Two original State of Texas warrants for the arrest of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, each one page, 8.5 x 7, November 28, 1933. The first reads, in part: "To Any Sheriff of The State of Texas—Greeting: You Are Hereby Commanded to take the body of Bonnie Parker and her safely keep, so that you have her before the Honorable Criminal District Court No. 2, of Dallas County…then and there to answer The State of Texas in a charge by indictment, wherein the said Bonnie Parker is charged with the offense of Murder." The warrant for Barrow reads in the same manner, with the specific words replaced with "Clyde Barrow" and "him." Both are signed in the lower left by Deputy Jack Avery and impressed with the official seal of "Criminal District Court No. 2, of Dallas County, Texas." The folded front panel of each document is also signed by Avery, and they read, respectively: "No. 5046, The State of Texas vs. Clyde Barrow, Murder" and "No. 5047, The State of Texas vs. Bonnie Parker, Murder." In overall very good condition, with top portions permanently affixed to scrapbook page, scattered toning, and some edge tears to that warrant for Clyde. From the collection of Dallas Sheriff Smoot Schmid.
On January 6, 1933, law enforcement officers assembled by Tarrant County Deputy Malcolm Davis were tasked with staking out the West Dallas home of Lillian McBride, the sister of Barrow Gang member Raymond Hamilton, with the intent to capture bank robber Odell Chambless. Shortly after midnight, a car with Bonnie Parker, W. D. Jones, and Clyde Barrow stopped at the residence, the latter wanting to affirm that Lillian had smuggled hacksaw blades to her brother in Hillsboro jail. Barrow exited the vehicle and, upon discovering the trap, pulled out his shotgun, firing through the front window of the house. Davis, one of two officers waiting on the back porch, was shot with the secondary blast from Barrow’s shotgun as he rounded the house. On November 28, 1933, a Dallas grand jury delivered a murder indictment against Parker and Barrow for the killing of Davis, which resulted in the issuance of these two warrants. This was an historic indictment for two significant reasons: it was the first time Parker was charged with murder, and the death of Davis, a well-known Texas lawman, intensified the all-out manhunt for the Barrow Gang leaders. As the original warrants issued to Smoot Schmid for the arrest of the murderous outlaw couple, this is an extraordinary pair of Bonnie and Clyde documents.
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