He was working as a cowboy on the Halsell Ranch in Oklahoma Territory when he first met Doolin, in 1892.
He was with the gang during a bank robbery in Southwest City, Missouri, which resulted in a gunfight in which West was wounded.
Thomas, and Deputy Marshals Bill Tilghman and Chris Madsen systematically eliminated the gang over the course of the 1890s, leading to their nickname, the Three Guardsmen.
West helped to form the Jennings Gang, with lawyers turned outlaws Al Jennings and his brother Frank, which made a number of bungled train robberies.
Other members of the Doolin Gang met similar fates in Oklahoma.