Officer Fred Earl Babb

Fred Earl Babb

Officer Babb was shot and killed by a man wanted for robbery and larceny of an automobile. A sequence of events started when the suspect, (a recently released prisoner), helped break a prisoner out of a Arcadia prison camp. He then drove a stolen car to Tallahassee where he robbed a woman of $100 in cash and then stole her car. When he ran out of gas the suspect was given a ride to Apalachicola where he stole a deputy sheriff's patrol car. Officer Babb spotted the suspect, gave chase, and cornered the suspect at the end of a dead end street. In an exchange of gunfire Officer Babb was hit three times and killed instantly.

The suspect fled in the patrol car to Port St. Joe where he sped past a police road block. Officers riddled the windshield with pistol and shotgun fire, causing the suspect to crash. The suspect fled from the vehicle but was later captured after he was found hiding under a nearby house.

The suspect, 28, was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to death on April 2, 1968. His sentence was commuted to life in 1972. He escaped from prison in 1979 but was quickly captured.