HIP-HOP CLYDE

  A gent we'll call Hip-Hop Clyde was a big man for the 60's era. About six-three, he weighed near 250. With his size came strength and amazing agility. They say he was also quite a dancer.

 Clyde was a criminal from Ft. Myers who would visit us when things got too hot in the Land of Tom E. Fortunately, the visits were infrequent. Clyde was good at what he did.

 What he did was crack safes and he did it in a unique fashion. His unique MO showed that Clyde had been there since few others could do the crime like him. 

 If it was an office safe, of the 250 to 300 pound variety, he'd just hoist it up on his shoulder and carry it home. If he couldn't comfortably do that, he'd use the method that definitely pegged him. He'd chop off the hinges with an ax, then pop open the door. Sounds impossible, but a durable, sharp ax in Clyde's hands was as good as a combination. I saw the results of his efforts twice. Clean cuts that looked like he hadn't taken more than two swipes on each hinge.

 Clyde was hard to catch because first, he was a good thief, and second, he could run so fast. He'd outrun the cops in Ft Myers twice that we knew of and nearly dumped us one night off of 5th Ave No and the railroad tracks. If he hadn't gotten his foot caught in the ties, and yanked his leg  off he would've. Yanked his leg off? 

 Oh yeah, that was the other unique thing about Hip-Hop Clyde. All his strength and athletic feats were accomplished by a man with only one leg.

  Editor's Note: Chester Keene, after reading the this, has added this verification.
  Chester says: "When I was a rookie cop in Ft. Myers, I, along with another officer chased Ol' Clyde on foot down Booker's Alley. He hadn't been fitted for his wooden leg at the time and was on crutches. We were gaining on him when he threw down his crutch and outran us on one leg, pushing off the sides of the buildings and rebounding forward. 
  After he came to Naples. I saw him once on the street. He just gave me a Gotcha Boy grin."