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About Herald and news. (Klamath Falls, Or.) 1942-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 21, 1965)
Weekly/ Family February 21,1965 I DISARMED A A stin ESIDES TENSE THE several persons froze. The miner was holding the-tip of the wire inches from the battery. A slight move- ment— the dynamite teould yo off! The man opposit me, there were in the bar. Suddenl I was desperate aware that their depend on wha I was going in the next few minute lives well as to say to this as mine detective foll He get And man tran of dynamite I looked down at his hands. He had two sticks partially concealed in his right pocke Two wires led from them toa pair of flashlight batteries.in his left hand. He held one of the wires against the bottom of one battery he pose the bare tip of the other wire a coupl of inches away from the second battery. If he had a blasting cap inserted in the dynamite, shor the wires would blow us all to eternity. Don Runyon had inserted that blasting cap. He with a miner&# knowledge of explosives man a desperat was In 14 years of polic work I had run into a lot of dangerous situations, but nothing lke this. If somebody takes a shot at you, “Ty it my © I certain was think you from a a between contact a man he mayb armed miss. with you stand But when dynamite— as a foot wou thre time “ away mentioned, every- ed thing depende on what I said to him. The story began about 3:30 p.m. last Oct. 9 when Runyon telephone the polic station in Oroville, Calif. and asked for Russ Bergman, a fello officer of mine, “I’m at a bar on Montgomery Street,” Runyo said. “I want to talk to you about and my family. I’ve got a couple of sticks of dynamite ready, if you pull anything I’ll kill mysel and everybod around me.” Bergman knew Runyon’s proble Only the day before he had talked to Mrs. Runyon, who told him her estranged husband and who had the chief interviewed his wife. “Who else knows i an fron of t kne\ com: spot a had obtained dynamite and had threatened to blow up her and their three little she- agree to.a reconciliation. girls if Capt Robert Phippe decided not to send Bergma to the bar. Runyon, he reasoned, might hold a grudge agains the officer o “ just . situ: muc “] Runyon?” I do wou asked. oy him,” I volunteered, “Well, here’s what you do,” the captai said. “Try-to lure him out of the bar and into the squa car. Fix the two-way radio with -a-toothpick-or-something-so- mike_will:stay rea you here. Then try to drive him into an open, and we can unpopulate area; stall until we get there—and try to grab that dynamite! But take him-out. of downtown. N telling ho many he& kill if something goes wrong there.” I wasn& able to find a way to kee the radio open, didn’t bother with it long. Every minute counte in getting Runyon and the explosive away from innocent peopl While driving to the bar, | kept telling myself that Runyon was just bluffing. But as apprdache him and saw him lift th realized I was dealin with a dynamite half out.of his pocket had of-disarming him vanished when I berserk man, Any-idea ‘vealized that the explosiv wa “60 percen dynamite,” a type easy to detonate and extremely powerful. It might kill everybod “I know kep mar _the . bu in the building. Runyo -warily accepte my explanation that Bergman was busy transporting. prisoners and had been unable to come. “I want to talk to you, Don,” I said, trying to sound calm. “No tricks,” he - promise that. “Okay, but we&# going some plac your police buddies won know.” His eyes were alert and his movements precise I tried to figure-out what was going owin-his mind; He had said he wanted to die—yet he was willing to talk to me. That might set him off? offered What hope— innocent for all gesture of or us. word But what might rest fing I th - “V a desperat sticks of prime He was t 4 Fanily“Wee February 21, man jum Run wit dynamit pocket this detective’s to tk in assign sto him fro commit suicide— mas murder was to a 1965 reali oe hi ny with Ther talki ther appr ‘natu ILLUSTRA
