John Dillinger Public Enemy No I: GREAT CRIMES AND TRIALS

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Discover the story behind a man who turned to crime out of boredom but then found it too addictive to give up. John Dillinger blazed a trail of crime across the States, robbing banks with a violent and authoritative ease.

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John Dillinger
born: 22-06-1903
birth place: Indiana, USA
died: 22-07-1934

Although it is fair to say that few citizens were killed because of Dillinger’s exploits, that wasn’t to say that innocent people, either those working in banks or passers by weren’t traumatised by the experience of being caught up in a raid.

On January 15, 1934, Officer Patrick O’Malley was shot and killed by Dillinger during a bank raid in East Chicago. Although there is some contention over who was actually responsible for the family man’s death, Dillinger is reported as saying "I've always felt bad about O'Malley getting killed, but only because of his wife and kids. ...He stood right in the way and kept throwing slugs at me. What else could I do?"

Ten days later on January 25th, 1934, Dillinger, along with Pierpont, Makley and Clark were arrested in Tucson. They were split up, Dillinger himself being extradited by plane to Indiana for the murder of Officer O’Malley while the others went to Lima prison, Ohio. Dillinger didn’t go quietly, needing to be shackled and dragged to the aircraft. During this time on trial, the famous photograph was taken of Dillinger putting his arm on prosecutor Robert Estill's shoulder when suggested to him by reporters.

Jail Break
After residing in ‘escape-proof’ Crown Point prison in Indiana, Dillinger eventually absconded in an episode which has become part of gangland folklore, when he allegedly threatened guards with a wooden gun blackened by shoe polish. The mobster himself was quoted as referring to it as his ‘pea shooter’.

Later, evidence emerged that his lawyer had arranged for Dillinger's escape with cash bribes and the wooden gun was simply a cover story.

But it was still an audacious jailbreak with Dillinger stealing the sheriff's car and racing off to Chicago. J. Edgar Hoover was ecstatic, because driving a stolen vehicle across state lines was a federal crime, making Dillinger eligible for a pursuit by the FBI.

Continuing their spree, hitting banks in the Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Mason City and Iowa, Dillinger ended up wounded in the shoulder during the Iowa robbery. He then lay low with girlfriend, Billie Frechette at the Lincoln Court Apartments in St. Paul. However, the caretaker of the building was suspicious and, after reporting to the authorities, two FBI agents paid a call on Dillinger’s apartment.

Frechette opened the door and the agents asked to talk to ‘Carl Hellman’ - an alias Dillinger used. At first Frechette told the agents he wasn't there and when they then asked to speak with her she told them to wait while she dressed. After a few minutes, Dillinger cleared the way with a machine gun and he and Frechette escaped with an agent receiving a leg wound. After a brief recuperation the couple decided to head to Mooresville, Dillinger’s home town, which they believed would be the least likely place the FBI would be searching for them.

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Links relating to this biography:
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