By the age of 13 Haggard was stealing and writing bad checks. In 1950 he was caught shoplifting and sent to a juvenile detention center. The following year he ran away to Texas with his friend Bob Teague. The two rode freight trains and hitchhiked throughout the state. When they returned later that year the two boys were accused of robbery and sent to jail. This time, they had not actually committed the crime, and were released when the real robbers were found. The experience did not change Haggard much. He was again sent to a juvenile detention center later that year, from which he and his friend again escaped and headed to Modesto, California. There he worked a series of laborer jobs, including potato truck driver, short order cook, hay pitcher and oil well shooter. His debut performance was with Teague in a Modesto bar named "Fun Center", for which he was paid US$5 and given free beer.