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How a brave country cop helped halt Peter and Doug Morgan and the After Dark Bandit robberies

The After Dark Bandit had run police ragged holding up banks and TABs across Victoria. But when a quick-thinking cop cornered him in a Bendigo alley, it would lead to an incredible twist being revealed.

Face to face with the After Dark Bandit

For two years, the Morgan twins, Peter and Doug, had run police ragged performing holdups across the length and breadth of Victoria, disappearing into the bush and leaving no clues for investigators.

But the stakes were dramatically raised on April 27, 1979 when Peter Morgan put two bullets into Sen-Constable Ray Koch.

What followed was 18 hours of some of the most frenetic police work ever recorded — revealed for the very first time in a new book by Geoff Wilkinson and Ross Brundrett, Double Trouble — the amazing true story of the After Dark Bandit — although it would take the bravery of a single, unarmed senior constable to put an end to the chase.

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By the autumn of 1979, the After Dark Bandit was running the police ragged, hitting country targets and disappearing into the bush. Chief Police Commissioner Mick Miller despaired they were no closer to catching him than when the bandit began two years previous.

Double Trouble — the amazing true story of the After Dark Bandit, by Geoff Wilkinson and Ross Brundrett.
Double Trouble — the amazing true story of the After Dark Bandit, by Geoff Wilkinson and Ross Brundrett.

But the stakes were suddenly much higher. A police officer was down and it seemed, overnight, war had been declared.

The After Dark Bandit had descended from gentleman bandit to brazen outlaw and now was acting like a man out of control, shooting Sen-Constable Ray Koch twice in the back with a pistol after the policeman tried to disarm him and then dragging him into the Heathcote CBC Bank to rob it for the third time in nine months.

In the hours that followed, units came from near and far — 200 police in total — to sweep the area southwest of Heathcote in central Victoria.

And by the following day, April 28, before dawn had even broken, it appeared diligent police work had at last uncovered a new lead — a line of inquiry that has remained hidden in police files for 40 years.

Some compelling, mostly circumstantial, evidence had identified a likely suspect — we will call him Soldier X — and every resource available was being thrown at the target.

The suspect was stationed at nearby Puckapunyal and had access to a shack nestled off the same Costerfield Rd where the After Dark Bandit was last seen the previous day.

A security camera image from the Morgans’ raid on a Keilor bank in October 1977.
A security camera image from the Morgans’ raid on a Keilor bank in October 1977.

Armed robbery squad duo Det-Sgt John Beever and Sen-Det Pat Brear made an early morning call to the barracks.

“We had never heard of him at that stage, but all of a sudden he was right in the frame for it. We went to Puckapunyal and the Chief Provost (head of MPs) took us to his room but he wasn’t there.” said Beever.

The longer the morning went on, the hotter Soldier X became as a suspect; for a variety of reasons including the fact that he fitted the physical description of the After Dark Bandit. According to a D24 telex early that morning, the soldier’s description was “5ft 9”, medium build, fair complexion, brown hair, blue eyes and ginger or sandy coloured moustache”. The telex ended with the alert: “Above not for press, above not for press”. And as it turned out, the media never did report on how keen police were to get a hold of soldier X that morning.

Soldier X also rode a Kawasaki motorcycle, similar to one used in some of the hold-ups but what really upped the ante was when a photo of the soldier was shown to Constable John Galvin.

Galvin was one of only two policemen who had seen the After Dark Bandit without his mask, and the other (Koch) was fighting for his life in Bendigo Hospital. “When he (Galvin) saw a picture of the army bloke he didn’t hesitate,” said Beever. “Straight away he said: ‘Yes that’s him’.”

A special circular details the string of robberies.
A special circular details the string of robberies.
Police photofit of Peter Morgan.
Police photofit of Peter Morgan.

Beever though was unconvinced. “He looked good for a while. But when Det-Chief-Sup Phil Bennett (commander of the task force assigned to the After Dark Bandit case) said, “Are you saying that’s him?”, I said ‘no’. He looked good but I said I couldn’t be sure,” recalled Beever, who observed that Bennett seemed more open to accept Galvin’s positive ID.

Bennett’s eagerness to pin Soldier X as the most likely suspect was further fuelled by news that a pistol had been stolen from the Puckapunyal Armoured Regiment magazine, and a telex from D24 (police communication headquarters confirmed that Soldier X had “access to the premises”.

In fact, the edited highlights of the telex reports on the day from D24 make for fascinating reading, as the chain of events unfolded:

5.13am: Koch’s condition “dangerous and deteriorating” Immediate steps will take place if condition becomes critical.

5.34am: name (of suspected soldier) is confirmed …. suspect last seen at Puckapunyal 1400 hours on 26/4/79 (day before shooting) … police raid a shack the soldier sometimes resides in off Costerfield Rd, Heathcote, and a 25 year old woman assists police with their inquiries. The female says she has not seen Soldier X since the day before the shooting.

6.21am: the woman at the shack is to be brought to Russell St.

6.35am: Special Operations to search Soldier X’s room at Puckapunyal.

6.50am: Advise the detective at Bendigo Hospital re the requirement of a dying deposition.

7.35am: Soldier X is in transit on a silver Kawasaki 650cc motor cycle and due to start a course at Bandiana (near Wodonga) on Monday … suspect’s history being photostatted and forwarded.

Peter Morgan menaces staff and customers at the Heathcote CBC in April 26, 1979 including ledgerkeeper Jan Murphy (top right, arms folded) and teller Stephen Spark (top centre).
Peter Morgan menaces staff and customers at the Heathcote CBC in April 26, 1979 including ledgerkeeper Jan Murphy (top right, arms folded) and teller Stephen Spark (top centre).

