Charles Lee Herron
| Charles Lee Herron | |
|---|---|
 | |
| FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitive | |
| Description | |
| Born | April 21, 1937 Covington, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Died | January 6, 2014 (aged 76) United States |
| Status | |
| Added | February 9, 1968 |
| Caught | June 18, 1986 |
| Number | 265 |
| Captured | |
Charles Lee Herron (April 21, 1937 – January 6, 2014)[1][2] was an American criminal who featured on the FBI Top Ten Wanted list.[3] He was arrested in 1986 in connection with a 1968 shooting of two police officers.[4]
Police murders and arrest
Herron was an advocate of the black power movement. In January 1968, while racial tensions in Nashville, Tennessee were strenuous, he was involved in the fatal shootings two police officers. Officer Thomas Johnson died instantly from a 30-30 rifle, while officer Charles Thomasson died three months later from his wounds after they were called to investigate five black men parked in a dead end street. Four of the men were suspected in a money order scheme.[5] Herron was arrested 18 years later in Jacksonville, Florida, when police staked out his home.[6][7]
He was arrested alongside one of his four accomplices, William Garrin Allen, who was also on the FBI Ten Most Wanted list. He had escaped prison for the same murders where he was sentenced for 99 years.[8] Herron was subsequently interrogated and he told officers he had actually been arrested in 1975 for a fake license in Atlanta, Georgia, but was not recognized.[9] In 1987, Herron, who was not believed to have fired the fatal shots, pleaded guilty to two counts of voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to two years in prison.[5] After a federal jury deadlocked 11-1 in favor of a conviction, Herron also pleaded guilty to unlawful flight to avoid prosecution in federal court. In September 1987, he was sentenced to two years in federal prison.
References
- ^ "Black Power/BLA Cop Killers Herron, Allen, Parker & Canady FBI Wanted Photos". Federal Bureau of Investigation. Archived from the original on November 22, 2022. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
- ^ Garrett Epps; Garrett Epps is a staff writer with The Magazine. (January 28, 1979). "Wanted By the FBI: A Better Class of Criminal". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. ISSN 0190-8286. OCLC 1330888409.
- ^ "265. Charles Lee Herron". Federal Bureau of Investigation.
- ^ "One of Two Arrested Top FBI Fugitives Went For Officer's Gun". AP NEWS.
- ^ a b "Herron eligible for parole soon". The Tennessean. February 27, 1987. p. 3. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
- ^ "A black power advocate the FBI has hunted longer... - UPI Archives". UPI. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
- ^ "WASHINGTON TALK; F.B.I.; They Who May Never Have Heard of Quiche". Archived from the original on May 24, 2015. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
- ^ "Article clipped from The Tampa Tribune". The Tampa Tribune. June 19, 1986. p. 16. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
- ^ "Article clipped from The Tennessean". The Tennessean. May 16, 1987. p. 53. Retrieved December 27, 2024.