Raymond L. Ezzell

No Image of the Agent Available
Date of Birth: 
1900
Date of Death: 
July 27, 1931
Location of Death: 
Ft. Worth, TX

Circumstances of Death

Prohibition Agents Raymond Ezzell and Joel Boyd were working undercover to purchase liquor from Robert Whitehead, a reputed bootlegger, in Ft. Worth, TX.  When Whitehead arrived with his car loaded with liquor, the agents identified themselves and attempted to place him under arrest.  Whitehead, using a concealed .32 caliber pistol, shot Agent Ezzell in the left hand.  Ezzell and Whitehead then exchanged gunfire, resulting in Ezzell being seriously wounded and Whitehead killed.  Agent Ezzell was rushed to Harris Clinic Hospital, but died shortly thereafter.

Background

Agent Ezzell joined the Bureau of Prohibition on October 1, 1930, with an annual salary of $2,300.

Personal

Agent Ezzell was born in Temple, TX.  He was survived by his wife, and mother and father, W. H. and Maggie (née Perry) Ezzell, Ft. Worth, TX.

Associated Artifacts: 
Image of death certificate for Raymond Ezzell
Last Reviewed September 23, 2016