Patrolman George Cabel Penn

George Cabel Penn

Patrolman George Penn was shot and killed by two escaped convicts who failed to stop for truck scales. Unbeknownst to Patrolman Penn, the truck was loaded with stolen meat. The suspects led him on a chase that ended in a shootout on Webb Creek Road in Fairview Township in Buncombe County. Patrolman Penn was shot and killed after he ran out of ammunition.

The suspects were apprehended and returned to prison. Both men were convicted of Patrolman Penn's murder. They were executed in the gas chamber on July 1, 1938.

Patrolman Penn had served with the North Carolina Highway Patrol for less than two years. He was survived by his wife and parents.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation named a bridge on Interstate 240 in Asheville at the Blue Ridge parkway-US 74 interchage as the Patrolman George Penn Memorial Bridge.