CAPTURE OF WAYNE COUNTY DESPERADOES

Dan Cunningham’s Well Devised Plans Are Successful.

One of the most desperate battles between officers of the law and outlaws in the annals of criminal strife in the Big Sandy Valley took place shortly after daylight in the month of December, 1908, at the home of Bill Vinson, about two miles below Webb Station in the extreme southern part of Wayne county and bordering on the Big Sandy river. As a result of the conflict between a posse of fourteen men, composed of ten deputy United States marshals from West Virginia, and four deputy sheriffs from Lawrence county, Kentucky, and the gang of desperadoes that have been terrorizing that section, two men were instantly killed. Deputy Sheriff Wylie Litteral of Louisa, a member of the posse that surrounded the house, was shot down and instantly killed by a bullet from the revolver of “Bill” Vinson, the father of Joe Vinson, the head of the gang.

Vinson Shot Down.

No sooner had Vinson pulled the trigger of his pistol that sent the bullet into the body of the officer than he was made a target for the automatic rifles in the hands of the officers and he expiated the crime which he had committed an instant before. Seeing that it was a fight to the finish the officers rapidly closed in around the house and succeeded in arresting Joe Vinson, the head of the gang, the man who had been defying arrest for many months, and with him Morris Bates and “Bill” Vinson, Jr., a son of the man who was killed. According to a telegram received from Deputy Marshal Dan Cunningham, the wives of the desperadoes fought like she-devils and one of the women put a knife through the body of the dead deputy sheriff. This woman, who is thought to have been the wife of the Vinson who was killed, was also placed under arrest by the marshals, and she was brought to Huntington in company with the male desperadoes and lodged in the Cabell county jail.

Joe Vinson, the head of the gang, and the one that has probably been responsible for the whole trouble, is wanted by the United States authorities on several charges, having been indicted for the illicit retailing of liquor, wanted on a bench warrant from the Eastern District of Kentucky, and in the proceedings instituted in the Federal Court of the district by his creditors to have him thrown into bankruptcy. All recent efforts which have been made by the officers to land him before the court have utterly failed, as in each instance he would make his escape with the assistance of the members of the gang that protected him. Only a few weeks ago, he was caught on the Kentucky side of the river by a deputy sheriff from Louisa, who started with him for the jail, but enroute he was overtaken by Vinson’s gang, who took their leader from the officer and brought him back to his home on the West Virginia side.

Plans Well Laid for Arrest.

United States Marshal Frank Tyree, with the assistance of his efficient assistants, have been laying plans for the past several weeks to take Vinson into custody and took the matter up with the Department of Justice at Washington. He succeeded in securing commissions for several special United States marshals to assist him in the raid upon Vinson’s fort near Webb, and at night the posse was formed after the extra men had been sworn in by Attorney J. P. Douglas of District Attorney Elliott Northcott’s office.

Armed with automatic Winchesters, the posse, headed by Deputy Marshal Sam Davis of this city, and Dan Cunningham, of Charleston, left Huntington on the midnight car for Kenova. Other members of the posse were Howard C. Smith, of the Smith Detective Agency of Charleston; Ward Brumfield, who had many exciting experiences in the Hart’s Creek feud; S. H. Owens, G. D. Acree, Joseph Messenger, C. H. Martin, T. J. Cochran and others. Upon their arrival at Kenova they were joined by Deputy Sheriff Litteral, of Louisa, and three other officers, the posse numbering in all sixteen men. They left on the train for Webb and arrived there before daylight the next morning. Just as the light of a new day was dawning, the posse reached the home of Joe Vinson, and surrounded the house. Vinson and his gang were not surprised, for they had been notified by some one from Louisa of the coming of the officers and were in waiting. After having surrounded the house, the men called for Joe Vinson to come out, and in an instant a volley of shots poured forth from various parts of the house. Their answer to the summons was “fight”. The officers, who had their guns in readiness, instantly answered the volley, and the battle began. Not less than fifty shots were fired. Two of the men who were in Vinson’s house, it is believed, made their escape while the officers succeeded in arresting three of them, Joe Vinson, Morris Bates and “Bill” Vinson, Jr. The senior Vinson was killed. Blood-hounds belonging to Howard Smith of Charleston, one of the members of the posse, were placed on the trail of the two men that are supposed to have escaped from the house, and there will probably be another battle if the dogs succeed in following up the trail. The body of Litteral was brought to Fort Gay at noon today enroute to Louisa, the home of the unfortunate man. Litteral was a young man of only twenty-five years and had only recently been married. The men who were taken in charge were disarmed, shackled, and brought to Huntington in custody of the officers. They were placed in the county jail for safe keeping.

