City Marshal Of Fall River Killed In Gun Battle -
Saturday night at about 10:15, April 5, 1930 City Marshal, Evan Yoakum of Fall River, was shot with a shotgun and killed almost instantly by Henry Giles, 61, a farmer who was drunk. “Hank” Giles, was a bachelor making his home with his brother Will, also unmarried, and living just southeast of the town’s limit.
Giles had been causing a disturbance while under the influence of liquor, when City Marshal Yoakum took charge of him and took him to the edge of town and asked him to go home. Giles did go home, but came back to town carrying a ten-gauge double barrel shotgun. Giles went to nearly every business looking for Yoakum and made it known that he was looking for him, further making threats that he was going to kill Yoakum. At the time of Giles coming back into town, Marshal Yoakum was at home. After being told Giles was back in town, Yoakum buckled on his 38-caliber revolver, laughed aside his wife’s fears for his life and told her that he was not going to shoot Hank, nor would Hank shoot him. Yoakum went back to town.
Giles and Yoakum met on Main Street, just like most Wild West shootouts, Yoakum told Giles to throw up his hands, while drawing his revolver. At a distance of twelve feet apart Giles drew his shotgun and both men fired twice, Marshal Yoakum’s shots missed. Giles first shot missed, but the second shot hit Yoakum near the heart. As Marshal Yoakum was holding his revolver with both hands, the left hand was almost severed at the wrist.
It was very fortunate that other people were not killed or injured. One charge from Giles’s shotgun went through a window into a showcase. Behind this showcase several men were in a sociable game of cards and it was said that the showcase saved their lives. One of the businessmen had just stepped out of his place of business and when he saw Giles raise his shotgun, he dodged into the building, otherwise he would have been in direct line with the shot.
After the shooting, Giles returned to his home offering to shoot two men who sought to stop him and capture him enroute, took the shells out of the gun, layed the gun on his bed and left home. Giles walked southeast several miles to the Jim Fitzmorris farm and went to the house of Delbert Burr and told him what he had done and asked to borrow a blanket and a gun, saying that he was just going to keep walking. Burr advised Giles to give himself up, but the slayer was obstinate and left shortly.
A posse of officers from Fall River, Eureka and Howard, composed of Deputy Myers and Justice of the Peace, Sexton of Fall River, Sheriff W. P. Brown, Under Sheriff Hamer and Deputy Rader of Elk County, Greenwood County Undersheriff Sherman and Deputy Samuels took up the search for Giles.
Giles was captured at 3 a.m. Sunday morning while he was walking the railroad track one mile north of New Albany at the Frisco Bridge over Fall River at the Hickox ford. Giles was arrested without resistance and was taken to Eureka, where he was lodged in the County Jail.
Mr. Yoakum was survived by his widow, three sons and five daughters. The family had lived in and around Fall Rive for many years. Funeral services for the late officer were held at Fall River with interment made in the Fredonia Cemetery.
The preliminary hearing of Henry Giles, charged with first degree murder, was held April 30 before Judge S. L. Chase. The defendant was bound over for appearance at the May term of District Court and his bond fixed at $25,000. Eleven witnesses were called to the stand, in order of their appearance: Mrs. Evan Yoakum, C. M. Gipe, Claude Gipe, Daisy Taggart, Mrs. Goldie Foulke, Mrs. C. C. Purkeypile, Vernon Hamilton, Emil Yoakum, Dr. G. W. Farrar, Undersheriff Frank Sherman and Deputy Douglas Samuels.
State attorneys stressed the point that Giles was searching for Marshall Yoakum with the intention of causing trouble. L. M. Gipe, who maintains a cigar store at Fall River, testified that Giles was in his store the night of the shooting, searching for Yoakum with a doublebarrel shotgun and made the following statement in reference to Yoakum, “I’ll get him and put him in his hole.” Daisy Taggart, daughter of the slain man, testified that Giles came in the Taggart Grocery Store that evening and asked for Marshall Yoakum, saying “that’s the man I’m looking and I’m going to get him.” Other witnesses testified to similar statements made by the defendant.
After two hours of deliberation, a jury composed of three women and nine men returned a verdict of guilty of first degree murder against Giles for the death of Evan Yoakum. Three ballots were necessary; the first resulted in a vote of six and six for second degree murder, the second, nine and three for first degree murder, and the third unanimous for a first-degree verdict. The sentence had not been pronounced at the last information, but the verdict carries a sentence for life imprisonment.
