Luke J. Bell was an officer with the DPD less than a year when he was shot and killed in Ira Buck’s Garage at Elm and Houston streets. Officer Bell had served in WWI as a Private in the 11th Signal Corps in the U.S.Army. He had also been an embalmer for a period of time before joining the DPD on December 2, 1929.
Richard Rehm was 29 years old. He was a small time crook who had a pencil thin “Charlie Chaplin” type mustache. He was on parole from Buffalo New York for armed robbery. It’s not known what brought Rehm to Dallas or of what Rehm had been arrested for that caused him to be in Officer Bell’s paddy wagon that 18th day of May, 1934.
Officer Bell was 35 years old when he transported Rehm to the county jail, which at that time was at Elm and Houston streets. We all know how Dallas tends to tear down buildings of an historic nature. I’m a Dallas boy so I’ve seen this. Amazingly, the old county jail still stands.
It’s not known if the paddy wagon detail was Bell’s regular duty, or as happens many times, he just rotated into that job once a week or whatever. He had been on the department for about five years or so. To this author, it seems like this was considered a “good job” at the time and one had to be a good officer to get this plum assignment.
As Bell opened the paddy wagon door, Rehm as often happens now, bolted across the street. Luke Bell, as any officer hopefully would do, chased Rehm into Ira Burk’s Garage. There, Rehm the scumbag raised his arms as if to surrender. Officer Bell was handcuffing the suspect when Rehm grabbed Bell’s pistol. Bell fought him. But in the fight, Bell was shot in the chest which traveled to his hip area. He died at the scene. Photos from the DMN shows Ira Burk standing by the bloodstained wall where Officer Bell had died.
Rehm, along with Bell’s pistol ran outside and leaped into a car with an unknown driver. He then got into a car owned by Lynn Harrell of 2519 Maple Ave. He rode a short distance then Harrell jumped out. The suspect drove Harrell’s car for some time then wrecked out. He then found some state highway department guys in a truck and forced (?) four of the employees to drive him for a time. He let the workers out and then wrecked this vehicle. He tried to commandeer another vehicle but it wouldn’t start.
At this point, Rehm was somewhere between Frisco and Hebron. At this time of course, this was farm country. He then encountered W.H. Kelly who was a school bus driver. He told Kelly to move over and started driving. Eventually he ejected Kelley and then law enforcement caught up with Rehm in Kelly’s vehicle. A gun fight ensued where Rehm was hit by some shotgun pellets and other ordinance. He was captured in Denton County by Dallas Police detectives Archer and Jones with Bell’s pistol still in his possession.
Officer Bell left behind a wife, two brothers, and two sisters. He was 35 years old when he was killed. He was buried at the American Legion Plot of Forest Lawn Cemetery.
Rehm was quickly convicted for the murder of Luke Bell. His lawyer was able to gain a mistrial because a juror signed his name in a manner that “was not correct.” A change of venue was granted to Grayson County where Rehm was amazingly only given 30 years for the murder of Officer Bell.
He was remanded to Huntsville on January 16, 1936. Justice was served however on August 22, 1938 when Rehm, still with the pencil thin mustache no doubt, was finally stabbed and killed by another prisoner.
This mental midget was buried probably late at night with no witnesses’ in the local prison cemetery.
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