One Cop-Killing Chump & A Jacket Dump

[Greg Doudna]

On 2/26/2024 at 4:22 PM, Pete Mellor said:

In 1964 Rowe told friends, relatives and JFKA researchers that it was he, NOT Brewer, who pointed out Oswald to the police in the dark of the Texas Theatre.  Rowe was so close to Jack Ruby that Rowe moved into Ruby's apartment when he went to jail for killing Oswald.  Rowe was never interviewed by the DPD or FBI.  Rowe's account was published by Penn Jones in his Midlothian Mirror.

Pete, this is slightly off topic but it is important. Do you have the documentation for the claim that Rowe “pointed out Oswald to the police in the dark of the Texas Theatre”? 

The reason for asking is there is another Rowe, an undercover officer of the DPD, who has long claimed he was present that day at the Texas Theatre and participated somehow in Oswald’s arrest although unverified in any written records. And that undercover officer Rowe by his own admission (I have seen the videotape) said he had been receiving envelopes of cash from Ruby, was on the take from Ruby—that is what this retired DPD officer Rowe SAID—which would be in agreement with the story of “Rowe” being friends with Ruby. 

Of course this officer Rowe had a different first name than “Tommy” Rowe of the Boxley Garrison document. So it is puzzling, but I just wonder if there could be some mistakes or confusion in identities? Thanks for your other comment re my piece. 

[Bill Brown]

On 2/26/2024 at 6:43 PM, Tom Gram said:

I know you said Baker, but the theater situation has always been puzzling.  

Oswald was surrounded by cops. If he had just killed Tippit in a desperate attempt to escape being taken into custody, why wait until the house lights were turned on and McDonald was right on top of him to attempt to pull out his gun? Why throw a punch first and not just pistol-whip McDonald at least?

Why wasn’t Oswald immediately charged with attempted murder? What really happened in the scuffle? What was the real source of the alleged “misfire” incident? {insert Paul Bentley rant here}. 

Getting back on track to Bill’s jacket deal - it’s a valid point, but only if Brewer’s initial ID of Oswald is reliable. According to Postal’s affidavit, Brewer went in and looked for the suspect, twice - once alone and once with Burroughs - then checked and guarded the exits with Burroughs while she called the police. Brewer contradicted Postal in his testimony, and said he and Burroughs checked the exits first. Either way, where was Oswald this whole time?

Brewer pointed out the guy who stood up when the lights were turned on. How sure was he, really, that it was the same guy he saw outside his store? 

Regarding Brewer‘s description: what is Brewer’s earliest recorded description of the suspect? If I recall, the DPD didn’t get around to taking affidavits from Brewer and Postal until December. Why not? 

 

"Oswald was surrounded by cops. If he had just killed Tippit in a desperate attempt to escape being taken into custody, why wait until the house lights were turned on and McDonald was right on top of him to attempt to pull out his gun?"

 

I believe that Nick McDonald, hoping to avoid an in-theater shootout, wanted to give Oswald a false sense of security, i.e. "Maybe these cops don't know exactly who they're looking for and aren't specifically looking for me.  Therefore, I'll wait it out and perhaps walk out of here later."

 

McDonald tells how, as he was making his way up the aisle toward Oswald, he questioned a few others in the theater all while keeping his eye on Oswald.

 

[Tom Gram]

22 minutes ago, Bill Brown said:

 

"Oswald was surrounded by cops. If he had just killed Tippit in a desperate attempt to escape being taken into custody, why wait until the house lights were turned on and McDonald was right on top of him to attempt to pull out his gun?"

 

I believe that Nick McDonald, hoping to avoid an in-theater shootout, wanted to give Oswald a false sense of security, i.e. "Maybe these cops don't know exactly who they're looking for and aren't specifically looking for me.  Therefore, I'll wait it out and perhaps walk out of here later."

