Deputy Sheriff John McCoy

John McCoy

Deputy Sheriff John McCoy was shot and killed while attempting to serve dispossession papers to evict a man from his home at the Arjay Mining Camp near Pineville.

At 8:00 a.m., Deputy McCoy arrived at the home to evict the man from the house owned by the Federal Coal Company. Not wanting to place the man's possessions in the snow, he walked around the house and noticed the man standing at the side of another building, pointing a rifle at him. He moved into the house. When he opened the door, the man shot him in the head, killing him instantly.

The suspect was arrested at the mine shortly afterward. He was charged with murder but was acquitted at trial the following month. A few years later, he served time in a federal penitentiary for another crime.

Deputy McCoy had served with the Bell County Sheriff's Department for 15 years. He was survived by his wife.