Tale of a Lynching

Tale of a Lynching

On Sunday night, 3 Oct 1937, J. C. Evans of Port St. Joe was taken from police custody and lynched just north of Ft. Walton Beach.

Santa Rosa County Sheriff Joe T. Allen, and Deputy Aubrey Martin were transporting Evans from Panama City, to Milton. They left Panama City around 10:45 pm for the transfer. Around midnight they reached the highway leading from Ft. Walton Beach to Milton. A car forced them to stop, and 5 men, (some reports say 4 men), wearing black masks got out and leveled 2 shotguns and several handguns at the two officers. “We want that N_____”, one of them said.

Sheriff Allen later said that the men forced him and his prisoner into their car. They drove a mile down the road and letting Allen out, they gave him his car keys. The Sheriff walked the mile back to his car and he and Dep. Martin drove in the direction the five men traveled in. After about three miles they found Evans' body lying on the side of the road riddled with buckshot.  Allen and Martin traveled on to Milton, where Allen called Okaloosa County Sheriff John P. Steele in Crestview, who along with County Judge Wilbur Osborne, summoned a Coroner’s Jury and went to the scene.  Allen said he did not recognize any of the men. Sheriff Allen also insisted that no one in Milton knew of the transfer plans.

Governor Fred P. Cone ordered a complete investigation with full punishment for the guilty parties. State Attorney E. Dixie Beggs, Jr. of Pensacola went to Crestview to investigate.

Evans Crime Spree:  Evans was arrested in Bay County on July 12, on a charge of armed robbery in the hold-up of Joe Ansley, on July 10.

J.C. Evans was arrested at a Panama City downtown garage where he was returning to pick up a car he had left behind for repairs. Sheriff Steele, “true to his reputation”, made the arrest without “firearms on his person”. (Another article claimed the arrest was made by Sheriff Scott of Bay County which would make more sense.) Evans was charged with a weekend crime spree that included the alleged theft of a car from R.B. Strickland, of Parker, which is located near Panama City.  He then flagged down Milton Lumberman Henry C. Wood, four miles west of Navarre, robbed him of $40, and stole his car.  Less than two hours later he robbed 18-year- old Sherman Fortune who was working alone at the Sunset Service Station, four miles east of Milton. Fortune said that Evans had bought some gas and oil, and followed him inside to get some change. Once inside, he made Fortune give him the contents of the cash register, then he drove him two miles down the road before dropping him off.  He was also wanted for criminal assault on a 12-year-old boy, but so far, I haven’t been able to find out anything else on this. His last crime was the robbery of Mr. Ansley. He was tried, convicted, and sentenced to life in Raiford. He was being transferred back to Milton to stand trial for the service station robbery.

Joe Ansley testified at Evan’s trial that he had left Panama City for Crestview when he stopped at Pine Log creek on the Freeport Highway to take a bath. He was bathing under a bridge when he heard a car stop. He looked up and saw an adult black male, (later identified as Evans), looking down at him. Evans made his way down to Ansley and engaged him in conversation. Evans then went back up to his car and returned with a gun. Ansley testified that Evans told him to, “Put my pants over my head”. Evans was searching through his belongings when he noticed that Ansley was watching him. He ran over and hit Ansley on the head with the gun and threatened to, “Knock my brains out”. He then told Ansley to run away into the swamp. Evans pursued him for a short distance and fired one shot. Then he returned to the bridge and taking $39 cash, a new $35 watch, and Ansley’s car, left the scene. Ansley hitchhiked to Vernon and called the Sheriff’s office.  

After his conviction in the Ansley robbery, Sheriff Allen requested to bring Evans to Milton to stand trial for the crimes in Santa Rosa County. Sheriff John Scott of Bay County obtained permission from the state to make the transfer with the stipulation that Evans be returned to state custody regardless of the outcome of the Milton trial.

No one was ever arrested or prosecuted for the lynching of J. C. Evans. Authorities speculated that it was committed by men from the Milton area, but there is no evidence to support that. 

