In the burgeoning industrial city of Kingsport, Tennessee, Hubert David Webb served his community as a Deputy Sheriff with the Sullivan County Sheriff's Office. At 25 years old, the U.S. Army veteran of World War I was dedicated to upholding the law in a region experiencing rapid growth and change. The spring of 1925 was a tense time for law enforcement in East Tennessee, as a dangerous fugitive, known for his skill with a gun and his willingness to use it, was known to be in the area.
That fugitive was William Kenneth "Kinnie" Wagner, a notorious 22-year-old outlaw also called "The Texas Kid." Wagner was already wanted for the murder of Deputy Sheriff Murdock McIntosh in Greene County, Mississippi, on Christmas Eve of 1924. After that killing, Wagner fled back to his familiar territory in the mountains of Southwest Virginia and East Tennessee. Law enforcement agencies across the region were on high alert, aware that Wagner was armed and had already killed to evade capture.
On April 13, 1925, the day after Easter, authorities received a tip that Wagner was having a picnic with his sister and friends along the banks of the South Fork of the Holston River, just below the Old Kingsport underpass. A group of officers assembled to finally bring the fugitive to justice. The posse included Deputy Hubert Webb, Kingsport Police Patrolman John F. Smith, and Kingsport Officer George Frazier, among others.
As the officers moved in to make the arrest, Wagner, likely sensing he was cornered, took cover behind a large sycamore tree and opened fire. A fierce gun battle erupted on the riverbank. In the exchange of nearly 30 shots, both Deputy Webb and Patrolman Smith were fatally wounded. Webb was shot in the face as he peered over the riverbank to get a better shot at the fugitive. Officer Frazier was also seriously wounded. Amid the chaos, Wagner managed to escape across the river, leaving a scene of devastation and sorrow.
The killings of the two popular officers shocked the community. The Kingsport Times newspaper described the tragedy as "the most shocking and disastrous one that has ever occurred in or about Kingsport," noting the two widows and ten orphaned children left behind by the slain lawmen. A massive manhunt was launched, and the following day, Wagner surrendered to a storekeeper near Waycross, Virginia. He was brought back to Tennessee and stood trial in Blountville just over a week later.
A jury quickly found Kinnie Wagner guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced him to death in the electric chair. However, Wagner's story was far from over. While awaiting an appeal in the Sullivan County Jail, he and six other prisoners overpowered the guards on July 10, 1925, and escaped. Wagner remained a fugitive for over a year, his legend growing as he committed more crimes across the South. He was eventually arrested in Arkansas in 1926 after another double murder and was extradited to Mississippi to face charges for the 1924 killing of Deputy McIntosh. He was convicted and sentenced to life in prison at the notorious Parchman Farm, where he died of a heart attack in 1958. He was never executed for the murders of Deputy Webb and Patrolman Smith.
Deputy Sheriff Hubert Webb was laid to rest at Oak Hill Cemetery in Kingsport. His dedication to his duty and his ultimate sacrifice in the face of a known killer marked a dark day in the history of Sullivan County. The violent death of the young deputy and his colleague served as a stark reminder of the dangers law enforcement officers faced in their mission to protect the public.
