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Chief of Police Joseph C. Kelly | Southern Pines Police Department, North Carolina
Southern Pines Police Department, North Carolina

Chief of Police

Joseph C. Kelly

Southern Pines Police Department, North Carolina

End of Watch: Thursday, March 21, 1929

Biographical Info

Age: 50
Tour of Duty: Not available
Badge Number: Not available

Incident Details

Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: March 20, 1929
Weapon Used: Handgun
Suspect Info: Paroled in 1940

Chief Joseph Kelly succumbed to a gunshot wound sustained the previous day while attempting to search a car he had stopped. The suspect fled the scene after the shooting.

Chief Kelly drove himself to the home of a local doctor where he collapsed. He was transported to a hospital in Fayetteville where he died the following day.

The suspect was captured several days later in Bangor, Maine. He was convicted of second degree murder and sentenced to 30 years in prison. On December 12, 1929, he escaped from the Caledonia Prison Farm in Halifax County. He was recaptured in Ohio in November of 1935 and returned to prison. He was paroled October 20, 1940.

Chief Kelly was survived by his wife.