Merchant Policeman William Keasey was shot and killed by a prisoner who was being walked to the city jail.

   Two of the four men who had been suspected of scouting out the town to hijack slot machines had been arrested. While a night policeman had taken one prisoner into city hall, shots were heard outside.

   Merchant Policeman Keasey, who remained in front of city hall with his prisoner, had been shot twice in his abdomen. His prisoner fled the scene after entering a getaway car and being driven away.

   He and the other two men were later apprehended and confessed to committing robberies in Angola, Fort Wayne, Ligonier and Delphi, Ohio. The 22-year-old shooter pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison.

   The 32-year-old man originally arrested pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit a felony and being a habitual criminal, and sentenced to life in prison.

   A 28-year-old getaway driver and a 20-year-old man both pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit a felony and were sentenced to 2 to 14 years in prison.

   Merchant Policeman Keasey was survived by his wife, mother, brother and sister.

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This officer, discovered in 2021, has not been submitted for consideration as an eligible line of duty death to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund by the Ligonier Police Department.