Are you an Oklahoman fascinated by true crime and historical criminal activities? If so, you’re in luck as we’ve gathered a list of our state’s most notorious criminals. From outlaw gangs dating back to the 1800s to the ‘public enemy’ days of the roaring 1920s to modern-day criminals who never got caught, this post featured them all.
#1 John Hinckley Jr.
John Warnock Hinckley Jr. came into this world in Ardmore, Oklahoma but then his rich family decided to move to Dallas, Texas when he was just four years old. His dad, John Warnock Hinckley, the founder and chairman, not to mention the chief executive and president of Vanderbilt Energy Corporation. His mother was Jo Ann Hinckley.
Growing up took place in University Park, Texas for Hinckley and he went to Highland Park High School in Dallas County. After wrapping up high school in 1973, he and his family—who had their hands deep in the oil business with the Hinckley oil company—packed up for Evergreen, Colorado.
Hinckley, wielding a revolver, shot President Ronald Reagan along with police officer Thomas Delahanty, Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy, and White House Press Secretary James Brady. Brady was left disabled from the attack and later succumbed to his injuries. It was reported that Hinckley’s motive was to gain fame in order to impress actress Jodie Foster, who he was obsessed with.
These days, Hinckley’s living in an apartment along with his seven-year-old cat, Theo – a rescue cat. His mom, Jo Ann, passed away in 2021 when she was 95 years old after dedicating her life to care for him. Now that she’s gone, Hinckley doesn’t stay in the Kingsmill house they used to share anymore. After spending a long 35 years of “forced communal living” inside St. Elizabeths’ ward, he enjoys being on his own now.
#2 Jesse James
Jesse came into the world in Clay County, Missouri on September 5, 1847. His parents, Zerelda and Robert James were hemp cultivators who had six slaves under their ownership. As the Civil War erupted Jesse saw his elder brother Frank head off to join the fight for the Confederacy.
Following the war, Jesse and Frank became part of different outlaw groups. They stole from banks, stagecoaches, and trains all over the Midwest. They became well-known across the country and some folks even felt sorry for them despite how violent their actions were.
The James brothers were mainly active in their own gang from around 1866 to 1876. When they tried to rob a bank in Northfield, Minnesota in 1876 it didn’t go as planned. Some of their gang got caught or lost their lives during the heist. Even after the fiasco, they kept on with their criminal ways for a few more years. They brought in new people but law enforcement was always right behind them trying hard to catch them and bring them to justice.
Now, the James Home serves as a museum focusing on Jesse James’ life and demise by two members of the James-Younger gang, Robert Newton Ford and his brother Charley, for the governor’s $10,000 bounty. The Ford brothers continued to perform live reenactments of the murder to support their livelihoods.
#3 Pretty Boy Floyd
Charles Arthur Floyd, better known as “Pretty Boy Floyd“, was born in 1904 in Bartow County, Georgia. His parents were Walter Lee Floyd and Mamie Helene (Echols). In 1911, the family relocated to Akins, Oklahoma where he spent his youth.
When Floyd turned 18, he got caught after stealing $3.50 from a post office. Then, about three years into his life of crime in 1925, he was caught taking payroll money in St Louis Missouri. Thi crime got him a five-year sentence but he only did three and a half before he was paroled.
Originally working as a farmer, he got pulled into the world of crime because of financial struggles. After doing his first stint in jail, Floyd wound up in the company of some well known criminals in Kansas City, Missouri. Shortly after joining up with the Kansas City crowd, he started using the machine gun as his signature weapon.
Floyd and several accomplices went on a bank-robbing spree across Ohio, Michigan, and Kentucky. One of these robberies led to the death of a police officer and In 1930 he was apprehended, charged, and sentenced to 12 to 15 years, but managed to break free and go on the run.
In 1933, the so-called Kansas City Massacre, took place in which a gunfight between Floyd and police led to four cops dying. In 1934, law enforcement finally caught up with Floyd, who got himself shot and fatally wounded on a farm close to East Liverpool, Ohio.
#4 Jon Savarino Schillaci
In 1989, Jon Savarino Schillaci, who was 17 at the time, and another man aged 20 were charged with sexually abusing twin brothers who were both 11 years old. Schillaci also recorded himself performing sexual activities with both of the twins. He got caught a few days later when he attempted to sell the tape at an adult bookstore for $500.
He ended up pleading guilty to two charges related to children performing sex acts and four charges of aggravated sexual assault; he was found guilty on April 26th,1990. Consequently, he received a sentence of 10 years behind bars.
Schillaci got out of a Texas jail in 1999. From Texas, he went to Boston and was welcomed by a couple from Deerfield, New Hampshire. He had been writing to them often while locked up. They let him into their home, hoping to help him begin anew. But within a few months it’s said that Schillaci assaulted the couple’s five-year-old boy.
Schillaci, listed among the FBI’s Top Ten most sought-after fugitives after going on the run, was spotted in Mexico but remained a fugitive until June of 2008. He was caught in Michoacán, Mexico after almost nine years on the run.
#5 Bonnie & Clyde
Bonnie Parker came into the world on October 1, 1910, in Rowena Texas as the middle child of Henry and Emma Parker’s three kids. They had a decent life thanks to her dad’s work laying bricks but when he passed away suddenly in 1914, Emma decided to move with her children to live with her mom in Cement City, Texas which is now part of Dallas.
