June 26, 2025 • 40 mins
In this episode of Bloody Angola, Jim Chapman covers the horrific story of a robbery/murder that occurred at a Goodyear Tire and Appliance store in 1975 and the search for Charles Ray Spears, later known as the Goodyear Killer.
Timestamps
03:32 The Escape from Jackson Barracks
05:15 The Goodyear Robbery Begins
08:15 The Silent Alarm Incident
09:47 The Hunt for the Killer
11:49 Arrest of Larry Donahue
13:01 Indictment and Trial
14:42 The Evidence Presented
17:02 Roy Walters' Testimony
30:32 The Defense Arguments
35:35 The Sentencing 36:42 Retrial and Justice
Source Credits
Newspapers.com
The Hammond Star
Justia.com
Timestamps
03:32 The Escape from Jackson Barracks
05:15 The Goodyear Robbery Begins
08:15 The Silent Alarm Incident
09:47 The Hunt for the Killer
11:49 Arrest of Larry Donahue
13:01 Indictment and Trial
14:42 The Evidence Presented
17:02 Roy Walters' Testimony
30:32 The Defense Arguments
35:35 The Sentencing 36:42 Retrial and Justice
Source Credits
Newspapers.com
The Hammond Star
Justia.com
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
M m.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
A wall, straight line.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Shackle change, Oh someome gird, it's calling my name. There
is no mercy and it's been a century. Juice as
the huge stream game Wrangle three.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
Come in by me to die inside these walls.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
Inside the wild.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Hadn't went the girl as I.
Speaker 4 (01:30):
Hey everyone, and welcome back to Bloody Angola, a podcast
one and forty two years in the making, the complete
story of America's bloodiest Present. I'm Jim Chapman, and today
I'm going to tell you what is a little known
story in the state of Louisiana outside of the area
that I live in, and that is the story of
(01:51):
the Goodyear Killer. Now, this story centers around a guy
by the name of Charles Ray and not a lot
is known about Charles Ray Spears prior to his incarceration
in what is known as Jackson Barracks. So I need
to tell you a little bit about Jackson Barracks if
(02:12):
you're not familiar. Jackson Barracks is located in New Orleans.
It was established in eighteen thirty four and it was
originally a US military base. Now, during the nineteen sixties,
a work release prison was established within that barracks and
that played a big role in what we are going
(02:35):
to discuss today. Now, in the nineteen nineties, that prison
underwent renovations as part of what was known as the
Jackson Barracks Prison Project. It included adding educational programs for
inmates that were on work release. However, in nineteen ninety
(02:56):
three it closed after a notable escape and a mar
and I may tell you about that in a future episode.
After that event, the former prison was converted into a
police training facility, and then Hurricane Katrina hit. This was
in two thousand and five, and that caused significant damage
(03:17):
to Jackson Barracks, including the destruction of that police training facility.
And today the barracks is currently the headquarters of the
Louisiana National Guard. So that's a little history on that,
and we're going to go back to July twenty ninth
of nineteen seventy five when Charles Ray Spears escaped from
(03:41):
Jackson Barracks. He was working in the work release program
there and he was serving time on a petty theft charge.
Eleven days after that escape, a robbery and murder at
a good Year Tire store in him in Louisiana would
change the of history in several people's lives, including that
(04:04):
of Charles Ray Spears now ham In, Louisiana. A relatively
small town in nineteen seventy five, however, Hammon was and
still is the largest city in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana. Hammond
is the home of Southeastern Louisiana University, and aside from
(04:24):
rambunctious nature of kids right college kids in nineteen seventy five,
things like when I Am about to tell you about
they just didn't occur often in Hamon, Louisiana. So on
August eighth of nineteen seventy five, the Goodyear Tire In
Appliance store, they were just finished wrapping up another day.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
The tills were.
Speaker 4 (04:47):
Being pulled, cash et cetera, being placed in a money bag,
all the things you do when you close for the
day as a retail establishment. It was five thirty PM
and the staff had not even lied the front door
yet when a man enters the store. Now at the time,
the store manager John Reid, he was forty seven, and
(05:09):
the assistant manager a guy by the name of Roy
Walters who was twenty six. They were in the store
alone at this time. The guy walks up to them,
and he approaches John Reid and he asked him about
looking at radios. Remember we're in the year nineteen seventy five.
Reid went ahead sold him a radio. The man turns
(05:29):
to leave, then he turns back around and.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
He asked about some cassette tapes.
Speaker 4 (05:34):
So before either of the managers could respond, the man
pulls out a snubnose thirty eight caliber revolver and he
orders both of those men to the floor, pulls out
some handcuffs, and he handcuffs both of the manager's arms together.
He starts going through the cash registers, starts approaching the safe,
(05:55):
all those sorts of things. He goes back and he
asks the men, are you going to remember me? John
Reid says what all of us would say at this point,
which is no. But at this time, the assailant pulls
a gun and he shoots both of these men in
the back of the head. He then exits the store.
(06:17):
So Roy walters. He looks over and he discovers that
John Reid is already dead. Now, Roy walters at this
point as a thirty eight caliber bullet in the back
of his head, but he's still alive. In what you
can only describe as a miracle, although he loses his
sight at this point, he can't see. He's totally blind now.
(06:38):
Despite this, Walters does manage to drag John Reed, remember
they were handcuffed together, across the floor to the telephone,
where he manages to call police. The police show up
and Reid is pronounced dead on the scene and Walters
gets rushed to Auctioner Hospital in New Orleans and he
(07:01):
is in critical condition.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
Now.
Speaker 4 (07:04):
Despite Walter's condition, when police first arrived at the scene,
he was able to provide some details regarding a description
of the man. He described the man as being six
foot two, He was a black.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
Male, medium bill.
Speaker 4 (07:19):
And had what was known at the time as Afro
style hair. He was wearing a brown shirt with green
pants and black shoes, and the police determined after talking
to other employees that between two and three thousand dollars
had been taken in the robbery. At this point, he
gets rushed to the hospital. The police are shutting down roads,
(07:40):
they're setting up roadblocks, forming a perimeter, trying to catch
this guy, but unfortunately no one was captured. Now, five
days after this event, in sly Dell, Louisiana, which is
just a half hour or so from Hammon, Louisiana. A
police officer by the name of Earl Alfred, who was
(08:02):
thirty one. He responds to the call of a silent
alarm which was triggered at a jewelry store called Champagne Jewelers.
This is on August thirteenth of nineteen seventy five. He
arrives with the robbery still in progress. He sees the
robbery suspect going out the back door. Alfred was the
(08:24):
first officer to arrive on the scene. He gets into
a struggle with the assailant and he was shot and
killed with his own service revolver. Inside of that jewelry store,
Betty Graves, who was a twenty year old store employee,
she lay stabbed twenty two times.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
With a pair of scissors.
Speaker 4 (08:47):
So somehow she manages to crawl to Sergeant Alfred's patrol
car to call for help, but she loses consciousness before
being able to do so.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
She did survive. Now.
Speaker 4 (09:02):
Witnesses reported seeing a black and white nineteen sixty four
Chevy truck on that scene. But again police do what
they do, roadblocks, et cetera. Yet the killer gets away
and at this point This is big news. People all
over South Louisiana totally freaking out and they're thinking these
(09:25):
robbery slash murders may be related. In the case of
the Hammond, Louisiana robbery, the Chamber Commerce gets into the act.
They offer one thousand dollars for any information leading to
the capture of the suspects. Actually up that twenty three
hundred dollars with collections from members for information on the
(09:47):
Good Year Killer, and it wasn't too long before police
did manage to unconnect, if you will, these two robberies
in short order, when three days later after that Hammond robbery,
at twenty six year old by the name of David
Eugene Lewis turns himself in for the murder of that
police officer. This guy turns himself in and he was
(10:08):
later convicted of first degree murder, attempted first degree murder,
and armed robbery, and he was given a life sentence. Now,
unfortunately the Goodyear Slangs they would take much longer. But
a big break in the case does surface when the
following February of nineteen seventy six, police arrested a man
(10:29):
by the name of Larry Donahue who was twenty four
after he was caught perse snatching in New Orleans, so
they start questioning people in Donahue's circle, including his cousin.
