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Claude Dallas

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Claude Lafayette Dallas, Jr. (born March 11 1950) was a self-styled mountain man. The son of a dairy farmer, he grew up in rural Morrow County, Ohio where he liked to trap and hunt as a youth. Dallas graduated from Mount Gilead High School, Mount Gilead, Ohio in 1967. During the Vietnam War, he dodged the draft and fled west, earning a living as a ranch hand and trapper. Dallas was eventually charged with killing two game wardens in rural Owyhee County, Idaho, in 1981. In 1986 Dallas escaped from prison and eluded law enforcement officials for a year before being captured.

Dallas attracted national media attention after both incidents, becoming a particularly controversial figure in Idaho. Some Idahoans saw him as a folk hero, defying the government by defending his right to live off the land; many others, however, were shocked and disgusted. After a manslaughter conviction, Dallas served 22 years of a 30-year sentence and was released in February 2005.

The incident

Two officers, Conley Elms and Bill Pogue of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, approached Dallas regarding the numerous obvious poaching infringements in his camp in southern Idaho. During his murder trial, Dallas testified that while Elms was inside a tent containing poached bobcats, Pogue drew his weapon, although there was no evidence to support this claim. Dallas reacted by shooting Pogue with his own handgun, which he habitually wore concealed. When Elms exited the tent, Dallas shot him too. Conley Elms was not armed at any point during the encounter.

After the initial gunfire, Dallas used his .22 caliber rifle to shoot both officers execution style, once each in the head. He then threw Elms' body in a nearby river and, with the reluctant assistance of a friend, Jim Stevens, transported Pogue's body to a distant location, where he hid it in a coyote's den. Stevens, who happened to be visiting the trapper's camp that day, did not witness the first shots, although they occurred only 15 feet from where he stood, facing the river, but did see Dallas shoot Elms and Pogue in the head as they lay on the ground.

Dallas fled the scene of the killings and was only found after a major 11 month manhunt.

The trial

Dallas was charged with two counts of first degree murder, but the trial quickly shifted focus to the alleged aggressiveness of one of the victims, Officer Pogue. The issue did sway the jury to convict Dallas of lesser charges of involuntary manslaughter and of using a firearm in the commission of a crime. At least one juror cited concern that Dallas was acting in self-defense when he shot Pogue.

Many were dismayed at the verdict, especially in light of the execution-style shots to both officer's heads. The judge apparently shared these sentiments: he sentenced Dallas to 30 years, the maximum for this offense.

Prison and afterwards

Dallas escaped from the Idaho State Penitentary in 1986 and was on the run for almost a year. His escape enlarged the legend that he was a nomadic trapper whose lifestyle conflicted with the government. Dallas was captured outside a 7-11 store in Riverside, California, in March 1987. He was then placed in a higher security federal prison in Colorado.

Dallas served 22 years in prison, his sentence being reduced by eight years for good behavior. He was released in February 2005.

  • Ian Tyson's 1987 album, "Cowboyography", includes a song entitled "Claude Dallas" telling the story of the incident.
  • True crime author Jack Olsen described Dallas and the murders in his book Give a boy a gun.
  • Another book-length treatment of this subject is Outlaw by Jeff Long.
  • The 1986 TV movie Manhunt for Claude Dallas is based on Long's book. It stars Matt Salinger as Dallas, Claude Akins as Bill Pogue, and Brent Spiner as Jim Stevens.
  • City Confidential episode 45 (2001) is an hour-long documentary on the homicide.

Sources

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