, lost track of him along some backroads. However, Maurice police chief Robert Dartez picked up the pursuit but he too lost Holdcraft down a country road north of Maurice.
Back in Town
After the incident at the bank, Rev. A.O. Sigur, an assistant chaplain at the Catholic Student Center of Southwestern Louisiana Institute, happened to be passing through Maurice. Noticing the commotion, he decided to stop and offer help. Sigur was invited inside the bank, where he provided last rites to Trahan, who had been fatally wounded. Fr. Sigur then turned his attention to Villien sitting in a chair, attempting to stop blood flowing from his wound. Fr. Sigur administered the last rites to Villien before the bank manager was transported to a hospital in nearby Abbeville for surgery.2
On the Road Near the Vermilion-Lafayette Parish Line
Early Wednesday morning, Blackie Cormier spotted an Oldsmobile parked on the highway’s shoulder. Several hours later, when he realized the car was still there, Cormier reported it as abandoned to the State Police. He remained with the vehicle while a state trooper and a wrecker were dispatched to investigate. When the trooper and Cormier briefly left the car to locate the lost wrecker, Holdcraft appeared and exchanged the taxi for the Oldsmobile.3
As the trooper and Cormier were returning to the car, they noticed the Oldsmobile speeding past them. Trooper Edwin Guidry pursued the vehicle while hearing news reports about the bank robbery unfold on his radio. Attempting to apprehend Holdcraft, Guidry called for backup and coordinated with another trooper to block the narrow road ahead.
Realizing he was trapped, Holdcraft abandoned the Oldsmobile at Cypress Island and desperately attempted to escape through a canal, clutching his rifle and a bag of stolen money. He fired a few shots at the troopers, grazing the patrol car's windshield. The troopers repeatedly commanded Holdcraft to halt, but he continued to flee, prompting them to return fire.
Holdcraft dropped the money bag near a fence and attempted to flee along a levee. Additional officers arrived at the scene and opened fire on the bandit. Holdcraft collapsed to the ground, having been struck by gunfire four times.
Aftermath
After the encounter with Holdcraft, the troopers identified the robber and searched the abandoned Oldsmobile. Their search revealed a bag weighing approximately 250 pounds, containing coins and a second bag with $15,000 in cash that may have been stolen from a Lafayette grocery store. Additionally, they discovered a letter addressed to Holdcraft's wife. In the letter, Holdcraft confessed his intention to rob a bank and that he expected to be killed. "Please raise my son to be a good boy," the letter stated. 4
In addition to being a father of three, Holdcraft had previously attended LSU and had experience as the manager of a loan office in Baton Rouge. He later relocated to Lafayette to work at another loan office.
As the investigation progressed, authorities started to establish connections between Holdcraft and other robberies that had taken place in the vicinity. Eventually, the FBI arrested Earl Randolph on suspicion of being an accomplice in the bank robbery. Randolph was allegedly responsible for parking the getaway car used by Holdcraft during the crime.5
The robbery and chase unfolded within approximately 45 minutes, leaving a lasting impact on the small community of Maurice. As onlookers observed the events unfolding at the bank, one bystander was overheard expressing surprise, remarking, "You read about robberies every day in the papers in big cities, but who would think a little town like Maurice would have one." ▪️
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Louisiana Place Names: Popular, Unusual, and Forgotten Stories of Towns, Cities, Plantations, Bayous, and Even Some Cemeteries
by Clare D'Artois Leeper
Without a doubt, this is my new favorite book. I keep it by my couch, and I read a new entry when I have a second or two. The story above centers around Maurice. Did you know that the small town was named after Maurice Villien (recognize that last name?), who married Marie Chatey? Both had extensive land holdings in the area and the town was opened next to their plantation. This book has nearly 300 pages of entries like that one that will hold your attention and entertain you. Get it here.
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➡️ Visit our archives for more stories from Louisiana's Past
Jim LaCaffinie, “Vivid Details of Maurice Bank Robbery Recalled by Dr. Villien One Week Later,” The Daily Advertiser, February 24, 1954.
Jim LaCaffinie, “Maurice Bank Robbery Renews Probe of Lafayette Theft,” The Daily Advertiser, February 18, 1954.
“Maurice Bank Robber Slays Cashier, Wounds President; Killed in Flight,” Abbeville Meridional, February 18, 1954.
Jim LaCaffinie, “Maurice Bank Robbery Renews Probe of Lafayette Theft,” The Daily Advertiser, February 18, 1954.
“Accomplice in Bank Robbery Is Arrested,” The Monroe News-Star, February 19, 1954.