Claude dallas where is he now

At one time during his escape he was rumored to be heading to Alberta. His wanted posters were all over Canadian law enforcement offices.

Conservation Officer Daniel Boyco of Alberta remembered a time when, "there wasn't a conservation officer in the province who hadn't burned his face to memory. Dallas paid the fine. Then, Dallas told the rancher, that if the warden CO Dale Elliot of Nevada "wasn't your friend, he'd be a dead man now. At the trial, according to Officer Loveland, "The prosecuting attorney was new. He'd never prosecuted a murder trial before. The jury was not permitted to know about Dallas' previous criminal record, history of poaching, sharpshooting and quick-draw practices on targets representing humans, his anti-government sentiments, nor the many pictures of poached animals in his possession.

The jury was not permitted to know anything about the dark side of Dallas until after they pronounced their verdict. Then the prosecution could enter it into the court record before the judge delivered his sentence. Therefore, none of the evidence collected under search warrant from Dallas' residence, previous threats to wardens, game citations, previous run-ins with conservation officers, or his reading material, which was noted by CO Gary Loveland as being "Soldier of Fortune and articles about How to Shoot Someone" could be shown to the jury.

According to Gary Loveland, "the defense even claimed Claude Dallas did not have a record. But under the rules of evidence the prosecution still could not introduce his record. It was made to sound as though the murders were Dallas' first offenses.

The key witness, Jim Stevens, had been terrorized by Dallas after the murders and had feared for his own life. Dallas had made him an unwilling accomplice to removing the officer's bodies from the crime scene, and Dallas had attempted to remove evidence by burning the crime scene at the camp.

Makes no difference to me. That line Dallas attributed to Bill Pogue was not one law enforcement officers who worked with CO Pogue had heard him use before, according to Gary Loveland. Its universal interpretation by officers is that Dallas could confess to his crimes - the easy way - or they could go through the process of interrogation, arrest and trial - the hard way. Claude Dallas took the hard way. He did not want the conservation officers entering his trapping tent.

It was his home, he claimed. As we have already seen, it was the location of the illegal bobcat hides. He demanded to see a search warrant for a tent he'd placed on the leased land.

It was obvious Dallas did not co-operate with the conservation officers. The facts are incontrovertible. He was in violation of wildlife laws no matter how he explained his possession of the bobcat hides, taken illegally in Idaho or transported illegally from Nevada.

All law enforcement uses phrases to attempt to convince an offender to try to settle down. Another interpretation of the "You can go easy" is that the choice of how Dallas was to go to town to settle it was up to him.

He could go peacefully with the officers or he could be arrested, handcuffed and taken by the officers. Claude Dallas' testimony lost all credibility when he said he did not know where he'd buried the officer's guns.

If true Dallas had destroyed evidence that could have corroborated his story by providing proof that Pogue had fired his weapon. Given his keen memory of other places and events his forgetting the burial place of such important evidence is highly suspicious. Dallas' friends came forward to testify to his character. The court allowed Bill Pogue's character to be put on trial. The judge was liberal in letting the defense introduce witnesses to supposed events that didn't happen. Although Pogue dealt with people fairly and politely anyone with an axe to grind with him showed up to testify.

The incidents testified to never happened. They just filled the court with misinformation. One witness even testified to a run in with Bill Pogue and I was the officer that person had spoken to not Pogue. Bill Pogue was an excellent officer, a very professional officer who remained so when confronting people who were in violation.

Contributing to the outside influences on the jury's decision had been Claude Dallas himself. He had arrived in court as a celebrity of sorts, a folk hero manufactured by the media. The Dallas fan club, according to Jerry Thiessen, had been at his trial. The fan club consisted of women who did not know Claude Dallas personally but were called the "Dallas Cheerleaders. Dallas had a psychological effect. He flirted with the jury.

He flirted with his fan club. Dallas had an aura about him. He was a damned fine actor who had an excellent attorney who knew how to tilt perspective enough to bring out the heart throb reaction. The circumstances of the whole trial were different and cruel in that setting especially when Bill was put on trial as a bully game warden.