His name was Clay Spears, and Clay tells police that
Donahue had told him that he robbed and killed a
New Orleans man in haim and Louisiana with the help
(10:52):
of two cousins, guy by the name of Leroy Donahue
and a guy by the name of Charles Ray Spears,
which that got the attention of police because they're still
looking for Charles Ray Spears who walked off of that
work release site in Jackson Barracks, and they knew that
(11:12):
he would be desperate, likely dangerous, etc. So armed with
this information, they interrogate Clay Dona Hughe further for another
four hours, and he eventually cracks and he tells him
that Larry and Charles Ray Spears robbed a drug dealer
of his money and his drugs, but that it was
Spears that actually killed the drug dealer, so the police
(11:36):
they then bring this information to Larry Donahue and he
coroborates his cousin's story, complete with fingering Spears as the killer.
Of that dealer, who incidentally was named Ernest Smith. So
in short order, the NOPD they find and they arrest
Charles Ray Spears, and they charge him in the murder
(11:58):
of Smith.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
But not so fast.
Speaker 4 (12:01):
A defense lawyer for Clay Donahue, he argues in court
what is known in the legal world as quote the
fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine, which states that any
evidence obtained through unconstitutional means is rendered inadmissible in court.
The lawyer argued to the state that Clay Donahue's information
(12:25):
that he provided was done so due to coercion by
the police, and in this case, the judge agreed and
charges against all three men were dropped because none of
the information that this guy gave them could they use.
But haim of police, they had been following this and
they felt like they had a case against Spears for
(12:47):
the good Year robbery slash slang, especially after a man
inside jail with Spears when he was incarcerating for the
Smith killing actually speaks up and says that Spears admitted
that he was the good Year killer. So when he
was cleared of these charges for the Smith murder, Hammond
police they pick him up and He's charged with murder
(13:09):
and attempted murder as well as two counts of armed
robbery in those Goodyear tire slangs. This was on March
twenty seventh of nineteen seventy six. Of course, at this
point it goes to a grand jury, the evidence is
presented and he is indicted. He goes to trial, and
on August thirtieth of nineteen seventy six, the News Digest
(13:34):
in Amy City, Louisiana, they came out with an article
and I'm gonna reference that now because it really covers
the trial in great detail and it reads Charles Ray Spears,
defendant in the Good Year murder case, was found guilty
of second degree murder, attempted second degree murder in two
counts of armed robbery. Spears will be sentate September sixteenth
(13:58):
by Judge Gordon Calls. A pre sentenced investigation must be
returned honor before that date. The trial began August twenty fourth,
near five pm, and it continued until seven point thirty
when Causey recessed the proceedings until nine am on August
twenty six. Spears stands convicted of murder by shooting Good
(14:19):
Years store manager John Reid as he lay on the
floor of the Hammond store handcuff to Roy Walters Junior.
Spears is also convicted of attempted second degree murder of
Walters by shooting him in the head as he lay
on the floor handcuff to Reed. The two convictions for
armed robberies stemmed from Spears taking money from the store's
(14:40):
cash drawers safe and from Reed's wallet. The incidents occurred
on August eighth of nineteen seventy five. The State, represented
by first Assistant District Attorney Joe Simpson, told the jury
they would hear the story of one of the most
cold blooded and horrible murders ever committed in Tangiba Hooe.
Pair Assistant District Attorney Billy Quinn assisted in the case.
(15:04):
Timothy Higgins, a public defender, told the jury in his
opening statement that the case was one of mistaken identity. Dumas,
who was retained by the Spears family on Friday, August twentieth,
assisted with the defense case. The judge ordered tight security
and all those who entered the court room were searched.
No one was allowed to enter or leave while court
(15:26):
was in session. The security was also deemed normal by officials,
who explained that such practices are not unusual in cases
of such a violent nature. Taking the stand for the
state first was Tom Kelly Ferris, medical doctor who performed
the autopsy on Reed. Under questioning by Quinn, Ferris said
(15:47):
that he was one of the three pathologists on call
for Jefferson Parish Corner's office on August eighth.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
Of nineteen seventy five.
Speaker 4 (15:54):
Ferris said that the cause of Reid's death was the
bullet which entered one side of his head and exited
the other. The second state witness with Sheriff's public information
officer Dick Morgan, who testified the photos of the Goodyear's
store taken on August eighth were real and not retouched.
Morgan was not allowed to describe items in the pictures,
(16:15):
but only to comment on his position when he took
the photos. The state's strongest witness was Roy Walters Junior. Next,
he took the stand for questioning by Simpson. Walter said
he had been at his desk working on a report
all afternoon and was still at his desk when the
employees left at five point thirty. Only he and Red remained,
(16:36):
and Reid went to the back of the store to
lock the backup. Before returning to Walter's desk, the two
men talked of Reed's vacation to the Ozarks, which he
had taken a week previous. Walter said Reed started toward
the front door around five thirty five. Spears then entered
the store from the front and went to the opposite
(16:57):
counter to Reid, where Reid was helping Spears select a
radio which was purchased with cash. Walter said he heard
Reid ask Spears' name, and he heard only an unintelligible mumble,
which caused him to look at Spears. Walter said he
looked at Spears intently from a distance of no more
than twelve feet, because he wanted to see if he
(17:17):
knew him, since he was in charge of store credit
and felt he should know the customers. Again, Reid asked
for spears name, and the answer was again unintelligible.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
According to Walter's.
Speaker 4 (17:29):
Walter said Reed broke the name Randall on the receipt,
took the cash, and turned away from Spears. Walter said
he was then standing sorting mail at the counter. Walter
said Spears then asked to see cassette tape recorders and
Reid called him to come and examine a machine to
see how it worked, gave him the machine, and at
the instant both men were holding the machine, Spears pulled
(17:53):
a gun on them and told them.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
Not to move.
Speaker 4 (17:55):
Walter said Spears then gave a pair of handcuffs to
Read and told him to put put them on.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
Reid put one.
Speaker 4 (18:01):
Cuff on himself and the other cuff was put on
Walters by Spears. Spears then made the two lie down
behind the counter in which the two cash drawers were.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
Both men were on.
Speaker 4 (18:12):
Their stomachs, side by side. Walter said Spears went to
the unlocked safe and found five hundred to six hundred
dollars in the safe for the Saturday employee payment and
walked to the back and asked what was back there.
Walter said he told Spears that it was the warehouse.
Spears seemed satisfied with the answer and walked to the
front and then asked them where the rest of the
(18:34):
money was.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
According to Walters.
Speaker 4 (18:36):
Walter said he was afraid because the man was holding
a gun on him, and he felt like if he
tried to resist that he would be shot, But he
said he didn't feel that Spears was going to shoot them. Instead,
he felt Spears would take the money and just leave.
Walters told Spears where the cash drawers were and how
to get them open, and Spears took the money and
(18:57):
asked to see both men's wallets for identityification so he
could get them if they tried to identify him. Walter
said Reed then spoke for the first time since Spears
pulled the gun. They were also Reed's last words. He
told Spears he wouldn't have to worry about them identifying
him because they didn't know him. Both men had their
(19:18):
wallets in front of them on the floor between the forearms,
and Spears took out the money inside Reed's wallet and
tossed it in the waste basket. Walter said Spears didn't
take his wallet. As he looked down, Walter said he
could hear bam bam, and he realized he couldn't see.
He said his ears started ringing, his head was spinning,
(19:39):
and he hunted for his glasses. He said he realized
Reed had been shot as well as himself when he
could hear no sound from Reed. When he thought Spears
had left the store, Walter said he knew he had
to get to the telephone on a desk nearby, and
he tried several times to reach it. He said he
had to pull red with him because of the handcuffs,
(19:59):
and he finally he found the phone after several tries.
He said he missed dialed the first time and reached
an operator on his second attempt. He then asked for
an ambulance and the police to come to the store.
