Sheriff Garrett Groomer was shot and killed attempting to arrest robbery suspects.

On September 21, 1924, Sheriff Groomer was shot and killed in Warsaw while attempting to arrest five suspects who had just robbed a store in Warsaw, Missouri. The five suspects, Charles Bringham, Charles Harris, Roy Blair, Albert Defenbaugh, and Harry Defenbaugh were arrested in Illinois and sent to two different jails. Three of the suspects escaped but they were all eventually taken back into custody. Subsequent to their initial arrest the two Defenbaughs and Blair made confessions but denied of being the one that shot Sheriff Groomer.

Four of the suspects were convicted of Sheriff Groomer's murder and sentenced to life in prison on December 9, 1924. Blair was portrayed as having played a small roll in the robberies and testified for the state received a sentence of 5 years. He was paroled in 1925. Harry and Arthur Defenbaugh were paroled in 1942.

Sheriff Groomer was survived by his wife, Dossie, a son, Alvin and three daughters. Sheriff Groomer's wife, Dossie Groomer, was appointed sheriff the day after he was killed. His son Alvin also served as a deputy sheriff on the department for his father and subsequently his mother. Interred: Riverside Cemetery, Warsaw, Missouri.