Officer James W. Horton

James W. Horton

Officer Horton was shot and killed when he interrupted a burglary in progress of a wine cellar at Chestnut Street and Powell Street.

On August 3, 1922, Officer Horton's killer shot and killed Detective Sergeant Timothy Bailey with the San Francisco Police Department. The subject told his sister-in-law that he had gotten away with six murders including that of Officer Horton. She called the San Francisco Police and reported what he had said. A search was already underway for the subject after county jail inmates informed police that the subject, while in jail with them, had bragged to them about getting away with six murders including that of Officer Horton. As Sergeant Bailey with several officers arrived at their shack the subject opened fire killing him, wounded another officer, killed his sister-in-law, and then shot and killed himself.

The killer, 28, was Walter Castor. He had killed a man in 1913, was convicted of manslaughter, sentenced to six years, and released in 1918. His mother said he was kicked in the head by a horse when he was 7-years-old, and was never right again after that. His father was Officer Charles F. Castor of the San Francisco Police Department, who was shot and killed in the line of duty on November 26, 1911.

Officer Horton had been with the agency for three years and was survived by his wife.