In the winter of 1921, the town of Tempe, Arizona, was irrevocably altered by a senseless act of violence that claimed the life of one of its own. Cyrus M. Spangler, a 50-year-old male, had transitioned from farming and working at a creamery to a role of civic duty as the Tempe Night Marshal around 1920. He was a man who had laid down roots in the community since approximately 1891, even returning to the Salt River Valley after a brief period in Kansas.
On the fateful night of January
11, 1921, Marshal Spangler responded to a robbery in progress at the Baber-Jones store, situated at the corner of 6th Street and Mill Avenue. In a tragic turn of events, two men shot and killed Marshal Spangler as he attempted to uphold the law. The violence did not end with his death; an 11-year-old boy was also tragically killed, and the store's proprietor was left with serious wounds.
The community mourned the loss of their night marshal with a funeral at the Christian Church, reported to be one of the largest ever held in Tempe. In a poignant show of respect, most of the town's businesses closed for an hour. The aftermath of the violent robbery saw a swift, if not conventional, resolution. Three days after the murders, the two suspects were located in Calabasas, Arizona. In a final, violent confrontation, both men were shot and killed during a gunfight with immigration inspectors.
