Jerry Vernon Beach, a 57-year-old Korean War veteran and Sheriff of Martin County, North Carolina, was tragically shot and killed on October 12, 1992, in Oak City, NC. Sheriff Beach responded to an officer needs assistance call at a bank where the Oak City Police Chief had interrupted a robbery in progress before the bank opened. The suspect had taken the bank's maintenance crew, an elderly couple, hostage.
Sheriff Beach, who was a hostage negotiator, managed to calm the suspect down and
bring him food as requested. In an attempt to secure the release of the hostages, Sheriff Beach offered himself as a hostage in exchange. As he opened his coat to show he was unarmed, the suspect fired without provocation, striking him in the abdomen. Despite running to a nearby officer before collapsing, Sheriff Beach succumbed to his injuries en route to Martin General Hospital in Williamston.
Over 700 local, state, and federal officers from across North Carolina responded and surrounded the bank. The suspect, identified as Larry D. Jones, a known crack cocaine addict, became increasingly irrational. When a State Bureau of Investigation SWAT team attempted a rescue the following morning, the suspect was wounded and the female hostage was killed in an exchange of gunfire. Jones was taken to the state prison hospital in Raleigh, NC, where he hanged himself several days later while awaiting trial on two counts of murder.
Sheriff Beach had served as the Sheriff for two years and as a Deputy Sheriff for 26 years. He was a recipient of the Purple Heart and was survived by his wife and daughter. His death was a significant loss to the community and law enforcement agencies involved.
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