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John Zeke- Deputy U. S. Marshal
U. S. Marshal Service February 15, 1872
About 10:00 p.m. the night of Wednesday, February 14, 1872, Charles Goodard was brought in by the night clerk and night watchman and allowed to sleep off his intoxication in the offices of the Muskogee Railway station in Muskogee. About an hour later Charles Goodard left. Shortly after that it was discovered the express chest had been unlocked and the $602 in it taken.
Charles Goodard was arrested the next morning with $244 in cash and taken to nearby Fort Gibson to be held until he could be taken to Fort Smith, Arkansas for trial.
About 11 p.m. that Thursday night, February 15th, gunshots were heard coming from near the railway station. Deputy Marshal John Zeke, approximately twenty-one years old, staggered toward the railway station, saying he had been shot in the chest and needed help. Deputy Marshal Zeke was taken to the Pioneer Hotel and a doctor sent for. Shortly afterwards the doctor arrived however Deputy John Zeke died moments later. Before he died, Deputy Marshal Zeke stated that he had arrested someone in connection with the theft from the express chest when several teamsters interfered and shot him.
Although a large posse was formed and pursued the assailants, no record has been found indicating that anyone was ever charged or apprehended for the death of Deputy U.S. Marshal John Zeke.
Deputy Marshal John Zeke was buried February 17th at Fort Gibson National Cemetery, Fort Gibson, Muskogee County, Oklahoma.
The handwritten Fort Gibson National Cemetery records list his name as John Zeek but his original official headstone was misspelled as “John Beck” apparently from misinterpreting his hand written name. In 2021 his grave marker was replaced with one with “John Zeke, U. S. Marshals Service, Feb. 17, 1872” on it.
OLEM – 4S-1-18 (Zeek) NLEOM – 10W27
Updated August 7, 2023
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Mark Henry Zelewski - Patrolman
Oklahoma City Police Department July 27, 1964
Mark Zelewski joined the Oklahoma City Police Department on November 16, 1963.
During the early morning hours of Monday, July 27, 1964, while riding in a one-man patrol car, Officer Mark Zelewski stopped a vehicle containing several black men including brothers Marvin and Robert Barnett near N.E. 34th and N. Prospect, after radioing to a nearby unit to come assist him. When the backup unit arrived a few minutes later, Officer Mark Zelewski was found lying dead in the street.
After an intensive investigation, several suspects, including brothers Marvin and Robert Barnett, were identified, and arrested. Marvin Barnett, 24, claimed he was innocent and stated his brother, Robert, did all the shooting. Robert Barnett, 26, had pulled a .25 caliber automatic pistol and shot Officer Mark Zelewski three times. He then took Officer Zelewski’s service revolver and shot him a fourth time.
Mark Zelewski was survived by his wife, Vaughneille, one son and two daughters. He is buried in Fairlawn Cemetery, Elk City, Beckham County, Oklahoma.
The Barnett brothers were both convicted of the murder of Officer Mark Zelewski and sentenced to life imprisonment. Marvin Barnett’s sentence was later commuted to fifty years in prison.
OLEM – 7N-5-9 NLEOM – 45W2
Updated August 7, 2023
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John Fredrick Zerbe – Former Officer
Tulsa Police Department Not a Line of Duty Death
John Zerbe was born in Germany on July 4, 1873. After he moved to the United States, he became a Tulsa Police Officer, serving during the administrations of chiefs Munroe and Bowles, usually walking a beat on South Boulder Avenue.
After leaving the Tulsa Police Department John Zerbe was employed as a school guard at Lovell School located on North Peoria in Tulsa.
About noon on Wednesday, February 24, 1937, John Zerbe, 64, was on duty at the school when he stepped out from behind a parked car to cross the street. An oncoming truck struck John Zerbe, fracturing several ribs, one arm and causing multiple internal injuries. John Zerbe was immediately transported to Sisler Hospital but died the next morning, Thursday, February 25th.
The driver of the truck, Norman Herod, was questioned but no charges were filed against him.
John Zerbe was survived by his wife Julia and an adult son, Fred Henry Zerbe and is buried in Park Grove Cemetery, Broken Arrow, Tulsa County, Oklahoma.
OLEM – 7N-2-1
Updated August 7, 2023
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