Letters From Alcatraz - Michael Esslinger [155]
Walter’s final brush with the law would occur on October 13, 1971. At about 10:00 a.m., he and an unidentified female passenger were pulled over on a routine traffic stop in Euless, Texas. As Texas Ranger Bill Harvell approached the passenger side of the vehicle, Walters drew a pistol. Harvell was able to retreat to the rear of the vehicle, when Walters punched the accelerator to flee the scene. Harvell opened fire on the 1962 Plymouth Valiant with his service revolver, emptying the entire chamber. Harvell then returned to his patrol car and gave chase, while summoning other law enforcement officers on the radio.
Walters sped through a residential district, stopping only briefly to release his female passenger. Carrying his pistol and a sawed-off shotgun, he then took off on foot into a remote pasture. An intensive manhunt ensued and Walters stayed ahead of the police for a short time. At daybreak, Hoyt Houston of Bedford, Texas, entered his garage to find Walters sleeping there in a small fishing boat. Walters ordered the man into his house at gunpoint and took his family hostage. Hoyt had two young daughters and one had been able to escape through her bedroom window to run and get help.
When the police arrived at the Houstons’ home, Walters aimed his shotgun at the family and demanded that the police drop their weapons. He then forced his hostages into the family’s 1969 Mercury and directed Mrs. Houston to drive while he kept his loaded shotgun aimed at the head of her husband, who was sitting in the passenger seat. After a slow and careful pursuit, the police were able to force the vehicle to stop on a bridge just outside of Grapevine, Texas. A police car had been positioned at the end of the small overpass, creating a roadblock. While police attempted to negotiate the safe release of the Houston family, a Texas Ranger named Tom Arnold took aim at Walters through the target scope of his 30-06 rifle. During a brief moment when approaching officers distracted Walters, Tom Arnold fired a fatal shot at Walters’ head. As the window shattered, Arnold dropped his rifle and aimed his pistol steadily at the slumped figure, then fired several more rounds into Walters’ body. None of the Houston family members were injured in the hail of gunfire. Ironically, Walters died only 300 feet from where Bonnie and Clyde had slain two police officers on April 1, 1934.
ESCAPE ATTEMPT #9
Date:
July 31, 1945
Inmates:
John Giles
Location:
Dock Area
John Knight Giles
John Giles was described by Warden Johnston as a deep and quiet gentleman with a lone wolf personality and someone who was difficult to figure out. While his attempted escape is not remembered as the most famous, it certainly was known in the circles of Alcatraz as one of the most ingenious escapes ever attempted at the Rock. John Knight Giles was born in Elgin, Tennessee on February 16, 1895 to a local engineer, as the youngest of three boys. His father had migrated south from New York and his mother was from Georgia, and the couple apparently separated frequently throughout their marriage. It is documented that John’s mother suffered from mental illness and was admitted to mental institutions several times during his childhood. John attended high school in Everett, Washington, and for unknown reasons he decided to quit school at age fifteen. He took a job as a Surveyor’s Assistant in the U.S. Reclamation Service near British Columbia, where he worked for almost four years.
Giles first brush with the world of crime