 

McDonald tells how, as he was making his way up the aisle toward Oswald, he questioned a few others in the theater all while keeping his eye on Oswald.

 

You don’t think a guy standing on the stage with the lights on with a bunch of cops literally pointing at him might’ve been a bit of a clue? 

Per your theory Oswald was so desperate to escape getting taken into custody that all Tippit had to do was get out of his car for Oswald to draw and fire, yet in the theater Oswald just sits there calmly surrounded by cops thinking he might get away with it after getting pointed at from the stage and watching other theater patrons get patted down for weapons? 

Makes a lot of sense… 

[Steve Roe]

2 hours ago, Tom Gram said:

You don’t think a guy standing on the stage with the lights on with a bunch of cops literally pointing at him might’ve been a bit of a clue? 

Per your theory Oswald was so desperate to escape getting taken into custody that all Tippit had to do was get out of his car for Oswald to draw and fire, yet in the theater Oswald just sits there calmly surrounded by cops thinking he might get away with it after getting pointed at from the stage and watching other theater patrons get patted down for weapons? 

Makes a lot of sense… 

Seriously Tom? 

I don't know if you have ever been to the Texas Theater, but I have, as well as Bill Brown. Both of us have been back there on the stage, behind the stage, the fire escapes etc. 

You said this extremely dubious question: You don’t think a guy standing on the stage with the lights on with a bunch of cops literally pointing at him might’ve been a bit of a clue? 

What did Johnny Brewer say?Just before they came (Police), they turned the house lights on, and I looked out from the curtains and saw the man. Warren Commission Hearings, Volume VII (maryferrell.org) 

Johnny was peeking through the curtains, OK? He wasn't standing front stage in front of everyone with the cops, pointing out Oswald with the cops. You do recognize this, right Tom??????  Read on the link above. 

Would you like to correct yourself on this? or not? 

Ok Tom, the big question to you is this: Did Oswald murder Officer Tippit or not?

 

[Tom Gram]

13 hours ago, Steve Roe said:

Seriously Tom? 

I don't know if you have ever been to the Texas Theater, but I have, as well as Bill Brown. Both of us have been back there on the stage, behind the stage, the fire escapes etc. 

You said this extremely dubious question: You don’t think a guy standing on the stage with the lights on with a bunch of cops literally pointing at him might’ve been a bit of a clue? 

What did Johnny Brewer say?Just before they came (Police), they turned the house lights on, and I looked out from the curtains and saw the man. Warren Commission Hearings, Volume VII (maryferrell.org) 

Johnny was peeking through the curtains, OK? He wasn't standing front stage in front of everyone with the cops, pointing out Oswald with the cops. You do recognize this, right Tom??????  Read on the link above. 

Would you like to correct yourself on this? or not? 

Ok Tom, the big question to you is this: Did Oswald murder Officer Tippit or not?

 

Mr. BREWER - I heard a noise outside, and I opened the door, and the alley, I guess it was filled with police cars and policemen were on the fire exits and stacked around the alley, and they grabbed me, a couple of them and held and searched me and asked me what I was doing there, and I told them that there was a guy in the theatre that I was suspicious of, and he asked me if he was still there.
And I said, yes, I just seen him. And he asked me if I would point him out.
And I and two or three other officers walked out on the stage and I pointed him out, and there were officers coming in from the front of the show, I guess, coming toward that way, and officers going from the back.

Brewer testified that he “peeked through the curtains” before the police arrived:

Mr. BREWER - Well, just before they came. they turned the house lights on, and I looked out from the curtains and saw the man. 
Mr. BELIN - Where was he when you saw him? 

“Walked out on the stage” with “two or three” cops. Do you think they all poked their heads out in a line between the curtains? The lights were on. C’mon Steve. 

EDIT: McDonald’s take: 

Mr. McDONALD - Well, there was the other three officers that accompanied me through the rear exit door. Officer Walker went through the curtains with me, and Officers Hawkins and Hutson was on the stage with the man that was identifying the suspect. 

