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|religion=[[Southern Baptist]]}}

|religion=[[Southern Baptist]]}}

'''William Edward Waggonner''', usually known as '''W. E. "Willie" Waggonner''' (August 7, 1905 &ndash; May 9, 1976), was from 1948 until his death in office the [[sheriff]] of Bossier Parish in northwestern [[Louisiana]], located across the Red River from [[Shreveport]] on the west. A native and resident of Plain Dealing near the [[Arkansas]] state line, he was the older brother of [[U.S. Representative]] [[Joe Waggonner]], who held Louisiana's 4th congressional district seat from 1961 to 1979.<ref name=stimes>"Bossier Sheriff Waggonner Dies", 'The Shreveport Times'', May 10, 1976.</ref>

'''William Edward Waggonner''', usually known as '''W. E. "Willie" Waggonner''' (August 7, 1905 &ndash; May 9, 1976), was from 1948 until his death in office the [[sheriff]] of Bossier Parish in northwestern [[Louisiana]], located across the Red River from [[Shreveport]] on the west. A native and resident of Plain Dealing near the [[Arkansas]] state line, he was the older brother of [[U.S. Representative]] [[Joe Waggonner]], a [[Democratic Party|Democrat]] who held Louisiana's 4th congressional district seat from 1961 to 1979.<ref name=stimes>"Bossier Sheriff Waggonner Dies", 'The Shreveport Times'', May 10, 1976.</ref>

   

   

==Career as sheriff==

==Career as sheriff==

<ref>{{cite web|url=http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?rank=1&new=1&MSAV=1&msT=1&gss=angs-g&gsfn=Maurice&gsln=Miller&msddy=1954&msdpn__ftp=Bossier+Parish%2c+Louisiana%2c+USA&msdpn=343&msdpn_PInfo=7-%7c0%7c1652393%7c0%7c2%7c3246%7c21%7c0%7c343%7c0%7c0%7c&cpxt=0&catBucket=rstp&uidh=upc&cp=0&pcat=ROOT_CATEGORY&h=10243&recoff=7+8+9&db=OfficerMemorials&indiv=1&ml_rpos=3|title=Deputy Sheriff Maurice M. Miller: Officer Down Memorials|publisher=search.ancestry.com|accessdate=January 16, 2015}}</ref>

<ref>{{cite web|url=http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?rank=1&new=1&MSAV=1&msT=1&gss=angs-g&gsfn=Maurice&gsln=Miller&msddy=1954&msdpn__ftp=Bossier+Parish%2c+Louisiana%2c+USA&msdpn=343&msdpn_PInfo=7-%7c0%7c1652393%7c0%7c2%7c3246%7c21%7c0%7c343%7c0%7c0%7c&cpxt=0&catBucket=rstp&uidh=upc&cp=0&pcat=ROOT_CATEGORY&h=10243&recoff=7+8+9&db=OfficerMemorials&indiv=1&ml_rpos=3|title=Deputy Sheriff Maurice M. Miller: Officer Down Memorials|publisher=search.ancestry.com|accessdate=January 16, 2015}}</ref>

On December 5, 1959, in his successful bid for a fourth term, Waggonner was handily reelected as sheriff in the same election in which his brother, Joe Waggonner, was an unsuccessful candidate for Louisiana state comptroller. Willie Waggonner defeated fellow Democrat Joe B. Mason, a native Arkansan, by a five-to-one margin.<ref>''The Shreveport Times'', December 6, 1959.</ref>  

On December 5, 1959, in his successful bid for a fourth term, Waggonner was handily reelected as sheriff in the same election in which his brother, Joe Waggonner, was an unsuccessful candidate for Louisiana state comptroller against Roy R. Theriot, Sr. (1914-1973). Willie Waggonner defeated fellow Democrat Joe B. Mason, a native Arkansan, by a five-to-one margin.<ref>''The Shreveport Times'', December 6, 1959.</ref>  

   

   

In 1967, Waggonner, along with his chief deputy and subsequent successor as sheriff, Vol Sevier Dooley, Jr. (1927-2014), were accused of collusion with then Judge Oscar Ewing Price (1924-2006) and District Attorney Louis H. Padgett, Jr. (1913-1980), of the 26th Judicial District, who was the son of the sheriff whom Waggonner had succeeded, to rig the double murder trial of Jack Favor (1911-1988), a rodeo star from [[Fort Worth]], [[Texas]], who was falsely accused of shooting to death an elderly couple, Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Richey, who operated a bait and tackle business near Haughton in south Bossier Parish. Waggonner believed the false testimony of Favor's accuser, Floyd Edward Cumbey.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/16846793/|title="Legal Blotch", January 6, 1982, p. 20|publisher=''The Paris (Texas) News''|accessdate=February 7, 2014}}</ref> After his conviction was overturned Favor sued for wrongful conviction and imprisonment but settled for only $55,000.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1955&dat=19760317&id=jxFXAAAAIBAJ&sjid=WUMNAAAAIBAJ&pg=6270,4230032|title=Jack Favor, rodeo star ...|publisher=google.com|accessdate=February 6, 2014}}</ref> The actor Robert Norsworthy, under the fictitious name "Sheriff Gerker," played Waggonner in the 1998 [[television]] film, ''Still Holding On:  The Legend of Cadillac Jack''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0138340/|title=''Still Holding On: The Legend of Cadillac Jack|publisher=Internet Movie Database|accessdate=February 17, 2014}}</ref>

In 1967, Waggonner, along with his chief deputy and subsequent successor as sheriff, Vol Sevier Dooley, Jr. (1927-2014), were accused of collusion with then Judge Oscar Ewing Price (1924-2006) and District Attorney Louis H. Padgett, Jr. (1913-1980), of the 26th Judicial District, who was the son of the sheriff whom Waggonner had succeeded, to rig the double murder trial of Jack Favor (1911-1988), a rodeo star from [[Fort Worth]], [[Texas]], who was falsely accused of shooting to death an elderly couple, Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Richey, who operated a bait and tackle business near Haughton in south Bossier Parish. Waggonner believed the false testimony of Favor's accuser, Floyd Edward Cumbey.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/16846793/|title="Legal Blotch", January 6, 1982, p. 20|publisher=''The Paris (Texas) News''|accessdate=February 7, 2014}}</ref> After his conviction was overturned Favor sued for wrongful conviction and imprisonment but settled for only $55,000.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1955&dat=19760317&id=jxFXAAAAIBAJ&sjid=WUMNAAAAIBAJ&pg=6270,4230032|title=Jack Favor, rodeo star ...|publisher=google.com|accessdate=February 6, 2014}}</ref> The actor Robert Norsworthy, under the fictitious name "Sheriff Gerker," played Waggonner in the 1998 [[television]] film, ''Still Holding On:  The Legend of Cadillac Jack''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0138340/|title=''Still Holding On: The Legend of Cadillac Jack|publisher=Internet Movie Database|accessdate=February 17, 2014}}</ref>