It all started in June of 1997. I was in prison here in Texas serving a sentence for burglary and credit card abuse. I used to fence a lot of stolen property which is why I've been convicted of burlary so many times. Here in Texas if a person gets caught with propety taken from a burglary-he's charged with the burglary. I was serving a 5 year sentence and was to get out on August 31st 1998.

On a Friday in June 1997 I received a notice that I was going to be transported to Weatherford Texas to resolve an old burglary case that I had been trying to take care of for a number of years. When I receieved this notice I sat down and was talking to man named Bennie Toole. I told him that I was going on a bench warrant to Weatherford and he started telling me to be careful out there because they are very strict and give a lot of time. He went on to tell me that he had went on bench warrant because him and his friend had been suspects in a bombing case that happened in Lake Worth. Lake Worth is a suburb of Fort Worth (which is where I live) so I was naturally curious about the bombing because I hadn't heard anything about it and its an unusual crime. Especially in Fort Worth Texas.  He went on to tell me that him and his friend (Mike Huff) were suspects in a briefcase bombing. I asked him what it was all about and he said, "someone put a briefcase on someones porch in Lake Worth and it exploded and killed the Family. He didn't tell me when this happened or exactly where. I assumed that it was recently because of the way he was talking. The following Monday a Parker County deputy sheriff came to pick me up and took me to the Parker County jail in Weatherford Texas. I was there about three weeks when I got to know a man named Charles Ferris Jr. This detective would come to the jail almost everyday to get Ferris. I asked Ferris why the detective always came to get him. Ferris said, "he keeps telling me that if I'll tell them anything about the Don Baker murder that he'll let me go." I asked Ferris if he knew anything about it and he said "no"  I had'nt heard anything about it nor did I know any Don Baker. Charles was sick and was supposed to be getting daily injections of Interferon but the jail wasn't giving them to him. I asked Ferris if he knew of anything he could tell the investigator so he could get out of jail before he died. He said, "no I don't know of anything." I then asked him what he was there for and he told me he was arrested for having an explosive device. When he said that I automatically thought about what Tools told me. Lake Worth and Weatherford are pretty close together, so I asked Ferris if he heard anything about the bombing in Lake Worth. He said ,yes,  he remembered hearing about it but didn't remember when it happened or any details other than the fact that it was a briefcase on someones porch and that it was rumored that the wrong people were killed. I then said too bad you don't know anything about that I'm sure the information would get you out of here.

Now for the stupidity on my part. I told Ferris to make something up and tell the detective so he could get out. He said, "but what can I say ?" I said go tell them you know who did the Lake Worth briefcase bombing. He then said,"but who can I say  did it ?" I said I don't know tell them I did it I don't care. I don't know anything about it other than what Toole told me, theres no way anything can come of it. We then wrote out a request for him to see the detective. A few days later the detective came and got him. About an hour later Ferris came back and said, "it worked they're going to make me a trustee and let me go in a couple days."  To make a long story shorter on December 4th,1997, I was indicted for Capital murder-multiple victims. I was indicted for the bombing. When the detectives served the indictment on me I told them the exact truth. I said,"I'm sorry but you've been had, Charles Ferris told you that to get out of jail. I went on to tell them that I hadn't even heard about the bombing until Toole told me about it'.' When I said that it was obvious that they were upset. I told them I would take a polygraph test or whatever. They never did allow me to take a polygraph.  I read the indictment and seen that the bombing happened on Thanksgiving day 11/28/1985.  It had happened 12 years earlier.  I had no idea that it happened that long ago. I also didn't know that the crime was the longest running investigation in the hisory of  the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms or that it had been featured on the television shows Americas Most Wanted and Unsolved Mysteries. I didn't know anything other than what Toole told me.

About 18 months passed and they finally took me to trial. The whole time I'm thinking they would drop the charges against me because there can't be evidence against me - I've never even been to the crime scene. When it came time for trial in May of 1999, my ex-wife and an old friend were the main witnesses. My ex-wife said that on Thanksgiving night 1985 we were to go fishing at the Lake Worth Nature Center. She said that her, me and my friend Chris rode in my truck to Lake Worth. When we got there I supposedly droppped off a briefcase and then we went to the Nature Center where we supposedly "hung out" for about 3 hours, until sometime after midnight. She said that sometime during this time there was a splashing in the water so "Chris and Mike got their 22 caliber rifles out of the truck and Mike shot a beaver, then we went home."  She also said the briefcase was in the bed of the truck underneath the tool box.

