"Bonnie" and "Clyde," aka Elizabeth Nell Collins and Harvey D. Webb, were arrested, along with Jesse James Smith, for armed robbery.
They had talked enough with reporters and anyone who would listen, that they must have known they should plead guilty, so they did.
From the Arizona Daily Star, Wednesday, May 1, 1968:
Holdup Trio Sent To State Prison
SAFFORD (AP) β 'Bonnie, Clyde' and Jesse James have been sentenced to 5-7 years in the State Prison after pleading guilty in Superior Court to a $25 dollar grocery store robbery.
The three Texans, each 20, also wanted on kidnapping charges, were arrested on a ranch between Willcox and Benson April 16 after a 100 mile police chase. Elizabeth Nell Collins, Jessie James Smith and Harvey D. Webb β their real names β entered their pleas last Thursday.
The three had been accused of robbing the store of $100, but in the end it was likely they would end up in Texas to face the kidnapping charge. That information was not available in Star archives.
Harvey Webb may have wanted to be known as Clyde, but a 17-year-old student did not want to have the name Clyde any longer.
When the movie about the bank-robbing duo starring Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty came out, it caused a problem for the young man.
From the Star, Friday, Feb. 16, 1968:
Name Of Clyde Not So Bonny, Youth Declares
A 17-year-old Tucson youth yesterday asked Superior Court to change his first and middle names.
He is known as Clyde Paul. Clyde wants to change it to Paul Clyde. Many of his schoolmates know him as "Paul," he said.
Clyde believes publicity from the popular movie about a notorious bank robbing team of the 1930s, "Bonnie and Clyde," has added unpleasant connotations to the name that he doesn't like.
It is not known if the boy has a girlfriend named "Bonnie."
One might assume that if a high school student is sensitive enough to change his name because of a movie, he isn't likely to date a girl named Bonnie.
