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Vol. 93 No. 107 (8 pages)
1893 — A Century of Service to Texas A&M — 1993
Friday, March 4,1994
Caller poses as cop to lure women out
By Jennifer Smith
The Battalion
Three female Texas A&M students re
ceived prank calls late Wednesday night
from a man claiming he was a police offi
cer.
The man told the women their cars
had been stolen and stripped and were at
the corner of FM 2818 and Wellborn
Road. He then told each of the girls she
would have to come t,o the scene and
identify the vehicle.
Monica Harmon, a freshman general
studies major, said she was asleep around
2:50 a.m. when the phone rang.
"The first thing he said was 'Is this
Monica Harmon?'" she said. "I told him
yes, and then he said, T don't know how
to tell you this, but your car's been
stolen.'"
Harmon then asked if it had been
stolen out of the parking garage where
she has a parking place, and the caller
said yes.
"By this time I was starting to get hys
terical," Harmon said. "I started crying."
The caller then told Harmon he knew
which dorm and room she lived in and
her license plate number.
"I asked what I needed to do, and he
said I needed to come out there," Harmon
said.
Then Harmon began to get suspicious.
"I thought about it, and I asked who is
this," she said.
Harmon said the caller identified him
self as John Bryan or John Bryant of the
College Station Police Department, and
he said his badge number was 1302.
He then told Harmon if she didn't
come to the scene in 45 minutes her car
would be towed.
Harmon's suspicions began to rise
even more when she heard music and
voices in the background as she was get
ting off the phone.
After she hung up, Harmon's first in
stinct was to go to the parking garage to
see if her car was indeed missing or if this
was just a prank call.
But, she said she began to realize this
of rooms
might be more dangerous than just a
prank call.
Instead of going to the parking garage,
Harmon went to her resident adviser who
telephoned the Bryan and College Station
Police Departments. Neither had a report
of a stolen car.
The College Station Police Department
also have no officer named John Bryan or
John Bryant and no one with that badge
number.
See Prank/Page 2
en a stock
Former student charged
— with local arsons, thefts
of using
By Angela Weaves
s that in-
ormation
Education
The Battalion
Former Texas A&M student Jeffrey
Ryan Burris, who was charged with
two counts of burglary and one count
of arson Wednesday, had additional
charges brought against him Thursday.
Burris was charged Thursday with
the Feb. 22 first degree arson and bur
glary of a home at the 2700 block of
Redhill Drive in College Station, said
Sgt. Dan Jones, of the College Station
Police Department.
"This arson charge is first degree be
cause a firefighter was injured in the
blaze," Jones said. "We recovered the
property stolen from the home in a
pawn shop in Hearne."
Authorities have already charged
Burris with the burglary and arson of
two homes, one on Nantucket Lane
Feb. 11 and the other on Linda Lane
Feb. 16.
Burris told investigators he burglar
ized the homes because he needed to
pay debts and burned the houses to
destroy any evidence, Jones said.
Burris confessed to the crimes late
Tuesday.
Burris graduated from Richardson
High School in Richardson, Texas in
1991, according to the A&M Office of
the Registrar. Burris was enrolled in
the general studies program at Texas
A&M in the fall of 1992 and spring of
1993. He attended Blinn College in the
fall of 1993.
Burris was still being held in the
Brazos County Jail Thursday pending
$300,000 bail, and authorities said he
has not yet hired an attorney.
After receiving an anonymous tip,
local authorities discovered receipts
from a pawn shop, which bear Burris's
name, for two televisions and two
video cassette recorders.
Chris Kirk, an investigator for the
Brazos County Sheriff's Department,
said the receipts were dated Feb. 11
and were found at a Bryan pawnshop.
"The receipts had the same date as
the Nantucket Drive burglary," Kirk
said. "The serial numbers matched
those of the property stolen from the
home."
The fires seriously damaged or de
stroyed the homes, Kirk said.
