After serving a short term, he soon became involved in theft and other criminal activity and, as a member of the Tulsa "Central Park Gang", he was first arrested for larceny at age 13.
[citation needed] In spite of his escape attempt, DeVol was paroled by the end of the year and rejoined his old partner in a string of robberies throughout Kansas and Oklahoma.
On 25 June of that year, he committed his first known murder when he shot and killed two police officers, Sheriff William Sweet and City Marshal Aaron Bailey, in Washington, Iowa.
Less than three months later, he reunited with Harvey Bailey to rob $40,000 from a bank in Ottumwa, Iowa as part of a team which included Thomas Holden and Francis Keating, Vernon Miller and Frank Nash.
His first known robbery with the gang was on 29 March 1932, when he joined Fred Barker, Alvin Karpis, Thomas Holden and Bernard Phillips in stealing $226,500 in cash and securities from a bank in Minneapolis.
On 17 June, DeVol was part of an eight-man team including Fred Barker, Alvin Karpis, Thomas Holden, Francis Keating, Harvey Bailey, Vern Miller and Frank Nash which robbed $47,000 from a bank in Fort Scott, Kansas.
The next robbery earned even more when he and Fred Barker, Karpis, Jess Doyle and Earl Christman stole $250,000 in cash and bonds from a bank in Concordia, Kansas on 25 July.
[2] He returned with the gang to Minneapolis at the end of the year, where along with seven other men, including Bill Weaver, Doyle, Verne Miller, Karpis and the Barker brothers held up a bank for $22,000 in cash and another $92,000 in bonds on December 16.
The owner of the German Village Tavern, a former Enid law enforcement officer, alerted authorities that he feared a robbery was imminent, because of the behavior of a small group of strangers in the establishment.
[8] Police arrived and when asked to come with them for questioning DeVol responded "Let me finish drinking my beer", after which he emptied the mug with one hand while pulling a gun with the other and opening fire with a .38 caliber pistol.