Steve Thomas

Ashton, Here is a transcript of what Sheriff Decker broadcast over Channel 2 of the Dallas Police Department at 12:30 from Chief Curry's lead car: "Have my office move all available men out of my office into the railroad yard to try to determine what happened in there and hold everything secure until Homicide and other investigators should get there." Here is what was broadcast by the Sheriff's Department dispatcher at 12:30:40: "Stand by 1. All units and officers in the vicinity of the station report to the railroad track area, just north of Elm. Report to the railroad track area just north of Elm." Hope that helps. Steve Thomas

Robin, I believe that the third woman to Toni Foster's left shows up in the later stages of the Bell film walking down the street and against the flow of pedestrians. Steve Thomas

On one of the usenet newsgroups a poster was writing that Bonnie Ray Williams and James Jarman lied when they said that after the shots rang out, they ran to the westernmost window and Jarman opened it. Does the Moorman photo show the window already opened before the motorcade came down Elm? Steve Thomas

Sid, Any indication at all that he attended the same synagogue as Jack Ruby? Steve Thomas

Ashton, As Jack said in his response, the offenses took place in the city limits of Dallas, which put Oswald in their jurisdiction. If I can make sense of Bill Decker's rather convoluted way of speaking, if a prisoner had been charged with a felony and arraigned, in the case of a felony, Decker would get together with Fritz and work out a plan for transferring him to the county jail which was much more secure that the Dallas City jail. Mr. DECKER - Oh, yes; we have a jail there with a capacity of 750 prisoners. Mr. HUBERT - Do you have what might be called maximum security there? Mr. DECKER - Yes; I do--there are many maximums--I have 450 maximum-security cells that's the latest that can be built. The others are built in the old jail which was built in 1913. Of course, my steel isn't so good in that old jail. Mr. HUBERT - By maximum security, you mean, of course, maximum security from the standpoint that the prisoner can't get out? Mr. DECKER - It is tool proof steel, one, and two, it is the modern locks. The man who maintains it--the opening and closing of the doors to it is in a cell block where the prisoners could not get to him unless he did as a couple of my boys did the other day, I'm sorry to say. You don't need to put that in there. They are no longer with me. They opened the door when they had no business to and they lost their jobs and I lost five prisoners. http://jfkassassination.net/russ/testimony/decker.htm A more intriguing question for me was why Oswald was not booked and fingerprinted in the basement of City Hall before being taken up to the third floor for questioning. One of the officers told the WC that sometimes in cases of felonies or serious crimes, prisoners were taken directly to the third floor without being processed first; however, I've looked and can't find which one told the WC that. As you know, Oswald wasn't fingerprinted until 9:00 that night. Steve Thomas

Ashton, The street address for the Municipal Building was 106 S. Harwood. It was bounded by Main and Commerce and was about ten or eleven blocks east of Dealey Plaza. Steve Thomas Ashton, The street address for the Municipal Building was 106 S. Harwood. It was bounded by Main and Commerce and was about ten or eleven blocks east of Dealey Plaza. Steve Thomas

Ashton, The street address for the Municipal Building was 106 S. Harwood. It was bounded by Main and Commerce and was about ten or eleven blocks east of Dealey Plaza. Steve Thomas

Bill, I spent some time trying to find out if there was any connection or overlap between the Cuban Catholic Committee and the Christian Democratic Movement (the MDC). I didn't find any, but the possibilities were intriguing. I wondered if Lucille Connell was one of the people involved in the Nancy Perrin Rich story. Sylvia Odio's story of Ms. Connell sure reads like the behavior of a "handler" - like de Mohrenschildt's behavior towards LHO. It seems like the CCC would be an ideal conduit for spiriting people in and out of places. From Marina Oswald Porter's letter to the ARRB in April, 1996: 7. Reports of the FBI investigation of Cuban exiles in Dallas, to include known but still classified documents on Fermin de Goicochea Sanchez, Father Walter Machann and the Dallas Catholic Cuban Relocation Committee. These would include informant files for Father Machann and/or reports of interviews of Father Machann by Dallas FBI agent W. [Wallace] Heitman. http://www.manuscriptservice.com/DPQ/marina~1.htm Steve Thomas

