On the afternoon of May 15, 1894, Chief Detective Leonard Harris and fellow Detective William Kelly arrived at the office of Santa Cruz County Sheriff Jesse Cope. The detectives had uncovered a plot to rob the Wells Fargo Express office at the railroad depot in Boulder Creek. One of the three outlaws, George Sprague, had come forward and informed the company of a plan to hold up the expressman on the night of May 15th.

The following afternoon Harris, Kelly and Constable Isaiah Hartman concealed themselves inside a boxcar which had been placed in front of the depot. All three were heavily armed and Wells Fargo expressman William Gass had been warned of the possible robbery.

At approximately 8:00 p.m. three masked men approached the depot. Two remained on the platform; the third went into the office. As he stepped through the door he pulled a 44-caliber pistol from under his coat and ordered Gass to open the safe. Before he could comply the three officers jumped from cover, weapons drawn. Kelly and Hartman took on the two suspects on the platform while Harris went after the third in the office.

“You’d better surrender.” Harris shouted, “I’ve got the drop on you.” The suspect calmly turned his pistol back under his arm and fired two shots before making any move to alarm Harris. Both shots hit Harris in the torso.

Out on the platform a gun fight ensued. Sprague, the informant, surrendered, while the other suspect and Harris’s assailant escaped into darkness.

Harris died shortly after midnight on May 16, 1894. He was survived by his wife and son, Jack. His killer was caught, convicted, and ultimately executed.

At approximately 3:15 a.m. on the 11th of March, 1893, as Special Officer William G. Cashin and regular Officer George Joseph Ely were making their rounds, they paused on the south side of 7th Street between Chester and Center. Officer Ely recalled the night as a “fearful” one. Rain fell incessantly and the “roar of thunder” added to the glamour of the time.

During a lull in the thunder, the officers heard a “dull thud.” As they looked around, Officer Cashin believed he saw a flicker of light coming from the interior of Kuhnie’s Saloon at 1466 7th St. They went to investigate, and discovered that the saloon doors were open. Before entering the saloon, which was now completely dark, Officer Ely lit the candle that he carried in his pocket. Stepping through the doorway, both officers drew their pistols.

When their eyes grew accustomed to the dark, the officers saw a figure crouched in a far corner of the main room. As they turned toward it, a shot rang out. Both officers returned fire with their weapons. The crouching figure jumped up and ran for the door, followed by Officer Ely, who fired one more shot at the escaping figure as it crossed 7th Street.

Officer Cashin called out to Ely that he had been shot. Ely abandoned his pursuit of the suspect and returned to Cashin, whom he found clutching his abdomen. The two officers walked three blocks to a doctor’s residence. While Cashin was being attended to, Ely made his notifications.

When Officer Ely returned to the scene of the shooting, he discovered evidence that a second suspect had been on the premises and made good his escape. Near a broken window Officer Ely found a pistol and burglary tools. Following the path of the fleeing suspect that he had shot at, Ely found the suspect lying on the train tracks, dead. During the subsequent investigation, evidence of several more burglaries was discovered. The suspects had rifled cash registers and safes.

The second suspect was apprehended in San Francisco a few days later. He had quite a lengthy history of burglaries, robberies and other crimes. He and his dead accomplice cut a swath of crime throughout Northern California.

As serious as his wound was, Officer Cashin’s strong constitution gave hope to his family, friends, and doctors that he would survive. He rallied several times, only to fall into deep bouts of delirium and pain. Finally, at 2:15 a.m., March 12, 1893, Officer Cashin succumbed to his injury. He was born in County Kilkenny, Ireland, in 1837, and became an Oakland Special Police Officer in 1885. He was survived by his wife and four children who were at his bedside at the time of his death.

On July 5, 1889, Deputy John Nicholas Wren was killed while attempting to serve an arrest warrant. The subject listed on the arrest warrant was Charles Reavis. He was wanted for disturbing the peace by using vulgar, profane, and abusive language against his estranged wife while in the presence of others. Annie Reavis had contacted the District Attorney with the aforementioned incident and he issued the warrant, then gave it to Deputy Wren for immediate service.

Approximately two miles east of Visalia, while enroute back to Visalia from the Cottage Neighborhood (now known as the Cottage P.O. area), Deputy Wren confronted the suspect. Charles Reavis made a furtive movement. Deputy Wren pointed his handgun and fired, striking the suspect’s horse. Charles Reavis returned fire. The suspect’s bullet entered the top of the deputy’s head. The deputy fell to the ground dead. A reward of $200 was offered for the arrest of Charles Reavis.

The suspect was eventually found by Sheriff’s Posse members, led by Deputy Sheriff White, approximately two miles north of Visalia on Sunday, July 7, 1889. He was subsequently shot by one of the pursuers, S.N. Ellis.

Deputy Sheriff J.N. Wren left behind a wife, Amanda, and three children, John, Louis, and Winifred.