After Walters used the phone to summon help, he said
he heard someone enter, but he was afraid to call
out for fear with Spears returning. Then he heard the
(20:20):
door open and he heard some people running in and
someone say get the cuffs off. He said he heard
a voice say, Roy, this is Lieutenant White. Can you
tell me what happened? Walter said he gave a physical
description of a black male six y two tall, between
one hundred and seventy and one hundred and eighty pounds,
afro wearing green pants, a brown spotted shirt, no socks,
(20:40):
and sandals with soles one to one and a half
inches thick. And that is one heck of a description.
Walter subb while he was still handcuffed, he had deliberately
studied Spears while Spears was moving around the store so
that he would be able to accurately describe him to police.
Reed said he was then taking two seven ward and
(21:00):
told he would be taken to Auchner Hospital. He said
he was having serious pain and that he lost consciousness
on the ride to Austioner's. Once at the hospital, Walter
said he was x rayed, taken to a waiting area,
x rayed again, and then told he would have to
undergo surgery to remove the bullet which would lodge against
his optic nerve and bruised it. He said he remembers
(21:22):
talking with his wife and praying with her and their pastor.
His next memory was of Saturday morning, and he still
had fuzzy vision. During the week that followed, he said
he spoke with Captain Charles Binder of the Sheriff's Office
and worked with the Jefferson Parish Crime Lab to make
a composite sketch. Walter said he went over the description
(21:43):
of spears every day in his mind, said that he
would not forget, and Walter said after he was home
from the hospital that he went to New Orleans with
Captain Binder and Lieutenant White from the Hammond Police Department
to look at photos of black armed robbery suspects. He
said he must have eventually viewed over one thousand photos.
(22:03):
Walter testified that he later went to the ham And
Police department and went through more photo He said that
periodically officers would bring him stacks of photos to view.
He said he eventually saw a picture of Spears in
a stack brought to him. He said he was told
the man would be brought to him in for a
lineup and that the picture was an old one. Near
(22:24):
the first of April, on a Wednesday night, Walter said
he was called after midnight by the ham And Police
to come see something important. He said he was picked
up and he went into the building and told he
would go up an elevator, turn left, and that he
would see a lineup of men marked with numbers one
through five. Walter said he spotted the defendant in the
(22:44):
middle wearing the number three. He said the men were
made to show their profiles and they had to say, quote,
what is your name? Walter said Spears' hair was different
and then he had a mustache, which he didn't have
at the time of the murder slash robbery. Walter said
he told the officers that he wanted to see spears
at a distance of four or five feet, so he
(23:04):
did that and spears was picked out of that lineup. Now,
during Walter's testimony, the jury was shown where the bullet
entered the back of Walter's head. Simpson asked Walters if
the defendant was positively the man who had shot, robbed
him and killed Reed, and Walter unhesitatingly said yes, it is.
(23:25):
Walters identified objects in the pictures taken by Dick Morgan
and marked the photos with axes where Reid and he
lay on the floor. The photos of the scene were
shown to the jury's evidence and included a picture of
the bloodstains. Under questioning by Higgins, Walters told of his injuries,
and he described the incident as serious in that I
(23:46):
almost lost my life and it took five weeks out
of my life. He said that he suffered permanent damage
in a small blind spot in his field of vision
as a result of the shooting, in that his glasses
prescription had changed. He said that he recently got a
new pair of glasses and was told to return a
year later for another examination. Higgins then proceeded to delve
(24:09):
into the amount of time that it took for the robbery.
Walter said it took all of five minutes from the
time the gum was pulled. Higgins proceeded to go through
an elaborate enactment of each move made by the principles.
He announced that it had taken a total of eight minutes,
and that he felt it would have taken the defendant
substantially less, not just three minutes less, to do all
(24:32):
of the things that were done. Walter's commented that Higgins
didn't do all of the things, he just acted as
though he were doing them. Higgins also introduced a composite
published in the Parish Daily, which was released shortly after
the incident. Walter said that was the first one made,
not the second one, which was a lot more accurate.
So the defense attorney here, he's shown the first composite sketch,
(24:55):
which apparently did not look a lot like the defendant,
and he's also questioning the timeframe that this poor guy
had come up with, and he's saying, how could you
do all this in five minutes or less? And the
guy said, well, I wasn't actually doing all of it.
I was acting like I was doing all of Higgins
then asked if Walter's thought that someone could make a
mistaken identity in a case such as this one. Walter said,
(25:19):
I don't think a person could go through what I
have gone through and make a mistake. When press further,
he deemed the possibility.
Speaker 2 (25:26):
Was very remote.
Speaker 4 (25:27):
Higgins brought out a panel of three photos and he
started to ask Walter's questions about them. Simpson objected to
Higgins presenting these photos of people who were supposed victims
of mistaken identities and who were supposedly were only punished.
The judge sustained that objection, and he instructed the jury
to disregard that portion of the proceeding. Higgins then asked
(25:50):
Walters if he would single out one characteristic for use
in making an identification, and Walter said no. That identification
would have to be made was several characteristics together. So
Higgins introduces a human exhibit in the person of Lionel Robinson.
This man was brought from jail and seated in the
(26:10):
front row. The man had a shaved head and was
in prison clothes. Higgins then asked Walters if he recognized him,
and Walters replied no.
Speaker 2 (26:18):
The man had been in the lineup apparently.
Speaker 4 (26:21):
Which Walters had viewed, but he did not have a
shaved head then, so the judge at this point recessed
court until nine am the following day, and he of
course tells the jury you can't talk to anyone about this.
The next day, Detective Melvin Wells of the Human Police
Department testified and he said that Walters identified a photo
(26:42):
of the defendant after looking at some fifteen hundred photos
over the period of eight months. He said the photo
of Spears was shown to Walters in a group of
ten photos.
Speaker 2 (26:52):
At that point, Steve.
Speaker 4 (26:54):
Racky of the ham And Police Department he supervised that
lineup which was held and he testified and he said
that Spears was advised.
Speaker 2 (27:02):
Of his rights.
Speaker 4 (27:03):
Four black men were taken from the jail and dressed
in jail uniforms as with Spears. Spears was then allowed
to pick his own number in the lineup and to
decide how they were to line up.
Speaker 2 (27:15):
Walters was brought in.
Speaker 4 (27:16):
He viewed the lineup twice from the front and side views,
and he then requested that the men in this lineup
be made to say something. Each man said, what is
your name? Walters then identified Spears, saying that the hair
was different, but he recognized the face and the person.
The defense attorney asked if the slayer of the slide
L policeman had been put in the lineup or if
(27:38):
any attempts had been made to match his fingerprints with
those taken at the Goodyear's store. Sergeant Norman Davidson of
the ham And Police Department said he showed hundreds of
photos to Roy Walters, including the photo of the suspect
in the slide L police slang, and that Walters passed
over it. He also said that a fingerprint had been
lifted and sent to the crime lad but that it
(28:00):
was just an overlay print and it could not be identified.
Dennis Taylor, a twenty one year old black man, was
the next witness. Taylor had been convicted for armed robbery,
but is presently out of prison because he has been
working on cases cooperating with the Sheriff's office. Taylor was
used as a plant at the Saint Helena Paris jail
(28:21):
where Spears was being held. According to Taylor, Spears admitted
robbing the Goodyear's store in shooting Reed and Walter, saying quote,
I shot two jiving motherfuckers in the head. Taylor admitted
that he would pretty much do what Detective Dykes wanted
him to do because Dykes kept him out of jail.
Burnham Westmoreland testified that he was an automotive manager at
(28:44):
the time and that he had locked the store after
the incident. He estimated a theft of two thousand dollars. However,
an audit later set the stolen amount at fifteen hundred dollars.
The state then rested its case after showing photos of
the deceased taken at.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
The morgue to the jerk.