It was all fabricated. He was always polite and to the point. He was a well-respected conservation officer and a leader. He was dedicated and never watched the clock when it came to wildlife he cared about. He drove all night when he heard about the sage grouse being poached.

He was an ornithologist and drew pictures of birds. He had a kind heart and a real soft spot for children. He just wasn't prepared for He spent his life doing things that were important to do. Unfortunately, CO Bill Pogue and CO Conley Elms had attempted to enforce wildlife law on a man who had no concept of conservation and appeared to think all wildlife was there for his killing. It was CO Gary Loveland's opinion that Claude Dallas was convicted on two counts of manslaughter and not murder one because, "The jury didn't do their job.

Retired State Game Manager Jerry Thiessen concluded that the cost of two separate trials for Claude Dallas, one for each murder, had prevented the charges of murder one from being heard separately by the court. Economics had taken a toll on justice.

In my view, there is no way that, if they'd heard two separate trials of murder one, that Conley Elms' murder would have been determined to be manslaughter. His arms were full of illegal bobcat hides. He was fired on. He was not threatening. By virtue of hearing both charges together, both charges were reduced to manslaughter verdicts. His parole is subject to the discretion of the Idaho Parole Board after he served ten years minimum for the killing of each officer.

An appeal to the Supreme Court of Idaho affirmed the lower court's ruling. When Claude Dallas escaped Idaho State Penitentiary, he again claimed law enforcement was trying to kill him, and was sent to a Kansas Corrections facility. Tim Nettleton reminded me, "Parole is a priviledge based on good behavior. One has to earn the right. Remorse is also a condition of early release. Claude Dallas has never shown remorse for the killings of two Idaho Fish and Game officers.

Public opinion runs high that Claude Dallas should not be released and that he has not served enough time on his thirty-year sentence. As Jerry Thiessen says, "There really is no restitution for murders which makes it damned sad and a damned shame.

You can't fix the injustice of murder or the mistreatment of the good names of two officers who lost their lives, who were upstanding citizens with love of family and appreciation for values and ethics which can be endorsed by all of us.

When defendants have rights over and above the rights of victims and their families there is no equality under the law. Prison officials have always said killer Claude Dallas cut through two fences on Easter Sunday But investigators suspect a cover-up. It is an Idaho legend: Infamous outlaw Claude Dallas escaped from prison on Easter Sunday , cutting two fences and vanishing into the desert.

Fifteen months passed before the FBI captured Dallas the first time. After his prison break, Dallas gave authorities the slip for almost a year, fanning his reputation as a canny Old West folk hero.

His crimes and elusiveness spawned two books, a TV movie and courthouse groupies who called themselves the Dallas Cheerleaders. But the legend of his escape — three years into a year term in prison — may be a myth. Law enforcement investigators now say the official account is probably false.

Their skepticism is rooted in contradictory physical evidence, conflicting official accounts of what happened that Easter night and the disappearance of an independent review of the escape. Rumors challenging the official account were widespread in law enforcement circles.

The doubts were so serious that in the Idaho attorney general, Ada County sheriff and Idaho Department of Correction began an month investigation of the escape. Their theory: Prison officials faked the fence-cutting to cover up the fact Dallas outsmarted his keepers and simply walked out the front door with a group of visitors shortly before 8 p. The morning after, prison Warden Arvon Arave showed off precisely cut triangles in two chain-link fences to reporters and photographers, contributing another iconic image to the Dallas repertoire.

The reinvestigation of who really snipped the inch- and inch-wide holes ended inconclusively. The case was dropped in This story is the first public disclosure of that inquiry. A former FBI agent, Dillon has been a cop for 40 years. He is the most cautious of the investigators, holding back from saying he believes a cover-up occurred.

I remain skeptical. Dallas, now 58, could end the speculation. But he has never granted an interview and did not respond to requests from the Idaho Statesman to break his silence. It finally surfaced this month when the Statesman obtained it from another source. Prison officials took the advice, building a security post on the walkway between the visiting area and the main gate. Warden Arave, who retired in , told the Statesman he still believes Dallas cut his way out.

