Immediately after John Dillinger’s jail break from Lima, the finger-pointing started. Captain Matt Leach of the Indiana State police bemoaned the fact that Dillinger had not been turned over to him by the Dayton authorities. Leach labeled the outlaw as “Indiana’s Public Enemy Number One” and hinted about the laxity of Dillinger’s transfer from Dayton to Lima.
Undeterred the Lima Chief of Police, John W. Cook responded by saying that he “regarded Dillinger as a desperate character and that throughout the time he was escorted to Lima, he (sic) was constantly kept under heavy guard to prevent any possible attempt by friends to secure his release.”
Evidently Cook forgot about the Dayton to Piqua leg of the trip.
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