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THE BATTALION
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 5, 1979
Page 7
Davis tells his version
of FBI-McCrory "plot’
United Press International
FORT WORTH — A calm and
consistent T. Cullen Davis Thurs
day testified in his own behalf in his
murder solicitation trial, describing
the plot he thought was being
hatched against him by the man who
is now his chief accuser — FBI in
formant David McCrory.
Davis, starting his lengthy tes
timony in a low voice but getting
stronger as the day wore on, tes
tified a phone call he thought was
from the FBI told him McCrory was
trying to extort $10,000 from him.
Davis testified the caller directed
him to play along with McCrory.
^ On Aug. 20, 1978, Davis was ar-
j rested and charged with trying to
hire someone to kill his divorce
judge, District Judge Joe Eidson.
McCrory, a friend and employee
of Davis’, has testified that Davis
ordered him to find a professional
killer to do away with Eidson and
others. McCrory claims he secretly
contacted the FBI about Davis’ de
mands and that from then on he
worked with the agents until Davis’
arrest. Davis testified, however,
that he thought he was working with
the FBI and that McCrory was the
target.
The testimony was exactly the
same as Davis gave in Houston late
last year in is first trial on the
murder-for-hire charge. That trial
ended in a hung jury.
Prosecutors listening to Davis tes
tify Thursday said they were im
pressed that his testimony so closely
paralleled that in Houston.
“He’s even remembering the
conversations in the same order as
Houston,” prosecutor John
Bankston said. “There’s no question
he makes a good witness.’’
Davis told the jury in late 1977 he
received a letter from a supposed
Refugee trial moved
from site of violence
hitman who said he would forget the
killing in exchange for $10,000.
“The thrust of it was the writer
said he had a contract to kill me be
fore Christmas,” Davis said. The
letter said “if I would pay him
$10,000 he would forget about the
contract and tell me who hired
him.”
Davis said he immediately con
tacted the FBI about the letter and
that the FBI instructed him to go
along in the plot.
In Houston, Davis testified that
he eventually got a call from some
one he thought was an FBI agent
who instructed him that McCrory
was actually the extortionist.
Earlier in the day, Davis testified
that McCrory was a friend of his
former wife, Priscilla Davis, and
that McCrory frequently called
Davis wanting a job.
Davis said he finally gave
McCrory a job because he thought
McCrory could give him informa
tion that woud be useful in his di-
United Press International
PORT LAVACA — A state dis
trict judge Thursday transferred the
murder trial of two Vietnamese
brothers away from the coastal area
where one man was killed as ref
ugees and native crab fishermen
clashed this summer.
Judge Clarence Stevenson moved
the trial of Sau Van Nguyen, 21, and
Chinh Van Nguyen, 20, to Seguin in
Guadalupe County. Both were
charged with the shooting death of
Billy Joe Aplin, 35, at Seadrift last
Aug. 3.
Stevenson said a tentative trial
date of Oct. 29.
District Attorney William W.
Day said he discussed the case and
prospects for a fair trial in Calhoun
County and decided not to oppose
the transfer.
“A lot of people throughout the
county flatly said they didn’t feel
they could get a fair trial and others
qualified it someway or another,”
Day said. “It just wouldn’t be jus
tice.”
The brothers have not posted
bond and remain in jail.
Witnesses said Aplin and Sau Van
Nguyen argued on a fishing dock
and Nguyen suffered a knife cut
across his chest before Aplin was
shot.
Aplin’s slaying climaxed a “crab
war” over local fishing rights and
customs and ignited more violence
in the community, including the
firebombing of one refugee’s home
and the burning of the Vietnamese
boats. Residents said the
Vietnamese refused to respect local
crabbing and shrimping customs.
Dozens of the estimated 100
Vietnamese that settled in Seadrift
beginning in 1976 fled the town dur
ing the summer.
vorce.
“I told him I was giving him this
job for one reason — to help me in
my divorce from Priscilla,” Davis
testified.
The state has produced films and
tape recordings of Davis meeting
with McCrory — meetings
McCrory claims were to set up the
murder of the divorce judge.
Davis said, however, the first
time he met with McCrory on June
9, 1978, McCrory said he had in
formation that Mrs. Davis was look
ing for someone to kill Davis.
A short time after that, the extor
tion letter arrived in the mail.
In other testimony, Davis ex
plained that $25,000 in cash that al
legedly was payoff money for a hit
man actually belonged to McCrory.
He said in July McCrory gave him
the money, saying he won it in Las
Vegas and wanted Davis to put it in
his safe so that his wife would not
find out about it.
On the day Davis was arrested he
gave McCrory $25,000.
Davis was scheduled to return to
the witness stand Friday.
Judge repeals order,
Amtrak dumps trains
Official says geothermal well not so efficient
United Press International
BROWNSVILLE — A geother
mal test well drilled near the Texas
coast produces less water and
natural gas than anticipated. Rail
road Commissioner Mack Wallace
said Thursday.
Wallace said data from the test
► well in Brazoria County thus far
, does not guarantee the economics of
j;geothermal energy as a commercial
resource, but urged private industry
to keep a close eye on geothermal
research as a potential significant
energy resource.
Wallace said initial testing indi
cates the geopressured geothermal
well in Brazoria County can flow at
rates of approximately 30,000 bar
rels of water daily, about 10,000 less
than anticipated, has a gas-water
ratio of about 20 cubic feet per bar
rel, about half the level anticipated,
and*'has bottom hole temperatures
of about 250 degrees, 50 to 100 de
grees lower than experts had pre
dicted.
The commissioner said a geopres
sured geothermal well prospect in
Kenedy County looks particularly
good to scientists, however, and
said drilling should begin next year
in that area.
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ENTHUSIASM ::
United Press International
WICHITA, Kan. — A federal judge, who had forced Amtrak to
keep three money-losing trains running for an extra four days, Thurs
day lifted his order and told the railroad it could go ahead and elimi
nate the trains.
U.S. District Court judge Frank Theis, who last week granted a
temporary restraining order prohibiting Amtrak from dropping three
of the five trains it had scheduled for elimination, dissolved that order
Thursday.
The three trains affected by the order are the Chicago-to-Houston
Lone Star, the Chicago-to-Seattle North Coast Hiawatha and the
Chicago-to-Miami Floridian.
An Amtrak spokesman in Chicago said two of the trains which were
scheduled to leave late Thursday from Chicago would go ahead as
planned but that no decision had been made on which run would be
the train’s last.
“We’ve got a problem with the trains scheduled to run Friday,” the
spokesman said. “The Lone Star is supposed to leave at 4:30 p.m. but
we don’t know yet whether it will or not. We ll know more by tomor-
In Miami, the northbound Floridian left 11 minutes late Thursday
after it was decided to go ahead and run the train, which left with only
10-12 passengers.
An Amtrak spokesman in Washington said any train en route at the
time the judge’s order took effect would go through to its destination.
Theis bad issued a temporary restraining order last week prevent
ing Amtrak from eliminating the three trains, but the judge said
Thursday the fact that Congress had passed the 1979 Amtrak Reor
ganization Bill and President Carter’s decision to sign the bill voided
his order.
“I’m satisified in my own mind that the plantiffs’ best, last chance
went out the window when Congress passed the bill,” Theis said.
Theis had issued the order after a suit was filed by the states of
Kansas, Minnesota, the city of Nashville, Tenn., and a Tennessee
county which claimed the elimination of the trains would cause ir
reparable harm to their areas.
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