6 mL b6 CHRISTI CALLER, Oct. 18, 1978 Murder case witness tells court about shooting By TOM KNUTSEN Staff Writer Extra deputies guarded the 214th District Court yesterday as witnesses began telling the feud that led to the shotgun killing of Ricky Lee Hopkins on June 30. Townsel 21, is charged with Hopkins' murder. Testimony began yesterday in a courtroom nearly filled with spectators. Assistant District Attorney Ron Barroso said someone had shot at one of the witnesses Monday night and another witness had been threatened last week.
Judge Norman Utter brought in extra deputies to assist the bailiff in watching the court and waiting area and guarding witnesses waiting outside the courtroom. Hopkins' friend Freddie Lee Gardner took the witness stand to tell how Hopkins was killed. Gardner said he and Hopkins had been driving together on June 30 when they saw Myers' bright yellow Mustang behind them on Greenwood. It stopped, Gardner said, and a man stepped out. The car then speeded up, he went on, and followed him closely "playing on my right bumper.
Lee told me Townsel was getting ready to shoot and told me to duck. I Bentsen hits new gas pricing regulations U.S. Sen. Lloyd Bentsen yesterday called the gas pricing legislation passed by Congress this weekend a "regulatory nightmare." Bentsen was in Corpus Christi yesterday to speak to the H.E.B. department managers' annual management conference at the Hilton Inn.
The senator said the natural gas compromise will significantly increase the cost of gas production cost that will ultimately be passed on to the Economists have estimated the legislation will cost consumers who heat with gas about $16 billion in higher gas bills through 1985. Bentsen and Sen. John Tower, R-Texas, both voted against the compromise. "The measure will leave us (Texas) subsidizing the rest of the nation for the next seven or eight years," he said. lot of small producers are going to have a difficult time didn't duck.
I peeked in my side-view mirror, saw a shotgun leaning, out on Townsel's arm like this," laying his right arm across the crook of his left arm. The car kept on, Gardner said, and Hopkins warned him again. second time he said Townsel was going to shoot, I ducked down and a shot went Gardner said he stopped and Hopkins was lying on him. Seeing Myers reloading, Gardner said he raced away with Myers chasing him, The cars dodged through traffic on South Padre Island Drive and near Staples Gardner said he lost Myers. On the way Hopkins lay in the front seat "just gagging up blood," Gardner said.
At the end of the highway, Gardner said he pulled onto the median, left the car with his gun and waited for Myers. When he failed to arrive, Gardner said he flagged a car for help. Aware of the feud between Myers and Hopkins, Mrs. Grace Fuseier, Hopkins' mother, said she sent her son to California in May. He was away a month before she mailed him a ticket to come home.
She said the day he was killed was the Sen. Lloyd Bentsen says new gas law is a "regulatory nightmare" complying with the regulations it'll be a lawyers' and accountants' delight," Bentsen said. On the other hand, the Democratic senator said the $18.7 billion federal income tax-cutting package was "fair. He said the across-the-board tax cut has something in it for everyone. "It's a real step forward in trying to get fiscal responsibility back in government," he said.
Questioned about his position on the proposed deepwater port at Harbor Island and the possible effect of the Environmental Protection Agency's disapproval, Bentsen said, "I have always stated that I was for an environmentally sound deepwater port Tam not in favor of it unless 1 it Benstsen said he has not read the recent EPA statement. "The EPA report is very important and could have a serious effect on the (Deeport) project," he said. Krueger hits Tower's handshake refusal By MARTHA CALLAWAY Staff Writer Rep. Bob Krueger last night said Republican Sen. John Tower's refusal to appear on television with his Democratic opponent shows lack of respect for the people of Texas and the whole political process." In Corpus Christi to attend a reception, Krueger said he was "delighted" Tower had pulled out of four scheduled television appearances and accused him of dirty campaign tactics.
"If there's anything that shows the true character of a person. this does," Krueger said. Earlier in the day when both candidates appeared before the Houston Press Club Forum, Krueger reportedly extended his hand to Tower and the incumbent senator refused to shake it. Tower had accused Krueger of circulating a "smear sheet" and stooping to "gutter The controversy began two weeks ago when Krueger distributed a copy of a syndicated column which appeared in the Karnes City Citation. The column does not name Tower, but tells of a man "who ranks high in the U.S.
Senate, and low in the ranks of nice women who avoid getting on the elevators alone with him." Tower said he would not "dig- South Texas Briefs Mrs. Celso Gonzales (right) greet Krueger (Photo by John Best) San Pat CETA jobs to be cut SINTON The Comprehensive Employment and Training Act program in San Patricio County can be reduced in scope to meet new federal limits by normal attrition among workers, George Hernandez. assistant county auditor, said yesterday. Congress did not fund the emergency jobs program before it adjourned but did adopt a resolution to continue the program until March 1 to assure continuance of the program on a reduced scale. Hernandez said the 220 men and women now involved in the program in San Patricio and Aransas Counties can be reduced in number by attrition without dismissing any who want to continue working.
