Jake Fleagle, along with his brother Ralph and two other gang members, George Abshier, and Howard "Heavy" Royston robbed the First National Bank in Lamar, Colorado on May 14, 1928. In the process, they killed father and son bankers A.N. and J.N. Parrish. During the robbery, Royston recieved a shot to the jaw by the gun of A.N. Parrish and had to recieve medical attention from Dighton, Kansas doctor W. W. Wineinger, who the gang lured to their hideout with a false story about a boy being injured in a tractor accident. The doctor was killed and his car pushed off in a ravine near Scott City, Kansas. When the car was found, it was dusted for fingerprints, and Jake's prints were found in the Dr.'s blood on a rolled down window. This was the very first time in history that a finger print was used to convict anyone of a crime. As the gang made their escape Southward, they killed their hostage, a bank employee named Everett Kissenger and hid the body under the floor of a shack in the Cimarron River valley, just North and East of Liberal, Kansas.
Because of the identification of Jake's fingerprints, the FBI started monitoring the mail of Jacob Fleagle Sr., (Ralph and Jake's father) of Marienthal, Kansas and found out that Ralph was sending mail from a city in Illinoise, and he was arrested. Ralph "squealed" on the other gang members, and Royston and Abshier were soon arrested. After a sensational series of trials, Ralph Fleagle, Roston and Abshier were hung in the Colorado State Penitentiary in Canon City on July 10, 1930. Jake remained at large until an annoumous tip placed him at Branson, Missouri, where he was shot at the railroad depot after a gunfight with authorities. Even though Jake was shot in Branson, the officers failed to make it to the hospital in nearby Springfield, Mo. before Jake died some 24 hours later.
As a result of this heinous crime, few years later, Bud Billings and his orchestra recorded the nation-wide hit "The Fate Of The Fleagle Gang".
Because of the identification of Jake's fingerprints, the FBI started monitoring the mail of Jacob Fleagle Sr., (Ralph and Jake's father) of Marienthal, Kansas and found out that Ralph was sending mail from a city in Illinoise, and he was arrested. Ralph "squealed" on the other gang members, and Royston and Abshier were soon arrested. After a sensational series of trials, Ralph Fleagle, Roston and Abshier were hung in the Colorado State Penitentiary in Canon City on July 10, 1930. Jake remained at large until an annoumous tip placed him at Branson, Missouri, where he was shot at the railroad depot after a gunfight with authorities. Even though Jake was shot in Branson, the officers failed to make it to the hospital in nearby Springfield, Mo. before Jake died some 24 hours later.
As a result of this heinous crime, few years later, Bud Billings and his orchestra recorded the nation-wide hit "The Fate Of The Fleagle Gang".
Jake Fleagle, along with his brother Ralph and two other gang members, George Abshier, and Howard "Heavy" Royston robbed the First National Bank in Lamar, Colorado on May 14, 1928. In the process, they killed father and son bankers A.N. and J.N. Parrish. During the robbery, Royston recieved a shot to the jaw by the gun of A.N. Parrish and had to recieve medical attention from Dighton, Kansas doctor W. W. Wineinger, who the gang lured to their hideout with a false story about a boy being injured in a tractor accident. The doctor was killed and his car pushed off in a ravine near Scott City, Kansas. When the car was found, it was dusted for fingerprints, and Jake's prints were found in the Dr.'s blood on a rolled down window. This was the very first time in history that a finger print was used to convict anyone of a crime. As the gang made their escape Southward, they killed their hostage, a bank employee named Everett Kissenger and hid the body under the floor of a shack in the Cimarron River valley, just North and East of Liberal, Kansas.
Because of the identification of Jake's fingerprints, the FBI started monitoring the mail of Jacob Fleagle Sr., (Ralph and Jake's father) of Marienthal, Kansas and found out that Ralph was sending mail from a city in Illinoise, and he was arrested. Ralph "squealed" on the other gang members, and Royston and Abshier were soon arrested. After a sensational series of trials, Ralph Fleagle, Roston and Abshier were hung in the Colorado State Penitentiary in Canon City on July 10, 1930. Jake remained at large until an annoumous tip placed him at Branson, Missouri, where he was shot at the railroad depot after a gunfight with authorities. Even though Jake was shot in Branson, the officers failed to make it to the hospital in nearby Springfield, Mo. before Jake died some 24 hours later.
As a result of this heinous crime, few years later, Bud Billings and his orchestra recorded the nation-wide hit "The Fate Of The Fleagle Gang".
Because of the identification of Jake's fingerprints, the FBI started monitoring the mail of Jacob Fleagle Sr., (Ralph and Jake's father) of Marienthal, Kansas and found out that Ralph was sending mail from a city in Illinoise, and he was arrested. Ralph "squealed" on the other gang members, and Royston and Abshier were soon arrested. After a sensational series of trials, Ralph Fleagle, Roston and Abshier were hung in the Colorado State Penitentiary in Canon City on July 10, 1930. Jake remained at large until an annoumous tip placed him at Branson, Missouri, where he was shot at the railroad depot after a gunfight with authorities. Even though Jake was shot in Branson, the officers failed to make it to the hospital in nearby Springfield, Mo. before Jake died some 24 hours later.
As a result of this heinous crime, few years later, Bud Billings and his orchestra recorded the nation-wide hit "The Fate Of The Fleagle Gang".
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