On a fall day in Arlington, Virginia, the life of 27-year-old Police Officer Israel Peter Gonzalez Sr. was cut tragically short. It was October 25, 1972, and Officer Gonzalez was conducting a routine check at the Arlington Trust Company in Crystal City when he walked into a bank robbery in progress. The perpetrators, a father and his two sons, had meticulously planned the heist, even cutting the bank's phone lines to disable the alarm system.
Disguised as telephone company employees, the robbers confronted Officer Gonzalez as he entered the bank. One of the suspects opened fire, striking the young officer multiple times. Despite his grave injuries, Officer Gonzalez managed to return fire, and it is believed he wounded one of the assailants, as a trail of blood was later found at the scene. Sadly, Officer Gonzalez succumbed to his injuries, leaving behind a wife and a grieving community. The bank manager was also shot and killed during the robbery, and a teller was wounded.
The investigation that followed identified the robbers as the Tuller family. Along with a fourth accomplice, William W. Graham, their crime spree did not end at the bank. The group fled to Houston, Texas, where they murdered an airline ticket agent and hijacked a plane to Cuba. They remained fugitives for three years before returning to the United States and surrendering to authorities.
The wheels of justice turned, and Charles S. Tuller and his sons, Jonathan and Bryce, were convicted in 1975 and handed life sentences. Charles Tuller would later die in prison. The final suspect, William W. Graham, who had been living under an assumed name, was brought to justice nearly 21 years after the murders. In 1993, Graham pleaded guilty to two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder, finally closing the last chapter on a violent rampage that had left a lasting scar on the Arlington community.
