Wilson County Sheriff's Office, Texas
End of Watch: Friday, November 4, 1983
Age: 54
Tour of Duty: 3 years
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: November 4, 1983
Weapon Used: Handgun
Suspect Info: Sentence commuted to life
Deputy Sheriff Sammie Childress was shot and killed execution-style after being abducted by two suspects on Texas Highway 97. The suspects abducted Deputy Childress for the purpose of using his uniform and patrol car to commit a bank robbery.
The suspects saw Deputy Childress driving by and began to flash their lights at him. When he stopped, the two suspects displayed their guns, made Deputy Childress disrobe, handcuffed him, and placed him in the trunk of his patrol car. One of the men then put on part of his uniform, drove to a bank on U.S. 87, and robbed it at 11:50 a.m. After the robbery, the suspects returned to their vehicle, at which time the suspect opened the trunk and shot Deputy Childress in the neck.
The suspects drove away but returned moments later to wipe the patrol car clean of fingerprints. The suspect opened the trunk again and, finding that Deputy Childress was still alive, shot him in the neck a second time, killing him instantly.
The suspects were both eventually apprehended. The shooter was sentenced to death, and the other suspect, the shooter's nephew, was sentenced to 25 years. On May 3, 2017, the shooter's death sentence was commuted to life. The shooter died in prison in 2023.
Deputy Childress had served with the Wilson County Sheriff's Office for three years. He was survived by his wife, two sons, a daughter, six grandchildren, his father, and four siblings. One of his sons also served with the Wilson County Sheriff's Office.