Las Vegas Jailer Does Act Worthy of Marx Brothers

One of two brothers dubbed the “Marx Brothers Bandits” in connection with a string of bank robberies in California and Nevada was mistakenly released from the Clark County Detention Center, police said.

Lawrence Edward Lockridge, 56, was freed when a corrections officer misread a jail form he thought indicated that Lockridge should be released from custody. Jail officials said a closer examination would have revealed that the inmate was to be released only to federal marshals.

Lockridge of Glendale was arrested March 17 moments after a holdup at a branch of Nevada Savings & Loan in which $2,800 was taken.

Bail was set at $175,000 for Lockridge, who also is a suspect, along with his brother, in about a dozen Los Angeles-area bank robberies.

Considered Dangerous

Lockridge also was charged in Las Vegas with kidnaping, auto theft and the use of a deadly weapon in the commission of a crime. Authorities said the suspect should be considered extremely dangerous.

His brother, Roger Lockridge, also of Glendale, is being held in Los Angeles on two bank robbery charges, federal officials said.

The brothers’ nickname came from law enforcement officials because the bandits in the Southern California holdups wore curly wigs and exaggerated makeup.

Jail officials said that when Lockridge was released Thursday, corrections officers returned the blue suit, white shirt and tie and the bulletproof vest he had been wearing at the time of his capture.