Pat, I agree. I believe that it would be arich field of research to go through the archives (if there are any) of the Dallas Post Tribune, a black oreiented newspaper in Dallas. In 1950, the name was changed to the Star Post. Steve Thomas

Ashton, As far as photos, you might want to check this site out: http://jfkmurderphotos.bravehost.com/photos.html Steve Thomas

Stephen, That's really coincidental. I was just reading those memos and reports yesterday myself. Steve Thomas

Over the last couple of days, I have been trying to determine if the police who responded to the call to search the houses in the 400 block of East Jefferson, also responded to go to the Library and what happened to them. Based on the Dispatch tapes, it appears that most of them did not go to the Library, but they do evetually show up at the Theater. Sgt. Owens told the WC, “Quite a few of us left that area we were at and proceeded to the library,” Sgt. Hill, who took an active part in searching at least two houses, told the WC, "At this time Sergeant Owens was there; I was there; Bill Alexander was there; it was probably about this time that C. T. Walker, an accident investigator got there; and with Sergeant Owens and Walker and a couple more officers standing outside..." I think it would be worthwhile to try and get these men's stories. Most of them did not file a report with Chief Curry on their activities that day, and most of them did not testify before the Warren Commission. Roy Walker would be an interesting person. He was at all three locations. 1:23 Suspect is reported to be fleeing west on Jefferson from 400 East Jefferson 1:27 19 Reports that the suspect has been seen in the 400 block of East Jefferson and requests squads All hell seems to break loose. Squads started reporting in from all over that they were enroute - many from neighboring districts like 75, 76, 77 and 79, but also from other substations around the City. 1:27 79: enroute Billy W. Anglin 1:27 412: enroute CID (This may have been the car that Lt. Cunningham, Marvin Buhk, J.B. Toney and E.E. Taylor were in). 1:28 75: almost there E.G. Sebastian (2nd Platoon Headquarters Station) 1:28 76: enroute Henry H. Horn 1:28 16: I’ll be out on East Jefferson Sgt. Roy D. Shipley (2nd Platoon Northeast substation) 1:29 77: Going back over about 400 East Jefferson Walter E. Smith 1:29 93: enroute Holly M. Ashcraft (2nd Platoon Northwest Substation) 1:30 79: enroute Billy W. Anglin 1:30 95 enroute Maurice N. McDonald and Thomas R. Gregory 1:30 221’s: about there H.W. Summers 1:30 223: 223’s: there C.T. Walker As far back as 1:22, Unit 85 had given a description of the suspect to Dispatch, so we know he is there. Roy W. Walker 1:33, 19 reports that they are shaking down these old houses in the 400 block of East Jefferson Sgt. Calvin “Bud” Owens 1:33, 95 asks Dispatch to send a squad to 10th and Crawford to check out this church basement Maurice N. McDonald 66: enroute Frank S. Williams (2nd Platoon Headquarters Station) 1:34, 223 reports that the suspect is in the Library C.T. Walker Sgt Owens, “Quite a few of us left that area we were at and proceeded to the library,” 1:34 85: enroute Roy W. Walker 1:34 6(?): enroute 1:35 29: enroute J.M. Williams 1:35 22 they’ve got him hole up in this building Leonard L. Hill (2nd Platoon Northwest Substation) 1:35 211: out at that location Ray Hawkins Hawkins told the W.C. that Elmer Baggett and Hutson were in the car with him 1:36 19: We’re all at this location Sgt. Owens 1:36 Dis: 223 is supposed to be there C.T. Walker 1:45 We have information that a suspect just went in the Texas Theater 1:45 85: Out that way Roy W. Walker 1:46 111: enroute Jerry G. Pollard (2nd Platoon Headquarters Station) 1:46 76 Code 5 Henry H. Horn 1:46 492: Out at Texas Theater CID (Carroll and Lyons) 1:46 85: At Texas Theater Roy W. Walker 1:47 Dis orders someone to go to the rear of the Theater 1:47 211 says there are about five squads back here with me now Ray Hawkins 1:48 15 says send 99 to the Texas Theater 1:48 29: about two blocks away J.M. Williams 1:49 99 re-directed to go to the TSBD 1:49 19: 15 and some squads are going to the Texas Theater Cap’t Talbert (Paul Bentley rode with Captain Talbert) 1:52 550/2: suspect on the shooting the police officer is apprehended Sgt Gerald Hill At 2:04, 77: reports Clear Walter E. Smith 75: I’m still in front of the theater E.G. Sebastian At 2:06, 66 radios in and says, see if you can raise 79, we have his shotgun 66 is Frank S. Williams and 79 is Billy W. Anglin Steve Thomas

