Skip to main content
The largest online newspaper archive
A Publisher Extra® Newspaper

Arizona Daily Star from Tucson, Arizona • Page 1

Location:
Tucson, Arizona
Issue Date:
Page:
1
Extracted Article Text (OCR)

Slaifrminister. suspect in stepdaughter's murder D1V IbTMVITBJG Am L. t. i. it By RAY JENKINS As.

he fired the shots, Bums shouted that eight years, and all were covered by mail Maxwell's death was under investigation, inexplicably run off a Coosa County highway. The state pathologists were unable to Maxwell had killed Ellington, "and you're going to pay for it." The 600 persons attending the funeral witnessed the shooting. Ellington's death occurred one week before Maxwell's. Although the young woman's death initially appeared to have been caused by an automobile falling on her liead when she was changing a tire on a road in Coosa County, Capt. Herman Chapman, a state investigator, said an autopsy had disclosed that she was dead before she was placed under the car.

He said investigators had leads implicating Maxwell in the death. Ellington was the fifth member of Maxwell's family to die ih unusual circumstances on secluded country roads over the last 1177 TbtNtv York Tlmci MONTGOMERY, Ala. A state investigator has acknowledged that a rural Alabama minister who was slain Saturday in the chapel of a funeral home was a prime suspect in the murder of his stepdaughter, whose eulogy he delivered just before he was shot. The authorities believe that the minister may have been implicated in four other deaths over the last eight years, with collection of insurance the likely motive. The slain man was the Rev.

Willie Maxwell, 52, a self-ordained clergyman and practitioner of voodoo. He was fatally shot in the head at close range by Robert Lewis Bums, 36, an uncle of 16-year-old Shirley Ann Ellington, the minister's stepdaughter. said that at the time there was no reason to suspect foul play, but that in the light of subsequent events, he felt the man may have been forced to drink a fatal quantity of alcohol. The second Mrs. Maxwell was found dead on the floor of her automobile not far from the Maxwell home near Nixburg in 1973.

The state medical examiner listed the cause of death as "acute asthmatic bronchitis," a disease that is similar in effect to suffocation. In this case, Maxwell went to court in an unsuccessful attempt to obtain a double-indemnity Insurance payment of $200,000 on the contention that his wife had died of shock after the minor accident. In 1976, Maxwell's nephew, James Hicks, was found dead in his automobile, which had order insurance policies. The first victim was Maxwell's first wife, Mary Edwards Maxwell, who was found beaten and strangled in an automobile in 1969. Maxwell was indicted for murder in that case, but before the trial was held, the state's principal witness, Darius Anderson, married him.

After that, according to Chapman, "she told an altogether different story in court than she had told us," and Maxwell was acquitted. In 1971, Maxwell's brother, Columbus, was found dead on a roadside near Nixburg. The state pathologist said that the cause of death was excessive consumption of alcohol and exposure. Jasper fielding, a Coosa County probate judge who was sheriff when Columbus determine that any injuries suffered in the accident could have proved fatal and said that his death was a result of "natural causes." Among Hicks' papers was an insurance policy that he had taken out on his life, with his mother Maxwell's sister as the beneficiary. However, Chapman said the indicated that the application form for the policy had been filled out in Maxwell's handwriting.

At one point, the investigator said, Maxwell sought to obtain power of attorney from his sister to handle the Hicks estate, but she declined to give it to him. Burns, the accused slayer of Maxwell, was held one night in a county jail before a magistrate set his bail at $10,000 and be was released. top of the news weather CLOUDY AND WINDY. Cloudy sides with brief gusty winds are expected today. It should be humid, and a 10-per cent chance of measurable rain is predicted.

A high in the low 90s and a low near 70 are expected. Yesterday's high and low were 94 and 68. Flooding caused by heavy rain was reported in parts of Kansas and Nebraska yesterday. Rain also fell over much of the Mississippi Valley and into Florida. Rain is forecast today for the Northwest and New England.

Yesterday's national temperature extremes were 103 at Buckeye, Las Vegas, and Needles, and 35 at Alamosa, Colo. Details on Page 4A. local DEATH SENTENCE. Robert Edwards, a 25-year-old convicted murderer, is sentenced to die for his part in a 1974 robbery during which a bar owner died of a heart attack. Page IB.

arizona BREAD REBATES. Thousands of Arizona families should receive their checks from bakeries by the end of this week, after eight years of investigations, litigation and negotiation centered on price-fixing charges. Price 2C. INSPECTIONS TO STOP. Private veW-cles entering Arizona from the west will no longer be inspected for fruit and plants under a ruling from the new director of the state Commission on Agriculture and Horticulture.

