Jess Sarber had been elected into the office of Sheriff in November of 1931 and held the position until Harry Pierpont and Charles Makley murdered him on October 12, 1933. Born in Delphos, Ohio on June 28, 1886, he had been a used car salesman before taking office. Jess was one of the most liked officers in the county and always treated his prisoners well. Sheriff Sarber had been warned of a possible jail break concerning Dillinger, but Sarber considered the Indiana outlaw just a punk. Jess Sarber, his wife Lucy and deputy Wibur Sharp were in the jail, at around 6:25 on the evening of October 12 three men, Pierpont, Clark and Makley entered the jail and told Sarber they were from the Michigan City prison and wanted to speak to Dillinger. The Sheriff asked to see their credentials. Harry Pierpont then whipped out a pistol and told him this was his credential. At this time Deputy Sharp jumped to his feet, but Clark quickly pulled a gun and aimed it at him. Sheriff Sarber started to lean forward as though he were reaching for a gun in his desk drawer and said, ‘Oh, you can't do that.‘ Pierpont promptly shot the sheriff once in the stomach, severing a major artery. As Sarber tried to raise himself, Makley hit him over the head twice, opening his scalp to the bone, demanding the key to the cells. The sheriff's wife, Lucy, then begged them to stop hurting her husband and retrieved the keys for Pierpont. Pierpont had trouble opening the cell door and had the deputy open it for him. The deputy wasn't in uniform and Pierpont told Sharp he was lucky they didn't know who he was or the deputy ‘wouldn't still be there.’ Harry released Dillinger and fired a shot down the corridor telling the other prisoners to get back, they only wanted John. At this time Harry handed John the revolver he had taken from the sheriff's drawer. When Dillinger entered the office and saw Sarber was shot, he seemed upset over the shooting and asked Pierpont why he had to do that. Then the gang left quickly after locking Mrs. Sarber and the deputy in the cell block, taking the key with them.

Jess Sarber died at 8:05 that evening at the Memorial Hospital in Lima, after naming his attackers as being all big men. Jess Sarber was the first Sheriff to be killed in the line of duty in Allen County Ohio. His death was a tragedy to the entire state. Twenty-five hundred people attended his funeral, with a procession of sixty cars following the hearse. Sheriff Jess Sarber was laid to rest at the Walnut Grove Cemetery in Delphos.

Jess Sarber And Family

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