José Coby Frey Chavez y Chavez (1851–1924) was a Mexican-American outlaw from the New Mexican Territory, which is now the state of New Mexico, in the United States. He was said to be the son of a Spanish father and Apache mother. Chavez became an outlaw at a relatively young age when he joined the Lincoln County Regulators. Early life José Chavez y Chavez was born in 1851 in Ceboleta, New Mexico. Little is known about his childhood. He briefly worked as a laborer, but discovered that honest labor was difficult. He gradually drifted from petty theft to cattle rustling. Lincoln County Wars Chavez joined the Regulators in his twenties, having already committed a number of small robberies and other crimes, and would prove useful to Billy the Kid's gang. Together with Billy the Kid, Doc Scurlock, Charlie Bowdre, and the rest of the Regulators, Chavez engaged in the Lincoln County War that lasted from 1878 to 1879. Chavez met Billy the Kid, Jim French, Fred Waite, Charlie Bowdre, John Middleton, and Tom O'Folliard after he decided to join the Tunstall-McSween group in their war against the Dolan group. Inside the Tunstall-McSween group, another group was formed, to try to give the Tunstall-McSween group an edge over the Dolans. The "Regulators", as they were known, were 45 gunfighters that included Chavez. At some point of his tenure as a member of the Regulators, he became good friends with Billy the Kid and Jim French. On February 18, 1878, John Tunstall was shot and murdered. On April 1 of the same year, Lincoln sheriff William Brady, a Dolan backer, was killed by Billy the Kid's gang. Chavez credited himself with this killing. Eventually, more killings from both sides followed, leading to the burning of the McSween home on July 19, 1878. Fourteen people lived at the house, including McSween and his wife, as well as twelve cowboys. Six people died in the fire, but every member of Billy the Kid's gang was able to escape. Post-war By March 1879, New Mexico Governor Lew Wallace began a fight against crime in that territory , and one of his priorities was to stop the ongoing war between the Dolans and the Tunstall-McSween backers. With this in mind, Wallace formed the Lincoln County Mounted Rifles, a group of which Chavez became a member, as a private. The "Mounted Rifles" failed in their purpose, however,