Sloan's corner store murder

See the hair salon in the middle of this photo? It was the scene of an infamous crime that left three dead in 1951.

   Luckie was a street hood born Thomas Lucinkewich in St. Lambert in 1927. 

   His father, a Spaniard, died 10 years later of TB and Thomas Luckie - as he was known - had a financially-challenged mom who took her six kids to Goose Village.

   Luckie didn't turn out so great. He went to Shawbridge as a juvenile delinquent at age 12 and his mom died when he was 24. 

   He was depressed about this and decided to commit a robbery. 

   On January 1951 he went out with his girlfriend's brother Thomas Mullins, 23. a plumber with a long criminal record. 

   Mullins was living on Wellington with his widowed mother, who had nine children. They were looking for a place to rob and an acquaintance named Thomas Paris suggested they visit Sloan's depanneur at 1986 St. Antoine Street West, which was long owned by William Sloan, 65.
   Sloan once fought in the Russian Army. His sister had died in a recent car accident in Montreal, as did his wife's nephew Alexander Beaton.

   The building is still there near the Georges Vanier metro. 

   Paris told the would-be robbing duo that Sloan was unarmed and would comply by emptying his till. When the duo arrived at the store on January 22, 1951, 

   Sloan was in the back listening to the radio for news about two accidents. One day earlier his mother-in-law had been killed by a bus and on the same day his son-in-law was killed in a separate car accident. 

William Sloan

   He was probably not in the mood for bullshit. But soon Luckie and Mullins were fumbling and bumbling with the register. Sloan attempted to stop them and Luckie shot the store owner Sloan with a .38 and Sloan later died in hospital. 

   The duo fled but the guy who steered them there, Paris, feared he'd be implicated in the crime and informed on them to the police. In court, Luckie claimed his gun went off by accident as he was ducking Sloan, who was about to fire, but a ballistics experts said it was impossible. 

   The duo were found guilty by a jury in 15 minutes and sentenced to hang. Many, including legendary city councillor Frank Hanley, lobbied to have Mullins escape the noose, seeing as he didn't do much in the robbery, but the two were hanged side by side nonetheless at the Bordeaux prison on May 2, 1952.