Eddie Adams – Killer of the Prohibition Era
The era of Prohibition in the United States, a period characterized by the nationwide ban on the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages, inadvertently fostered a breeding ground for organized crime and notorious figures. Among these figures, Edward J. “Eddie” Adams stands out as a particularly brutal and prolific outlaw. During a mere 14-month period, Adams terrorized the Midwest, leaving a trail of bodies in his wake. His ruthless actions resulted in the deaths of seven individuals, including three law enforcement officers, and the wounding of at least a dozen more. The name Eddie Adams became synonymous with fear and violence during this tumultuous period in American history.
Born in 1887 as W.J. Wallace on a farm near Hutchinson, Kansas, the early life of Eddie Adams was marked by hardship and instability. The loss of his father at a young age and his subsequent dislike for his stepfather contributed to a troubled youth. Despite these challenges, Adams managed to learn the trade of barbering and eventually relocated to Wichita, Kansas, in the early 1900s. This move proved to be a pivotal turning point in his life, as he soon encountered a bootlegger named John Callahan, who introduced him to the lucrative and dangerous world of illegal alcohol production and distribution.
Drawn into the allure of easy money and a life outside the bounds of the law, Adams quickly became entangled in bootlegging, petty robberies, and car theft. His criminal activities and numerous infidelities led to the dissolution of his marriage. Undeterred, he formed his own gang and escalated his criminal endeavors, embarking on a series of bank and train robberies that spanned across Kansas, Missouri, and Iowa. The escalating criminal career of Eddie Adams marked a shift from petty crime to organized and violent felonies.
In 1920, Adams found himself in Kansas City, Missouri, where he joined forces with the outlaw brothers Ray and Walter Majors. On September 5th of that year, the trio attempted to rob an illegal gambling den. The attempted robbery quickly devolved into a fierce shootout between the would-be robbers and the establishment’s armed employees. The gun battle resulted in the death of a gambler and gunman named Frank Gardner. The involvement of Eddie Adams in this deadly encounter underscored his growing reputation as a dangerous and unpredictable criminal.
The authorities swiftly apprehended the three men, and in February 1921, Adams was sentenced to life in prison for his role in the gambling den shootout. However, his accomplices received significantly lighter sentences of only five years. While being transported to the Missouri State Prison in Jefferson City, Missouri, Adams demonstrated his cunning and audacity by making a daring escape. He jumped from the moving train and vanished into the surrounding landscape. The escape of Eddie Adams from custody signaled the beginning of an even more violent and destructive chapter in his criminal career.
Just days after his escape, on February 11, 1921, Adams, along with an accomplice named Julius Finney, robbed a bank and a general store in Cullison, Kansas. A posse quickly formed and pursued the pair. Six days later, Adams was apprehended once again. He was convicted of bank robbery and sentenced to serve 10-30 years at the Kansas State Prison in Lansing, in addition to his existing life sentence in Missouri for murder. The capture and sentencing of Eddie Adams seemed to bring a sense of closure to his reign of terror, but this was not to be the end of his story.
Despite the seemingly insurmountable odds, Adams proved to be a resourceful and determined escape artist. On August 13, he orchestrated another daring getaway from Lansing. He sabotaged the prison’s power plant, creating a diversion that allowed him and fellow inmates Frank Foster, George Weisberger, and D.C. Brown to scale the prison walls. Waiting for them in a getaway car was the outlaw Billy Fintelman. While D.C. Brown was captured a few days later, the remaining members of the gang embarked on a renewed crime spree. The escape of Eddie Adams and his associates unleashed a wave of terror upon the unsuspecting communities of the Midwest.
The newly formed Adams Gang wasted no time in resuming their criminal activities. In September, they robbed banks in Rose Hill and Haysville, Kansas, making off with approximately $10,000. During the Haysville robbery, Adams brutally pistol-whipped an 82-year-old man named James Krievell, who later died from a fractured skull. This act of senseless violence highlighted the callous disregard for human life that characterized Adams’s criminal behavior. The brutality of Eddie Adams and his gang instilled fear and panic throughout the region.