The Record of Joe Vinson.

For the past ten years Joe Vinson had owned and operated a general store about two miles below Webb, and enjoyed an extensive and profitable trade. His bills were always discounted and he was regarded by wholesalers as a customer of first rating. A few months later he bought a plot of ground in the village of Webb, erected a storehouse thereon and had no difficulty in filling it with goods. He explained, when purchases were made, that he would be unable to pay cash as he had formerly done on account of the expense he had been put to in the erection of the new store. He had in all about twenty-five hundred dollars worth of goods in the new store at Webb, but when the bills for the goods fell due, the wholesale people were unable to make collection. Finally one hardware firm, which had credited Vinson to the extent of about five hundred dollars, instituted proceedings in bankruptcy, and a seizure warrant was issued, authorizing the creditors to take charge of the stock pending the consummation of the bankruptcy proceedings. The papers were placed in the hands of deputy United States marshals for service, but Vinson would always avoid service by crossing the Tug river into Kentucky on the approach of the deputies. Joe Vinson had also been indicted in the United States court both in Kentucky and West Virginia for illicit retailing of whiskey. Deputy Sheriff Litteral of Kentucky, who was killed, placed Vinson under arrest, but Vinson’s father, brothers and friends forcibly took him from the custody of the officer. A short time later deputy sheriff Litteral, accompanied by Roland Sammon, again arrested Vinson, and took him to Louisa, where he gave bond for his appearance before the United States court. Vinson resisted arrest at this time and there were several shots exchanged, one man being shot in the shoulder.

When the proceedings in bankruptcy were instituted it was discovered that Vinson had placed the property, where the second store was located, in his wife’s name, and as soon as the trouble arose he sold the stock of goods to the Currys, who live within a mile or two of Webb. The Currys are desperate characters, and for years had terrorized the part of Wayne county in which they lived. These goods were in turn sold by the Currys to various families in the neighborhood.

The immediate cause of the battle was the attempted arrest of Joe Vinson by the deputy marshals, and a posse of officers, on the charge of violation of section 3292 United States Statutes, which covers the illicit retailing of liquor. Vinson had sold liquor in this way for years, he and his friends being a law unto themselves, and officers attempting to serve warrants did so at the risk of their lives. Bill Vinson, who was killed, is the father of Joe Vinson. All the members of the family have been indicted at various times on various charges in Kentucky and West Virginia, but they had never been brought to justice.

The Capture of Robert Darrow, alias “Big East”

In the month of July, 1915, Henry Voirs, a Deputy Sheriff of Cabin Creek District, Kanawha County, West Virginia, residing at Ronda on the Cabin Creek Division of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway, was searching freight trains for booze runners, and came in contact with a noted colored bootlegger, Robert Darrow, alias “Big East”. This colored man had a large quantity of liquor on a freight train going up Cabin Creek and Voirs was notified of this fact and searched the train at Ronda. Voirs located Darrow on the top of a car, having his liquor concealed on the same train. When Voirs sighted Darrow he ordered him to come down from the top of the car. Instead of obeying the command of the officer, Darrow told him to “come up and get me.” Voirs started up the ladder at the side of the car and just as he reached the top Darrow shot him through the neck just below the chin, killing him instantly.

The next morning C. & O. Special Officer Rome Mitchell and others were on the trail of “Big East” and about two o’clock a.m., while searching an empty box car train in the Saint Albans yard they came upon a car with the door about six inches ajar. Mitchell shoved the door back and with a flash light in his hand looked into the car. He had no sooner done this than a shot rang out, a bullet barely missing Mitchell’s nose. After several shots were fired, Darrow succeeded in making his escape. Darrow seemed to have a charmed life, as three of the officers, including Mitchell, fired over fifteen shots at him.

After this fray with the officers, Darrow was next seen near Leon, West Virginia, with a pistol in his hand. He was later arrested in Huntington, West Virginia, on a charge of carrying concealed weapons. On searching Darrow’s belongings at his room, several letters were found addressed to him from a woman in Cincinnati, Ohio, living at 404 Johns street. Mitchell went to Cincinnati and interviewed this woman and found out that she had been a “lover” of Darrow but that he had “turned her down for another woman.” She said that if she was given $50.00 she would locate Darrow for them. Twenty-five dollars of this amount was paid to her and she was told that as soon as she located Darrow the other $25.00 would be paid. About ten days later a letter was received from her stating that Darrow was working in Erie, Pennsylvania, hustling freight in the depot there. Darrow was arrested, tried and sentenced to life imprisonment in the West Virginia Penitentiary at Moundsville and is now serving that sentence.

