Incident Details
Cause of Death:Patrolman James McCracken was shot and killed during an armed robbery as he escorted the manager of the Wysor Grand Theatre to a bank to make a night deposit.
Four suspects fled the scene with $747 and later shot Patrolman Charles A. Holt, 36, of the Springfield Police Department in Ohio, on June 29, 1932, who died the following day.
A 27- and 38-year-old man were apprehended on August 10 in Indianapolis. Both later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. A third man, the 31-year-old shooter who killed Patrolman McCracken, was arrested on August 30 in New Orleans. He later pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.
On July 23, the fourth suspect and the 31-year-old shooter who killed Patrolman Holt were captured in Effingham, Illinois. The 25-year-old man later pleaded guilty to shooting with intent to kill and the shooter was later found guilty of first-degree murder in Ohio. Both offenders were sentenced to life in prison and paroled in 1960.
Patrolman McCracken was survived by his wife, mother, stepfather, two sisters, brother, two stepsisters and stepbrother.
In Memoriam
Patrolman Charles A. Holt |