Lee County Sheriff's Office, Georgia
End of Watch: Sunday, December 19, 1915
Age: 27
Tour of Duty: Not available
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: December 19, 1915
Weapon Used: Gun; Unknown type
Suspect Info: Acquitted
Sheriff David Moreland was shot and killed when he attempted to arrest a man who fired on his deputies earlier in the day when they attempted to arrest him for stealing a mule.
Sheriff Moreland and his posse located the suspect at a home just across the county line in Worth County. As they surrounded the home, gun fire erupted and Sheriff Moreland was killed. The suspect, and five other men in the home, surrendered to the posse after a brief gun battle.
One month later an angry mob stormed the Worth County Jail in Sylvester, seized five of the suspects, took them in their automobiles to Lee County, and hanged them. The mule thief, whom they wanted the most, had been transferred to another jail. It was believed that he fired the shot that killed Sheriff Moreland. On February 2nd, 1916, he was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. He received a new trial and was acquitted of murder charges in February of 1917.
Sheriff Moreland is buried in Macedonia Cemetery, Sasser, Georgia.