Bullet Riddled Deputy Drives A Quarter of A Mile To Get Help!

 Do you think that you could take two bullets to the chest and one to the back and still drive a quarter of a mile for help?  Not many of us could do that, even if we tried.  But in 1939, Floyd County Deputy Sheriff Marion Layne did just that.

Deputy Marion Layne, courtesy of
Officer Down Memorial Page

On January 5, 1939, Deputy Layne was investigating a previous shooting incident  between the communities of Garrett and Lackey there in Floyd County, Kentucky.

According to Sheriff Dial Salisbury, Layne was searching Arnold Felton (last name possibly Patton) to place him under arrest when teenage brothers Bert and Marvin Conley fired two bullets into his chest.

Layne then went to his automobile and "someone" asked him, "You can't drive it, can you, Buddy?"  Layne replied "No."  And the unidentified male answered "Well, I'll just finish you," and fired  twice, one bullet striking Layne in the back.

Deputy Layne then managed to drive a quarter of a mile on to Garrett, KY for help.  On his deathbed, Layne named the brothers as his slayers. He stated that he drew his guns after two shots struck him but was "too paralyzed" to fire.

At the time of the shooting charges were not filed against the brothers. but Bert was held by the Sheriff's Department and Marvin was placed under guard at the hospital in Martin, KY with bullet wounds in his arm and  thigh, according to reports.  Now whether this is a mistake in the newspaper report I don't know. But if the deputy claimed that he was "too paralyzed" to return fire, then  who shot Marvin in the thigh and leg?


Deputy Lane passed away just two hours after the shooting.  He is buried in the Turner Cemetery on Whispering Pine Road in Raven, KY (Knott County).

Later on both brothers were acquitted of the crime, while Deputy Layne left behind a spouse, two daughters, his parents, siblings and other relatives who had to deal with the passing of their loved one.