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Charles Omer Makley (November 24, 1889 – September 22, 1934), also known as Charles McGray and Fat Charles, was an American criminal and bank robber active in the early 20th century, most notably as a criminal associate of John Dillinger. Makley was identified by the Federal Bureau of Investigation as one of the core members of the Dillinger gang and participated in numerous bank robberies across the Midwest during the early 1930s.
On July 30, 1924, he was arrested in Wichita, Kansas, for bank robbery, under the alias of Charles McGray. He was sentenced to 15 years but was paroled after serving only a portion of his sentence.
Makley was captured in early June 1928 in Hammond, Indiana, along with two other men and two women. On June 23, 1928, at age 39, he pleaded guilty to robbery charges and was sentenced by Judge Jesse C. Sutton in the Adams circuit court to serve 10 to 21 years in the Indiana State Prison at Michigan City. His sister-in-law, Mrs. Edith Makley of St. Marys, who was also charged with participating in the Linn Grove robbery, was released when the affidavit against her was dismissed due to insufficient evidence.
Makley was identified as the fourth member of a bank robbery gang to be sentenced within a two-week period in 1928. His confederates included Harry Smith and Edward Axe of St. Marys, Ohio, who were sentenced to 20 years each for robbing the Chickasaw, Ohio bank, and Howard Smith, also of St. Marys, who received a 15-year sentence for robbing the Ansonia, Ohio bank. Three other associates—Eddie Meadows of Kansas City, Missouri, and Robert Wheatley and his wife Gladys of Hammond, Indiana—were also arrested in the roundup but faced separate charges.
At Indiana State Prison, Makley became acquainted with fellow inmate John Dillinger, who was serving eight and a half years for the botched robbery of a grocery store.
On September 26, 1933, Makley and several other inmates escaped from Indiana State Prison using smuggled weapons. The group immediately began a crime spree across the Midwest, with Makley serving as one of the gang's primary leaders.
Makley was identified as the actual leader of this heist by both Brown and Kenyon College student J. Grant Dwyer, who was a customer in the bank during the robbery. This crime marked Knox County's first-ever armed robbery of a bank.
Makley was returned to Ohio, where he was charged with the murder of Sheriff Jess Sarber during the Lima jail break. His trial began on March 13, 1934, in Lima, Ohio, with extensive security measures including National Guard protection due to fears of another escape attempt. On March 17, 1934, after deliberating for three and a half hours, the jury found Makley guilty of first-degree murder and he was sentenced to death in the electric chair.
Makley was 44 years old at the time of his death on September 22, 1934. According to his death certificate (Vol. 7610 Cert. 54371) filed in Franklin County, Ohio, he died from gunshot wounds sustained during the escape attempt. His body was returned to Ohio for burial in Sugar Ridge Cemetery in Leipsic, Ohio. According to local historical accounts, his mother was reportedly a carnival performer, and he had family connections throughout Ohio including his sister Florence Mans who lived in Eldorado, Kansas, and a half-brother named Fred Makley.
The Gambier bank robbery that Makley led remains a significant event in Knox County history, marking the area's first armed bank robbery. His death during the failed escape attempt exemplified the violent end that awaited many Depression-era outlaws. The 1934 Ohio Court of Appeals case Makley v. State established legal precedents regarding the prosecution of gang-related murders and remains cited in legal literature.
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