Boone County Sheriff Roger Wilson and Highway Patrol Sergeant Benjamin Booth were shot and killed by bank robbery suspects.

On June 14, 1933 at approximately 3:20 pm, Sheriff Roger Wilson and Sergeant Benjamin Booth had established a roadblock at the intersection of Highways 40 and 63 in an attempt to intercept suspects of a bank robbery in Mexico City, Missouri when they saw a Ford coupe approaching from the east. They ordered the vehicle to stop and Sergeant Booth approached the passenger side of the vehicle but was shot in the leg by the passenger as he attempted to open the passenger door. Sheriff Wilson approached the vehicle's driver side and fired a shot at the vehicle but was in turn shot in the head. Sergeant Booth pulled the passenger from the vehicle and struggled with him, the driver exited the vehicle, ran around the car and shot Sergeant Booth in the back. The passenger retrieved his gun from the car and fired it into Sergeant Booth. The two suspects escaped in the Ford coupe eastbound on Highway 40. Sheriff Wilson died at the scene. Sergeant Booth died while being transported to a hospital in a patrol car.

A 17-month investigation by law enforcement officials followed. Both suspects were apprehended and one suspect, Frank McNeilly, a known outlaw was sentenced to life in prison. McNeily implicated the other suspect, George McKeever, who was hanged in Fulton, Missouri on December 18, 1936. Neither suspects were involved in the bank robbery and it is unknown why they killed Sergeant Booth and Sheriff Wilson.

Sheriff Wilson died just two days after his 43rd birthday. He was Freemason and was survived by his wife and child. Interred: Nashville Cemetery, Boone County, Missouri.

Sergeant Booth served as a Columbia, Missouri police officer then joined the Highway Patrol when it was created on October 5, 1931. Upon his graduation from the first Highway Patrol recruit class he was made a sergeant and assigned to Columbia. Sergeant Booth had been called in on his day off to man the roadblock where he died. He was a Freemason and served in the US Army in 1917-1918 during WWI. He was survived by his wife, a seven-year old daughter and an eight-year-old son. Interred: Memorial Park Cemetery, Columbia, Missouri.

Article by Brent Marchant