[1][2] Pinson had been released from the Washington State Prison in 1945 after serving time since 1944 for burglary.

He had been sentenced on May 24, 1947 to life imprisonment at Oregon State Penitentiary for first degree murder.

He became wanted in 1949 in eastern Washington and Idaho for burglary and was charged with unlawful flight on September 7, 1949 when he crossed state lines after he escaped on May 30, 1949 from the Oregon State Prison with a cellmate.

He had evaded capture after a shootout with police on January 30, 1950, at Polson, Montana while burglarizing a hardware store.

He was a prisoner at Oregon State Penitentiary after being arrested on August 28, 1950 at Pierre, South Dakota by South Dakota Highway Patrol and an FBI National Academy graduate.