"Burris burglarized the homes and
then intentionally set them on fire,"
Kirk said. "In one case, he attempted
to burn the back door of the home. At
this time we suspect he was involved
in seven separate incidents."
Galen Green, who lives across the
street from the house on Redhill Drive,
said the house is destroyed.
"The home was totaled," she said.
"It may need to be bulldozed. The
family hasn't been back into the house
since the fire happened. They' haven't
been able to, the damage was so bad."
Mattox sweeps through town,
pegs Hutchison for Texas' cuts
By James Bernsen
The Battalion
Jim Mattox, a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, made a last-minute
campaign stop in Bry'an Thursday with only four days left until the primary
election.
Mattox said Texas voters will come out in large numbers for Tuesday's pri
mary despite the apparent apathy in early elections.
The former Texas attorney general and U.S. congressman is running for
the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Republican Kay Bailey Hutchison.
"We are struggling for the heart and soul of the Democratic Party here, try
ing to determine what kind of Democrat we're going to have representing us
in the U. S. Senate," he said.
Mattox said the Democrats have a good chance of winning the Senate seat
because of Hutchison's performance.
"We're seeing our grants to colleges and universities like Texas A&M be
ing lost as a result of having this isolation with two Republicans in the U.S,
Senate," he said.
Mattox also pointed the blame at Hutchison for the loss of the supercollid
er and the cutbacks at the space station.
"I tell Texans today that if they leave Kay Bailey Hutchison in the U.S. Sen
ate, we are going to lose that space station," he said.
Mattox predicted a victory for himself in the Democratic primary despite
the recent gains in the polls by his chief opponent, Richard Fisher, an invest
ment banker.
"I am optimistic that, as we enter these last few days of the Democratic pri
mary, we will see the voters come out and elect me to be the Democratic nom
inee," he said.
He predicted a victory over Fisher despite the $4 million Fisher is spending
on the campaign.
"1 think there's not any doubt that, as Texans and Democrats see him
more, they're going to not accept him," he said. "I think he's moving up (in
the polls), but I think in the end, I'll prevail."
Mattox said his experience as attorney general and his tough on crime atti
tude make him the obvious candidate for the party.
Amanda Sonlcy/Tur. Battalion
While being taught about scuba diving and how to use flip- on Wednesday afternoon, these students listen attentively to
pers during a kinesiology class in the P.L. Downs Natatorium their instructor as they float.
Houston jury awards women $15 million
in lawsuit over leaking breast implants
The Associated Press
HOUSTON — A Harris County jury
Thursday awarded three women with leak
ing silicone breast implants $15 million in
punitive damages from 3M Corp. and two
Las Vegas firms.
The same jury earlier found Minnesota-
based 3M and McGhan Medical Co. and In-
amed, both of Las Vegas, liable for the leak
ing implants and awarded Darla Lawson,
Judy McMurry and Susan Doss actual
damages of $12.9 million.
Jurors returned with their punitive
award after about five hours of delibera
tions. The three plaintiffs hugged pach oth
er after the verdict was read.
"This is what we wanted," McMurry
said. "The main thing is that we won. We
needed a strong yes."
The women were applauded by their
supporters inside the courtroom following
the verdict.
The punitive verdict orders 3M to play
Lawson $4 million and $5 million each to
McMurry and Doss. McGhan Medical has
been ordered to pay Lawson an additional
$1 million.
"I think I'm still in shock. There's just so
many more behind us," Lawson said.
The women's attorney, John O'Quinn,
said he expects the verdict to be appealed.
However, O'Quinn, who had asked ju
rors for $150 million from 3M, said: "I am
confident this verdict will be affirmed and
they will have to write a check."
The two verdicts are believed to be the
nation's first involving leaking — not rup
tured — implants, O'Quinn said. All three
women had the implants removed in 1992.
"You have to send a message in a lan
guage they understand," O'Quinn told ju
rors Thursday before they began delibera
tions on punitive damages. "When you're
talking corporate America, it's money.
