New Mexico’s Old Times & Old Timers

NEW MEXICO’S OLD TIMES & OLD TIMERS

by Don Bullis, New Mexico Author DonBullis.biz

Lincoln County Deputy Killed in Gunfight with Bank Robbers, 1933

Lincoln County Sheriff A. S. McCamant got word on Friday, July 14, 1933, that two wanted Texas bank robbers and killers, Ed “Pearchmouth” Stanton, 45, and Glenn Hunsucker, 21, were hiding out on a dry-land homestead near Ramon in the northern part of the county. The sheriff, along with deputies Tom Jones, Jack Davidson and Hubert Reynolds, set out at once in search of the outlaws. On Saturday they visited the farm in question—it was believed to have been owned by Stanton’s brother—and found that the suspects were not present. They returned the following day and found tire tracks near the barn that had not been present the day before; an indication that the outlaws had visited the place during the night.

The posse, by then augmented by Sgt. Barney Leonard and deputy Sam McCue of Chaves County Sheriff’s Department, followed the trail left by Stanton and Hunsucker. They kept up the pursuit for most of Sunday across the rugged country between the villages of Ramon and Corona. After Leonard and McCue left the group, the posse came upon their quarry late Sunday afternoon east of Corona on the Nalda Ranch. The two outlaws concealed themselves in a wooded area that surrounded a broad dell. As the deputies approached, the criminals opened fire without warning. Deputy Tom Jones was killed almost instantly by a bullet to the head. Hunsucker then advanced on the remaining lawmen, firing as he approached, only to be shot down. He died about an hour later of eight bullet wounds. Stanton got away on foot.

Word of Deputy Jones’ killing spread rapidly around Lincoln County and southeastern New Mexico and by Monday morning the sheriff had help from Capitan and Hondo, as well as from other neighboring jurisdictions. His posse grew to more than twenty men. They soon resumed the search for Stanton. At about 3:00 Monday afternoon, the killer was spotted in the Ramon area. He managed to evade the posse for a time, but soon enough Stanton realized that he was cornered. He meekly surrendered and officers took him to jail in Carrizozo.

Officers from Tulia and Silverton in the Texas Panhandle arrived in Lincoln County on Tuesday morning. They positively identified Glenn Hunsucker and Pearchmouth Stanton as the two bandits who robbed a gasoline filling station at Tulia, Texas, and killed Swisher County Sheriff John C. Mosely on January 23, 1933. Stanton, described as “a small Texan with a large gun” and Hunsucker were also accused of killing deputy sheriff Joe Brown at Rhome, Wise County, Texas, also in January 1933. Hunsucker was believed to have participated in a bank robbery at Olton, Texas, and to have taken part in a gun battle with law officers at Bluitt, New Mexico, fifty miles south of Portales, in 1932. Hale County, Texas, Deputy Sheriff Harve Bolin was shot and killed in that fight and Roosevelt County Deputy Sheriff R. L. Hollis was badly wounded.

Because officers feared that Stanton’s friends would attempt to rescue him, the Lincoln County jail was carefully guarded until Wednesday when Stanton appeared before a local magistrate and waived extradition back to Texas. Deputy Hubert Reynolds accompanied the four Texas officers in taking Stanton first to Roswell, where two other officers joined them for the trip to Clovis and then to Amarillo where Texas took custody of the killer. No one attempted to interfere with the officers.

On September 28, 1934, Ed “Pearchmouth” Stanton was executed by electrocution at the Texas State Prison at Huntsville. By way of last words, he was quoted as having said that he regretted that he would miss the Huntsville prison rodeo for that year.

All New Mexico charges against him were dropped on March 7, 1935.

As a sidelight to this story, after the killing of Deputy Jones, some Lincoln County citizens determined that the sheriff needed more firepower so they purchased a .45 caliber Colt model 1921 Thompson submachine gun for the department. The department owned it for many years.

Deputy Jones’ widow, Ola, served as superintendent of the Lincoln County Schools. ▫

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