1977-07-14 Paulk
Paulk Charge Dropped; 'Cops Made a Mistake'
Capital murder charges against a 21-year-old Amarillo man accused of killing a woman in a River Road bread store were dropped yesterday
Justice of the Peace Roy E. Byrd ended an exarnining trial for Kenneth Paulk. 107 Cottonwood, with dismissal of the case against Paulk in the May 31 stabbing death of Murl Reeves, 59. manager of Mead's Bakery Thrift Store. 4601 River Road.
Judge Byrd announced his ruling after Assistant District Attorney John Loudder Davis and Defense Lawyer Selden Hale both made concluding statements that evidence against Paulk was insufficient to hold him any longer on the capital murder charge.
Paulk has been jailed without bond on the capital murder charge since June 17. A theft charge on which he was arrested June 2 is still pending.
While on the witness stand in Judge Byrd's court, a police lieutenant contended "we still have probable cause.
But the judge. the lawyers, and several of the witneses agreed, as Hale said. that "the cops made a mistake." The police lieutenant blamed two detective sergeants for the filing of the capital murder complaint against Paulk.
Lt. Keith Ferguson testified Sgt. Gary Richards sent to a Dallas forensic lab without the lieutenant's knowledge, blood-stained pants belonging to a suspect now released.
Also at the Dalias laboratory were trousers belonging to Paulk which the lieutenant knew had been submitted for tests.
The lieutenant explained on the witness stand yesterday that when Assistant District Attorney David Gleason conferred by telephone with Sally Williams. forensic scientist in Dallas, about "blood stains on the pants," she was talking about stains on the blue jeans submitted by Richards
Gleason, who did not know about the pants sent to Dallas by Sgt. Richards. was talking about pants owned by Paulk
Blue jeans owned by the man the police released contain stains made by blood described by a pathologist as "a very good match" to the blood of the stabbing victim
The jeans owned by Paulk contain no bloodstains, according to a report from the Dallas lab Lt.
Ferguson blamed Detective Sgt. Derrell Garner for the filing of the capital murder complaint against Paulk
"It was presented by Detective Garner. and I was present," Lt Ferguson said under oath yesterday about the capital murder complaint accepted June 17 by Assistant District Attorney Gleason.
Detective Garner testified during his time on the witness stand yesterday that he believes Lt. Ferguson filed the complaint on June 17 while Garner was out of town.
The complaint filed in the capital murder case bears the sworn signature "Keith F'erguson.
The detectives were three of nine witnesses presented at the examining trial yesterday.
Two eyewitnesses who identified Paulk at the police station as a man they saw near the bread store testified yesterday.
Both the eyewitnesses admitted fail- ing to pick out Paulk the first time they saw him in a lineup at the police station.
Kerry Chennault, 17, a deliveryman for Frontier Electronics, across River Road from the bread store, said he was inside the Frontier firm and noticed a man walking near the bread store about the time a woman came out of the store screaming.
Chennault said the man he saw was wearing a green shirt with short sleeves. Chennault said he later identified Paulk at the police station where there was some "pressure" to make an Identification after he failed to identify Paulk in the first lineup.
In Judge Byrd's courtroom, Hale then had his client undo the top of the prisoner's white coveralls he was wearing.
Both Paulk's arms-upper arm and forearm-are tattooed. The right arm has five tattoos. The left arm has three.
Chennault then said, "The guy 1 seen didn't have tattoos.
Hale said, "Then this is not the man, is it?"
Chennault agreed.
The other eyewitness, operator of Frontier Electronics, Val Ates, testified yesterday he saw a man in the doorway of his shop the morning Mrs. • Reeves was found dead.
Ates said the man he saw was wearing a maroon shirt-either short sleeved or with the cuffs rolled up.
Ates said he failed to identify Paulk in two police department lineups.
Ates said he identified Paulk after he saw Paulk without other prisoners in the company of police officers.
Paulk was wearing street clothes when Ates saw him the third time at the police station, Ates said.
This time, Hale had Paulk roll up the sleeves of his coveralls.
Ates said, 'I didn't notice those tattoos."
Ates said he identified Paulk "by the cut of the hair."
Ates maintained that Paulk is the man he saw near the bread store the a morning the woman was murdered.
