Although his father was willing to put him through school for as long as James desired, he began associating with people who taught him fraud and how to cheat and steal.

He later went back to that person's house and tried to steal more hogs, but he was caught and arrested by the Jackson County Sheriff and charged with larceny.

Wages and James Copeland burned the Jackson County Courthouse to the ground one night, destroying evidence and everything else housed in the building.

Wages took Copeland to a gathering in Mobile, where he was initiated as a member of a large clan that engaged in theft and other crimes for profit.

[3] The clan's criminal activities consisted primarily of the theft of Negro slaves and horses, the looting and burning of houses and stores, counterfeiting, boat larceny, and murder.

Wages and McGrath attempted to collect a disputed debt for fellow clan member Allen Brown.

[1] James Andrew Harvey had purchased, in good faith, a farm from Brown, who did not hold clear title to the property.

[5] Although Copeland escaped the gun battle, he was eventually captured near Mobile in 1849, tried for his Alabama crimes, and sentenced to a four-year prison term.

Upon completion of the prison term, Copeland was transferred to Mississippi to stand trial for the Harvey killing, for which he was convicted and sentenced to hang.

Rumors have circulated for decades of Copeland gold caches, still unclaimed, hidden around the shores of the Gulf of Mexico.