Speaker 4 (29:01):
The first witness for the defense was Willy Spears of Chicago,
who was an uncle of the defendant. He said the
defendant rode with him in his car from New Orleans
to Chicago on August fifth, and he said the defendant
rested at his home on August sixth, and that on
the seventh he took the defendant to the Busy Beaver
Auto Company to try to get him a job. The
(29:22):
owner of the company was too busy to talk to
them on the seventh, so Willy said he and the
defendant returned on the eighth and the defendant was promised
a job. He said, the defendant went to work for
the Busy Beaver on the ninth of August. However, the
prosecutor suggested Willie sam Spears took a cousin of the defendant,
(29:43):
Curtis Spears, to Chicago on the fifth instead of the defendant,
and it was the state's contention the defendant took a
bus to Chicago after committing.
Speaker 2 (29:52):
The robbery and murder on August eighth.
Speaker 4 (29:55):
Jamie Beaver, owner of the Busy Beaver Auto Company in Chicago,
was the next witness. He said Willie Sam Spears had
brought the defendant around to get him a job, and
that he hired him, but he could not remember the
date that he met Spears. He said that it only
seemed to him that Spears went to work on a Saturday.
Mister Beaver's wife, Doris Beaver, who works as a secretary
(30:17):
for the auto company, she testified she was certain she
saw the defendant twice on August eighth. She said she
remembered the date, particularly because she had surgery on her
foot that same day and when she returned to the office,
the defendant was in the paint shop. However, no evidence
was produced to show the defendant had drawn a paycheck
(30:37):
for working on the dates of August eighth or August ninth,
and no evidence was produced to prove Miss Beaver had
foot surgery. The defendant, Charles Ray Spears, then took the
stand in his own behalf, and Spears said that he
had been convicted of burglary at Greensburg and was given
three years probation. He violated the probation, was sent to
(30:58):
Angola by Angola and then on to Jackson Barracks in
New Orleans. He escaped from Jackson Barracks last July twenty
ninth along with his first cousin, Curtis Spears. He said
he stated at the home of an aunt in New
Orleans until he left for Chicago with Willie Sam Spears.
This was on August fifth, according to him. He said
(31:19):
that he got a job with the Busy Beaver on
August eighth and went to work on August ninth, and
he said he returned to New Orleans about two weeks
before Marty Garol. On cross examination, it was brought out
that when Spears returned to New Orleans, he was arrested
along with Larry Donahue and Clay Spears on February twenty
second for the murder of Ernest Smith in New Orleans,
(31:40):
and of course I told you all about that. Clay
Spears confessed to the murder and implicated the defendant in Donahue.
But Clay spears confession was thrown out as was the
defendants and Donehue by the court because Clay had been
interrogated by police too long and the confession had been
made under duress. That murder charge had since been dropped
(32:01):
against all three. Spears claimed his confession to the Ernest
Smith murder was beaten out of him by New Orleans
officers John Dillman and Fred Dentaggon. Spears said he said
whatever they wanted him to say because he got tired
of being beaten on. Since Charles Ray Spears testified to
the existence of the Smith case arrest, the state was
(32:22):
free to question him on the statement he gave to
Dilman and Daggonon. In order to attack Spears' credibility as
a truthful witness, Billy Quinn began to challenge spears truthfulness
item by item. At first, Spears insisted the statement was
totally untrue and the result of the beatings. Then Spears
admitted that a portion of his confession referring to where he.
Speaker 2 (32:45):
Parked his car was true.
Speaker 4 (32:47):
He then admitted this statement was correct where he had
said he had gone to Smith's to rob him of dope.
He agreed further that what he told the two officers
about Smith dealing in marijuana was true. When asked if
he said he's shot Smith through a pillow to keep
him quiet about the robbery of money, Spears admitted that
he had said something like that. The two officers, Dilman
(33:09):
and Daggan, then testified that Spears was properly advised of
his rights twice, once on Saint Ann Street and once
in police headquarters. They both denied any beatings or coercions
had been used, and that spears treatment was made freely involuntarily.
Both said Spears went to California after escaping from Jackson Barracks.
(33:30):
Following a dinner break, Roy Walters Junior took the stand
briefly and Simpson asked him if the defendant was the
man who had shot him. Walters again answered emphatically that
it was Higgins. Cross examination was a reaffirmation of the
physical description Walters had given Spears. The state's closing statement
by Simpson cited the key witness testimony about the eight
(33:53):
months of photo viewing the lineup these several identifications in
open court.
Speaker 2 (33:59):
Simpson told the.
Speaker 4 (34:00):
Jury that the key thing was, quote, do you believe
are witnesses or theirs? Simpson explained Taylor's criminal history, particularly
on the arm robbery charge, was reduced to aggravated burglary
quote to give a break to a seventeen.
Speaker 2 (34:17):
Year old boy. He said.
Speaker 4 (34:19):
The thing with these license plates, he had simply forgotten
about them, and he cited Taylor's young age. Simpson told
the jury that Taylor's most significant testimony was his pinpointing
the use of a Chicago alibi and of his telling
of Spears confessing to the shooting of Smith by saying, quote,
I upped my pistol, which were the exact words also
(34:41):
used in the confession given to New Orleans police.
Speaker 2 (34:45):
And that's big evidence right there.
Speaker 4 (34:46):
Simpson stated, there is no documentary evidence that puts this
man the defendant in Chicago August fifth through eighth, or
any date. He also cited Smith's confession again and cited
where Spears said he had lost about forty pounds within
a two week period. He cited the description of spears
wearing thick soled sandals during the good Year incident, at
(35:08):
which Walters was forced to view Spears from his position
on the floor. The defense statements appealed to the jury
to believe their witnesses and accept that the matter was
a case of mistaken identity. A jury of six women
and six men returned the guilty verdict after being absent
from the courtroom for nearly forty five minute. Only one juror,
(35:29):
Dion Hagen, voted for spears acquittal on all four counts,
So there you have it. Spears gets sentenced to life
for the murderer reed and twenty years for the attempted
murder of Walters, as well as two ninety nine year
sentences for the robbery of each victim, with those sentences
(35:49):
running concurrent. So it's off to Tanjibahoe Parish prison for
this guy. But once an asshole, always an asshole, right,
And he sues the tangible pairs Sheriff's office for mistreatment
and actually wins the suit, but he screws himself in
the process because the judge also ruled that he be
(36:11):
transferred out of that prison and into you guessed it,
bloody in Goola. Now, in nineteen ninety six, after appealing
all kinds of shit, Spears is granted a new trial
due to some questions regarding testimony in his original trial.
And as scary as it sounds, the judge only gave
(36:32):
the district attorney three months to retry the case or
Spears would be set free. Well, this district attorney, he
made it happen. Spears was retried and eventually justice did prevail.
He was again sentenced to life in prison. And it's
also interesting to point out that on December six of
(36:53):
nineteen seventy six, the news Digest in a Neat City
ran another short article and it said headline State sued
for one million, three hundred and seventy five thousand dollars for
actions of prison escapee. The Louisiana Department of Corrections is
being sued for one million, three hundred and seventy five
thousand dollars for damage incurred as a result of the
(37:16):
Goodyear murder in Hammond on August eighth of nineteen seventy five.
And then it goes into what occurred during that murder,
which I've already told you. It says Walters is suing
the state for five hundred and twenty thousand dollars, and
they're talking Roy Walters twenty thousand dollars for medical expenses,
one hundred thousand for lost earnings, an impairment of earning capacity,
(37:40):
one hundred thousand for mental anguish. He's suing for pain
and suffering and for personal injuries. Reed's widow also sued
for just a ton of money. I'm not going to
read the entire article, but interesting in that I can
never find a final verdict on that lossuit, and a
(38:00):
lot of times that will be sealed. That becomes a
civil matter, not a criminal matter. And unless you do
a jury trial, usually you can't find a whole lot
of information on civil cases. If it's a judge deciding
the whole thing, they're usually sealed.
Speaker 2 (38:17):
But there you have it. In the end, justice.
Speaker 4 (38:20):
Did prevail in this case, very non well known case,
if you will, out of the state of Louisiana. Thank
you so much for listening. Check out the patreon patreon
dot com slash Bloody Andngola podcast. I'm about to really
ramp things up on Bloody and Gola, so get ready
(38:41):
for that. So until next time, I'm Jim Chapman with
Bloody Angola, a podcast one hundred and forty two years
in the making, lead story of America's bloodiest prison, Peace.
