Vernon C. Miller
| Vernon C. Miller | |
|---|---|
Photo from FBI Files.
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| Born |
August 25, 1896 Kimball, South Dakota, United States |
| Died | circa November 29, 1933 (aged 37) Detroit, Michigan, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Known for | Only identified gunman involved in the Kansas City Massacre. |
| Partner(s) | Vi Matthias |
Vernon C. Miller (August 25, 1896 – November 29, 1933) was a freelance Prohibition gunman, bootlegger, bank robber and former sheriff in Huron, South Dakota, who, as the only identified gunman in the Kansas City massacre, was found beaten and strangled to death shortly after the incident.
Born in Kimball, South Dakota, Miller moved 35 miles northeast to Huron in 1914 and began working as an auto mechanic. Two years later Miller enlisted in the U.S. Army, seeing action in the Mexican expedition into Mexico, launched after repeated bandit raids across the border. After the United States entry into World War I, Miller served in France with the 18th Infantry Regiment and, decorated for valor and bravery, he rose to the rank of color sergeant by the war's end.
After being discharged from the military in 1918, Miller returned to Huron and joined the city's police force as a patrolman. Resigning from the Huron Police Department in May 1920, he ran for the sheriff's office of Beadle County, eventually winning the local election in November. Within two years, however, Miller reportedly tired of the job and fled the area in early 1922 after withdrawing $4,000 in county revenue. Within a year, Miller was tracked down by investigators and convicted of embezzlement on April 4, 1923.
While imprisoned at the South Dakota State Penitentiary, Miller became the warden's personal chauffeur. He was granted parole in November 1924.
By the time of Miller's release, Prohibition was in full effect in the country and Miller readily entered the lucrative, although at times dangerous, occupational field of bootlegging. He was fined $200 for bootlegging by a Sioux Falls, South Dakota, court in October 1925, but had a clear record for several years thereafter.
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