THE TUMULTUOUS END OF THE ASHLEY GANG

The Ashley Gang came to a violent end on Nov. 1, 1924, but that was hardly the end of the story

BY GREGORY ENNS

With John Ashley in prison and three of his brothers dead from their criminal activities, leadership of the Ashley Gang in 1922 fell to John’s 17-year-old nephew, Hanford Mobley.

Newspapers described him as the “boy leader’’ and “supposed leader of the Ashley Gang.” His prominence with the band of criminals once known simply as the Ashley Gang had led many newspapers to begin referring to the group as the Ashley-Mobley Gang. 

At 5-feet, 5-inches tall and 125 pounds, the boyish Hanford by outward appearances seemed an unlikely candidate to act in his uncle’s stead. Yet he was fearless and deliberate, often packing a .38 revolver. He also had an impeccable criminal pedigree.

UNUSUAL CHILDHOOD

Hanford was the son of John Ashley’s oldest sister, Mary Alice, and her husband, George Mobley, and the family lived across the road from Joe and Lugenia in Fruita. Growing up so close to the Ashley headquarters, Hanford was intimately familiar with his uncles’ and grandfather’s illegal activities.