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The Austin gangster behind one of the city's most notorious heists

 Jerry James. Fred Hedges, Hank Bowen, William Brown and Tim Overton are pictured wearing white jump suits.
Courtesy of Jesse Sublett
Caught at Mobeetie 1966, from left: Jerry James, Fred Hedges, Hank Bowen, William Brown and Tim Overton.

This story was originally published on April 20, 2016.

Today’s podcast edition of Wayback Wednesday starts, like many Texas stories, with football. It also ends with football, but in the middle it’s got most of the things those other football stories don’t have: an amazing crime spree, with burglaries, bare-knuckle brawling, prostitution, federal investigations and a couple of murders. And it all starts with a kid from East Austin named Timmy Overton.

Special thanks to Jesse Sublett for his help on this episode, and be sure to check out his aptly titled book “1960s Austin Gangsters” for more on the history of the Timmy Overton and his gang. Believe me, it’s got plenty more stories – Elvis gets punched in the face, Eddie Wilson and the Armadillo World Headquarters are featured and even the late, great KUT/X DJ Paul Ray makes an appearance.

Andrew Weber is a general assignment reporter for KUT, focusing on criminal justice, policing, courts and homelessness in Austin and Travis County. Got a tip? You can email him at aweber@kut.org. Follow him on Twitter @England_Weber.
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