Kimes-Terrill Gang
Encyclopedia
The Kimes-Terrill Gang was a bank robbing gang, led by Matthew Kimes and Ray Terrill, active in the Midwestern United States
during the 1920s. The gang was known, not only for their high-profile robberies, but for their frequent escapes from prison. The members were alleged to have sworn a blood oath to free each other from jail, should they ever be captured, or die in the attempt.
during the early 1920s. Many future Depression-era outlaws came from this group, most prominently, Volney Davis
and the Barker Gang. Then using the alias "G.R. Patton", he was arrested with Arthur Barker
while burglarizing a bank in Muskogee, Oklahoma
on January 15, 1921. He was convicted of second-degree burglary and sentenced to year years in prison. Upon his release on March 1, 1923, Terrill joined up with Al Spencer's gang and participated in the March 26 bank robbery in Mannford witch left two people killed during the getaway and shootout. He was also part of Spencer's team, which included Frank Nash
among others, that stole $20,000 in cash and bonds from the Katy Limited near Okesa on August 20, 1923. This was the last recorded train robbery in the state's history.
After Spencer was killed by police a month later, Terrill formed his own gang. Some of his earliest recruits were Herman Barker, Wilbur Underhill and Elmer H. Inman
. His gang specialized in night burglaries of banks and stores with a unique method of raiding their targets. Using stolen trucks, they extracted the safes and drove them Herman Barker's Radium Springs Health Resort near Salina, Oklahoma
. Once there, the safes would be unlocked by safe crackers and emptied, then driven out to a nearby bridge at night where they would be dumped.
Terrill and his gang operated for three years until he and Inman were arrested for burglary in Ardmore in 1926. They were both convicted and sentenced to years each, but escaped from prison together on September 27, 1926. The two went their separate ways after escaping and Terrill set out to reform his gang.
on June 30, 1926, Matt having escaped from jail in Bristow
the previous day. Only three months before Kimes escaped from prison, the brothers went on a brief crime spree of their own before meeting up with Kimes. On August 20, they stole $5,000 from a bank in Beggs
and led a gang which simultaneously raided two banks in Covington
six days later.
The Kimes brothers were confronted by police in Sallisaw on August 27. A shootout occurred which resulted in the death of Deputy Perry Chuculate and the kidnapping of the police chief and another hostage as they attempted to flee to Arkansas. They were trapped by authorities near Rudy the next day, holding out at the home of their cousin Ben Pixley, and surrendered to police after both were wounded in a second gunfight. George Kimes was sentenced to 25 years for bank robbery and sent to McAlester state penitentiary while Matthew was given 30 years for the death of police officer Perry Chuculate.
On November 21, 1926, Terrill led a raid on the Sallisaw jail with Herman Barker and Elmer Inman and broke out their newest recruit, Matthew Kimes. The gang's first robbery occurred on January 10, 1927, when Kimes, Terrill and Barker stole $42,950 from a bank in Sapulpa, Oklahoma
. A week later, the three men were caught by police burglarizing a bank with two others in Joplin, Missouri
. The gang fled in to getaway cars and split up during the police chase. Matt Kimes and the two unknown men escaped into Kansas after a high speed pursuit. Terrill and Barker however were followed to a house in Carterville where, after Baker was wounded in a shootout with police, the outlaws surrendered.
On May 27, Terrill was named by authorities as the prime suspect in a daylight bank robbery in McCune, Kansas
in which $207,000 was stolen. Two days later, Kimes and Terrill returned to Beggs, Oklahoma with nine other gunmen and looted two banks of $18,000. Marshal W.J. McAnally was gunned down in the street while attempting to stop one of the robberies.
This was the gang's last robbery as, on June 24, Matt Kimes and Raymond Doolin were arrested in Arizona near the Grand Canyon. Returned to Oklahoma, Kimes was sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in the murder of W.J. McAnally. Terrill and Inman were arrested in Hot Springs, Arkansas
on November 26, 1927, and was also sent to McAlester where the Kimes brothers were also held.
