City Marshal Dewitt Clinton Early

Dewitt Clinton Early

City Marshal Clint Early arrested L.T. Barnett on a warrant out of Wichita Falls, charging Barnett with forgery by check in the amount of $800.00. Marshal Early left Bellevue about noon with Barnett to take him to Henrietta, the county seat of Clay County. Marshal Early's daughter reported him missing that night when he did not return home. Early's body was found about 9:00 a.m. the next morning in a dry creek bed north of Henrietta. He had been shot twice. His pistol was missing.

Barnett was charged and tried in Clay County for murder. He was sentenced to fifty years in prison. However, in 1966, Barnett was given a full pardon.

Marshal Early had served as the Constable of Precinct 1 in Denton County from 1926 to 1928. The City of Bellevue no longer has a police department. He was survived by his wife and two daughters. He was buried in the Bellevue City Cemetery.