Reserve Deputy Sheriff Bryce Patten was shot and killed at about 10:40 pm while manning a roadblock on Casitas Pass Road near Santa Ana Road.

Deputy Patten had set up the roadblock in response to a robbery of a nearby store. He was waiting for a backup deputy to arrive when he stopped a car and took the driver’s identification. The subject then opened fire on him, shooting him 11 times. The man fled without retrieving his identification cards.

The subject was a convicted felon and was convicted of Deputy Patten’s murder. He was sentenced to death and subsequently executed at San Quentin Prison on October 18th, 1961.

Deputy Patten was a high school history teacher and had volunteered as a reserve deputy for two years. He was survived by his two children.