Arthur Barker | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Arthur Raymond Barker June 4, 1899 Aurora, Missouri, U.S. |
| Died | January 13, 1939 (aged 39) |
| Cause of death | Gunshot wounds during an escape attempt |
| Resting place | Olivet Memorial Park |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Doc Claude Dade Bob Barker |
| Criminal status | Deceased |
| Parent(s) | George Elias Barker Kate "Ma" Barker |
| Conviction(s) | Murder[1] Kidnapping[2] |
| Criminal penalty | Life imprisonment[1][2] |
| Partner(s) | Barker–Karpis gang |
| Details | |
| Victims | Thomas Sherill (murder) Leo Pavlak (murder) |
| Date | August 25, 1921 (murder) June 1933 (William Hamm kidnapping) January 1934 (Edward Bremer kidnapping) |
Span of crimes | 1918–1935 |
| Country | United States |
| State(s) | Oklahoma (murder) Minnesota (kidnappings) |
| Location(s) | Tulsa, Oklahoma (murder) Saint Paul, Minnesota (kidnappings) |
| Target(s) | William Hamm (kidnapping) Edward Bremer (kidnapping) |
Date apprehended | January 8, 1935 |
| Imprisoned at | Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary |
Arthur Raymond "Doc" Barker (June 4, 1899 – January 13, 1939) was an American criminal, the son of Ma Barker and a member of the Barker-Karpis gang, founded by his brother Fred Barker and Alvin Karpis. Barker was typically called on for violent action, while Fred and Karpis planned the gang's crimes. He was arrested and convicted of kidnapping in 1935. Sent to Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary in 1936, he was killed three years later while attempting to escape.
Barker is described by one writer as "a dimwit and a drunk", who was not much more than a brutal thug.[3] However, fellow Alcatraz inmate Henri Young said of him that he was "determined and ruthless, and that once he started on anything nothing could stop him but death."
- ^ a b Potter, Claire Bond (1998). War on Crime: Bandits, G-men, and the Politics of Mass Culture. Rutgers University Press. p. 173. ISBN 0-8135-2487-3.
- ^ a b MacCabee, Paul (1995). John Dillinger Slept Here. Minnesota Historical Society Press. p. 274. ISBN 0-87351-316-9.
- ^ Mahoney, Tim (2013). Secret Partners: Big Tom Brown and the Barker Gang. Minnesota Historical Society Press. p. 60. ISBN 978-0-873-51904-5.