The Strange Crime That Landed Elvis Presley's Dad In Prison

But times were still hard, with the nation still struggling against the Great Depression, especially in the rural South of around Tupelo, Mississippi, where Elvis was born at home, per Biography — a home built by Vernon, lacking indoor plumbing and electricity. Vernon mostly worked odd jobs, a buck here and there, trying his best to provide for his wife and baby. At one point he sold a hog, but the buyer shorted him, giving him a check for a mere $4. As the Australian Elvis Fan Club tells it, Vernon talked the situation over with his brother-in-law and a friend. Why not change the number on the check to what it was supposed to be? (Another account claims the buyer's signature was traced onto a blank check.) Whatever the circumstances or the amount, the boys were caught. Vernon spent six months in jail awaiting trial, and when he finally appeared in court was found guilty and on May 25, 1938, sentenced to three years in the Mississippi State Prison.

During his incarceration, Gladys lost the house; she and young Elvis had to move in with relatives. Vernon was released early, on February 6, 1939, partly because of good behavior. The sentence was indefinitely suspended in 1940.

When Elvis died in 1977, Vernon was named executor of his son's estate. Vernon died two years later — some say of a broken heart, from burying his only child.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7qL7Up56eZpOkunB%2BkWxpcGhfqbWmedKtqZqml5p6pL7IppxmrJiWwW64wKebnpxdmrm3tdJmp6udo6Gyur%2BMnZidZZmjerG%2ByKymp2c%3D