Deputy Sheriff Joseph Staples

Joseph Staples

Deputy Sheriff Joseph Staples was shot and killed and a constable was seriously wounded when they attempted to arrest six stagecoach robbers.

The previous day six men wearing Confederate uniforms halted and robbed two stagecoaches near Placerville. The next morning Deputy Staples and a local constable followed the robbers' trail to a hotel in the nearby town of Somerset. Once inside the two were met with a fusillade of bullets. Deputy Staples was killed instantly. The constable, who ran back outside, was shot three times and left for dead.

Seven weeks later all six suspects were apprehended in Santa Clara County. One suspect was convicted of first-degree murder and hanged in Placerville on September 29th, 1865. Another suspect was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 20 years hard labor. The other four suspects were tried and acquitted.