Clyde Barrow entered this world on March 24, 1909, in Telico Texas as one of eight siblings born to Henry and Cummie Barrow. His family struggled as tenant farmers barely scraping by enough money to feed their clan. When Clyde hit 12, his folks quit farming for tenants and relocated to West Dallas where his dad ran a gas station.
Parker and Barrow paths crossed on January 5, 1930, at Clarence Clay’s house in West Dallas. At the time, Barrow was 20 years old while Parker was just a year younger. Parker didn’t have a job and was helping her friend recover from a broken arm by staying with her. It happened that Barrow visited the house when Parker was helping out. Both of them felt an instant connection and, as they say, the rest is history.
The pair was infamous for their string of bank heists and numerous killings, even though they liked to target smaller shops or funeral homes in the countryside more. Their daring acts caught the eye of the American media and its audience during what’s sometimes called the “public enemy period” from 1931 to 1934.
In 1934, they got trapped by cops and were gunned down in Bienville Parish, Louisiana. It’s thought that they killed at least nine police officers and four civilians in the shootout; which happened following one of the most incredible police chases, spanning many states, the country had ever heard of at the time.
#6 Patrick Henry Sherrill
Not much is known about Patrick Henry Sherrill’s early years. What we do know is that he wasn’t well-liked, being a peeping tom who roamed around at night looking into neighbors’ windows. Kids made fun of him and he’d run after them while they screamed “Crazy Pat!”
In 1986, Sherrill headed to his job carrying two mailbags, and he had three Colt 45s slung over his shoulder. Outside the post office, he fired at two individuals. After that, he went inside and shot several others as they tried to run away.. He wandered around the office in search of more people to shoot, targeting individuals cowering under desks. It’s believed that Sherrill fired multiple shots at some victims even after they’d died. Before police could intercept him and using one of his guns, he shot himself in the forehead.
The gunfire stopped when Sherrill took his own life, shooting himself in the forehead as police came into the building. When the smoke settled, 14 people had been killed. There is currently a memorial, the Yellow Ribbon Memorial, which stands as a commemorative statue dedicated to Sherrill’s victims.
#7 Dalton Gang
Emmett Dalton, born in 1871 and passing away in 1937, Frank Dalton who lived from 1859 to 1887, Grattan “Grat” Dalton with his years being 1861 to 1892, Robert Rennick “Bob” Dalton born in 1869 and died in 1892, and lastly Mason Frakes or better known as “William” or “Bill” Dalton whose life spanned from 1865 till 1994 were all brothers known as the Dalton Gang.
They were five out of fifteen kids belonging to Adeline Younger and Lewis Dalton, growing up close to what was then Indian Territory in Kansas. Their mom just happened to be the sister of the Younger boys who made quite a name for themselves with the James-Younger gang.
On October 5th, 1892, Bob Grat Emmett Dalton along with Bill Powers and Dick Broadwell tried to rob two banks at once in Coffeyville Kansas. Four from the gang got shot dead while Emmett was severely injured. Four locals of Coffeyville also lost their lives: City Marshal Charles T Connelly Lucius Baldwin George Cubine and Charles Brown.
After being sentenced to life, Emmett turned into an exemplary inmate and got his freedom back thanks to a pardon from the governor of Kansas after doing fourteen and a half years behind bars.
#8 Marlow Brothers
The Marlow brothers, reigning from Marlow, Oklahoma, faced accusations of various crimes, but nothing was ever officially proven against them. It’s commonly believed that due to being pursued by the authorities, they often resorted to sleeping in makeshift hammocks among the trees, always keeping a reliable Winchester close at hand.
The story described how Boone, who was the wildest among his siblings, ended up shooting a well-liked sheriff dead and managed to flee. However, bounty hunters eventually caught and killed him. His four brothers were captured for being involved and all thrown into jail. Despite this setback they boldly escaped their cell only to get caught again.
Once they were back behind bars, they had no choice but to defend themselves against a crowd that was out to lynch them. Later on while still chained together, late in the evening officers loaded the Marlows onto wagons headed for another jail; however an ambush by furious townspeople ensued during the journey. In that chaos two brothers lost their lives from gunshots while the remaining two got badly hurt.
#9 Donald Eugene Webb
Donald Eugene Perkins came into the world in 1931, in Oklahoma City. In 1956, he decided to legally switch his name to Webb while he was in Bristol County, Massachusetts. Webb took on various jobs over the years; he worked as a butcher, salesman, managed a restaurant, and also fixed vending machines.
In 1980, a policeman, chief Gregory Adams, was attacked and fatally shot by Webb during a standard traffic stop. It’s thought he got injured while grappling with Chief Adams. The escape car used by Webb, a white Mercury Cougar, was found in the parking lot of a Howard Johnson’s in Warwick, Rhode Island about two weeks later.
Webb, who was on the run, remained one of the FBI’s ten most wanted until 2007 and held the title for being on that list longer than anyone else for some time. However, he was never caught. The killing of Police Chief Adams went unsolved; it became the longest unresolved case involving a police officer in US history.
In July of 2017, authorities found Webb’s body in Massachusetts at a property owned by his wife Lillian Webb. She managed to conceal him across two properties for nearly two decades before he passed away from a stroke in 1999.
