Timothy McVeigh - Caught in Perry, OK
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hamquilter
N 36° 17.168 W 097° 17.360
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Hardly a person doesn't know who Timothy McVeigh is. Read how a small town in northern Oklahoma played a major role in capturing this fugitive.
Waymark Code: WMWHTH
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 09/08/2017
Views: 3
The story of the Oklahoma City Murrah Federal Building bombing is known to most everyone. On April 19, 1995, a bomb was placed in front of this building, and 168 people lost their lives, with 680 more injured.
In all the devastation and confusion, Timothy McVeigh was able to drive out of Oklahoma City, north on Interstate 35. As events would happen, he was brought to justice by a few simple neglectful items, a suspicious and cautious Highway Patrol deputy, and some scheduling delays. It all worked together to bring Timothy McVeigh to justice.
He was stopped along the Interstate because the beat-up car he was driving did not have a license plate. Unable to produce vehicle insurance or a bill of sale, he might have gotten away with a ticket and warning. But the deputy, whose reputation was that he was so "by-the-book" that he'd arrest his own mother" spotted a weapon under McVeigh's jacket and McVeigh admitted it was loaded. So the deputy brought McVeigh into the Noble County jail on a weapon's charge.
Again, he might have been released on bail shortly and been long gone. But, a delay in the judge's scheduling kept McVeigh in the cell a day longer, and in that time, events in Oklahoma City had drawn attention to McVeigh as a suspect. The OKC agents learned about the Perry connection because McVeigh's social security number had been run through a National database.
Fortunately, the timing was perfect and McVeigh, stll sitting in jail on a minor charge, was now detained for the heinous crime in Oklahoma City. He was jailed, tried, imprisoned, and eventually executed by lethal injection on June 11,2001.
The Highway Patrol Deputy, Charlie Hanger, is now Sheriff of Noble County and offices in the Noble County Jail at 721 Cedar Street in Perry.
Type of publication: Newspaper
When was the article reported?: 04/19/2015
Publication: Los Angeles Times
Article Url: [Web Link]
Is Registration Required?: no
How widespread was the article reported?: national
News Category: Crime
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