In the waning hours of an early autumn day, a dedicated officer's life was tragically cut short in the line of duty. Sergeant James Russell Ward, a 38-year-old male and a 12-year veteran of the Montgomery Police Department, was killed on October 3, 1994, while pursuing two suspects fleeing the scene of an armed robbery. The events that led to the fatal encounter began to unfold shortly before 1:00 p.m.
when two men entered the Riverside Food and Meat Market on Bell Street in Montgomery.
Inside the market, the two individuals, later identified as Lewis Andrew Lattimore and Willie Arthur Stallworth, gathered several items and approached the checkout counter. As the cashier rang up their purchase, Stallworth produced a black revolver, demanding all the money from the cash register. While Stallworth held the cashier at gunpoint, Lattimore emptied the register of approximately $2,500 and also stole the cashier's wallet. The pair then fled the store on foot, heading towards Covington Street. An employee immediately called 911, and a police dispatcher alerted all patrol cars in the vicinity about the armed robbery, providing a description of the two male suspects.
Sergeant Ward was among the officers who responded to the call. At approximately 1:07 p.m., he radioed that he had spotted two males matching the suspects' descriptions running on Greyhound Street. As Sergeant Ward began his pursuit, the suspects split up. Lattimore ran into a wooded area, while Stallworth continued down the street. Sergeant Ward pursued Stallworth in his patrol car onto Loring Street. Less than a minute later, at 1:08 p.m., a chilling transmission came over the police radio: Sergeant Ward had been shot.
Both suspects were subsequently apprehended and charged with the murder of Sergeant Ward. The ensuing legal proceedings brought a measure of justice for the fallen officer. Lewis Andrew Lattimore was convicted of robbery in the first degree and felony murder. Due to four prior felony convictions, he was sentenced as a habitual offender to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Willie Arthur Stallworth, the man who fired the fatal shot, was also convicted and received a death sentence. He later died in prison while on death row.
