John Allen Kendrick (February 18, 1901 – January 20, 1960) was an American criminal, escape artist, bank robber and member of the Tri-State Gang whose career spanned four decades.[1] He was listed on the FBI's Top Ten Most Wanted in late 1955, and was apprehended by the FBI that same year.[2][3]
A longtime career criminal, John Allen Kendrick was first arrested by the Baltimore Police Department and charged with larceny and murder in May 1923. He was convicted of larceny and a reduced assault charge, sentenced to five years imprisonment, and released on December 24, 1928. Two years later, he was convicted on a concealed weapons charge and sentenced to two and a half years in February 1930. He escaped from prison on September 2, 1931, but was indicted six months later for shooting a police officer in Washington, DC and sentenced to ten years at the federal penitentiary in Lorton, Virginia.
On July 3, 1933, Kendrick escaped from the correctional facility and eventually joined up with the Tri-State Gang, a group of Depression-era bank robbers and stick-up men active in the Mid-Atlantic United States during the early to mid-1930s. The gang were responsible for countless robberies in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and Washington, DC.[2]
In June 1934, Kendrick was arrested in Johnson City, Tennessee and returned to Lorton. He remained there for a brief time and transferred to Alcatraz, then to Leavenworth federal penitentiary in July 1941. He remained in Leavenworth for the rest of his sentence but, instead of being released, he was instead extradited to New Jersey to finish his original prison sentence for the 1930 weapons charge. He was finally released after being granted parole in June 1943.[2]
Four years after his release, Kendrick was arrested for the murder of an underworld figure in Washington, DC in June 1947. Tried and convicted on December 10 of that year, he was sentenced to between 3 and 10 years in Leavenworth. He was paroled in March 1954 but arrested nine months later after being identified as the assailant of the man who had seriously wounded a Washington, DC resident after shooting the man in the throat. Indicted for the shooting in August 1955, he was charged with "unlawful flight to avoid prosecution" a month later and was officially added to the FBI's Top Ten Most Wanted on November 2.[2]
Kendrick was tracked down by the FBI within a month and was arrested by federal agents in Chicago on December 5, 1955. He was apprehended without incident and extradited back to Washington, DC where he convicted and given a long jail sentence.[2] Kendrick testified that he had been offered $2,500 to murder Michael Lee but declined the job because "when I got done paying taxes out of that, what would I have left?"[4]
"Ex-Police Officer Joins Chase Again". Los Angeles Times. 8 Feb 1966.
August 25, 2023
john, allen, kendrick, february, 1901, january, 1960, american, criminal, escape, artist, bank, robber, member, state, gang, whose, career, spanned, four, decades, listed, most, wanted, late, 1955, apprehended, that, same, year, born, 1901, february, 1901washi. John Allen Kendrick February 18 1901 January 20 1960 was an American criminal escape artist bank robber and member of the Tri State Gang whose career spanned four decades 1 He was listed on the FBI s Top Ten Most Wanted in late 1955 and was apprehended by the FBI that same year 2 3 John Allen KendrickBorn 1901 02 18 February 18 1901Washington D C DiedNovember 20 1960 1960 11 20 aged 59 Springfield MissouriOccupationBank robberConviction s Assault with intent to killCriminal penalty5 17 years imprisonmentBiography EditA longtime career criminal John Allen Kendrick was first arrested by the Baltimore Police Department and charged with larceny and murder in May 1923 He was convicted of larceny and a reduced assault charge sentenced to five years imprisonment and released on December 24 1928 Two years later he was convicted on a concealed weapons charge and sentenced to two and a half years in February 1930 He escaped from prison on September 2 1931 but was indicted six months later for shooting a police officer in Washington DC and sentenced to ten years at the federal penitentiary in Lorton Virginia On July 3 1933 Kendrick escaped from the correctional facility and eventually joined up with the Tri State Gang a group of Depression era bank robbers and stick up men active in the Mid Atlantic United States during the early to mid 1930s The gang were responsible for countless robberies in Pennsylvania Maryland Virginia North Carolina and Washington DC 2 In June 1934 Kendrick was arrested in Johnson City Tennessee and returned to Lorton He remained there for a brief time and transferred to Alcatraz then to Leavenworth federal penitentiary in July 1941 He remained in Leavenworth for the rest of his sentence but instead of being released he was instead extradited to New Jersey to finish his original prison sentence for the 1930 weapons charge He was finally released after being granted parole in June 1943 2 Four years after his release Kendrick was arrested for the murder of an underworld figure in Washington DC in June 1947 Tried and convicted on December 10 of that year he was sentenced to between 3 and 10 years in Leavenworth He was paroled in March 1954 but arrested nine months later after being identified as the assailant of the man who had seriously wounded a Washington DC resident after shooting the man in the throat Indicted for the shooting in August 1955 he was charged with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution a month later and was officially added to the FBI s Top Ten Most Wanted on November 2 2 Kendrick was tracked down by the FBI within a month and was arrested by federal agents in Chicago on December 5 1955 He was apprehended without incident and extradited back to Washington DC where he convicted and given a long jail sentence 2 Kendrick testified that he had been offered 2 500 to murder Michael Lee but declined the job because when I got done paying taxes out of that what would I have left 4 References Edit Ancestry Sign up a b c d e Newton Michael The Encyclopedia of Robberies Heists and Capers New York Facts On File Inc 2002 pg 168 169 ISBN 0 8160 4488 0 Newton Michael The FBI Encyclopedia Jefferson North Carolina McFarland amp Company 2003 pg 402 ISBN 0 7864 1718 8 Miscellany Jan 7 1957 Death Duty Time 7 Jan 1957 Further reading Edit Seized By FBI Chicago Daily Tribune 4 Dec 1955 Ex Police Officer Joins Chase Again Los Angeles Times 8 Feb 1966 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title John Allen Kendrick amp oldid 1095336456, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
