After a two days man hunt, Sheriff W. C.
Kendall, of Sierra county, today overtook, surrounded and captured
Joe Mackey, a notorious fugitive from justice, who has been
terrorizing Lake Valley and vicinity.
Mackey escaped five years ago from the
Hillsboro jail, where he was held on a charge of larceny of
houses, by cutting through the jail. Since then he has
occasionally appeared suddenly in Lake Valley, demanding money and
food, defying the officers and leaving behind him threats that he
would kill on sight certain of his enemies whom he blamed for his
predicament.
Wednesday the sheriff received word that the
outlaw had appeared at Nutt Station, where with his gun he took
possession and ordered food and lodging for night. He next
appeared at the ranch of James Mackey, a cousin, in a search for
his cousin, whom he had given out that he wanted to kill, but
Sheriff Kendall was able to get word to the rancher, so that he
was not at home when the outlaw arrived. After demanding money and
provisions he left, by which time the sheriff's posse was in the
chase.
Waiting at the ranch until nightfall, Mackey
retreated, taking with him as protection an old man whom he found
there. Early this morning the posse came on the outlaw's trail and
followed it to the Wyatt ranch, just over the line in Luna county,
where he was surrounded.
As detailed by Dye and Hughes, of the posse,
the sheriff ordered Mackey to come out, which he did, armed with
two pistols, he having been compelled to drop his 30-30 in the
chase. and holding a boy of about 14 lightly about the waist. As
he retreated toward a clump of trees, Kendall called to him to
surrender. The outlaw was defiant and motioning them to go back,
said they had followed him long enough. The sheriff told him the
situation was serious and called on him again to surrender.
With the posse closing in on him with their
rifles trained on the outlaw, whom they dared not shoot at for
fear of endangering the life of the boy, he threw away one gun and
after a moments hesitation the other, when the sheriff taking
chances on a third, swooped down and captured him.
Mackey said he could easily have picked off
several of the posse, but knew it meant death to him if he did,
and he thought life was still worth while. The outlaw had sent
warning to the sheriff the night before that he would kill any of
the posse he could and reserve a bullet to end his own career.
Others of the posse were Williams, McKean,
Gonzales, Crews, Moore and Rowden.
Albuquerque Morning Journal, February 27, 1914
(Special dispatch to AMJ from Hillsboro dated Feb. 26)