A
name given to Charles Arthur
Floyd, a notorious bank robber that operated during the
depression-era. Pretty Boy Floyd was one of the Public Enemies during this time
period, along with John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, Alvin Karpis...etc.
Floyd was a native of Oklahoma, where he commited his first few crimes, his first crime being the theft of $3.50 in pennies from a
local post office. He was first arrested after robbing an armored truck with an accomplice, in which he was incarcerated for 3 years, during which his wife,
Ruby Floyd, divored him.
After serving his sentence, he attempted to find work, but to no avail, as few jobs would accept a ex-felon. He then turned to a life of crime carried out with various accomplices, one of which was with him during his armored car robbery.
After many robberies, he then reconciled with his wife and moved away with his wife and son. Close to this time is when he met
George Birdwell, a fellow bank robber. With
George and two women whom for one of which Floyd persued a relationship with, the Floyd
gang was established. After his friend and accomplice
George Birdwell was killed in an attempt to rob a bank, he then slowed down his bank robbing career, as he slowly crept up the ranks on the Public Enemy list.
He was also, by many accounts, falsely accused for murdering several
government agents in an attempt to free a incarcerated criminal being transported(who was ironically killed in the attempt). It is unknown if the two had worked together, but it is highly unlikely.
One
day, when Floyd and accomplice Adam Richetti were sitting near their car, which had broken down and they were waiting for his other two accomplices to bring help(later to find out they were apprehended), a farmer had spotted the two along the road and alerted authorities. Floyd managed to escape while Richetti was caught after a brief firefight with police.
With no transportation, as well as the inability to use roads due to police activity, Floyd was forced to retreat to the woods, where he roamed for three days before stumbling across a family's farm. The family fed him and gave him clothes, but the police discovered his location a few hours later.
Seeing no other option, Floyd fled across an open field and was gunned down by agent Melvin Purvis(which later proved conflicting as to who truly shot him as many claimed different stories). Floyd's last
words were, "my
name is Charles...Arthur...Floyd!" after Purvis asked if he was "Pretty Boy Floyd", a
name which he hated.
