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James M. Coats
1866-1914
James Coats was elected to the office of Pryor Creek City
Marshal in April of 1913. He was shot and killed in the line of duty
on the night of December 15, 1914, while serving an arrest warrant on Jesse
Moore.
Marshal Coats was shot three times with an automatic pistol,
striking him twice in the arm and once in the heart.
Jesse Moore was arrested and charged with murder but escaped
from the county jail before he could be brought to trial.
In the summer of 1915 he was captured near Tahlequah and
brought back to the county jail. In October 1915, he was found guilty
by a jury and was sentenced to life in the Oklahoma State Penitentiary at McAlester.
In October 1929, Moore was diagnosed as mentally insane and
was transferred to Western Sate Hospital in Ft. Supply. He spent the
rest of his life there and died in January 1960.
James Coats was survived by his wife, Suzy and eight
children. He was buried in Fairview Cemetery at Pryor.
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