Deputy Sheriff Augustus Marion "Gus" Lewis, Jr.

Augustus Marion "Gus" Lewis, Jr.

Deputy Sheriff Gus Lewis was shot and killed in an ambush attack while working on his ranch in retaliation for reporting the location of escaped inmates.

A group of inmates who escaped from the Atascosa jail and state penitentiary were terrorizing the area. Angry that Deputy Lewis had notified the sheriff and other law enforcement of their location, a group of them lay in wait for him on his property in Pleasanton. When they found him alone, one man shot him in the back, and the others riddled his body with bullets. When Deputy Lewis did not return home, a search was initiated. His body was not discovered until ten days later.

In May of 1883, one of the suspects confessed to killing Deputy Lewis. He was killed in a subsequent shootout with the arresting sheriff and posse. The other two suspects were apprehended.

Deputy Lewis was survived by his wife and two children.