As soon as James Casey had fired the shot that would kill James King, deputy sheriff Layfayette M. Byrne and Peter Wrightman joined him. Wrightman, along with Edward McGowan had just walked up Washington Street to be out of the way when the shooting occurred and seemed to be perfectly aware of the intended assault. As soon as Casey picked up the cloak he dropped, he headed toward city hall with Wrightman and Byrne. Along the way Casey gave the deputy a gold mounted derringer pistol, apparently not wanting to reveal that he had carried an extra weapon. It would seem that he regarded Byrne as a friend and city hall, or at least the jail there, as the safest place for him.
San Francisco City Hall 1856
James P. Casey
Casey barely got to the jail when an unruly crowd began to congregate outside with many men shouting to hang Casey at once. The crowd continued to grow and the cries got louder and more threatening. It became evident that trouble was coming. The city prison might not be the safest place the hold Casey. While the doors were locked and guarded by deputies, the crowd howled with rage as it grew more violent. But while the mob was assembled around Montgomery and Washington Streets the rest of the streets were clear, so it was determined to transport the prisoner to county jail.
Police captain Hampton North, Isaiah W. Lees and a number of officers took Casey out by way of Dunbar’s Alley to where a carriage waited on Washington near the alley. However the crowd spotted them before they made it to the coach and hurried over. Casey then jumped into the middle of the street and started to draw the same revolver he had used to shoot King but was seized by Lees, disarmed and forced into the carriage. Lees, North and officer John L. Durkee followed him and they took off at top speed onto Kearny Street and to the county jail on the north side of Broadway between Kearny and Dupont. A friend of Casey’s, Charles P. Duane, chief engineer of the fire department, attempted to get into the coach but failed. He clung to the back for the harrowing ride.
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