On April 7, 1970, a shootout that claimed the lives of four California Highway Patrol (CHP) Officers was disclosed in detail by The Valley News and Valley Green News Sheet newspaper.

The identities of the four CHP officers were revealed to be Roger Gore, Walt Frago, James “Skip” Pence, and George Alleyn, according to The Valley News and Valley Green News Sheet.

The four CHP officers were gunned down by two dangerous suspects in the lot of a Standard Service Station next to J’s Coffee Shop on what is now the intersection of the Old Road and Magic Mountain Parkway in Valencia, California, on April 5, 1970.

The identities of the two suspects were later revealed to be Jack Twining and Bobby Augustus Davis, as reported by The Valley News and Valley Green News Sheet.

Twining and Davis became friends after meeting in prison, but struggled to find legitimate jobs after they served their sentences. 

Eleven months prior to the Newhall Incident, Twining had been released from the Federal Penitentiary in Tallahassee, Florida. In addition, Davis was released from prison eight months prior to the crime and was serving his parole time in Houston, Texas.

Ultimately, the two suspects reunited in Houston before driving to California to commit more crimes after failing to maintain a normal, civilian life.

On their drive to California, the two men planned to steal explosives from a construction site on Highway 99 between Gorman and Newhall. They also carried a variety of firearms on their commute to California.

Twining and Davis planned to use the explosives to rob an armed truck with cash on their way to the Santa Anita Racetrack, but failed due to a variety of factors, such as failing to get the explosives and escaping after one of them noticed that a family was growing suspicious of them.

As a result, the CHP officers caught up to the two suspects after receiving a tip from another witness.

Fargo, one of the CHP officers, was fatally shot by Twining while Gore, another CHP officer, was shot by Davis. This led to dispatch calling Pence and Alleyn for backup, who faced a similar fate to their fellow officers.

In the aftermath of the deaths, Davis and Twining went their separate ways after escaping on foot. Davis was ultimately apprehended by police officers before returning to prison and sentenced to death, while Twining committed suicide after barricading himself in the home of a married couple.

The crime, now referred to as the “Newhall Incident,” caused a ripple effect in police procedures by prompting law enforcement to improve training and to provide officers with better weaponry and bulletproof vests when approaching an alleged suspect.

To read yesterday’s Today in SCV History, click HERE.

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