Troop E - December 5, 1980
Investigator Robert L. VanHall, Jr. was shot and killed on December 5, 1980. He was 35 years old.
Assigned to the Troop E Narco Squad, Investigator VanHall and his partner were about to arrest two brothers on East Market Street in the city of Corning for trafficking in cocaine and marijuana. Investigator VanHall was a passenger in an unmarked SP car, hit by the subjects as they tried to avoid arrest. Investigator Van Hall, unable to exit his vehicle, was shot through the passenger window with a double barreled shotgun.
Investigator VanHall was a Vietnam veteran, serving in the U.S. Army Green Berets before joining the Division of State Police.