In the late afternoon of September 29, 1932, a dedicated Prohibition Agent named Ballard White Turner, a 35-year-old Caucasian male, found his life cut tragically short in the wooded outskirts of Vancouver, Washington. Working alongside his partner, Agent Ernest Vlasich, Turner was in the midst of an undercover operation, a seemingly routine attempt to purchase illicit moonshine whiskey from a local man named Jesse Cousins.
The agents had arranged the buy at Cousins' home, situated about 25 miles northeast of the city, with two other agents, Crowell and Kirby, positioned nearby as backup.
The transaction appeared to go smoothly at first. Turner and Vlasich successfully purchased two gallons of the illegal liquor. With the evidence in hand, they revealed their true identities as federal officers and informed Cousins that he was under arrest. In that tense moment, without any warning, Cousins drew a. 380 caliber pistol and opened fire on the two agents. Two bullets struck Turner in the heart, and he died instantly in the driveway of the remote property. Vlasich was also hit three times and gravely wounded.
The sound of the gunshots brought the backup agents rushing to the scene, where they discovered their fallen comrades. Cousins had already vanished into the dense woods he knew so well. The wounded agents were quickly transported to St. Joseph's Hospital in Vancouver. While doctors initially held out hope for Vlasich's recovery after surgery, he succumbed to his injuries several weeks later, becoming the second fatality of the violent encounter.
An extensive manhunt for Jesse Cousins was immediately launched, involving a posse of Prohibition Agents, state police, and sheriff's deputies. Despite their efforts, Cousins, an experienced woodsman, managed to evade capture for two months, hiding out in the familiar terrain of Clark County. A tip eventually led authorities to a cabin four miles east of Vancouver where he was hiding. He was arrested by Prohibition Agents and Sheriff R. E. McCrite. Following his capture, Cousins was tried and found guilty of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to life in prison at the Walla Walla State Prison and died in a mental hospital on September 28, 1958. Ballard White Turner, a U.S. Army veteran of World War I, had served with the Bureau of Prohibition for just under a year and was survived by his wife and two daughters.
