Owens was a lawman and gunfighter of the Old West. He established a reputation as a gunfighter and was nominated by the People’s Party for Sheriff of Apache County, AZ. Owens won the Sheriff’s office in November 1886. One of his many exploits was the Owens-Blevins Shootout in Arizona during the Pleasant Valley War. Owens claimed to have killed 14 men during his career. In the end, Owens succumbed to Bright’s disease and died on May 28, 1919, aged 67.