Jim Clark (criminal)
Encyclopedia
Jim Clark was an American bank robber and Depression-era outlaw. A longtime career criminal in Oklahoma during the 1920s, Clark was associated with Wilbur Underhill, Harvey Bailey
and Robert "Big Bob" Brady
and remained a public enemy
in the state of Kansas
until his capture and imprisonment in 1934.
on February 26, 1902. In 1923, the 21-year-old Clark was arrested in Oklahoma and sent to the state reformatory in Granite
. He was eventually released from the reformatory and drifted to Texas where he found work in the oil fields. By 1927, he had begun smuggling bootleg liquor across the border from Juarez, Mexico
and was jailed for 30 days after a botched robbery that same year. Returning to Oklahoma, he was again arrested for burglary and sentenced to five years imprisonment on March 31, 1928.
Clark was released after serving less than a year of his sentence and quickly returned to his criminal career. On March 14, 1932, he was sentenced to two years in prison for stealing a car in Sequoyah County, Oklahoma
. Six weeks later, Clark officially became a fugitive when he walked off from the prison camp
in Colby
on April 25. His escape lasted only briefly however when he was arrested with Frank Sawyer and Ed Davis riding in a stolen car near Rich Hill, Missouri
on June 17. Their arrest occurring hours after the robbery of $47,000 from a bank in Fort Scott, Kansas
, in actuality having been committed by the Barker Gang, Clark and his two accomplices were wrongly convicted of the robbery and imprisoned at the state penitentiary at Lansing.
was responsible for having orchestrated the mass escape. Clark and another escapee, Clifford Dopson, became separated from the others shortly after their escape. They managed to hitch a ride
on Route 66
with a young Joliet couple the next morning and, drawing their guns, took them hostage. They forced the couple, B.K. Blair and Alice Braithwaite, to drive until reaching Neosho, Missouri
whereupon they released them and took over their car. During the ride, one of the convicts claimed they "had to kill a bull
last night" which may have referred to the murder of World War I
war hero police officer Otto Durkee in Chetopa, Kansas
.
Clark spent the next several weeks on the run with Wilbur Underhill, Harvey Bailey
and Robert "Big Bob" Brady
, briefly hiding out in Cookson Hills, Oklahoma, before hitting their first bank together. On July 3, Clark and the others robbed $11,000 from a bank in Clinton, Oklahoma
and then, seven weeks later, raided another bank in Kingfisher
on August 7. Plans to rob another bank in Brainerd, Minnesota
fell through when Bailey was arrested by federal agents three days later while visiting George "Machine Gun" Kelly
's ranch in Paradise, Texas
. Underhill also left around this time leaving Clark and Brady to continue on their own.
Their last robbery together turned into a disaster when they attempted to hold up a bank in Frederick, Oklahoma
on October 6, 1933. They escaped with only $5,000, missing $80,000 in the vault and the teller's cages, and took three hostages with them as they made their getaway. After switching cars in Indiahoma, they raced across Texas heading for New Mexico. When police discovered the first getaway car, police found a map charting their escape route and telephoned ahead to New Mexico authorities with a description of the fugitives. Clark and Brady were stopped near Tucumcari, New Mexico
and, although Clark gave his name as "F.N. Atwood", authorities believed Clark was Wilbur Underhill before fingerprints established his identity. The charges against the two for their latest crime spree were waived as both men were returned to serve the rest of their sentence in Lansing.
upon their arrival in Lansing. Restrictions on their movements were gradually relaxed over the next three months and, o January 19, 1934, he and Brady took part in yet another prison break when they and five other inmates escaped from a kitchen work detail. Clark and Brady split up soon after they got on the outside, with Clark joining Frank Delmar in kidnapping schoolteacher Louis Dresser. The two drove his car to Oklahoma where they released their hostage once they met with Clark's girlfriend Goldie Johnson who was waited for them with a car. Dresser was apparently so upset by the incident that he mistakenly identified Johnson as Bonnie Parker.
He and Demar soon began robbing banks in Kansas and Oklahoma. In one of their first robberies together, he and Delmar raided a bank in Goodland, Kansas
for $2,000 on February 9. Clark was shot in both feet during their escape by a police officer shooting from underneath a nearby car. He spent the next three months recovering from his wounds and, on May 9, robbed a bank in Wetumka, Oklahoma
for $500. On May 31, he returned with Delmar to the same bank in Kingfisher that he had robbed with Underhill, Bailey and Brady in August 1933.
After robbing another bank in Crescent, Oklahoma
on June 20, he revisited the same Clinton bank he had robbed with his old partners the previous year and stole $13,000. He and Goldie Johnson were also suspected of robbing a bank in Oxford, Kansas
, but both denied this and no charges were ever filed.
