On December 14, 1923, the town of Drew, Mississippi, became the setting for a violent confrontation that claimed the life of R. L. Methevin, a 55-year-old White male resident of the area. The events began to unfold earlier that day following a dispute involving a local sharecropper named Joe Pullen. The altercation escalated quickly when Pullen, attempting to settle a debt or financial matter, entered into a heated exchange with a plantation manager. This confrontation turned deadly when gunfire erupted, resulting in the death of W.T. Saunders. Following this initial shooting, Pullen armed himself with a revolver and a shotgun, fleeing into the surrounding swampy terrain to evade capture.
A group of citizens, including Methevin, was quickly deputized to form a posse with the intent of locating and apprehending the fugitive. They tracked Pullen to a drainage ditch roughly three miles from the town, where he had entrenched himself to make a stand. As the group approached his position to surround him, a fierce gunfight ensued. Pullen, who was reported to be a skilled marksman, exchanged fire with the approaching men for an extended period. During this exchange, R. L. Methevin was struck by gunfire and killed, becoming one of several casualties sustained by the pursuers that afternoon. Another member of the group, William J. Hess, was also fatally shot during the standoff, and numerous others were wounded by the entrenched gunman.
The siege continued for several hours as the group pinned Pullen down with suppressing fire. The standoff eventually ended when the fugitive was mortally wounded, with some accounts suggesting the use of a machine gun brought to the scene to dislodge him. Pullen died from his injuries at the site of the ambush. In the aftermath of the violence, the sharecropper’s body was seized by the crowd, dragged back into the town of Drew, and publicly mutilated, marking a brutal conclusion to the day's tragic series of events. No trial or legal proceedings took place for the death of Methevin, as the sole suspect was killed during the confrontation.
