Lincoln County Lawman Marvin Roberts

 

​The Town of Davenport, Oklahoma had employed a city marshal as far back as 1907 but since June 1927, the four-member city council had been deadlocked on the question of appointing a new officer to enforce the law in Davenport.  While the town was without any law, the doors of the town jail stood ajar, bats and owls roosted unmolested, and spiders built their homes and rested in peace.  A group of concerned citizens felt that they were at the mercy of thieves and thugs without police protection and decided to contact the governor’s office, seeking an investigation into the council.  After receiving the complaint, the governor’s office turned it over to the Oklahoma Attorney General.

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            Attorney General Edwin Dabney announced that his office would meet with the concerned citizens of Davenport and bring a resolution to the problem.  In January 1928, Oklahoma Attorney General Investigator W.O. Gordon traveled to Davenport to investigate the complaint of the citizens. 

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            Assistant Attorney General P.K. Morrill later met with the Davenport delegation of citizens on January 31.  Two of the four city councilmen attended the meeting.  Morrill told the delegation that the Town of Davenport was governed by conflicting statutes.  The statute declared that the city council, “may” appoint a marshal instead of “must” appoint a marshal.  Morrill told the citizens that he would brief the case and work toward some relief for the town.

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            It took the creation of a new ward and the election of a fifth city councilman in May 1928, to end a ten-month long stalemate over the appointment of a peace officer for the town of Davenport.  After the fifth vote was cast, Otto Durham was named Chief of Police and Marvin Roberts was named Night Deputy.

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            Marvin Roberts was born on February 9, 1896, in the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma.  In June 1917, Roberts signed up for the draft during WWI.  Robert’s registration card indicated that he was self-employed as a farmer in Stroud, Lincoln County, Oklahoma.  In July 1917, Roberts was drafted into the Army and ordered to report for training at Camp Travis in Texas.  Roberts was later deployed to France as a member of Company F 111th Engineers.

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        During the 1920 United States Census, Marvin Roberts was living in South Fox, Lincoln County, Oklahoma and working as a laborer.  In July of that year, he married his wife, Leila and lived in Davenport.  Eight years later, Roberts began his law enforcement career with the Davenport, Oklahoma Police Department as Night Deputy.

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            It did not take long for Marvin Roberts to move up with the Davenport Police Department.  By April 1929, he had taken over as the Chief of Police.  Shortly after he was promoted to Chief, Roberts proved he was worthy of the job. On April 22, 1929, he captured escaped Tennessee State Penitentiary fugitive F.B. Wilson and prevented the murder of a former prohibition officer at the same time.

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            A month earlier, officials conducting a headcount at the Tennessee State Prison discovered that F. B. Wilson was missing.  Wilson and fellow yegg, H. B. Bullock were convicted and sentenced to twenty-five years in the Tennessee State Prison for attempting to crack a safe with explosives.  During the time Wilson was on the lamb, he had made his way to Davenport, Oklahoma, where he had family.

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            A passenger bus was due to arrive in Davenport on Saturday April 20. 1929.  One of the passengers on the bus was Wylie Lynn, a former Prohibition Officer.  Fifteen minutes prior to the bus’s arrival, Chief of Police Marvin Roberts laid his hand on the shoulder of a stranger and placed him under arrest.  The stranger raised his hands and smiled grimly and said, “all right chief, I’ll go.  You’d better take my guns”.   Chief Roberts removed two .45 caliber handguns from the stranger.  The stranger was identified as F. B. Wilson

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            F. B. Wilson was an alias used by William “Young Bill” Matthew Tilghman, the son of legendary Oklahoma lawman William “Old Bill” Tilghman.  Young Bill said he took the name F. B. Wilson to protect his family who were in prominent business circles in Oklahoma City.

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On November 01, 1924, “Old Bill” Tilghman was serving as the City Marshal of Cromwell, Oklahoma when he was shot and killed by Wylie Lynn.  Tilghman had arrested Lynn and was taking him to the city jail.  The two had an animus toward each other and each believed the other to be corrupt. 

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On this occasion, Wylie was in Cromwell to serve a warrant on suspected bootleggers.  Wylie was said to have unlawfully discharged his weapon in front of Murphy’s dancehall giving Tilghman a reason to arrest him.  Believing he had completely disarmed Lynn, Tilghman had missed a third handgun Lynn was concealing.   Lynn pulled the weapon and shot and killed Tilghman.  Lynn claimed self-defense and was later acquitted of the killing.