Hmm… 

As for your “big question”, are you asking for an opinion? Cause you seem to do that pretty often. Why do opinions matter? When you ask these types of questions it almost seems like some sort of bait where you’re trying to impugn someone’s credibility based on their beliefs about the case. I’ll play along. Do I have doubts about the official story? Absof*****gloutely. Did Oswald kill Tippit? I don’t know, and neither do you. 

Edited February 29 by Tom Gram

[Pete Mellor]

21 hours ago, Greg Doudna said:

Pete, this is slightly off topic but it is important. Do you have the documentation for the claim that Rowe “pointed out Oswald to the police in the dark of the Texas Theatre”? 

No docs, just assume this Tommy Rowe was at one time interviewed by Penn Jones who then published his story in his Midlothian Mirror.  Never heard of the undercover cop 'Rowe'.  It was Tommy who moved into Ruby's apartment. 

[Greg Doudna]

8 hours ago, Pete Mellor said:

No docs, just assume this Tommy Rowe was at one time interviewed by Penn Jones who then published his story in his Midlothian Mirror.  Never heard of the undercover cop 'Rowe'.  It was Tommy who moved into Ruby's apartment. 

Officer Robert A. Rowe. 

Ian Griggs writing in 2005 (https://educationforum.ipbhost.com/topic/13775-robert-rowe/page/2/) :

ROWE, Robert A. (Ptmn, NE Substation, 1st Platoon, Patrol Division)

As a member of the 1st Platoon, Ptmn. Rowe would have been on night shift duty during the assassination weekend. During a conversation with him in Dallas in November 2005, however, he claimed to have been working some sort of undercover assignment on 22nd November. He told me that at this time he was working out of uniform and had long hair tied in a ponytail. 

He also described having taken part in the arrest of Lee Harvey Oswald in the theatre. Despite discussing these claims with several DPD officers present during the Oswald arrest, I have been unable to corroborate his story. I have failed to identify any officer who saw him in the Texas Theater.

It was mentioned to me by a former DPD officer who knew Mr. Rowe that due to a longstanding medical condition (possibly a mental health problem), he (Rowe) seldom left the office and had responsibility only for the safe custody and necessary issue of keys in a key press.

During my meeting with Mr. Rowe it was noticeable that he was wearing on his jacket a DPD Patrolman badge across which was taped a piece of paper bearing the word RETIRED.

It is my opinion that this man was nowhere near the Oswald arrest site on 22nd November 1963 and I feel that his claim should be treated with extreme caution.

IAN GRIGGS

Here is verification that Robert A. Rowe was a Dallas Police officer in November 1963: https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=1136#relPageId=140.

Here is an interview of retired Dallas Police officer Robert Rowe filmed in 2008 but to my knowledge only first posted saw the light of day in 2023, posted on YouTube in 2023, previously unknown, see starting at 41:05: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gw474eos24Y.

In this filmed interview from 2008, Rowe says he and his partner arrived in a pickup truck parked in the alley next to the Texas Theatre, on Nov 22, 1963.

Compare that to what has always been a mystery: a separate report of Dallas Police officer Stringer upon arrival to the alley entrance of the Texas Theatre on Nov 22, 1963, of seeing an unoccupied pickup truck with the engine running outside the back door of the Theatre: https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=217804#relPageId=104. There is no information in the police reports of what became of that running pickup truck or who was the owner or driver of that pickup truck. According to Rowe's interview that may have been Rowe.

I also found this from Dallas Morning News reporter Jim Ewell in Sneed, No More Silence 1998), p. 10 referring to Oswald's arrest at the Texas Theatre: "Oswald then took my place in the backseat of the same [patrol] car that I arrived in. So when they left with him, I stood there stranded. I then hitchhiked a ride with a man in a pickup truck." Maybe that was Rowe or Rowe's partner.

