Home > United States of America > Illinois > Scott County > Naples > Naples Cemetery > Franklin W. “Frank” Adkins

Franklin W. “Frank” Adkins

1 / 1

❮ ❯

Franklin W. “Frank” Adkins

Birth	:	1903 Muncie, Delaware County, Indiana, USA
Death	:	1 Feb 1951 Lima, Allen County, Ohio, USA
Burial	:	Naples Cemetery, Naples, Scott County, USA
Coordinate	:	39.7682100, -90.6005600
Description	:	Detective Shot, Attacker Slain Lima Officer Hits Partner in Gunfight Unemployed Baker Killed Resisting Police in Home Bullets fired by Detective William Davenport during a mortal struggle in a Lima home about 8:25 p.m. Thursday killed the officer's assailant and critically wounded his fellow detective, Charles Hefner. A few seconds after Hefner fell, Davenport shot and killed Frank Adkins, 47, unemployed baker, in the latter's home at 311 N. Jameson-av while attempting to disarm Adkins. In the struggle, Adkins struck Davenport across the face and left eye with a revolver, inflicting a gaping wound. The officers had gone to Adkins' flat a few minutes... Read More	Detective Shot, Attacker Slain Lima Officer Hits Partner in Gunfight Unemployed Baker Killed Resisting Police in Home Bullets fired by Detective William Davenport during a mortal struggle in a Lima home about 8:25 p.m. Thursday killed the officer's assailant and critically wounded his fellow detective, Charles Hefner. A few seconds after Hefner fell, Davenport shot and killed Frank Adkins, 47, unemployed baker, in the latter's home at 311 N. Jameson-av while attempting to disarm Adkins. In the struggle, Adkins struck Davenport across the face and left eye with a revolver, inflicting a gaping wound. The officers had gone to Adkins' flat a few minutes earlier after Mrs. Adkins reported to the station that her husband was flourishing a gun in the family home. Davenport's first shot, fired while he struggled with Adkins, struck Hefner in the center of the chin and tore thru his mouth and throat before lodging in his spine. His second penetrated Adkins' body from left to right, causing almost instant death. At St. Rita's hospital, Hefner, almost completely paralyzed, was reported in critical condition shortly before 2 p.m. Friday. Surgeons who treated his wound said the .38 calibre police bullet took a downward course after striking the fifth cervical vertebra, tore thru the sixth and lodged in the seventh. A surgeon said: "The bullet touched the spinal cord. It is still embedded in Hefner's seventh vertebra and probably will remain there so long as he lives. Bits of the bullet are scattered along the course of its path thru the officer's throat, but X-rays show most of it, flattened and distorted, is lodged in the seventh vertebra. "I believe Hefner may live. Whether he will regain sensory and motion powers cannot be determined at this time." The interior of the Adkins home was a scene of wild disorder following the shooting. A half empty bottle of beer sat on a cluttered end table, next to the radio. On the kitchen table were several ash trays, overflowing with perhaps 90 cigaret stubs. Several crumpled dollar bills and a strand of beads were nearby. A pool of Hefner's blood stained the floor just outside a door which separates the living room from a glass-enclosed porch. In the kitchen, where Davenport shot Adkins, blood was smeared on the floor just outside a door leading to the bathroom. Chairs and tables were disarranged, apparently during the struggle Davenport was struck across the forehead and left eye by Adkins' gun during the course of their struggle. Surgeons took four stitches in the gaping gash Thursday night, then sent the officer to his home. At the station Friday morning, he made a formal report on the shootings to Police Chief Kermit Westbay, and left his service revolver, two fired shells in the cylinder, with the chief. After hearing Davenport's statement and examining the gun, Westbay formally reported the shootings were "in line of duty." "A man with a gun in his hand, who has threatened his wife, can be expected to use it," the chief declared. "Both Detectives Hefner and Davenport exhibited the cool bravery to be expected of police officers. It was due solely to an unfortunate combination of circumstances that one shot the other." The chief made it clear that neither he nor any member of the department felt Davenport had done more - nor less - than the situation required. Westbay