Inspector Jefferson D. Lambert, Jr.

Jefferson D. Lambert, Jr.

Inspector Lambert was shot and killed while he and a Loudoun County deputy raided a still near Ashburn, Virginia, at approximately 4:30 p.m.

The two officers snuck up on the still and observed several men kneeling down next to several large barrels. Inspector Lambert called out to the men, but two of them fled the scene. The deputy began chasing one of the suspects and fired at him. The deputy heard several shots from the area of the still and stopped chasing the man to return to the scene.

When the deputy reached the still, he was unable to locate Inspector Lambert or any other suspects. Because Inspector Lambert had the key to their vehicle, he had to walk five miles back to Leesburg to alert the sheriff of the situation. The sheriff, along with several deputies and members of Inspector Lambert's family, returned to the scene and located Inspector Lambert's body with two gunshot wounds to the back.

Two suspects were arrested early in the morning at a nearby home, but the shooter fled the house and went to his home in Aldie. He was arrested there later in the day. The suspect was convicted of Inspector Lambert's murder on December 22, 1923, and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

The deputy sheriff who was with Inspector Lambert was appointed by the state attorney general to replace him as prohibition inspector for Loudoun County on January 1, 1924.

Inspector Lambert had been appointed to the position only 11 months earlier. He was survived by his wife, two sons, three daughters, parents, two sisters, and three brothers.

He was interred at Union Cemetery in Leesburg, Virginia.