Speaker 3 (39:07):
A Wall Street line, shackle change, Oh, psome gird, it's
calling my name. There is no mercy and this being
a tentery juice as the hill Stream game Wrangle three.
Speaker 1 (39:34):
I'm here, bef, I me to die.
Speaker 3 (39:41):
Inside these walls, inside the wild.
Speaker 2 (39:48):
And when the girl, as I know, it's old bloody angle.
Speaker 1 (40:03):
Ohbody, I tol
M m.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
A wall, straight line.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Shackle change, Oh someome gird, it's calling my name. There
is no mercy and it's been a century. Juice as
the huge stream game Wrangle three.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
Come in by me to die inside these walls.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
Inside the wild.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Hadn't went the girl as I.
Speaker 4 (01:30):
Hey everyone, and welcome back to Bloody Angola, a podcast
one and forty two years in the making, the complete
story of America's bloodiest Present. I'm Jim Chapman, and today
I'm going to tell you what is a little known
story in the state of Louisiana outside of the area
that I live in, and that is the story of
(01:51):
the Goodyear Killer. Now, this story centers around a guy
by the name of Charles Ray and not a lot
is known about Charles Ray Spears prior to his incarceration
in what is known as Jackson Barracks. So I need
to tell you a little bit about Jackson Barracks if
(02:12):
you're not familiar. Jackson Barracks is located in New Orleans.
It was established in eighteen thirty four and it was
originally a US military base. Now, during the nineteen sixties,
a work release prison was established within that barracks and
that played a big role in what we are going
(02:35):
to discuss today. Now, in the nineteen nineties, that prison
underwent renovations as part of what was known as the
Jackson Barracks Prison Project. It included adding educational programs for
inmates that were on work release. However, in nineteen ninety
(02:56):
three it closed after a notable escape and a mar
and I may tell you about that in a future episode.
After that event, the former prison was converted into a
police training facility, and then Hurricane Katrina hit. This was
in two thousand and five, and that caused significant damage
(03:17):
to Jackson Barracks, including the destruction of that police training facility.
And today the barracks is currently the headquarters of the
Louisiana National Guard. So that's a little history on that,
and we're going to go back to July twenty ninth
of nineteen seventy five when Charles Ray Spears escaped from
(03:41):
Jackson Barracks. He was working in the work release program
there and he was serving time on a petty theft charge.
Eleven days after that escape, a robbery and murder at
a good Year Tire store in him in Louisiana would
change the of history in several people's lives, including that
(04:04):
of Charles Ray Spears now ham In, Louisiana. A relatively
small town in nineteen seventy five, however, Hammon was and
still is the largest city in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana. Hammond
is the home of Southeastern Louisiana University, and aside from
(04:24):
rambunctious nature of kids right college kids in nineteen seventy five,
things like when I Am about to tell you about
they just didn't occur often in Hamon, Louisiana. So on
August eighth of nineteen seventy five, the Goodyear Tire In
Appliance store, they were just finished wrapping up another day.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
The tills were.
Speaker 4 (04:47):
Being pulled, cash et cetera, being placed in a money bag,
all the things you do when you close for the
day as a retail establishment. It was five thirty PM
and the staff had not even lied the front door
yet when a man enters the store. Now at the time,
the store manager John Reid, he was forty seven, and
(05:09):
the assistant manager a guy by the name of Roy
Walters who was twenty six. They were in the store
alone at this time. The guy walks up to them,
and he approaches John Reid and he asked him about
looking at radios. Remember we're in the year nineteen seventy five.
Reid went ahead sold him a radio. The man turns
(05:29):
to leave, then he turns back around and.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
He asked about some cassette tapes.
Speaker 4 (05:34):
So before either of the managers could respond, the man
pulls out a snubnose thirty eight caliber revolver and he
orders both of those men to the floor, pulls out
some handcuffs, and he handcuffs both of the manager's arms together.
He starts going through the cash registers, starts approaching the safe,
(05:55):
all those sorts of things. He goes back and he
asks the men, are you going to remember me? John
Reid says what all of us would say at this point,
which is no. But at this time, the assailant pulls
a gun and he shoots both of these men in
the back of the head. He then exits the store.
(06:17):
So Roy walters. He looks over and he discovers that
John Reid is already dead. Now, Roy walters at this
point as a thirty eight caliber bullet in the back
of his head, but he's still alive. In what you
can only describe as a miracle, although he loses his
sight at this point, he can't see. He's totally blind now.
(06:38):
Despite this, Walters does manage to drag John Reed, remember
they were handcuffed together, across the floor to the telephone,
where he manages to call police. The police show up
and Reid is pronounced dead on the scene and Walters
gets rushed to Auctioner Hospital in New Orleans and he
(07:01):
is in critical condition.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
Now.
Speaker 4 (07:04):
Despite Walter's condition, when police first arrived at the scene,
he was able to provide some details regarding a description
of the man. He described the man as being six
foot two, He was a black.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
Male, medium bill.
Speaker 4 (07:19):
And had what was known at the time as Afro
style hair. He was wearing a brown shirt with green
pants and black shoes, and the police determined after talking
to other employees that between two and three thousand dollars
had been taken in the robbery. At this point, he
gets rushed to the hospital. The police are shutting down roads,
(07:40):
they're setting up roadblocks, forming a perimeter, trying to catch
this guy, but unfortunately no one was captured. Now, five
days after this event, in sly Dell, Louisiana, which is
just a half hour or so from Hammon, Louisiana. A
police officer by the name of Earl Alfred, who was
(08:02):
thirty one. He responds to the call of a silent
alarm which was triggered at a jewelry store called Champagne Jewelers.
This is on August thirteenth of nineteen seventy five. He
arrives with the robbery still in progress. He sees the
robbery suspect going out the back door. Alfred was the
(08:24):
first officer to arrive on the scene. He gets into
a struggle with the assailant and he was shot and
killed with his own service revolver. Inside of that jewelry store,
Betty Graves, who was a twenty year old store employee,
she lay stabbed twenty two times.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
With a pair of scissors.
Speaker 4 (08:47):
So somehow she manages to crawl to Sergeant Alfred's patrol
car to call for help, but she loses consciousness before
being able to do so.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
She did survive. Now.
Speaker 4 (09:02):
Witnesses reported seeing a black and white nineteen sixty four
Chevy truck on that scene. But again police do what
they do, roadblocks, et cetera. Yet the killer gets away
and at this point This is big news. People all
over South Louisiana totally freaking out and they're thinking these
(09:25):
robbery slash murders may be related. In the case of
the Hammond, Louisiana robbery, the Chamber Commerce gets into the act.
They offer one thousand dollars for any information leading to
the capture of the suspects. Actually up that twenty three
hundred dollars with collections from members for information on the
(09:47):
Good Year Killer, and it wasn't too long before police
did manage to unconnect, if you will, these two robberies
in short order, when three days later after that Hammond robbery,
at twenty six year old by the name of David
Eugene Lewis turns himself in for the murder of that
police officer. This guy turns himself in and he was
(10:08):
later convicted of first degree murder, attempted first degree murder,
and armed robbery, and he was given a life sentence. Now,
unfortunately the Goodyear Slangs they would take much longer. But
a big break in the case does surface when the
following February of nineteen seventy six, police arrested a man
(10:29):
by the name of Larry Donahue who was twenty four
after he was caught perse snatching in New Orleans, so
they start questioning people in Donahue's circle, including his cousin.
His name was Clay Spears, and Clay tells police that
Donahue had told him that he robbed and killed a
New Orleans man in haim and Louisiana with the help
(10:52):
of two cousins, guy by the name of Leroy Donahue
and a guy by the name of Charles Ray Spears,
which that got the attention of police because they're still
looking for Charles Ray Spears who walked off of that
work release site in Jackson Barracks, and they knew that
(11:12):
he would be desperate, likely dangerous, etc. So armed with
this information, they interrogate Clay Dona Hughe further for another
four hours, and he eventually cracks and he tells him
that Larry and Charles Ray Spears robbed a drug dealer
of his money and his drugs, but that it was
Spears that actually killed the drug dealer, so the police
(11:36):
they then bring this information to Larry Donahue and he
coroborates his cousin's story, complete with fingering Spears as the killer.
