Henderson daily dispatch., 1946-11-23
Brothers Sought Al
Roanoke Rapids For
Staying OF Officer

Roanoke Rapids. Nov. % A
huge dragnct of officers i'll 4 half
dozen Northeastern North Carolina
oun,ieS ha: ioileo TO yield Il single
clue as 10 the whereabouts Of two
hialiiaN County brothers Walter
(Pec Dee) Howell. &c. and Henry
lSkinny) howell. 24-wan,ed for
the murder of Roanoke Rapids
policeman in Il pool hall alteration
Thursday night.
Police Chief 7. J. Davis Of Roa-
noke Rapids said that 100 law en-
forcement officers participated III
the manhuui without success
The policeman. Clir."n Massey
i2-yc;ur- cid veteran az the Roanoke
Rapid. police force. wa> killed in
S,an,ly IL $40 Thursday nigh: after
Il :racas in the Rosemary BILLIARD
parlui. which ended as unsupported
~ as IL started.
Story of Shooting
Evidence piC.cd together IrCm the
2O-udd persons. who each witncS-
Sed al least u portion Of the affair.
tells this story:
Massey was sitting in the pool
hall observing Il pool game when
the Howell brothers entered and
purchased bottle Of beer each.
Suddenly, without app.:en, provo
cation, one Of the brothers hurled
the bottle al the officer. and then
bo.h youths lunged ~ Massey. \
g,Hpple enSucd. with the trio final
~ plunglns down the steps which
lead - the upstairs pool room.
On the ground floor landing one
o. he Howell boys ripped Massey 5
pistol from the officers holster kuC;
both dashed across the stree, 10 the
front OF Il department store. y; this
point wiincSS-whoSc uame police
refused 10 divulge f.. safety rca-
sons-!S reported 10 have heard the
youths discuss their plight. Mean
while. Massey. who was Dadly beat
adjusting his glasses. The witness
I'm going back amu Kill that So
and-sO.
Three Shots Fired
Massey was still on The inside OF
glass dor entrance e the steps
which lead To the poo! nall. ana
three shots were heard. When the
Witnesses reached Massey. ne lay
sprawled OH the ground floor land
tered his lei, eye. Apparently. twC
Of Tire shots fired had missed.
Police indicated that no witness
was able To- say ror 1riain which o.
IN" Huwcl! brothers did the actual
shooting. bu; admitted that wo-
man witness who was sitting in a
parked car III front q: the pool hall
saw the whole thing" Her name
was alsC withheld pending capture
OF the yO.thS.
Henry Howell served ABOUT lS
months in the European ihcate: ;.s
4 paratrooper and was dressed in
his Army uniform al the time of
the shooting.
Information withheld
Roanoke Rapids police preferred
10 withheld great amount o: in
formation as 10 exactly what wit
reSses had stated. out il is believed
that the police k~re evidence which
indicates the identity OF IN brother
Who actually shot Massey This the
police declined to deny or affirm
Walter Howell has been married
and divorced. and is the father Of
young SOL. The childs mother
has remarked. The younger OF the
brothers is unmarried.
The dead policeman was the son
o! Mrs. Will II. Massey. Also sur
viving are Massey'S VIE: one :on.
Clifton. Jr.. now III the Navy: one
daughter. Mary Elizabeth. of the
home: three brothers. Calvin and
rlea:on Massey o! Emporia. Va.
and Carey Massey of Roanoke Rap
ids: two sisters. Inex Massey and
Ellen Massey OF GaSton. Mas Sey
had served on the Roanoke Rapids
police force over period Of Ia
years. For Two years during the
var he was employed at the ship
yard III Wilmington
Funeral services will be .onduct-
cd Sunday al p. m. al Spring Hope
Church. near Pleasant Hill The
pastor. the Rev. Mr.. Vaughan. will
ot:iCiate.