For the time being, the entire program in San Patricio and Aransas Counties is operating on a 30- day basis until the end of October. After that, resolution will fund the program until March. Hernandez said the economic situation in San Patricio County has improved considerably in recent months. Unemployment was 7.1 percent in December 1976 and increased to 7.7 percent in September 1977. Then the improvement began and in June of this year unemployment was only 5 percent.
Now it is 5.8 percent, Hernandez said. San Patricio County, he said, will lose 14 percent of its available funds by virtue of an across-theboard cut, then another 16 percent through an improved economic basis through October. Several weeks ago the employment program was frozen at its level at the time. There has been no recruiting of workers since then, Hernandez pointed out. The employment program has involved as many as 275 persons.
Murder indictment returned FALFURRIAS Dagoberto Vargas, 21, of 422 N. Duarte, has been indicted on a charge of murder in connection with the Sept. 24 shooting death of Trinidad Rodriguez of Houston. Rodriguez was shot near a residence in the 200 block of West Lopez with a .22 rifle. Other indictments returned by the Brooks Coun- day he came home.
Other witnesses tried to explain the reason for the feud between Myers and Hopkins. Both Barroso and Myers' attorney, Neal Dancer, questioned the witnesses about events surrounding two times when Myers exchanged shots with Hopkins and Sherman Greathouse. Greathouse said he and Myers had a shoot -out on Shoreline in front of the Ramada Inn on June 17. Greathouse also said Myers had walked up to him while he was seated in a car and shot him in the arm and back. The trial resumes at 9 a.m.
today. Defense seeks to raise doubts in rape case Wayne Robinson's lawyers yesattempted to raise doubt terday, that he raped a woman as charged in June. Robinson, 24, is on trial in the 319th District Court for burglary with intent to commit rape. Though the state has been presenting its witnesses, Robinson's attorney's, David Coover Jr. and Richard Crews, poked at the victim's testimony and her medical report.
Early yesterday her husband testified about returning from work the day of the incident and learning from his wife what had happened. On Monday she had testified to being threatened with a knife, tied to a bed, robbed and raped. "She had red marks on her wrists when I first saw her," said her husband. After talking with her, he went to see if one of their cars was in the garage. It was, and in it he found a duffel bag of clothes and a pistol the victim said Robinson found beneath her mattress.
He said he then rode with her to the hospital. The hospital report attracted Coover's and Crew's attention. For it included a statement that the victim had engaged in coitus the day before the rape. Under cross examination the doctor who examined her said there was no way to try to determine whether the sperm were from one or two men. The defense attorneys also tried to weaken the value of photographs assistant District Attorney Richard Silvas submitted as evidence.
Through questioning both the victim and the police officer who took the pictures, Crews and Coover showed they were not taken the day of the incident. A hole in a closet wall that the victim said her assailant enter her apartment was boarded up in the photographs and other changes had occurred in the room. The trial is to continue at 9 a.m. today. Robbery charge is dismissed Robbery charges were dropped yesterday against Jim F.
Odom, 25, of 725 W. Cornelia Circle. Odom had been arrested by police on a warrant charging him with the late-night armed robbery of the Corpus Christi Country Club on Oct. 1. Approximately $1,600 was taken in the robbery.
Knight, Luby do verbal battle Only the physical blows were missing yesterday as the two candidates for Commissioner of Precinct 4 fought vigorously before the Tuesday Luncheon Group. Democratic incumbent J.P. Luby and Tom Knight, his Republican challenger, accused each other of ignorance and defended themselves against the charges. Luby took the line that Knight, 25, is too young and inexperienced to serve as commissioner. "I don't have much to say about my opponent except that he is a very nice boy," Luby quipped at one point.
Knight argued that Luby is the culmination of 105 years of inefficient Democratic government in Nueces County. "What (Luby's) really telling us is he's done the minimum a county commissioner should said Knight. Luby told his audience he has been working to keep the beaches open by improving traffic and nify the kind of campaign" Krueger is conducting by appearing jointly with him again. After the handshaking episode, the two candidates avoided looking at one another for the remainder of the appearance. Krueger told a gathering of about 80 local supporters last night that Tower's cancellation of the agreed-upon appearances "suggests a lack of confidence." "He's scared and he expects to buy the election in the last weeks with his 30-second TV spots, but he's not going to make himself available to the press and to the people of Texas.
