Trooper Amos L. "Spud" Helms

Amos L. "Spud" Helms

Trooper Amos Helms succumbed to gunshot wounds sustained on October 18th, 1931, in La Grande, Oregon, as he and another trooper approached a vehicle that matched the description of a vehicle used in a bank hold-up.

He and the other trooper had been notified of the car, which was parked at a filling station at the corner of Greenwood Street and Adams Street. The occupants of the vehicle opened fire on the officers as they approached it.

Both subjects fled the scene but were captured after a massive search. They were convicted and sentenced to life in imprisonment without possibility of parole for the murder of Trooper Helms. One of the men was granted a conditional pardon in 1942, and the other was paroled in 1950.

Trooper Helms had served with the Oregon State Police for six months.