The admitted triggerman in the brutal killing of Charles Poole an husband and expectant father in May of 1935. Dean an employee of the Detroit Public Lighting Department, was described as a man who "simply lived for violence." In news accounts Dean is credited with helping to establish the reputation of the legion as an organization whose propensity for violence "made the Klan look like cream puffs." In testimony taken from his murder trial Dean describes how he calmly shot Charles Poole repeatedly as the new father pleaded with his abductors to spare his life. When asked why he shot Poole Dean stated, "If I didn't shoot, I know Davis would have shot me." The Davis he referred to was Legion Colonel Harry Davis. This statement was apart of testimony taken from Deans testimony against 11 other members of the Legion who were on trial for the Poole murder. When asked what his reason for testifying against his former cohorts Dean stated "my only motive was in seeing that the organization is broken up for the good of the people." Following his testimony, Dean was sentenced to life in prison to be served in the state prison in Southern Michigan.