Of that dealer, who incidentally was named Ernest Smith. So
in short order, the NOPD they find and they arrest
Charles Ray Spears, and they charge him in the murder
(11:58):
of Smith.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
But not so fast.
Speaker 4 (12:01):
A defense lawyer for Clay Donahue, he argues in court
what is known in the legal world as quote the
fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine, which states that any
evidence obtained through unconstitutional means is rendered inadmissible in court.
The lawyer argued to the state that Clay Donahue's information
(12:25):
that he provided was done so due to coercion by
the police, and in this case, the judge agreed and
charges against all three men were dropped because none of
the information that this guy gave them could they use.
But haim of police, they had been following this and
they felt like they had a case against Spears for
(12:47):
the good Year robbery slash slang, especially after a man
inside jail with Spears when he was incarcerating for the
Smith killing actually speaks up and says that Spears admitted
that he was the good Year killer. So when he
was cleared of these charges for the Smith murder, Hammond
police they pick him up and He's charged with murder
(13:09):
and attempted murder as well as two counts of armed
robbery in those Goodyear tire slangs. This was on March
twenty seventh of nineteen seventy six. Of course, at this
point it goes to a grand jury, the evidence is
presented and he is indicted. He goes to trial, and
on August thirtieth of nineteen seventy six, the News Digest
(13:34):
in Amy City, Louisiana, they came out with an article
and I'm gonna reference that now because it really covers
the trial in great detail and it reads Charles Ray Spears,
defendant in the Good Year murder case, was found guilty
of second degree murder, attempted second degree murder in two
counts of armed robbery. Spears will be sentate September sixteenth
(13:58):
by Judge Gordon Calls. A pre sentenced investigation must be
returned honor before that date. The trial began August twenty fourth,
near five pm, and it continued until seven point thirty
when Causey recessed the proceedings until nine am on August
twenty six. Spears stands convicted of murder by shooting Good
(14:19):
Years store manager John Reid as he lay on the
floor of the Hammond store handcuff to Roy Walters Junior.
Spears is also convicted of attempted second degree murder of
Walters by shooting him in the head as he lay
on the floor handcuff to Reed. The two convictions for
armed robberies stemmed from Spears taking money from the store's
(14:40):
cash drawers safe and from Reed's wallet. The incidents occurred
on August eighth of nineteen seventy five. The State, represented
by first Assistant District Attorney Joe Simpson, told the jury
they would hear the story of one of the most
cold blooded and horrible murders ever committed in Tangiba Hooe.
Pair Assistant District Attorney Billy Quinn assisted in the case.
(15:04):
Timothy Higgins, a public defender, told the jury in his
opening statement that the case was one of mistaken identity. Dumas,
who was retained by the Spears family on Friday, August twentieth,
assisted with the defense case. The judge ordered tight security
and all those who entered the court room were searched.
No one was allowed to enter or leave while court
(15:26):
was in session. The security was also deemed normal by officials,
who explained that such practices are not unusual in cases
of such a violent nature. Taking the stand for the
state first was Tom Kelly Ferris, medical doctor who performed
the autopsy on Reed. Under questioning by Quinn, Ferris said
(15:47):
that he was one of the three pathologists on call
for Jefferson Parish Corner's office on August eighth.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
Of nineteen seventy five.
Speaker 4 (15:54):
Ferris said that the cause of Reid's death was the
bullet which entered one side of his head and exited
the other. The second state witness with Sheriff's public information
officer Dick Morgan, who testified the photos of the Goodyear's
store taken on August eighth were real and not retouched.
Morgan was not allowed to describe items in the pictures,
(16:15):
but only to comment on his position when he took
the photos. The state's strongest witness was Roy Walters Junior. Next,
he took the stand for questioning by Simpson. Walter said
he had been at his desk working on a report
all afternoon and was still at his desk when the
employees left at five point thirty. Only he and Red remained,
(16:36):
and Reid went to the back of the store to
lock the backup. Before returning to Walter's desk, the two
men talked of Reed's vacation to the Ozarks, which he
had taken a week previous. Walter said Reed started toward
the front door around five thirty five. Spears then entered
the store from the front and went to the opposite
(16:57):
counter to Reid, where Reid was helping Spears select a
radio which was purchased with cash. Walter said he heard
Reid ask Spears' name, and he heard only an unintelligible mumble,
which caused him to look at Spears. Walter said he
looked at Spears intently from a distance of no more
than twelve feet, because he wanted to see if he
(17:17):
knew him, since he was in charge of store credit
and felt he should know the customers. Again, Reid asked
for spears name, and the answer was again unintelligible.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
According to Walter's.
Speaker 4 (17:29):
Walter said Reed broke the name Randall on the receipt,
took the cash, and turned away from Spears. Walter said
he was then standing sorting mail at the counter. Walter
said Spears then asked to see cassette tape recorders and
Reid called him to come and examine a machine to
see how it worked, gave him the machine, and at
the instant both men were holding the machine, Spears pulled
(17:53):
a gun on them and told them.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
Not to move.
Speaker 4 (17:55):
Walter said Spears then gave a pair of handcuffs to
Read and told him to put put them on.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
Reid put one.
Speaker 4 (18:01):
Cuff on himself and the other cuff was put on
Walters by Spears. Spears then made the two lie down
behind the counter in which the two cash drawers were.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
Both men were on.
Speaker 4 (18:12):
Their stomachs, side by side. Walter said Spears went to
the unlocked safe and found five hundred to six hundred
dollars in the safe for the Saturday employee payment and
walked to the back and asked what was back there.
Walter said he told Spears that it was the warehouse.
Spears seemed satisfied with the answer and walked to the
front and then asked them where the rest of the
(18:34):
money was.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
According to Walters.
Speaker 4 (18:36):
Walter said he was afraid because the man was holding
a gun on him, and he felt like if he
tried to resist that he would be shot, But he
said he didn't feel that Spears was going to shoot them. Instead,
he felt Spears would take the money and just leave.
Walters told Spears where the cash drawers were and how
to get them open, and Spears took the money and
(18:57):
asked to see both men's wallets for identityification so he
could get them if they tried to identify him. Walter
said Reed then spoke for the first time since Spears
pulled the gun. They were also Reed's last words. He
told Spears he wouldn't have to worry about them identifying
him because they didn't know him. Both men had their
(19:18):
wallets in front of them on the floor between the forearms,
and Spears took out the money inside Reed's wallet and
tossed it in the waste basket. Walter said Spears didn't
take his wallet. As he looked down, Walter said he
could hear bam bam, and he realized he couldn't see.
He said his ears started ringing, his head was spinning,
(19:39):
and he hunted for his glasses. He said he realized
Reed had been shot as well as himself when he
could hear no sound from Reed. When he thought Spears
had left the store, Walter said he knew he had
to get to the telephone on a desk nearby, and
he tried several times to reach it. He said he
had to pull red with him because of the handcuffs,
(19:59):
and he finally he found the phone after several tries.
He said he missed dialed the first time and reached
an operator on his second attempt. He then asked for
an ambulance and the police to come to the store.
After Walters used the phone to summon help, he said
he heard someone enter, but he was afraid to call
out for fear with Spears returning. Then he heard the
(20:20):
door open and he heard some people running in and
someone say get the cuffs off. He said he heard
a voice say, Roy, this is Lieutenant White. Can you
tell me what happened? Walter said he gave a physical
description of a black male six y two tall, between
one hundred and seventy and one hundred and eighty pounds,
afro wearing green pants, a brown spotted shirt, no socks,
(20:40):
and sandals with soles one to one and a half
inches thick. And that is one heck of a description.
Walter subb while he was still handcuffed, he had deliberately
studied Spears while Spears was moving around the store so
that he would be able to accurately describe him to police.
