On the rainy night of April 24, 1963, Melvin Allen Weaver either hitchhiked or drove a stolen car into Marianna, Florida in the Panhandle’s Jackson County. It was reported later that he had eaten in a downtown diner and then made his way to a Mo-Jo service station east of Marianna on Highway 90 where he asked the attendant, Lee Edgar Tidwell, Jr., about buying a fanbelt. When Tidwell turned his back to reach for one, Weaver hit him in the head with a car generator that was lying on the floor. He struck him a second time then dragged the unconscious Tidwell into an adjoining room. The attendant later said he regained consciousness as Weaver ripped a telephone from the wall and used the cord to bind his feet. Unfortunately, Weaver picked a station owned by the county Sheriff, W. Barkley Gause, for his robbery. The crime was reported quickly and roadblocks were set up within a 50-mile radius. The Sheriff and Deputy J.J. McCrary sent out a description of the robber and a youth from Malone named Charles Russ told the Sheriff he saw the suspect heading toward Campbellton. The two officers captured Weaver about 20 minutes later on a dirt road near Campbellton, about 15 miles northwest of Marianna. He was identified by three people who saw him enter and leave the Mo-Jo station.
Melvin
Weaver was originally from Franklin, Ohio, and had been Absent Without Leave,
or AWOL from the U.S. Air Force for a little over a year. He was assigned to
the 966th AEW&C, (Airborne Early Warning & Control) Squadron
at McCoy AFB near Orlando, Florida until February 1962 when he went on the
run.
Weaver
didn’t have money for his $2500 bond so he sat in jail until his arraignment on
May 13th. He entered a plea of guilty and his sentencing was set for July 2nd. On that day, the Honorable Judge R. L.
McCrary, Jr. sentenced Weaver to life in prison. Nowhere in the court documents
does it state that Weaver was charged with assault on Mr. Tidwell. The only
crime he was charged with was the robbery of $19.
Nothing
that Weaver did over the next two days can be excused. His sentence was indeed
harsh, but realistically, he probably would have been paroled in a few years.
Spending time in the Florida State Prison at Raiford must have seemed like the
end of the world for him so on the evening of July 3rd, he set the
mattress of his cell on fire. Before the fire was extinguished, Weaver and
three other inmates were overcome by smoke. Some reports state that Weaver was
unconscious and had to be revived. Some say he was unofficially thought to be
dead before he was resuscitated. Early on the morning of Thursday, July 4,
1963, Deputy R.V. (Brooks) Gainer departed the hospital leaving Deputy Allen
Finch, 43, and Deputy Aaron Creel, 40, guarding the prisoners.
The
four inmates and two deputies were waiting in one room for further treatment
when Weaver asked if he could go to the bathroom and Deputy Finch agreed to
take him down the hall. When they turned a corner, Weaver overpowered the
deputy, took his pistol, and shot him in the abdomen. As Deputy Finch lay
dying, Weaver rushed back to the room where the other inmates were and shot
Deputy Creel twice in the head killing him instantly. The other inmates
declined his invitation to escape with him. A man named Hubert Mayo, who was
visiting his sick father, heard the commotion and left his father’s room to see
what was going on. Weaver shot him in the head. Mayo lived until about 9:30
that morning. The killer ran from the hospital in view of many eyewitnesses,
who described him as a “big, husky-looking man” who was shirtless and carrying
a gun when he disappeared behind some houses. It is fortunate there were not
more lives lost that morning. Deputy Ball was only a few minutes away from
reporting to relieve Deputy Finch, and Deputy McCrary was supposed to be there
but he received a call that delayed him about ten minutes. Deputy Hughes was
also on his way to the hospital but still about five blocks short when the
shootings happened. On the other hand, more deputies may have prevented the
escape attempt.
The
word of the killings spread quickly and Sheriff Gause had bloodhounds brought to
the scene to try to pick up a scent. The dogs were able to follow the trail
through the yards of nearby homes but lost the scent about a block west of the
hospital on Sixth Avenue.
