By an arrangement made in Chicago, the gang decided to meet in Northern Wisconsin, at the Little Bohemia Lodge near Mercer. The criminals took up residence beginning April 20. Along with them they brought Van Meter's girlfriend Marie Comforti, Nelson's wife Helen and Tommy Carroll's wife Jean. The Nelsons moved into a cabin next to the lodge, with the rest taking rooms on the second floor of the lodge itself. They immediately began to enjoy the rest, relaxing and playing cards.
Within a short time, the owner of the lodge, Emil Wanatka, had identified Dillinger from a newspaper photo. With his wife becoming increasingly nervous, and growing tired of the pushy gangsters, it was decided to find a way to contact the police. Passing the information on to Mrs. Wanatka's brother, he and her brother-in-law, Henry Voss, drove to the town of Rhinelander. That afternoon the local sheriff put him in contact with Melvin Purvis in Chicago. Purvis immediately chartered two planes to fly into the Rhinelander airport.
The arraignment for the O'Malley killing took place on February 9, 1934. Louis Piquett, a Chicago attorney who specialized in representing underworld characters, acted as his lawyer. After some legal maneuvering, Judge William J. Murray, set the trial for March 3. During the succeeding weeks there was little concern about a jailbreak, for along with the escape-proof reputation of the county jail and the fifty guards employed there, the sheriff had added armed citizens and National Guardsmen. When Dillinger bluffed his way out with the wooden pistol on March 3, it left officials stunned and the public captivated.
By March 4, Dillinger, having rejoined Billie Frechette, arrived in St. Paul to add the final members of his new gang. This was to include John Hamilton and old prison friend Homer Van Meter (paroled from the Indiana penitentiary nine days after Dillinger in May 1933). Van Meter brought in fellow criminals, Eddie Green and his partner Tommy Carroll. To this group, was added underworld character Lester Gillis, better known as Baby Face Nelson, known for his reputation as a trigger-happy killer.
On March 6, the gangsters robbed The Security National Bank and Trust in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. As Dillinger and Van Meter collected $49,000 in cash and bonds from the vault, alarm blaring, a large crowd of onlookers gathered in the street. Nelson, spying off-duty policeman Hale Keith peering through the window, fired through the glass, wounding the man. To make their getaway, they took hostages to ride the running boards of their Packard, acting as a human shield. Once they arrived at the main highway they threw nails into the road in order to slow down any pursuing police. When the Packard overheated due to a police bullet hole in the radiator, the gang stole another car just as the police closed in. This led to a running gun battle, which nevertheless they were able to escape from, heading back to their Twin Cities hideout.
At about the same time, a panic arose in Lima, Ohio, at the trial of Pierpont and Makley, as word got out that Dillinger might try to break them out. The March 13th robbery of The First National Bank in Mason City, Iowa, netted only $52,000 of an anticipated $240,000. Both Dillinger and Hamilton received shoulder wounds and a bystander was wounded when fired on by Nelson. The gang once again escaped behind a shield of hostages, all of whom were released after about 45 minutes. Back in Minneapolis, both Dillinger and Hamilton were treated for their wounds. John's plans to use his share of the $240,000 to leave the country had to be abandoned.
In the weeks following Mason City, Dillinger was reported seemingly everywhere, by now having become a Robin Hood-like figure to the public. In fact, he was recovering from his wound, as he and Frechette were living as Mr. and Mrs. Cart T. Hellman at the Lincoln Court Apartments in St. Paul. When the manager of the apartments became suspicious of their behavior, she notified authorities. The FBI began surveillance on March 30. On the following morning, the agents and a local officer knocked on the door. Billie answered and identified herself as Mrs. Hellman. Upon being told that they were the police she stalled, saying that she needed to get dressed and closed the door. As the agents and officer waited, Homer Van Meter walked up the steps. Within a short time gunfire erupted between Van Meter and the officials. Dillinger opened fire with his machine pistol, shooting through the door. He next opened the door, spraying the hallway with machine gun fire before running down the back stairs. As he ran, he was hit by a police bullet in the leg. Once again he had escaped a law enforcement snare. On April 3, as a result of an intense manhunt, federal agents caught up with gang member Eddie Green. As he moved as though to draw, the agents cut him down.
John and Billie next moved on to the Dillinger farm in 
Mooresville, staying there while he recovered from his leg wound. Authorities soon learned that they had returned to Chicago and were quickly able to track down and arrest Billie Frechette as she entered a bar. On seeing the arrest of his girlfriend, Dillinger quickly drove away. She was taken to St. Paul to stand trial on harboring charges. She was sentenced in May 1934, receiving two years in jail at Milan, Michigan.
On April 13, Dillinger and Van Meter robbed the Warsaw, Indiana, police station, making off with guns and three bulletproof vests. This heist set off an intense manhunt and prompted hundreds of reports of sightings. In mid-April Dillinger and Hamilton stayed at Hamilton's sister's home in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. On April 20, having received a tip, the FBI arrived in town only to discover that the two outlaws had already moved on.
In an attempt to evade the intensifying manhunt, John had his lawyer Piquett, and his investigator Arthur O'Leary, locate a plastic surgeon to alter his appearance. They arranged for Dr. Wilhelm Loeser and an assistant, Dr. Harold Cassidy, to operate. On May 27, at the home of James Probasco, they went to work on his face. Several days later, they worked on the tips of his fingers, attempting to remove his fingerprints. The end results of the work were highly debatable. Some friends on seeing John later, thought he looked like he had the mumps.
A short time later, the women arrested at Little Bohemia were released and placed on probation. Tommy Carroll, reunited with his wife, drove to Waterloo, Iowa. Acting on a tip, police looked for and then located their car parked in an alley. Later as the Carrolls emerged from a nearby restaurant, the police approached. Carroll went for his gun but one of the officers knocked it from his hand. As he began to run he was shot four times. He would later die in the hospital. The ranks of the Dillinger gang were thinning.
On June 30, still hoping to raise money to leave the country, Dillinger with Van Meter and another man who may have been Pretty Boy Floyd, robbed the Merchant's National Bank in South Bend, Indiana. During the robbery and it's aftermath, there was much gunfire with Van Meter shooting an officer, who later died. Van Meter himself suffered a severe head wound. The resultant take was a mere $4,800 between them.