Martin James Durkin
Encyclopedia
Martin James Durkin was an American criminal and car thief. He is credited as the first man to kill a federal agent and was the subject of an intense manhunt by the Federal Bureau of Investigation
. Personally led by J. Edgar Hoover
, then recently appointed Director of the FBI, it was one of the first major investigations by the agency, who were led by Durkin on a three-month chase through five states before his capture in 1926.
The reaction from the FBI was particularly aggressive and widely considered "a matter of pride and personal security" among virtually the entire agency. According to popular lore, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover
called an aide to his office after hearing news of Shanahan's death and said "We've got to get Durkin. If one man from the Bureau is killed, and the killer is permitted to get away, our agents will never be safe. We can't let him get away with it."
Hoover authorized one of the first and largest manhunts in the FBI's history, which stretched across the country and included several major cities. Durkin did not immediately flee Chicago and remained in the city until killing a police officer, Sergeant Harry J. Gray, and wounding another on November 2, 1925. Federal agents followed him to California, where he was involved in a San Diego car theft, and then to Arizona
, New Mexico
and Texas
. In El Paso
, Durkin was stopped by a local sheriff who noticed Durkin carrying a pistol. He was then traveling with his girlfriend in a stolen Cadillac but falsely claimed that he was a deputy sheriff from California and was passing through on vacation. The sheriff allowed Durkin to retrieve his police identification from a nearby hotel but they instead took the opportunity to escape by driving into the Texas desert.
The FBI soon arrived in El Paso, shortly after Durkin's abandoned car was found wrecked and partially buried in mesquite
. Investigators found a rancher who recalled a man and woman who had shown up at his home and asked for a lift to the nearest town. He agreed to drive them to Girvin and remembered overhearing a conversation the couple had which suggested they planned to catch a train in Alpine, Texas
, the seat
in Brewster County.
Although only 50 miles away from the Mexican border, authorities believed that Durkin would remain in the United States and most likely arrange travel to a large metropolitan area. A railroad ticket agent in Alpine identified Durkin as the man who had bought railroad tickets from him to San Antonio and from there to St. Louis. Durkin had already boarded a train to St. Louis on January 20, 1926, and was scheduled to arrive in the city at 11:00 am that same day. Investigators immediately phoned the FBI office in Missouri to intercept him and, cooperating with St. Louis police, had the train stopped at a small town just outside the St. Louis city limits. With the station surrounded on all sides by open farmland, there was little chance for Durkin to escape, and the train was boarded by federal agents and police officers, who arrested the fugitive in his private compartment before he could reach for his guns.
Durkin confessed to the murder of Shanahan once in custody but, as killing a FBI agent was not yet a federal crime, he was tried and convicted by the state of Illinois for murder and sentenced to 35 years imprisonment. Durkin was then tried in federal court, where he received 15 additional years for violations of the Dyer Act, but they were unable to prosecute him for the murder of Shanahan. Durkin spent almost 20 years at the Illinois state prison and, after his release on August 8, 1945, he was transferred to Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary where he remained until his parole on July 28, 1954. Durkin died in 1981.
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
. Personally led by J. Edgar Hoover
J. Edgar Hoover
John Edgar Hoover was the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States. Appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation—predecessor to the FBI—in 1924, he was instrumental in founding the FBI in 1935, where he remained director until his death in 1972...
, then recently appointed Director of the FBI, it was one of the first major investigations by the agency, who were led by Durkin on a three-month chase through five states before his capture in 1926.
Biography
In late 1925, Durkin came under investigation by federal authorities for violation of the Dyer Act. A professional car thief, the 25-year-old was suspected of transporting stolen cars across state lines. On October 11, 1925, Durkin was followed to a Chicago garage by federal Special Agent Edwin C. Shanahan. When Shanahan approached his car, Durkin surprised the agent by drawing his gun and shooting him in the chest. The story received instant national attention, not only because Shanahan was the first federal agent to be killed in the line of duty, but that he was unarmed at the time of his death, as federal agents were then prohibited from carrying weapons.The reaction from the FBI was particularly aggressive and widely considered "a matter of pride and personal security" among virtually the entire agency. According to popular lore, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover
J. Edgar Hoover
John Edgar Hoover was the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States. Appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation—predecessor to the FBI—in 1924, he was instrumental in founding the FBI in 1935, where he remained director until his death in 1972...
called an aide to his office after hearing news of Shanahan's death and said "We've got to get Durkin. If one man from the Bureau is killed, and the killer is permitted to get away, our agents will never be safe. We can't let him get away with it."
Hoover authorized one of the first and largest manhunts in the FBI's history, which stretched across the country and included several major cities. Durkin did not immediately flee Chicago and remained in the city until killing a police officer, Sergeant Harry J. Gray, and wounding another on November 2, 1925. Federal agents followed him to California, where he was involved in a San Diego car theft, and then to Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
and Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. In El Paso
El Paso
El Paso, a city in the U.S. state of Texas, on the border with Mexico.El Paso may also refer to:-Geography:Colombia:* El Paso, CesarSpain:*El Paso, Santa Cruz de TenerifeUnited States:...
, Durkin was stopped by a local sheriff who noticed Durkin carrying a pistol. He was then traveling with his girlfriend in a stolen Cadillac but falsely claimed that he was a deputy sheriff from California and was passing through on vacation. The sheriff allowed Durkin to retrieve his police identification from a nearby hotel but they instead took the opportunity to escape by driving into the Texas desert.
The FBI soon arrived in El Paso, shortly after Durkin's abandoned car was found wrecked and partially buried in mesquite
Mesquite
Mesquite is a leguminous plant of the Prosopis genus found in northern Mexico through the Sonoran Desert and Chihuahuan Deserts, and up into the Southwestern United States as far north as southern Kansas, west to the Colorado Desert in California,and east to the eastern fifth of Texas, where...
. Investigators found a rancher who recalled a man and woman who had shown up at his home and asked for a lift to the nearest town. He agreed to drive them to Girvin and remembered overhearing a conversation the couple had which suggested they planned to catch a train in Alpine, Texas
Alpine, Texas
Alpine is a city in and the county seat of Brewster County, Texas, United States. The population was 5,786 people at the 2000 census, and had increased to 5,905 by 2010.-History:...
, the seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
in Brewster County.
Although only 50 miles away from the Mexican border, authorities believed that Durkin would remain in the United States and most likely arrange travel to a large metropolitan area. A railroad ticket agent in Alpine identified Durkin as the man who had bought railroad tickets from him to San Antonio and from there to St. Louis. Durkin had already boarded a train to St. Louis on January 20, 1926, and was scheduled to arrive in the city at 11:00 am that same day. Investigators immediately phoned the FBI office in Missouri to intercept him and, cooperating with St. Louis police, had the train stopped at a small town just outside the St. Louis city limits. With the station surrounded on all sides by open farmland, there was little chance for Durkin to escape, and the train was boarded by federal agents and police officers, who arrested the fugitive in his private compartment before he could reach for his guns.
Durkin confessed to the murder of Shanahan once in custody but, as killing a FBI agent was not yet a federal crime, he was tried and convicted by the state of Illinois for murder and sentenced to 35 years imprisonment. Durkin was then tried in federal court, where he received 15 additional years for violations of the Dyer Act, but they were unable to prosecute him for the murder of Shanahan. Durkin spent almost 20 years at the Illinois state prison and, after his release on August 8, 1945, he was transferred to Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary where he remained until his parole on July 28, 1954. Durkin died in 1981.