William C. Knofel, alias Clarence Junior Richards, was arrested or captured five times, was released from the Silver Bow County jail once, and escaped three times between December 1954 and March 1956, when he was finally sent to Montana State Prison.

Later in the 1950s, after his release from prison, Knofel continued to help himself to others' property and get board and room at the county jail. This was also the time when Evel Knievel began making headlines for his assorted activities. Rumors have it that a local newspaper reporter (some say it was the legendary Bill Clark) hung the moniker, "Awful Knofel" on William C., and it stuck.

Our story begins on December 23, 1954, when Knofel was extradited from California to Butte after being arrested in Los Angeles. He was the prime suspect in the murder of Quong On, 80, who was known by everyone in Butte as "Old Charlie."

FBI agents had apprehended Knofel in LA on a warrant charging him with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution for murder.

Authorities in Butte confronted Knofel with a witness, Arnell Sumpter, of St. Louis, who was in Butte on the day of the murder. Sumpter told officers, in the presence of Knofel, that Knofel had admitted having a part in the murder of Quong On, and that he told Sumpter about it in Knofel's hotel room shortly after it happened.

Sumpter, who was also being held in the county jail as a material witness, had been extradited from St. Louis early in December.

The apartment of Quong On at 25 East Mercury had been ransacked by thieves. His body was found Sunday morning, May 2, 1954, beside the road leading to the Butte Gun Club's range near Rocker. He had been beaten and strangled. There was a deep gash over his right eye. According to Coroner Rudy Sayatovic, an autopsy had determined that Quong died of a cerebral hemorrhage.

Mark Hampton, who lived at the Gun Club, said he drove the road about 9:15 that morning and did not see the body. He did say that he saw "a late model car leaving the area at a high rate of speed."

Jack Collins, a friend of Quong, said the old man had been robbed about a month earlier, in April, as he was entering his apartment. The thieves got over $250. Police also had received a report three months earlier that Quong had been strong-armed and robbed.

Apparently the police concluded there was no need for follow-up investigations on those incidents. Now, in this investigation, the police believed, according to the newspaper, that it was probably these same thieves who had killed him.

Quong owned considerable property on Mercury street, and according to Collins, had recently received a check from his son in California for $1,800.

"It was his habit," Police Chief Bart Riley said, "to keep large sums of money in his living quarters. He usually put small sums in a paper bag, covered the money with pieces of clothing such as socks and handkerchiefs or even wads of newspaper, and cached them in various places around the apartment."

According to Riley, "Everything in the apartment had been thoroughly ransacked, two trunks had been opened, the contents strewn about the floor, and everything was overturned and searched."

Police officers theorized that the thieves may have been frustrated in their search for the money and attempted to force Quong to tell them where he had hidden it. Then, after they killed him they carried him to the car, drove to Rocker, and dumped his body alongside the road.

"It wouldn't take much of a blow to put the old man out of operation," one officer said.

After Knofel's arraignment on the murder charge, bond was set at $15,000, which he was unable to pay. He was placed in the county jail, where he sat for almost eleven months, until November 15, 1955.

On the day the trial was to begin, Judge John B. McClernan dismissed the murder charge against Knofel, and ordered him released from jail. The judge took the action on a motion by County Attorney Nick Rotering, who told the court that police officers were unable to locate the key witness, Arnell Sumpter.

Police in California, Missouri, and other states cooperated in the search for Sumpter, who had left Butte, but he could not be found.

"The unavailability of Sumpter as a witness against Knofel leaves the state without sufficient evidence to justify the expense of a jury trial," Rotering said. "But the dismissal of the charge is no bar to a future refiling of a similar charge should there be enough evidence."

A few months after his release on the murder charge, Knofel was arrested again on February 8, 1956, for questioning about the theft of a shotgun from Sears. When he was arrested, Knofel was carrying a switch blade knife. He was charged with carrying a concealed weapon.

He was tried on the charge in Judge John Selon's court and found guilty. Knofel asked for a 24-hour delay before sentencing, which was rescheduled for February 14. But, the next morning when officers went to take him to court, he wasn't in his cell. The bars had been sawed through and Knofel was gone.

Late that evening or early the next morning, Knofel had escaped with fellow cell mate, John Bruno, who was serving out a $200 fine for drunken driving at $2 per day. When Bruno was arrested he had an alcohol blood count of .36. At the time the highest ever reported in a Butte court.

The two prisoners sawed through bars in their cell which allowed them to enter the jail's boiler room. They ripped away two boards covering a window that led into a court yard adjoining the jail. From there they made their way into a next door rooming house.

