| The Dodge City Gang was comprised
of a judge, a group of peace officers, and several known outlaws with
ties to
Dodge City who were
tormenting the citizens in and around
Las Vegas at the time.
The "gang" consisted of Justice of the Peace
Hyman G.
"Hoodoo Brown" Neill; City Marshal Joe Carson; Deputy U. S.
Marshal and later,
Las Vegas Marshal "Mysterious
Dave" Mather; peace officer
Tom Pickett; policeman
John Joshua (J.J.)
Webb, hard cases
"Dirty
Dave" Rudabaugh, Selim K. "Frank" Cady,
Dutch Henry Borne, William P.
"Slap Jack Bill" Nicholson, John "Bull Shit Jack" Pierce, Jordan L.
Webb (no relation to
J.J), and various other
notorious gunmen. While
Rudabaugh, Cady, Nicholson,
Pierce, Jordan Webb, and the rest would commit acts of thievery,
Neill, Carson,
Mather, and
J.J. Webb, in their official
capacities, were suspected of helping cover their tracks.
 Two
stage robberies in August of 1879, and one train robbery in October
occurred in the
Las Vegas,
New Mexico
area. Many suspected that the perpetrators were members of the Dodge City Gang.
On August 18, 1879 a
Barlow & Sanderson stagecoach was robbed by three men near the village
of Tecolote,
New Mexico .
John Clancy, Jim Dunagan, and Antonio Lopez were arrested for the
robbery, however they were not convicted.
Just a few
weeks later on August 30, 1879, another Barlow and Sanderson
stagecoach was held up. "Frank" Cady, "Slap Jack Bill", "Bull Shit
Jack", and Jordan L. Webb, all with ties to the Dodge City Gang, were
arrested and charged with the second holdup. However, they too,
escaped conviction.
Dave
Rudabaugh would later confess to this crime in cahoots with
Las Vegas Marshal Joe
Carson and a man named Joseph Martin.
On October 14, 1879, a train was
robbed in the
Las Vegas area by
masked men. The robbers made off with $2,085, three pistols, and all
the lanterns on the train. In mid–February of 1881, in an attempt to
avoid trial on a capital offense,
Dave
Rudabaugh would plead guilty to the robbery.
At the time of the
robbery, Charlie Bassett, Chalk Beeson, and Harry E. Gryden of
Dodge City,
Kansas, along with
J.J. Webb,
were hired by the Adams Express Company to investigate the robbery. It is
unknown whether
Webb was already suspected of being an
accomplice in the thefts.
|
|
