Deputy Sheriff Jerry Cornett

Deputy Cornett and several other deputies were checking the Fourseam Block Colliery Company mine camp on Buffalo Creek, three miles from Hazard, when they encountered a group of men in possession of moonshine. A shootout ensued when the posse attempted to place the men under arrest.

Two of the subjects, Deputy Cornett, and a second deputy were wounded. Deputy Cornett was taken to a hospital in Hazard where he died 17 days later.

Both suspects were charged with murder. One was convicted of murder and sentenced to life. In 1923, the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled that he should have been charged with manslaughter and ordered a new trial, the result of which is unknown.

Deputy Cornett was a veteran of WWI.