Here is an interview of officer Rowe in 2009, starting at 14:09 of 5th down from the top, "Keep Seeking the Truth" video Part 2, https://projectjfk.com/videos. This is the fullest telling of Rowe's story.

In the 2009 video, Rowe says he was working undercover with 2 or 3 other officers, undercover, on a narcotics sting and a prostitution case. He says they were located about 2 miles from the Texas Theatre in Oak Cliff. He and the others were in an apartment and listened on a black-and-white television and on KRLD radio after the news Kennedy had been shot, for about an hour. When they heard on the news of the officer killed in Oak Cliff and that a suspect was at the Texas Theatre, on the commercial radio, he and another undercover officer (identified as T.O. Trotman in Rowe's 2008 video), decided to go over and see if they could help out. Rowe says he was not in uniform, had long hair and a ponytail, so he did not look like an officer. He says they pulled up near the door in the alley of the Texas Theatre, and he says he was there talking with the officers before that side door opened, and that he entered on to the stage area of the theater when officers opened the door. Rowe says from the stage he saw Oswald stand up and move over a few seats in the back of the theater. As the uniformed officers moved down the aisle toward Oswald, Rowe says he thought Oswald might make a run for the door out the alley. Rowe says he went near the location of the officers struggling to subdue Oswald, and when Gerald Hill called out for someone to give him  handcuffs, Rowe says that the officer who provided them handed them to Rowe who handed them to Hill (who put them on Oswald).

Rowe filed no written report. He does not show up in any of the accounts of the Texas Theatre arrest of Oswald, in any officer or witness report, his name does not appear in the index in Myers' book, etc and etc. Rowe explains in the 2009 video (my transcription): 

"I left, because I was not supposed to be there. I was undercover, and you're not supposed to go around police operations when you're undercover. I didn't get my name in any report."

In the 2008 video interview (the one that first come to light in 2023) Rowe makes what is really a sensational disclosure or claim--that he was a cop on the take from Jack Ruby whom he says he knew very well and whom he knew was mob-connected--and that there were other police on the take from Ruby too. By Rowe's description Ruby was a regular ATM machine for cash for some officers apparently. Rowe says all the cash that Ruby had on his person Nov 24 was only the cash still left after he had already passed some out in envelopes that weekend. Rowe does not name officers who received cash from Ruby other than himself.

Rowe straight-up says right into the camera that he received money from Jack Ruby handed to him personally by Ruby in cash in envelopes, in addition to his Dallas Police officer pay. Rowe just straight says that as if he's talking about the weather.    

Given that Ruby personally extrajudicially executed Oswald on Sunday morning Nov 24, and reasons for supposing there may have been a foiled intention to extrajudicially execute Oswald earlier in the Theatre on Nov 22, is the presence of an unreported undercover police officer in the pay of Ruby at the Texas Theatre at the time of Oswald's arrest significant, if he was there? It would have been nice if that could have been investigated.

Penn Jones that you cite and the Boxley Garrison witness lead document posted by Gil have a different Rowe named "Tommy Rowe" of whom hardly anything is known--supposedly a second unknown mystery person named Rowe there that day who also told people he played a role in the arrest of Oswald at the Texas Theatre and had an unusual connection to Ruby.

That seems like one too many mystery unreported Rowes who told of playing a role in Oswald's arrest who had a relationship with Ruby. Is it possible Boxley got his Tommy Rowe listing from Penn Jones' information and Penn Jones got his from some hearsay with a mistake in the first name? This is just speculating, I don't know. It just seems like too similar of a match to stories of an identical last name to be two of them.

Finally on officer Rowe, an unrelated story from 2013 in which Rowe tells of the day he reported to the scene of a 1973 Dallas Police shooting and killing of a 12-year old boy while in police custody (done by other officers, not Rowe): https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/retired-officer-remembers-the-night-santos-rodriguez-was-killed/ .

