Arizona’s dumbest criminal mastermind: Wild West Deputy Burt Alvord’s double life

The Lawman Who Robbed His Own Trains

The Arizona Territorial Prison in Yuma holds the story of the West’s most brazen lawman-turned-outlaw.

In 1899, Cochise County Deputy Sheriff Burton Alvord pulled off an incredible scheme: robbing trains while leading the investigation into his own crimes.

This cheerful, bald deputy would play poker loudly with his gang in Willcox saloons while accomplices slipped out to rob Southern Pacific trains.

When news broke, Alvord acted shocked, deputized his own partners in crime, and led posses that mysteriously lost every trail.

The con worked until a botched 1900 robbery left a dying gang member who confessed everything. Here’s how this audacious double life unfolded and where you can see Alvord’s actual prison mugshot today.

From Fearless Deputy to Criminal Mastermind

Burt Alvord started in 1886 as a deputy for Sheriff John Slaughter in Cochise County, Arizona. People said he wasn’t too bright, but Sheriff Slaughter called him “absolutely fearless.”

The big, bald, friendly lawman worked in several Arizona towns during the 1890s, including Fairbank, Pearce, and Willcox.

By July 1897, he became constable in Precinct 3, working from Willcox, Arizona Territory. Locals talked about how he could shoot a string with his right hand and hit the falling bottle with his left.

The Perfect Crime Needed Perfect Partners

Alvord got his drinking buddies Billy Stiles, Matt Burts, and Bill Downing to join his train robbery plan in 1899.

He thought the September 9 train at Cochise Station would carry money for miners at nearby Pearce.

His smart plan used his lawman job to hide his secret life as a train robber. Trains slowed down on the uphill stretch between Willcox and Cochise Station.

The clever part? Alvord would create a solid alibi while making his own helpers part of the search team.

Poker Night Created the Perfect Cover

On September 9, 1899, Alvord, Burts, Stiles and Downing set up a noisy poker game in the back room of Schwertner’s Saloon in Willcox.

A server brought drinks every few minutes and told customers the men were deep into their game. Billy Stiles and a partner snuck out a window and rode to Cochise Station, about 10 miles away.

Meanwhile, Alvord and Deputy Downing laughed loudly so everyone outside could hear them. This careful setup put all suspects clearly in Willcox during the robbery.

Midnight Train to Riches

At midnight, the gang robbed a Southern Pacific Express of just over $10,000 at Cochise Station.

They forced the train workers off at gunpoint and blew up the Wells Fargo safe with dynamite. Some reports say they took as much as $30,000 in gold coins.

After they cut loose the money car and blasted open the safe, they ran into the Chiricahua Mountains. The gang didn’t know the miners’ money they wanted had already reached Pearce days earlier.

The Sheriff Acts Shocked by His Own Crime

When news about the robbery reached Willcox, someone said they should tell Constable Burt Alvord, who was busy playing poker.

Burt looked surprised when he heard the Southern Pacific had been robbed.

He quickly made his poker partners – his own helpers – into deputies, and they rode out to catch the criminals.

The trail went cold near Willcox as the “posse” looked for clues.

To keep his gang from spending their gold and looking fishy, Burt took the money and buried it in a secret spot.

Wells Fargo Gets Suspicious

Alvord never expected Wells Fargo detectives and a lawman named Bert Grover to watch him closely. Grover suspected the Willcox constable early on, maybe because he seemed too innocent.

In late December 1899, Alvord suddenly quit his deputy sheriff job without saying why. Right after giving up his badge, Alvord left his wife and went into crime full-time.

He formed a gang with Billy Stiles and “Three Fingered Jack” Dunlop, outlaws he once chased as a lawman.

Train Robbery at Fairbank Goes Wrong

Five outlaws tried to rob a Wells Fargo express car at Fairbank, Arizona on February 15, 1900.

The group included “Bravo Juan” Tom Yoas, Bob Brown, brothers George and Louis Owens, and “Three Fingered Jack” Dunlop.

Alvord and Stiles planned to hit the train when guard Jeff Milton wasn’t working. But Milton filled in for a sick coworker that night.

Before the train came, the bandits acted like drunk cowboys and tied their horses outside the depot.

Jeff Milton Fights Back Despite Gunshot Wound

As the train pulled into Fairbank station, Jeff Milton stood in the open doorway of the express car.

When the bandits yelled for him to give up and shot off his hat, Milton quickly sized up the danger. One bullet hit Milton in the left shoulder, cutting an artery and wounding him.

Milton fell back inside the car but grabbed his Wells Fargo shotgun. He waited at first because firing might hurt innocent people nearby.

One Shotgun Blast Changes Everything

Three-Finger Jack Dunlap ran toward the open door and caught a full shotgun blast in his stomach. Eleven pellets hit Dunlop while the rest struck Bravo Juan Yoas in the backside.

The others jumped for cover as Milton stood up and slammed the steel door shut, even though he was bleeding badly.

With his good arm, he pulled the safe keys from his pocket and threw them among packages in the corner.

The gang left with only about $40, abandoning the badly wounded Dunlap.

A Dying Outlaw Spills the Beans

Three-Finger Jack’s wound was bad, and he fell from his horse just a few miles from Fairbank. His friends left him beside the trail to die since he slowed them down.

A posse from Fairbank easily followed the bloody trail to where Dunlap lay dying.

Angry about being abandoned by his partners, Jack gladly told authorities everything about both robberies.

He gave detailed confessions and even talked to a newspaper before dying on February 24, 1900.

The Lawman’s Double Life Exposed

Three-Finger Jack revealed the shocking truth: the mastermind was the same man who pretended to investigate the crimes.

Jack named Burt Alvord as the leader and explained how they counted on Jeff Milton not working that train.

Billy Stiles also gave up and confessed everything, pointing to Alvord and sharing details of both robberies.

After his arrest, Alvord went to Tombstone jail with Downing, Burts, and Yoas.

In all the train robberies of the Old West, this was the only time the robbers and the posse chasing them were the same people.

Visiting Arizona Territorial Prison (Yuma), Arizona

The Arizona Territorial Prison at 220 N Prison Hill Road in Yuma costs $10 for adults and $5 for kids 7-13.

You can explore the original cellblocks, Dark Cell, guard tower, and museum where Burt Alvord was held after his train robbery schemes.

The prison is open daily with summer hours 8:30am-4pm and winter hours 9am-4:30pm.

Take a self-guided tour or join hourly staff tours, plus try the trivia hunt while walking around.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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