On a spring night in 1936, near the quiet area of St. John Lake, Indiana, the life of 35-year-old John Ruskin Foster was tragically cut short. A special agent with the Alcohol Tax Unit, Foster was on a special assignment with his colleague, Special Agent Guy Goodin, on May 14th. The two officers were patrolling near Dyer around 1:00 a.m. when they spotted a suspicious black Ford coupe and began to pursue the vehicle.
The chase escalated as the Ford reached speeds of over 75 miles per
hour, turning off the main highway onto a dark dirt road. As the agents rounded a curve, their pursuit came to an abrupt and violent end. One of the two men in the fleeing car opened fire with a high-powered rifle, striking Investigator Foster multiple times. One bullet struck him in the heart, ending his life almost instantly. Despite the immediate danger, Agent Goodin rushed his mortally wounded partner to St. Margaret's Hospital in Hammond, but Foster was pronounced dead en route.
The subsequent investigation quickly identified two bootleggers, James Jacobs, who also went by the name James Jones, and Harlan Crouch, as the prime suspects. Their motive was to protect their illegal cargo of 200 gallons of untaxed alcohol they were transporting from Chicago to Indianapolis. Feeling they could not outrun the determined agents, they decided to ambush them. Within hours of the shooting, Jacobs was apprehended in Chicago Heights, Illinois. During questioning, he confessed to being in the car and identified Crouch as the triggerman.
A few weeks later, on May 27th, law enforcement located and arrested Harlan Crouch in a rooming house in Indianapolis. He too confessed to his role in the murder of Agent Foster. Both men were charged with the killing. Ultimately, Jacobs and Crouch pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and, on June 26, 1936, were sentenced to life in a federal penitentiary for their roles in the death of the federal agent.