Reed said he was then taking two seven ward and
(21:00):
told he would be taken to Auchner Hospital. He said
he was having serious pain and that he lost consciousness
on the ride to Austioner's. Once at the hospital, Walter
said he was x rayed, taken to a waiting area,
x rayed again, and then told he would have to
undergo surgery to remove the bullet which would lodge against
his optic nerve and bruised it. He said he remembers
(21:22):
talking with his wife and praying with her and their pastor.
His next memory was of Saturday morning, and he still
had fuzzy vision. During the week that followed, he said
he spoke with Captain Charles Binder of the Sheriff's Office
and worked with the Jefferson Parish Crime Lab to make
a composite sketch. Walter said he went over the description
(21:43):
of spears every day in his mind, said that he
would not forget, and Walter said after he was home
from the hospital that he went to New Orleans with
Captain Binder and Lieutenant White from the Hammond Police Department
to look at photos of black armed robbery suspects. He
said he must have eventually viewed over one thousand photos.
(22:03):
Walter testified that he later went to the ham And
Police department and went through more photo He said that
periodically officers would bring him stacks of photos to view.
He said he eventually saw a picture of Spears in
a stack brought to him. He said he was told
the man would be brought to him in for a
lineup and that the picture was an old one. Near
(22:24):
the first of April, on a Wednesday night, Walter said
he was called after midnight by the ham And Police
to come see something important. He said he was picked
up and he went into the building and told he
would go up an elevator, turn left, and that he
would see a lineup of men marked with numbers one
through five. Walter said he spotted the defendant in the
(22:44):
middle wearing the number three. He said the men were
made to show their profiles and they had to say, quote,
what is your name? Walter said Spears' hair was different
and then he had a mustache, which he didn't have
at the time of the murder slash robbery. Walter said
he told the officers that he wanted to see spears
at a distance of four or five feet, so he
(23:04):
did that and spears was picked out of that lineup. Now,
during Walter's testimony, the jury was shown where the bullet
entered the back of Walter's head. Simpson asked Walters if
the defendant was positively the man who had shot, robbed
him and killed Reed, and Walter unhesitatingly said yes, it is.
(23:25):
Walters identified objects in the pictures taken by Dick Morgan
and marked the photos with axes where Reid and he
lay on the floor. The photos of the scene were
shown to the jury's evidence and included a picture of
the bloodstains. Under questioning by Higgins, Walters told of his injuries,
and he described the incident as serious in that I
(23:46):
almost lost my life and it took five weeks out
of my life. He said that he suffered permanent damage
in a small blind spot in his field of vision
as a result of the shooting, in that his glasses
prescription had changed. He said that he recently got a
new pair of glasses and was told to return a
year later for another examination. Higgins then proceeded to delve
(24:09):
into the amount of time that it took for the robbery.
Walter said it took all of five minutes from the
time the gum was pulled. Higgins proceeded to go through
an elaborate enactment of each move made by the principles.
He announced that it had taken a total of eight minutes,
and that he felt it would have taken the defendant
substantially less, not just three minutes less, to do all
(24:32):
of the things that were done. Walter's commented that Higgins
didn't do all of the things, he just acted as
though he were doing them. Higgins also introduced a composite
published in the Parish Daily, which was released shortly after
the incident. Walter said that was the first one made,
not the second one, which was a lot more accurate.
So the defense attorney here, he's shown the first composite sketch,
(24:55):
which apparently did not look a lot like the defendant,
and he's also questioning the timeframe that this poor guy
had come up with, and he's saying, how could you
do all this in five minutes or less? And the
guy said, well, I wasn't actually doing all of it.
I was acting like I was doing all of Higgins
then asked if Walter's thought that someone could make a
mistaken identity in a case such as this one. Walter said,
(25:19):
I don't think a person could go through what I
have gone through and make a mistake. When press further,
he deemed the possibility.
Speaker 2 (25:26):
Was very remote.
Speaker 4 (25:27):
Higgins brought out a panel of three photos and he
started to ask Walter's questions about them. Simpson objected to
Higgins presenting these photos of people who were supposed victims
of mistaken identities and who were supposedly were only punished.
The judge sustained that objection, and he instructed the jury
to disregard that portion of the proceeding. Higgins then asked
(25:50):
Walters if he would single out one characteristic for use
in making an identification, and Walter said no. That identification
would have to be made was several characteristics together. So
Higgins introduces a human exhibit in the person of Lionel Robinson.
This man was brought from jail and seated in the
(26:10):
front row. The man had a shaved head and was
in prison clothes. Higgins then asked Walters if he recognized him,
and Walters replied no.
Speaker 2 (26:18):
The man had been in the lineup apparently.
Speaker 4 (26:21):
Which Walters had viewed, but he did not have a
shaved head then, so the judge at this point recessed
court until nine am the following day, and he of
course tells the jury you can't talk to anyone about this.
The next day, Detective Melvin Wells of the Human Police
Department testified and he said that Walters identified a photo
(26:42):
of the defendant after looking at some fifteen hundred photos
over the period of eight months. He said the photo
of Spears was shown to Walters in a group of
ten photos.
Speaker 2 (26:52):
At that point, Steve.
Speaker 4 (26:54):
Racky of the ham And Police Department he supervised that
lineup which was held and he testified and he said
that Spears was advised.
Speaker 2 (27:02):
Of his rights.
Speaker 4 (27:03):
Four black men were taken from the jail and dressed
in jail uniforms as with Spears. Spears was then allowed
to pick his own number in the lineup and to
decide how they were to line up.
Speaker 2 (27:15):
Walters was brought in.
Speaker 4 (27:16):
He viewed the lineup twice from the front and side views,
and he then requested that the men in this lineup
be made to say something. Each man said, what is
your name? Walters then identified Spears, saying that the hair
was different, but he recognized the face and the person.
The defense attorney asked if the slayer of the slide
L policeman had been put in the lineup or if
(27:38):
any attempts had been made to match his fingerprints with
those taken at the Goodyear's store. Sergeant Norman Davidson of
the ham And Police Department said he showed hundreds of
photos to Roy Walters, including the photo of the suspect
in the slide L police slang, and that Walters passed
over it. He also said that a fingerprint had been
lifted and sent to the crime lad but that it
(28:00):
was just an overlay print and it could not be identified.
Dennis Taylor, a twenty one year old black man, was
the next witness. Taylor had been convicted for armed robbery,
but is presently out of prison because he has been
working on cases cooperating with the Sheriff's office. Taylor was
used as a plant at the Saint Helena Paris jail
(28:21):
where Spears was being held. According to Taylor, Spears admitted
robbing the Goodyear's store in shooting Reed and Walter, saying quote,
I shot two jiving motherfuckers in the head. Taylor admitted
that he would pretty much do what Detective Dykes wanted
him to do because Dykes kept him out of jail.
Burnham Westmoreland testified that he was an automotive manager at
(28:44):
the time and that he had locked the store after
the incident. He estimated a theft of two thousand dollars. However,
an audit later set the stolen amount at fifteen hundred dollars.
The state then rested its case after showing photos of
the deceased taken at.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
The morgue to the jerk.
Speaker 4 (29:01):
The first witness for the defense was Willy Spears of Chicago,
who was an uncle of the defendant. He said the
defendant rode with him in his car from New Orleans
to Chicago on August fifth, and he said the defendant
rested at his home on August sixth, and that on
the seventh he took the defendant to the Busy Beaver
Auto Company to try to get him a job. The
(29:22):
owner of the company was too busy to talk to
them on the seventh, so Willy said he and the
defendant returned on the eighth and the defendant was promised
a job. He said, the defendant went to work for
the Busy Beaver on the ninth of August. However, the
prosecutor suggested Willie sam Spears took a cousin of the defendant,
(29:43):
Curtis Spears, to Chicago on the fifth instead of the defendant,
and it was the state's contention the defendant took a
bus to Chicago after committing.
Speaker 2 (29:52):
The robbery and murder on August eighth.
