Policeman George Fountain Carter

George Fountain Carter

Policeman Carter was shot and killed with his own gun while attempting to observe illegal gambling. He was known as an officer who targeted gambling. While hiding himself in some woods to observe a crap game, two brothers located him and shot him in the heart with his own weapon.

Both brothers were arrested and charged with murder. One was convicted of murder and sentenced to 9 years two months later. Before preparations could be made to transport him to the penitentiary he escaped from the Martinsville Jail. He was the only prisoner in the jail that night and the jailer had stepped away for a few minutes. When he returned he found his cell door wide open and the prisoner gone. No one could understand how he got out because the cell keys were kept far away from the cells. Rumor soon spread throughout Martinsville that he did not escape but was forcibly taken from the jail and killed for murdering Policeman Carter. The mystery was solved on December 3, 1930, when he was captured in Worcester, Massachusetts. He was returned to the Martinsville Jail and days later was transferred to the Virginia Penitentiary to serve his 9 year sentence.