In January of 1974, Stanley Edward Sandage, a 33-year-old male truck driver for Whitfield Tank Lines, was found shot to death in his tank truck at a rest area near Flagstaff, Arizona. The motive appeared to be robbery, as $42 had been stolen from his wallet. What marked this crime with a particularly chilling signature was an 'X' that had been painted on the window of his truck before he was killed.
The investigation quickly led to two brothers, 25-year-old Randy and 23-year-old James
Greenawalt. The pair were apprehended in Tempe, Arizona, after they attempted to use Stanley Sandage's MasterCharge card to purchase stereo equipment. A search of their vehicle uncovered a. 32-caliber pistol, which was later positively identified as the weapon used to murder Sandage. Authorities also found a. 243-caliber rifle in the vehicle. A third individual, 33-year-old George Sanders, was arrested in connection with the case for federal firearms violations and credit card fraud.
In a move to avoid the death penalty, Randy Greenawalt pleaded guilty to the murder of Stanley Sandage. As part of his plea agreement, he was sentenced to life in prison and testified against his brother, James, who had maintained his innocence. Randy's testimony was crucial in securing a conviction against his brother, who was also sentenced to life imprisonment at the Florence State Prison. The case against the Greenawalt brothers also connected them to the murder of another truck driver, Henry A. Weber, in Mississippi County, Arkansas, just days before Sandage's death.
