Charles Makley: Difference between revisions

{{one source|date=June 2018}}{{Infobox person

At the time of Makley’s incarceration, Indiana State Prison was on the silent system. Prisoners remained silent during work hours and in the dining hall. Makley was not a model prisoner, but incurred only minor infractions during his stay at Indiana State: possessing contraband cigarette papers, having an electric stove, and wearing first grade uniform to a ball game.{{Citation needed|date=February 2007}}

It was here that Makley became friends with a number of prominent bank robbers, including [[Harry Pierpont]], [[Homer Van Meter]], [[John Hamilton (gangster)|John Hamilton]], [[Russell Clark (criminal)|Russell Clark]], and [[John Dillinger]]. Dillinger was paroled in May 1933, but swore to liberate his friends, and had pistols smuggled in to Makley, Pierpont, Hamilton, Clark, and several other convicts. The pistols were smuggled in a crate of thread that was delivered to the prison shirt shop. On September 26, 1933, a total of ten armed men escaped from the main gate of Indiana State Prison.<ref name="checkmark"/> The ten escapees were Harry Pierpont, Russell Clark, Charles Makley, John Hamilton, James Jenkins, [[Ed Shouse]], Walter Dietrich, James Clark, Joseph Fox and Joseph Burns.

The ten escapees immediately split into two groups. Dietrich, Fox, Burns and James Clark commandeered a car at gunpoint from a sheriff that was taking a prisoner to Michigan city and split from the others. Makley remained with thePierpont's group headed by [[Harry Pierpont]]. They went to the home of Pierpont's girlfriend, [[Mary Kinder]], to change out of their prison uniforms, and then hid out at a farm owned by Pierpont's parents near [[Leipsic, Ohio|Leipsic]], [[Ohio]].

Nine days later, on October 12, gang members converged on the jail where Dillinger was being held. Pierpont, Makley, and Russell Clark entered the facility, while [[Ed Shouse]] remained outside as a lookout. The three men confronted Sheriff Jesse Sarber—in the presence of Deputy Wilbur Sharp and Sarber's wife—and stated that they were from Indiana State Prison with a transfer request for [[John Dillinger]]. When the sheriff asked to see their credentials, Pierpont shot him in the abdomen. Makley and one other man then physically assaulted the sheriff, mortally injuring him. They locked the deputy and Sarber's wife in a cell and left Sarber for dead while they freed Dillinger and made their escape.<ref name="checkmark"/>

On January 25, 1934, while the gang was lying low in [[Tucson, Arizona]], a fire broke out in a leaky furnace at the Hotel Congress, where Makley and Clark were staying. They were rescued by the fire department, and bribed a fireman, William Benedict, to retrieve their suitcases, which contained their guns. Days after the fire, Benedict identified Makley from his mugshot in a ''True Detective'' magazine.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fbi.gov/libref/historic/famcases/dillinger/dillinger.htm |title=FBI.gov Famous Cases: John Dillinger |accessdate=November 27, 2006 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090919030546/http://www.fbi.gov/libref/historic/famcases/dillinger/dillinger.htm |archivedate=September 19, 2009 }}</ref> Makley was apprehended at the Crabtree Electric Company, shopping for a radio, using the alias "J.C. Davies". The rest of the gang was apprehended shortly afterwards. Dillinger was extradited to Crown Point, Indiana to stand trial for the murder of Officer William O'Malley during thehis gangand Hamilton's robbery of the First National Bank in East Chicago on January 15, while Pierpont, Makley and Clark were sent back to Indiana State Prison under the supervision of Sheriff Don Sarber, the son of the [[Allen County, Ohio|Allen County]] sheriff they had killed.

All three were later extradited to Lima, Ohio, to stand trial for Sheriff Sarber's murder. Testimony from [[Ed Shouse]] saw Makley, Clark and Pierpont convicted in three consecutive trials over the course of two weeks in March 1934, while Dillinger, who had escaped Crown Point and joined up with [[Baby Face Nelson]], robbed banks in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and Mason City, Iowa. On March 24, 1934, Makley and Pierpont received death sentences, while Clark received a life sentence. On March 27, the three were transferred to the Ohio State Prison in [[Columbus, Ohio|Columbus]].<ref name="checkmark"/>

In the 2009 film ''[[Public Enemies (2009 film)|Public Enemies]]'', Makley is played by [[Christian Stolte]].