The Following is whats wrong with her testimony?

#1. I didn't own the truck on Thanksgiving 1985. It wasn't bought until December.

#2. The toolbox that she said the briefcase was under wasn't bought until my birthday in December.

#3. The two 22 rifles weren't bought until December 18th and 19th of 1985.

#4.  According to the National Weather Service 11/28/1985 was the coldest day of November, 41 degrees was the high and the low was 31 degrees, with wind to 15 mph. Too cold to "hang out" outside a truck that didn't exist yet and to shoot a beaver with a gun that didn't exist yet. She did say that when the agents first questioned her,she didn't know anything and I didn't ever say anything about it. She then got curious and went to the library and read all the old news clippings about--the bombing. She then called the ATF back and told them we went to Lake Worth on Thanksgiving night.

I think her boyfriend put her up to lieing for the reward. I also think they drove out to the crime scene and conjured up the story she told the ATF and what she testified to during the trial. The district attorney had to have some one to cooberate what my ex-wife was saying so they found my old friend that I hadn't seen in 12+ years. I know for a fact that the investigator told him what to say and made the statement for him. When he testified he couldn't answer a single question without looking at the statement to see what the answer was. He read from the statement as if they were a script. Thats exactly what they were to him. I believe the investigators somehow forced him to commit perjury. I was convicted solely by the perjurous testimony of an old friend that I hadn't seen in 12+ years and my ex-wife that I hadn't seen in 10 years.

I've never in my life even been to the scene of the crime. I didn't even know exactly where it happened until just before the trial. I've never made a bomb or even seen a bomb.

During the trial the D.A said that I bombed the wrong home. No motive was proven, they only had theories and no evidence to support any theory. Since the trial me and my family have received numerous letters from some men saying they know I'm innocent because they know who really did it and why. From these people I've not only learned who really did but why. The real murderers will remain free to commit more murders unless the investigation is reopened. The case may vary well be closed but the crime is not solved. An innocent man may be put to death for a crime he did not commit and other peoples lives could be in jeopardy because the real murderers are free.

I spent Thanksgiving day at my friend Chris Meeks home in Keller Texas. I had just met Kim about a month prior so I wasn't comfortable with going to be with her family. Kim and I later got married. Her and I spent the entire night together at her apartment. Chris stayed at home with his parents. We didn't go fishing the night of Thanksgiving. We did go fishing at Lake Worth some night in late December. I know it was late December because I did shoot a beaver that I thought was a nutra rat. I know it had to be sometime after the 19th of December because thats when the rifle was bought that I shot the beaver with. At first I thought my ex-wife was just mistaken about the date but after reading her statament I realized that she knew she was lieing . I didn't even own a briefcase in 1985. She just flat out lied and the only reason I can come up with is the reward.

I've never in my life been to the scene of this crime. I didn't know the victims. I've never even seen a bomb. I told the exact truth - but it didn't make any difference.  When I was accused of the bombing I thought it was ludicrous and defied common sense. The State of Texas and the B.A.T.F used me as a pawn to close the case. The case they couldn't solve. Their behavior reeks of lies and the desire to conceal such lies. My hands are completely unstained, and the ATF knows it. It seems,in the State of Texas there are a litany of issues that could put any of us in jail before breakfast. Given enough time and money, any overzealous prosecutor could indict anyone, because sooner or later that prosecutor will violate the law or make a mistake in the course of the investigation.. I believe you would get a general agreement, that there are occasions where the wrong person is jailed and are even executed, and that every effort should be made to get them out; but that same acknowledgement is usually accompanied by the arguement-where there smoke theres fire. Correct ? Its no secret that the authorities first look to known trouble-makers or known felons when investigating a crime. What most people don't know is that they also look to people that have pissed them off. Their definition of a trouble maker is anyone that any Cop, prosecutor, or politician or bigshot wants taken out. The main objectiveof any law enforcement system is to solve the crime. Cops get promoted, Chiefs and prosecutors are made heroes and get appointments, politicians get votes.
So the course that matters---is to pin the crime on someone and if they can't easily find the guilty party, they find someone they hate and try to get everyone else to hate him too. Usually that person is someone oflow public standing, a poor person that does'nt have the resources to defend himself against prosecutors with unlimited resources.

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