Jail Break and Murder

When William Rudolph broke out of the St. Louis Jail on Independence Day 1903, the newspapers called it an act of unprecedented daring. However, twenty-two years earlier, Frank Fone and John D. Shea broke out of the St. Louis Jail the same way.

Fone og Shea var lokale kriminelle, who frequented the Downtown area. Shea was violent, while Fone was a sneak thief. Fone also had a reputation for being able to escape jails and prisons. November 7, 1881, St. Louis -politiet arresterte Shea og Fone for tidligere tyverier.

Perhaps taking Shea and Fone lightly due to their youth, the corrections officer in charge did not chain them together. Shea and Fone took advantage of their free limbs to climb to the skylight on the third floor, kick it out and exit through the opening. Once on the roof, Shea og Fone hoppet ned tjue meter til fortauet og løp ut på Clark Avenue.

Shea og Fone var så overbevisende, they returned to their old haunts in Downtown instead of lying low. Rundt 9 am, Shea and Fone were with a crowd of youths on Eighth and Olive near the Custom House. Shea kjempet med en gruppe lokale ungdommer, ran from the group, threw a rock at one of the participants and fired a pistol in the air.

Offiser Finn så altercation, gikk til mengden, og la en hånd på Sheas skulder for å vise at han var arrestert. Finn visste ikke at han hadde å gjøre med en rømming.
Shea struck Finn a hard blow. Finn was slightly staggered but clubbed Shea to the ground. Bleeding from a head wound, Shea flyktet med Fone da han avfyrte skudd mot Finn. Finn returned fire.

St. Louis Police Officer Patrick Doran was in Zahn’s Saloon on Seventh Street between St. Charles and Washington Avenue. Doran, an exemplary officer with a good record, heard the running gun battle and exited the saloon. As Doran stepped out onto the pavement, he slipped and almost fell.

Da Doran bøyde seg for å gjenvinne føttene, Shea pekte pistolen sin mot Doran da han løp forbi. Shea skjøt offiseren i hodet mens Doran bøyde seg i midjen. Doran fell back onto a cellar door. Det dødelige skuddet drepte Doran døde på få sekunder.

Shea and Fone continued to run. Shea prøvde å skyte en privat sikkerhetsvakt ved navn Hill, Men revolveren hans var enten tom eller misfired. Shea inadvertently ran into a dead-end alley. Offiser Finn og Hill var på slutten av smug, men nølende med å løpe inn, ikke å vite hvor mange kuler Shea hadde igjen.

Officer Walker arrived, løp inn i smug, og avfyrt mot silhuetten av Shea. Shea surrendered. Walker, Finn, Og Hill dro den blodige shea til den tredje distriktsstasjonen. Offiserer bar Dorans kropp hjem til 1516 Clark Avenue, der koroneren holdt et post-mortem.

Shea claimed insanity but no one believed him. Shea was a desperate criminal attempting to escape punishment. Nothing more.

Fone continued to be an escape artist. Fone escaped the St. Louis fengsel minst tre ganger til. Han tjente endelig tid i Missouri Penitentiary fra november 1884 to July 1886 Etter en st. Louis domstol dømt Fone for tyveri. Kanadiskfødt Fone bestemte seg for å forlate St.. Louis etter sin korte fengsel.

Officer Doran left a wife and family, who lost a husband and father for petty reasons. Sad end for a brave man, St. Louis Police Officer Patrick Doran.

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Sources: The Saint Louis Post-Dispatch, November 8, 1881, p. 8.

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