had believed, at first, that the bullet which struck Hefner was the one which tore thru Adkins' body. But the two fired shells in the cylinder of Davenport's revolver, and the recovery of a police-type bullet from the wall of the kitchen in Adkins' home, proved otherwise. Preliminary examination failed to show whether Adkins' gun had misfired because of mechanical defects or a faulty cartridge. "Whatever it was," Westbay said, "it probably saved Davenport's life. His report shows clearly that the gun failed to fire while Adkins had it jammed into the officer's stomach while they struggled." Hefner and Davenport have been paired on plainclothes duty since last July 1. Both joined the department in 1942 - Hefner in February, Davenport in April. Hefner's police service twice was interrupted - for three years, 1943-45, while he served as a flight engineer instructor in the Air Force, and again in 1948 when he attended the FBI police academy. News of Hefner's critical injuries was withheld until Friday from his father, J. O. Hefner, 955 St. Johns-av, because of the latter's poor health. In a formal statement made to Inspector of Detectives Ross Landfair and Detectives Beryl Smith and Alfred Mills, Mrs. Adkins declared that her husband had been drinking heavily, resulting in family quarrels. Things had gone so far, she said, that she had filed suit for divorce. On Jan. 21, she told detectives, her husband had threatened her with the gun but put it away when the children, frightened by his actions, started to scream. Police received a telephone call from Mrs. Adkins at 8:05 p.m. Thursday. She said she was calling from 1108 W. North-st, and informed officers that her husband was flourishing a gun in the living room of their home on Jameson-av. Detective Hefner was attending a meeting of the Fraternal Order of Police at the pistol range in the rear of headquarters. He was assigned to join Davenport in the investigation. Arriving at the W. North-st address, Mrs. Adkins walked with the detectives to the Adkins residence. Mrs. Adkins said she entered the home first and was followed by the officers. As she stepped from an enclosed front porch into the living room, her husband, lying on a davenport, leaped to his feet, revolver in hand. Mrs. Adkins said she turned hurriedly and the next thing she knew she saw Hefner lying on the floor of the enclosed porch. She remembered seeing Davenport struggling with her husband, then heard a shot. Meanwhile, her sister had fled from the home. Call for additional help for Davenport and an ambulance was received at headquarters shortly after 8:30 p.m. Patrolmen Ralph Frankhouser, Richard Heaston and Clifford Burkart, who were at the police meeting, were dispatched to the scene. They found Hefner lying unconscious on the enclosed front porch floor. He was taken to St. Rita's hospital, in a Davis-Miller and Son ambulance. The shooting took place while the Adkins' two children, Carol Jane, 10, and Charles, 7, were in their bedroom, under the care of Miss Lavina Edwards, Mrs. Adkins' sister. They were taken to a home next door, unaware their father had been killed. Police were informed that Miss Edwards telephoned her sister at the Westinghouse plant to tell her that her husband was "acting up." Mrs. Adkins checked out at the plant at 7 p.m. and went to 1108 W. North-st, where she notified police of her husband's actions. Mrs. Adkins said her husband, a baker by trade, has been unemployed for the last two months. He last worked at the Equity bakery. He was to have gone to Mansfield Thursday to work in a bakery in that city. Dr. T. J. Talbott, Allen-co coroner, made a routine investigation of Adkins' death and formally reported it was "due to gunshot wounds." Adkins was born in Muncie, Ind., and has been a resident of Lima for several years. Surviving are his widow, Emma; three sons, Franklin Jr., Kingman, Ariz.; Leroy, of New Lebanon; Charles, at home, two daughters, Carol Jane, at home and Mrs. Mary Sciranka, Route 2, two sisters, Mrs. J. E. Brandon, 322 Ashton-av, and Mrs. J. M. Baldwin, 332 N. McDonel-st, and his parents, Mr. and Mrs. S. L. Adkins, 332 N. McDonel-st. Private funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday in the Davis-Miller and Son funeral home. The Rev. Willard Thomas will officiate. Burial will be in Memorial Park cemetery. (published in The Lima News, Friday, February 2, 1951)

