F.O.P. #55 Remembers Deputy Sheriff William D. Simmons

Deputy Sheriff William D. Simmons
Sangamon County Sheriff's Department, IL
End of Watch: Saturday, March 8, 1975

Incident Details
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: Saturday, March 8, 1975
Weapon Used: Gun; Unknown type
Suspect Info: Sentenced to 40 years

Deputy Simmons was shot and killed while checking on a stolen vehicle. While on the scene the suspect who was responsible for stealing the vehicle drove up in a tow truck. The man then approached Deputy Simmons and shot and killed him.

The suspect was not charged with Deputy Simmons' murder until 1992. The man had been a suspect all long but because of a lack of evidence was never charged. He had been convicted of another crime in Arkansas and confessed to murdering Deputy Simmons in 1992 in order to be transferred to an Illinois prison because he did not like the Arkansas prison system. He was sentenced to 40 years for Deputy Simmons' murder.