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20th Century Shining Star:
Captain Jack Dean,
United States Marshall
Since
the formation of the Texas Rangers in 1823, only
six Rangers have also served as United States Marshals — Ben
McCulloch, Dick Ware, John Rogers, Bill McDonald, Clint Peoples,
and Jack Dean. Only Peoples and Dean have become marshals since the
formation of the Department of Public Safety in 1935.
Jack Dean is the eldest
child of William Hershel and the late Juanita Day Dean. He was born
in the Green Valley community, just north of Denton, Texas, on June
16, 1937. Jack graduated from Fort Worth’s Diamond Hall High School
and then attended Tyler Junior College in Tyler and TCU in Fort Worth.
While a Ranger several years later, he attended Pan American University
in Edinburg.
Over the years, Jack has
had to make many decisions, but the best one he ever made was marrying
Janie Hill forty-eight years ago. Through thick and thin, she has been
Jack’s most loyal supporter. They have one daughter, Kelly, and
two sons, Cody and Kyle. Jack and Kyle are one of the few father-son
combinations in Ranger history. Kyle has been in the DPS for twenty-one
years—ten as a Highway Patrolman in Crockett and eleven as a Ranger
in Denton and Kerrville.
In 1960, Jack applied for
and was accepted into the DPS. Like all new recruits, he attended the
DPS Academy in Austin. He began on December 7, 1960, and graduated on
March 31, 1961. In those days, school was five and a half days a week—and
no overtime.
For the next nine and a
half years, Jack worked as a Highway Patrolman. He was first stationed
in Pecos in West Texas until the opportunity presented itself four and
a half year later to get closer to Fort Worth. He transferred to the
East Texas city of Tyler. He remained in Tyler until he was accepted
into the Rangers in 1964.
Reflecting on his Highway
Patrol years, Jack said, “I loved every moment of it.” And
why not? He was doing a job he loved—serving the people of Texas.
As an added bonus, he had four great partners. His first was Charlie
Bolinger, a veteran who was a fine teacher for the rookie patrolman.
Two other partners, Dale Bryce and Kelly Whitehead, would join Jack
in the Texas Rangers. [Tragically both Dale and Kelly died much too
young of cancer.] Another partner, Orville Shepherd, is currently the
sheriff of Titus County in East Texas.
When Jack transferred to
Tyler, the flame to join the Rangers was lit. He recognized that there
were some great Rangers in that area: Jim Ray*, Red Arnold*, and Glenn
Elliott*.
In 1968, Jim Ray left Tyler
to become the Ranger sergeant of Company “E” in Midland.
Bob Mitchell* became the Ranger in Tyler. It didn’t take Jack
long to realize what anyone who comes into contact with Bob Mitchell
knows: he is someone very special. Jack explains, “I always say
that he [Mitchell] is my hero. [He] became my mentor but, most of all,
he became my friend. Now thirty-five years later, he still is.”
There was another man who
greatly influenced Jack’s career: Ranger Captain Bill Wilson.
Wilson and Bob Mitchell encouraged Jack to apply for the Texas Rangers.
Fortunately for the Rangers and the citizens of Texas, Jack became the
newest Ranger on September 1, 1970. He was stationed along the banks
of the Rio Grande in the Deep South Texas city of McAllen.
The Suspect Who Never Goes Away
When Jack became a Ranger,
he inherited the case of a hired killer named Charles Harrelson. When
Jack arrived on the scene, Harrelson had been tried in Palacios, Texas,
and found not guilty on a murder for hire case in Houston. But Harrelson’s
troubles were not over. He was transferred to the Hidalgo County Jail
in Edinburg, just a few miles north of McAllen. He had been charged
in Edinburg for the hired murder of a Hearne grain dealer named Sam
Degilia. The case had originally been worked by Rangers Skippy Rundell
and Tol Dawson. By the time Jack made Ranger and was stationed in McAllen,
Tol had transferred to Pecos, and Skippy had been promoted, so Charles
Harrelson became Jack’s problem.
For the next four years,
Jack spent time gathering evidence, finding and guarding witnesses,
and investigating attempted jail breaks by Harrelson. [Jack still has
a .25-caliber, automatic pistol that he took from Harrelson’s
jail cell in a Hidalgo County jail.]
Harrelson hired high-priced,
flamboyant, Houston attorney Percy Foreman for his defense. Just when
it looked liked the case was going to be brought to a successful conclusion,
Foreman sprung a surprise witness on the prosecution. A nightclub singer
with a questionable background claimed that she had been with Harrelson
at the time of the murder. To almost everyone in the courtroom, it was
obvious she was lying. Unfortunately, the only opinion that counted
was that of the jury. Eleven of them didn’t believe her story,
but one did. The trial ended in a hung jury—eleven for conviction,
one for acquittal.
Harrelson was retried in
1974 in nearby Brownsville. Jack sat in the courtroom waiting for the
nightclub singer. If she showed up, she had a big problem: Jack had
a perjury warrant for her in his pocket. Regrettably, she had learned
that the Rangers were waiting to arrest her, and she decided she would
never have a better reason to relocate. The next time Jack heard of
her, she was in Aruba, an island in Caribbean.
Without the help of the
singer’s testimony, there was no hung jury. Harrelson was found
guilty. Incredibly, he was sentenced to only fifteen years in prison.
With good time, he was out in five years.
Jack had no more business
with Harrelson until 1979. When they crossed paths again, Jack was the
captain of Company D in San Antonio, and the case would make national
headlines.
