John Dillinger was one of the most notorious of the Depression Era criminals. His crime sprees included charges of desertion from the U.S. Navy, theft, auto theft, armed robbery, bank robbery, attempted murder, and murder. On January 25, 1934, Dillinger and his gang were captured in Tucson, Arizona. Dillinger was extradited to Crown Point, Indiana to stand trial on a host of charges including the murder of a police officer. Lake County officials claimed their jail where Dillinger was held was “escape proof.”
At about 9:30 on the morning of March 3, 1934, Dillinger and his cellmate, convicted murderer Herbert Youngblood, sat impatiently in their cell as a guard, Sam Cahoun, was making his rounds. As Sam peered into their cell, Dillinger aimed a pistol at him and ordered him under threat of death to open the cell door. Sam was unarmed and had no choice but to comply. Dillinger told Sam to remain quiet and to follow him. At Dillinger’s request, Sam called out for Deputy Earnest Blunk. As the deputy stepped out of the fingerprint office, Dillinger stuck the pistol against his side. Dillinger led Sam and Deputy Blunk back to the jail cell. After locking Sam in the cell, Dillinger had Deputy Blunk call out for Warden Lou Baker. As Warden Baker and three others stepped out of their offices, Dillinger aimed his pistol at them and forced them into the cell with Sam. Dillinger locked the cell door and headed for the warden’s office.
Dillinger exchanged his pistol for one of the machine guns from the warden’s gun rack and told Youngblood, “Come on, quick. Get one of those guns there.” Youngblood took a machine gun from the same gun rack and followed Dillinger’s lead. Dillinger used Deputy Blunk in the same manner to disarm a total of six deputies and 16 guards, all of whom he locked in jail cells. Unable to find any car keys in the prison offices, Dillinger, Youngblood, and Deputy Blunk made their way out of the jail house where they met the warden’s wife. Dillinger told her, “Be a good little girl and we won’t kill you.” She let them pass.
Dillinger, Youngblood, and their hostage made their way to the Main Street Garage where they located Edward Saagers, the garage mechanic. Dillinger ordered Saagers to give Deputy Blunk the keys to the fastest car in the garage, which happened to be a black police car. Then, Dillinger ordered Saagers to get in the car with them. At Dillinger’s order, Deputy Blunk slowly drove the escape car away from the prison as to not attract attention. Mrs. Baker alerted the sheriff, which set off a search for Dillinger by practically all of the law enforcement officers in Indiana and Northern Illinois. Two hours after their escape, Dillinger and Youngblood released Deputy Blunk and mechanic Saagers at Peotone, Illinois, 35 miles south of the Crown Point jail. Before driving off, Dillinger gave Deputy Blunk and Saagers a $4 tip and told them, “Good job!”
Newspapers reported that it was one of “the most spectacular breaks in the history of American crime,” partly because the pistol Dillinger used to set off the daring jailbreak was absolutely harmless. It was not loaded. It could not be loaded. You see, the pistol Dillinger used in that escape was one he had whittled out of a piece of wood.
Sources:
1. The Times-Picayune, March 4, 1934, p.10.
2. The Times (Hammond, Indiana), March 5, 1934, p.10.