Darrow was a giant, being five feet eleven inches in height and weighing two hundred and twenty pounds. His wrists were so large that a pair of Peerless handcuffs cut his wrists so severely they had to be removed, as they would stop the circulation when fastened in the last notch. He was a highly educated colored man, having a patent pending in Washington, D. C., for the super-heating of locomotives. After his sentence this patent was turned over to his brother.

Missing Shoe Heel Convicts Murderer.

During the fishing season in 1906, there lived at Lamont on Cabin Creek a huge colored giant by the name of William McCoy. He was a saucy, impudent, overbearing negro and tried to be master among his race.

McCoy married a widow, who had a beautiful daughter. Soon after the marriage domestic troubles started, as McCoy thought more of the daughter than of the wife. In order to avoid trouble and publicity the mother gave her daughter’s hand in marriage to a young colored man, but after this marriage McCoy would insist upon going to call on his step-daughter, she refusing to see him.

McCoy’s heart became full of hatred and jealousy, so he planned to get rid of his step son-in-law. He arranged a fishing trip going by the way of Orange, West Virginia, to Coal river and down into Boone county. McCoy invited his step-daughter and his step son-in-law, together with his wife and a deacon in a church, to accompany him on this trip.

After they had been in camp for a few days, McCoy asked the younger man to trade shot gun shells with him, giving the boy a shell loaded with No. 8 bird shot and asking in return for a shell containing No. 2 shot usually used in hunting turkeys. The trade took place in the presence of the deacon. After the trade was consummated, McCoy pulled his knife from his pocket and cut a ring around the lower edge of the shell just between the powder and the shot. The old deacon on seeing this operation, and knowing the ill will which McCoy bore toward the younger man, left the camp and was not located for some time afterwards.

A couple of days after this occurrence, McCoy and his step-son-in-law were returning from a fishing trip, both carrying their shot guns. Before reaching the camp, McCoy deliberately fired the shell loaded with the No. 8 into the head of the younger man scattering his brains in every direction.

McCoy returned to the camp alone and when questioned by his step-daughter as to the whereabouts of her husband, McCoy stated that he had left and was not coming back and had told him the reason he was going was that he did not like his wife. McCoy produced a note from his pocket and handed it to the girl, stating that it was a note from her husband.

The young wife worried for days about her husband and finally employed the author to see if he could not be found. At this time I was acting in the capacity of peace officer in the coal fields along Cabin Creek.

After I started my investigation the circumstances were such that I suspected foul play and after I had obtained considerable facts in the case, a farmer by the name of Black Cooper came in to see me on horseback and notified me that he had found the body of a colored man on Coal Fork. I then went to the home of William McCoy and placed him under arrest and made him accompany me to the place where the body was found. I at this point turned him over to George Hendricks, a constable of Boone county, who had considerable trouble on account of mob violence in taking him to the county jail at Madison. I then found the shot gun shell near the body which no doubt was the one that contained the fatal charge that killed the colored lad. My next step was to measure tracks which led, to the body from the main road. These tracks when measured compared favorably with a No. 12 shoe, which William McCoy wore, and I discovered from one print that the heel on the right shoe was missing. A search of McCoy’s home revealed the pair of shoes which he wore on the fishing trip and the right heel was missing. Upon these circumstances an indictment was made charging McCoy with the murder. The missing shoe heel connected the missing link in the chain of circumstances surrounding the killing.

McCoy was tried at Madison, the county seat of Boone county and convicted of murder in the first degree and was given a sentence of fifteen years at hard labor. While being taken from the court house to the jail McCoy made this remark: “Clendenen, I will serve my sentence and I will settle with you in full when it is over.” To this date this account has never been settled and I hope it never will.

Restrictions Governing a Private Detective.

The public may define the word “detective” little or much. It does not always mean that the man bearing that title is invested with special privileges, power or rights. The public is apt to classify all detectives under the head of special police officers. This is not a fact, as detectives are classified under several heads; that is, Federal, Police and Private. But it is not the purpose of this article to deal with the rights, duties, privileges and restrictions of but one class, the Private Detective.

