Commodore Perry Owens.
The Owens-Blevins Shootout occurred in 1887 in Arizona during a bitter range war.
In the 1880s, Navajo County, Arizona, was home to the Pleasant Valley War, a bitter range war between the cattle-herding Grahams and the sheep-herding Tewksburys. In September 1887, members of the Graham faction surrounded the Tewksbury cabin and killed two men. A few days later, a man named Andy Blevins, a member of the Graham faction, was overheard in Holbrook, Arizona, bragging that he had killed both of the Tewksbury men.
Holbrook Sheriff Commodore Perry Owens heard the confession and, with a warrant for Blevins’ arrest for cattle rustling, decided it was time to pick up the lawless man. When Owens went to the Blevins family home on September 4, 1887, the family was in the midst of Sunday dinner, and Andy refused to come out. Within moments, Andy’s half-brother, John, opened the door and took a shot at the Sheriff, who quickly drew his six-guns, sending bullets into both John and Andy.
AÂ gunfight inevitably erupted, and Sam Blevins, just 15 years old, ran out the door, firing at Owen, who returned the shots. A friend of the Blevin family, Mose Roberts, also fired at the Sheriff. The melee, lasting less than a minute, left Andy and Sam Blevin, as well as Mose Roberts, dead. John Blevins was wounded.
©Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated October 2026.
Also See:
Arizona – The Grand Canyon State
Gunfighters and Lawmen Photo Gallery
See Sources.