Magazine Police Department, Arkansas
End of Watch: Wednesday, June 29, 1977
Age: 49
Tour of Duty: Not available
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: June 29, 1977
Weapon Used: Handgun; .38 caliber
Suspect Info: Executed in 1997
Marshal Marvin Richie was shot and killed by two Oklahoma prison escapees who had murdered two fisherman following their escape.
The two men escaped by tunneling under the prison walls. Marshal Richie observed a suspicious vehicle containing the two and stopped it. During the stop he was overpowered, handcuffed, and forced into the trunk of his patrol car. The suspects then drove into the Little Rock Ranger District where they were stopped by two U.S. Army Corps of Engineers non-law enforcement park rangers who saw Marshal Richie's patrol car and went to investigate.
The two suspects surprised the rangers and held them at gunpoint. They forced one of the rangers into the trunk with Marshal Richie and forced the other to stay in the ranger's truck. Before closing the trunk lid one of the suspects shot Marshal Richie in the head, killing him, and the ranger in the chest. The suspects then abducted the other ranger, took him to an isolated area and murdered him execution style. The ranger who was shot in the chest recovered from his wounds. The suspects fled but were apprehended the following month in Portland, Oregon, by the FBI.
Both suspects were sentenced to death and subsequently executed on January 8th, 1997.
Marshal Richie was survived by his wife.