Federal Judge John Woods
had been assassinated in the parking lot of his San Antonio condo with
a shot in the back by a high-powered rifle. The local FBI office asked
the Rangers to help. Contrary to what many would think, the FBI, at
least at that time, had minimal experience in working homicides. Jack
dispatched his sergeant [today this would be a lieutenant] Lefty Block
to work with the FBI team. Lefty later became the Senior Ranger Captain.
A few days after the murder,
Jack was in his office when he received a strange phone call. Ginny
Goss, his secretary, rang through and said there was man on the phone
who wanted to talk to him. He wouldn’t give his name or what he
wanted.
Jack answered the call and
a male voice said, “How are doing, Jack?”
“Who is this?”
“You know who this
is,” the voice replied.
“I don’t think
so.”
“Charles Harrelson
was in San Antonio the day Judge Woods was killed.”
Jack asked, “Did Charlie
kill the judge?”
“Charles Harrelson
was in San Antonio the day Judge Woods was killed.”
With that, the anonymous
caller hung up. Who was the caller? Jack could only guess, but he was
never sure.
Jack passed this information
on to the FBI. A few days later, he was in Austin when he received a
call from the San Antonio FBI office asking him to come by as soon as
possible. When he arrived, he met with the SAC (Special Agent in Charge)
and an assistant director of the FBI. They wanted to know everything
that Jack could provide them about how Harrelson operated. Of course,
Jack cooperated in every way possible. In return, he was told that his
assistance was no longer needed—or wanted!
Several years later, Jack
Lawn was promoted to SAC and came by Jack’s office. He thanked
Jack and the Rangers and admitted that Rangers made the case. Lawn also
said the same thing to the DPS Director Colonel Pat Spier and his successor,
Colonel Jim Adams. [Lawn was not the SAC at the time of Harrelson case.]
Fast forward seventeen years
to 1996. Charles Harrelson had been serving a life sentence for the
assassination of Judge Woods. Meanwhile, Jack had retired from the Rangers
and was the United States Marshal for Western District of Texas. Harrelson’s
son Woody was a major television star with many dollars. He used a lot
of this money to hire high-caliber lawyers in an attempt to get his
father’s conviction overturned. Jack traveled to Denver, Colorado,
twice to appear before two different federal judges in separate hearings.
Woody spent no telling how many dollars trying to free his father, but
to no avail. Today Charles Harrelson is still sitting in a federal prison
serving a life sentence.
Jack has visited several
times with Harrelson. Jack says that he is an easy man to talk to and
he always got along well with him. During one of their conversations,
Harrelson said that he liked Tol Dawson but didn’t like Skippy
Rundell. After Harrelson’s first arrest, Skippy was transporting
him back to Texas from Florida by plane. Harrelson liked to talk, and
Skippy became irritated. He told Harrelson to shut up or he would throw
him out the plane. Ed Gooding* partnered many times with Skippy. In
his book, Ed Gooding: Soldier, Texas Ranger*, Ed said that Skippy didn’t
mind confrontation.
The last contact Jack had
with Harrelson was through a note. Harrelson thanked Jack for letting
him see his grandkids for the first time.
Jack says, “Charlie
is like the battery bunny in my life. He just keeps on coming.”
After four years as a field
Ranger, Jack’s outstanding leadership abilities had been recognized
by his superiors, and he was promoted to sergeant [today this would
be a lieutenant] on December 1, 1974. The gods that look over Rangers
were watching over Jack. He found himself as one of the sergeants of
Company F. Company F is the only Ranger company that has two sergeants
(lieutenants). One is stationed in Austin, the other at company headquarters
in Waco. Jack’s station was Waco, and his captain was none other
than his hero Bob Mitchell. He worked for Captain Mitchell until November
1, 1978, when he promoted to the captaincy of Company D in San Antonio.
He held this position until his retirement on September 1, 1993. Since
his retirement, Jack has been the United States Marshal for the Western
District of Texas.
Jack says he learned many
things from Ranger captains that he tried to pass on to his own men.
From John Wood, the man he succeeded as captain of Company D, he learned
that when you have a man doing a good job, leave him alone and let him
get it done. Unless he asks for your help, don’t offer him any.
Bob Mitchell taught Jack to take care of his people. From Bill Wilson,
Jack learned that if he took care of the little things, the big ones
would usually take care of themselves. Good advise for anyone in a leadership
position, not just a Ranger captain.
Obviously, Jack learned
these lessons well. Three of his former sergeants/lieutenants advanced
to the top. Bruce Casteel*, Lefty Block, and C.J. Havrda* became Senior
Ranger Captains. A fourth, Gene Powell*, became the Assistant Senior
Ranger Captain.
Not surprisingly, Jack says
that he is really proud of the people he worked with during his Ranger
years. Reflecting on his years as a Ranger, he says they were the most
fun of his life. “The best is being a working [field] Ranger.
Those were the happiest four years of my life, but it sure isn’t
bad being Bob Mitchell’s sergeant or being a captain. In twenty-three
years, the Rangers gave me a lot of enjoyment, some heartache, and friends
that will always be in my heart.”
In closing, Jack sums up
what he is most proud of: “You get to be a Ranger, then your son
(Kyle) becomes a Ranger. It doesn’t get any better than that.
Just ask Bob Prince, John Dendy, Richard Bennie, or Buster Collins.”
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articles on Texas Rangers mentioned in this Article
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