On Sept. 14, 1924, a violent confrontation in Tunnel Canyon near Newhall killed Los Angeles County Deputy Constable John Edward “Ed” Brown, a well-known and respected peace officer in the Santa Clarita Valley. Brown, 43, was fatally shot during a gun battle with Gus Le Brun, a laborer whose troubled obsession with former silent film actress Bonita Darling (born Nellie ...

On Sunday, Sept. 14, 1924 the popular Deputy Constable John Edward “Ed” Brown, was killed in a gun battle in Newhall against “Bad man” Gus Le Brun – and it all started because Le Brun had his heart broken. Le Brun loved guns, drinking and the lovely Miss Nellie Bayles, better known by her stage name “Bonita Darling.” It seemed ...