William J. Jackson Jr.

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Date of Birth:

1895

Date of Death:

March 08, 1938

Location of Death:

Elizabeth City, NC

Circumstances of Death

Special Agent William Joseph Jackson, Jr. and Officer John Estes of the Norfolk, Virginia Police Department were conducting surveillance on Highway 17, along the Virginia-North Carolina border. They were following a Buick sedan occupied by Joe Thomas West and Bernard E. Royals, two known bootleggers. The officers had previously received information that West and Royals were transporting illicit whiskey.

About three miles south of the Virginia-North Carolina border, they forced the Buick to stop. As Agent Jackson alighted from the government automobile, West and Royals immediately shot and killed him.

West and Royals were later convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Background

Agent Jackson joined the Bureau of Prohibition on February 10, 1931. He was assigned to offices in Wilson, North Carolina; Atlanta, Georgia; Baltimore, Maryland and Norfolk, Virginia. Previously, he proudly served in the North Carolina National Guard from 1916 to 1919.