Who was Baby Face Nelson?
Lester Joseph Gills, who was more commonly referred to in accordance with his nickname ‘Baby Face Nelson’, was an individual who was classified as a member of organized criminal organizations throughout the late 1920s and early 1930s until the time of his death. In contrast to his seemingly docile nickname, Baby Face Nelson was considered to be amongst the most dangerous, volatile, and violent criminals to have existed within the history of the United States. Over the course of his criminal activity, Baby Face Nelson was accused with a variety of criminal activities, which ranged from murder to racketeering; furthermore, Baby Face Nelson was associated with some of the most notorious and prolific criminals of his time:
Baby Face Nelson was first arrested in 1921 at the age of 13; he was accused of shooting another child with a gun that he had found; subsequent to his release from a juvenile facility, Baby Face Nelson continued to participate in a wide range of criminal activity
Baby Face Nelson was considered to be ‘Public Enemy Number One’ prior to his death in 1934; this was a classification utilized at the time by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) – this classification signified that that the individual classified as such was of the utmost danger to society
The Case Profile of Baby Face Nelson
The following is a case profile of both the crimes of Baby Face Nelson, as well as a legal classification of statutory legislation associated with the case:
Date of Birth: Baby Face Nelson was born on December 6th, 1908; he was killed on November 27th, 1934 by law enforcement agents – he was 25 years old
Residence: Baby Face Nelson frequented the Chicago area within his early years; after briefly traveling to the Western United States with the intent to commit robbery, he returned to Illinois – he was killed in Wilmette, Illinois
Dates of Crimes: Despite his arrest at 13 years of age, many historians classify Baby Face Nelson’s crime spree as lasting from 1928 to his death in 1934
Criminal Charges: Murder, Robbery, and Racketeering were amongst the many criminal charges associated with Baby Face Nelson
Notable Details and Personal Information: The following personal details have been considered to be contributory to the behavior and criminal actions undertaken by Baby Face Nelson; in addition, these case details were made mention within Baby Face Nelson’s criminal case:
Baby Face Nelson first partnered with Al Capone in a variety of Racketeering operations; however, due to Baby Face Nelson’s violent demeanor and erratic tendencies, Al Capone distanced himself from association with Baby Face Nelson
At the end of his life, Baby Face Nelson joined John Dillinger in a variety of robberies and prison escapes; Baby Face Nelson was considered to be amongst the closest to John Dillinger
Victims: Although there does not exist a concrete determination of the number of Baby Face Nelson’s victims, reports have stated that he is responsible for the deaths of more FBI Agents than any other criminal in the history of the United States
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