In the quiet hills of eastern Kentucky, a tale of lawlessness and tragedy unfolded in the winter of 1908. Special Deputy Sheriff Wiley Litteral, a 45-year-old man, met a violent end on Saturday, December 5th, while upholding the law in a remote area known as Coon Creek, near Louisa in Lawrence County. His death was the grim outcome of a raid on a residence suspected of housing an illicit moonshine operation, a common and often dangerous enterprise in the region.
On that fateful day,
Deputy Litteral joined a contingent of Lawrence County deputies and United States marshals. Their mission was to serve a warrant for federal liquor law violations at the home of the Triplett family. The lawmen, aware of the potential for resistance, approached the dwelling from two directions. While the county deputies advanced from the Kentucky side of the creek, Litteral and several deputy marshals made their way from the West Virginia side. As the marshals breached the front of the house, Litteral moved to cover the rear, a strategic decision that tragically placed him in the line of fire.
From within the walls of the Triplett home, a volley of shots erupted. Deputy Litteral was struck multiple times by the gunfire, his life cut short in the ensuing chaos. The remaining officers immediately returned fire, and in the exchange, a member of the Triplett family, John Triplett, was shot and killed. The other occupants of the house were then taken into custody by the authorities.
In the aftermath of the deadly shootout, several members of the Triplett family were arrested and faced charges related to the murder of Deputy Litteral and the federal liquor law violations that prompted the raid. William 'Bill' Triplett and his son, Melvin Triplett, were among those taken into custody and charged in connection with the deputy's death. The legal proceedings that followed would captivate the local community, highlighting the violent clash between law enforcement and the deeply entrenched culture of moonshining in the mountains of Kentucky. The death of Wiley Litteral served as a stark reminder of the perils faced by those who sought to enforce the law in a land where homemade whiskey was a way of life and a livelihood fiercely defended.
