In the summer of 1948, the small community of Eloy, Arizona, was rocked by the violent death of one of its own lawmen. Deputy Sheriff James Edward 'Ed' Smith, a 44-year-old man who had served the Pinal County Sheriff's Office for just over a month, was shot and killed on August 3rd. Prior to his brief tenure with the sheriff's office, he had been the Eloy Justice of the Peace and had also served as a deputy sheriff in Oregon. He was a husband and a father to four children.
On that fateful day, Deputy Smith was in the Joe Lewis Heights area of Eloy, searching for a man who had escaped from the Pinal County Jail the previous day. As he approached the entrance of the Dandy Tavern, the escaped convict, who had positioned himself on the roof, opened fire with a shotgun. The first blast struck Deputy Smith in the face, knocking him to the ground. Before any assistance could be rendered, a second shot was fired into his chest, proving to be fatal.
The investigation into Deputy Smith's murder quickly led to the apprehension of the escaped prisoner and his 20-year-old accomplice. It was revealed that the accomplice had provided the shotgun and assisted the primary assailant in getting onto the tavern's roof. Both men were charged with murder, and following their convictions, they were both sentenced to life in prison. The man who fired the fatal shots later escaped from prison on August 30, 1957, but was eventually recaptured.
His accomplice was paroled in September 1970. His freedom, however, was marked by further trouble with the law. In April 1971, he was involved in a kidnapping in Phoenix, though he was released when the victim declined to press charges. His life ultimately came to a violent end on September 14, 1978, when he was stabbed to death in Phoenix.