This was no presidential assassination. The statute of limitations expired by , barring prosecutions of Idahoans involved in the escape or a cover-up. Recaptured after 11 months, Dallas beat an escape rap in by convincing a jury he had to flee because his life was endangered by guards looking to kill him.

Sheriff Killeen and then-Attorney General Alan Lance authorized the investigation because a conspiracy to deceive the public and elected officials would be a serious breach of trust. The inquiry sought to correct history and discipline any offending Correction officials who remained on the job.

The Statesman filed public records requests with the attorney general, sheriff and Correction Department, and obtained about 1, pages of documents that provide the foundation for this story. Officials say some documents, including interview transcripts, have been lost.

Other documents were withheld because they are exempt from the Open Records Law. The investigation reached its climax in March , when two key prison officers took lie-detector tests. Investigators believed the men were pivotal: Lt.

Wayne Nimmo was in charge the night of the escape and said he was present when the cut fences were discovered more than three hours after Dallas left. George Baird was seen by another officer carrying bolt-cutters that night. Baird was the prison armorer, responsible for keeping weapons and tools. Both denied involvement in a cover-up. They dropped plans to question the top officials at the time of the escape, Correction Director Murphy and Warden Arave.

Born in Winchester, Va. Handsome and coolly charismatic, he lived off his wits and the land as a trapper and cowboy. On Jan. Dallas shot them first with a pistol and then put a rifle to their heads and fired again. He pitched Elms into the river and buried Pogue. Dallas was captured in northern Nevada 15 months later. He was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and a weapons charge in Judge Ed Lodge gave him the maximum allowable sentence, 30 years. On the lam, his whereabouts ranged from Nevada to Oregon, South Dakota to California, and he had plastic surgery in Mexico.

He completed the final weeks of his sentence at the North Idaho Correctional Institution and was released Feb. The law prohibits disclosure of his address. Dallas sightings continue. Last fall, he was reportedly seen near Jordan Valley, Ore. Dallas after his second capture in Riverside, CA.

The trail ran out in Riverside. They caught him leaving a Back to prison, this time in a higher security facility in Kansas. He served 22 years of a year sentence. I was fascinated with the story, because I could so strongly relate to the nostalgia for a time we never saw.

Hell, Dallas fed himself on the same books about the West and about the early hunters in Africa that I did. And I respect the cowboy work ethic and the desire for self-reliance. I found a lot to admire in Claude Dallas back then. His life was not in danger at Bull Camp, though he may have convinced himself it was.

It ended in gunplay. Two lives snuffed out — and for two decades Dallas lost the freedom he so craved. But it makes for a hell of a song…. Thanks for the backstory, Jim. He was kept in the prison I work at in Kansas. He was my Porter at one time. Very quiet very smart individual. Always intrigued myself and others as to why so quiet.

Took years before he said good morning sarge. Never judged him on his crime was not there. Remember him as he acted for me respectable simple and helpful but dam quiet. Wish him the best. Thanks for stopping by Donald. Very reserved. Where is Claude Dallas???? Met him when I worked in the prison in Kansas. He was non compliant on U A test due to he thought it was govermental. He spent quite a bit of time in Administrative seg due to that. Other than that a model inmate.

Just kept to himself. He told me though it was either him or them. His kife never was in danger. Even if policemen will shoot the will not kill kim only injure him, because he knew that they want him alive. Nothing justifies or ir romantic killing two officers who where doing their job. He should have life sentence. Of course he said that. But officers pull there guns all the time when a situation escalates.

The execution round to the head says it all. I live in Canyon County, Idaho where the trial was held over 35 years ago.

Every time I look out my windows I look upon the soft undulations of the Owyhee Front. For many visitors or even locals the Owyhees look just like a long brown blob on the hazy horizon. But I know much better.

The heart of Owyhee County is about as far as you can get away from pavement in the lower United States. This rough and mostly untravelled terrain also holds a colorful, vivid and often violent history. This land has a strong and mysterious hold on me. It draws me and I gravitate towards it and into it whenever I can. I cherish the isolation and the wide open spaces, absorb the remoteness of the Big Quiet and feel a measure of peace.

