Marshal Aaron Bailey and Sheriff William Sweet, of the Washington County Sheriff’s Department, were shot and killed after arresting a man for stealing a car in Ottumwa.

The men had spotted the stolen car and stopped it near the city of Washington. They arrested the driver and took him to the county courthouse. When Sheriff Sweet began to search the suspect, the man suddenly produced a .38 caliber revolver and opened fire, striking Marshal Bailey twice and Sheriff Sweet three times.

Another policeman, who the officers had picked up while en route to the courthouse, exchanged shots with the suspect but did not hit him.

The suspect fled the scene and remained at large for four years. On January 6, 1934, the suspect, along with several other criminals, was shot and killed in Illinois by members of the Chicago Police Department. The man was suspected of several other murders and crimes.