Francesca, Since it was activated on February 12, 1961 and close on April 21, 1961, I would suspect the training that took place there had to do with the Bay of Pigs invasion. Steve Thomas

Over the last couple of days, I've been trying to find out what happened to the man riding with M.N. McDonald. His name was T.R. Gregory. McDonald was training him. Mr. BALL - Did you ride alone or have a partner? Mr. McDONALD - No, sir; I had a partner. Mr. BALL - What is his name? Mr. McDONALD - T. R. Gregory. After the president was shot, they reported to the TSBD and helped with crowd control. When the call came out about Tippit's shooting McDonald and Gregory went to the scene. McDonald dropped Gregory off to assist in searching the houses in the 400 block of East Jefferson while he (McDonald) cruised through the alleys. Mr. BALL - How did you happen to go to the 400 block on Jefferson? Mr. McDONALD - I was stopped by other officers there. They wanted to search a house. So I relieved my partner to go to help the supervisors search this house, in the 400 block of East Jefferson. Then I went around to the alleys, and started cruising the alley in my squad car. Notice that McDonald says, “supervisors.” Two of the supervisors who were there at the houses on Jefferson were Sgt. Gerald Hill and Sgt. Calvin “Bud” Owens. 19: “One of the men here at the service station that saw him seems to think he's in this block, the 400 block of East Jefferson behind this service station. Would you give me some more squads over here?” 19 is Calvin Owens. Beginning at about 1:27 on the Dispatch tapes, officers were being instructed to report to the 400 block of East Jefferson. Units 79, 76, 77, 79, 93, 95, 221, 223 and 412 responded. None of those units except for 95 (McDonald) and 223 (C.T. Walker) testified before the WC. Mr. HILL. And met Owens in front of two large vacant houses on the north side of Jefferson that are used for the storage of secondhand furniture. By then Owens had information also that some citizen had seen the man running towards these houses. At this time Sergeant Owens was there; I was there; Bill Alexander was there; it was probably about this time that C. T. Walker, an accident investigator got there; and with Sergeant Owens and Walker and a couple more officers standing outside, Bill Alexander and I entered the front door of the house that would have been to the west--it was the farthest to the west of the two--shook out the lower floor, made sure nobody was there, and made sure that all the entrances from either inside or outside of the building to the second floor were securely locked. Then we went back over to the house next door, which would have been the first one east of this one, and made sure it was securely locked, both upstairs and downstairs. There was no particular sign of entry on this building at all. Hill left the scene of the houses and went back to where Tippit had been shot and gave 105’s keys back to him. (Poe and Jez). He then walked to the Abundant Life Temple and was prepared to search it. Owens remained outside the houses while other officers went in to do the actual search. Mr. OWENS. Then we started searching the buildings and houses--there are some old two-story houses there used as businesses. Mr. ELY. What was the nature of your search of these buildings? Did you just look through the halls? Mr. OWENS. Well, I didn't go in. I was standing on the outside and the other officers were going in. When the radio announced that the suspect was in the Library, McDonald sped off leaving his partner behind. When the radio announced that the suspect was in the Theater, McDonald sped there without picking up his partner (or the man he was training anyway). McDonald told the WC that he never saw Gregory again that day. Mr. BALL - Did you go down there with your partner? Mr. McDONALD - No, sir; I had let my partner out on arrival; my first arrival in the 400 block. Mr. BALL - He was on foot? Mr. McDONALD - Yes, sir; I didn't see him any more that day. I thought that was sort of odd behavior. Gregory didn't testify to the WC and the only reports from him in the DPD Archives concerned his activities on the 24th. All reports had the suspect running west on Jefferson and the houses and church that were being searched were all west of where Tippit got shot. But when the radio announced that the suspect was in the Library, which is east of where Tippit got shot, virtually every officer in the vicinity sped off to the Library. The search of the houses and church were abandoned. Neither Hill or Owens spoke of taking Gregory with them and Bill Alexander did not testify to the WC. What happened to Gregory? Steve Thomas

