United States v. One Ford V-8 Sedan, 7 F. Supp. 705 (W.D. Mich. 1934)

Federal forfeiture opinion over a car claimed by John Hamilton's sister at Sault Ste. Marie. It recites that Dillinger escaped from the Lake County Jail at Crown Point on 3 March 1934 in a Ford sedan stolen from the sheriff.

Date: 1934-07-12
Kind: court-opinion
Source: CourtListener
Retrieved: 2026-10-12
Docket: 272
Rights: Opinion of a federal court. A United States government work; judicial opinions are not subject to copyright (17 U.S.C. § 105). The text is served by CourtListener.

This is the district court’s opinion in a forfeiture case over a Ford V-8 sedan claimed by the sister of John Hamilton, a member of Dillinger’s group. In stating the facts, the court says that Dillinger “escaped from the Lake County Jail, Crown Point, Ind., on March 3, 1934, in a Ford sedan stolen from the sheriff of that county,” that a warrant under the Dyer Act issued at Chicago on March 8, 1934, and that Dillinger, Hamilton and a woman visited the claimant’s home at Sault Ste. Marie on April 17, 1934.

The case is a civil proceeding against property. Its facts are the court’s findings for the forfeiture question and are given here as the court states them. The National Archives holds the case file (No. 272), with arrest warrants for Hamilton and Dillinger and a statement by the claimant; it is cited above and was not read for this archive.

itemThe United States of America vs. Anna Hamilton Campbell Steve, Charles Campbell, John Hamilton, and Pat Cherrington (harboring, 1934)Federal criminal case file on the harboring of John Dillinger at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan in 1934. Forty digitized pages.

itemIdentification Order No. 1217: John Dillinger (12 March 1934), stamped "Cancelled"Division of Investigation wanted notice for John Dillinger, alias Frank Sullivan, under the National Motor Vehicle Theft Act, issued nine days after the Crown Point jail escape. The FBI's copy is stamped CANCELLED. A copy is stored here.

itemJohn Herbert Dillinger case file, U.S. Attorney, Northern District of Indiana (National Archives at Chicago)Catalog entry for the U.S. Attorney's file that, per NARA's description, documents Dillinger's 3 March 1934 escape from the Crown Point, Indiana, jail, which NARA says he made with a fake handgun carved from wood. 167 digitized pages.