In the quiet town of Blackfoot, Idaho, a dedicated lawman's life was tragically cut short on a Sunday afternoon. Deputy Sheriff Elbert Percey Sweet, a 54-year-old Caucasian male, was a veteran peace officer with twelve years of service, the last five of which were with the Bingham County Sheriff's Office. On September 25, 1904, at approximately 5:30 p.m., a call came in about a robbery in progress at a local house where two men were holding up Japanese railroad workers.
Responding to the
disturbance, Deputy Sweet arrived at the scene accompanied by the railroad foreman. As he approached the doorway of the house, he was met by one of the suspects who, without hesitation, fired a single, fatal shot, striking the deputy in the face at point-blank range. The sudden and brutal attack left Deputy Sweet with no chance to defend himself. Physicians were summoned to the scene and worked diligently to save him, but he never regained consciousness and succumbed to his wound within the hour. He was survived by his wife and three children.
The two assailants, their crime escalating from robbery to murder, then turned their aggression towards the railroad foreman who had been with Deputy Sweet. They pursued him into a building across the street, where they shot him three times and beat him severely. The sound of gunfire drew the attention of several armed citizens and another deputy, who engaged the suspects in a gun battle. In the ensuing exchange of fire, one of the suspects was shot and killed.
The second suspect managed to escape the immediate scene and fled into the vast expanse of the Fort Hall Indian Reservation. A manhunt was quickly organized, and he was apprehended the following day. Justice for the murder of Deputy Sweet was swift. The captured suspect was tried, convicted, and ultimately hanged at the Idaho State Prison in Boise on December 16, 1904.
