Editing Virgil Earp (section)

===Tombstone City Marshal===
On October 30, 1880, after [[Town Marshal#law enforcement|town marshal]] [[Fred White (marshal)|Fred White]] was accidentally shot and killed by outlaw and gunman [[William Brocius|"Curly Bill" Brocius]], Virgil was appointed acting town marshal of Tombstone. Virgil now held both the more powerful local town marshal position and the prestigious federal law enforcement appointment. As town marshal, Virgil earned a regular salary of $100 a month plus a percentage of city taxes he collected.<ref name="marks" />{{rp|114}}

But Virgil did not hold the job for long. The city held a special election on November 13, and Tombstone city policemen James Flynn and [[Ben Sippy]] competed for the job. But then Flynn dropped out of the race and Sippy beat Virgil for the office, 311 votes to Earp's 259. On January 4, 1881, the city held its first regular election, and Virgil lost to Sippy once again.<ref name="RAdams" />

However, Sippy was known to be in financial trouble. He requested a two-week leave of absence on June 6, 1881, and never returned. The city council once again appointed Virgil as temporary city marshal. On June 22, the center section of Tombstone was devastated by a fire. Virgil kept looting under control and chased off lot jumpers who tried to take over property. On June 28, it was learned that Sippy had left about $3,000 in bad debt and financial improprieties in his office. Virgil was appointed by Tombstone Mayor [[John Clum]] as the permanent city marshal and paid $150.00 per month.<ref name="WExplore" />