 During 1852 as Captain Melville he was alleged to have led a large band of bushrangers on the roads in the Black Forest between Melbourne and Bendigo, and gained a folkloric reputation through the boldness of his outrages and the chivalry he showed to many, especially women.His name was associated with the Nelson robbery and St Kilda Road robberies, probably without foundation as in reality he seems to have spent most of his time bailing up diggers around Mount Macedon, either on his own or with one or two mates.On Christmas Eve 1852, when under the alias of Thomas Smith, he and fellow bushranger William Robert Roberts were arrested at a brothel in Corio Street, Geelong, and eventually faced Judge Redmond Barry at the Geelong Circuit Court on 3 February 1853 on three counts of robbery.