Edited February 29 by Greg Doudna

[Donald Willis]

On 2/25/2024 at 2:10 PM, Greg Doudna said:

Good valid question if Brewer's identification was correct that the man at the front of his shoe store seen through his glass front door of his store was Oswald. But if that man of Brewer was not Oswald (but was the Tippit killer), the same man who after going into the balcony of the theater was seen by officer Courson coming down from the balcony and Courson too also thought he was Oswald (though that man was not), then the question collapses.

So the question is only as solid as the Tenth and Patton plus Brewer witness testimonies of the Oswald identification, however strong or not, as the case may be, as those witness identifications are. Just to be clear on that point.There is a non-zero possibility that that many witnesses, none of whom got a close look at Oswald and knew him from before (apart from Brewer who had once sold shoes to Oswald), could be mistaken in that identification

Such as Mrs M & Virginia Davis, who apparently did not even see the shooter, just a vigilante chasing him.

[Tom Gram]

3 hours ago, Greg Doudna said:

That seems like one too many mystery unreported Rowes who told of playing a role in Oswald's arrest who had a relationship with Ruby.

Is it possible Robert was using the name Tommy in his undercover operation? 

[Steve Roe]

19 hours ago, Tom Gram said:

As for your “big question”, are you asking for an opinion? Cause you seem to do that pretty often. Why do opinions matter? When you ask these types of questions it almost seems like some sort of bait where you’re trying to impugn someone’s credibility based on their beliefs about the case. I’ll play along. Do I have doubts about the official story? Absof*****gloutely. Did Oswald kill Tippit? I don’t know, and neither do you. 

Didn't Brewer say when the house lights were turned on, he saw Oswald get up from his seat, attempt to move and sat right back down either in his same seat or nearby? What's that all about Tom? 

Yes, Brewer did ID Oswald for the cops from the left side of the stage (facing screen). Absolutely. 

McDonald heard Brewer explain to the other cops, either Hutson/Walker/Hawkins where Oswald was sitting. So, he went down the aisle, searched two guys first for weapons and then worked himself up to Oswald. Then he did the same with Oswald, had him stand on his feet, then Oswald suckered punched him. What's that all about Tom? 

Then Oswald pulled out his revolver and the fight was on. Why did Oswald pull out his revolver Tom?

See anything suspicious going on Tom? 

You said: Did Oswald kill Tippit? I don’t know, and neither do you. (DiEugenio said repeatedly Oswald didn't shoot Tippit, does he get a pass too?)

That's a pretty amazing comment Tom, since you and Ben Cole declared the Walker bullet was steel-jacketed and not the actual bullet in the National Archives. See the contradiction? 

 

[Greg Doudna]

4 hours ago, Donald Willis said:

Such as Mrs M & Virginia Davis, who apparently did not even see the shooter, just a vigilante chasing him.

At least in the case of Barbara Davis I think that is probably right. Barbara Davis insisted that the man of whom she saw a brief glimpse in profile of his face whom she believed had been the killer running by her house, and from that brief glimpse told police was Oswald out of a lineup, was wearing a black coat.

"except he [Oswald, at the lineup, concerning her identification of Oswald as the man she saw] didn't have a black coat on when I saw him in the lineup ... a dark coat ... a dark coat"

"No, sir [on whether she saw CE 162 worn by her "Oswald" who ran by her house] ... it was dark and to me looked like it was maybe a wool fabric, it looked sort of rough. Like more of a sporting jacket."

Bill and I in the past went around and around on this. Bill was positive Barbara saw the killer wearing CE 162 and somehow was massively mistaken in her memory of color and description of that jacket but was not mistaken on the facial identification from her profile view of the man. I argued that it was more likely a witness such as Barbara had a reliable memory of a basic color and coat description which differed so starkly from all other witness descriptions of the killer's jacket, and that an erroneous identification of Oswald in the lineup as the man wearing that black coat was an easier and therefore more likely error for a witness to make. I discussed this at pages 28-34 of https://www.scrollery.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/T-Jackets-112.pdf.