Ray Terrill died in prison, but Kimes eventually escaped from McAlester. He was able to obtain a six-day leave of absence, with the help of influential friends, and released to go quail hunting with his lawyer on November 26, 1934. He was given another leave in November 1945, but chose to escape and robbed a bank in Merton, Texas. A warrant was made for his arrest, however Kimes was run down by a poultry truck in North Little Rock and died on December 1, 1945.
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....
during the 1920s. The gang was known, not only for their high-profile robberies, but for their frequent escapes from prison. The members were alleged to have sworn a blood oath to free each other from jail, should they ever be captured, or die in the attempt.
Terrill and the Central Park Gang
Ray Terrill began working with the famed Central Park Gang based in Tulsa, OklahomaTulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
during the early 1920s. Many future Depression-era outlaws came from this group, most prominently, Volney Davis
Volney Davis
Volney Curley Davis was an American bank robber and Depression-era outlaw. A longtime Oklahoma bandit, he was the boyfriend of Edna Murray and an associate of both the John Dillinger and Alvin Karpis-Barker gangs during the 1930s.-Biography:Born in Cherokee Nation, Oklahoma, Volney Davis's...
and the Barker Gang. Then using the alias "G.R. Patton", he was arrested with Arthur Barker
Arthur Barker
Arthur R. "Doc" Barker was an American criminal, the son of Ma Barker and a member of the Barker-Karpis gang along with Alvin Karpis....
while burglarizing a bank in Muskogee, Oklahoma
Muskogee, Oklahoma
Muskogee is a city in Muskogee County, Oklahoma, United States. It is the county seat of Muskogee County, and home to Bacone College. The population was 38,310 at the 2000 census, making it the eleventh-largest city in Oklahoma....
on January 15, 1921. He was convicted of second-degree burglary and sentenced to year years in prison. Upon his release on March 1, 1923, Terrill joined up with Al Spencer's gang and participated in the March 26 bank robbery in Mannford witch left two people killed during the getaway and shootout. He was also part of Spencer's team, which included Frank Nash
Frank 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...
among others, that stole $20,000 in cash and bonds from the Katy Limited near Okesa on August 20, 1923. This was the last recorded train robbery in the state's history.
After Spencer was killed by police a month later, Terrill formed his own gang. Some of his earliest recruits were Herman Barker, Wilbur Underhill and Elmer H. Inman
Elmer H. Inman
Elmer H. Inman was an American criminal, bank robber, jewel thief and Depression-era outlaw. At one time considered Oklahoma's "Public Enemy No. 1", he was a member of the Kimes-Terrill Gang and associated with Herman Barker and Wilbur Underhill, Jr. throughout the early-1930s.-Early life and...
. His gang specialized in night burglaries of banks and stores with a unique method of raiding their targets. Using stolen trucks, they extracted the safes and drove them Herman Barker's Radium Springs Health Resort near Salina, Oklahoma
Salina, Oklahoma
Salina is a town in Mayes County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1,396 at the 2010 census, a slight decline from 1,422 at the 2000 census.-History:...
. Once there, the safes would be unlocked by safe crackers and emptied, then driven out to a nearby bridge at night where they would be dumped.
Terrill and his gang operated for three years until he and Inman were arrested for burglary in Ardmore in 1926. They were both convicted and sentenced to years each, but escaped from prison together on September 27, 1926. The two went their separate ways after escaping and Terrill set out to reform his gang.
