Stewart County Sheriff's Office, Tennessee
End of Watch: Friday, July 16, 1937
Age:
Tour of Duty: Not available
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: November 2, 1936
Weapon Used: Handgun
Suspect Info: Sentenced to life
Sheriff Ellis succumbed to a gunshot wound in the abdomen sustained 8 months earlier when he was shot while arresting a man on liquor charges at Crow's Hill. The suspect produced a handgun and shot Sheriff Ellis as he was being searched.
Sheriff Ellis was taken to a local hospital and later removed to a hospital in Lexington, Kentucky, where he died on the operating table as doctors attempted to remove the bullet.
The suspect, 52, was charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill and released after a $7,500 bond was posted. Two weeks after Sheriff Ellis died, bondsmen turned him over to the sheriff at Cadiz, Kentucky. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to death. His sentence was later commuted to life.
Sheriff Ellis was survived by his wife, two daughters, and two sons.