Ollie F. "Sammie" Childress, Jr.
Agency patch
Deputy Sheriff

Ollie F. "Sammie" Childress, Jr.

Wilson County Sheriff's Office — Floresville, TX
Felonious
End of Watch November 4, 1983
Age 54
Tour of Duty 3 yrs
The Vigil Panel 127 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Deputy Sheriff Sammie Childress was shot and killed execution-style after being abducted by two suspects on Texas Highway 97. The suspects abducted Deputy Childress for the purpose of using his uniform and patrol car to commit a bank robbery. The suspects saw Deputy Childress driving by and began to flash their lights at him. When he stopped, the two suspects displayed their guns, made Deputy Childress disrobe, handcuffed him, and placed him in the trunk of his patrol car. One of the men then put on part of his uniform, drove to a bank on U.S. 87, and robbed it at 11:50 a.m. After the robbery, the suspects returned to their vehicle, at which time the suspect opened the trunk and shot Deputy Childress in the neck. The suspects drove away but returned moments later to wipe the patrol car clean of fingerprints. The suspect opened the trunk again and, finding that Deputy Childress was still alive, shot him in the neck a second time, killing him instantly. The suspects were both eventually apprehended. The shooter was sentenced to death, and the other suspect, the shooter's nephew, was sentenced to 25 years. On May 3, 2017, the shooter's death sentence was commuted to life. The shooter died in prison in 2023. Deputy Childress had served with the Wilson County Sheriff's Office for three years. He was survived by his wife, two sons, a daughter, six grandchildren, his father, and four siblings. One of his sons also served with the Wilson County Sheriff's Office.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife, two sons, a daughter, six grandchildren, his father, and four siblings.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-TX-74AFCD08
Stewardship
Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw
August 2, 2026
Last updated
August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.

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Tributes

I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Deputy Sheriff Childress gave the Wilson County Sheriff's Office 3 years.
Thank you for your service to the Floresville community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Deputy Sheriff Childress.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Type Sheriff's Office
Location Floresville, Wilson County, TX
Platform Identity wcso.wilson.tx.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch November 4, 1983
Tour of Duty 3 yrs
Age 54
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious
Weapon Handgun

Deputy Sheriff Ollie F. "Sammie" Childress, Jr. is one of 1 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,756 officers honored here.

In TX, 1,460 of 2,421 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 60.3% of this state's fallen. That is 60.3 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

Wilson County Sheriff's Office
1
of 1 officers
100% Felonious
TX — Statewide
1,460
of 2,421 officers
60.3% Felonious
Nationwide
1
of 97,756 officers
0% Felonious

National Cause Distribution

How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Ollie F. "Sammie" Childress, Jr.'s cause is highlighted.

Felonious
1 (0%)
Accident
1 (0%)
Illness
1 (0%)
Cardiac
1 (0%)
Undetermined
1 (0%)
Suicide
1 (0%)

How Ollie F. "Sammie" Childress, Jr. Compares

Age at Death
54
This officer
Avg for Felonious: 39.0 years
Years of Service
3
This officer
Avg for Felonious: 8.4 years

When Felonious Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. Ollie F. "Sammie" Childress, Jr. is highlighted in Nov.

Jan
1,392
Feb
1,295
Mar
1,373
Apr
1,516
May
1,504
Jun
1,442
Jul
1,587
Aug
1,517
Sep
1,491
Oct
1,371
Nov
1,447
Dec
1,624

Weapons Used Against Officers

Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths. Ollie F. "Sammie" Childress, Jr. was killed by handgun.

Handgun
3,684
Gun
3,592
Gun; Unknown type
1,492
Shotgun
1,109
Rifle
935
Officer's handgun
909

Incident Location

Others Who Wore This Badge

0 officers from Wilson County Sheriff's Office are honored on badge.nw.