Captain James Eugene Orr

James Eugene Orr

Captain James Orr was shot and killed in Lugoff by an escapee who had just committed an armed robbery.

The man had escaped from a Georgia prison. As he traveled through Kershaw County he entered the office of a mobile home dealership north of Camden, tied up the manager, and robbed him of $190 in cash. The manager freed himself moments after the suspect fled and called the sheriff's office. Captain Orr was patrolling U.S. 601 in Lugoff when he spotted a car matching the description of the suspect's vehicle given by the manager.

Captain Orr followed the car until it pulled onto a dirt road near a railroad overpass and stopped in front of a small house. As Captain Orr exited his patrol car he was shot several times.

The man then drove to a home several miles away where he abducted a mother and her four daughters. He forced the mother, along with the children, to drive him to Georgia he released the hostages, unharmed, just outside of Savannah.

Several days later in St. Augustin, Florida, a police officer received an anonymous phone call telling him where the suspect was located. The officer went to the residence and took the man into custody without incident.

The 21-year-old suspect was convicted of Captain Orr's murder, armed robbery, and five counts of abduction on October 24, 1973. He was sentenced to six life terms plus 26 years in prison. On April 17, 1976, he escaped from the South Carolina Penitentiary. He was captured in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on June 17, 1977, by FBI agents and members of the United States Marshals Service.

Captain Orr was to retire the following January. He was survived by his wife and daughter.