On October 8, police attempted to ambush the gang near Anoly, Kansas, but the criminals managed to evade capture after a fierce gun battle that left Deputy Benjamin Fisher wounded. Eleven days later, they stole approximately $500 in silver from a bank near Osceola, Iowa. Law enforcement officers pursued the gang, eventually catching up with them near Murray, Iowa. Another shootout ensued when Sheriff Ed West and other officers confronted the gangsters. Several policemen were wounded, and a local farmer named Jones, who intervened in the conflict, was killed. The relentless violence of Eddie Adams and his gang left a trail of bloodshed and suffering in their wake.
The ruthless robbers and killers returned to Kansas, where they robbed eleven stores in Muscotah, Kansas, before heading towards Wichita. Along the way, they abducted two motorcycle officers outside Wichita and set their motorcycles on fire. On November 5, 1921, Adams committed a particularly heinous act, shooting and killing Wichita Patrolman A.L. Young in cold blood while Young was on duty. It is believed that Adams ambushed Young due to a romantic rivalry, as Young had the affection of a girl Adams was interested in and had been rejected by. Witnesses heard nine shots near the corner of Lewellen and Eleventh Street, and Young was found dead, his revolver empty. Adams vanished from the scene. The cold-blooded murder of Patrolman Young further cemented the reputation of Eddie Adams as a heartless and remorseless killer.
The gang then committed their most successful robbery, stealing approximately $35,000 from a Santa Fe Express train near Ottawa, Kansas. They returned to Wichita, where their luck would soon run out. The series of robberies and murders committed by Eddie Adams and his gang had created a climate of fear and outrage throughout the region, and law enforcement agencies were determined to bring them to justice.
On the evening of November 20, Eddie Adams, Frank Foster, a local madam named Nellie Miles, a bootlegger named George J. McFarland, and two prostitutes were joyriding around Wichita. Another car followed behind, carrying Billy Fintelman and his wife, George Weisberger, a man named P.D. Orcutt, and two unnamed ladies. During a high-speed race, two motorcycle cops pulled over the vehicle carrying Adams.
As the lawmen approached, a shot was fired from the vehicle, killing patrolman Robert Fitzpatrick, and the outlaws sped away. They dropped off the "ladies" and fled south into Cowley County. Later that night, when they ran out of gas, Adams attempted to steal a vehicle from farmer George Oldham, who resisted. Adams shot and killed the farmer before he and Frank Foster took off with the car. George J. McFarland fled on foot. Adams and Foster soon returned to Wichita. The next day, Adams and Billy Fintelman went to George McFarland’s house to look for him but found two police officers waiting instead. Eddie Adams immediately shot Officer Ray Casner while the other officer hid. Casner survived, and Adams and Fintelman escaped.
Two days later, on November 23, 1921, Adams attempted to rent a car in Wichita but was recognized by the owner. The police were alerted, and Detective Charles D. Hoffman and two other officers entered the business’s back door. Adams drew his gun, and Detective Hoffman lunged forward, seizing Adams. The killer worked his gun hand free and fired, killing Hoffman instantly. He fired on one of the other officers, Charles Bowman, hitting him. The third officer, D.C. Stuckey, hidden behind a pillar, took careful aim and finally killed Adams. The death of Eddie Adams marked the end of his reign of terror and brought a sense of relief to the communities he had terrorized.
Eddie Adams’s body was publicly displayed in the City Undertaking Parlor, celebrating the end of the outlaw’s reign of terror. More than 9,000 people viewed his dead body.
In the end, 18 people were arrested as Adams’ accomplices. Four were sent to the Kansas State Penitentiary, including Frank Foster, who received a life sentence. The story of Eddie Adams serves as a chilling reminder of the violence and lawlessness that plagued the Prohibition era in the United States.