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Decision Robber Made to Play a Prank on His Victims Ends Up Costing Him His Life
In 1928, a young man who had turned to a life of crime died in the midst of a robbery while trying to get himself a laugh
Jokesters are always going to joke, and the desire to get a laugh, even in the most inappropriate situations can be too overwhelming to ignore. Nearly a century ago, a robber made a grave mistake when he decided to play a joke on the group of people he was holding up, which resulted in his near immediate death.
In 1928, 28-year-old Ernest Fields was at an unfortunate crossroads in his life. A former soda jerk, he had more recently made darker decisions and was pursuing faster money as a holdup man. Sadly for him, his new career came to an abrupt end just after New Year’s after he couldn’t resist a joke and it cost him his life.
Fields entered a drug store and relieved it of the contents of its cash register. He did so despite them being busy at the time. Reminiscing back to his days behind the soda counter, he landed on something to give himself a laugh. At gunpoint, he demanded that the 11 people behind the shop pour themselves sodas and drink them down, reliving his past life.
As the robbery victims were consuming their carbonated beverages, it allowed enough time for police, who had been notified, to arrive at the crime scene. As the criminal tried to leave the drug store with his loot, he encountered four cops focused in on him. A volley of shots erupted with a total of 51 bullets leaving the guns of the cops. Three of them found their marks, and when the smoke cleared, Fields was lying dead — a victim of his poor decision making and ill-timed joke.
