Town Marshal James J. Billingsley

James J. Billingsley

Town Marshal James Billingsley was shot and killed from ambush by a man he had previously chastised for acting disorderly.

The man had threatened Marshal Billingsley after the incident but the marshal disregarded the threats. Several days later Marshal Billingsley was walking to a market on the east side of the railroad tracks. As he walked past a store where the man worked someone opened fire on him from inside with a shotgun, striking him in the leg. Marshal Billingsley began to return fire as he ran toward the store but ran out of ammunition. As he called to a citizen to give him another pistol one of the store's owners opened fire on him with a Winchester rifle, fatally wounding him.