Van Alstyne Police Department, Texas
End of Watch: Thursday, March 21, 1929
Age: 67
Tour of Duty: 46 years
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: March 21, 1929
Weapon Used: Handgun
Suspect Info: Two sentenced to 99 years
Chief Echols was shot and killed while making his normal rounds in the business district. He came across three men who were preparing to rob a bank and they shot him.
All three suspects were apprehended. Two were convicted of murder and sentenced to 99 years. On August 7, 1931, one was shot and killed when he attempted to escape from Eastham Prison Farm. The other suspect was pardoned by Governor Coke R. Stevenson on February 2, 1944.
Chief Echols had been with the agency for 46 years and is survived by his wife and two children.