Murder of John William Cooley, 1965

From: Mary Lou Cooley <mlcooley_at_q.com>
Date: Tue, 30 Apr 2013 08:16:53 -0700

I don't think this information went through to the list. If it did, sorry
to repeat myself!

John William Cooley married apparently 3 times. He married first Maizie
Mozelle Blalack d/o James Ira Blalack & Laura Thompson (2nd wife).

J. W. Cooley, "Texas, Marriages, 1837-1973"
Name: J. W. Cooley
Birth Date:
Birthplace:
Age:
Spouse's Name: Mazie Mozelle Blolack
Spouse's Birth Date:
Spouse's Birthplace:
Spouse's Age:
Event Date: 29 May 1923
Event Place: Rockwall Co., Texas
Father's Name:
Mother's Name:
Spouse's Father's Name:
Spouse's Mother's Name:
Race:
Marital Status: Unknown
Previous Wife's Name:
Spouse's Race:
Spouse's Marital Status: Single
Spouse's Previous Husband's Name:
Indexing Project (Batch) Number: M75271-4
System Origin: Texas-EASy
GS Film number: 1513416
Reference ID: p 130
~~~~~~~~~~
By 1928 they are no longer listed as spouse – but are listed at same address
(U.S. City Directory, Dallas, Texas)

1929 John William Cooley is listed with spouse named Lillian Cooley

1947 he is listed with spouse named Lavinia Cooley. This was Lavinia Macon,
d/o Thomas Joel Macon & Eva Ovella Bass. I have not been able to find
marriages for either of the last two wives.

I have not been able to find John on the 1930 or 1940. He is on the 1930
U.S. City Directory – but there is someone else living at his address on the
1930 census. 1931 he has a different address, so I assume that he moved
during the time of the census.

I don’t know John was the father of any children. As you will see in his
obituary below, no children are listed as his survivors:

Deaths and Funerals - John W Cooley
Date: Wednesday, August 11, 1965
Paper: Dallas Morning News (Dallas, TX)
Section: D
Page: 4
"COOLEY
John W., 6534 Trammell. Survived by wife, Mrs. Lavinia Colley (sic); niece,
Mrs. Tommie Watelski; brothers, Robert and Walter Cooley; sisters, Mrs.
Elizabeth Gribble, Mrs. Bessie Pennington, Mrs. Mildred Cox, Miss Dorothy
Cooley. Chapel services 2 p.m. Wednesday, Rev. Homer Fisher officiating.
Interment Restland, Pallbearers: Nephews.
DUDLEY M. HUGHES FUNERAL HOME
400 E Jefferson WH6-5133"
~~~~~~~~
John was murdered in his store. Here are a few of the newspaper articles
that I have typed up:

