Pistol Halts Mob Charge at Jail

Brother of Slain Sheriff Balks Angry Crowd

Three Suspects Held

Argument on New Road Ends in Killing of Two

Special to The Post

Harlan, KY., July 7 – "There they are!"

With that cry a crowd of hardy Kentuckians swooped down on an official auto here today attempting to wrest from the law three prisoners under arrest in the machine.

But the calm muscle of a pistol held them back.

Swiftly the prisoners were whisked from the car and shifted to the jail where they were locked away from the ominous mob.

They will be held for examining trial.

Held in Killing

The prisoners were registered as Charles Smith, Alex C. Kelly and Alex Napier, the latter two of Evarts.

They were arrested in connection with the killing early today of Floyd Ball, 42, sheriff of Harlan Co. and John Hensley, 48, deputy.

The officers were shot down when they argued with three autoists about the right to drive over the newly paved highway between Harlan and Pineville. Concrete had just been poured on the road, it is said.

Officials were told the men in the auto had been drinking.

Implicates Others

Smith was the first to be arrested. He implicated the others.

When the official car drove up to the jail and the mob howled for blood, it was the pistol of Roscoe Ball, brother of the slain sheriff which upheld the dignity of law.

Bloodhounds trailed the suspects. Smith who had been working at Evarts, at first denied all knowledge of the shooting and then gave the names of his companions after the ownership of the car had been traced thru the license number.

Crash Thru Barricade

He said he had merely been riding with the two men.

The men had crashed thru one barricade across the new road and driven to the next barricade, where the guard halted them. After displaying weapons, they drove on and the guard called Sheriff Ball, giving him the number of the automobile license.

Ball and Deputy Sheriff Hensley started for the scene and enroute saw the car parked beside the road. Returning, they were fired on, the sheriff being killed in his automobile.

Hensley, apparently wounded, got out of the car and staggered to the side of the road. The men then fired several shorts into his head.

Runs Over Embankment

No one saw the trouble start, but after several shots had been fired members of a family living nearby went to the door and saw the slayers approach Hensley where he had fallen. With an oath, they fired three or four more shots into his head.

They then fled and the family notified Harlan authorities.

When other officers arrived they found Hensley midway between his automobile and the Kelly car, which had run over an embankment.

Ball had dropped forward to the running board of the machine. Both men were robbed and their pistols taken. Ball's weapon was found in the wrecked automobile.

Taken to Harlan

The bodies of the two slain officers were taken to an undertaking establishment in Harlan.

Sheriff Ball assumed office last Nov. 11, having been elected at the regular election to fill the unexpected term of Sheriff James Green, who has been thrown out of office in an election contest with Ball, in which the Court of Appeals ruled, neither was elected the first time they ran.

Prior to making the race for sheriff three years ago, he had been in the dry goods business at Harlan.

Hensley was the oldest deputy in point of service in the county, having served 11 years. Previously he had been jailer.

Submitted by: Kim Jones Dean

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