Brazos County Sheriff's Office, Texas
End of Watch: Saturday, March 29, 1924
Age: 43
Tour of Duty: 6 years
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: March 29, 1924
Weapon Used: Shotgun
Suspect Info: Committed
Sheriff Leonard Morehead was shot and killed while attending a magic show in Steep Hollow.
He was seated in the back row when a man approached him and fired a shotgun at his head. The shotgun was loaded with nails, screws, and bolts. The suspect, 35, a former mental patient, declared cured and released from a Texas insane asylum 12 years earlier, was adjudged insane and committed to Austin State Hospital.
Sheriff Morehead was elected sheriff of the Brazos County Sheriff's Office on November 5, 1918, and re-elected on November 2, 1920, and November 7, 1922. His wife was appointed to complete his term in office on March 30, 1924, and served until January 1, 1925. She became the second female sheriff in Texas history. When interviewed in 1959, she said one of the things she remembered the most when she was sheriff was pouring out 718 quarts of illegal liquor during prohibition, which took her five hours.
Sheriff Morehead was survived by a child by his first wife, who preceded him in death, and his second wife and two children.
He was buried in the Bryan City Cemetery.