Deputy Sheriff John Coffee Oakley

John Coffee Oakley

Deputy Oakley succumbed to a gunshot wound sustained four days earlier when he was shot in the abdomen. Deputy Oakley and the city marshal had gone to a home in Watertown to arrest a man on a state warrant. While inside the man's son shot Deputy Oakley, causing the fatal wound. The 22-year-old suspect was arrested. That night a local restaurant, known to be a hangout for troublemakers and criminals, was blown up and destroyed with dynamite.

On January 9, 1924, the suspect was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Deputy Oakley was survived by his wife and three children.