Celebrity Skin: Field Report 3

Leaving FBI Agent Schuster at the hospital, ATF Agents Muller and Davis returned to Atlanta Police Haedquarters with Capt.Kerr. Lt.Astrand was already starting a comprehensive investigation into the disappearance of the evidence: none of the officers liked the idea that there had been on "inside job", so they outlined outlandish theories concerning the use of some kind of gas, or mass hypnosis. They also (quietly) looked askance at the Federal agents. It was determined very quickly that the missing materiel was not in the conference room, or hidden nearby. Muller had a short interview with Astrand, during which they both made it clear that their associates were not responsible for the theft.

They were interrupted by a call from Sgt.Heinemann, who reminded them of the 4pm press conference. Unfortunately, neither Muller nor Astrand had prepared a statement or thought about the interview in advance. Remembering the pressure he received from his superior earlier in the day, Muller took responsibility for proceedings. Agent Davis and Capt.Kerr attempted to blend into the crowd of reporters, but with only limited success.
Special Agent Muller's attempt to control the conference was doomed from the start. Sgt.Heinemann did a reasonable job presenting prelinary information, and passed out press kits that called for information from the public. When he handed over to Special Agent Muller, however, things went down hill. It is unclear why he did so, but the Special Agent calmly admitted that he had no statement to make, and asked for questions.
The unstructured bedlam that ensued was great television, but scarcely what any of the investigators wanted. Unprepared, and cautious not to reveal information critical to the investigation, Special Agent Muller was hit with a barage of questions. The media knew that evidence had gone missing earlier in the day, but did not know what. In an ugly inquisition they asked how the citizens of Georgia could feel secure and protected if the Police Headquarters are not safe. Muller attempted to tell them that Sgt.Tran's collapse and illness had nothing to do with the case, but this was contradicted by a statement released earlier by the hospital. This statement makes it clear that Sgt.Tran was working on the Skinner murders at the time he became sick. The hospital were not told to keep the Sergeant's collapse secret.
Mercifully, the interview was cut short by a growing chorus of cell-phone calls, as most of the reporters were contacted simultaneously. A hurrying policewoman rushed a message to Lt.Astrand at the same time. Shouting into phones, the media jammed into the hallway and ran for the stairs. The agents stayed put, unable to discover what was going on.

As the media rushed from the briefing room, shouting into cell-phones and jostling downstairs, the agents approached Lt.Astrand to find out what was going on. Hurrying to a car, he informed them that less than three minutes previously a nurse had been kidnapped at gunpoint from the street outside Atlanta Memorial Hospital. The kidnapper engaged hospital security staff in a brief, but intense gun battle before speeding off. Although it was not clear if this had anything to do with the Skinner case, Special Agent Muller and Capt.Kerr rode to the scene in one of the police vehicles. Agent Davis hi8tched a ride on the back of Anthony Larusso's (Atlanta Post-Dispatch) motorcycle.

As events had occurred in the middle of rush-hour, it was possible to interview many witnesses. Although their stories conflicted strongly in man details, eventually police were able to piece together events as follows:

Susan McCall, a nurse in Atlanta Memorial's specialist burns unit, left the hospital through a side door at 4.21pm. This is recorded on two seperate security camera tapes. She turned right and walked approximately 5 metres down the sidewalk when a large GMC pickup-truck jumped the curb alongside her (the side and back of the vehicle are captured on the edge of the video image). Witnesses agree that a young man jumped out of the vehicle and struggled with Nurse McCall, then hit her with some kind of weapon. Austen Broderick, a hospital security guard, attempted to go to her aid, but was shot and wounded by her assailant. He was hit twice, once through the right shoulder, and the second bullet tore off his right ear. He fired one bullet, after he was hit, into the pavement. He lost consciousness soon thereafter and was not available for questioning by police. At this point a licenced bailbondsman, Mr. Ira Keith, who was attending the hospital for outpatient surgury, fired seven shots at the assailant from his car. Mr Keith was situated in the road opposite the hospital entrance. His bullets all seem to have impacted the hospital building itself, four of them penetrated the building (one on the second floor) but none caused any injury. Mr. Keith's lack of accuracy may be attributed to the volume of return fire generated by four further hospital security guards. At least two of the guards emptied their pistols into Mr.Keith's vehicle (a total of 15 bullets hit his car, although one was fired inadvertantly by Mr.Keith himself as he jumped out). Mr.Keith ran towards the pickup and was hit by two bullets fired by the assailant. One bullet hit his bronze cast "Texas A&M" belt-buckle, the second creased his elbow. Mr.Keith gave a lengthy, detailed and highly excited account of events to police. Of the four security guards who responded to the sound of shooting, only two got a good look at the young kidnapper. The others were concentrating on Mr.Keith. The two who did see the man clearly both fired at him, and were fired on in return. Neither was hit, although one swears that he felt a bullet pass his face. Both saw Nurse McCall thrown into the truck's cabin. Her assailant jumped after her and the vehicle drove away at high speed. Police responded within two minutes but did not order a pursuit of the vehicle because they were informed that Mr.Keith was the perpetrator. It took nearly five minutes for a more accurate description of events to unfold. Police air and ground patrols were not ordered to be on the lookout for the pickup until around the time the agents arrived: it was not sighted. Eleven cartridge cases were discovered at the scene: these came from the kidnapper's gun, and are .45 ACP calibre. Examination of the security video lead to a partial numberplate: with the assistance of witnesses police were eventually able to determine the number, but this took more time. The video also showed that there had been a second person in the poickup, acting as driver. It was impossible to determine anything about this person: only their hand was seen.