Are you just taking another swipe at the Pogue family, or do you consider yourself a comedian? Lee Logue was a mountaineering partner Australian citizen of Irish descent of mine and he was swept off a mountain flank by a rock avalanche while we were climbing on the northeastern face of the Kangchenjunga massif in Sikkim on May 10, Beautifully written and describes the mood and beauty of our country out here.

Thanks for sharing. I am planning on going out to the site. What side of the river was dallas camped on? Also what side of the canyon is the best to approach from? It does have to do with Bull Basin inncedent and a comment that was made after the fact that i never heard mentioned until recently that literally made me go cold.

Thanks, Robert B. In November or December of 2 gentleman and a young boy about my age at the time approached my father looking for scrap materials such as lumber, cement blocks ect…. The driver was thin with a normal build, kinda chattery and seemed jittery. After my Father asked them a few questions of his own he gave directions to the mill where there was some old rough cut slabs and other odds and ends.

The beefier dude offered to pay for the scrap and my Father said no, it was for the taking. I remember the other boy and myself sized each other up a couple times, but he hung pretty tightly to the driver.

I remember my Father saying it was a long ways to come for just scrap matireal. I remember their vehicle looking like the Beverley Hillbillies with all that slab lumber and i believe it was old electrical conduit tubing stuffed inside the vehicle and rope tied to the top, i think it was a Bronco or Blazer possibly? They stopped again on their way out and again offered to pay someone for the scrap and my Father said take it away!

They thanked us and off they went. The reason i bring this up is on a different website a gentleman is claiming that there indeed was another person who witnessed the shootings and a prior meeting with Mr. Pogue and Claude. At least one juror cited concern that Dallas was acting in self-defense when he shot Pogue. In early , Judge Edward Lodge sentenced Dallas to 30 years, the maximum for this offense; he lost an appeal to the state supreme court in Dallas attracted national media attention after both incidents, becoming a particularly controversial figure in Idaho, Oregon, and Northern Nevada.

Some within the region regarded him as a folk hero, defying the government by defending his right to live off the land; while others, shocked and disgusted, saw him simply as a cold blooded cop killer. After manslaughter convictions in , his prison escape trial ended in acquittal in Dallas served 22 years of a year sentence and was released in February In the winter of , Dallas had set up his trapping camp in the remote southwestern corner of Idaho, three miles 5 km from the Nevada border using a "home" address in nearby Paradise Hill, Nevada.

Ten days before the murders, Don's son Eddy Carlin had stopped by the camp and checked Dallas out. He noted two illegal bobcat hides in Dallas' camp as well as poached deer.

Dallas had retorted, "I'll be ready for them. He was eventually tracked down more than three years later by the FBI and arrested for draft dodging on October 15, , despite the fact that it had already been announced by Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird earlier that same year that no further draft orders would be issued effectively ending conscription in the U.

He was transported back to Ohio and released into the custody of his parents. At trial, the draft board could not prove that Dallas, who was working as a cowboy on the remote Alvord Ranch, a vast spread in southeastern Oregon, ever knew of the induction letters and the charges were dropped, but the experience led Dallas to deeply distrust the government.

Born in Winchester, Virginia, Dallas' father was a dairy farmer. When he was young, his family moved from the Shenandoah Valley to Michigan and Claude Dallas spent most of his childhood in Luce County, later moving to rural Morrow County, Ohio, where he learned to trap and hunt game. As a boy, Dallas read many books about the old west and dreamed of someday living as the 19th century characters in the books he read.

He graduated from Mount Gilead High School in , then headed out west, hitchhiking most of the way across the United States, finally landing in Oregon where he earned a living as a ranch hand and trapper.

Out of contact with his family back east, he was unaware of draft notices mailed to his parents' home ordering him to report for induction into the U. When Dallas failed to report for induction into the military on September 17, , the government issued a warrant for his arrest. Claude Lafayette Dallas, Jr.