Public Enemy #1 John Dillinger and his gang will be captured on January 25th while enjoying the mild winter weather of Tucson, Arizona. The Gang members are:
(The 3rd floor of Hotel Congress no longer exits. But the Hotel Congress, that opened in 1919, is very much alive and flourishing. If you like historic and/or “Rock ‘N Roll” hotels, we do recommend you stay here. Why “Rock ‘N Roll”? Because there you can enjoy performances by some of the best up and coming bands and performers at Club Congress, arguably the best night club in Tucson.)
That Sunday evening, the three party at Charlie Chase’s nightclub where they brag to salesmen about their arsenal of weapons and how easy it is to rob banks. They also draw attention to themselves by their expensive clothes and powerful new automobiles. (Note: Charlie Chase’s nightclub was at 75 S. Stone Ave. The building no longer exists.)
The scene of the fire at the Hotel Congress in Tucson on January 23, 1934. Some of John Dillinger’s gang were holed up here when the fire broke out at 7:20 AM. Credit: Tucson Citizen.
Tuesday, January 23rd. About 7:20 AM fire breaks out in the basement of Hotel Congress and quickly spreads to the 3rd floor. Makley & Clark convince two firemen to retrieve their luggage. When the firemen salvage the heavy luggage, Makley & Clark give them a $12 tip … about $216 in today’s money. (The Indiana Historical Society says it was a $50 tip.)
The next morning, one of the firemen sees a mug shot in True Detective Magazine that resembles one of the gentlemen who gave them such a big tip. He reports the discovery to Tucson Police. The salesmen from the nightclub also report their encounter to the Tucson Police, who quickly realize that the Dillinger Gang is in town.
The emotional impact of this revelation might be analogous if today if we learned that Charles Manson’s Gang was staying in downtown Tucson. Or drug lord , Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. Can you imagine the media frenzy that would follow? Well, at the end of January 1934, that’s what occurred here. We would all be telling our grandchildren about it.
The rented house in Tucson where John Dillinger was captured about 6:30 PM on January 25, 1934. Russell Clark and Opal Long were arrested here earlier that afternoon after a bloody fight. Opal fights like a tiger, slams the door on an officer’s hand, breaking his fingers. Both Clark & Long receive serious facial and head lacerations, but no shot are fired by the police. However, Clark drew a pistol but an officer wrestled it away. In the scuffle, a bullet was discharged into the floor. There is a plaque on the front porch that reads “Dillinger House”.
Makley, Clark and Long leave Hotel Congress and move into the rented house at 927 N. 2nd Avenue.
Wednesday, January 24th. John Dillinger and Harry Pierpont, driving separate cars, arrive in Tucson with their girlfriends. They take rooms #3 & #5 of the “Close-Inn” Motel, an the Arizona tourist court at 1749 S. 6th Avenue. Rooms are $1.00 per night.
The “Close-Inn” motor court where Dillinger and Pierpont stayed when they first arrived in Tucson January 24, 1934. They and their lady friends stayed in Room 3 and 5. Photo ca. 2016.
Thursday, January 25th.
Morning: Dillinger and Pierpont rent a house at 1304 E. 5th Street and move in with their girlfriends. (They are arrested before staying the night here. The house no longer exists.)
Warrants are issued for every member of the gang. Tucson Police spring into action.
Late Afternoon: Six gang members are arrested and booked.
Makley is buying a police radio when he is arrested at an electric appliance store at 26 E. Congress Street. With him is May Miller, a local “entertainer”. She too is arrested. (The building no longer exists.) They are unarmed and do not put up a fight.
Tucson police arrest Clark and Opal Long at the 2nd Avenue rental. The couple puts up a bloody fight, but no shots are fired. Later, Mary Kinder, Pierpont’s moll, goes to this rental to make contact. She sees the blood and disorder in the house and returns to Pierpont. They start to drive out of town when they are pulled over for a minor traffic violation. Tucson police trick them into going to the police station to rectify the problem. There they resist arrest, but are quickly subdued. One of the guns that Pierpont carries is traced back to the killing of Sheriff Sarber in Lima, OH.
