Sheriff Arthur J. Brookshire

Arthur J. Brookshire

Sheriff Brookshire was shot and killed by bootleggers during an investigation. He and the Irvine police chief had stopped a couple on horseback and the sheriff asked to search the wife's saddlebags. The husband refused to let the officers search the bag without a warrant. The Irvine chief returned to town to obtain a warrant and as he returned with another deputy they heard several gun shots. When they made it back to the scene they found Sheriff Brookshire dead. The suspect was apprehended and sentenced to death in May 1928. He appealed, received a second trial, and was sentenced to life.

Sheriff Brookshire was survived by his wife, who was appointed to serve her husband's remaining term as sheriff.