History from this week, 105 years ago.

𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝘂𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗗𝗲𝗽𝘂𝘁𝘆 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 “𝗦𝗮𝗺” 𝗦𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘆 — 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝗹𝗮𝘄𝘀 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗩𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱

By the spring of 1921, the Osage Hills were no stranger to violence. Oil money flowed freely, automobiles gave criminals unprecedented mobility, and outlaw bands drifted across county and state lines with alarming ease. Yet even in such dangerous times, few events shook Osage County more deeply than the killing of Deputy Sheriff James “Sam” Shelley.

On the night of May 11, 1921, a brand-new Dodge touring car was stolen from the front of the A.N. Ruble home in Pawhuska. Within minutes, the Sheriff’s Office alerted deputies across the county to watch the roads. Shelley did not hesitate.
A seven-year lawman, City Marshal of Pershing, and a two-term Deputy Sheriff in Osage County, he knew exactly where fleeing thieves were likely to pass. Just outside Pershing, near the narrow crossing at the M.K.&T. railroad overpass along the Pawhuska Road, Shelley positioned his vehicle to block their escape.

At approximately 8:00 p.m., headlights pierced the darkness. Shelley stopped the stolen Dodge and began placing the occupants under arrest. What followed unfolded in seconds — one of the men suddenly drew a revolver and fired. The bullet struck Shelley through the heart. He fell where he stood, killed instantly on a lonely stretch of Oklahoma road.

The murderers sped south, abandoning the Dodge on a Barnsdall oil lease less than a mile beyond town. Bloodhounds traced their scent deep into the maze of derricks and lease roads before the trail vanished completely. The killers had melted into the Osage Hills.

𝗔 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗗𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲

Shelley was only 39 years old — a devoted husband, father of two, and a respected officer known for answering every call without complaint. His funeral drew citizens and lawmen from across the region, many struggling to comprehend how quickly a routine theft had turned into an execution.

Pawhuska residents raised a reward totaling $1,671 — an enormous sum for the era — determined that Shelley’s killers would not escape justice.

Among the donors were prominent businesses and community leaders: Geer Energy Company contributed $500; Fred H. Rock and Union Motor Company each gave $100; local banks, attorneys Hargis & Bingham, and County Attorney C.L. Roff added their support. Even William K. Hale donated $50 — a striking detail in hindsight. Within five years, the man once known as the “King of the Osage” would himself stand exposed as the architect of calculated murder.

Sheriff Harve Freas left no doubt about his resolve:

“𝘚𝘢𝘮 𝘚𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯. 𝘞𝘦’𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘭𝘢𝘸𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘧 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰.”

At first, suspicion fell upon the violent Longre Gang, already linked to robberies and the recent murder of rural Pawhuska mail carrier William Douglas. But as the Longre organization was dismantled in the months that followed, a troubling realization emerged, the men who killed Shelley may not have been Longre’s crew at all.

𝗔 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗦𝘂𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘀

Investigators eventually turned their attention to another roaming band of professional criminals — the Kimes gang — whose members would leave a trail of dead officers across multiple states. Among those whispered to be involved was a young outlaw named Clyde “Red” Brandon.

Already jailed in Tulsa on robbery charges, Brandon denied involvement in Shelley’s murder but claimed he could identify the shooter as Earl Thomas. Authorities suspected the statement was a calculated attempt to deflect suspicion — many believed Brandon himself was the gunman.

In February 1922, he was formally charged with murder in Osage County and lodged in the county jail to await trial. He never made it to the courtroom.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗝𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝗘𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗲 — 𝟭𝟵𝟮𝟮

On the night of May 20, 1922, around 10:00 p.m., Brandon and three other prisoners executed a daring escape from the Osage County Jail.

They overpowered night jailer Mike Turner, striking him with a gas pipe before locking him — along with 23 prisoners inside the jail. Whether aided from the outside or exploiting a brief lapse in security remains unknown. By the time authorities responded, Brandon was gone.

Like many outlaws of the era, he disappeared into the vast geography of the American Midwest — a shifting world of oil camps, rail towns, and dusty highways where a wanted man could reinvent himself overnight. For years, Deputy Shelley’s case lingered without resolution. Then Brandon resurfaced.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗞𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗚𝗮𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

On July 1, 1927 — five years after his escape — Brandon was arrested in Pawnee County. He had participated in the Beggs bank robbery just weeks earlier and was now firmly tied to the violent orbit of the Kimes organization.

Brandon was later convicted for his role in the killing of Beggs City Marshal W.J. McAnally during that robbery and sentenced to life in the Oklahoma State Penitentiary.

Authorities again noted his jailbreak and the standing accusation that he had been involved in Shelley’s murder. Brandon and his brother Roy were believed to move within the same ruthless circles as Matthew Kimes — professional criminals willing to shoot their way out of any confrontation. They were precisely the kind of men Deputy Shelley had faced on that dark road in 1921.

𝗔 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗡𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗮𝘄 𝗮 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺

By September 1948, after nearly two decades behind prison walls, Clyde Brandon sought parole. Yet one unresolved shadow from his past remained — the untried murder charge in Osage County for the killing of Deputy James “Sam” Shelley.

County Attorney Sim Carman addressed the matter bluntly:

“𝘞𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 20 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘴 26 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘭𝘥.”

Court records showed that Brandon and Earl Thomas had been charged in Shelley’s death, but the case never reached a courtroom after Brandon’s escape from jail in 1922.

That November, Governor Roy J. Turner granted Brandon parole. The former outlaw — once a henchman in one of Oklahoma’s most violent criminal organizations — walked free after serving nearly twenty-one years. History, it seemed, had taken its course.

But it had never fully answered its questions. Brandon later violated parole and was returned to custody, where he remained a ward of the state until his death.

𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝗲𝗽𝘂𝘁𝘆 𝗦𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘆

Deputy James “Sam” Shelley is honored today among those who gave their lives in the line of duty — a lasting symbol of a generation of officers forced to confront a new breed of organized, motorized criminal. His name is forever etched in stone at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C., on Panel 15 E, Line 24, ensuring that his sacrifice is remembered not only in Osage County, but across the nation he served.

The early 1920s marked a turning point in American law enforcement. Automobiles allowed gangs to strike without warning and vanish across state lines, transforming what once were routine encounters into deadly confrontations. Shelley never had the advantage of backup, portable radios, or reinforced patrol cars. He stood the line with only his badge, his training, and an unshakable sense of duty.

History never recorded with certainty who fired the fatal shot. Like many crimes of the outlaw era, the full truth likely disappeared down the same dark roads the killers traveled that night. But one fact has never been in doubt, when danger appeared on the road outside Pershing, Deputy Sam Shelley did not turn away. He stepped forward.

The peace we inherit was often purchased by men who understood the risk — and stood their ground anyway. … See MoreSee Less

On Tuesday, May 5th, Sheriff Bart Perrier and Chief Deputy John Cummings had the honor of speaking at the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) event hosted by Phillips 66.

The event served as an important opportunity to bring awareness to the ongoing crisis impacting Indigenous communities across the nation, while honoring the lives of those who are missing and those we have lost.

We are grateful for the invitation to stand alongside community members, advocates, and leaders committed to raising awareness, supporting families, and continuing the conversation surrounding MMIW. Together, we can work toward awareness, prevention, and justice.

#MMIW #missingandmurderedindigenouswomen #CommunityAwareness #osagecounty … See MoreSee Less