Robert Alexander Trice

El Paso County Sheriff's Office — El Paso, TX

Felonious

End of Watch November 18, 1931

Age 54

The Vigil Panel 63 ›

Gender Male

Incident Service The Sacrifice Department 8

Incident

Deputy Sheriff Robert Alexander Trice was shot and killed at 2:15 am after interrupting several men attempting to break into a store in Clint.

His body was not found until 6:00 a.m. when the owner arrived to open the store. Deputy Trice had been shot three times at close range. Deputy Trice's watchman's clock showed he had rung in at 2:15 a.m., probably a few minutes before the shooting took place. The killers took his pistol and keys. The front door of the store had holes bored into the lock.

The newspaper reported that Deputy Trice had arrested two men about six months earlier who were committing area burglaries and fleeing back into Mexico afterward. The store had been burglarized three times recently.

Three men were arrested by Juarez, Mexico police with evidence from another store burglary and cartridges from the same caliber that killed Deputy Trice. Fingerprints were lifted at the scene and compared to the three suspects. They were later released. It is unknown if anyone was ever arrested or convicted for the murder of Deputy Trice.

Deputy Trice was reported to have lived in and around Clint for 23 years. He was survived by his wife, five sons and two daughters. He was buried in the Evergreen Cemetery in El Paso.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife, five sons and two daughters.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier: BO-US-TX-2A03B984
Stewardship: Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw: April 2, 2026
Last updated: July 23, 2026

Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.

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Tributes

I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Deputy Sheriff Trice served with the El Paso County Sheriff's Office.
Thank you for your service to the El Paso community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Deputy Sheriff Trice.

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

Agency

Department El Paso County Sheriff's Office

Location El Paso, TX

Platform Identity elpaso.elpaso.tx.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch November 18, 1931

Age 54

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious

Cause Detail Gunfire

Weapon Handgun

Offender Never apprehended

Deputy Sheriff Robert Alexander Trice is one of 17,623 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 54.2% of all 32,508 officers honored here.

In TX, 1,463 of 2,421 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 60.4% of this state's fallen. That is 6.2 percentage points above the national rate of 54.2%.

At El Paso County Sheriff's Office, 6 of 9 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 66.7% of this agency's fallen.

El Paso County Sheriff's Office

of 9 officers

66.7% Felonious

TX — Statewide

1,463

of 2,421 officers

60.4% Felonious

Nationwide

17,623

of 32,508 officers

54.2% Felonious