The Dillinger Gang Robs Sioux Falls Bank

The Dillinger Gang

Robs Sioux Falls Bank

BY WAYNE FANEBUST

The “dirty thirties” were a time of extreme drought and economic depression; a time of high unemployment and long lines at soup kitchens. There was, however, another aspect to that era: gangsters. Along with the other states plagued by crime, South Dakota had its own violent episode. On March 6, 1934, Sioux Falls was left reeling in shock and excitement following the armed robbery of the Security National Bank by John Dillinger and his gang. The six members of the gang were Homer Van Meter, Baby Face Nelson, Eddie Green, John Hamilton, Tommy Carroll, and Dillinger, just then called “public enemy number one.”

The gang stole a 1934 Packard in St. Paul and drove it to Sioux Falls, to pull off yet another heist in what would be a long string of robberies following Dillinger’s escape from the Indiana State Prison. During a span of fourteen months, the gang robbed 16 banks, taking about $500,000.00 while killing twelve men and wounding seven. Dillinger had a girl friend, Mary Evelyn (Billie) Frechette, a Native American with a South Dakota connection, having attended the Flandreau Indian School. They met in 1933, but she was not with Dillinger during the crime spree.

In January, Dillinger and others were arrested in Tucson, Arizona. They were extradited to Indiana, but not for long. Just three days before the Sioux Falls bank robbery, the slippery Dillinger used a fake gun, made out of wood, to escape from the Crown Point, Indiana, jail. In a daring and desperate move, he held the gun to the back of a prison guard, and escaped from an “escape proof” jail, surrounded by National Guard soldiers. The fake gun, carved in Chicago, was smuggled into Dillinger’s cell and it triggered the chain of events leading up to the Sioux Falls bank robbery.

In the morning of March 6, 1934, the stolen Packard with six men inside pulled up at the entrance of the Security National Bank. The driver, “three-fingers” Hamilton stayed in the car, probably expecting to make a high-speed departure. Four men went into the bank, namely John Dillinger, sporting a forty-five caliber handgun, Baby Face Nelson with a submachine gun, along with well-armed Homer Van Meter and Eddie Green. One of them yelled “this is a holdup” causing a bank employee to sound the alarm. This angered the gangsters and Van Meter and Green knocked down and disarmed patrolman Peter Duffy.

While the four men were causing fear and panic inside the bank, “St. Paul Tommy” Carroll, armed with a submachine gun, patrolled the street outside of the bank rounding up hostages, including four policemen. To show he meant business, he blasted the east-facing facade of the bank with his submachine gun.

Bank president China Clarke stepped out of his office after hearing the alarm. He was ordered to go to the vault. At this point, about 30 people including employees and customers were ordered to face the wall with hands raised. Upon seeing police officer Hale Keith running across 9th Street, toward the bank, Baby Face Nelson jumped on a table and opened fire, wounding Keith and causing him to fall to the sidewalk. He was seriously wounded, but survived. The blast from Nelson’s submachine gun also shattered a large plate glass window. Sioux Falls resident C. M. Pettigrew was inside the safe deposit section of the vault, having opened his box when one of the robbers snatched his valuables.

Dillinger became very angry and booted Clarke when the banker said he did not have the combination to the vault door. While this was transpiring, a customer named Gus Moen absent-mindedly walked downstairs to the main lobby. He was stopped by Baby Face who ordered the startled man to go back upstairs, and reinforced the order with a blast from his submachine gun over Moen’s head. Next, Gene Pruitt, a young lawyer, walked into the bank. One of the robbers told him: “Buddy if you know what’s good for you, go back to where you came from.” Pruitt promptly exited the bank. The gangsters also left the bank, surrounded by 30 or more hostages. An estimated 1000 people witnessed the robbery, many of them watched from windows of nearby buildings.

With five bank employees, including Mary Lucas as hostages, riding on the running board, the Packard passed by the Sioux Falls Police Department, made its way over to Minnesota Avenue and continued south. A patrolman, Harley Chrisman, fired his weapon and struck the radiator, thus causing the robbers to consider commandeering another car. They did not do so. People along the escape route were treated to an exciting show as the speeding Packard weaved its way through traffic, narrowly missing two horse-drawn milk wagons. Two police cars and another driven by Harley Hayes were in hot pursuit. At 37th Street, Bill Conklin, having noticed the smoke coming from the under the hood, rushed out with a fire extinguisher and offered to help, but was rudely told to get away. At 41st Street, one of the hostages, bank teller Leo Olson, was released.

The Dillinger gang bagged $49,500.00 in the raid. But the weren’t finished. A week after the Sioux Falls heist, Dillinger and four others robbed the First National

DILLINGER GANG BANK ROBBERY

On March 6, 1934, John Dillinger let five other gangsters in a brazen daylight robbery of the Security National Bank. Arriving in a stolen 1934 Packard, Dillinger and three men entered the bank lobby. All wore turned down, widebrimmed felt hats to conceal their identities, and long coats to hide their weapons. One gang member shouted, “This is a hold up!” Instantly a bank employee touched a security button and set off a clamorous alarm.

Angered, the bandits ordered about 30 bank employees and customers to raise their hands and to stand facing a wall. Lester Gillis, a.k.a. “Baby Face Nelson,” then spotted motorcycle police officer Hale Keith running toward the bank in response to the alarm. Gillis wounded Keith by firing a burst from his Thompson submachine gun through a large plate glass north window.

“St. Paul Tommy” Carroll patrolled in front of the YMCA block on the southeast corner of the intersection. For crowd control, he periodically fired a submachine gun to keep hundreds of onlookers at bay. He also held hostage several bystanders and lawmen.

To ensure their getaway, the bandits forced five bank employees to stand as human shields on the Packard running boards. They fired at pursuing law enforcement vehicles and scattered roofing nails to disable them. The gang netted $49,500 from the heist.

DEDICATED IN 2010 BY THE MINNEHAHA COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY. MARY CHILTON DAR FOUNDATION, IN HONOR OF ARDYCE SAMP AND JON KENTFIELD ENDOWMENT FUND.

John Herbert Dillinger

Baby Face Nelson

As a child, Lester Gillis was small in stature and had a cherubic face. By the age of 14, he was an accomplished car thief. His first sentence to reform school occurred in 1922; in the next three years he was paroled three times and returned twice for parole violations. At 5 feet, 4 inches and 133 pounds, he was a bantam-sized adult and became a murderous hoodlum with a youthful face. He preferred the name George Nelson and despised his nickname, “Baby Face.” He died in November 1934 at the age of 26 following a gun battle with law enforcement officers. Image owner: Chris Hegle

Security National Bank

Bank in Mason City, Iowa. This raid turned out to be a bloody mess as both Dillinger and Hamilton were shot and wounded. Eventually, Dillinger returned to St. Paul where he was reunited with Billy Frechette. It seems that the gang members went their separate ways. The five foot-four inch Baby Face Nelson, was killed in a gun battle with police in November of 1934. Dillinger’s fate was the same as his cohort. He returned to Chicago in July 1934, and took refuge in a brothel, but someone informed the authorities as to his whereabouts. Officers tracked him to the Biograph Theater and on July 22, 1934, as he was making his exit, three officers opened fire on the notorious gangster, killing him instantly. So ended the life of a bad man whose criminal exploits caused a ripple of wild excitement in Sioux Falls, resulting in lasting memories.