Deputy Sheriff N. Eugene Fleming

N. Eugene Fleming

Deputy Sheriff Eugene Fleming was shot and killed near Enterprise, Tennessee, while he and a companion stopped to assist three men who were changing a tire on a car.

His companion was driving him to Enterprise to serve civil papers when they encountered the disabled vehicle.

As Deputy Fleming approached he asked what the trouble was. One of the men then drew a revolver and shot Deputy Fleming several times. The man who shot Deputy Fleming and one of the other men fled across a field. The third subject remained with the car and cooperated with law enforcement. He told them who the men were and said he did not understand why the man shot him. Ten days later the 35-year-old suspect's body was found in a corn crib on a farm near Columbia. Cause of death was starvation and exposure to the cold.

Deputy Fleming had served with the Maury County Sheriff's Department for three months. He was survived by his mother, brother, and sister.