Grocer Foils Robber but Dies of Wounds
Date: Monday, August 9, 1965
Paper: Dallas Morning News (Dallas, TX)
Section: A
Page: 1
  "Duel With Pistols
Grocer Foils Robber But Dies of Wounds
by John Rutledge
  "A gritty Pleasant Grove grocer was fatally wounded in a pistol duel with
a holdup man Sunday, and while dying held another suspect at gunpoint until
help arrived.
  John W. Cooley, 66, died an hour after the 6:50 p.m. stickup at Cooley's
Drive-In Grocery, 4936 Military Parkway. Attendants at Baylor Hospital said
the bandit's bullet had punctured Cooley's chest.
  The suspect being held by Cooley admitted orally early Monday to
detectives that he and a 20-year-old man planned to rob the grocer while a
third man waited outside in a car. He said it was the 20-year-old man who
fired the shot at Cooley.
  Cooley was critically wounded by another holdup man in December, 1963, in
a holdup and gun battle at the store. That time he shot down a Negro outlaw
with his oldtime .44-40 single-action revolver. Last month he shot at a
holdup man who escaped empty-handed and wounded by a slug from the
storekeeper's old pistol.
  Sunday, a customer, Robert Lee Duncan, 27, a tire salesman, entered the
store and saw Cooley leaning against a wall holding the telephone.
  'Bob, call the police. They tried to rob me again,' Duncan quoted the
grocer.
  'He was shot in the chest, standing there holding his big pistol. It was
aimed at a Negro man standing about 10 feet away,' Duncan said.
  'I dialed the police number. But before they could answer, Mr. Cooley
collapsed.
  'He fell to the floor. The Pistol went off. It shot a chunk of concrete
out of the floor and the chips stung me on the legs. I reached down and
picked up the gun.
  'He said, 'Bob, I've got one of them. Don't let him get away.'
  As police answered the phone, Duncan told them to rush to the store and
send for an ambulance.
  The suspect, a 37-year-old Negro, stayed in the store although Duncan laid
Cooley's big pistol on the counter. The suspect had told Duncan he was not
connected with the Negro gunman who tried to rob Cooley, shot him, then ran
from the store.
  A passerby saw a Negro run from the store after hearing gunfire. He
leaped into a waiting 1955 or 1956 blue-and-white sedan driven by another
Negro. The passerby gave chase in his car but lost the getaway car in
traffic.
  Detectives G. R. Boyce and J. M. Poe, first to arrive at the grocery,
found Cooley near death and the Negro supect bent over him applying a piece
of ice to the grocer's wound. The suspect was jailed for questioning while
police sought the other outlaws in the getaway car.
  Homicide Capt. Will Fritz, directing the search for the bandit killers,
said Cooley's stag-handed old pistol had four empty shells in its chambers.
  About 10 p.m., Sheriff's Deputies C. F. Beddingfield and J. R. Flemming
arrested four Negroes in a blue-and-white auto bearing the license number of
the get-away car near Seagoville. They found a revolver hidden under the
car seat."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Trio Held in Death of Grocer
Date: Tuesday, August 10, 1965
Paper: Dallas Morning News (Dallas, TX)
Section: D
Page: 18
  "Trio Held In Death Of Grocer
  Homicide detectives will file charges Tuesday morning against three
Negroes in the robbery-slaying of a Pleasant Grove grocer early Sunday
night.
  The three--two were captured by sheriff's deputies in Seagoville shortly
before midnight Sunday and the third was app52262rehended at the scene--will
be charged with shooting John W. Cooley, the 66-year-old owner of a drive-in
grocery at 4936 Military Parkway.
  Detectives also said the suspects--the two nabbed in Seagoville had a gun
believed to have been used in the holdup--may be involved in a similar
robbery-shooting of a motel night clerk at 3900 Westmoreland early Saturday.
  Cooley was killed by a Negro in the hijacking attempt but managed to hold
another of the bandits at gunpoint while telephoning for help. He died en
route to the hospital.
  In the Saturday slaying, Tommy Thompson, 72, a night clerk at a small
motel, was robbed and then shot in the head with a pistol. There were no
witnesses to the shooting.
  Five suspects, aged 36, 25, 21, 20 and 18, were arrested originally for
the Cooley slaying. They had been the object of a county-wide search. The
36-year-old held at the drive-in by the wounded grocer at first denied any
part in the robbery but changed his story after his companions were caught.
Two of the suspects were released.
  Homicide Detectives G. R. Boyce and J. M. Pope said the investigation may
reveal that the other three men have been involved in a string of area
robberies."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Three Charged with Slaying
Date: Wednesday, August 11, 1965
Paper: Dallas Morning News (Dallas, TX)
Section: D
Page: 16
  "Three Charged With Slaying
  Three Negro men were charged Tuesday with the slaying last Sunday of
grocer John W. Cooley.
  Named in the charges are Clinton Bell Jr., 36, the man named to grab
Cooley during a robbery; William Henry Gipson, 25, accused of driving the
getaway car, and Exter Gardner Jr., 21, charged with pulling the trigger on
Cooley.
  Cooley, 66, collapsed in his store at 4936 Military Parkway after he
traded shots with a gunman, attempted to call the police and held Bell at
gunpoint until help arrived.
  Police claim the trio planned the robbery while beer drinking. Bell told
officers he entered the store with Gardner to buy more beer when Gardner
pulled a pistol on the store owner, known to Bell as 'Pop.'
  When customer Robert Lee Duncan walked in, he told police, the wounded
Cooley was holding a gun on Bell and attempting to call police.
  'I'v got one of them. Don't let him get away,' Duncan said Cooley told
him. Cooley fell to the floor and died two hours later.
  Another Negro man told police he was with 'One-Two Willie' Gipson and
Gardner later when the report came on the car radio.
  One of the suspects lifted a postol and said 'This baby liked to have made
us some money a while ago,' the man told police.
  The witness told them they 'ought to be ashamed,' he said, and was told,
'Man, we was needing some money.'
  Sheriff's deputies arrested the men in a car near Seagoville at 10 p.m.
Sunday.
  Bell was taken into police custody at the scene as he placed ice packs on
the grocer's wounds."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3 Indictments Issued in Death of Grocer, 66
Date: Tuesday, August 31, 1965
Paper: Dallas Morning News (Dallas, TX)
Section: A
Page: 8


