Thursday, November 12,1987/The Battalion/Page 9
Couple gets charged
with theft from corpses
Pair would pose as mourners, police say
FORT WORTH (AP) — A grand
jury indicted former mortuary
worker and his girlfriend Tuesday,
charging that they traveled to fune
ral homes in three states, posing as
mourners to steal rings and other
jewelry from corpses.
The indictment named Bruce Ian
Williams, 29, on three counts of
theft from a corpse, and Christine
Ward, 22, on two counts.
Both of the suspects are from Abi
lene.
Police said the two traveled to al
most a dozen funeral homes in
Texas, Tennessee and Oklahoma,
signing Fictitious names to guest reg
isters.
While pretending to know the
dead person, the pair would huddle
over tne body, police said.
They would then remove jewelry
from the bodies and leave the fune
ral home before anyone discovered
that anything was missing.
Both Williams and Ward face up
to 10 years in prison and a $5,000
fine on the felony charges, authori
ties said.
William B. Neely of suburban
Hurst told police his wife, Mary Sue
Neely, died July 16 and he and his
daughters had put her wedding ring
and diamond cluster rings on her
fingers.
Two days later, they noticed the
rings were missing and notified po
lice.
Police said the family noticed a
name that they did not recognize on
the guest register at the Greenwood
Funeral Home.
On Sept. 26, widow Jan Sawyer
told police that someone had stolen a
gold wedding band from the body of
her late husband, Joel Sawyer, while
the body was at Harveson Cole Fu
neral Home.
Coleman Police Sgt. Bob Burleson
said Williams was recognized as a
former employee of a Fort Worth
mortuary.
Using personnel files from the
mortuary, officers tracked the cou
ple to a farm near Abilene where
they were arrested.
Williams is being held in the Calla
han County Jail in lieu of $100,000
bond on the theft charges and two
forgery charges.
Ward has been released on bond,
police said.
Officers say it is possible that valu
able items may have been stolen
from other funeral homes without
relatives ever realizing that anything
was missing.
Prosecutor wonts to try teen
os adult for officer’s slaying
WAXAHACHIE (AP) — A prosecutor says she plans
Thursday to try to get a 16-year-old Midlothian High
School student certified to stand trial as an adult for the
slaying of undercover police officer George Raffield.
An Ellis County grand jury indicted 17-year-old
Richard Goeglein on capital murder charges and rec
ommended the 16-year-old boy and another youth, also
16, be charged in the killing. The grand jury took the
action T uesday after hearing testimony from 19 wit
nesses.
The names of the 16-year-olds have been withheld
because they are minors.
Goeglein and one of the juveniles, the son of a vet
eran Dallas police officer, were arrested hours after the
slaying.
A second boy is accused of aiding them by picking up
Goeglein and the other juvenile near the field where
Raffield, who police said was posing as a high school
student, was killed.
No other indictments or arrests are expected, Ellis
County Attorney Mary Lou Shipley said. She said she
will request at a hearing Thursday that one of the juve
niles be tried as an adult.
A grand jury in Texas does not have jurisdiction in
juvenile cases, but state law provides that if grand jurors
make a recommendation involving juveniles accused of
serious offenses, the juveniles may be required to serve
time in prison after they reach adulthood.
In most juvenile cases, the harshest penalty available
is to sentence the defendant to a youth detention center
until he reaches age 18, when he must be freed.
Raffield, 21, had been working undercover in a drug
investigation at the high school when he was found Oct.
24 in a field south of Midlothian. He had been shot
twice in the head, authorities said.
Even if the juvenile is ordered to stand trial as an
adult, he cannot be sentenced to death if he was under
17 when he committed a capital offense, according to
Texas law.
Goeglein was being held without bail in Ellis County
Jail and did not attend Tuesday’s grand jury hearing. If
convicted, he could be sentenced to life in prison or
death by lethal injection.
The 16-year-old who police said was with Goeglein
remains in custody at a juvenile detention center in
Tarrant County.
Officer relates experiences,
thoughts in detective novel
PASADENA (AP) — For nearly
10 years Stephen Sulik has patrolled
the streets helping put criminals be
hind bars, only to see them freed, he
says, by a revolving-door justice sys
tem.
