Bio & Incident Details
Age: Not available
Tour: Not available
Badge # Not available
Military veteran
Cause: Gunfire
Incident Date: 1/1/1816
Weapon: Gun; Unknown type
Suspect: Executed
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Sheriff John Pender was shot and killed from ambush while driving from his home to Waynesborough, present day Goldsboro. The exact date of Sheriff Pender's murder is not known.
The suspect, a man wanted for stealing slaves, fled to Florida where he took refuge among the Seminole Indians. When the Sheriff's 18 year-old son learned of this he traveled to Florida alone, found his father's murderer, and persuaded the Seminole Indian Chief to turn the suspect over to him. He brought the suspect back to Waynesborough and delivered him to the new sheriff.
Sentiment for Sheriff Pender was so strong that the suspect was transported to neighboring Lenoir County and tried in Kinston. In the fall of 1816 he was found guilty of Sheriff Pender's murder and hanged.
Sheriff Pender was a Revolutionary War Veteran. He was also a member of the North Carolina General Assembly, and was survived by at least one son.
