Sheriff Joe Hughes Snow

Joe Hughes Snow

Sheriff Joe Snow was shot and killed while attempting to arrest a horse thief.

Sheriff Snow had been to the suspect’s farm the day before the incident to investigate a fire. While there he noticed a saddle and some horses that had been stolen from his farm a few days earlier. The next day Sheriff Snow returned to arrest the suspect, when the suspect killed him with a shotgun at close range. The suspect was arrested and taken to jail but before he could stand trial, an angry mob lynched him from a tree in front of the jailhouse.

Sheriff Snow had been sheriff of the Brazoria County Sheriff's Office for two years. He was survived by his wife and is buried in Angleton Cemetery, Angleton, Brazoria County, Texas.