John Wesley Hardin, who was arrested in Pensacola in 1878, is known as one of the most notorious gunslingers in the history of the old west. It is said that he killed a man once just for snoring too loudly.
But he has nothing on Alphonse Thomas.
On this date in 1956, Freddie Mitchell and several of his friends were pushing a car past 2602 N. “M” Street, Pensacola, the house that Thomas lived in[1]. Thomas did not appreciate the noise that was being made and he told the men so. Mitchell and Thomas began to argue about it. The argument escalated and Thomas went back inside the house. He returned a few seconds later with a 12-ga shotgun loaded with buckshot, pointed it at Mitchell and pulled the trigger. Thomas won the argument.
When Thomas was brought to court the next morning, Justice of the Peace L. B. Morgan said it was “one of the most uncalled-for shootings I’ve ever heard of.” Morgan bound Thomas over for trial under a $3500 bond, charged with assault with intent to commit murder. Mitchell was present also…on crutches.
Mike Simmons
#oldpolicestories
[1] Pensacola News Journal article, December 22, 1956. https://www.newspapers.com/image/263137538/?terms=murder&match=1 acquired December 21, 2022