DeSoto County Sheriff's Office, Mississippi
End of Watch: Friday, June 26, 1970
Age: 39
Tour of Duty: Not available
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: June 26, 1970
Weapon Used: Handgun; .22 caliber
Suspect Info: Convicted and sentenced
Deputy Larry Cox was shot and killed while making a traffic stop of two out-of-state vehicles on Pleasant Hill Road. During the traffic stop Deputy Cox began searching one of the vehicles. The occupant of the vehicle suddenly produced a .22 caliber pistol and shot him several times.
After falling to the ground, an occupant of the second car took his club and struck him with it. The driver of the first car then took Deputy Cox's .357 caliber service revolver and shot him once in the head.
The suspects stole Deputy Cox's wallet, service revolver, handcuffs, and ammunition before fleeing. All the suspects were apprehended within several days.
The two suspects who shot Deputy Cox were brothers who had committed a burglary earlier in the evening and had stolen property in their vehicle. They were arrested in Memphis after murdering Deputy Cox. The older brother had escaped from the DeSoto County Jail three years earlier with a second inmate after assaulting the jail cook and the jailer. The suspect was arrested in Michigan in 1968 but the governor refused to extradite him to Mississippi. The suspect was released after serving his sentence in Michigan and then moved to Memphis, Tennessee.