Ezekiel McClellan "Zeke" Putnam
City of Allen
Saturday evening, January 16, 1909, about 8 p.m. while standing in Whitehead and Ashford’s general store at Allen, Marshal Zeke Putnam, 46 received a full charge of buckshot, fired at him through the window. He was killed instantly.
Bloodhounds were sent for in order to track down the suspects but they didn’t arrive for 30 hours. They were able to follow a trail for a short distance where two men had mounted horses but they lost the trail after a short distance.
The suspect was eventually identified as Dan Scribner. He was arrested, tried, convicted and sentenced to death but the Court of Criminal Appeals overturned the verdict and ordered a new trial. His lawyer was able to get a change of venue to Seminole. On August 22, 1911, Scribner was convicted a second time and sentenced to life imprisonment.