WATERLOO - A new film details the life and crimes of some of America's most notorious bank robbers during the 1930s.

In "Public Enemies," released July 1 by Universal Studios, Johnny Depp stars as John Dillinger, the charismatic gangster pursued by federal lawman Melvin Purvis Jr., played by Christian Bale.

Also making an appearance in the film is Dillinger henchman Tommy Carroll (played by Spencer Garrett) who in real life was gunned down by Waterloo police officers at the tail end of Dillinger's reign of crime.

One Waterloo resident who witnessed Carroll's violent end that June day in 1934 is still around.

Peg Nelson, now 91, said she hasn't seen "Public Enemies."

"I don't go to the movies. To sit still for a couple of hours at my age isn't very comfortable," said Nelson, a former Miss Iowa, real estate agent, juvenile probation officer and aircraft plant office worker who still lives on her own.

Just a teenager at the time, Peg Nelson remembers the day well.

Dillinger and his gang had garnered a Robin Hood image as they drove around the Midwest holding up banks in 1933 and 1934.

In March 1934, Dillinger teamed up with "Baby Face" Nelson, no relation, and held up the First National Bank in Mason City, stealing $52,000.

Later that month, Dillinger was injured in a brush with police in St. Paul, Minn.

In April the gang began hiding out at the Little Bohemia Lodge in northern Wisconsin.

Federal agents stormed the lodge, but the gang members escaped, killing an FBI agent.

In May 1934, Dillinger, Carroll and others robbed an Ohio bank, and Dillinger altered his appearance through plastic surgery and went into hiding.

The group dropped out of sight until June 7, 1934, when Carroll pulled into a Waterloo gas station with his girlfriend, Jean Crompton.

A service station attendant noticed a stash of license plates in the vehicle as he checked the battery. He called police when the car pulled away.

Officers combed the area with the description of the vehicle, and got lucky when the robber and his girl decided to go to Jack's Welcome Inn, a local bar, for a beer.

"They made one big mistake. They didn't realize the police department was right across the street" on Lafayette Street, Peg Nelson said.

Officers Emil Steffen and P.E. Walker waited outside the tavern.

When Carroll emerged, the officers told Carroll he was under arrest.

"The hell I am," Carroll responded, according to Courier archives.

The gangster went for his gun, but Walker, who was 57 at the time, slugged him in the jaw. Carroll took off down an alley, and Walker and Steffen opened fire.

"I was in my fathers law office and I heard the shots, and I looked out the window," Peg Nelson said.

She ran down the stairs and found a crowd gathered around the entrance to the alley in the 600 block of Lafayette. She also saw Carroll face down on the ground and spotted police taking away Carroll's girlfriend.

Carroll was taken to St. Francis Hospital, where he died a short time later.

Dillinger didn't last much longer. He pulled off his last bank job in South Bend, Ind., on June 30, 1934. Then on July 22, 1934, federal agents shot and killed him as he left the Biograph Theater in Chicago.

Both Waterloo officers received commendations from Congress.

Walker moved to California after retiring from the police department and later passed away.

Steffen retired as chief of detectives for the Waterloo Police Department in 1964. He died in 1975.