On an autumn day in 1975, the quiet of Casscoe, Arkansas, was shattered by an act of brutal violence that would leave a lasting scar on the small community. Wesley Noble, a 76-year-old retired farmer, was inside Cloud's Grocery on October 20th when three armed men burst in, forever altering the lives of everyone present. The assailants, identified as Edward Charles Pickens, Antonio Clark, and Sherwood Vincent Gooch, were armed with a sawed-off shotgun and a. 22 caliber pistol.
They proceeded to rob the store owner, a female clerk, and the seven customers who were in the store at the time, including Noble.
The terror escalated dramatically when the robbers forced their victims to lie face down on the floor. In a senseless act of cruelty, the perpetrators then shot seven of the individuals in the back of the head. Wesley Noble and another customer, Jimmy Scherm, succumbed to their injuries. The brutal ordeal also included the sexual assault of the female clerk by two of the robbers. After the horrific events, the three men fled the scene, leaving behind a scene of devastation and loss.
Later that same day, law enforcement in Memphis, acting on a tip, located and pursued a stolen vehicle carrying Pickens and Gooch. Inside the car, authorities found items taken during the robbery. At the time of his arrest, Pickens was wearing the female clerk's wedding ring. The third assailant, Clark, was apprehended shortly thereafter. All three men faced charges for the robbery and the murders.
The legal proceedings that followed brought a measure of justice for the victims and their families. Edward Charles Pickens was convicted of the capital felony murder of Wesley Noble and was initially sentenced to death. After a series of appeals, Pickens was executed by lethal injection on May 11, 1994. Antonio Clark also received a death sentence for his role in the heinous crimes, while Sherwood Vincent Gooch was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