I have wondered if the man in the black coat Barbara saw go by her house might have been Jimmy Burt, who said he went around the corner of Tenth and Patton moments after the killer had passed there. 

Of course if Barbara was identifying someone other than the killer as Oswald (based on her glimpse of a profile of the man in the black coat seeing his face from the side), that could function to raise critical scrutiny of some witness Oswald identifications (influenced by other witnesses? by police? by wanting to help police convict the killer?), since it is logically impossible for two distinct men identified as Oswald out of lineups by Tenth and Patton witnesses to both be correct.

[Donald Willis]

4 hours ago, Greg Doudna said:

At least in the case of Barbara Davis I think that is probably right. Barbara Davis insisted that the man of whom she saw a brief glimpse in profile of his face whom she believed had been the killer running by her house, and from that brief glimpse told police was Oswald out of a lineup, was wearing a black coat.

"except he [Oswald, at the lineup, concerning her identification of Oswald as the man she saw] didn't have a black coat on when I saw him in the lineup ... a dark coat ... a dark coat"

"No, sir [on whether she saw CE 162 worn by her "Oswald" who ran by her house] ... it was dark and to me looked like it was maybe a wool fabric, it looked sort of rough. Like more of a sporting jacket."

Bill and I in the past went around and around on this. Bill was positive Barbara saw the killer wearing CE 162 and somehow was massively mistaken in her memory of color and description of that jacket but was not mistaken on the facial identification from her profile view of the man. I argued that it was more likely a witness such as Barbara had a reliable memory of a basic color and coat description which differed so starkly from all other witness descriptions of the killer's jacket, and that an erroneous identification of Oswald in the lineup as the man wearing that black coat was an easier and therefore more likely error for a witness to make. I discussed this at pages 28-34 of https://www.scrollery.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/T-Jackets-112.pdf.

I have wondered if the man in the black coat Barbara saw go by her house might have been Jimmy Burt, who said he went around the corner of Tenth and Patton moments after the killer had passed there. 

Of course if Barbara was identifying someone other than the killer as Oswald (based on her glimpse of a profile of the man in the black coat seeing his face from the side), that could function to raise critical scrutiny of some witness Oswald identifications (influenced by other witnesses? by police? by wanting to help police convict the killer?), since it is logically impossible for two distinct men identified as Oswald out of lineups by Tenth and Patton witnesses to both be correct.

I had never thought of Jimmy Burt as the one that Barbara (& Virginia) Davis saw.  Certainly a possibility as he went the same way, apparently, as the actual killer.  But he was with Smith, wasn't he?.  Wouldn't she have seen him, too?  That intersection gets very complicated, foot-traffic-wise.  But if Smith didn't follow Burt around the corner...?  But my take is that none of them--Davis, Davis, Markham, Burt, Smith--saw the killer, just a vigilante chasing same.  I think the only two witnesses to the killer were Benavides & Scoggins, but they ran into a police buzz-saw, and couldn't ID anyone, on Friday, at least... I think the killer did his job and left very quickly*, and the only two people up & about outside at 10th & Patton were Benavides and Scoggins.                      *No time, for instance, for a belated head shot, as described by one (very belated) witness...

PS I think you're right--two witnesses, at least, wanted to help the police catch the killer of JFK--the Davises

[Greg Doudna]

8 hours ago, Tom Gram said:

Is it possible Robert was using the name Tommy in his undercover operation? 

Tom I think you might be on to something there.

I've tried to identify these characters--Robert A. Rowe the officer working undercover; "Tommy Rowe" whose actions Nov 22 sound so much like Robert Rowe's; "Freddie Woodall" who supposedly shared Ruby's former apartment with "Tommy Rowe" according to the Boxley-Garrison document, through the 1963 and 1964 Polk's city directories for Dallas, and come up with nothing connecting anything to Ruby's address, and nothing for a Freddie Woodall in Dallas.

