Description: 1934 newspaper JOHN DILLINGER GANG member HOMER VAN METER is SHOT DEAD by Police in St Paul, MINNESOTA - inv # 8V-403 Please visit our EBAY STORE for THOUSANDS of HISTORICAL NEWSPAPERS on sale or at auction. SEE PHOTO----- COMPLETE, ORIGINAL NEWSPAPER, the Greensboro Daily News (NC) dated Aug 24, 1934. This newspaper contains a front page heading and long report of John Dillinger gang member HOMER VAN METER being shot to death in St Paul, MN by police when he tried to flee from them. Homer Virgil Van Meter (December 3, 1905 – August 23, 1934) was an American criminal and bank robber active in the early 20th century, most notably as a criminal associate of John Dillinger and Baby Face Nelson. On August 23, 1934 at the corner of Marion Street and University Avenue in St. Paul, Van Meter was confronted by four police officers, including Chief Frank Cullen, Detective Tom Brown, and two other men, all heavily armed with rifles and Thompson submachine guns. Brown was a former police chief, who had been notorious for his willingness to take bribes from criminals. Van Meter had previously helped to fund Brown's bid to become sheriff. By this time Brown had been demoted and was under investigation for corruption and allegations that he had been an accomplice to the Barker-Karpis gang in the kidnappings of William Hamm and Edward Bremer. The FBI were interviewing captured former criminal associates. The officers later claimed Van Meter ignored their command to stop and fled into a nearby alley, where he fired twice on the officers with a .45 caliber pistol. Chief of Police Frank Cullen, armed with a rifle, held his fire as a bystander walked into the line of fire, but the remaining officers opened fire on Van Meter, who fell dead. He was 28 years old. Brown continued to fire at Van Meter as he lay prone; the impact of the bullets ripped off one finger and nearly severed a thumb and finger of the right hand. The body was found to be armed with a .45-caliber Colt automatic pistol. The number and severity of Van Meter's wounds were attributed to the use of the Thompson submachine gun. Van Meter's family later said that their kin had been used for "target practice". The four officers reported $1,323 found on Van Meter, although his friends and associates claimed he was carrying at least $10,000 on that day. A number of explanations of who betrayed Van Meter to the police have been advanced since his death, including Baby Face Nelson, with whom he had quarreled, by St. Paul crime boss Harry Sawyer and associate Jack Peifer, and by local St. Paul bank robber Tommy Gannon. According to a 1939 FBI interview of one Thomas Kirwin, a handyman who worked on Harry Sawyer's farm north of St. Paul, and who had harbored both Gannon and Van Meter there, Gannon betrayed Van Meter to the St. Paul police in collusion with Peifer and Sawyer, who split $10,000 or so in Van Meter's money with the police, while Gannon was given Van Meter's guns. That same year, the FBI announced that it believed Sawyer had set up Van Meter to get at his money, splitting the take with the four ranking officers who did the shooting. Very good condition. This listing includes the complete entire original newspaper, NOT just a clipping or a page of it. STEPHEN A. GOLDMAN HISTORICAL NEWSPAPERS stands behind all of the items that we sell with a no questions asked, money back guarantee. Every item we sell is an original newspaper printed on the date indicated at the beginning of its description. U.S. buyers pay priority mail postage which includes waterproof plastic and a heavy cardboard flat to protect your purchase from damage in the mail. International postage is quoted when we are informed as to where the package is to be sent. We do combine postage (to reduce postage costs) for multiple purchases sent in the same package. We list thousands of rare newspapers with dates from 1570 through 2004 on Ebay each week. This is truly SIX CENTURIES OF HISTORY that YOU CAN OWN! Stephen A. Goldman Historical Newspapers has been in the business of buying and selling historical newspapers for over 45 years. Dr. Goldman is a consultant to the Freedom Forum Newseum and a member of the American Antiquarian Society. You can buy with confidence from us, knowing that we stand behind all of our historical items with a 100% money back guarantee. Let our 45+ years of experience work for YOU ! We have hundreds of thousands of historical newspapers (and their very early precursors) for sale.
Price: 20 USD
Location: Oxford, Maryland
End Time: 2024-11-30T20:58:56.000Z
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Return shipping will be paid by: Buyer
All returns accepted: Returns Accepted
Item must be returned within: 30 Days
Refund will be given as: Money Back
