Marshal Lon Jones was shot and killed while attempting to arrest a man for disturbing the peace and for discharging a gun in a saloon.

On April 10, 1896, Marshal Jones was investigating the sound of a gunshot and found a drunken suspect, Martin Farley, waving a pistol in a saloon. The man had proclaimed earlier that he was not afraid of Marshal Jones and loaded his pistol in anticipation of the Marshal coming. The man shot Marshal Jones twice in the stomach and once in the shoulder. The marshal was taken home where he died the next morning. The suspect was sentenced to ten years in prison. A critical witness dying shortly before the trial resulted in what was believed to be a relatively light sentence.

Marshal Jones was elected Marshal in April 1895. He was survived by his wife.