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Where is Franklin W. “Frank” Adkins's memorial?
Franklin W. “Frank” Adkins's memorial is located at: Naples Cemetery, Naples, Scott County, USA.
When did Franklin W. “Frank” Adkins death?
Franklin W. “Frank” Adkins death on 1 Feb 1951 in Lima, Allen County, Ohio, USA
Where are the coordinates of the Franklin W. “Frank” Adkins's memorial?
Latitude: 39.7682100
Longitude: -90.6005600

Family Members:

Parent

Samuel Love Adkins

(1868 - 1957)

Viola Duncan Adkins

(1877 - 1962)

Siblings

Helen R Adkins Zimmerman Baldwin

(1911 - 2002)

Children

Mary L Adkins Sciranka

(1926 - 1981)

Flowers:

Nearby Cemetories:

1. Naples Cemetery
Naples, Scott County, USA
Coordinate: 39.7682100, -90.6005600

2. Collins Burying Ground
Naples, Scott County, USA
Coordinate: 39.7611501, -90.5917868

3. Ham Cemetery
Chambersburg, Pike County, USA
Coordinate: 39.7814285, -90.6578987

4. Batley Cemetery
Bluffs, Scott County, USA
Coordinate: 39.7350387, -90.5534529

5. Anderson Cemetery
Flint Township, Pike County, USA
Coordinate: 39.7481800, -90.6607200

6. Marey Johnson Cemetery
Chambersburg Township, Pike County, USA
Coordinate: 39.7853440, -90.6648960

7. Green Cemetery
Bluffs, Scott County, USA
Coordinate: 39.7417950, -90.5392310

8. Brown Cemetery
Chambersburg, Pike County, USA
Coordinate: 39.8030014, -90.6550598

9. Sears Cemetery
Bluffs, Scott County, USA
Coordinate: 39.7205945, -90.5653975

10. McCaleb Cemetery
Bluffs, Scott County, USA
Coordinate: 39.7755943, -90.5270638

11. Fairview Cemetery
Bluffs, Scott County, USA
Coordinate: 39.7647608, -90.5203971

12. Oakland Cemetery
Meredosia, Morgan County, USA
Coordinate: 39.8269005, -90.5541992

13. Merris Cemetery
Bluffs, Scott County, USA
Coordinate: 39.7629440, -90.5086330

14. Valley City Cemetery
Valley City, Pike County, USA
Coordinate: 39.7092063, -90.6534539

15. Augustine Cemetery
Meredosia, Morgan County, USA
Coordinate: 39.7986630, -90.5160541

16. Oxville Cemetery
Oxville, Scott County, USA
Coordinate: 39.7027200, -90.5598190

17. Hume Cemetery
Chambersburg, Pike County, USA
Coordinate: 39.8372993, -90.6503601

18. New Salem Cemetery
Morgan County, USA
Coordinate: 39.8114014, -90.5092010

19. Hillcrest Cemetery
Bluffs, Scott County, USA
Coordinate: 39.6880020, -90.5700450

20. Woods Cemetery
Brown County, USA
Coordinate: 39.8436012, -90.6496964

21. Oak Hill Cemetery
Exeter, Scott County, USA
Coordinate: 39.7264347, -90.5045698

22. Mitchell Family Cemetery
Bloomfield, Scott County, USA
Coordinate: 39.6864281, -90.5667863

23. Hodges Cemetery
Meredosia, Morgan County, USA
Coordinate: 39.8153000, -90.5061035

24. Baird Cemetery
Oxville, Scott County, USA
Coordinate: 39.6886502, -90.5540084