Deputy Sheriff Roy L. Shamblin

Roy L. Shamblin

Deputy Sheriff Roy Shamblin was shot and killed in Charleston while transporting a prisoner to the State Penitentiary in Moundsville.

Several gunmen pulled up next to the vehicle on Sissonville Drive, approximately one mile outside of the Charleston city limits. They forced the patrol car into a guardrail, and opened fire, killing Deputy Shamblin and wounding his partner. The four suspects then took the prisoner a few blocks away, shot him numerous times, and dumped his body next to his father's home.

Three men, including the prisoner's brother, were arrested and charged with two counts of murder. Two of the men were sentenced to life in prison. The third was sentenced to death and executed by hanging at the State Penitentiary. The wife of one of the men was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Deputy Shamblin was survived by his wife and three children.