Deputy Constable Clarence Elmo James

Clarence Elmo James

Around 10:30 p.m. Deputy Constable Clarence E. James and Mrs. Charlie Anderson were on the grounds of the Lakewood Country Club. The deputy constable was attempting to trap and arrest a hijacker who had robbed several couples in the area. Deputy Constable James and Mrs. Anderson were sitting on a bench when the deputy constable spotted a man crawling through a fence, and suddenly trotting towards them. A shootout followed, and the deputy constable was struck in the abdomen and mortally wounded. In his dying statement, Deputy Constable James stated that the man started firing without saying a word. Blood evidence indicated the killer was also wounded. No one was ever identified as the killer. Deputy Constable James died the next day.

Clarence E. James was survived by his wife, three children, his parents, a sister and three brothers. He was buried in the Grove Hill Cemetery in Dallas.