Patrolman
James Ovid McCracken
Muncie Police Department
Sunday, April 24, 1932

Age: 35
Served: 4 years
Badge #:
Panel 40E, Line 27 (2011)
Panel L4, Line 12 (2010)

Incident Details

Cause of Death:
Gunfire
Date/Time of Incident:
Sunday, April 24, 1932
10:15 pm
Incident to Death Duration:
Same day
Incident Location:
100 block of South Mulberry Street, Muncie
Incident County:
Delaware
Incident Township:
Center
Weapon Used:
.32-caliber handgun
Suspect Disposition:
• Sentenced to life
• Sentenced to life
• Sentenced to life
• Paroled in 1960
Burial Place:
Woodlawn Cemetery, Maxville

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   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
Springfield Police Department
• Honored on the Ohio Fallen Officers' Memorial in London, Ohio



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Muncie Police Department

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Patrolman James Ovid McCracken - Muncie Police Department - INLEM.org