The John Kinney Gang , also known as the Rio Grande Posse , was an outlaw gang of the Old West which operated during the mid-1870s into the mid-1880s.
7-572: The gang was organized by outlaw John Kinney , in Doña Ana County, New Mexico . From its beginning, the gang primarily committed acts of robbery and cattle rustling . On December 31, 1875, the gang was involved in a gunfight with US Cavalry soldiers in a saloon in Las Cruces, New Mexico . According to different accounts, they killed one or two soldiers and a civilian outright and wounded three soldiers They became best known when they were enlisted by
14-542: A shot that hit Kinney in the face, but he survived. In 1878, Kinney was arrested for the murder of Ysabel Barela, but was acquitted . In 1883 Kinney was arrested for cattle rustling and sentenced to prison. Released in 1886, he did not return to his outlaw life. By that time all the members of his former gang were either dead or in prison or had disappeared. He served in the US Army during the Spanish–American War , and
21-591: The "Murphy-Dolan Faction" during the Lincoln County War , to counter Billy the Kid and his "Regulators". Former gang member Jesse Evans and his gang were also enlisted by "Murphy-Dolan". Lincoln County Sheriff George Peppin deputized the gang members to make them "official" during this time. After the Lincoln County War ended, they resumed their previous criminal activities, with some members remaining with
28-670: The Kinney Gang, while others joined the Jesse Evans Gang or John Selman 's gang. The Kinney Gang disbanded when John Kinney was arrested in 1883 for rustling. He was released from prison in 1886, but by that time all former gang members had either disappeared, were in prison or dead. John Kinney did not return to his former outlaw life, instead serving in the US Army during the Spanish–American War , and lived until 1919. John Kinney (outlaw) John Kinney (c. 1847 – August 25, 1919)
35-511: The gang to form the Jesse Evans Gang . Kinney enlisted his gang in the El Paso Salt War . Then both gangs were later enlisted by the "Murphy-Dolan Faction" at the outset of the Lincoln County War , and it was Jesse Evans and members of his gang who killed John Tunstall, spurring Billy the Kid and his "Regulators" into action. During the battle and siege of the McSween house, Billy the Kid fired
42-700: Was an outlaw of the Old West , who formed the John Kinney Gang . Kinney was born in Hampshire County, Massachusetts around 1847. His family later moved to Iowa , and in 1865, after the Civil War ended, Kinney enlisted in the US Army . At the rank of sergeant , Kinney was mustered out of the army in 1873. He settled in Doña Ana County, New Mexico , and for reasons unknown organized a gang, which began committing acts of robbery and cattle rustling . Jesse Evans
49-472: Was one of the early members. On December 31, 1875, Kinney, Evans, Jim McDaniels and Pony Diehl entered a saloon in Las Cruces, New Mexico , where they became involved in a brawl with Cavalry soldiers from Fort Seldon . The outlaws were beaten badly and thrown out of the saloon. They returned shortly thereafter and opened fire, killing two soldiers and one civilian, and wounding two other soldiers and one civilian. Not long afterwards, Evans broke away from
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