In the small town of Cotton Plant, Arkansas, a routine encounter on a summer day in 1984 turned into a tragedy that would leave the community without its full-time police force. On July 13, 1984, Police Officer Roy L. Leon, Jr., a 24-year-old male, was on duty with Police Chief Leonard E. Cross. The two officers approached a 16-year-old, Benny Ray Hatley, in connection with a stolen motorcycle.
What happened next unfolded quickly and violently, forever altering the lives of all involved and shaking the small community to its core.
During the confrontation, a struggle broke out, and Hatley managed to gain control of Chief Cross's firearm. He then opened fire on both officers. Officer Leon was fatally wounded at the scene, his life cut short in the line of duty. Chief Cross was also critically injured and succumbed to his wounds at a nearby hospital. The sudden and violent deaths of both of its full-time law enforcement officers left the town of approximately 1,300 residents in a state of shock and grief. The Woodruff County Sheriff's Office and the Arkansas State Police had to step in to take over law enforcement responsibilities for the stunned community.
Following the shooting, Benny Ray Hatley fled the scene, sparking a manhunt. His freedom, however, was short-lived. Approximately six hours after the deadly encounter, law enforcement officers located and apprehended him in Des Arc, Arkansas. Hatley, who was already known to law enforcement with a history of offenses involving stolen motorcycles and had previously spent time in juvenile facilities, was taken into custody without resistance. In February of 1985, he was convicted on two counts of capital murder for the deaths of Officer Leon and Chief Cross. For his crimes, he received two life sentences without the possibility of parole.
