Night Marshal Thomas Preston Stephens

Thomas Preston Stephens

Night Marshal Thomas Stephens and Deputy Walter Brown were shot and killed after responding to a report that several men were creating a disturbance in front of local church being used for a lodge meeting.

When Deputy Brown and Marshal Stephens attempted to place a man under arrest, the suspect's father drove up and opened fire killing them both. They managed to return fire killing four trouble makers, three who were their killer's sons. Vigilantes arrived on the scene burning the church to the ground and threw two rioters into the fire killing both. The shooting deaths of the two officers resulted in several people being killed and several buildings and homes being burned in Millen. Another son of the killer was lynched. The incident became known as one of the 25 "Red Summer Riots", of 1919. Other race riots occurred in Washington D.C., Knoxville Tennessee, Longview Texas, Phillips County, Arkansas, Omaha,Nebraska, and most dramatically Chicago.

The gunman was arrested for both murders. He was convicted of Deputy Brown's murder and sentenced to death. He was awarded a new trial and acquitted. A third trial resulted in the acquittal for the murder of Marshal Stephens. He was released from Jail on May 30, 1923.

Marshal Stephens had served with the agency for 3 years. He was survived by his wife, five children, mother, and three siblings.