Page IB. 101ST YEAR FINAL mm mm TUCSON, ARIZONA, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22, 1977 VOL 136 NO. 173 15 CENTS 64 PAGES national RUFFLES ARE ROLLING. New York designers are rediscovering ruffles as part of a growing interest in soft, feminine dress. They're popping up everywhere, on evening dresses and daytime suits, and in many varieties.

Page IC. V'. rr rx lr -S I STANKY RE- TURNS. It appears as if Texas Ranger Manager Frank Luc- chesi will lose his job 9 today, and the man 2 most likely to replace him is former major league manager Eddie Stanky. Stanky, currently head coach at South Alabama, is expected to sign with the Rangers today in Minneapolis, where the Texas team is in the midst of a road series against the Twins.

Page IF. Morgan credited in inquiry Testimony may aid land-fraud investigation By GENE NAIL and BOB SVEJCARA The Arizona Dally Star Testimony given by Tucson businessman Charles C. Morgan to state officials before his death last week may contribute to an "extensive land-fraud investigation" already under way by the Sheriff 's department. Pima County Sheriff Richard Boykin said testimony Morgan gave last month "might not directly deal with land fraud" but would still be valuable to the investigation. Morgan's body was found Saturday along Arizona 86, about 15 miles east of Sells, with a bullet wound in the head.

He was wearing a bullet-proof vest, but officials have not ruled out the possibility of suicide. Boykin said he will meet with Atty. Gen. Bruce Babbitt this morning to discuss Mor- New clues add to bafflement of authorities investigating death of Charles Morgan. Page 4A.

gan's testimony and Boykin said he expects to get a copy of the official statement. The thrust of the testimony, according to the sheriff's department and other sources, deals with local attorney David Kali and real-estate trusts handled by Western Title Insurance. Morgan, 39, worked for Western Title until he was fired from his job as trust officer in January, i According to public records, Kali was the beneficiary of at least one Western Title trust, which, like other trusts in Arizona, was secret until the Legislature forced their disclosure last summer. Morgan was subpoenaed to answer questions by the banking department and the Attorney General's Office, but went voluntarily May 11, taking with him records in his possession relating to the state investigation. Morgan's attorney, Ronald Newman, said Monday that the subpoena asked infor LAETRILE AND THE AMA.

The American Medical Assn. rejects a proposal that Laetrile be made available without a prescription, saying that could "open the floodgates of quackery." Page 5A. global UGANDAN PURGE. Hundreds of Ugandans streaming into neighboring Kenya describe a purge being carried out by secret police after a reported assassination attempt on Uganda's President Idi Amin. Amin, meanwhile, is still missing, but one report says he is on a honeymoon.

Page IA. SlX days On the line Determination and weariness show on the face of this California fire fighter yesterday in his sixth consecutive 12-hour day of battling Arizona forest fires. He is part of a 20-man contin gent from Sequoia National Forest which fought a blaze near Flagstaff for four days, and then joined the effort against the fire near Siera Vista. Another photo on Page 2A. (Star photo by Joe Vitti) index Actualidades Bridge 7B IB 14-15A Crossword IB Financial 2-3B Horoscope IC Lifestyle Movies SC Names, Faces.

IIA News to Use 8C Public Records. IF Solomon, M.D. 1JD Sports Tucson Today JC TV-Radio 7B Huachuca fire crews, are mopping up Haldeman reports to prison early The Associated Press H. R. Haldeman, the second most powerful man in Richard Nixon's White went to prison in California yesterday, sur- tained was being delayed until the firebreak could be completed and back-bumed.

Fire Behavior Officer Dave Aldrich called the humidity a "significant factor" in controlling the Maze. He said the spread of the fire was also checked by the removal Sunday and Monday of much of the vegetation. The fire made runs down the canyons both days, burning large patches of land. But much of the 9,000 acres remained un-bumed, and officials would not rule out the possibility of another major flare-up. Weather Service spokesmen were predicting high levels of humidity again today, and Puckett said he was "optimistic'' about the fire's outcome.

A rehabilitation team was already in the fire zone yesterday, assessing the fire damage and preparing recommendations for restoration of the burned land. An official cause of the fire has not yet been determined, although the Forest Service is calling it "man-caused" because of the absence of lightning Saturday afternoon when the Maze broke out. More than 1,000 men were called in to fight the Maze which destroyed 150,000 board feet of timber and cost an estimated $750,000 to fight through yesterday. In northern New Mexico, a fire line designed to choke off the spread of a raging forest fire was just 5'2 miles short of completion yesterday, and Forest Service officials predicted that the Maze would be contained by tomorrow morning. Crews built about 22 miles of fire line around the fire, which has been out of control for five days and has destroyed more than 11,000 acres of high-mountain timber.