" and Kansas governor personally offered a $200 reward for his capture as did the state banking association. A special police unit was established by Kansas authorities who finally tracked him down in Tulsa and arrested him on August 1. Clark was later tried and convicted on federal bank robbery charges and given a 99 year prison sentence. On January 14, 1935, Clark was sent to Leavenworth where he spent two years before his transfer to Alcatraz in 1937. Repeated disciplinary infractions forced his return to Leavenworth a year later where he reportedly assumed control of illegal gambling and loan shark for the next decade.
His activities were eventually discovered by prison officials and Clark was sent back to Alcatraz in January 1948. He remained there for over twenty years until his eventual return to Leavenworth in 1960 and then to Seagoville, Texas
nine years later.
Harvey Bailey
Harvey John Bailey , called "The Dean of American Bank Robbers", had a long criminal career. One of the most successful bank robbers during the 1920s, walking off with over $1 million during that time, Bailey is almost forgotten today.- His career :Born in West Virginia, Bailey robbed his first...
and Robert "Big Bob" Brady
Robert Brady (criminal)
Robert G. "Big Bob" Brady was an American bank robber and Depression-era outlaw. A well-known Oklahoma bandit during the 1920s and 30s, Brady was associated with Wilbur Underhill, Harvey Bailey and Jim Clark....
and remained a public enemy
Public Enemy
Public Enemy is an American hip hop group consisting of Chuck D, Flavor Flav, Professor Griff and his S1W group, DJ Lord , and Music Director Khari Wynn...
in the state of Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
until his capture and imprisonment in 1934.
Early life and criminal career
Jim Clark was born in Mountainburg, ArkansasMountainburg, Arkansas
Mountainburg is a city in Crawford County, Arkansas, United States. It is part of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 682 at the 2000 census....
on February 26, 1902. In 1923, the 21-year-old Clark was arrested in Oklahoma and sent to the state reformatory in Granite
Granite, Oklahoma
Granite is a town in Greer County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1,065 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Granite is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all of it land....
. He was eventually released from the reformatory and drifted to Texas where he found work in the oil fields. By 1927, he had begun smuggling bootleg liquor across the border from Juarez, Mexico
Ciudad Juárez
Ciudad Juárez , officially known today as Heroica Ciudad Juárez, but abbreviated Juárez and formerly known as El Paso del Norte, is a city and seat of the municipality of Juárez in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Juárez's estimated population is 1.5 million people. The city lies on the Rio Grande...
and was jailed for 30 days after a botched robbery that same year. Returning to Oklahoma, he was again arrested for burglary and sentenced to five years imprisonment on March 31, 1928.
Clark was released after serving less than a year of his sentence and quickly returned to his criminal career. On March 14, 1932, he was sentenced to two years in prison for stealing a car in Sequoyah County, Oklahoma
Sequoyah County, Oklahoma
Sequoyah County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It is part of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2000, the population was 38,972. Its county seat is Sallisaw.-History:...
. Six weeks later, Clark officially became a fugitive when he walked off from the prison camp
Prison camp
Prison camp may be:* Concentration or internment camp* Federal prison camp, low-security facility among those on list of U.S. federal prisons* Labor camp* Death or extermination camp* Prisoner-of-war camp...
in Colby
Colby
- People :As a surname:* Anita Colby , actress* Anthony Colby , Governor of New Hampshire* Bainbridge Colby * Barbara Colby , actress* C.B...
on April 25. His escape lasted only briefly however when he was arrested with Frank Sawyer and Ed Davis riding in a stolen car near Rich Hill, Missouri
Rich Hill, Missouri
Rich Hill is a city in Bates County, Missouri, United States. The population was 1,461 at the 2000 census.The current mayor of Rich Hill as of April 2011 is Jim Kithcart.-Geography:Rich Hill is located at ....
on June 17. Their arrest occurring hours after the robbery of $47,000 from a bank in Fort Scott, Kansas
Fort Scott, Kansas
Fort Scott is a city in and the county seat of Bourbon County, Kansas, United States, south of Kansas City, on the Marmaton River. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 8,087. It is the home of the Fort Scott National Historic Site and the Fort Scott National...
, in actuality having been committed by the Barker Gang, Clark and his two accomplices were wrongly convicted of the robbery and imprisoned at the state penitentiary at Lansing.