Instead of using vigilante justice
to fight back, though, the jaded vet
eran poured his frustrations into a
true detective novel titled “Cold Kill”
— writing about the true thoughts
he was forced to leave out of hun
dreds of routine police reports he
has filed over the years.
“The book is written for victims of
crime,” Sulik said. “It shows an offi
cer’s frustrations in court, which
don’t always recognize victims’
rights.”
The book contains several inci
dents, witnessed by Sulik during his
career, of courts victimizing crime
victims through loopholes, light sen
tences, early release of prisoners or
lack of restitution, he said. The main
character has his loyalty to law en
forcement tested and grapples with
a victim’s grief and rights.
The protagonist, Roman Addi
son, is a new member of the Hous
ton police homicide unit who is as
signed to a murder case that takes
him to inner-city areas seldom seen
by law-abiding citizens.
The novel maintains a realistic fla
vor by punctuating car chases, hi
jackings and other police vignettes
with local landmarks such as the
Houston Ship Channel and with a
careful eye for police procedure.
However, Sulik said the victim-
vindicating climax has a twist that
would surprise even the most street-
hardened beat cop.
“The book is written for
victims of crime. It shows
an officer's frustrations in
court, which don’t always
recognize victims’ rights. ”
— Stephen Sulik,
Pasadena police officer
and author
“There’s no sense writing some
thing if they (colleagues) already
know what to expect,” Sulik said.
Addison actually is a composite of
several Houston and Pasedena offi
cers and is only partly autobiogra
phical, Sulik said.
Like the muscular Sulik, a mem
ber of the Pasadena department’s
Special Weapons and Tactics team,
Addison is an avowed non-smoker,
health-food nut and body builder.
Addison’s pet cat, however, gives
him a touch of sensitivity designed to
distance the character from the
Dirty Harry mold from which justice
is meted out with deadpan repartee
and a .357-caliber Magnum.
Tha character’s soft side also is a
reflection of Sulik, who Pasadena
Police Chief Lee Gilbert called the
department’s poet laureate.
Sulik, 32, has written free-style
poetry since he was a high school ju
nior and in 1982 a Houston com
pany published a collection called,
“In Search of Nature’s Hidden Se
crets.”
For Sulik, what started out as a
classroom English project is now a
soul-searching diversion from the te
dium of police work. He has partici
pated in several poetry seminars in
the Houston area.
But for “Cold Kill,” published in
August by Quinlan Press of Boston,
the soft-spoken Sulik needed some
one to add zest to several police ex
periences he often scribbled on nap
kins and notebook paper.
“I had to learn to organize a sce
ne,” he said. “There’s no room for
opinion or philosophy in a police re
port.”
He was introduced to Maggie
Leach, a former Pasadena substitute
English teacher, through a friend at
the Pasadena Public Library. The
two soon were feeding off each oth
er’s ideas and expertise.
“He’s real brief, and I’m wordy,”
said Leach, 50, owner of a Pasadena
typing and editing company. “But
we’re both perfectionists.”
Leach said that on her word proc
essor she added window-dressing to
the police yarns, anecdotes and plots
Sulik spun while pacing in her office
during the two years they spent on
“Cold Kill.”
“We worked from reports on
scratch paper that sounded like they
came from ‘Dragnet’: ‘Just the facts,
ma’am,’ ” Leach said.
Their working relationship wasn’t
always amicable, Sulik admitted, be
cause Leach sometimes took too
many liberties with the facts.
But after marathon writing and
rewriting sessions, “Cold Kill” was
published despite nearly 70 reject
ions or non-responses from other
companies.
San Antonio's shoes shine brighter
around Bexar County Courthouse
(AP) — Robert Martinez’s secret
to success is his rise and shine policy.
Martinez, 20, shines shoes at the
Bexar County Courthouse. For the
past two years his stand, which is sit
uated at the courthouse’s east en
trance, has been just as much a part
of the environment as judges’
benches, robes and gavels.
“Well, it’s ajob,” he said.
Martinez explained that many of
his customers are attorneys he would
rather see outside the courtroom
than in it.
“It’s a lot better than stealing,
what can I say? he said. “A lot of
people make fun of me, but I don’t
really care.”
