It Was Like A Scene From A Movie

It Was Like A Scene From A Movie

In late July 1958, beach goers and visitors witnessed a police chase, a shoot out, a hostage situation, and two Texan desperadoes apprehended. What seemed like a scene right out of a Hollywood blockbuster was all to real for those involved.

Whitsel and Franks

George W. Whitsel, 31, and Alton C. Franks, 25, escaped from Huntsville State Prison, stole a car, and fled to Fort Myers Beach where they kept a low profile hiding out in a motel. Their mistake was speeding through the quiet beach community. As they sped past Deputy Inlo Swope, he ordered them to halt, to which they ignored, but did not know the road they were on circled back and the second time they past Swope, he gave chase.

As Swope gave pursue to the 1958 Oldsmobile with Louisiana plates, the gunman opened fire on him. Swope gave chase going over the wooden bridge onto San Carlos Blvd., returning fire on the armed escapees.

Whitsel, a habitual criminal, was serving a life sentence; Franks was nabbed during a burglary and was serving a 16 year sentence, when the duo escaped.

The escapees and Swope kept exchanging fire as they sped along Beach Road onto McGregor Blvd. The chase turned onto Punta Rassa Road after the criminals hit the guy wire on a pole, spinning their vehicle around. At Cove Road, they stopped and Swope pulled up alongside them. Whitsel, now armed with a .12 gauge shotgun shot off a few rounds, luckily for the deputy, his rolled up window deflected the bullets.

Swope climbed out of his vehicle, emptied his service revolver and another pistol without hitting either fugitive. The two prisoners ran down Thornton Road into a residential area where they brazenly broke into the McCormick home.

Hostages

Bloodhounds led the police to the McCormick residence. David McCormick, and his wife, Jo Ann, who was six months pregnant, were busy painting the interior of their new house when the convicts broke in. The expecting couple were tied up and held at gun point, as police blocked off Thornton Blvd.

Authorities, including all city, state, and county law enforcement officers, FBI, and the fire department quickly surrounded the property. Deputy Nick Kelley approached the house and McCormick came to the door stating everything is all right. Later, Kelley reported “McCormick was white as a sheet and I knew something was wrong.”

Sheriff Flanders Thompson, using a bullhorn commanded “Now hear this! Come out of the house with your hands up! No harm will come to you. You are surrounded.” FBI agent George Gatins suggested using tear gas, but this plan was scrapped for fear that the gas shells might catch the house on fire.

At 2 O’clock as the standoff continued, the paper reported “minutes passed tensely.” Agent Gatins warned them that they had five minutes to come out.

The escapees and their hostages made their way out, slowly to the driveway and got in the McCormicks blue and white Ford. As the car backed out, Jo Ann was heard screaming, “Please, God, don’t shoot! They’ll kill us if you do!”

One of the convicts hollered, “Let us through or we’ll kill them!”

Then an exchange of rapid gun fire ensued. It was reported that “Chief Deputy J. Howard Greer shot the left front tire flat. Answering fire came from Franks, who fired four times with a .22 revolver. Quick as a wink, Dickens opened up on the car with a submachine gun, blasting four neat holes in the windshield. Other officers fired also. Bullets whined past the car and nicked cars on the opposite roadblock but no one was hit except Whitsel. His wound was a superficial arm wound.”

When the gunfire came to a halt, the convicts were ordered to throw out their weapons consisting of a .22 revolver, .32 automatic, and a shotgun. With their hands in the air, they crawled out of the car and layed on the ground where they were frisked and handcuffed.

Aftermath

Jo Ann came out of the car “shaken and white with nervous relief, sobbed, ‘I’m all right. I’m all right.’” David on the other hand had a different mindset, “Shoot both the — of — right now,” he told the authorities.

As one of the escaped prisoners was being placed in the back of the patrol car, he said to David, “tell your wife we’re sorry.”

The McCormicks were taken to the hospital as a precautionary measure and given a sedative to relive their nervous condition. Deputy Swope also had small lacerations from gunshot pellets and flying glass from his windshield.

The police traced the tags on the Oldsmobile the criminals stole to a John T. White of Shreveport, Louisiana. It turned out that the two prisoners had not only stolen the Olds, but the license plate was also stolen, as White did not own an Olds, he owned a Nash to which the plate was registered.

A few days following the shootout, the car driven by Swope was put on display for the public to view. “One bullet remained in the windshield trim and scores of holes are to be seen in the sides of the car and the windows.”

The 1906 Island Murder

The 1906 Island Murder

One hundred and nine years ago, island residents were anxiously waiting for the judgment of Andrew J. Chauncey. With no modern forms of communication, they were forced to wait for the delivery of their weekly newspaper, or listen to opinions and rumors at local hangouts. Regardless of how they followed the outcome of State vs. Chauncey, for the small island, it was a trial of the century for their community.

