Town Marshal Robert Richardson was shot and killed on Easter while attempting to serve a warrant for misdemeanor larceny in Cottage Grove.

   He and a deputized citizen went to the family home of the wanted subject and were met with a knife-wielding man. As handcuffs were being placed on the man, his father exited the house and shot Marshal Richardson through the head, killing him instantly.

   The father and another son, who handed him the revolver, both fled the scene. The sheriff and another marshal captured the father about five miles away a short times later. The deputized citizen shot and wounded the son in his left leg as he was apprehended.

   The 49-year-old father was subsequently convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison where he died while incarcerated in 1915.

   His 25-year-old son was found guilty by a jury of being an accessory before the fact. He was sentenced to 2 to 14 years in prison but upon a new trial granted on appeal and a change of venue to Wayne County, the case was dismissed.

   Town Marshal Richardson was survived by his wife, two sons and daughter.

The responsibilities of the West College Corner Town Marshal's Office are now under the jurisdiction of the Union County Sheriff's Department.

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This officer, discovered in 2023, has not been submitted for consideration as an eligible line of duty death to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund by the Union County Sheriff's Department.