That's what they understand."
"If you're sending a message, the fact of
the matter is you've done that already,"
Richard Rawls, an attorney for the compa
nies, said in his closing arguments.
On Wednesday the jury found that the
three companies were involved in a con
spiracy to avoid responsibility.
Following Thursday's verdict, Rawls ex
pressed his disappointment.
"We respect the jurors' decision in this
case. We still want to consider that the sci
entific community hasn't really reached a
consensus," Rawls said. "An appeal will be
considered."
Rawls would not say for certain if the
companies have given the green light for
an appeal.
"I think what happened here is unfortu
nate," Rawls said, referring to the women's
implant problems. "This jury decided that
the breast implants were the cause of that.
Like I say, the scientific community hasn't
reached a consensus on that issue."
The three women had implants made by
either 3M or the companies it sold its breast
implant business to in 1984 — Inamed and
McGhan Medical Co., owned by Don
McGhan.
Wednesday's ruling could prove signifi
cant in the face of a global settlement fund
agreed to by other manufacturers of the sil
icone gel implants. 3M has refused to con
tribute to the multibillion dollar fund pro
posed.
When 3M sold the business, it did so
with a $5.7 million note attached, O'Quinn
said. So earnings made by the McGhan
firms from the silicone implant business
were being paid to 3M to pay off the loan
note.
Harris County has become a center in
the debate over silicone gel breast im
plants. More than 3,000 lawsuits involving
the implants have been filed in the Hous
ton area. That is thought to be the most in
the country.
A&M's state chemist lab put under microscope
By Juli Rhoden
The Battalion
The Office of the Texas State Chemist recent
ly has come under scrutiny for disposing chemi
cals and transporting them in a heavily-populat
ed building on the Texas A&M campus, accord
ing to a memo issued by Interim President E.
Dean Gage this week.
The State Chemist's office is on the third and
fourth floors of the Reed McDonald Building,
which houses the journalism department, agri
cultural communications and several class
rooms.
Dr. George Latimer Jr., the Texas State
Chemist, said he wasn't aware of the memo, but
there shouldn't be any concern about the chemi
cals used in the office.
"Our office tests fertilizer and livestock feed
for certain chemicals and elements," he said.
"We basically have a classical chemistry lab that
tests for ordinary substances like nitrogen."
The memo, which was sent to Robert Stiteler,
director of safety and health, said there has been
some concern expressed by employees over the
presumed hazards of working near chemicals.
Steve Hill, a communications specialist with
agricultural communications, said he doesn't
like working where there is a potential danger.
"I try not to think about it, but I do," he said.
"And, given the choice. I'd rather work some
place far from chemicals."
Latimer said the chemicals used in the labo
ratory are mostly harmless.
The Office of the Texas State Chemist is a reg
ulatory agency that analyzes livestock feed and
fertilizer for chemicals, nutrients and other ele
ments.
Because the handling of chemicals is in
volved, Latimer said, chemists wear protective
suits, masks and goggles for protection.
"The masks are to prevent getting fertilizer or
feed dust in the chemists' lungs, and they wear
white coats to protect their clothes," he said.
"As for the goggles, when you work in environ
ments that deal with any type of chemicals, it's
important to protect the eyes."
Access to the fourth floor of the building is
limited to employees who must scan an identifi
cation card through a machine for entry and
exit. Latimer said this procedure is for safety.
"It's not good to have accidental tourists in a
chemistry lab," he said. "Also, we've had some
burglaries, and there are women working here
late at night."
Latimer said health and safety inspectors
evaluate the lab twice a year, and the office has
never had a problem.
Gage and Stiteler could not be reached
Thursday for comment.
Inside
Sports
•A&M softball at Central
Park for 1994 Aggie
Invitational
Page 5
Opinion
•Pro/Con: Should the state
have control over public
schools?
•Booher: A day in Snook
broadens perspectives
Page 7