According to police, they made their escape at a time when a woman prisoner was suffering from delirium tremens, and "was screaming and causing considerable confusion which drowned out the noise of the sawing."

It was thought that the hacksaw blades were smuggled to them by Knofel's wife, Charlotte, in a two gallon container of milk. (An early Valentine's present).

An all-points bulletin was broadcast throughout Montana and neighboring states.

Police discovered that Bruno's car, a 1950 Dodge with 1955 Idaho plates, which was parked at Rocker, was gone, and probably had been used in the getaway. But they didn't getaway for very long.

Knofel and Bruno drove to the Wallace-Kellogg area. Bruno was well known there and he actually talked to the sheriff of Wallace that morning, just hours after the escape.

Shortly after Wallace police received the bulletin from Butte, they discovered that Bruno had been to the courthouse to purchase 1956 license plates for his car. That afternoon officers spotted Bruno's car in front of a Kellogg bar. The two, who were sitting at the bar and were unarmed, gave up without a struggle, although Knofel at first tried to run when he saw the police.

The pair of escape artists were returned to Butte the following day.

About a month later, on Friday, March 9, Knofel appeared in District Court before Judge T. E. Downey on a charge of grand larceny for the theft of a rifle, valued at 94.50, from Sears-Roebuck on February 7. He asked for court-appointed counsel.

As Sheriff's Deputy Philip Brogan was returning him to his jail cell, Knofel made a break and ran up Alaska street with Brogan in hot pursuit. Near the intersection of Alaska and Copper streets, Keith Johnson, a Butte attorney who was walking down Alaska, ran in front of Knofel, who was looking over his shoulder and didn't see him. Johnson grabbed Knofel and held him until Brogan came to take him into custody.

The next day, Saturday, March 10, Knofel escaped again. It was discovered at 7 a.m. when Deputy Brogan brought him his breakfast.

A bottom hinge bolt on the jail cell door, about seven-eighths of an inch thick, had been sawed through. The heavy, iron door was sprung enough so that Knofel, 5' 6" and weighing 155 pounds, could squirm through. He went 100 feet down a cement corridor and left the jail through a window in a basement garage.

Sheriff Bill Dalling said he believed that Friday's attempted escape was planned by Knofel knowing he would be put into solitary. "He knew the bars in the regular cells were saw-proof," Dalling said, "and he hoped to be placed in the dungeon.' "

Five hacksaw blades were found neatly placed on the floor inside the dark cell near where Knofel sat while he sawed the bolt. Also found was a pile of cigarette butts, "indicating he must have spent some time at his chores."

It was believed he had outside help because, according to Sheriff Dalling, "It appeared unlikely that Knofel could reach his hand through the small cell door openings (which were about three inches square), and still have enough freedom to saw through the thick hinge bolt."

Two days after his third escape, on Monday, March 12, Butte's most wanted man was captured in Helena, on information supplied to Lewis and Clark county by Undersheriff Frank Harper and Deputy James Kello. He was arrested by Sheriff Dave Middlemas in a local hotel where Knofel and his wife were registered as Mr. and Mrs. J. E. Adams.

On the day of the escape they had registered at one hotel in Helena, but left at 2 p.m. Sunday, and took a taxi to the other hotel. The cab company was able to tell officers where the driver had taken them.

Helena officers grabbed Mrs. Knofel in the hall outside their room just as she was leaving.

They then knocked on the door, Knofel answered and was taken into custody. He was unarmed and offered no resistance. His wife, inexplicably, was not charged or taken into custody.

When Butte jailers checked him in this time they took his clothing because, as one officer said, "on occasion Knofel had been known to carry cleverly concealed hacksaw blades." He was issued jail garments.

Knofel was outwardly cheerful and readily compliant with all orders given by the officers. He told deputies, "Sorry I caused the sheriff so much trouble."

He finally stood trial on March 15, 1956, for theft of the rifle. Actually he was charged with receiving the rifle, which he knew was stolen, from a James Cooper, who was the one who had stolen it. A prior charge against Knofel of grand larceny with prior conviction of 2nd degree assault in Yellowstone County was dismissed by County Attorney Nick Rotering because of insufficient evidence.

"Awful Knofel" was sent to the state prison for one year. He was eligible for parole in two months, to continue to pursue his profession in the city with the "user-friendly" jail.

There were no reports on the fate of John Bruno or Charlotte Knofel, nor whether anyone else was ever charged with the murder of "Old Charlie."