Some of his clients can be real
heels. They are not always willing to
go that extra step and pay Martinez
a decent tip for his labor.
It is not uncommon for some to
tip him as if they were living on
shoestring budgets.
“As long as I get my standard
$1.75, I think I’m doing OK,” Marti
nez said. He has learned not to ex
pect normal Texas-sized tips in these
tough economic times.
It takes him a maximum of eight
minutes to restore luster to even the
most neglected shoes. And while
some attorneys may be the last of the
big time tippers, Martinez still puts
all of his heart and energy into their
shoeshines, stopping just short of
touching their soles.
“There aren’t that many places in
town that will let you put up a shoe-
shine stand,” he said. “You have to
have permission."
Martinez works at the courthouse
as an independent contractor. He
said business usually is steady with
customers having to wait for that
shine which just might make others
want to follow in their footsteps.
“Some days are good and some
days are bad,” Martinez said. “But
I’d say I do about 20 pairs a day. I
guess I must do a good job because a
lot of them come back.”
He said he is asked to shine all
types of shoes — including some
made of lizard skin. Martinez also
said women are becoming better cus
tomers than they were when he first
started shining shoes at the court
house.
Martinez sad he learned his trade
from a family friend.
\o^° OPPORTUNITY
NEW STORE — NEW JOBS
BRYAN — COLLEGE STATION
fastest 9 rowin 9 retail auto parts chain, we offer unique opportunities for rapid
p d n F3etl ! IV ? start ! n 9 salaries and excellent company benefits.
- i positions include assistant store manager, parts sale managers, administrative spe
cialist, sale personnel and cashiers. Part - time positions include cashiers and sales person-
FuH-time applicants must be willing to work all store hours 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. with rotating sched
ules Monday thru Sunday. Part - time shifts are primarily from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday thru
Friday, and all hours Saturday thru Sunday.
Apply in person:
La Quinta (meeting Room)
607 Texas Avenue
College Station, Tx 77840
*No Phone Calls Please
Applications accepted between 8:30 a.m. - 6 p.m. Monday 11/16 thru Thursday 11/19
Personal Interviews will be given to qualified individuals 11/19 -11/22.
An Equal Opportunity Employer
HEAD FOR THE MOUNTAIN
TEXAS A&M SNOW SKI CLUB PRESENTS
THE AGGIE UPHILL A DOWNHILL CLASSIC
(A SNOW SKI RACE)
NOVEMBER 14,1987
11 a.m. -1 p.m.
AT MT. AGGIE
COME OUT AND JOIN THE FUN. ANY A&M STUDENT, FACULTY, OR STAFF MEMBER IS
ELIGIBLE TO RACE.
THREE CLASSES:
BEGINNER
INTERMEDIATE
EXPERT
(PRIZES AWARDED TO THE WINNERS OF EACH CLASS)
ALSO REGISTER FOR THE UNBELIEVEABLE DOOR PRIZES INCLUDING A HALF PRICE
TRIP TO SUMMIT COUNTY COLORADO WITH THE A&M SNOW SKI CLUB JAN. 8-15, 1988
(6-NIGHTS LODGING, ROUND TRIP TRANSPORTATION, 4-DAY SKI THE SUMMIT LIFT
PASS)
(YOU MUST BE AN A&M STUDENT AND PRESENT TO WIN THE DOORPRIZES)
‘$2.00 ENTRANCE FEE FOR THE RACE (FREE FOR CLUB MEMBERS)
IF YOU WANT TO RACE YOU NEED TO BE AT MT. AGGIE BY 10:00 a.m.
(GROUP PICTURES FOR THE AGGIELAND AT NOON)
happy hour
Friday 2-6
movie rental
over 2,000 titles
$1.99
all books
25% off
(excludes remainders |
and sale books)
OPEN: Sun.-Thurs., 10-10 Fri. & Sat., 10-11
1631 Texas Ave., College Station 693-2619
Taking Course of Action
at Shellenbereer’s
Pocket $5
this week at Shellenberger’s
with a pair of Edwin Volcano
wash jeans. A100% cotton
jean sold only in the finest
stores for both men
and women.
Good only November 12-14.
shellenberger’s
Fine Men's and Women’s Apparel
520 University Drive East
693-03Sg