The
Sheriff remembered that Judge McCrary lived nearby and since he was the one who
just put a life sentence on Weaver, Sheriff Gause figured he should go check on
the Judge’s well-being. Finding the Judge in his bathrobe and not in danger, he
left a deputy there and resumed his search for Weaver.
The
Sheriff received a report that Weaver may have been spotted by a night watchman
near the train yard. The dogs were dispatched to see if they could pick up a
scent. Highway Patrolman Lt. E. B. Jordan joined the Sheriff and asked about
roadblocks in case Weaver had been able to obtain a vehicle. Sheriff Gause
showed him on a map of where roadblocks were and ran down the cooperation he
was receiving from surrounding counties. The Sheriff had also spread the word
of possible hostages. Another report from the rail yard said that the man being
sought there was not Weaver.
A
deputy soon approached Sheriff Gause with the suspicion that C.V. “Dick”
Sangaree, a local oil distributor, his wife Jane, and 8-year-old daughter
Georganne may have been kidnapped. Someone had discovered the door to the
Sangaree house open, no one home, and their car missing. A neighbor told the
police that she had seen them drive off shortly after 6 am. There was a
stranger with them who sat in the back seat. The Sangaree car was described as
a light blue 1963 Chevrolet. It had been last seen traveling north. The
description of the car and the family was then dispatched throughout the search
area, which now included Alabama and Georgia. A few false leads were reported
to the Sheriff from surrounding communities the Gause had to filter through,
but the Sangaree situation seemed legitimate.
Two
Georgia Bureau of Investigation, (GBI), Lt. W.T. Beauchamp and Sgt. W.D.
Cochran were cruising in a patrol car on Highway 19, a few miles north of
Albany, Georgia when they spotted a car fitting the description of the Sangaree
vehicle. They were able to verify that it had a Florida license plate starting
with a prefix of 25 which at the time indicated that it was registered in
Jackson County. Through binoculars, they could see that there was a lone
occupant of the car. They began pursuit and soon both cars were exceeding 100
mph with Weaver’s car close to wrecking more than once. As they approached the
small town of Smithville, Weaver began shooting at them through his back window.
Just inside city limits, he turned down a dead-end street that ended at a
schoolyard.
Weaver
came to a stop near three teen-aged boys and leaving the car he threatened them
with his gun using them as a shield between him and the pursuing cops. The
three young men were cousins, Ronnie Knott, David Moore, and the smallest Ricky
Hale. They had decided to begin their July fourth by walking over to the
baseball field for a little while. Ricky, whose full name was Charles Richard
Hale, had experienced a tough couple of years. His family was living in Dade
County, Florida when a brother died in September 1961. His mother had passed
away from cancer in July 1962. After she died, what remained of the family
moved to Smithville, where his family was originally from. His father then had
a heart attack and died in April 1963. Ricky and his remaining siblings now
lived with his grandmother, Mrs. C.C. Ansley. Ricky was fourteen years old.
The two GBI agents
approached Weaver and the boys but stopped when Weaver put his gun against the
head of one of the teenagers and demanded they drop their weapons and car keys.
Seeing the desperation in Weaver and feeling they had no choice, the two
officers did as they were told. Taking the guns, keys, and Ricky as hostage,
Weaver said, “I’ll kill this kid if anyone tries to stop me.” and quickly left
the scene in the GBI car. Lt. Beauchamp learned Ricky’s name from the other two
boys and dispatched Cochran to a nearby store to call in the incident. Cochran
soon returned from the store with the news that the highway patrol was setting
up roadblocks near Americus and sending a car to pick them up.
Farther
north near the intersection of Highways 27, and 19, Highway Patrolmen Cpl. C.H.
Bentley and Trooper Robert Benson received the alert to look out for a
four-door chocolate-colored 1962 Ford, along with a description of Weaver and
his 14-year-old hostage. They had just entered Highway 19 when they saw the
car.
