In the early days of Maricopa, Arizona, a lawman known as John C. Power, also called 'Maricopa Slim,' served as a Pinal County Deputy Sheriff. The 31-year-old was also a special agent for the Southern Pacific Railroad, a position that often placed him in the path of vagrants and other individuals attempting to ride the rails without paying. His reputation as a tough and sometimes controversial figure was well-known throughout the region.
On the night of November 5, 1914, a circus train
belonging to the Al G. Barnes Circus was stopped at the Maricopa railroad depot. A confrontation erupted between a circus employee and a hobo who was trying to board the train. Deputy Power intervened in an attempt to quell the disturbance. As he stepped in, the circus employee, identified as Patrick Meehan, also known as 'Sideshow Black,' pulled out a. 45 caliber handgun and opened fire on the lawman.
Despite being wounded, Deputy Power managed to draw his own weapon and return fire, striking Meehan. The exchange of gunfire was swift and deadly. Deputy Power succumbed to his injuries within minutes of being shot. His assailant, Patrick Meehan, was critically wounded and was taken by train to a hospital in Florence, where he later died from his injuries.
The investigation into the shooting revealed a complex situation. While Meehan was identified as the man who shot Deputy Power, one of the bullets recovered from the deputy's body was determined not to have been fired from Meehan's gun. The origin of this second shot remains a mystery to this day. Following the incident, both men's lives were cut short in the violent encounter at the Maricopa depot, leaving a story of a lawman who died in the line of duty and a circus worker who met a similarly tragic end.
