Guadalupe County Sheriff's Office, Texas
End of Watch: Monday, May 16, 1881
Age: 51
Tour of Duty: Not available
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: May 16, 1881
Weapon Used: Gun; Unknown type
Suspect Info: Acquitted
Deputy Sheriff Richard McCoy was shot and killed in LaSalle County while searching for cattle thieves.
Deputy McCoy was riding with several Texas Rangers and cattlemen when they discovered approximately 100 stolen cattle.
The group rounded up the cattle and took them to a nearby home to temporarily store them. Unbeknownst to the deputy, the home was owned by a notorious cattle thief. As Deputy McCoy asked the man's wife if he could pen the cattle there, the man and his friends setup an ambush. They opened fire on Deputy McCoy as he opened the corral gate, killing him.
The property owner and one of his friends were charged with Deputy McCoy's murder. Because the informant was a known horse thief his testimony was not enough to convict the suspects and the charges were dropped. One of the men later murdered Deputy Sheriff Gabriel Pool, of the Milam County Sheriff's Office, on April 7th, 1887.
Deputy McCoy was a veteran of the Confederate Army. He had previously served as a Texas Ranger for one year.