Deputy Sheriff William Haywood Webb

William Haywood Webb

Deputy Sheriff William Webb succumbed to a gunshot wound sustained three days earlier while assisting a local constable in making an arrest in Speed, North Carolina. The constable had attempted to arrest a man for being drunk, but the man resisted arrest.

As the constable and the town mayor swore out a warrant, the man's brother went home and retrieved a 12-gauge shotgun. The brother returned with the shotgun just as Deputy Webb pulled up to the location. When Deputy Webb exited his patrol car, the suspect shot him in the head. Deputy Webb was transported to Duke Hospital in Durham, where he died three days later.

The suspect was arrested a short time later by Edgecombe County ABC officers who responded to the scene. He was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison on January 20th, 1965. He was released on August 8th, 1984.

Deputy Webb was a U.S. Army veteran and had served with the Edgecombe County Sheriff's Office for three years. He had previously served with the Edgecombe County ABC Enforcement for two years. He was survived by his wife, daughter, parents, brother, and sister.