Pat Garrett

Patrick Floyd Jarvis Garrett (June 5, 1850 Chambers County, Alabama - February 28, 1908) was a bartender and later a sheriff, generally believed to have tracked down and killed Billy the Kid. He is sometimes referred to as, "The Man Who Shot Billy the Kid."

Lincoln County Sheriff

On November 7, 1880 after Lincoln County Sheriff George Kimbell resigned with two months left on his term, the county appointed Garrett, a Democrat and gunslinger promising to restore law and order, the new sheriff. Garrett was charged with tracking down and arresting a friend from his saloonkeeping days – Henry McCarty, a jail escapee and Lincoln County War criminal better known as Billy the Kid. New Mexico governor Lew Wallace had personally put a $500 reward on McCarty's capture.

Related Topics:
November 7 - Lincoln County - Democrat - Lincoln County War - Billy the Kid - Lew Wallace

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

On December 19, Garrett shot and killed one of McCarty's friends. Just a few nights later, the sheriff's posse captured McCarty and his gang. They were transported to Mesilla, New Mexico for trial. Though he was convicted, McCarty managed to escape from jail again on April 18, 1881. Around midnight on July 14 of that year, Sheriff Garrett was in Stinking Springs, New Mexico (near Fort Sumner) questioning a friend of McCarty's on the outlaw's whereabouts when McCarty unexpectedly showed up. McCarty did not initially recognize the sheriff standing in the shadows and asked "¿Quien es? ¿Quien es?" (Spanish for "Who is it? Who is it?). Garrett answered by shooting McCarty twice, killing the man. Some historians have questioned Garrett's account of the shooting, alledging the incident never occurred and McCarty escaped into hiding under the assumed name Ollie P. Roberts.

Related Topics:
December 19 - Mesilla, New Mexico - April 18 - 1881 - July 14 - Fort Sumner - Ollie P. Roberts

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~