Robert, The question becomes, were these single person cars, or did they patrolmen ride around in pairs. In his WC testimony, Sgt. Calvin Owens said that Tipitt's general patrol area was in, Mr. ELY. That would be districts 82 and 85? Mr. OWENS. No--81, 82, 85, 86, 87, or 76, 77, 78, or 79---that's that sergeant's district. This was part of the Southwest Substation. By "that Sergeant", I believe he is referring to H.F. Davis. I have the following list from the DPD tape transcripts: 76 Ptm. H. H. Horn 77 Ptm. W. E. Smith 78 Ptm. J. D. Tippit 79 Ptm. B. N. Arglin 80 Sgt. H. F. Davis 81 Ptm. J. L. Angell 83 Ptm. P. L. Gross 85 Ptm. R. W. Walker 87 Ptm. R. C. Nelson What I find facinating is that none of these men filed a Report with Chief Curry on their activities on 11/22 and none of them testified before the Warren Commission. Patrolman Nelson figures prominently in the DPD Tape transcripts trying to run down a car with license plates that started with a PE that was seen with a rifle in the back seat. The only thing I have to go on is from M.N. McDonald ( he who is credited with arresting Lee Harvey Oswald). From the WC testimony of M.N. McDonald http://jfkassassination.net/russ/testimony/mcdonald.htm Mr. BALL - Did Tippit usually cruise alone, or did he ever have a partner sometimes? Mr. McDONALD - Well, working in the daylight hours, which we were assigned that month, it is a custom to work alone unless he had a trainee, such as I. I don't believe he was a trainer. Mr. BALL - In other words, you had a trainee with you, and that is the reason you were not alone? Mr. McDONALD - Yes, sir. McDonald’s District covered Districts 95 and 96. He was driving around with a partner that day, a T.R. Gregory. So, my conclusion is that Billy Fowler's claim to be Tippit's "partner" should be interpreted broadly. They both worked in the same substation, even though, according to Batchelor, they were on different shifts. Steve Thomas