Chauncey, a 54-year-old unemployed carpenter with a wife and six young girls was on trial for the December 6, 1906, murder of John Barry Bart Daniels. The Lee County community was still recovering from the July 1906 killing of Robert “Bobby” Carson by Jasper Edwards in Fort Myers, but this murder happened on Sanibel, which sometimes seemed a world away from the main land.

The Tragic Death of John B. Daniels

John Daniels was born in Florida in September 1872. On April 6, 1897, he married Lucy Hayes Reed, affectionately known as “Miss Lucy.” Her father was William H. Reed, a sea captain who served in the Navy during the Civil War and a widower who moved his family from Deer Isle, Maine to Sanibel in 1868 when Miss Lucy was all of 16. Her brother, William S. Reed, was postmaster for the island from 1894 to 1938.

In a ceremony performed by George Cooper, Justice of the Peace, the couple exchanged vows at her father’s place, with all of her friends wishing “the change to be one of increased happiness.” The couple had three children: Bertha (1898), William Haskell (1901), and John Barry (1903). Daniels worked as a farmer, than later became a truck driver. Sadly, life on the island would come to a sudden and horrific end for the 34-year-old and his family.

On the afternoon of December 6, 1906, Daniels went to Harry Bailey’s house where Chauncey was doing some work. Daniels invited him to come back to his place for dinner. Although Chauncey was not interested, Daniels insisted. During their travels back to Daniels house, they ran into William Harrison, and the three men shared some whiskey, as Harrison would later testify, “they both seemed to be friendly toward each other, but they were drinking.”

Once back at Daniels place, Chauncey put his shotgun by the barn, and fixed a broken shaft on a wagon wheel. The two men then sat on the front porch when Chauncey claims that he noticed Daniels was getting mad. As Chauncey began to leave, Daniels followed him, insisting he stay for dinner. The two men picked up their pace toward the barn where Chauncey picked up his rifle.

As Chauncey turned, he aimed the gun at Daniels’ chest. According to Chauncey, Daniels said, “You son-of-a-bitch, if you shoot me with that gun I’ll kill you.” To which he replied, “You call me a son-of-a-bitch and I will kill you.” With that he pulled the trigger.

Daniels dropped to the ground just as his wife came running from the house. Standing over his body, Chauncey said, “You see what I can do?” Miss Lucy, the only witness later testified, “I went to Mr. Daniels and raising his head kissed him when Mr. Chauncey reloaded his gun and said, ‘if you say a word I will kill you too.’ Mr. Chauncey made threat to kill me and when I begged him to spare me and started to go to Mr. Harrison’s, our nearest neighbor, he went along with me talking hold of my arm.”

Harrison reported “I heard the report of a gun but thought at the time the gun was in direction of Bayou. In few minutes, Mrs. Daniels came in direction of my house screaming and saying ‘Oh! He has killed my husband.’”

 John B. Daniels died from the gunshot and was buried in the Sanibel Cemetery.

The Court Rules

Immediately, Chauncey turned himself in to Harrison, who took him to Fort Myers and placed him in jail. Coroner Thomas Evans held an inquest, and the following day, along with Dr. Arthur P. Hunter, John I. Sellers, and a jury consisting of S. Smith, G. Willis, A. Rylander, Samuel Pool, Victor Santina, and L. Parker, made their way to the island. Upon viewing the body, they rendered the following verdict:

“That A. J. Chauncey did feloniously [sic] and with malice aforethought shoot and kill said J. B. Daniels with [a] single-barrel breech-loading shot gun, loaded with power and leaden bullets, and we, the jurors, find said A. J. Chauncey guilty of murder in the first degree.”

The coroner’s report was that Chauncey “emptied the entire charge of No. 6 shot into Daniels’ upper left breast, tearing an oblong hole, three inches in its long diameter and two inches in its smaller diameter, and effecting instant death.”

The Thursday, December 13, edition of the newspaper ran the headline: J. B. Daniels Murdered, Sanibel Island the Scene of a Tragedy. The article went into detail on how there was no animosity between the gentlemen, and how Chauncey feared for his life as Daniels became angry.

Two weeks following the death of her husband, Lucy Daniels, put out the following note. “[I] express my heartfelt appreciation and thanks to the friends who so unselfishly came to my assistance, and extended many kindnesses and favors through the ordeal I have passed. I can only say that their goodness has helped me appreciate such friends and neighbors to the fullest extent.”

On March 1, 1907, the trial for Andrew J. Chauncey was held, with the jury retiring at 9 p.m. Chauncey claimed that he “feared Daniels was going to kill him” and he acted in self-defense. His defense council was made up of Louis Hendry, Frank C. Alderman, and John Burton. Attorney Hon. Hurbert S. Phillips represented the State as prosecutor. Jurors, Joel Browning, James Carter, John Owens, Hugh Langford, W. L. Hopson, William Walker, Frank Kellow, James Ford, A. S. Skinner, Earnest Frantz, John Goldsby, and Avery Tyre deliberated for three hours and returned a verdict of manslaughter. Chauncey was sentenced to five years of hard labor in the State Penitentiary. The local headline ran: Chauncey Gets Off With Five Years.

