In the small town of Alexandria, Indiana, a dedicated public servant, 33-year-old male police chief John Ellis, met a tragic and untimely end in the line of duty. His death stemmed from a brazen robbery that unfolded on March 4, 1911, at the Miller Pawnshop on South Canal Street. Two individuals, a 25-year-old man and his 16-year-old accomplice, were behind the crime.
While the younger accomplice stood as a lookout, the older suspect, his face obscured by a red handkerchief, entered the pawnshop and demanded the day's earnings.
The situation escalated when Patrolman Virgil Kirkman responded to a customer's alert about the robbery. As Kirkman entered the pawnshop, the suspect shot him without warning. The 16-year-old accomplice was quickly apprehended but refused to cooperate with the authorities. The main suspect, a 25-year-old, fled to his father's home. It was there that Chief John Ellis confronted him in an attempt to make an arrest. During this confrontation, the suspect shot Ellis, inflicting a mortal wound.
Following the shooting, the suspect managed to escape, seeking medical attention for a wounded arm in the nearby town of Orestes before continuing his flight towards Frankton. In response, several posses were formed to hunt for the fugitive. He was eventually discovered asleep in a barn. Fearing a potential lynching, both the primary suspect and his accomplice were moved from the city jail to Anderson five days after the incident.
Chief Ellis succumbed to his injuries two days after being shot, passing away in a hospital. He had served the Alexandria Police Department for five years. Both suspects were ultimately sentenced to life in prison for their roles in the violent crime spree that resulted in the deaths of two law enforcement officers. The teenage accomplice was paroled in 1919, while the man who fired the fatal shots was released from prison in 1936.