Since there was no obvious connection to the "Skinner" case, Agents Muller and Davis decided to return to Atlanta PD headquarters with Capt.Kerr. They accompanied the evidence technicians who returned with the empty cartridge cases. Media interest in the kidnapping was intense of course, and Special Agent Muller in particular was asked a great many questions about any connections to the Skinner. He was pleased to announce that there were none.

Shortly after their arrival at police headquarters his confident statement was proved wrong. Fingerprints on the recovered brass matched those of the missing soldier, Cpl John Wayne Owen. Capt.Kerr immediately provided an extract of Owen's service records:

Cpl Owen is 26 years old, and is currently stationed at Ft.Benning GA were he is a technical instructor assigned to the School of the Americas Program. Although lacking in the formal qualifications required for consideration as an officer, Cpl Owen is rated very highly in his fitness reports. He has had no discipline problems prior to his AWOL two weeks ago, and was an excellent prospect for promotion as a senior NCO. Cpl Owen is fluent in Spanish, which was the principal reason for his selection as an instructor at SotA. He came to the SotA from the Army's elite Ranger Battalion, where he was a designated field sniper. Owen is considered an A-Grade marksman over any range with a rifle, and has extensive knowledge of hand-to-hand combat and anti-insurgency techniques. His file does not list any active combat duty, although a ninemonth period is blank, listed simply as "Remote Duty in Korea".

Shortly thereafter police were able to match the partial numberplate to a vehicle similar to the one described by witnesses: a GMC Bronco registered under the name Robert Johnson. Mr Johnson is 56 years old, and lives in Porterdale GA where he works as a commercial refridgerator repairman. Lt.Astrand immediately arranged for two helicopters to be sent to Porterdale- one transporting the Atlanta PD Special Response Team, the other to carry himself and his specialists, together with Muller, Davis and Kerr. Additional officers would travel by road

The flight from Atlanta to Porterdale was brief, and primarily devoted to Lt.Astrand's efforts to liaise with the Covington County Police Department. The distance by air is no more than 45km, and the trip was over in under 15 minutes.

The Johnson house is two miles south of Porterdale, in a semi-rural area. The house sits on roughly 6ha, and is a few hundred metres from the nearest neighbour. State Highway 81 is 800 metres to the north, the intersection hosts a brightly lit convenience store.
Local police sealed off the area, but deferred to Lt.Astrand's decisions about how the situation should be handled. He and his officers studied the house carefully: there were seven vehicles parked in the yard (four of the registered in his name). The Bronco was not present, although there is a barn, or perhaps garage, that could easily have accomodated it. The house was brightly lit, and people could be seen moving around inside.

Lt.Astrand used a bullhorn to call on the occupants of the house to come out. As he did so, a loud ruckus broke out as the encircling police alarmed several dogs that had been sleeping on the porch. To the sound of furious dogs, radio chatter from the police vehicles and Lt.Astrand's loudhailer, the Johnson family came to the door.
Robert was flanked by his eldest son, Robbie Jnr, and by his wife, Etta Mae. Also present were his youngest son, William, his oldest daughter Dorothea, her husband Lee Burchard, his middle daughter Tammy, her husband Hank Depaul and six assorted grandchildren. They were just about to sit down to a family dinner. Soon the cacophony was added to by the men's swearing, the women's cries of outrage, and the children's anger. It was not helped by the Special Response Team knocking over a dresser full of china as they invaded the house.
It soon became apparant that Nurse McCall was nowhere on the premises. The adults could all vouch for each others presence since the middle of the afternoon, when the family had got together for the men to talk about cars, the women to plan a family trip to Florida and the children to play with the dogs. Mr.Johnson admitted owning the pickup, but said he had not seen it for a couple of days, and hadn't missed it because he has a new Cadillac to drive around in. He supposed one of his family might have borrowed it. Inadvertantly he let slip that this might have been his youngest daughter, Sherri. When asked where she was Mr.Johnson refused to say any more, demanding a lawyer. A thorough search of the house and surrondings brought no clues to progress the case any further.
By this stage the media began showing up, and were soon crowded at the edges of the Johnson property. Mr.Johnson and Robbie Jnr went out onto the porch and began calling out to the reporters that their home had been invaded and their property damaged by the police.
Lt.Astrand, Agents Muller and Davis and Capt.Kerr all thought this was an act to make their inquiries even more difficult. Lt.Astrand, no doubt thinking about the kidnapped nurse, grabbed Mr.Johnson by the shoulder and shouted at him to start answering questions about his daughter's whereabouts and the family's knowledge of Cpl.Owen. Then Bobbie Johnson blooded Lt.Astrand's nose. Kicking and swearing, he was overpowered by police and handcuffed in the back of a cruiser.