7.50am: Melbourne specialist inspected Senior Constable Koch … now does not believe condition is as serious as first thought, but is doubtful that he will regain consciousness before Monday.

8.40am: the family of Koch has been called to the hospital as condition is deteriorating.

10.20am: The motorcycle of Soldier X is located at an address in Jerilderie (where his parents live).

Amazingly, while police focused on Soldier X, Peter Morgan had managed to slip past the police dragnet and head back to the designated pick-up rendezvous at the back of the church at Axe Creek (near Bendigo).

But when his brother failed to arrive as the designated time (because of roadblocks), Peter decided to go off script and hitch a ride to Bendigo

With a population close to 100,000, Bendigo police number as many as 90 but on that Saturday morning, when Sen-Constable Rick Hasty began his shift, there was just a handful left to keep the peace while the remainder of the station members were part of the massive police presence which continued its sweep of bush land on the other side of Heathcote. The idea that the After Dark Bandit would even consider the notion of backtracking through the police line and then head further away from Melbourne, to Bending 40 kilometres away, was so audacious that police command had not even contemplated it.

Doug Morgan.
Doug Morgan.
Peter Morgan in a photo taken around 1980.
Peter Morgan in a photo taken around 1980.

What can be safely said is that Morgan could very well have slipped through Bendigo unnoticed if not for a red traffic light. Hasty was just one block away from the police station {back then, situated on busy Pall Mall) when the lights turned red.

“While I was stopped I saw this bloke with the blue suitcase … I don’t know why, but I twigged to him. I’ve said to people since it was like ESP. I knew … that’s the only way I can describe it.”

He quickly did a U-turn and blocked Morgan in an alleyway off the busy main street. Only after confronting Morgan did he remember that he was unarmed.

As he explained: “I don’t think there were any (firearms) left at the station. There was probably 200 coppers looking for this bloody bloke on a motorbike and there was probably only five or six coppers in Bendigo.”

As Hasty opened Morgan’s suitcase he looked up to see Morgan produce a pistol from behind his left side, which he “jammed straight into my guts”.

It was shortly before 11am on a Saturday — the busiest morning of the week in the city’s shopping precinct — and yet no one noticed two desperate men fighting for their lives in the dead-end laneway.

Peter Morgan poses for police in his holdup disguise.
Peter Morgan poses for police in his holdup disguise.
1982: Ray Koch and Sen Constable Rick Hasty with their awards, presented at Government House.
1982: Ray Koch and Sen Constable Rick Hasty with their awards, presented at Government House.

“It was on all right,” recalled Hasty.

“If he had pulled the trigger then he would have blown my back bone right out; he had it right in against my guts.”

The only problem for Morgan was that he was left-handed and couldn’t release the pistol’s safety catch. Once Hasty had the upper hand, Morgan quickly succumbed, “I pushed him up against the wall and as soon as I got his hands up he said: ‘Well, you’ll make a hero of yourself ‘.

Remarkably at that very same moment, police command believed they were closing the net on their prime suspect. But not in Bendigo, they were focusing on a dusty NSW town, more than 250km away where Soldier X had been located.

11am: Inspector McDonald and two other members of Air wing to fly to Jerilderie (mother’s address).

11am: Metropolitan Crime Squad on standby ….

11am: From Bendigo, “we have offender in back of van with detective.”

The Morgan brothers.
The Morgan brothers.

From Det-Sup-Insp Bennett: “He is to be thoroughly searched and he is not to wash his hands and his clothing is to be kept in its original form until Homicide Squad arrives there. Is his name ……..(Mentions name of Soldier X)? At this stage all units to stay in given locations (suspect at Bendigo CIB office).

11.20am: Photographic and FSL and fingerprints attending at Bendigo.

11.21am: The suspect has admitted to the Heathcote robbery … he has given his name as Peter Kay Morgan.

It must have come as quite a shock to everyone involved in the investigation as the full import of those scant D24 messages sunk in. While a police task force of more than 200 was sweeping the search area and a crack team was heading to Jerilderie to speak to their prime suspect, an unarmed senior constable had caught public enemy number one all by himself. Bennett’s firm belief that Soldier X was the After Dark Bandit could be seen when even though Bendigo was reporting the capture, he still asked whether it was his man.

Doug (holding the motorbike handlebar) shows police where he hid his getaway bike in the bush during his re-enactment of the Warburton holdup six months later.  Incredibly, the Kawasaki started straight away although his minder, Sen-Det John Kapetanovski, wasn't about to let him take it for a spin.
Doug (holding the motorbike handlebar) shows police where he hid his getaway bike in the bush during his re-enactment of the Warburton holdup six months later. Incredibly, the Kawasaki started straight away although his minder, Sen-Det John Kapetanovski, wasn't about to let him take it for a spin.

No doubt though Bennett was just glad they had got their man, although the biggest surprise was still to come. Police later that same day would find a photograph when searching Morgan’s property, a happy snap of Peter Morgan enjoying a drink with his mirror double.

Double Trouble: The amazing true story of the After Dark Bandit by Geoff Wilkinson and Ross Brundrett, Wilkinson Publishing RRP $29.99

Original URL: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/how-a-brave-unarmed-cop-helped-halt-peter-and-doug-morgan-and-the-after-dark-bandit-robberies/news-story/52571293c263090e9750a8eba14d3484