Time with the Bailey-Underhill gang
On May 30, 1933, Clark was one of 11 convicts who escaped with Underhill from Lansing using pistols smuggled inside the prison from friends. Authorities later believed Frank "Jelly" NashFrank Nash
Frank Nash has been called “the most successful bank robber in U.S. history,” but he is most noted for his violent death in what has become known as the Kansas City Massacre...
was responsible for having orchestrated the mass escape. Clark and another escapee, Clifford Dopson, became separated from the others shortly after their escape. They managed to hitch a ride
Hitch Hike
"Hitch Hike" is a 1962 song by Marvin Gaye, released on the Tamla label. Another song Gaye co-wrote , this time instead of confessing to being stubborn, the singer is now on the look out for his girl, whom he feels has run so far that he has to travel "around the world" thinking of places she could...
on Route 66
U.S. Route 66
U.S. Route 66 was a highway within the U.S. Highway System. One of the original U.S. highways, Route 66 was established on November 11, 1926 -- with road signs erected the following year...
with a young Joliet couple the next morning and, drawing their guns, took them hostage. They forced the couple, B.K. Blair and Alice Braithwaite, to drive until reaching Neosho, Missouri
Neosho, Missouri
Neosho is the most populous city in and the county seat of Newton County, Missouri, United States. Neosho is an integral part of the Joplin, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area....
whereupon they released them and took over their car. During the ride, one of the convicts claimed they "had to kill a bull
Police officer
A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...
last night" which may have referred to the murder of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
war hero police officer Otto Durkee in Chetopa, Kansas
Chetopa, Kansas
Chetopa is a city in Labette County, Kansas, United States. The population was 1,281 at the 2000 census. Chetopa was named for Chief Chetopa, an Osage Indian chief.-Geography:Chetopa is located at...
.
Clark spent the next several weeks on the run with Wilbur Underhill, Harvey Bailey
Harvey Bailey
Harvey John Bailey , called "The Dean of American Bank Robbers", had a long criminal career. One of the most successful bank robbers during the 1920s, walking off with over $1 million during that time, Bailey is almost forgotten today.- His career :Born in West Virginia, Bailey robbed his first...
and Robert "Big Bob" Brady
Robert Brady (criminal)
Robert G. "Big Bob" Brady was an American bank robber and Depression-era outlaw. A well-known Oklahoma bandit during the 1920s and 30s, Brady was associated with Wilbur Underhill, Harvey Bailey and Jim Clark....
, briefly hiding out in Cookson Hills, Oklahoma, before hitting their first bank together. On July 3, Clark and the others robbed $11,000 from a bank in Clinton, Oklahoma
Clinton, Oklahoma
Clinton is a city in Custer and Washita counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 9,033 at the 2010 census.-History:The community began in 1899 when two men, J.L. Avant and E.E...
and then, seven weeks later, raided another bank in Kingfisher
Kingfisher, Oklahoma
Kingfisher is a city in and the county seat of Kingfisher County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 4,380 at the 2000 census. It is the former home and namesake of Kingfisher College.-History:...
on August 7. Plans to rob another bank in Brainerd, Minnesota
Brainerd, Minnesota
Brainerd is a city in Crow Wing County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 13,590 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Crow Wing County and one of the largest cities in Central Minnesota...
fell through when Bailey was arrested by federal agents three days later while visiting George "Machine Gun" Kelly
Machine Gun Kelly
George Kelley Barnes , better known as "Machine Gun Kelly", was an American gangster during the prohibition era. His nickname came from his favorite weapon, a Thompson submachine gun. His most famous crime was the kidnapping of oil tycoon & businessman Charles Urschel in July 1933 for which he,...
's ranch in Paradise, Texas
Paradise, Texas
Paradise is a city in Wise County, Texas, United States. The population was 459 at the 2000 census. The majority of the population that claims Paradise as its home lives outside of the city limits. Surrounding areas are flat with rolling hills. Native trees that can be seen in the area are Oak,...
. Underhill also left around this time leaving Clark and Brady to continue on their own.
Their last robbery together turned into a disaster when they attempted to hold up a bank in Frederick, Oklahoma
Frederick, Oklahoma
Frederick is a city in Tillman County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 3,940 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Tillman County. This is an agriculture based community primarily with wheat, cotton, and cattle....
on October 6, 1933. They escaped with only $5,000, missing $80,000 in the vault and the teller's cages, and took three hostages with them as they made their getaway. After switching cars in Indiahoma, they raced across Texas heading for New Mexico. When police discovered the first getaway car, police found a map charting their escape route and telephoned ahead to New Mexico authorities with a description of the fugitives. Clark and Brady were stopped near Tucumcari, New Mexico
Tucumcari, New Mexico
Tucumcari is a city in and the county seat of Quay County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 5,989 at the 2000 census. Tucumcari was founded in 1901, two years before Quay County was founded.-History:...
and, although Clark gave his name as "F.N. Atwood", authorities believed Clark was Wilbur Underhill before fingerprints established his identity. The charges against the two for their latest crime spree were waived as both men were returned to serve the rest of their sentence in Lansing.