Speaker 4 (29:55):
Jamie Beaver, owner of the Busy Beaver Auto Company in Chicago,
was the next witness. He said Willie Sam Spears had
brought the defendant around to get him a job, and
that he hired him, but he could not remember the
date that he met Spears. He said that it only
seemed to him that Spears went to work on a Saturday.
Mister Beaver's wife, Doris Beaver, who works as a secretary
(30:17):
for the auto company, she testified she was certain she
saw the defendant twice on August eighth. She said she
remembered the date, particularly because she had surgery on her
foot that same day and when she returned to the office,
the defendant was in the paint shop. However, no evidence
was produced to show the defendant had drawn a paycheck
(30:37):
for working on the dates of August eighth or August ninth,
and no evidence was produced to prove Miss Beaver had
foot surgery. The defendant, Charles Ray Spears, then took the
stand in his own behalf, and Spears said that he
had been convicted of burglary at Greensburg and was given
three years probation. He violated the probation, was sent to
(30:58):
Angola by Angola and then on to Jackson Barracks in
New Orleans. He escaped from Jackson Barracks last July twenty
ninth along with his first cousin, Curtis Spears. He said
he stated at the home of an aunt in New
Orleans until he left for Chicago with Willie Sam Spears.
This was on August fifth, according to him. He said
(31:19):
that he got a job with the Busy Beaver on
August eighth and went to work on August ninth, and
he said he returned to New Orleans about two weeks
before Marty Garol. On cross examination, it was brought out
that when Spears returned to New Orleans, he was arrested
along with Larry Donahue and Clay Spears on February twenty
second for the murder of Ernest Smith in New Orleans,
(31:40):
and of course I told you all about that. Clay
Spears confessed to the murder and implicated the defendant in Donahue.
But Clay spears confession was thrown out as was the
defendants and Donehue by the court because Clay had been
interrogated by police too long and the confession had been
made under duress. That murder charge had since been dropped
(32:01):
against all three. Spears claimed his confession to the Ernest
Smith murder was beaten out of him by New Orleans
officers John Dillman and Fred Dentaggon. Spears said he said
whatever they wanted him to say because he got tired
of being beaten on. Since Charles Ray Spears testified to
the existence of the Smith case arrest, the state was
(32:22):
free to question him on the statement he gave to
Dilman and Daggonon. In order to attack Spears' credibility as
a truthful witness, Billy Quinn began to challenge spears truthfulness
item by item. At first, Spears insisted the statement was
totally untrue and the result of the beatings. Then Spears
admitted that a portion of his confession referring to where he.
Speaker 2 (32:45):
Parked his car was true.
Speaker 4 (32:47):
He then admitted this statement was correct where he had
said he had gone to Smith's to rob him of dope.
He agreed further that what he told the two officers
about Smith dealing in marijuana was true. When asked if
he said he's shot Smith through a pillow to keep
him quiet about the robbery of money, Spears admitted that
he had said something like that. The two officers, Dilman
(33:09):
and Daggan, then testified that Spears was properly advised of
his rights twice, once on Saint Ann Street and once
in police headquarters. They both denied any beatings or coercions
had been used, and that spears treatment was made freely involuntarily.
Both said Spears went to California after escaping from Jackson Barracks.
(33:30):
Following a dinner break, Roy Walters Junior took the stand
briefly and Simpson asked him if the defendant was the
man who had shot him. Walters again answered emphatically that
it was Higgins. Cross examination was a reaffirmation of the
physical description Walters had given Spears. The state's closing statement
by Simpson cited the key witness testimony about the eight
(33:53):
months of photo viewing the lineup these several identifications in
open court.
Speaker 2 (33:59):
Simpson told the.
Speaker 4 (34:00):
Jury that the key thing was, quote, do you believe
are witnesses or theirs? Simpson explained Taylor's criminal history, particularly
on the arm robbery charge, was reduced to aggravated burglary
quote to give a break to a seventeen.
Speaker 2 (34:17):
Year old boy. He said.
Speaker 4 (34:19):
The thing with these license plates, he had simply forgotten
about them, and he cited Taylor's young age. Simpson told
the jury that Taylor's most significant testimony was his pinpointing
the use of a Chicago alibi and of his telling
of Spears confessing to the shooting of Smith by saying, quote,
I upped my pistol, which were the exact words also
(34:41):
used in the confession given to New Orleans police.
Speaker 2 (34:45):
And that's big evidence right there.
Speaker 4 (34:46):
Simpson stated, there is no documentary evidence that puts this
man the defendant in Chicago August fifth through eighth, or
any date. He also cited Smith's confession again and cited
where Spears said he had lost about forty pounds within
a two week period. He cited the description of spears
wearing thick soled sandals during the good Year incident, at
(35:08):
which Walters was forced to view Spears from his position
on the floor. The defense statements appealed to the jury
to believe their witnesses and accept that the matter was
a case of mistaken identity. A jury of six women
and six men returned the guilty verdict after being absent
from the courtroom for nearly forty five minute. Only one juror,
(35:29):
Dion Hagen, voted for spears acquittal on all four counts,
So there you have it. Spears gets sentenced to life
for the murderer reed and twenty years for the attempted
murder of Walters, as well as two ninety nine year
sentences for the robbery of each victim, with those sentences
(35:49):
running concurrent. So it's off to Tanjibahoe Parish prison for
this guy. But once an asshole, always an asshole, right,
And he sues the tangible pairs Sheriff's office for mistreatment
and actually wins the suit, but he screws himself in
the process because the judge also ruled that he be
(36:11):
transferred out of that prison and into you guessed it,
bloody in Goola. Now, in nineteen ninety six, after appealing
all kinds of shit, Spears is granted a new trial
due to some questions regarding testimony in his original trial.
And as scary as it sounds, the judge only gave
(36:32):
the district attorney three months to retry the case or
Spears would be set free. Well, this district attorney, he
made it happen. Spears was retried and eventually justice did prevail.
He was again sentenced to life in prison. And it's
also interesting to point out that on December six of
(36:53):
nineteen seventy six, the news Digest in a Neat City
ran another short article and it said headline State sued
for one million, three hundred and seventy five thousand dollars for
actions of prison escapee. The Louisiana Department of Corrections is
being sued for one million, three hundred and seventy five
thousand dollars for damage incurred as a result of the
(37:16):
Goodyear murder in Hammond on August eighth of nineteen seventy five.
And then it goes into what occurred during that murder,
which I've already told you. It says Walters is suing
the state for five hundred and twenty thousand dollars, and
they're talking Roy Walters twenty thousand dollars for medical expenses,
one hundred thousand for lost earnings, an impairment of earning capacity,
(37:40):
one hundred thousand for mental anguish. He's suing for pain
and suffering and for personal injuries. Reed's widow also sued
for just a ton of money. I'm not going to
read the entire article, but interesting in that I can
never find a final verdict on that lossuit, and a
(38:00):
lot of times that will be sealed. That becomes a
civil matter, not a criminal matter. And unless you do
a jury trial, usually you can't find a whole lot
of information on civil cases. If it's a judge deciding
the whole thing, they're usually sealed.
Speaker 2 (38:17):
But there you have it. In the end, justice.
Speaker 4 (38:20):
Did prevail in this case, very non well known case,
if you will, out of the state of Louisiana. Thank
you so much for listening. Check out the patreon patreon
dot com slash Bloody Andngola podcast. I'm about to really
ramp things up on Bloody and Gola, so get ready
(38:41):
for that. So until next time, I'm Jim Chapman with
Bloody Angola, a podcast one hundred and forty two years
in the making, lead story of America's bloodiest prison, Peace.
Speaker 3 (39:07):
A Wall Street line, shackle change, Oh, psome gird, it's
calling my name. There is no mercy and this being
a tentery juice as the hill Stream game Wrangle three.
Speaker 1 (39:34):
I'm here, bef, I me to die.
Speaker 3 (39:41):
Inside these walls, inside the wild.
Speaker 2 (39:48):
And when the girl, as I know, it's old bloody angle.
Speaker 1 (40:03):
Ohbody, I tol
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