In the winter of 1971, a tragedy unfolded in Maricopa County, Arizona, that claimed the life of 51-year-old Deputy Sheriff Rex Atwood Stone. On January 18th, Deputy Stone, a male, and his partner, Deputy Warren LaRue, were assigned to execute a civil writ of attachment at a residence located at 5344 East Van Buren Street in Phoenix. The purpose of their visit was to repossess a mobile home in satisfaction of an $833 bank judgment.
Upon their arrival, the deputies were met with armed
resistance from the owner of the mobile home. In a sudden and violent turn of events, the man produced a. 32 caliber handgun and opened fire. Deputy LaRue was struck four times in the back. Reacting to the assault on his partner, Deputy Stone returned fire, hitting the suspect five times. During the exchange, Deputy Stone was shot three times.
The shootout resulted in the deaths of both deputies and the suspect at the scene. The tragic event was compounded by the fact that Deputy Stone's son, Phoenix Police Officer Dale Crist Stone, had been killed in the line of duty just three weeks prior.