"That's not disrespectful toward me that's disrespectful toward the people and the whole political Krueger said. Krueger last night denied his campaign has resorted to mudslinging in order to win in November. "It's nothing I've said or done," Krueger said. "'He (Tower) is just complaining about what the press has said about him." For weeks, Krueger's campaign has been sending out clippings from state newspapers which are favorable to the Democratic candidate, he said. "I've never discussed his (Tower's) private life.
you can't separate the man from the office," he said. By TOM KNUTSEN Staff Writer With three weeks left until the election, Krueger said he's confident he's going to win. "We're winning now," he said. The New Braunfels congressman pointed to election polls conducted in three different congressional districts across the state which show him leading in each district by percentages of 51-35, 54-24 and 39-37. Krueger declined to identify the districts which reported the results, saying the congressional candidate who paid for the poll in each district would want to announce the results himself.
In Houston, Krueger said a poll taken two weeks ago by his people showed he had about a .1 percent lead over Tower. Tower in turn answered, "I am not going to play the old poll game. It's been done too many times and it doesn't mean a thing." Krueger, as he has so often, noted that while Tower is the ranking minority member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Texas has lost 11 military bases. "Being the ranking minority member on any committee doesn't mean one thing. Seniority only has meaning in the majority party," he said.
Krueger said as a Democrat he could be more effective than a Republican, "even with 18 years in the Senate." sanitation and by campaigning in Austin against State Sen. Jack 0gg's attempts to close the beaches. Knight criticized the commissioners for spending too much money and Luby for not trying to keep property evaluations lower in Precinct 4, which, Knight said, pays the largest share of residential taxes of the four precincts. Last summer, Luby said, Knight misinformed the public by saying the county had given 15 dune permits this year to hotels or condominiums. The correct number is four, he added.
When Knight, as a county employee, attended commissioners' court, Luby said he uttered nothing about dune permits or other business. "He only opened his mouth to yawn." "Taxes, I believe, are the big issue," argued Knight. The commissioners should do more to watch Memorial Medical Center and they should create a unit road system, he said. Knight told his listeners that he has one other vote on the court now to support unifying road maintenance in one department. Two members of the group asked Knight about his attitude toward Mexican He was asked if he opposed LUapplication for a criminal justice grant that HIALCO Center had wanted to apply for.
Knight said he thought HIALCO's application was supported by the entire black community whereas LULAC's was not supported by all Mexican- -Americans. But he would support the application because the commissioners had approved it. And he said he was not doing anything special to attract Mexican-American votes in his precinct. Instead he was campaigning to represent the precinct better than Luby. Luby fielded questions about past commissioners' court actions and taxes.
He defended the increase in valuations by saying the state constitution demands equalization and inflation is driving up the value of property. Alert' aimed at forgers A new program aimed at reducing the $60,000 lost by local businesses each year to bad checks, credit card forgeries and counterfeit money was announced yesterday by Corpus Christi police, 13 local banks and the Chamber of Commerce. The program, called "'Check Alert," is a rapid system of telephone calls which take place as soon as police have verified that a forgery has occurred. Marshall Boykin, Chamber of Commerce president, said police will call the chamber once a forg- IL ty grand jury included 12 for possession of marijuana, six for burglary, one for driving while intoxicated. five for cattle theft, and two for theft.
DA removal order slated FALFURRIAS Judge C. Woodrow Laughlin has entered on his 79th District Court docket an order for a summary judgment removing Brooks County Attorney J. A. Gamez from office. The order was entered Monday in a lawsuit challenging Game's right to file a misdemeanor charge against John Kelly Odom of Premont.
Odom's attorney, Terry Canales of Alice, had claimed Game's acceptance on May 2, 1977, of the position assistant criminal district attorney in Hidalgo County made the charge filed later invalid. Laughlin agreed by entering his order with the claim that Brooks County has been without a county attorney for more than a year. Gamez was elected county attorney in 1976. Row crop seminar scheduled KINGSVILLE Area farmers may participate in a "Narrow Row Crop Production" seminar at 7:30 p.m. today at the Vattman Parish Hall in southeastern Kleberg County.
County Extension Agent Harvey Buehring said, "In view of the low grain sorghum prices the past two years, farmers must find ways of increasing yield without increasing their production costs. He said reducing the row width may have potential in the Kleberg County area. 'Some experiments have resulted in 25 to 30 percent yield increases by reducing row width from 40 inches to 30 Buehring said. Candidate's wife to speak KINGSVILLE Linda Gale White, wife of Mark White, the Democratic nominee for attorney general of Texas, will campaign for her husband at 5 p.m. today at the Woman's Club Building at 230 W.
Yoakum Ave. ery has been verified. Chamber officials will then alert the local participating banks. Each bank calls two previously designated chamber members and tells them the forgery or counterfeit information released by police, and each of those members calls two more assigned contacts. A total of 806 local businesses are memof the new program, but the program can be expanded as new members join..
