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The Boyd Gang was a notorious criminal gang based in Toronto
Toronto

Toronto is the List of the 100 largest municipalities in Canada by population in Canada and the Provinces and territories of Canada Provincial and territorial capitals of Canada of Ontario....
, Ontario
Ontario

Ontario is a Provinces and territories of Canada located in the Central Canada part of Canada, the largest by population and second largest, after Quebec, in total area....
, Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
, led by Edwin Alonzo Boyd
Edwin Alonzo Boyd

Edwin Alonzo Boyd was a Canada criminal and leader of the Boyd Gang. His career made him a notorious Canadian folk hero....
. Edwin robbed a Toronto
Toronto

Toronto is the List of the 100 largest municipalities in Canada by population in Canada and the Provinces and territories of Canada Provincial and territorial capitals of Canada of Ontario....
 branch of the Bank of Montreal
Bank of Montreal

The Bank of Montreal is the fifth Big Five banks bank in Canada by deposits. However, Wikipedia also cites the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce to also be the fourth largest by deposits....
 with a gun on September 9, 1949 while drunk, and by 1951 became the nation's most notorious bandit and leader of The Boyd Gang. Other members include Lennie Jackson (a hairdresser from Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls

The Niagara Falls are massive waterfalls on the Niagara River, straddling the Canada?United States border between the Provinces and territories of Canada of Ontario and the U.S....
 and the gang's fastest runner, despite his artificial
Artificial

Artificial is something which is not Natural . Its original sense, related to artifact and artifice, refers to a product of human endeavor; a more English but gendered synonym is man-made....
 foot), Steve Suchan (who is said to have traded in his violin for a .455 Smith and Wesson revolver
Revolver

A revolver is a repeating firearm that has a Cylinder containing multiple Chamber and at least one Gun barrel for firing. As the user cocks the hammer , the cylinder revolves to align the next chamber and round with the hammer and barrel, which gives this type of firearm its name....
), and Willie "The Clown" Jackson.

The gang was a favourite of the media at the time because of its sensational actions, which included bank robberies
Bank robbery

This article is about the crime of Bank robbery. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reporting Program, robbery is, "the taking or attempting to take anything of value from the care, custody, or control of a person or persons by force or threat of force or violence and/or by putting the victim in fear." By contras...
, jail break
Prison escape

A prison escape or prison break is where a prisoner leaves their prison through unofficial or illegal ways, while an effort is made to recapture them by their original detainers....
s, beautiful women, gun fights, manhunts, and daring captures.






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The Boyd Gang was a notorious criminal gang based in Toronto
Toronto

Toronto is the List of the 100 largest municipalities in Canada by population in Canada and the Provinces and territories of Canada Provincial and territorial capitals of Canada of Ontario....
, Ontario
Ontario

Ontario is a Provinces and territories of Canada located in the Central Canada part of Canada, the largest by population and second largest, after Quebec, in total area....
, Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
, led by Edwin Alonzo Boyd
Edwin Alonzo Boyd

Edwin Alonzo Boyd was a Canada criminal and leader of the Boyd Gang. His career made him a notorious Canadian folk hero....
. Edwin robbed a Toronto
Toronto

Toronto is the List of the 100 largest municipalities in Canada by population in Canada and the Provinces and territories of Canada Provincial and territorial capitals of Canada of Ontario....
 branch of the Bank of Montreal
Bank of Montreal

The Bank of Montreal is the fifth Big Five banks bank in Canada by deposits. However, Wikipedia also cites the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce to also be the fourth largest by deposits....
 with a gun on September 9, 1949 while drunk, and by 1951 became the nation's most notorious bandit and leader of The Boyd Gang. Other members include Lennie Jackson (a hairdresser from Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls

The Niagara Falls are massive waterfalls on the Niagara River, straddling the Canada?United States border between the Provinces and territories of Canada of Ontario and the U.S....
 and the gang's fastest runner, despite his artificial
Artificial

Artificial is something which is not Natural . Its original sense, related to artifact and artifice, refers to a product of human endeavor; a more English but gendered synonym is man-made....
 foot), Steve Suchan (who is said to have traded in his violin for a .455 Smith and Wesson revolver
Revolver

A revolver is a repeating firearm that has a Cylinder containing multiple Chamber and at least one Gun barrel for firing. As the user cocks the hammer , the cylinder revolves to align the next chamber and round with the hammer and barrel, which gives this type of firearm its name....
), and Willie "The Clown" Jackson.

The gang was a favourite of the media at the time because of its sensational actions, which included bank robberies
Bank robbery

This article is about the crime of Bank robbery. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reporting Program, robbery is, "the taking or attempting to take anything of value from the care, custody, or control of a person or persons by force or threat of force or violence and/or by putting the victim in fear." By contras...
, jail break
Prison escape

A prison escape or prison break is where a prisoner leaves their prison through unofficial or illegal ways, while an effort is made to recapture them by their original detainers....
s, beautiful women, gun fights, manhunts, and daring captures. For three years police, prison authorities, and bank officials were frustrated in their attempts to bring the unruly mobsters under control.

Death of a policeman

On March 6, 1952, Detective Sergeant Edmund Tong and his partner, Sergeant
Sergeant

Sergeant is a Military rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
 Roy Perry stopped a vehicle containing two men; these two men turned out to be Suchan and Jackson. As Tong approached the vehicle, Suchan drew a .455 pistol and shot him and Sergeant Perry in the police car, wounding the latter in the arm.

Tong died of his wounds on March 23, 1952. Both suspects were separately arrested in Montreal
Montreal

Montreal, or Montr?al, is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada of Quebec and the List of largest cities and second largest cities by country List of the 100 largest municipalities in Canada by population....
 after a shootout with police that left both men wounded. Both men were convicted and sentenced to death
Death

Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that define a life organism. It refers to both a particular event and to the condition that results thereby....
 by hanging for the murder of the policeman.

Demise

On December 16, 1952, Suchan and Jackson were hanged back to back in Toronto's Don Jail
Don Jail

The Toronto Jail is a provincial jail for remanded offenders in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Riverdale, Toronto neighbourhood on Gerrard Street near its intersection with Broadview Avenue....
. Edwin Boyd, who had not been present at the murder, was sentenced to eight life terms plus twenty-seven years concurrent. Willie Jackson was sentenced to thirty-one years. Both served their terms in Kingston Penitentiary
Kingston Penitentiary

Kingston Penitentiary is a maximum security prison located in Kingston, Ontario, Ontario between King Street West and Lake Ontario.Originally constructed in 1833?1834, and officially opened on June 1, 1835 as the "Provincial Penitentiary of the Province of Upper Canada," it is one of the oldest prisons in continuous use in the world....
. Boyd was released in 1966 on parole
Parole

Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French language parole, meaning " word." Following its use in late-medieval Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their word of honor to abide...
 for life, and moved to the west coast of Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
 where he re-married. He died in 2002. On his death bed he admitted to the murder (that no one knew of) of two teenagers.

External links



Bibliography

  • The Boyd Gang by Marjorie Lamb and Barry Pearson. Toronto, Peter Martin Associates, 1976.