9/25/2007:
Poor Johnny Benson had led a turbulent, dramatic life that was filled with heartache and jail sentences. To many, Johnny was merely a criminal. To others, he was a hopeless romantic who was prone to misfortune. On this day in 1946, however, federal agents waited patiently in Sanish for Johnny who was still at large for shooting a federal agent. In just three days, the federal agents would bring Johnny’s unfortunate life to a dramatic end.
Much of Johnny’s misfortune began with his marriage to Marvel, a woman prone to partying and men, but whom Johnny loved anyway. His misfortune only grew worse when in 1939 he was sentenced to four years of jail for armed robbery.
At his trial, Johnny appeared defiant, stating that the gun he used in the attempted robbery of a vehicle was unloaded and therefore, “couldn’t have done them any harm.” The judge, however, did not agree and gave Johnny a stricter sentence than normal. “It is too bad that a young man like you should commit the crime that you did with a revolver…If it hadn’t been for that, your sentence would have been much less…It is you that has brought it on yourself and it is up to you to make the best of it and to turn over a new leaf, and you can still do that if you want to.”
The time in jail proved difficult for Johnny, but it only grew worse with word of Marvel’s continued partying, despite her promises of faithfulness and good behavior. “Oh what a poor sap I was to fall for the same old line,” he wrote to Marvel. “Fooled me just as completely as though I hadn’t had five and a half years of bitter experience already. I’m still a weakling, why does it always take me so long to catch on? [I’m just] under your spell, I guess. I can’t think straight when I’m with you and you never fail to take advantage of it by putting over an alibi or two, and by the time I come to, you’re gone. Maybe they are giving me a break by keeping me here.”
Despite his remorse and disappointment, Johnny must have fallen for the “same old line again” and returned to Marvel after being released early from jail. He was returned again after violating parole. Marvel did help in his second release by saying his behavior was a result of her own poor behavior. While Marvel worked on his release, both she and Johnny promised a new start with each other. But, it would not be a start for the better.
According to federal agents, Johnny, Marvel and their children often traveled together when he delivered liquor, and on August 10, 1946, Marvel and the children acted as a screen between Johnny and federal agents as he made for an escape. In his escape, he shot one of the agents in the hip and though the agent recovered, it was this shooting that led the agents to set a trap in Sanish and wait patiently for the desperado, whom they believed would come to visit his mother.
The agents were right. On September 28, 1946, Johnny crept into the sleeping town at about 3:30 a.m. But, unbeknownst to Johnny, his mother had recently moved to Van Hook and FBI agents waited there for him instead. When the agents identified themselves, Johnny tried to flee and was shot down in the alley. According to the Minot Daily News, Johnny held an envelope filled with money and a note for his mother and family. The note told of his intention to flee across seas and asked his mother to use the money to pay off debts owed.
The Minot Daily referred to Johnny as a “fugitive desperado,” but the Sanish Sentinel and Sanish residents looked more remorsefully on the shooting. “People in this community have watched the case with interest,” reported the Sentinel. “[They] are truly sorry that the young man they had known came to this end.”
By Tessa Sandstrom
Sources:
“F.B.I. kills man,” Sanish Sentinel. Oct. 3, 1946: 1.
“Benson, fugitive desperado, killed in alley in Sanish by federal men,” Minot Daily News. Sept. 28, 1946: 1.
State Pen Inmate Case Files 7108-7156, Series 1255, Roll 87. State Archives.