14. The Indiana bank robbery spree of 1924-25
Beginning in late 1924 and stretching into the early spring of 1925 a series of bank robberies throughout Indiana baffled authorities, as bank after bank found itself victim to a gang which simply vanished into thin air following the robberies. The crime spree started with the robbery of the South Marion State Bank in November 1924. In December a robbery attempt was foiled when a bank worker pushed an alarm button, forcing the would-be robbers to flee empty-handed, but a week later they were more successful at a bank in Upland, Indiana. Descriptions of some of the robbers led to arrests and authorities learned of plans for further robberies during interrogations, but the police were unable to locate the ringleader of the group, Harry Pierpont.
In March the crime spree began again, and in that month alone three additional Indiana banks were robbed by Pierpont and his associates, in New Harmony, Kokomo, and Laketon. In April 1925, Pierpont was arrested in Detroit and was soon returned to Indiana to face trial. Pierpont was found guilty and sentenced to a minimum of ten years in the Indiana Reformatory. He was later transferred to the State Prison, where he worked out an escape plan with John Dillinger. Escaping successfully, Pierpont was involved in several additional bank robberies with Dillinger. Eventually, Pierpont was tried for the murder of the Allen County Sheriff in Ohio, convicted and sentenced to death. He was executed at the Ohio State Penitentiary in October 1934, after a failed escape attempt left him severely wounded.