None of the other four witnesses testified about identification of Paulk, although Dr. Jose A. Diaz-Esquivel, a pathologist who performed the autopsy in the case, was cross-examined by Hale about the blood stains on the pants owned by the man the police freed
Dr. Diaz said the blood stains on the blue jeans of the man released by police and the blood of the stabbing victim amount to "a very good match:
Questioned by Hale from the report of the Dallas forensic laboratory, Dr Diaz estimated there is a 65-75 per cent chance that the blood is the same.
Dr. Diaz testified a stab wound to the chest by "something like a knife" led to Mrs. Reeves' death. He said she was stabbed seven times.
Other witnesses yesterday were Kenneth Dry, a salesman for the bakery company which employed Mrs. Reeves. He said be saw her alive at the store at 4601 River Road shortly after 8 a.m. on May 31 when he delivered bread and about $100 in bills and coins to her.
Dry said he left the bread store not later than 8:30 a.m.
Bobbie Joyce Cummings, 5615 Irwin, testified she discovered Mrs. Reeves body on the floor of the store and the cash register drawer open. She said she knew the time was after 9 a.m. because her son was watching "Sesame Street" on TV when she left home.
Mrs. Cummings said she ran to a nearby service station to report finding Mrs. Reeves' lying in blood in the bread store.
The other witness at the examining triai yesterday, Melva Jean Olson, 42, of 312 E. Central, said she lives a block north and east of the bread store. She said she saw Paulk between 8:30 a.m. and 9:20 a.m. on the day Mrs. Reeves' was killed.
She said Paulk was "disgusted" that morning, had an open knife, and said he'd like to be a hit man for the Mafia and "get even with everybody."
When the defense lawyer began to question her about her relationship with Paulk. Judge Byrd interrupted and said. "We're not going into their private lives."
Questioned by the defense lawyer, the Olson woman said she does not expect any reward in the murder case. She said she is in "real estate sales.
Asked by the defense lawyer when she she most recently sold any real estate, she said she sold some carpet Friday.
Murder Charges Dropped by Judge
With tangible evidence against Kenneth Paulk, 21, sifted down to a single gray hair found on his boot, capital murder charges against him were dismissed yesterday
Justice of the Peace Roy E. Byrd dismissed capital murder charges against Paulk after an examining trial in the case of the May 31 stabbing death of Murl Reeves, 59, manager of Mead's Bakery Thrift Store, 4601 River Road.
Paulk was charged June 17. in the woman's death and has been held without bond
The gray hair found on Paulk's boot has been reported to match the victim's hair, but the pathologist who testified yesterday said hair samples are matched by observation and are not matched so extensively as blood samples.
Two eyewitnesses who earher identified Paulk as a man seen walking near the bakery store the morning of the murder testified during; the examining trial.
Shown Paulk's tatooed arms yesterday during the hearing before Judge Byrd, one of the eyewitnesses decided Paulk was not the man he saw on May 31. The other eyewitness said he identified Paulk by "the cut of his hair" but did not notice the tatoos on May 31.
Police Lt. Keith Ferg uson, who signed the complaint against Paulk in the Reeves death, said on the witness stand yesterday that he still believes there was probable cause for arresting Paulk and charging him with apital murder in the case.
Lt. Ferguson said today investigation in the case is continuing Testimony during the examining trial yesterday indicated that two pair of blue jeans were sent to a Dallas laboratory for testing for t lood.
One pair belonged to Paulk. One pair belonged to another man.
Through a communication mixup, law enforcement authorities here believed bloodstains had been toun 1 on Paulk's jeans. Later they learned the blood-stains, which matched blocd of the victim, had been found on jea is owned by another suspect.
The blood match war: explained yesterday as a 65-75 per rent chance that the blood is the same in testimony by the pathologist who conducted the autopsy in the case, Dr. Jore A. Diaz- Esquivel
Lt. Ferguson said today a newspaper story saying he blamed two detective sergeants for the mixup in the case was "sensationalism" and "crap."
Ll. Ferguson said today he should have checked with Police Detective Sgt. Gary Richards on Rictiards' investigation of the owner of the blood- stained blue jeans
At the end of the examining trial, both the prosecation and the defense stated that evidence against Paulk is insufficient for indictment and conviction
Lt. Ferguson said today the owner of the bioodstained jeans has been questioned by police and prosited an albi for May 31. the day the bakery store mamager was stabbed and the cash register emptied of bills.