Partnership with the Kimes Brothers
George and Matthew Kimes robbed their first bank together in Depew, OklahomaDepew, Oklahoma
Depew is a town in Creek County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 564 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Depew is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all of it land....
on June 30, 1926, Matt having escaped from jail in Bristow
Bristow, Oklahoma
Bristow is a city in Creek County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 4,325 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Bristow is located at ....
the previous day. Only three months before Kimes escaped from prison, the brothers went on a brief crime spree of their own before meeting up with Kimes. On August 20, they stole $5,000 from a bank in Beggs
Beggs, Oklahoma
Beggs is a city in Okmulgee County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1,364 at the 2000 census. Beggs was named for C.H. Beggs, vice president of the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway.-Geography:...
and led a gang which simultaneously raided two banks in Covington
Covington, Oklahoma
Covington is a town in Garfield County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 553 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Covington is located at ....
six days later.
The Kimes brothers were confronted by police in Sallisaw on August 27. A shootout occurred which resulted in the death of Deputy Perry Chuculate and the kidnapping of the police chief and another hostage as they attempted to flee to Arkansas. They were trapped by authorities near Rudy the next day, holding out at the home of their cousin Ben Pixley, and surrendered to police after both were wounded in a second gunfight. George Kimes was sentenced to 25 years for bank robbery and sent to McAlester state penitentiary while Matthew was given 30 years for the death of police officer Perry Chuculate.
On November 21, 1926, Terrill led a raid on the Sallisaw jail with Herman Barker and Elmer Inman and broke out their newest recruit, Matthew Kimes. The gang's first robbery occurred on January 10, 1927, when Kimes, Terrill and Barker stole $42,950 from a bank in Sapulpa, Oklahoma
Sapulpa, Oklahoma
Sapulpa is a city in Creek and Tulsa counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 20,544 at the 2010 United States census, compared to 19,166 at the 2000 census...
. A week later, the three men were caught by police burglarizing a bank with two others in Joplin, Missouri
Joplin, Missouri
Joplin is a city in southern Jasper County and northern Newton County in the southwestern corner of the US state of Missouri. Joplin is the largest city in Jasper County, though it is not the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 50,150...
. The gang fled in to getaway cars and split up during the police chase. Matt Kimes and the two unknown men escaped into Kansas after a high speed pursuit. Terrill and Barker however were followed to a house in Carterville where, after Baker was wounded in a shootout with police, the outlaws surrendered.
Final years and imprisonment
Terrill was not brought to trial for this recent crime spree and instead was to be returned to prison and complete his 1926 prison sentence. On January 19, 1927, while being transferred to McAlester however, he escaped from custody leaping from a moving police car and fled on foot. He rejoined Kimes in another series of bank robberies.On May 27, Terrill was named by authorities as the prime suspect in a daylight bank robbery in McCune, Kansas
McCune, Kansas
McCune is a city in Crawford County, Kansas, United States. The population was 405 at the 2010 census.-Geography:McCune is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....
in which $207,000 was stolen. Two days later, Kimes and Terrill returned to Beggs, Oklahoma with nine other gunmen and looted two banks of $18,000. Marshal W.J. McAnally was gunned down in the street while attempting to stop one of the robberies.
This was the gang's last robbery as, on June 24, Matt Kimes and Raymond Doolin were arrested in Arizona near the Grand Canyon. Returned to Oklahoma, Kimes was sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in the murder of W.J. McAnally. Terrill and Inman were arrested in Hot Springs, Arkansas
Hot Springs, Arkansas
Hot Springs is the 10th most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas, the county seat of Garland County, and the principal city of the Hot Springs Metropolitan Statistical Area encompassing all of Garland County...
on November 26, 1927, and was also sent to McAlester where the Kimes brothers were also held.
Ray Terrill died in prison, but Kimes eventually escaped from McAlester. He was able to obtain a six-day leave of absence, with the help of influential friends, and released to go quail hunting with his lawyer on November 26, 1934. He was given another leave in November 1945, but chose to escape and robbed a bank in Merton, Texas. A warrant was made for his arrest, however Kimes was run down by a poultry truck in North Little Rock and died on December 1, 1945.
Further reading
- Koch, Michael. The Kimes Gang. Bloomington, Indiana: AuthorHouse, 2005. ISBN 1-4184-7128-3