They
pursued Weaver into Americus but lost him when he suddenly turned onto a dirt
road. They were looking for the car when they heard a gunshot and located the
car near a pecan grove and a small shack. Weaver had tried to enter the small
house but the door was locked. Hearing a baby crying inside he demanded someone
open the door and when no one answered he shot through the door. (No one inside
was hit.) Grabbing Ricky by the arm they started running to the pecan trees.
Weaver saw the two cops who had gotten out of their car and fired his pistol at
them. Cpl. Bentley was about 25 yards from the house when his head was grazed
by the bullet fired by Weaver. Bentley decided to return to their car for the
first aid kit, but Benson was determined to continue the chase with no backup.
Benson
was a U.S. Army-trained marksman who had fought in the Korean War. He carefully
used trees and brush for cover and when he saw that Weaver had stopped and was
digging a hole for cover, he was about 200 yards away when he quickly sighted
his 30-30 lever action rifle and dropped Weaver with a shot to the chest.
Fourteen-year-old Ricky Hale saw Weaver drop and picking up one of the weapons
on the ground shot Weaver at least four times. He then started running in a
zig-zag pattern away from Weaver until Benson was able to get his attention and
let him know that it was ok. He later said Weaver was still moving when he
started running so he was trying to make himself a difficult target. Melvin
Weaver died where he fell. The shot Benson hit him with probably was fatal, but
young Ricky did what he thought was necessary to survive. Who can blame him?
Meanwhile,
the Sangaree family was all right.
Weaver had let Mrs. Sangaree and her daughter out of the car near the
Georgia state line. He then let Mr. Sangaree out about three miles south of
Colquitt, Ga. They were unharmed. Mr. Sangaree later told authorities that
Weaver stated that everything happening was the Judge’s fault for sentencing
him to a life term.
Melvin
Weaver’s dad, Homer didn’t know about the events of July 3rd and 4th
until he heard a report of it on the radio. Melvin’s family and neighbors were
stunned when they heard the news. They described him as quiet, good-natured,
and hard-working. He lived on Farm Avenue in Franklin, Ohio, and would cut
lawns in his neighborhood. He had left home about four years before to join the
Air Force.
Weaver
was also identified as being the man who robbed another Mo-Jo station in
Dothan, Alabama at 2:00 am on April 21, assaulting B.F. Trawick and taking
$105.
One
more sad event that is connected to the escape. Hubert Mayo’s wife Irene had a
stillborn daughter in the same hospital where Hubert was killed a week after
his death. In May 1965, Irene was granted $12,000 by the state legislature.
Ricky Hale was
interviewed by reporters and was hailed a hero for his actions during his
ordeal. He stated, “There was a pistol on the ground and when this convict
slumped down on his knees, I picked it up and started shooting. He seemed to be
still alive when I started running away. I had never shot a pistol except for
one time before. I sure was scared.”
Ricky
joined the Marine Corps and served in Viet Nam from July 1969 to March 1971. I
haven’t been able to find out about the rest of his short life other than he
died in Dougherty County, Georgia in 1981 at 32 years old.
Something
to consider: Weaver was sentenced to a life term at Raiford for robbery
according to court documents. There is no charge for car theft or assault. A
life term for a robbery of $19 seems excessive. Was Weaver offered a deal where
all charges would be dropped except for the robbery if he would plead guilty? If
so, the sentence passed down by Judge McCrary must have stunned him to the
core. Weaver was obviously on a path of destruction considering he was later
identified as the perpetrator of the Dothan robbery on April 21. At 23 years of
age, a life sentence must have seemed like the end of the world. Was the cell fire
an attempt at suicide or a carefully laid plan to move to a less secure
facility? I found a couple of articles that claimed Weaver was unofficially
considered dead and it took 90 minutes of resuscitating effort to get him fully
conscious.
The
shift change activity at the hospital was reported by The Dothan Eagle in a
very detailed account of the events of July 4.
Mostly,
this account was taken from contemporary newspaper accounts. I met Randy Creel,
the son of Deputy Creel, working in the museum on Church Street in Bagdad,
Florida. He is the one who first told me of this case, and let me borrow some
case material including the October 1963 issue of Official Detective magazine
which covered the story.