As always, if anyone has any additional information on this case, I would like to hear from you.

Sheriff McDaniel of Jackson County

1980

Around 2 am on 15 Dec 1980, John P. (Pete) McDaniel was murdered at the Sheffield Oil Company gas station just south of the Alabama state line on Hwy 231 in Jackson Co., Fl.  He was beaten and shot in the head during a robbery. Three truck drivers pulled into the station and saw a man standing behind the cash register. By the time they entered the store the man was gone, but McDaniel was lying on the floor bleeding. His wallet was missing, but apparently the robber could not get the register open.

The first officer on the scene was McDaniel’s son, who was the Sheriff-elect of Jackson County, John McDaniel III. The senior McDaniel died a few hours later at the hospital in Dothan, Alabama.

            There were arrests made. A young man named Jesse L. Wilson, 21, and Madie Catherine Russ, 26 of Campbellton, but the murder charges were later dropped. They were prosecuted on other charges.

In 1989, apparently Henry Lee Lucas confessed, then recanted his involvement in the murder. He resisted his extradition to Florida, but him and his longtime partner Ottis Toole were returned for possible trial. Ottis Toole, (the confessed murderer of Adam Walsh), plea-bargained for this murder, and three other murders and received 4 life terms.  Henry Lee Lucas was returned to death row in Texas. Jackson county did not want to spend the money to try Lucas, and provide him with a court-appointed attorney. They said if he ever got out of prison in Texas, they would try him.

2007

On 30 January 2007, Mellie McDaniel, the wife of Sheriff John McDaniel was returning home from the grocery store. She was using one of those direct-connect cell phones to talk to her husband the Sheriff while she was on the way home. He was in Marianna. She was talking to him as she pulled into their driveway, and told him another car had pulled in behind her. The Sheriff told her they were probably salesmen and just to say she didn’t want anything. Then he heard her scream.

As he was speeding toward his home, he put out a radio call for assistance. Deputy Harold Altman, who was only 2 miles away arrived at the house within 2 minutes. The two men, later identified as Lionel Sands, 60, and Daniel Brown, 54, shot and killed both Mrs. McDaniel and Deputy Altman. The Sheriff and two other officers, Capt. Joey Rabon, and Cpl. Billy Dozier arrived. The Sheriff’s weapons were in a bag in the back seat of his Tahoe, and when he got out of his vehicle, unarmed, Sands shot at him with his .38 from about 10 feet away and missed. Rabon, with an AR-15, and Dozier with his .40 Caliber Glock engaged the two gunmen and put them down, both dying at the scene. The Sheriff found the bodies of his wife and Deputy Altman by the back door. The killers had dragged their bodies there after shooting them.

In the car the killers had arrived in were found Latex gloves, Rope, bleach, and vinegar. The motive for the attack was not clear, but speculation was kidnapping.

Sands Investigated for Wife’s Death

In June of 2001, Gail Joanne Sands was found dead in the backyard pool at the Sands residence. She was in about three feet of water with a ladder lying across her back. She was discovered by her husband Lionel, and his buddy Daniel Brown. They said they were cutting grass about a quarter mile away, and found her when they returned to the house.  An autopsy later found that she had suffered blunt force trauma to the head. Mrs. Brown had three life insurance policies totally $500,000. 

Lionel Sands was under suspicion, and being investigated for his wife’s killing. Brown gave him an alibi, and even though Sands was not arrested for murder, the insurance company would not pay the policies unless Sands could prove his innocence. Sands sued the insurance company, but lawyers convinced him to drop the suit because he could be opening himself up to a murder charge.  The day before the shootout, Sands learned he was going to be responsible for $32,000 of legal fees in his insurance case.  Sands felt that the investigation by the county into his wife's death had prevented him from collecting the insurance. He and Brown donned disguises. Sands wore camo, with a wig, and lots of make-up. Brown wore a ponytail and dressed in a suit and tie like one of the Blues Brothers. Brown was armed with a .22 caliber pistol, and Sands had two .38’s.