Ted Cass Hinton (October 5, 1904 – October 27, 1977) was a

Dallas County, Texas Dallas County is the second-most populous county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 2,613,539, making it the ninth-most populous county in the country. Dallas County is included in the Dallas-Arlington-F ...

deputy sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

, the youngest of the

posse Posse is a shortened form of posse comitatus, a group of people summoned to assist law enforcement. The term is also used colloquially to mean a group of friends or associates. Posse may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Posse'' (1975 ...

that ambushed and killed

Bonnie and Clyde Bonnie Elizabeth Parker (October 1, 1910May 23, 1934) and Clyde Chestnut (Champion) Barrow (March 24, 1909May 23, 1934) were an American criminal couple who traveled the Central United States with their gang during the Great Depression. The co ...

near Gibsland,

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

, on May 23, 1934.

History

Hinton, then aged 29, was assigned to accompany Deputy Sheriff Bob Alcorn on the premise that Hinton knew

Clyde Barrow Bonnie Elizabeth Parker (October 1, 1910May 23, 1934) and Clyde Chestnut (Champion) Barrow (March 24, 1909May 23, 1934) were an American criminal couple who traveled the Central United States with their gang during the Great Depression. The co ...

and could identify him. Hinton and Alcorn were assigned by Dallas County Sheriff Richard A. "Smoot" Schmid to assist

Frank Hamer Francis Augustus Hamer (March 17, 1884 – July 10, 1955) was an American lawman and Texas Ranger who led the 1934 posse that tracked down and killed criminals Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. Renowned for his toughness, marksmanship, and ...

and his assistant Maney Gault in a shoot-to-kill order against Bonnie and Clyde that originated with the Texas prison system chief Lee Simmons. Hinton became a Sheriff's Deputy in 1932 following the election of Schmid. A

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

player, Hinton passed up a chance to join the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

because he did not want to spend time away from his wife and young son. Born in

Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma and List of United States cities by population, 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

, and reared in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, he knew the Barrow family in his youth. Ted Hinton was also once acquainted with young

Bonnie Parker Bonnie Elizabeth Parker (October 1, 1910May 23, 1934) and Clyde Chestnut (Champion) Barrow (March 24, 1909May 23, 1934) were an American criminal couple who traveled the Central United States with their gang during the Great Depression. The co ...

while she was working in Marco's Cafe in Dallas. Because of her good looks, many of the male customers would flirt with her. Hinton was always gentlemanly and treated Bonnie with respect. Hinton admitted in a later biography that he had a crush on Bonnie, which made it difficult for him as one of the men on the team sent to kill her and her lover, Clyde.

Controversy

Hinton wrote a book called ''Ambush'' in 1977, which was published in 1979, two years after his death, in which he maintained that Ivy T. Methvin was forced to lure Bonnie and Clyde into the ambush site by

. The original story was that Methvin had agreed to plot the ambush if his son

Henry Methvin Henry Methvin (April 8, 1912 – April 19, 1948) was an American criminal, a bank robber, and a Depression-era outlaw. He is best remembered as the final member of Bonnie and Clyde's gang. His role in the gang has often been misattributed to ...

received a pardon. Hinton claimed that a deal was reached by the members of the Posse whereby the last surviving member would tell this version of events after all others had died. This member happened to be Hinton. His version of events is disputed.

Aftermath

Hinton remained a deputy sheriff until 1941. An accomplished

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

, he gave flying instructions to new recruits in the

Army Air Corps Army Air Corps may refer to the following army aviation corps: * Army Air Corps (United Kingdom), the army aviation element of the British Army * Philippine Army Air Corps (1935–1941) * United States Army Air Corps (1926–1942), or its p ...

just prior to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Hinton subsequently owned a motel, trucking company and restaurant. He died in 1977 and is interred with his wife at

Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery is a multi-faith cemetery located at 7405 West Northwest Highway in North Dallas, Texas ( USA). It is owned by Service Corporation International. Among the notable persons interred here are: *Mary Kay Ash ( ...

in Dallas. The couple had at least one child, former Dallas County Deputy Linton Jay "Boots" Hinton (January 1, 1934 – December 5, 2016), who had since 2004 operated the Bonnie and Clyde Ambush Museum in

Gibsland, Louisiana Gibsland is a town in Bienville Parish, Louisiana, Bienville Parish in northern Louisiana, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 773. The town is best known for its connecting railroads, as the birthplace of the defunct histori ...

and also served as a Specialist 3 for the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

Books by Ted Hinton

* Hinton, T. with Grove, L., ''Ambush (The Real Story of Bonnie and Clyde)'', Shoal Creek Publishers, 1979.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hinton, Ted 1904 births 1977 deaths American deputy sheriffs People from Tulsa, Oklahoma People from Dallas Bonnie and Clyde Burials at Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery American restaurateurs