In the early morning hours of Friday, May 7, 1909, a dedicated White male lawman named Alonzo Walter "Lon" Holden tragically lost his life. Holden, a Deputy U.S. Marshal, was part of a large posse that had gathered in a concerted effort to uphold the law. The group, which included the sheriffs of McCurtain, Pushmataha, and Choctaw counties along with their deputies, had a clear objective: to serve arrest warrants on two local men, J.W. Myers and an individual known as “Dad” Lee.
The warrants were for the operation of an illegal still, a common offense in the region at the time.
The team of approximately twenty officers descended on the location to execute the arrests. As they moved in, they successfully took two men into custody. The situation, however, quickly escalated when a third suspect was spotted fleeing into the nearby woods. In the ensuing confusion, Deputy U.S. Marshal Holden discharged his firearm into the air as a warning shot. This single act appeared to trigger a chaotic shootout.
In the flurry of gunfire that followed, a tragic mistake occurred. A bullet from a fellow officer's weapon struck Holden in the head, inflicting a fatal wound. Amid the chaotic exchange, two of the suspects were also shot and killed. There is no indication that the individuals named in the original arrest warrants, J.W. Myers and “Dad” Lee, were among those killed or if they were ever apprehended in connection with the illegal still.
The death of Alonzo Walter "Lon" Holden was not the result of a targeted act by a criminal, but rather a devastating accident in the line of duty. Having previously served as the first City Marshal of Hugo, Oklahoma, Holden was a respected officer. He was survived by his wife and six children. His death serves as a somber reminder of the inherent dangers faced by law enforcement officers, where a situation can turn deadly in an instant, and the lines between friend and foe can become tragically blurred in the heat of the moment.