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Grocer Pulls Gun to Thwart Robbery Effort
Date: Monday, July 5, 1965
Paper: Dallas Morning News (Dallas, TX)
Section: A
Page: 6
  "A Dallas grocer thwarted an armed robbery attempt early Sunday when he
confronted two Negro gunmen with a revolver.
  John W. Cooley, 51 [not correct], owner of Cooley's Drive-In Grocery, 4936
Military Parkway, told police that the two men in their middle twenties,
entered the grocery about midnight.
  'When one of the men pulled a gun and asked for money, I pulled my own
revolver and fired as he ran out of the door', Cooley said. The fleeing
gunman escaped, but the grocery owner held the second hijacker until police
arrived.
  The 28-year-old Negro taken into custody told detectives that he and the
other man had planned the robbery the night before.
  Police said Cooley may have wounded the hijacker, who is still at large."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is from 1963:

Bandit Killed, 4 Wounded in Violent Night of Crime
Date: Thursday, December 19, 1963
Paper: Dallas Morning News (Dallas, TX)
Section: 1
Page: 1
  "Grocer Also Shot - Bandit Killed, 4 Wounded In Violent Night of Crime
  One bandit was killed and four wounded, three critically, in a violent
night of robberies here Wednesday. A grocer was also wounded critically
trading bullets with one of the bandits.
  A 25-year-old man identified as Michael Yepez of Dallas was shot to death
in the 5000 block of Wellington about 9:15 p.m., when police officers
stopped him and another man after a liquor store robbery.
  Officers A. C. Clark and P. E. Kirkpatrick said they were patrolling when
they saw the two men near East Texas Liquor Store, 5102 Second Avenue.
  The two men tried to flee in a car but were stopped.
  Officer Kirkpatrick went to the driver's side and was searching the
21-year-old driver when the man identified as Yapez pulled a .45 caliber
pistol and aimed it at officer Clark. Kirkpatrick fired twice across the
car. One shot struck the bandit in the back of the head and the other in
the chest.
  In another case, two Negro men were wounded and captured after a holdup
attempt at the Sinclair Liquor Store, 1826 Record Crossing, about 9:50 p.m.
Store operator W. H. Sinclair, of 3116 Brookhollow, and his brother, L. M.
Sinclair of Grapevine, told police they were inside the store when three men
came in.
  The bandits took $517 and ran to a car outside. The two brothers pursued
with a shotgun, a .30-30 rifle and a .38 revolver.
  As the Sinclairs fired, the car went out of control and crashed at Mesa
Circle. Officers arrested two wounded bandits who were being treated at
Parkland Hospital late Wednesday.
  The third Negro, also wounded, was captured under a house nearby.
  And in an attempted robbery of the Cooley Drive-In Grocery, at 4936
Military Parkway, the grocer and bandit wounded each other critically.
  Police said a 29-year-old Negro apparently entered the grocery and pulled
a .22 caliber pistol on operator John W. Cooley, 65, of 6534 Trammel.
  Cooley shot the Negro in the hip with a .45 pistol but was struck in the
chest when the Negro fired back. Officers found both men on the floor."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This happened in July of 1965:

Grocer Pulls Gun to Thwart Robbery Effort
Date: Monday, July 5, 1965
Paper: Dallas Morning News (Dallas, TX)
Section: A
Page: 6
  "A Dallas grocer thwarted an armed robbery attempt early Sunday when he
confronted two Negro gunmen with a revolver.
  John W. Cooley, 51, owner of Cooley's Drive-In Grocery, 4936 Military
Parkway, told police that the two men in their middle twenties, entered the
grocery about midnight.
  'When one of the men pulled a gun and asked for money, I pulled my own
revolver and fired as he ran out of the door', Cooley said. The fleeing
gunman escaped, but the grocery owner held the second hijacker until police
arrived.
  The 28-year-old Negro taken into custody told detectives that he and the
other man had planned the robbery the night before.
  Police said Cooley may have wounded the hijacker, who is still at large."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There are a couple of other articles but I am sure there is much more here
than you want!

Another interesting thing about the birthdate of John William Cooley...his
death certificate originally listed his birth year as 1899, but was
apparently changed from information given by his wife, Lavinia, to 1898. I
did not find him with his parents on the 1900 census – this is the only
census I have found that fits them, even though there are obvious errors:

1900 United States Federal Census
Name: James Coaley
[James Cooley]
Age: 22
Birth Date: Aug 1877
Birthplace: Texas
Home in 1900: Dallas Ward 5, Dallas, Texas
[Dallas]
Race: White
Gender: Male
Relation to Head of House: Head
Marital Status: Married
Spouse's Name: Ellie Coaley
Father's Birthplace: Missouri
Mother's Birthplace: Missouri
Occupation: Clerk, Furniture
Household Members: Name Age
James Cooley 22
Ellie Cooley 16
~~
The occupation as furniture clerk certainly fits...perhaps John William
Cooley could be found with other family members??

Mary C.
Received on Tue Apr 30 2013 - 09:16:59 MDT