Further questioning of the Johnson family by Agents Davis and Muller was also a failure, particularly once the Johnsons realised which agency they work for. Cursing the ATF as "babykillers from Waco", they returned even more stridently to their demands for a lawyer. Sgt.Desoto had in fact been trying to contact their lawyer for almost an hour, but was unable to locate him.

Despairing of getting any information out of the people in the house, Special Agent Muller went to interview Bobbie Johnson Jnr in the police car. Despite applying severe pressure, he was unable to get any further information. The interview was shielded from the media by a number of police who chose that moment to lean against the vehicle.
Agent Davis, on the other hand, went and spoke with several members of the media, highlighting the involvement of Federal Agencies in the case. He gave an interview for Channel 4 Action News! which managed to be controlled and presented the investigation in a calm and more rational light than the 4pm shambles.

Capt.Kerr did not try toi speak with any of the Johnsons, but searched the house instead, replicating the efforts of the police. He was no neater than they had been, and managed to break one of the touilet cisterns when he attempted to open it and look inside. But at least he did not draw attention to himself.
Venturing outside, he struck up a conversation with William Johnson, the youngest son. Correctly guessing that the family have connections to radical, reactionary politics, Capt.Kerr was able to persuade the young man that as a member of the US Army he sympathises with the family's ideals and expectations. William, a trusting young man, was convinced of Capt.Kerr's sincerity. He happily showed him around the various outbuildings, which had only been cursorily searched by the police. In one of these Capt.Kerr found the remains of a decades-old pot still.
Gently questioning William about Cpl.Owen, and letting slip a few phrases intended to indicate his sympathy, Capt.Kerr was soon rewarded with a font of information. William told how his sister Sherri has been seeing Owen for over a year now, and how the family took him in ten days ago when he needed a place to hide from the Army. William could, or would, not say where Sherri and Owen were hiding now. Capt.Kerr caught Agent Davis' attention, and arranged for him to walk William down to the convenience store for something to eat. Meanwhile he went to inform Lt.Astrand and Special Agent Muller of his new information.

Capt.Kerr quickly arranged to have a solo conversation with Mr.Johnson. Initially suspicious, Johnson opened up when Capt.Kerr explained that he is an Army officer, and "a true, right thinking patriot", dedicated to defending America's freedom and protecting the Constitution. Johnson almost became too enthusiastic, rambling on about how the Atlanta PD, the Georgia State Legistlature and "everyone in Washington" are "Godless fucking commie devil worshippers, planning to enslave us all".
He told Capt.Kerr how he and his family came to know Adolph McKerreth after they joined the Georgia Citizen's Militia. They have stored all kinds of supplies for McKerreth over the years, and on one occasion he stayed as a guest in their house. They have of course visited the GCM compound on many occasions.
McKerreth introduced the family to John Wayne Owen just over a year ago, and he and the Johnson's youngest daughter, Sherri, hit it off immediately. They have been seeing each other ever since. When Cpl.Owen had leave earlier in the year he spent it at the Johnson house.
Mr.Johnson's highly excited state was explained when he revealed that Cpl.Owen and Sherri were less than half a mile away, hiding in a trailer park on Highway 81. She had her baby son Jason with her. He did not know if the nurse was with them too. Mr.Johnson was frantic that Sherri might be in danger from "the filthy commies" in the the Atlanta PD, "or those bastards that killed Adolph". He urged Capt.Kerr as a fellow patriot to ensure the safety of his daughter, her young son Jason, and Cpl.Owen. Leaving Mr.Johnson with Lt.Astrand, who was not told of these developments, Capt.Kerr sought out Special Agent Muller.

