Jan. 30, 1927, marked the day Lee County — then just two decades old — lost its only sitting sheriff in the line of duty.
James Turner was shot that day during a raid on an illegal liquor still, a story that was covered extensively at the time and has been revisited many times since. But the 1999 publication of “Lee County Tales,” edited by R.T. Lasley and Karen O’C. Garvey, includes a fascinating firsthand account of at least one part of the tale.
It was recounted to Sanford resident Robert Brickhouse by Sam Womble Jr., who on that Sunday was standing in his yard (“at Lockville,” the text states, apparently near the Lee-Chatham line) and saw “an open touring car coming from Sanford … really flying.”
“A cloud of dust rolled toward the river,” Womble recalled. “I wondered who could be in such a hurry while I watched the car turn the curve and cross the river bridge over to Chatham County.”
Apparently around the same time, authorities in Chatham County had been watching a still near Lick Creek with the belief that the still operators were selling their illegal liquor in Durham. Turner and his deputies had been en route to help the Chatham County authorities break up the still.
Upon their arrival, Turner and the other lawmen were ambushed, and he was shot and severely wounded. The operator and the shooter, one Bud Davis, fled the scene with his accomplices and were in the car Womble saw from his yard. Davis later realized who he’d shot, and apparently got word to the sheriff of Chatham County that he would surrender, which he eventually did in Durham.
“I had seen the men who killed Sheriff Turner as they were speeding to get out of Lee County!” Womble recalled to Brickhouse. “People were saying they could have killed several officers but stopped shooting because they ran out of ammunition. Davis had told his wife he was leaving because he had shot the Sheriff and had to go and he would never see her again.”
Womble’s connection to the story didn’t end there. Days after Turner’s eventual death, Womble’s father was appointed by the Lee County Board of Commissioners to finish Turner’s term.
— Gordon Anderson
Interesting history with familiar prominent Sanford figures. Also, very interesting aerial photo with many interesting landmarks still preserved.
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