Deputy Sheriff Coral A. Hickman

Coral A. Hickman

Deputy Sheriff Coral Hickman was shot and killed approximately one-half mile east of Eads when he was ambushed by three suspects involved in a recent robbery in Kansas.

He and another deputy had been notified of Kansas authorities to look for the suspects' vehicle as it was believed to be headed towards Kiowa County. They spotted the suspect vehicle on the Kansas-Colorado Boulevard (modern-day Highway 287) and began to pursue it towards Eads.

The vehicle turned a corner, sped up, and then stopped. When Deputy Hickman caught up with it and stopped the three suspects approached his vehicle with rifles and shotguns and opened fire, striking Deputy Hickman six times.

The suspects then fled to Cheyenne County, Colorado, where they shot and wounded the sheriff and a deputy. They then fled back to Kansas where they were apprehended. All three were hung at the state penitentiary in Canon City, Colorado, on January 30th, 1931.