This is the seventh and final article in a seven-part series of stories surrounding the mystery of who robbed the Oak Saloon in 1910, running from June 18 through July 30.
After their arrests, William Bringhurst and Willard Thompson struck a plea deal with the Salt Lake County district attorney. They promised to plead guilty to robbing the Clift House in Salt Lake City if no other complaints for robbery were filed against them. They were never charged with the holdup of the Oak in Park City.
In a remarkable confession made at the state penitentiary on June 30, 1910, the two men cleared up the mystery of many crimes that baffled the police during the winter and early spring.
The pair voluntarily admitted to more than 25 holdups and petty thefts and accepted responsibility for a reign of terror under the very nose of law enforcement officers. Bringhurst had been sentenced to serve 12 years in prison, while Thompson was condemned to the limit of 20 years.
Bringhurst commenced his prison sentence but was soon paroled, only to be returned to the prison as a parole violator for staging a robbery of the Murray State Bank in 1914. His sentence was terminated in April 1917.
Thompson’s career at the prison was one of continued rebellion. Once he violated parole and twice escaped. He was paroled for the last time on Nov. 22, 1920.
Following their paroles, the Utah convicts disappeared from the state and were not heard from until their arrest in Los Angeles in connection with the killing of two police officers in that city.
In December 1921, Patrolman Harry Clester and W. L. Brett were shot down as they were transporting five men to police headquarters. The bandit gang was under arrest for attempting to steal some revolvers from a hardware store.
One of the officers was riding on the running board of the robber’s car when Thompson pulled a gun and fired. The other patrolman, following in a police car, closed in and was mortally wounded in a gun battle with the thieves. Both policemen died a few minutes after they were taken to a local hospital.
After 12 hours of deliberation, a jury found Bringhurst and Thompson guilty of murder in the first degree for their part in the shootout.
The two men offered no witnesses or testimony in their defense. On June 2, 1922, Judge Pat Parker sentenced the murderers to “hang by the neck until dead.”
Executions in California were historically held on a Friday. Thompson and Bringhurst were scheduled to die on Good Friday, April 18, 1924. California Gov. Richardson prolonged their lives until the following Monday, after Easter Sunday.
Exactly 14 years to the day that they robbed the Oak Saloon, William A. Bringhurst and Willard Thompson were hanged simultaneously at San Quentin Penitentiary.
The two condemned murderers mounted the 13 steps of the prison gallows and stood quietly, side by side, while their nooses were adjusted. At 10:15 a.m. on April 21, 1924, hidden guards cut the cords, which released the traps and the two dropped together into eternity.
Steve Leatham is a Park City Mountain researcher.