Lawman's last ride-his hearse-donated

LAS CRUCES (KRQE) - The hearse that carried the New Mexico lawman made famous when he killed outlaw Billy the Kid is now on display in Las Cruces.

The Doña Ana County Sheriff's Department says it took two decades of negotiations to get the horse-drawn hearse that carried Lincoln County Sheriff Pat Garrett.

Las Cruces resident Cal Traylor spearheaded the negotiations for the hearse and is the one who donated it to the sheriff's department's Historical Museum of Lawmen .  Traylor says it's a rare piece of local history.

It is headed for permanent installation at the historical museum of lawmen.

Garret won international fame for shooting The Kid in 1881 and later served as sheriff of Doña Ana County. He had gone back to ranching when he was gunned down outside Las Cruces in 1908 in a shooting that remains controversial.

The cowboy who took credit for the killing was acquitted on a claim of self-defense although evidence at the scene suggested Garrett was assassinated by hired gunman hidden beside the road.

He is buried in Masonic Cemetery in Las Cruces.