Mortally wounded, Cowley fired back and hit Nelson, then died a few moments later. Nelson, dying from Cowley's bullets, escaped in a car with his wife driven by an accomplice, Paul Chase.
When they saw a roadblock up ahead, they dumped Nelson by the side of the road and left him to die, not wanting to get caught with him in the car. Nelson died shortly afterward. Chase and Nelson's wife were arrested and tried for robbery and murder. Chase got life in prison with no parole, and Nelson's wife got 25 years. Had the dubious reputation of being the only s gangster to kill three FBI agents. Knowing that the FBI would stake out every road, he crept through the woods and underbrush for several miles.
While he was escaping from a holdup a policeman stood in front of his car. Nelson ran him down and killed him. While on the lam he spotted an unattended car with its motor running, and jumped into it. The car actually belonged to two FBI agents, W. Carter Baum and J. Nelson shot them both as he stole the car.
Baum died, but Newman survived. Had a reputation as a fearless triggerman and cold-hearted killer. It was this reputation that made John Dillinger choose him for his gang. Teaming up with Bentz, Nelson returned to the Midwest in May It was during this time that Nelson may have made his original connection with the Dillinger Gang.
He then collected his wife Helen and four-year-old son and left with his crew for San Antonio, Texas. Soon, one of the thieves was cornered by two detectives and opened fire, killing Detective H. Perrin and wounding Detective Al Hartman. Afterward, the remaining gang members fled in all directions. Nelson and his wife traveled to California, where he once again hooked up with John Paul Chase. The two criminals remained together for almost a year, during which time, a man was shot and killed in Minneapolis.
The perpetrators were reportedly in an automobile bearing California license plates which were eventually traced to a car owned by Nelson. Chase later reported in an interview that Nelson killed a man during an altercation while they were there. The victim was a material witness in a United States Mail Fraud case.
An all-out gun battle occurred here in which two men were killed and four wounded as the gang made their escape. However, barking dogs alerted the gangsters to the impending raid, and the gangsters escaped in the dark, leaving a few women associates, including Helen Gillis, behind. Nelson fled to a nearby home and forced his way in with two hostages.
Shortly thereafter, Special Agents J. Newman and W. Carter Baum arrived at the scene with a local constable. When their car stopped, the diminutive Nelson, who stood only five feet four inches high and weighed pounds, rushed to the car and ordered the occupants to get out. Before they could comply, Nelson shot all three men, instantly killing Special Agent Baum with a series of shots from his automatic pistol. Within a short time, Chase rejoined Nelson. Helen Gillis, who had been released, met her husband and Chase about a month later.
They lived near Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, for several days. Gillis on December 6th, The Chicago native would go on to become one of the greatest bank robbers of the s and Public Enemy No. Nelson started leading a life of crime from an early age. By age 13, he had joined a youth gang and participated in auto theft and bank robberies. Soon after his release for the first offense, he found himself back in the same place for similar charges. Nelson found himself in and out of jail throughout his life.
In February of , he successfully escaped prison guards during a transfer from two Illinois state prisons.
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