06/29/2024
This historic tale is being delivered in serial form, shared in multiple parts every Friday, until its conclusion. If you enjoy this series we’ll share even more great stories in the future. Simply post in the comments or share if you want more. If you have any questions, or comments, or can provide more information, artifacts, or photographs, please email [email protected].
# # # "Broke Jail" By Bradley Wynn, Part One
The quiet early evening hours of Sunday in downtown Oklahoma City were shattered by a burst of gunshots when three armed inmates from the Oklahoma County Jail made a deadly escape. When the smoke cleared, three men lay dead or dying, and two prisoners had eluded capture. This dramatic and modern-sounding story actually occurred over a century ago, on June 30, 1895.
The tale begins with brothers James B. “Jim” and Victor “Vic” Casey on May 21, 1894. James, 19, and Vic, 16, were on their way to visit their brother-in-law, who lived eight miles outside of Yukon, Oklahoma. The brothers, suspected of murdering their neighbors, were seen passing through El Reno after James traded his Wi******er rifle for a six-shooter. Canadian County Deputy Sheriff Sam Faris recognized them as they rode into Yukon and tied up their horses in front of the Walker Saloon.
Victor might have been stepping out of a store when he heard James call out that he was being arrested. When Deputy Faris advised Victor that he was also under arrest, Victor turned away and was allegedly shot by Faris. However, according to others, the Casey brothers fired at Faris, who returned fire before falling, hitting Victor in the foot. James was subdued by locals, while Victor escaped, still firing and fatally hitting a man named Snyder. Deputy Faris died of his injuries that evening. A few days later, Victor was captured by a posse led by Chris Madsen, one of Oklahoma’s “Three Guardsmen,” along with William “Bill” Tilghman and Heck Thomas. The brothers were transferred from El Reno to the County Jail in Oklahoma City on August 11, 1894, after requesting a change of venue.
On August 14, 1894, the brothers, along with notorious horse thieves Ed Cox and Charles Larson, escaped from the Oklahoma County Jail, then located at the intersection of Maiden Lane and Wall Street, near Broadway and Grand (renamed Sheridan in 1963) Avenues. Using the same method as famed female outlaw Flora “Tom King” Quick in 1893, they cut the rivets from their cell door lock and removed bricks from an outer wall. The Caseys were recaptured on October 9, 1894, but Cox and Larson eluded authorities, with Larson being recaptured years later. By this time, Victor’s untreated foot injury had become septic, and he died from suspected gangrene on November 12, 1894.
James Casey, languishing in the County Jail without his brother, only had former cellmate John Milligan for company. Milligan, who had committed familicide with an ax and razor in 1893, was hanged for the crime on March 13, 1895. This event, drawing hundreds of spectators, was Oklahoma's first legal ex*****on. Casey would have witnessed the ex*****on from his cell as the gallows were right outside. Sheriff Columbus Harvey DeFord cut the trap door rope at 12:01 pm, ironically with an ax…
# # # Next Installment
In the next Friday installment, infamous outlaw James Casey joins forces with the notorious Christian Brothers for a deadly breakout from the Oklahoma County Jail.
# # # About the Attached Photos:
-This image of the gallows where John Milligan was hanged, with a rope/noose from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas, presided over by Judge Isaac C. Parker, captures the large crowd gathered on March 13, 1895, in downtown Oklahoma City.
-Sheriff Columbus Harvey DeFord was appointed the first Sheriff of Second County, later Oklahoma County, by Territorial Governor George Steele on June 30, 1890. Charles Colcord followed as the first elected Sheriff, succeeded by John M. Fightmaster. After Fightmaster’s death from Hepatitis C during his campaign, DeFord was elected the next highest vote-getter. Despite serving the county well, the stigma of the June jailbreak prevented DeFord's re-election. He worked in his family’s dry goods business until being elected a state representative in 1899. DeFord passed away in 1922 and was interred at Fairlawn Cemetery in Oklahoma City, ironically adjacent to Oklahoma County Sheriff George Washington Garrison, who was killed in the line of duty in 1908.
# # # About the Author
Bradley Wynn, an Urban Archaeologist, volunteers as the Historian and Curator for the Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office Heritage Collection. He also serves as a full-time deputy and Staff Sergeant.
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