Vaughn Echols "Eccles" Grant, born on September 8, 1888, in Hendersonville, North Carolina, was a former sheriff and U.S. Treasury Department Revenue Officer. He was involved in enforcing Prohibition laws in Western North Carolina. On June 1, 1926, Grant was killed during a vehicle pursuit of suspected moonshiners in Henderson County. He was 37 years old at the time of his death.
Grant and his partner, Will Owens, were conducting road patrols near Hendersonville when they observed a suspicious vehicle. They gave chase for six miles, during which gunshots were exchanged between the two vehicles. As the government vehicle came alongside the suspect vehicle, bootlegger William D. "Button" Bennison fired a shot that seriously wounded Grant. Grant died later that day from a revolver shot to the head.
Bennison, who had been previously arrested and convicted on multiple occasions by Grant and Owens for federal liquor violations, was identified as the shooter. A large posse of over 100 heavily armed men, led by Prohibition Agent Owens, later captured Bennison and another suspect, Wilton Lackaby, who was identified as the driver. Two other suspects were also arrested.
The incident was part of a larger conflict involving illegal whiskey running during Prohibition. Grant had previously been involved in a shootout with Adam O. Ballinger, a moonshiner, in 1925, which resulted in Ballinger's death. Bennison, Ballinger's associate, was believed to have killed Grant in revenge.
In summary, Vaughn Echols "Eccles" Grant, a 37-year-old white male, was killed in the line of duty while enforcing Prohibition laws in Hendersonville, North Carolina. His death was a result of a shootout during a vehicle pursuit of suspected moonshiners, and the primary suspect, William D. Bennison, was arrested and charged with murder.
