Deputy Sheriff Pete Pescatore

Pete Pescatore

Deputy Pete Pescatore succumbed to a gunshot wound sustained nine days earlier while attempting to quell a disturbance at Leckie.

Deputy Pescatore, who also owned a service station in Anawalt, had gone to Leckie on a business trip when he was informed that a group of men were drinking and causing a disturbance. He went to the location to tell them to quiet down and disperse but was attacked by the group.

One of the men disarmed him and then shot him in the abdomen, inflicting a fatal wound. He was transported to a hospital in Welch where he remained until succumbing to the wound nine days later.

The shooter was arrested, convicted of first degree murder, and sentenced to life. Two years later his conviction was overturned and he received a second trial. He was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to 5 years in prison.

Deputy Pescatore was survived by his wife and five children. He was buried in Pocahontas, Virginia.