From the villages of Valea cu Apă, Negomir, Grozeşti, Covrigi, Pestera de Sus, Bolboşi, Slivileşti, Stejerei, Rovinari, Horăşti, Samarineşti, Trestioara and others, hundreds of people were suspected of helping the partisans. They were locked at Turnu-Severin, and ten of them sentenced to death. Learning about the death sentence the people who helped him, Victor Popescu decides to attack the prison in Turnu-Severin to release the detainees who supported him. The partisan group attacked the prison on the night of July 6/7, 1917 and managed to break into its walls, whereby some of the prisoners manage to flee. Those sentenced to death, however, did not escape, and the attack on the prison hastened their execution by the Germans. On July 10, 1917, ten supporters of Victor Popescu were executed by firing squad after being forced to dig their own graves. These were Nicolae Marcu from Dragotesti, Nicolae Popescu, teacher from Covrigi, brother of Victor and father of Ionel Popescu, Constantin Cojocaru, notary in Negomir commune, Ion Norocea, Bolboşi, Petre Vâlceanu and Ion Brăiescu, mayor and notar of Bolboşi commune, Stancu Croitoru, Tudor Ungureanu, Ilie Giumanca, all from Grozeşti and Mihai Cernăianu from Horăşti.