And I found no Robert A. Rowe who is not otherwise accounted for by different occupations named than police officer, so could not find him in Dallas, even though we know he existed and that is his correct name because of Dallas Police officer records.

What I did find in the 1963 directory however, not present in 1964, is a "Tom Rowe, student, 2435 W. Jefferson Blvd". Remember how in his 2009 video Robert Rowe said he and 2-3 other undercover officers were watching the news on TV and listening to the radio news regarding the assassination on Nov 22 for about an hour before hearing of Tippit, and then driving two miles to the Texas Theatre?

Well, 2435 Jefferson Blvd, where resides one "Tom Rowe", same name as the otherwise-unidentified "Tommy Rowe" whose presence and activity related to the Texas Theatre and Oswald that day sounds so closely similar to being the same person as Robert Rowe ... is almost exactly two miles from the Texas Theatre at 231 W. Jefferson according an online map.

Robert Rowe is undercover, is listed as a "student" going by "Tom" or "Tommy" plus same last name ... and Robert A. Rowe cannot be found under his correct name ... two miles away and two miles away ... its a match!

"Tommy Rowe" is one and the same with Dallas Police undercover officer Robert A. Rowe.

Brilliant Tom! I love puzzle solutions! 

[Pete Mellor]

5 hours ago, Greg Doudna said:

"Tommy Rowe" is one and the same with Dallas Police undercover officer Robert A. Rowe.

Brilliant Tom! I love puzzle solutions! 

Elementary my dear Mr Doudna!  So is there any record of a Rowe moving into Ruby's apartment in '64?

[Greg Doudna]

2 hours ago, Pete Mellor said:

Elementary my dear Mr Doudna!  So is there any record of a Rowe moving into Ruby's apartment in '64?

I couldn't find anything about that. I wish someone could. One detail I noticed is that the Boxley/Garrison lead item has the apartment at issue as #206 at 227 S. Ewing in Oak Cliff, mistakenly identified as Ruby's apartment. In fact Ruby's apartment was #207. Apt #206 was George Senator's before Senator moved from #206 in with Ruby at #207. There is also some story, I don't remember where I read it, that some Dallas Police officers, unidentified, are supposed to have lived in an apartment next to or near Ruby's, I wonder if that is a different version of the Boxley/Garrison lead item. 

The Penn Jones allusion to "Tommy" Rowe (undercover officer Rowe) telling store manager Brewer that Oswald had gone into the theater is puzzling, but the simplest explanation might be that it was some version of Rowe's story that he, like Brewer, was at that alley side door of the Theatre behind the stage. Brewer came out that door and then went back in on the stage behind the curtain, with other officers, and from there peeking through the curtain saw Oswald sitting in the back of the theater and pointed Oswald out to the officers. Rowe in his 2009 video says identically that he too was on that stage at the same moments, as if he was with those other officers on the stage with Brewer, and Rowe says, just like Brewer, that he too saw Oswald sitting in the rear, standing up and sitting down again, seeing the same thing Brewer said he saw, from the same location on the stage Brewer was. Rowe in 2009 does not claim he pointed out Oswald to other officers or to Brewer while they were on that stage--Rowe 2009 does not mention Brewer at all--but it sounds so close that it seems the Penn Jones allusion must be some version of that. As Brewer told it he started to go out the side door into the alley and the officers outside (Rowe says he was with those uniformed officers) at first thought Brewer was the suspect until both officers and Brewer agreed the suspect was not Brewer but inside the theater. Brewer is alive and in Austin today at age 83? Its a long time ago, but I wonder if Brewer would remember anything related to Rowe, a long-haired plain-clothes officer with a ponytail there also on that stage with Brewer when Brewer spotted Oswald sitting in the back of the theater.