One of the most desperate acts that happened in the county occurred Oct. 21, 1921, when Murray farmer Charley Jones was dragging the road some three miles southeast of Murray.

He observed some men and a car by the roadside that had been there all day.

Jones returned home and secured his shotgun and told his wife to call the sheriff. Upon receiving the message about the suspicious characters, Sheriff Ed West, in company with former Osceola City Marshall John Miller, went to the mentioned place picking up auctioneer Charles Eaton and veterinarian Dr. W. R. Fuller. Fuller’s son Dr. Leland Fuller was later a longtime Osceola chiropractor.

The four men went in the direction of where a big Hudson automobile with a Missouri number was parked and said to be occupied by the suspicious characters who were believed to be the same who robbed two general stores and a garage in Columbia, Iowa.

The four ruffians were laying on the grass and a little parlay between them and the sheriff ensued when West asked them their business. The men leaped to their car, drew revolvers and began without any warning to shoot down the officers.

The life of Sheriff West was saved by a miracle, for one of the robbers pushed a gun directly in West’s face, pulled the trigger and the gun snapped without discharging.

The three other men emptied their guns into Miller, Eaton and Fuller, who fell into the road badly wounded. Eaton had three bullet holes in his chest. Miller had both bones of his forearm shattered by a bullet and a bullet hole in his chest.

When the robbers were about to leave, one of them searched Fuller’s pockets and fired another shot into him. As a result of that, the bullet lodged in his spinal column, causing him to be paralyzed from the waist down.

The robbers jumped into West’s car and started up the road. As they passed Jones, one took deliberate aim at him opening fire. He was shot through the lower chest cavity, once through the back and through the shoulder.

The four robbers raced to their own car and drove it over the hill, heading south as fast as it would go.

Charley Jones later died.

The robbers were pursued. One robber was shot and killed in Wichita, the other three were captured and brought to trial in Osceola. They were found guilty, receiving life sentences in prison at hard labor.

In 1922, the Clarke County Vigilance Committee was organized as a result of the work from the County Bankers Association. Bonds were approved and signed for 36 new deputies who were issued permits to carry concealed weapons. Each man was issued at 1917 Army-type Colt .45 caliber revolver and ammunition. Eleven high powered Army rifles were located within easy reach.

It was thought their existence would serve to reduce crime to the minimum in this locality.