Sheriff Robert L. Jones

Sheriff Robert Jones served from November 1888 to December 11, 1888.

He was killed in the line of duty while obtaining to arrest a horse thief.

Sheriff Robert Jones is the shortest reigning Sheriff in Grant County history. Sheriff Jones was shot by a horse thief and died two days later. He was an honorable man lost to history until it was discovered during the term of Sheriff Darrell Himelick that Sheriff Jones was killed in the line of duty but was not properly honored. A ceremony took place and Sheriff Jones was properly honored after all the years had past.

Sheriff Robert Jones shooting story

​

Sheriff Robert Jones succumbed to gunshot wounds he suffered two days earlier while attempting to arrest an escapee from the Grant County Jail.

The convicted horse thief had been charged with grand larceny in July 1888 and sentenced to two years. As he was waiting to be transferred to the Indiana State Prison North, he escaped on September 20 from the jail. The convict later returned to the county to court a young lady while staying with his father.

Her family, who disapproved of their relationship, informed Sheriff Jones that the convict would be at the home of the girlfriend's sister in Jerome, in Howard County, that evening. Arriving at the residence at 9:00 pm, a deputy remained at the front door as Sheriff Jones proceeded to the rear door and entered the premises.

After both females denied the suspect was there, Sheriff Jones opened a door leading to a bedroom and found him hiding there. The suspect fired two shots from a .38-caliber revolver, seriously wounding Sheriff Jones in the left arm and abdomen. Sheriff Jones, who was unarmed, began striking the suspect with his billy club until the deputy gained entry through the front door, which had been barricaded with a bed and took the suspect into custody. Sheriff Jones survived two days before he died from his wounds.

The suspect was taken to the Indiana State Prison North in Michigan City to avert being lynched by enraged citizens and later sentenced to life in prison, but escaped from confinement in April 1907.

Sheriff Jones had served in office for less than four weeks of his two-year term. He was survived by his wife and two sons.

​

Chronicle-Tribune (Marion, IN)
September 25, 2009

Memorial service honors fallen sheriff
Section: News

More than 120 years after his death, Robert L. Jones was given a memorial service thanking him for his contribution to Grant County.

Jones was the sheriff of Grant County for one month before he was shot on Dec. 9, 1888, while trying to apprehend an escapee from the Grant County Jail. He died two days later from the injuries. Jones' identity was unknown to many at the sheriff's department, including current Sheriff Darrell Himelick. In March, Communications Supervisor Trina Winegardner came across Jones' name on a Web site honoring Indiana officers who had died in the line of duty.

Thursday, several law enforcement officials from across the county, as well as members of the community, gathered at Estates of Serenity Cemetery to pay their respects to Jones.

During the ceremony, sheriff's Chaplain The Rev. Darrell Smith said Jones made the ultimate sacrifice by giving his life.

"He had a heart for protecting people of Grant County," he said.

Smith said Jones was shot in the left arm and in the abdomen by John Fleming, who had escaped from the Grant County Jail. Fleming had been convicted of larceny for stealing a horse and buggy in Sweetser and had been sentenced. He was supposed to have been sent to a prison in Michigan City the day after he escaped. Two years after the escape, Jones traveled to Howard County to apprehend Fleming, who was staying at his girlfriend's sister's house, Smith said. He opened the door and found the suspect hiding. Smith said Jones fought Fleming with a Billy club after he was shot, until back-up arrived. Fleming was eventually sentenced to life in prison.

Himelick said the ceremony was wonderful, despite the rain.

"I was going to do it rain or shine," he said. "This should've been done a long time ago."

The sheriff said Jones' death was probably overlooked because it occurred in Howard County, but his death is a piece of history that can't be forgotten.

"I don't know how much it means to the community, but it means a lot to the sheriff's department," he said.

Marion resident Gerald Rhoades attended the ceremony Thursday. He researches cemeteries in the area, and Jones was on his list of people who had been buried in Estates of Serenity, he said. He didn't know that he was a former sheriff, though.

Rhoades said he thinks it's great the department is giving Jones the recognition he deserves.

"Even though he was a sheriff for a short amount of time, he was still a sheriff of this county," he said.

Since learning about Jones, the department has taken steps to honor him. A five-point star and the word "Sheriff" have been added to his tombstone, and his name will soon be added to the fallen officer memorial in front of the Marion Municipal Building, 301 S. Branson St. Jones' name also has been submitted to be included on the National Law Enforcement Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C.

Winegardner said adding the star and the word "Sheriff" to the tombstone shows that the county is proud of Jones.

"It just shows future generations that we had another officer killed in the line of duty," she said. "It's something to be proud of."

Winegardner said she came across Jones' name while searching for sheriff's patches on the Internet. Through research at the Marion Public Library, she was able to find out more information about Jones and his manner of death.

Betty Reynolds, researcher and library assistant in the library's Indiana Room, said the library staff members were thrilled to have helped the sheriff's department. Reynolds had known about a former sheriff named Jones, but couldn't find any information about him because it's a common name, she said. About the same time that Winegardner found Jones' name on the Internet, Reynolds said, the library obtained photos of Jones. A woman who was doing genealogy on Jones's brother had photographs of him.

"A lot of times things come to us accidentally, and this was one of those things," Reynolds said.