During the summer of 1902, Miller claimed that he caught three men stealing cattle in Ward County. He killed two of them using his Winchester, and wounded the third, who escaped by managing to cling to his horse and ride away. Miller killed lawyer James Jarrott on August 28, 1902. Jarrott had defended area farmers near Lubbock who were raising fences against cattle; ranchers took them to court, believing that the fences disrupted the grazing of their cattle. Those ranchers hired Miller to murder Jarrott, paying $500. Miller caught Jarrot while watering his horses near his farm. Miller had to shoot Jarrot four times: "He was the hardest damn man to kill I ever tackled."