Deputy Sheriff Basil S. Stakes

Basil S. Stakes

Deputy Sheriff Basil Stakes was shot and killed while attempting to arrest two murder suspects on 10th Street between Cypress and Orange Streets in Orange.

Two meat markets were having a business feud over territory. A confrontation occurred where two employees were shot and killed by two employees of the rival company. Deputy Stakes, another deputy, and a deputized citizen attempted to apprehend the two suspects. The two men resisted arrest. One of the suspects had a pistol, and the other suspect had a rifle. Deputy Stakes took a gun away from one of the men and was using it to subdue them when it either accidentally discharged or one of the men shot him with a .38 caliber revolver. Deputy Stakes was shot in the face just under his left eye, and he died at the scene.

The Grand Jury met two days later and indicted both men. The two men were tried, convicted, and sentenced to death several days later for killing the two business rivals. Both men appealed. In a second trial, one was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the death of Deputy Stakes, but the case was reversed and remanded in 1926. He died in prison during his appeals on March 1, 1926. The other suspect's death sentence was also reversed and remanded. On March 18, 1927, he was convicted a second time and sentenced to 25 years. He was paroled on March 22, 1934.

Deputy Stakes was a United States Army veteran. He was survived by his parents, eight brothers, and two sisters.

He was buried in the Evergreen Cemetery in Orange, Texas.