Partnership with Frank Delmar
Clark and Brady were placed into solitary confinementSolitary confinement
Solitary confinement is a special form of imprisonment in which a prisoner is isolated from any human contact, though often with the exception of members of prison staff. It is sometimes employed as a form of punishment beyond incarceration for a prisoner, and has been cited as an additional...
upon their arrival in Lansing. Restrictions on their movements were gradually relaxed over the next three months and, o January 19, 1934, he and Brady took part in yet another prison break when they and five other inmates escaped from a kitchen work detail. Clark and Brady split up soon after they got on the outside, with Clark joining Frank Delmar in kidnapping schoolteacher Louis Dresser. The two drove his car to Oklahoma where they released their hostage once they met with Clark's girlfriend Goldie Johnson who was waited for them with a car. Dresser was apparently so upset by the incident that he mistakenly identified Johnson as Bonnie Parker.
He and Demar soon began robbing banks in Kansas and Oklahoma. In one of their first robberies together, he and Delmar raided a bank in Goodland, Kansas
Goodland, Kansas
Goodland is a city in and the county seat of Sherman County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 4,489.-History:...
for $2,000 on February 9. Clark was shot in both feet during their escape by a police officer shooting from underneath a nearby car. He spent the next three months recovering from his wounds and, on May 9, robbed a bank in Wetumka, Oklahoma
Wetumka, Oklahoma
Wetumka is a city in Hughes County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1,451 at the 2000 census. It is the headquarters for two federally recognized tribes, the Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town and the Kialegee Tribal Town...
for $500. On May 31, he returned with Delmar to the same bank in Kingfisher that he had robbed with Underhill, Bailey and Brady in August 1933.
After robbing another bank in Crescent, Oklahoma
Crescent, Oklahoma
Crescent is a city in Logan County, Oklahoma, United States. The population inside the city limits was 1,281 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Statistical Area...
on June 20, he revisited the same Clinton bank he had robbed with his old partners the previous year and stole $13,000. He and Goldie Johnson were also suspected of robbing a bank in Oxford, Kansas
Oxford, Kansas
Oxford is a city in Sumner County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 1,049.-Geography:Oxford is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land.-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 1,173...
, but both denied this and no charges were ever filed.
Capture and imprisonment
By the summer of 1934, Clark had been declared a "public enemyPublic Enemy
Public Enemy is an American hip hop group consisting of Chuck D, Flavor Flav, Professor Griff and his S1W group, DJ Lord , and Music Director Khari Wynn...
" and Kansas governor personally offered a $200 reward for his capture as did the state banking association. A special police unit was established by Kansas authorities who finally tracked him down in Tulsa and arrested him on August 1. Clark was later tried and convicted on federal bank robbery charges and given a 99 year prison sentence. On January 14, 1935, Clark was sent to Leavenworth where he spent two years before his transfer to Alcatraz in 1937. Repeated disciplinary infractions forced his return to Leavenworth a year later where he reportedly assumed control of illegal gambling and loan shark for the next decade.
His activities were eventually discovered by prison officials and Clark was sent back to Alcatraz in January 1948. He remained there for over twenty years until his eventual return to Leavenworth in 1960 and then to Seagoville, Texas
Seagoville, Texas
Seagoville is a city in Dallas County, Texas, United States, and a suburb of Dallas. A small portion of Seagoville extends into Kaufman County. The population was 10,823 as of the 2000 census. The city is located along U.S. Highway 175 and the Southern Pacific Railroad ten miles from Downtown...
nine years later.
Release and later years
After thirty-five years in prison, Clark was released on parole on December 9, 1969. The 67-year-old Clark returned to Oklahoma to marry the widow of his brother and where he would spend the rest of his life. He worked as a ranch hand for several years and, when old age prevented him continuing, Clark managed a commercial parking lot for a local bank until his death on June 9, 1974.Further reading
- Cooper, Courtney RyleyCourtney Ryley CooperCourtney Ryley Cooper was an American circus performer, publicist and writer. During his career he published over 30 books, many focusing on crime; J. Edgar Hoover considered him at one time "the best informed man on crime in the U...
. Ten Thousand Public Enemies. Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1935. - Johnson, Lester Douglas. The Devil's Front Porch. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1970.
- Kirchner, Larry R. Robbing Banks: An American History, 1831-1999. Rockville Centre, New York: Sarpedon, 2000. ISBN 1-885119-64-X
- Milner, E. R. The Lives and Times of Bonnie and Clyde. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1996. ISBN 0-8093-1977-2