The man who shot Bonnie and Clyde

[jim c 351]

I recently bought the book "The Great Remington 8" by John Henwood..

In the back of the book there is a chapter on the final seconds in the life of B&C.

There is a different take on what went down. Henderson Jordan's brother, Reves Jordan gave this testament.

The gun that actually killed B&C was a 35 cal Remington 8 ,serial number 48990.

A dentist named Dr. Henry Shehee was a friend of Deputy Prentis Oakley and loaned said rifle to Deputy Oakley for this mission.

The story goes that Oakley killed both Bonnie and Clyde with the first two shots fired.

The posse had agreed ahead of time that they would all open fire so as to prevent Deputy Oakley from being singled out and retaliated on by the Barrow gang.

Anyone heard this version before ??????

Jim C

[OCM]

Sort of Jim- Our study of the ambush showed that Oakley stood up and opened up first, hitting either Clyde's left temple or the driver's side windshield pillar with the first two shots. It's been reported that Bonnie screamed, then the turkey shoot started.

Never heard the posse was going to stand behind Oakley so the Barrows wouldn't single him out. Barrows weren't going to do anything, this wasn't an organized gang as was the Dillinger group, family and ride-a longs.

Yes the gun belonged to Dr, Shehee, Rem model 8 in 35.

Dolf ( something) ended up with the gun and I think sold it. I talked with him years ago, he said he had part of the original case of bullets that Oakley used too. Got the whole story, somewhere deep in files.

Also, Hamer didn't go around and stick his gun in the window and shoot Bonnie. However she did take a direct hit in the side of the face with what looks like maybe an 06 and did some real bad damage on the other side. ( Hamer's monitor ?)

Bonnie & Clyde needed to go away, and the posse made sure this would happen.

 

Ton of different versions of this thru the years, but the Oakley thing is pretty correct. I took over 150 evidence photos of the car in about an hour and a half for a restoration project, was allowed to climb all over it. I think my conclusions are displayed with the car now or used to be.

 

 

OCM

Edited June 26, 2016 by OCM

[ron_brock]

Was it Dolf Goldsmith the gun author?

 

Ron

Edited April 17, 2016 by ron_brock

[jim c 351]

Ron,

It was Dolph McCleish, Remington Society member.

Jim C

[ron_brock]

Thanks Jim. I only knew two Dolf's, one plays golf and the other loves beltfeds.

 

 

Ron

[OCM]

Yes, Dolph Mc Cleish - He had an article about it in Guns & Ammo or SAR or such. ( I was close ) As I remember he lived in the Shreveport area.

Long time ago. I was probably interested in the purchase of the gun. I think it was way out of my comfort range at the time.

JIM, do you know who he sold it to ?

[jim c 351]

Sandy,

My book is a 2003 edition and it still lists Dolph as the owner.

Jim C

[OCM]

Don't remember the year, I assume after 2003 , but he was actively selling the gun. I think he had it at an auction house for a lot of $$$. http://jamesdjulia.comjamesdjulia.com/item- 2006. Good write up about it in the auction literature.

 

Haven't got on how to paste, however look up James Julia auction, Prentis Oakley Remington model 8 that killed Clyde Barrow, 2006 if interested. Or Google the same. It's there.

 

Edited April 18, 2016 by OCM

[StooperZero]

a 35 to the head and a 30-06 to the face.. did they powerwash the car before they took pics ?

 

 

 

i've seen 'post action' pics of them in the car but it looks way way too clean.

Edited April 18, 2016 by StooperZero

[OCM]

Looked exactly like this, pre ambush. - Basically a new car then. Inside was a mess- The owners got the car back after a long legal battle, got it home and covered it with a tarp ( pictures in last post or so) in Topeka. It started stinking so bad they had to leave the tarp off.

Ruth Warren, the owner, drove it back from Arcadia, La to Topeka in this condition. Bet that was a nice trip.

Edited June 26, 2016 by OCM

[OCM]

Sorry Jim C-

Getting off your post , but you know how it goes over here, on the other side. Where did Clyde Barrow get his hair cut...... etc.

Don't know if Dolph sold his gun, but it was estimated at 50K starting. Can't be Depp, he's a Dillinger guy.

 

Check out the windshield pillar- Oakley's first or second shot with the Rem Model 8, other hit Barrow in the head.

 

OCM

[TEXAS MGC]

A little off subject. It took Ruth just about two months after the ambush to get possession of the death car. US Judge Dawkins of Shreveport had to send two US Marshals to Arcadia to seized the car. Judge Dawkins had to have Jordan brought to his court. Jordan told the judge he had it hidden in an abandoned barn in Arcadia. If Boots' memory is correct, Ruth drove the death car to Shreveport and then trucked it to Topeka. Another great article is "Clyde Barrow's Last Ford". If interested, try searching that title on the web.

 

OCM - When you inspected the death car, did you see Ted Hinton's mark? Apparently, he marked it soon after the ambush to be able to identify it later.

[ghostsoldier]

Lol...that's my last name; I wonder if he was kin?

 

US Judge Dawkins of Shreveport .... Judge Dawkins had to have Jordan brought to his court.

[TEXAS MGC]

I believe the judge's first name was Ben, if that helps.

[OCM]

Good call on the transportation issue, Bart, another old guy duh on my part.

I've always wondered if that was even a correct story, the car is displayed here at the train station in Arcadia, I know you've probably been there. Pretty much the same as it was then , at least when I was there, you can compare the car to a then & now photo. The engine compartment was basically untouched, but the whole dash was a mess, so it'd be hard to drive.

