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John Dillinger commits first crime

A photograph of vegetables at a grocer shop
Image: Shutterstock.com

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He wasn’t much loved at this point and he wasn’t wanted by the FBI but this is where it all began. His childhood gang was harmless, his teenage predilection for prostitutes predictable and, having tried the Navy and marriage and failed both, the 21-year-old seemed set for an average Joe future.

On this Saturday, a criminal friend persuaded him to rob a grocer.

When caught, it was John who took the rap. It was whilst inside that he met the elements that would turn him into a figure that Johnny Depp would play on the big screen...