Clarence H. Phillips, Sheriff
Beckham County Sheriffs Office
On Saturday, June 21, 1930, Sheriff Phillips and his deputies busted two stills in two days. One still had been at the home of Frank F. Griffin along with three barrels of mash. Sheriff Phillips went back to his office about 9:00 p.m. that night to do paperwork. Undersheriff Inman was spending the night on the floor above Sheriff Phillips’ office when shortly before 10:00 p.m. he heard four shots downstairs. He ran downstairs only to find Sheriff Phillips dead, shot four times in the head and chest with a 7.5 millimeter Luger. Phillips was unarmed, lying on his back with his hands hooked in his suspenders, a characteristic stance of his.
A Rock Island Railroad officer reported that some men had approached him trying to borrow a gun. Within 14 hours, Joe Pounds, Frank Griffin and Jess Brown were in jail. Griffin, the owner of the still Phillips had smashed the previous day, supplied the Luger used in the murder. The three men had been drinking after the raid on Griffin’s still and decided to get revenge on the Sheriff. Joe Pounds was one of Phillips’ former deputies who Phillips had fired several months before for stealing confiscated liquor. All three men were convicted and sentenced to life in prison.