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Wilson asked Roberts why he had stopped him.  Roberts told Wilson that he had been spotted by town folks.  Roberts asked Wilson why he was in town.  Wilson told Roberts that he was waiting for Wylie Lynn to arrive on the bus.  Wilson lamented that he had been told Lynn was looking for him.  Wilson had traveled to Davenport to kill Lynn and avenge his father’s death.  Young Tilghman was later returned to the Tennessee State Prison from where he had escaped.  

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             As the new decade of the 1930’s began, Roberts was still the Chief of Police of Davenport.  On February 17, 1930, Roberts was making his rounds when he saw two men attempting to break into a dry goods store.  As Roberts questioned the two, one man attached Roberts with a steel bar, knocking him to the ground.  As Roberts regained his feet, he feared being hit again and fired his weapon, killing the man.  The second man escaped in an automobile. 

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            The dead man was later identified as Turner Barnes.  Barnes had been released from the Oklahoma State Penitentiary a week earlier after serving a five-year sentence for burglary.

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                Marvin Roberts remained at the Davenport Police Department until taking a position with the Lincoln County Sheriff Department.  On December 11, 1930, sheriff-elect Lew Wallace announced that he would hire Roberts as a field deputy in his new administration beginning in January 1931. 

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              Roberts began running as the Republican candidate for Sheriff of Lincoln County, first in 1934 and then in 1936.  Roberts lost out in both elections.  In November 1938, Roberts beat incumbent Sheriff Buck Gillaspy and served his first two-year term.  In 1940, Roberts was reelected and began serving his second term in office.

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             During Roberts’ second term as Sheriff, he found himself involved in the high-profile murder of 18-year-old Billie Grayson.  Grayson’s nude body was found on August 18, 1941, stretched across a grave in the Oak Park Cemetery a mile and a half north of Chandler.  Grayson’s neck had been broken and there were other signs of trauma to her body.

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            The night before, Billie Grayson and Helen Grindstaff were walking along Route 66, between Warwick and Wellston, when a vehicle stopped and the driver told the two girls they should not be walking on the highway and to get in with him.  The girls got into the vehicle, thinking it was the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.  The driver eventually stopped the car near the home of Grindstaff.  At that time, Grayson and Grindstaff began to get out to the vehicle.  The driver grabbed Grayson and pulled her back into the car.  Grindstaff was able to escape, chasing after the vehicle as it drove away.  

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              Grindstaff was able to give Sheriff Marvin Roberts a description of the driver and in September, an arrest warrant was issued for Courtney Douglass Orrell.  Orrell was later arrested in Ohio and transported back to Oklahoma to stand trial.  On June 12, 1942, Orrell was convicted of the murder and sentenced to life in prison.

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            After serving two terms as the Sheriff of Lincoln County, Roberts was defeated in July 1942 by former deputy Andrew Orr.  Roberts served out the remainder of his second term, leaving office in January of the following year.

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            After serving as the Sheriff of Lincoln County, Roberts entered the Navy during WWII and was assigned as a Shore Patrol on January 11, 1944, at the Naval Training Center in Norman, Oklahoma.  Roberts was a Specialist 1st Class and the patrol’s official plumber. 

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              By August 23, 1945, Roberts was out of the Navy and the Chief of Police in Prague, Oklahoma.  On the night of August 22, Roberts and Night Marshal John Wamostek arrested J. A. and son Virgil Young for public drunkenness.   

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             After arriving at the city jail, Virgil Young attacked Marshal Wamostek and disarmed him.  Young fired one shot, hitting Wamostek in the arm and four more that struck Roberts in the head, shoulder and hand.  Roberts returned fire, hitting J. A. Young in the arm, side, shoulder and thigh. 

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            Chief Roberts was rushed to Oklahoma City where he was hospitalized in serious condition.  Roberts eventually recovered but lost sight in his right eye.   Roberts resumes his duties in February 1946. 

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            Virgil Young was charged with two counts of assault with intent to kill for shooting Chief Roberts and Marshal Wamostek.  In September 1945, Young pled guilty and was sentenced to 20 years in prison on each count.

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            In 1946, Roberts took another shot as the Republican candidate for Sheriff of Lincoln County.  Roberts was the runner-up to Abbie Moore in the July primary.

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            Marvin Roberts was appointed to the position of Chief of Police for the City of Tecumseh in May 1955 and served until taking a position with the Chandler Police Department in August 1957. 

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            Roberts returned to his hometown of Davenport in July 1963 to take the position of Night Policeman.  In September, Roberts was appointed as Constable of the 10th District of Lincoln County.

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            After a law enforcement career that stretched over 3 decades, Marvin Roberts passed away at the age of 91 on April 01, 1987.  He is buried in hometown of Davenport in Lincoln County, Oklahoma.

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