Floyd M Armstrong, “Loitering”, 28 June 1957

The police had two crimes to solve and no leads, so they drove around town, picking up suspicious characters. That’s how come Floyd Armstrong, a 55-year-old dishwasher who was unable to supply a convincing reason for his presence in the streets, found himself under arrest for loitering, pending further charges that might be brought against him.

In the early hours of the morning, someone had broken into two cars in the Castleton parking lot and tried, but failed, to hot-wire them. Little damage was done, and nothing was stolen. Later that day, thieves had entered the home of Charles Gallagher on Willard avenue (via the rear screen door) and stolen a roll of pennies, an envelope containing $1.50, a jar of old coins, four boxes of .22 shells and half a box of .32 shells.

The police had nothing to go on, and Floyd almost certainly had nothing to do with the crimes. In the end, he was released and the culprits were never apprehended. A black day for justice.