The private detective has no powers of arrest unless deputized by some bonded officer to assist him in making an arrest. The above applies to all private detectives, even those operating under the well known bureaus such as the William J. Burns and Pinkerton Agencies, as well as those belonging to local bureaus or acting as individuals. He is subject to the same restrictions that govern the ordinary citizen. He must conform to the same laws and is liable for the infractions of those laws as though he were a private citizen, which in fact he is. It must also be remembered that the private detective has no legal standing as such, and being a member of a detective agency does not give him any authority to carry fire arms, make arrests, etc., unless armed with proper papers giving him the authority. (The above to conform with the laws of the State of West Virginia.)

He becomes liable if he restrains in any manner the personal liberty of any citizen. In West Virginia and other states the law recognizes a few cases in which any citizen may make an arrest. These crimes are burglary, murder, and other felonies. In some states a bonded officer such as a constable or deputy sheriff, may enter a building forcibly if he first demands and is refused admittance, or in case of extreme emergency he may not make such demand, but the private detective has no such right and is himself liable to arrest if he forcibly enters a building unless armed with a warrant from the proper authorities.

The law considers it a felony to compound one. The same law applies to a misdemeanor charge. Many private detectives and other officers purposely refrain from reporting a fraud and other charges for the purpose of gain, but, in doing so, it is distinctly unlawful and makes them liable to arrest and prosecution. In the larger cities the private detective is called upon to make investigations where the police department is not at all interested. These charges are such as selling liquor, bribery, blackmailing, political trickery and others of the same class. Making these investigations is the duty of the private detective. In a secret way he may aid in planning a crime, but must not take part in the actual commission; he must not suggest a crime; he must not gather evidence under the false pretense that he is a regular constituted and bonded officer. He must at all times respect the rights of private citizens.

The private detective who belongs to an agency must remember that principals are held responsible for their agent’s acts, and he must not over-step his powers, as by so doing he not only makes himself liable, but also embroils and brings discredit upon his agency. He should also remember that an agent is held responsible for an act which brings loss or discredit to the firm which he represents. In case of violent and unlawful attack, the private detective may protect himself even to the extent of killing his assailant, but he must be able to prove that the killing was done in self-defense. He must be careful not to provoke attack by threats or the use of force and he must not wilfully take part in any fray.

Many of the states have laws governing the licensing and operation of such bureaus, but no state can confer special police power upon such bureaus. Special police powers, however, may be and often are conferred by county and city police authorities. Colorado has an especially severe license law requiring the applicant to give heavy bond and pay a yearly fee of fifty dollars. This however, applies only to the agencies. Georgia does not require a license for the private detective, but has an Anti-Pinkerton Law which states that no police officer of the state may deputize a man who is not a resident of the state, and no person may assume any police powers, duties or privileges who has not received his appointment from a lawfully constituted authority. A violation of this act is a misdemeanor.

A large number of states require no license for a private detective, but the very fact that they do not require a license is evidence of the fact that they do not give any privileges or immunity to men engaged in private detective work. In the following states the private detective is not required to take out a license: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, Michigan, Montana, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Nebraska, Oregon, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

The states mentioned above have a severe law for the punishment of persons carrying concealed weapons and interfering with the business or private life of an individual by impersonating an officer.

In conclusion, it must be understood that a private detective is not an officer of the law and has no right to make arrests or carry concealed weapons unless he has a license or permission to do so from the proper authorities. He cannot be appointed and is not elected and has no official capacity at all; therefore, the private detective is only a private agent and unofficial investigator. He only offers to the public his skill in investigation and detection, and his success is entirely dependent upon his own initiative. His great power is for good and if he succeeds, he becomes a friend of society and an enemy of the evil-doer. As a general rule private detectives are intelligent, useful and law-abiding citizens. I take off my hat to those that are sincere, also for the good they have done and are doing. One curse of the private detective profession is the rank amateur, the badge flasher, the gun man and the ignoramus who brings discredit upon those that are sincere and trying to do the right thing. To him, I say read this over again, study it thoroughly and make use of the information I give you for it is used here for your guidance.

With a few more remarks, I end my task. The great herd of mankind pass their lives in listless inattention and indifference as to what is going on around them, but the detective who is alert does not allow anything to escape him; consequently I would say that the key to success in the detective game is observation and attention to seemingly little things. So many men fail to succeed as they are too ready to imagine those cases wherein they might have shown their trustworthiness and integrity. The more minute and trivial opportunities of being just and up-right are constantly occurring to those engaged in the detective profession.

Honesty, in this profession, as in all others, is the best policy, and bear in mind “that which ye sow, ye shall also reap.”

THE END