An overview of headlines from criminals in the state of Arizona. Black and white photographs.

Crimes & Misdeeds: Headlines from Arizona's Past

History

Rogers, W. Lane

Americas

UNKNO

World War II was over when a soldier gazed down at Camp Salina from atop a machine-gun tower. Moments later, he fired into the tents of 250 German POWs. Nine prisoners were murdered, twenty were wounded. In 1925, Robert Marshall, a black man, was snatched from the Carbon County jail. A mob hanged him—more than once—from a tree limb. Some 800 men, women and children viewed the dangling corpse, and a ghoulish photographer sold snapshots door-to-door for a quarter apiece. A Bible-thumping vulgarian roamed an Ogden neighborhood in 1943, armed with a loaded shotgun. He unloaded it into the bodies of seven random victims including a prominent judge. Five died, two were badly wounded.

Ruthless Acts: The Utah Murders

Macfarlane, Kay Rose

Publishamerica Inc

Bringing a dark and forgotten era into vivid life, this fascinating history explores a booming criminal enterprise that was spawned in California in the 1920s and 1930s. Exposing a spree of kidnappings referred to as the ""snatch racket,"" true accounts of the crimes and the unfortunate victims are revealed. Driven by greed, desperation, or sheer stupidity, this detailed discussion explains that the ransom artists preyed indiscriminately on Hollywood socialites, wealthy heiresses, and even the poor--while each new disappearance brought new headlines and sales to the newspaper companies. Illustrating the manner in which even the simplest capers would often run tragically awry, 15 bizarre and often ironic tales are presented, including how a modern city rose to lynch a pair of kidnappers, the college kids who chose to imitate Leopold and Loeb, and the famed evangelist who faked her own abduction to cover up an affair. Early forensic techniques are described, including the first documented call tracing using a bevy of operators in a phone chain, as well as the birth of the modern symbiotic relationship between the news media and high-profile crime, demonstrating how the sensationalism of personal tragedy became a source for increased media sales.

The California Snatch Racket: Kidnappings During the Prohibition and Depression Eras

Smith, James R.

Craven Street Books

In 1940, Gray wrote this manuscript containing reminiscences about the Gray family's settlement in Arizona and New Mexico in the 1880s and 1890s. He relates his father's problems with land purchases in Tombstone and provides brief descriptions of local merchants, town characters and county law enforcement in Tombstone in 1880. Gray gives an eyewitness account of the shootout at the OK Corral.

When All Roads Led to Tombstone: A Memoir

Biographies & Memoirs

Duncklee, John

Gray, John Plesant

Historical

Tamarack Books

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Rogers, W. Lane. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Rogers, W. Lane