In the town of Malvern, Arkansas, a 27-year-old male Patrolman named Hiram Daniel Potts met a tragic end on March 4, 1935. His death came during an encounter with two men who were attempting to jump a train. When Patrolman Potts approached and instructed the men to come with him, they fled. A foot pursuit ensued, taking them around a building. As Patrolman Potts rounded the corner, one of the suspects tragically shot and killed him. At the time of his death, he had been with the Malvern Police Department for two years and left behind a wife and child.
The investigation into the death of Patrolman Potts led authorities to consider two former Missouri convicts as the primary suspects. These two individuals, aged 21 and 22, were already wanted for the murder of Deputy Sheriff Arthur Casteel in Iron County, Missouri, on December 14, 1934. The description of the suspects in the killing of Patrolman Potts, as well as three other men in Arkansas and Missouri, matched these two men.
The pursuit of the suspects came to a decisive end on May 7, 1935, near El Paso, Arkansas. The two men were shot and killed by a farmer after they had reportedly shot at him. Their deaths closed the chapter on a violent crime spree and brought a form of justice for the killing of Patrolman Hiram Daniel Potts and the other victims.
