Manslaughter Conviction and Later Life
In June 1883, Spence was working as a deputy sheriff in Georgetown, New Mexico, when he buffaloed Rodney O’Hara, killing him. He was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to a 5-year term in the Yuma Arizona Territorial Penitentiary for the death (see photograph above, taken of him as a prisoner). Less than 18 months later he was granted a full pardon by the territorial governor. He operated a goat ranch south of Globe, Arizona near the Galiuro Mountains with his old friend, Phin Clanton, and ran mule teams that were used to bring supplies into the Globe area. Phin Clanton died in 1906, and Spence married Phin's widow four years later on April 2, 1910, using his real name of Elliot Larkin Ferguson. He died in 1914 and is buried in the Globe, Arizona cemetery, in an unmarked plot next to Phin Clanton.
Read more about this topic: Pete Spence
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