End of Watch Saturday, January 19, 1974
From the book, “Some Gave All,” available on Amazon
By Sgt. Mike Simmons
Charles Leroy Wilkerson was born on April 5, 1929, in Chouteau, Oklahoma. He lived through the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, which affected the Western United States. Then, eight months after his twelfth birthday, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, tossing the United States into the middle of World War II.
Even though the war was over when he turned 17, Charles joined up. It was such a good fit that he served for 20 years, retiring in 1967.
One of Charles’ favorite duty stations in the Navy was the small Florida community on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico called Pensacola. It was hot and humid, but that was part of the character of the town. It had a lot of history, and the beaches were beautiful! The culture was certainly different from Oklahoma, so Charles decided to make it his home after he got out of the Navy. Five years later, he found himself sitting in a cruiser wearing the star of an Escambia County, Florida Deputy Sheriff. It was somewhat different than his military service, but the job structure was similar. He found a new family with the Sheriff’s Office.
Maintenance Man Vernon Cooper and Mobile Firefighter Steve Ellis decided in 1973 to begin pulling armed robberies in Pensacola, which was 50 miles from their home in Mobile. Vernon had done this sort of thing before, having served prison time for several earlier armed robberies.
On August 11, 1973, they robbed an A&P Grocery Store on West Fairfield Dr. They repeated their deed on October 21, 1973 and on January 11, 1974.
On January 19, 1974, they robbed the Winn-Dixie at Mobile Highway and Saufley Field Road. Twenty-three-year-old Janice White was working as a cashier at the Winn-Dixie store that night. She said she noticed two men who entered the store acting strange. The first one walked up to her and demanded money.
“He didn’t show me a gun, but he said he had one,” she said. “So, I let him have the money. We had a policy that we had to tell them we were not allowed to take the money out of the register – they had to. I told him that. He told me again, forcefully, to take the money and give it to him, so I did.”
She continued, “The other guy (Cooper) was just sitting on one of the checkout belts next to the manager with his arms crossed, smiling. We found out later that he had a ham under his arm[1].”
[1] Interview with Janice White, April 23, 2023
Charlie was a wise one. He figured that, if the suspects were from out of town, they would head to Interstate 10, so he made a beeline for the Interstate and Pine Forest Road exit. When he saw the Black Camaro that matched the description given, he stopped it. He got the information and went back to his car. He didn’t know it, but he was followed by one of the bad guys.
Charlie never felt a thing. He was dead before he slumped in his seat. One of the suspects had followed Charlie to the cruiser and, as soon as he sat down, pointed a .38 caliber revolver at him, and shot him point-blank in the face, twice. The successful, productive life of an excellent police officer and father of three was cut short by the senseless, selfish act of a criminal.
It didn’t take long for them to zero in on the fast-moving Camaro which was speeding westbound on Interstate 10. The high-speed chase, something out of the movies, continued for 20 miles, until they came to the Wilcox Road Exit and stopped. When Ellis pulled his revolver to shoot Deputy Ed Bates, he was met with two blasts from Ed’s 12 gauge shotgun, blowing his head off. Cooper immediately fled the scene in the Camaro. A small army of officers from two states formed a large search party, locating the suspect at 1:15 AM.
500 officers, complete with an Honor Guard and TAPS played during a rainstorm, attended the funeral held at the First Baptist Church and the burial at Barrancas National Cemetery.
On June 17, 1974, Cooper’s First Degree Murder Trial began. On June 21, the jury returned with a verdict – Guilty. Cooper was sentenced to life in prison.
Cooper died on December 23, 2015 in prison. A sad life, but, because of his actions, he outlived Deputy Wilkerson by 41 years.
Mike,
I Was working for Northwest Florida Ambulance Service on this date. Gary Muller and I and Terry Lockman were dispatched to the scene. We were not told that an officer was involved in the shooting. Terry Lockman was just riding as third man as a trainee. When we arrived, we were shocked to see Deputy Wilkerson slumped over in the seat. We immediately got him out of his patrol car and started preforming CPR on Deputy Wilkerson. Gary was driving and headed to University Hospital on Leonard Street, and we were traveling at over hundred miles an hour. Deputy Wilkerson was pronounced dead at hospital.
Later on, that evening Gary and I were sent to scene on I-10 at Wilcox Road, to standby with the other officers from Alabama and Florida. Veron Cooper was located in drain culvert hiding and was taken into custody.
Several years later both Gary and I would become Deputy Sheriff’s. Terry Lockman was director of American Red Cross chapter here in Pensacola. His son works as investigator for Levin law firm. As I write this note to you, I wonder If the Lord put me at this call to better prepare me for my future in law enforcement.
Thank,
Jim Sanders
Wow, Jim. That is very interesting. I know Gary, and I knew Terry. His son, Steve, and I went to middle school together. Good people. Terrible night.
Mike. I never knew my dad was that involved. He never spoke of it
Who was your dad?
Remember listing to this on scanner. Sad night.
Very sad.