Policeman Orbin B. Moore

Orbin B. Moore

Policeman Orbin Moore and Policeman Albert Horn were shot and killed after arresting a man for being drunk in public near the Middle Creek Bridge.

They had placed the man in the rear seat of their patrol car but failed to locate a small handgun before. The man was able to pull the handgun from his clothing and shot both officers from the backseat.

The man, 45, who had previously served 8 years of a 10 year sentence for the murder of a woman in 1929, was arrested and charged with two counts of murder. He escaped from jail while awaiting trial but was recaptured in Virginia. He was returned to Kentucky where he was convicted of two counts of murder and sentenced to two life terms. He died in prison on March 18, 1968.

Policeman Moore had only served with the Prestonsburg Police Department for ten days and had previously served with the Floyd County Sheriff's Office.