Patrolman J. T. Brown
North Carolina Highway Patrol
North Carolina
End of Watch: Tuesday, November 5, 1957

Biographical Info
Age: Not available
Tour of Duty: Not available
Badge Number: Not available

Incident Details
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: Tuesday, November 5, 1957
Weapon Used: Gun; Unknown type
Suspect Info: Sentenced to life

Patrolman Brown was shot and killed after stopping a suspicious vehicle in Lee County. The driver of the vehicle had just shot and killed Trooper W. L. Reese after being stopped in Richmond County for speeding. The vehicle, later found to be stolen, was being driven by a New York state mental hospital escapee. The escapee was en route to Mississippi to attempt to break his brother out of death row.

Three weeks later the suspect was captured in Bakersfield, California. Since his escape a month earlier, it was discovered that he had been involved in numerous burglaries in Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, and North Carolina. He was convicted of two counts of first degree murder and sentenced to two life sentences on March 19, 1958. The suspect who turned 85 in 2007 is one of North Carolina's oldest inmates.

In 2005 the North Carolina Department of Transportation named a bridge on US Highway 1 in Lee County in memory of Patrolman Brown.

Related Line of Duty Deaths

Patrolman W. L. Reese North Carolina Highway Patrol, NC EOW: Tuesday, November 5, 1957 Cause of Death: Gunfire