My memory says that Ruth and a gal friend from Kansas, drove down there to recover the car. Ruth knew of the upcoming value of the car- The picture I sent above( fat guy), was the Crime Doctor, Charles Stanley. He had a Crime Show. He & Ruth made some sort of a deal on the car, to take it on display. I have all this stuff in my files ( sound like a broken record) but I do. Buddy ( Barrow) has told me a bunch of stuff about this, as did Marie a bit. Some written, some verbal.

 

I don't think Ted Hinton did a mark on the car, this has been an ongoing issue. Boots is a great guy, lot of stories.

 

To be honest, I wasn't looking for a Ted Hinton mark on the car- However did check out the undercarriage a lot as it had been run in the Great American Race in 1988. Lots of stuff were done to the car to make it roadworthy. I believe it had juice brakes installed and I know a 1936 V8 etc, then converted back to original. ( sorta ) .

 

Car is an original mess now.

Edited June 26, 2016 by OCM

[TEXAS MGC]

I think you're right. Ruth's husband, Jesse, as many other family members wanted nothing to do with the car. It was Ruth that had the vision to see what the car would become. If I remember correctly, they were divorced a few years later and she took total possession of the death car and immediately started making money with it. Many many years ago, either Boots or maybe Buddy, showed a group of us where the well known photo of he car was taken. The photo showed the car parked behind a tall wire fence at the county jail.

[OCM]

Yes, the brick building was still there, no chain link fence anymore. The late Ken Holmes and I went into the old Canfields building, he was planning to purchase ( the last supper spot you might say). The ceiling was coming down, rather dangerous, you could see daylight. Also got into the old furniture store and saw where the bodies were taken and photographed. I think it's gone now. We were doing then & now pictures at the time. (not for the book).

I had a piece of the front windshield with a bullet hole in it, from the car and the V8 emblem off it. One is in a museum now, other owned by author Jim Knight. ( V8).

As I remember Charles Stanley and Ruth Warren went round and round with the car and the contractual issues. For a time, either LC or Henry Barrow did talks with the car at the Texas State Fair, I think in the 30s. Stanley had the mothers, Dillinger Sr traveling with the Crime Does Not Pay show. I'd forgotten a bunch of this stuff, good to remember or think I do anyway. Ha.

 

 

Hope your high and dry there in Texas-

 

 

OCM

Edited June 26, 2016 by OCM

[ghostsoldier]

These photos are great!

 

I believe the judge's first name was Ben, if that helps.

 

Thanks for the first name...I'll do a little genealogical snooping!

 

Rob

[TEXAS MGC]

Rob

Here is where the judge is buried. However, no family info.

[TEXAS MGC]

No cemetery, just full name and location.

[OCM]

The future " death car" was stolen from the Warrens, April 29, 1934. It was hamburgered May 24, 1934. The Warrens didn't legally get the car back for another 70 days, it was located in the Ford garage there in Arcadia, being in storage.

Mrs Warren picked it up August 2, 1934 and drove it to Shreveport as Bart says. Had the original keys in it still. She was billed $70.00+ $15.00 tow charge.

When the Warrens parked the car in their driveway, in Topeka, Kansas, that April, 1934, it had 1243 miles on it. When she recovered it, it had 8855 miles on it. The dysfunctional couple had put 7612 miles on it in 25 days, on 1934 back roads, about 300 miles a day.

 

This is thanks to Jim Knight , whom I just emailed yesterday- Jim wrote the book : Bonnie & Clyde , a Twenty-First Century Update

 

Prentis Oakley: " Oakley surprised everyone by opening fire before any order was given, his first shot killed Clyde Barrow The fact he fired without warning, that was agreed on, haunted him for the rest of his life". He was elected Sheriff after the retirement of Henderson Jordan. I guess he never talked about the ambush much at all. Would think it would of been hard not to.

Lillian Holley, Sheriff at Crown Point, NEVER talked about Dillinger. I called her once to chat, said the " D " word and she hung up on me.

 

Prentis Oakley died Oct, 15, 1957. I've been to his grave with author Jonathan Davis in Arcadia as I remember .

 

 

OCM

Edited April 20, 2016 by OCM

[TEXAS MGC]

Sandy - Do you remember how many miles was on it when you looked over it? What year was that? Just wondering how many miles are on it now. Interesting story on Holley, thanks for sharing. Does her family have any artifacts from the Dillinger event?

[OCM]

This was back in the late 1990s, early 2000 I think. The car was parked in the Whiskey Pete's Casino, surrounded by a 6' glass wall. locked up. The Casino manager and a guard let us in to go over it.

Miles- The speedometer was completely trashed, glass long gone, broken out and rusting out, same with the gas gauge. ( I'm looking at the photo I took ) Couple bullet holes around the area, steering wheel took a couple hits-

Car had be towed & driven thru the years since 1934, including the 1988 Great American Race, so the miles would be a moot point anyway, I was more concerned to see if it was a single or dual gauge and the wood graining pattern. Lots of stuff stolen, cigar lighter, ashtray...

 

Lillian Holley- I've only seen one newspaper article about her from her daughter talking about her mother & Dillinger, this was after Lillian had passed away. Artifacts- ?

[jim c 351]

Prentis Oakley: " Oakley surprised everyone by opening fire before any order was given, his first shot killed Clyde Barrow The fact he fired without warning, that was agreed on, haunted him for the rest of his life". He was elected Sheriff after the retirement of Henderson Jordan. I guess he never talked about the ambush much at all. Would think it would of been hard not to. Lillian Holley, Sheriff at Crown Point, NEVER talked about Dillinger. I called her once to chat, said the " D " word and she hung up on me.-------------------------------------

 

It seems that I read somewhere that Frank Hamer once said, "I hate to bust a cap on a woman, especially when she's sitting down". I guess we all feel the same way. Jim C

Edited April 22, 2016 by jim c 351

[TEXAS MGC]

What an awesome experience. Thank you for sharing.