Fresno County Deputy Sheriff William H. Collins, 52, died Feb. 25, 1937, at a local hospital after an illness of two months.
He suffered a stroke two months ago and failed to recover fully. He was taken to the hospital last week.
A veteran Fresno County officer, Collins took a prominent part in virtually every major case during the terms of the late Sheriff W. F. Jones and Sheriff George J. Overholt, who retained him in office.
Collins was sworn into office under Jones on July 9, 1924. Two weeks ago, Overholt appointed his son, Albert Collins, to succeed his father on his staff.
Collins, who was born in Hayward, came to Fresno County when he was 13 years old and for many years was employed on cattle ranches in this district. Prior to his appointment as a deputy sheriff, he worked at the Blasingame Ranch in this county.
On Oct. 7, 1934, he and Under Sheriff C.A. Tarr were critically injured in an automobile and truck collision near Lodi, and the stroke has been traced to that accident, from which he did not completely recover.
Besides his son, Collins is survived by his wife, Ruth Collins, of Fresno; three sisters and a brother.
Funeral services were conducted at the chapel of the Lisle Funeral Home. Interment was at the Belmont Memorial Park.
On February 5, 1937, Constable John Washington Irey, of Liberty township, was called to investigate a transient who had been living in a shed on a ranch and refused to move despite several requests by the owner. As Constable Irey approached a farm shed, the suspect came out with a sawed off shotgun and killed him without saying a word, striking him in the chest. Irey turned to run and the suspect fired again, felling the constable. The suspect was apprehended an hour later near the ranch after being shot in the leg by a pursuing Constable.
When asked why he shot Irey, the only reason he gave was “he was going to bother me.”
Officer Moore was struck and killed by a vehicle while directing traffic at the city’s New Year’s Day Parade. The force of the collision knocked him 53-feet through the air.
It was on December 19, 1936, that he died while directing traffic. It was on lower Mission Street in Daly City and during a very thick fog. Chief Doyle was struck down and killed.
Athorities were not certain if a street car struck him or if he was hit by a car first that threw him in front of the street car.
Chief Doyle was appointed in 1922.
Officer Earle M. Ames was returning to the CHP Stanislaus office after a special duty assignment in Oakland. Ames was traveling late in the evening through very heavy fog when his motorcycle collided with a city bus. The bus was reportedly almost invisible in the fog because of its newly installed vapor lights. Officer Ames was thrown from his motorcycle and killed.
Officer Ames, a member of the Stanislaus County unit of the California Highway Patrol and the former Police Chief of Newman, was survived by his widow and then 9-year-old daughter.
On the evening of September 6, 1936, Constable Rawleigh was investigating and accident just outside of Manteca. During the investigation, Constable Rawleigh was struck by a passing vehicle. The injuries he suffered in the second accident, led to the amputation of both his legs. Sadly, on September 17, Constable Rawleigh died as a result on complications brought on by the injuries he suffered in the accident.
On the night of Aug. 30, 1936, Deputy Sheriff Martin Lange and Constable Joseph Clark were summoned to a remote area near Horse Creek in Siskiyou County. They were to serve a warrant for battery on the Brite brothers who were camped in that area.
As the officers, along with two civilians, attempted to place the brothers under arrest, a fight ensued. Both officers and one of the civilians were shot and killed. The brothers were convicted of first-degree murder. Their death sentences were later commuted to life in prison.