Meanwhile Agent Davis had walked to the convenience store with William, and the two of them began a late dinner of hot dogs and microwave cheeseburgers. Then Davis' attention was caught by a familiar looking white van, that drove through the store parking lot. He rushed outside in time to see it pull into Hwy 81 and head south. He called Special Agent Muller, who borrowed a police vehicle and sped off with Capt.Kerr, hoping to find the van. Special Agent Muller radioed to Lt.Astrandasking for the helicopters to be ordered aloft to search for the van. Davis left cash with William Johnson, and began to jog back to the Johnson house.

Muller and Kerr soon realised that they had missed the van, and returned, meeting Davis en route. Lt.Astrand advised that the van had not been spotted, but might have been one of several in the nearby trailer park. He clearly thought they were jumping at shadows.
Not wishing to scare Cpl.Owen, Muller, Davis and Kerr decided to recomoitre the trailer park before calling on the police. They drove to the entrance, where Special Agent Muller and Capt.Kerr got out and went inside. Agent Davis stayed in the policecar, hidden beneath trees across the road.
Capt.Kerr and Special Agent Muller soon worked out the layout of the camp, and realised that the trailer they wanted would be in the rear of the lot. It was large, nearly 500m to a side, and so they began to walk hurriedly between the trailers. The night was loud with conversations, half-heard music and TV, and the barking of dogs. Illumination soon became intermittant, as only the first few avenues of the park were densely occupied.

Waiting across from the trailer park, Agent Davis was amazed to see the white van reappear, then turn into the park with it's lights dimmed. Waiting for a break in the traffic, he followed, trying in vain to raise Muller's cellular phone. Unable to see the van inside, and unable to block the wide gate with just one car, he studied a sign showing the interior layout of the park then drove after Muller and Kerr at speed.

Muller and Kerr were inching towards the van they believed to be Owen's when they realised another group of people were doing the same thing. They stopped to watch what was going on, Muller discovering that his mobile was out of service. A thin layer of smoke hugged the ground from where one of the trailer residents had burnt rubbish, and in the mist Capt.Kerr saw a number of pencil-thin beams of light. One of them played across his face, and he threw himelf to the ground. There was a crunch as air displaced, followed by a rending thump as a heavy bullet smacked through one of the trailers at the front of the camp.
As Muller and Kerr lay flat on their bellies, craning their necks to see what was going on, the other group ran toward the van. There was an earplitting explosion, and shrapnel whipped through the long grass, trees and nearby trailers. Several people began screaming in agony.
Capt.Kerr recognised the explosion of a Claymore mine and began running towards the sound of screaming, hoping to discover who the other people had been. Special Agent Muller was dazzled by a bright light from the trees near the van: he too managed to leap aside as the heavy rifle fired, and felt the wind of the bullet pass him. Several more shots were fired at him, all nearly silent, each one smashing fist sized holes through the nearby trailers.
Agent Davis drove as fast as possible to the sound of the explosion, and became aware of the sniper when a bullet smashed through the top of the engine and punched a hole in the passenger's seat. Understandibly, he swerved, and crashed into a trailer, which collapsed off its concrete supports. Dazed, Agent Davis grabbed the shotgun from under the seat and scrambled from the car as three more bullets ripped through it.

Capt.Kerr was running from left to right in front of the van when he felt his foot catch on something. There was another ripping explosion and he was flung to the ground, clawed from shoulder to knee by a second Claymore. As he lay he was fired on heavily by a number of unknown gunmen. He returned fire until his gun was empty. Neither he nor they seem to have hit anything.
By this stage there was incessant noise. In addition to screaming from the front of the trailer park and the trailer Agent Davis crashed into, Capt.Kerr and one of the gunmen were calling out in pain. There was a small fire burning in the long grass, and continuing gunfire. Someone opened the door to the van and was momentarily silhouetted against the light within. Agent Davis fired his shotgun and saw this person fall.

Davis saw a momentary flash of light, then was knocked to the ground as a powerful bullet slammed into his kevlar body armour. Later he was found to have six broken ribs. The shotgun cartwheeled out of his hand. Special Agent Muller broke cover to run to his aid as a third Claymore exploded, right next to the trailer. Two figures were momentarily lit by the obliterating flash. Muller was hit by debris but uninjured. He crouched over Davis recumbent body, as Davis struggled to breathe.

Then with an almighty roar, the trailer exploded into a ball of fire as its propane tank ignited. The grass and trees for twenty metres were all set alight, and flaming debris rained down in an even wider radius. The aluminium shell burned fiercely, and bright. Horrified, Muller watched the one intact interior cupboard open, and a young child fall into the flames.