Although it was his passion for thievery, heroin use, and the outlaw lifestyle which fueled his daily activities, when he was caught he refused to inform on his friends. In the late 1940s, Allen Ginsberg, Jack Melody, and "Detroit Redhead" (Vicki Russell / Priscilla Arminger) flipped a car in Queens, New York, while trying to run down a motorcycle cop. Although Huncke was not at the scene of the crime, he was arrested in Manhattan because he resided with Ginsberg, and he received a lengthy prison sentence.