The very first arrest of the Old American Wild West Outlaw Billy the Kid happened after he stole what?

The exact details of Billy the Kid's birth are unknown, other than his name, William Henry McCarty. He was probably born sometime between 1859 and 1861, in Indiana or New York.

On September 23, 1875, Billy the Kid was arrested for the first time after stealing food, at the age of 16, in late 1875. Ten days later, he robbed a Chinese laundry, stealing clothing and two pistols. He was charged with theft and was jailed but escaped two days later becoming a fugitive in the American West with a reputation as an outlaw and murderer with a rap sheet that allegedly included 21 murders.

His crimes earned him a bounty on his head and he was eventually captured and indicted for killing a sheriff during the Lincoln County War. Billy the Kid was sentenced to hang for his crime. However, he managed another jailbreak, murdering two deputies in the process. Billy the Kid’s freedom was brief, as Sheriff Pat Garrett caught up with the desperado at Fort Sumner, New Mexico, on July 14, 1881, and fatally shot him.

Although his life was short, Billy the Kid’s legend grew following his death. Today he is a famous symbol of the Old American West along with such men as Kit Carson, Jesse James, Wild Bill Hickok, Doc Holliday, and Wyatt Earp. His story has been mythologized and romanticized in numerous films, books, TV shows, and songs.

Each year, tourists visit the town of Fort Sumner, located about 160 miles southeast of Albuquerque, to see the Billy the Kid Museum and gravesite.