Bonnie and Clyde Gang Members Arrested Here in 1932 Enroute to Bank Heist
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Ray Hamilton's return to Oklahoma from Bay City sparked assault on prison by Bonnie and Clyde, crime spree leading to police slaying of gangster couple, Hamilton's execution on murder charge.
The lure of finding girls (like the pretty girl, above) at a Bay City roller skating rink was the undoing of a pair of dangerous criminals 72 years ago
The lure of finding girls at a Bay City roller skating rink was the undoing of a pair of dangerous criminals 72 years ago.
The pair apparently was sent here from Oklahoma by the notorious Clyde Barrow to rob a bank in Midland.
"Word had circulated through the gangster 'community' that there was lots of money in Midland, no doubt because of the fabulous financial success of The Dow Chemical Company," says one history researcher.
On Dec. 7, 1932, police here nabbed Ray Hamilton, 19, alias Floyd Beatty, and Jean O'Darr, 22, alias J.C. Clark, who were connected with the Bonnie and Clyde gang of Oklahoma.
Hamilton was charged with the murder of a sheriff's deputy, Eugene C. Moore, who confronted him while he was drinking moonshine after the Stringtown Dance in Atoka, Oklahoma, Aug. 5, 1932.
Officers involved in the arrest were state police detectives Philip Hudson, William Watkins, George Waterman and Charles Burnham along with detective Frank Anderson and Sgt. Robert Rushford of the Bay City police and Midland County Sheriff William M. Day.
The gangster pair had attracted attention as they were ogling girls at an upstairs roller rink at Third and Saginaw. The building later housed the USO and still later the AFL-CIO Labor Council. (The old building is still standing and now is a specialty shop.) Apparently they were diverted to skirt-chasing in Bay City while plotting their attack on the more sedate Midland.
The little-known incident was revealed by Shirley Roberts, executive director of the Bay Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, who was informed by a researcher into Bay City history.
"These are the kinds of stories that make Bay City such an interesting place for visitors," said Mrs. Roberts.
"We are continually stressing the advantages to local businesses in attracting visitors by focusing on historical events from Bay City's past. There are a growing number of fascinating stories for our trolley tours and tour bus step-on guides."
Two years after the arrest of the Bonnie and Clyde Gang members here, Bay City State Park Ranger Alton Conklin unknowingly confronted "Pretty Boy" Floyd, who was on the lam from bank robberies in Ohio and Pennsylvania. As "Public Enemy No. 1," Floyd had a $23,000 reward on his head.
It isnot known if Floyd was intending to rob a bank in the area since he lit out the next morning after apparently being "spooked" in the confrontation with the aggressive park ranger. (See "Al Conklin, Age 95..." MyBayCity.com Jan. 10, 2005).
Floyd, who had robbed 30 banks and killed 10 men, was at large for 17 months. He came through Bay City the summer before his death and was camping at the popular Bay City State Park with a pal, driving a fancy new car. He was killed by police Oct. 22, 1934 on a farm near East Liverpool, Ohio. He had just $120 in his pockets.
According to news reports of the time, not only did 10,000 people pass by Floyd's casket at the Dawson Funeral Home in East Liverpool, another 20,000 supposedly attended his funeral.
The capture of Hamilton and O'Darr in Bay City in 1932 set off a violent chain of events that eventually led to the deaths of Bonnie and Clyde and Hamilton's execution for murder.
Hamilton and O'Darr, a dope addict, were staying in an apartment in the 400 block of Adams Street. They had come by bus from Chicago.
Officers stalking them decided against making the arrest at the apartment and instead trailed them to the skating rink the next day. Twoofficers simultaneously jammed revolvers into Hamilton's ribs and collared him. An officer hit O'Darr over the head with a revolver when he reached in his belt for a gun which slipped down his pantleg. He was treated at Mercy Hospital under police guard until released.
Officers from Dallas, Texas, quickly came to Bay City and returned the diminutive Hamilton, who was sought in connection with a string of robberies and killings in the southwest and had escaped from a Texas prison. Hamilton was only 5-3 and weighed just 120 pounds.
Bonnie and Clyde and cohort James Mullens blasted the bantamweight killer and a pal free from a prison road work gang in a machine gun raid early in 1934.
The assault resulted in the murder of a guard and wounding of other guards. The gang then set off on a cross-country robbery spree until they split in a dispute over the loot. Barrow is said to have gotten upset when he saw Hamilton through the rear view mirror of the getaway car stuffing money into his pockets and giving some cash to his girlfriend.
Hamilton moved to New Orleans and lived the high life with the girlfriend, aptly named Mary O'Dare. He wrote a letter to his attorney stating that he was "a gentleman bandit" and was not to be connected any more to Clyde Barrow.
On April 25, 1934, Hamilton and T.R. Brooks robbed the First National Bank of Lewisville, Texas. They were captured after a lengthy chase. He was sentenced to die for the murder ofa prison guard during an escape.
Since Hamilton had a bad case of nerves, another Death Row inmate agreed to "go first" to the electric chair. After composing himself to face his inevitable fate, "Well, goodbye all," said Hamilton to witnesses as he sat in "Old Sparky" in Collin County Prison and was "fried" to eternity on May 10, 1935.
Two weeks later Bonnie and Clyde were tracked by a former Texas Ranger and a FBI special agent and ambushed at Gibsland, Louisiana. They went down in a barrage of 167 bullets, highlighted in a 1967 film, "Bonnie and Clyde," featuring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway. A character representing Hamilton was prominently featured in the film.###
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