Robert, In March of 1964, Deputy Chief Batchelor put together a list of personnel assignments for November of 1963. Unless they changed shifts or something, Billy Fowler was scheduled to work the First Platoon, midnight to 8:00 AM. http://history-matters.com/archive/jfk/wc/...Vol19_0071a.htm J.D. Tippit was scheduled to work the Second Platoon, 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM. http://history-matters.com/archive/jfk/wc/...Vol19_0072b.htm In his WC testimony, Sgt. Calvin Owens told the WC that he was serving as Acting Lieutenant of the Oak Cliff Substation. In reference to another officer named Angel, Owens said, Mr. OWENS. "Yes; he was working in the Oak Cliff area under the same sergeant that Officer Tippit was working under, so he would be in the same general area which covers these districts in here." I don't know who handed out personnel assignments, but the two Sgts on the Second Platoon were Hugh Davis and Donald Steele. Steele testified to the WC, but only in reference to what happened on November 24th. He told the WC that he had a day off on the 22nd. Does that mean by inference that Hugh Davis would have handed out assignments that day, or did Owens? Owens only told the WC that he was Tippit's "supervisor." The Way of the Gun The untold story of why Lenell Geter was freed BY CARLTON STOWERS https://dal.secure.newtimes.com/issues/2001...ture_print.html "In those days before the cancer would spread and claim his life, longtime law enforcement officer Billy F. Fowler could recount old cases worked with recall that suggested photographic memory. A member of the Dallas Police Department for two decades, he had been the partner of J.D. Tippit, off-duty on the day the officer was shot and killed by Lee Harvey Oswald. From DPD, Fowler had moved to the Dallas County District Attorney's Office, where he spent a couple of years as an investigator. He was serving as a lieutenant with the suburban Midlothian Police Department when he died in March 1992." Steve Thomas

Mark, This website has a chronology for Lee Oswald, month by month and day by day http://jfkassassination.net/parnell/chrono.htm Steve Thomas

Bill, No, Tippit worked at Austin's BBQ and Ralph Paul ran the Bull Pen in Arlington. Steve Thomas

Duke, According to Mary Ferrell's database, that would be Brazel. He was supposed to have weighed in excess of 300 lbs in 1995. You can get a copy of the lineups at Box 6, Folder# 1, Item# 73 here: http://jfk.ci.dallas.tx.us/box6.htm Steve Thomas

James, Not positive, but is that Borchardt? Steve Thomas Scratch that. According to Richard Sims, "Mr. SIMS. Yes, sir. Richard Walter Borchgardt, he is 23 years of age, 5' 9", 161 pounds, blue eyes, blond hair, and ruddy complexion. Ellis Carl Brazel [spelling] B-r-a-z-e-1, he"s 22 years of age, 5' 10", 169 pounds. Mr. STERN. This information was obtained from police records? Mr. SIMS. Yes, sir. He has green eyes, blond hair, and ruddy complexion. http://jfkassassination.net/russ/testimony/sims.htm The guy in your picture does not have blond hair. Steve Thomas

James, Not positive, but is that Borchardt? Steve Thomas

Bill, Here's the entry from Mary Ferrell's database: LAST STEELE FIRST ROBERT MID/AKA ADDRESS 316 Brayton Ave., Altoona, PA 'PHONE SOURCES CD 53, pp. 6-7; "ONI", pp. 196-197 COMMENT Brother of Mrs. Margaret Kathryn Hoover. LAST STEEL CD 53 is the FBI Report I cited above. If someone has access to the book, "ONI", maybe they could cross reference the entries. Steve Thomas

Bill, Here's the entry from Mary Ferrell's database: LAST STEELE FIRST ROBERT MID/AKA ADDRESS 316 Brayton Ave., Altoona, PA 'PHONE SOURCES CD 53, pp. 6-7; "ONI", pp. 196-197 COMMENT Brother of Mrs. Margaret Kathryn Hoover. LAST STEEL CD 53 is the FBI Report I cited above. If someone has access to the book, "ONI", maybe they could cross reference the entries. Steve Thomas

Bill, Here's the entry from Mary Ferrell's database: LAST STEELE FIRST ROBERT MID/AKA ADDRESS 316 Brayton Ave., Altoona, PA 'PHONE SOURCES CD 53, pp. 6-7; "ONI", pp. 196-197 COMMENT Brother of Mrs. Margaret Kathryn Hoover. LAST STEEL CD 53 is the FBI Report I cited above. If someone has access to the book, "ONI", maybe they could cross reference the entries. Steve Thomas