Early Evening: Dillinger and Frechette drive into Tucson unaware that Pierpoint, Mary Kinder, Russell, Clark and Opal Long are already in police custody. They park in front of 927 N. 2nd Avenue and walk up to the front door where they are arrested.
Dillinger’s immediate comment is, “Well, I’ll be damned.”
Tucson police show weapons captured with the Dillinger Gang.
He would soon realize that his arrest was due to the overconfidence and carelessness of Makley and Long.
When booked at the Tucson Police Station, Dillinger had $2,000 in his money belt ($36,000 today). Some of the five-dollar bills were traced to the East Chicago bank robbery and become damning evidence. All together, at the time of their arrest, the gang possess between $18,000 and $50,000, depending on whose account you believe.
The house on North 2nd Street is searched. Police find the heavy luggage firemen rescued two days earlier. They are filled with weapons, ammunition, bullet-proof vests, cash and jewels.
All of the defendants were quickly transferred from the Tucson City Jail to the Pima County Jail in the Courthouse on Church Street. Fox Movietone News rushes a camera crew to Tucson from Hollywood.
Dillinger Gang being arraigned in Pima County Courthouse; Courtroom 8.
Friday, January 26th.
One Tucson newspaper reads:
“In a series of breath-taking captures, each of which might have at any moment culminated in a stream of lead and death, which included lightning displays of gangsters armament and as sudden squashing of murderous hopes by officers, Dillinger himself, Charles Makley, 50, Russell Clark, 39, and Harry Pierpont, 31, the ‘trigger-man’ of the gang, were apprehended, were stripped of a small arsenal apiece, subdued, identified and locked up in the county jail for safekeeping.”
Gang is arraigned & jailed in the Pima County Justice Court; Courtroom 8. Bail is set at $100,000 each for Dillinger, Makley, Clark, and Pierpont ($1,800,000 today). $5,000 each for Billie Frechette and Opal Long. May Miller, a local entertainer who was caught with the gang is released.
Two banks that believe the Dillinger Gang had robbed them sue for restitution in civil court.
Saturday, January 27th. Billie Frechette and Opal Long are released on bail. Two more banks file civil lawsuits to get their money back.
Pima County Sheriff allows 2,000 spectators to file past the four men in their cells in the basement of the Pima County Courthouse. Among them is the Governor of Arizona. Dillinger and the others have meals catered to them from local restaurants while in jail. Dillinger is allowed to have his pet puppy with him in his jail cell.
Top LT to RT: Harry Pierpont, Charles Makley. Bottom LT to Rt: John Dillinger, Jr., Russell Clark.
Lucy Sarber, Sheriff of Allen County Ohio ( and widow of slain Sheriff Jessie Sarber) files a “Wrongful Death – Recovery of Damages Suit seeking $50,000. Jessie Sarber was killed by the gang while aiding in the escape of John Dillinger from the Allen County Jail. His widow will eventually be awarded $30,000 ($540,000 today).
Sunday, January 28th. The Arizona governor signs extradition orders.
Monday, January 29th. Dillinger is extradited to Indiana via airplane. Another bank files a civil suit against the gang for return of stolen money.
Lacking sufficient evidence against her, the court releases Billy Frechette and she leaves jail with the couple’s puppy, a free woman … for now.
Tuesday, January 30th. Makley, Clark, Long, Pierpont & Mary Kinder are extradited to Ohio via train. A huge crowd gathers at the Tucson Train Depot to witness their departure.
Dillinger blames Makley and Clark for his predicament. Referring to the overly large tip they gave the firemen for retrieving their luggage, Dillinger said, “If the saps had made it only a couple of bucks, we’d still be safe and happy.”
Tucson policemen who made the arrests expected a significant portion of the $25,000 reward offered by Ohio State Police Department. They get nothing.
A year later, 8 banks that filed civil suits to get a total of $633,568 in stolen money returned are awarded a total of $33,480, of which only $22,857 is paid ($420,000 today).
NEXT: Part 3, The Rest of the Story – What happened after John Dillinger and his Gang Left Tucson