The sentence was immediately appealed and reviewed by the Supreme Court. In June 1907 the court ruled “We have given the evidence our mutual consideration and are of the opinion that it is amply sufficient to support the verdict.” He went on to serve his five-year sentence.

Who Was Andrew J. Chauncey?

Andrew Jackson Chauncey was a Florida native, born in Taylor County on December 18, 1852, son of Jacob and Matilda Martha Jones Chauncey. At the young age of 12, he joined in the Civil War with his father under the State and County Militia known as Detail Scouts.

He stated later when applying for his pension:

I served with and accompanied my father, Jacob Chauncey, throughout the war. I was a small boy when the war started. My father served as detail scout from Waukeenah, Jefferson County, in Leon Madison and Lafayette throughout the war. I drove beef cattle through all these counties to the Thomas butcher pens in Tallahassee, helped butcher [the cattle] and attend [to] the soldiers around the barracks and carried provisions for Capt. Bob Gambles Company. Was at Natural Bridge fight on the St. Marks River, and was with baggage train at Olustee Battle out from Jacksonville. Not with my father under Capt. Scott from Tallahassee when they captured 13 enemy prisoners, and all their boats and other equipment were carried to Tallahassee. Was with State Militia when Bill Strickland and Jack Brannon were shot for desertion at Tallahassee. Toward the end of the year 1864, under my father’s influence and Capt. John Townsend was enrolled in the detail of militia from Waukeenah and also served under Capt. Bob Gamble and Lieut. E. W. Gamble.

Chauncey was honorably discharged in May 1865 and received his pension in July 1931.

After his military service, he married Mary “Molly” Wilson on November 4, 1870, and they had three children: Lenora, Linnie, and Jacob. Mary died in 1880, and he married Mary Jane Peterson on June 14, 1885, and they had eight daughters: Lucile, Lettice, Lena, Luella, Lelorena, Lydia, Lorenzine, and Lasibylla. All the girls lived into adulthood except Lorenzine, who died in infancy.

On March 12, 1911, just three years into his five year sentence, Chauncey received a “conditional pardon” from Governor Albert W. Gilchrist. The pardon read in part:

. . . it was determined that Andrew J. Chauncey, who was convicted in the Circuit Court of Lee County. . . of the offense of manslaughter. . .should now, upon the recommendation of the Circuit Judge who sentenced him, and stated that applicant “had pretty good reasons to beli[e]ve that the man whom he killed was seeking his life,” and that “he is an old man who in all probability has only a few years left to live. . . My judgment is that the ends of justice has been met in his case, and that he should be permitted to spend his remaining years at home. “And it being shown that prior to said homicide had been a good and useful citizen. . .” [He] be granted a conditional pardon, upon the condition that he hereafter lead a sober, peaceable and law-biding life. . . any of the conditions hereof have been violated, may order the said Andrew J. Chauncey arrested by any sheriff or constable and immediately delivered to the State Prison authorities.

Upon release, Chauncey and his family settled in Brevard County, Florida. In 1918, he lost his wife and daughter Lena, and later moved to Miami, where at the age of 79 he died on December, 11, 1932.

Lucy and Family After 1906

Miss Lucy remarried in May 1910, on Sanibel, to Oliver L. Richardson, who worked as a farm laborer. This union would produce two sons: Clyde, born in 1911, and Franklin, born in 1913. She continued to work as a sales person for M. Flossie Hill, a position she held for 31 years, and the family moved to Fort Myers where they resided on Heitman Street. In 1934 their son Franklin, 20, was involved in an auto accident from which he died from his injuries a few days later. Franklin had recently graduated from Fort Myers High School, class of 1932.

Oliver died in August 1942, and Lucy on July 11, 1960. At the time of her passing, she was known as a pioneer of the area and a member of several organizations. She was 83. Both are buried in the Fort Myers Cemetery.

As for Lucy’s children with John B. Daniels, Bertha married David Kite and they had one son, David Jr., and lived in Gainsville. She died at the age of 91 in 1972. William married Adeline, and they resided in Hillsborough where he worked as a shipping clerk for an oil company. He died at the age of 75 in 1976. John B. remained on Sanibel until the 1930s when he moved to Fort Myers, where he died at age 85 in 1988.

Clyde Richardson, Lucy’s first child with Oliver, lived for a short time with his half-sister, Bertha, before moving to Ocala. He worked as an assistant manager for his brother-in-law’s company, Kite’s Transfer. He died at the age of 91 in 2002, never marrying or having children.