Edwin Alonzo Boyd - Over The Wall

Over The Wall

On November 4, 1951, Eddie and the Jacksons hacksawed the bars and went over the wall and escaped. They met a friend, Valent Lesso from Cochrane, one of the violent members of Lennie Jackson’s original gang, and the four became a team. Lesso was a talented musician who couldn’t find work; he changed his name to Steve Suchan and became a bank robber. They soon pulled off a series of robberies, including the biggest one in Toronto history. The newspapers dubbed the new group “the Boyd Gang,” seeing Eddie as the brains behind the operation. Willie Jackson was arrested and sent to the Don Jail. Eddie went into hiding with his wife Dorreen.

On March 6, 1952 Detective Sergeant Edmund Tong aka 'The Chinaman' and his partner pulled over a suspicious car at a Toronto intersection. The car contained Steve Suchan and Lennie Jackson working on their own. A gun fight ensued, and Suchan killed Detective Tong. They were later wounded and captured in a gun fight and ended up again in the Don Jail, charged with murder. Eddie Boyd was tracked down and caught in bed beside an attaché case full of money, and five loaded pistols. Eddie was put in a jail cell with his two buddies. They became friendly with one of the older guards. As the pretence of a joke, one of the gang members grabbed the guard's key ring and gripped it tightly while kibbitzing and joking with the guard. When he let go of the key, an impression was left in his hand and in short order they fashioned a key for the cell door and slipped out briefly. When the guards were not around they hack-sawed a window in preparation for escape. To be able to fit out the small opening, they all went on a diet. Just before Suchan and Jackson were to stand trial, on Sept 8, 1952 they escaped the Don for a second time. The biggest manhunt in Canadian history ensued, with a large reward — to be specific, a then-perhaps overindulgent CAD$26,000 — offered for information leading to their capture. Several jail staff were fired and a Royal Commission was set up to review the circumstances of their escape.

Canadian newspaper wars were fierce in 1952, and every detail of the Boyd Gang’s activity and attempts at their capture were reported in headlines across the country. There were reports of sighting across Ontario and Quebec. Local police officers travelled in pairs and were well armed.