In the autumn of 1914, a dedicated lawman met a tragic and untimely end in the wooded landscape of Faulkner County, Arkansas. Deputy Sheriff Oscar L. Honea, a 36-year-old man, was killed by gunfire on October 22, 1914. His death occurred while he was actively pursuing a fugitive who had escaped from the Faulkner County Jail. This fateful encounter unfolded in a thicket approximately three miles west of Mayflower, where the escapee had laid in wait to ambush the pursuing officers.
The events leading to Deputy Honea's death began when he, along with the sheriff and a constable, went to the fugitive's home near Mayflower. After learning the man was nearby, they commenced a search. As Deputy Honea entered a dense thicket, the suspect opened fire with a shotgun, fatally wounding him. The man he was pursuing was responsible for his death.
Following the shooting, the suspect was eventually apprehended. He was subsequently convicted of manslaughter and received a sentence of 20 years at the state prison farm. However, his story did not end there. In January of 1917, he managed to escape from the prison farm on three separate occasions within the month. His freedom was short-lived. In March 1917, he and an accomplice robbed a bank in Collinston, Louisiana, during which he shot and killed the town's mayor. A pursuing posse caught up with him, and he was shot five times, succumbing to his wounds.