About 1,100 fire fighters were on the scene. At one time, the fire threatened the government atomic energy installation at Los Alamos, destroying a photographic laboratory at the edge of the complex. The Forest Service said the cause of the Maze was still under investigation, but that it definitely was caused by man. rendering a day early mation on Banco Internacional de Arizona. But he said the testimony was not directed primarily at the bank, which was involved in the investigation only "peripherally." Morgan was questioned by two state officials for an entire day.

Kali and two others last December bought stock in Banco Internacional with the intent of gaining a controlling interest. They were appointed to its board of directors. But, after an investigation and lawsuit by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which alleged that the bank was making improper loans, Kali and the two others resigned from the board. The FDIC called questionaMe three loans the bank had made to Henry W. Rett Fernando J.

Campos and Timothy P. Pun-tenney to finance the purchase of land that had been owned by Kali, and was sold through a trust controlled by Robert C. "7 Haldeman to be punished for his Watergate crimes. John N. Mitchell, also ordered to report to prison today, stuck to the schedule and planned to surrender at the Maxwell AFB federal prison facility in Alabama by the noon deadline.

ByTOMBEAL The Arlxoai Daily Star SIERRA VISTA Teams of fire fighters were beginning mop-up operations on a fire that has burned over 9,000 acres of Corona-do National Forest land in the Huachuca Mountains since Saturday. U.S. Forest Service officials were still trying for a tomorrow morning "under-con-trol" deadline, but fire boss Jack Puckett said yesterday, "I might call it under control tonight." Fire still burned in patches of the perimeter set up by Forest Service crews, but storm clouds that gave the area humidity readings of up to 40 per cent kept the fire to a minimum yesterday. Residents of four canyons that had been threatened by the fire since Sunday began moving their possessions back in, and workmen began repairing burned-out power poles and restoring electricity and phone service to the area. Some residents were still without water because of breaks in water lines caused by fire crew bulldozers.

While the clouds helped control the fire, they also hampered fire-fighting efforts yesterday morning by making it impossible to land fire fighters in the more remote areas of the mountains. Erratic winds that accompanied the thunderheads also made the work of back-burning the area around the 17-mile fire line difficult. Crews were forced to widen the breaks in some areas to keep the fires they set from jumping back to the other side. An announcement that the fire was con Bus routes kept, but schedules suffer Haldeman walked into the minimum security prison at Lompoc, Calif. an institution without fences or guard towers at 1:55 p.m., carrying a half-full brown grocery bag in bis left hand.

He told reporters: "There is only one thing I do want to say, and that is to express my great appreciation for the expressions of support I've received from so many people throughout the country and most especially to express my gratitude to my family for their love, their courage and their understanding." Hakteman's wife drove with him on the nearly 200-mile automobile ride from Los Angeles. Haldeman, who had disdain for anything but the most businesslike attire in the White House, was costless and wore no tie. Sudduth. The local federal court recently ordered the bank to cancel the loans, and the case was closed. Banco president Daniel Kujawa said.

Monday he was not aware of any new investigation of the bank. Kali said last night that he could not comment on the scope of the state Banking Dept. investigation, except to say that "they regularly investigate banks and bank per sonnel" and keep the investigations confidential until completed. Kali said be had known Morgan for four or five years, and had seen him several (Continued ea Page 7A, CeL I) Tucsonans will be able to travel the same routes on SunTran buses, but because of: cuts made Monday by the City Council, they'll have to wait longer to catch some buses. That's city Transportation Director Hurvie E.

Davis' assessment of the impact of the City Council's decision to reinstate $100,000 of a proposed $400,000 reduction in the bus system budget Davis said his staff is working on ways to reduce the system's administrative costs rather than reducing the service. The reinstated $100,000 and the $118,000 that will come from increased fares for students, the handicapped, low-income and elderly, and the purchase of monthly bus passes, means that no routes will be cut, Davis said. But buses on some routes may not run End of line may be near for San Manuel bus. Page 3A. as frequently as before or as late at night, he said.

Which routes will be affected or bow long a rider has to wait for a bus on certain routes has not been determined yet because the department still is working on the changes, Davis said. He said the Fastran express service across the city from west to east also may be eliminated, but those passengers would be transferred to Route Three, which covers the same territory but takes longer. A study by his department projects that $29,969 in administrative costs could be cut. This includes items such as $15,000 in advertising, $2,019 for new trash cans at bus stops and $3,500 for racks containing bus Davis said he hopes to complete his report in time for the council's July 5 meeting. If prompt action is taken, the changes could go into effect by late August, he said.

searches without warrants widen High court rejects U.S. bid to the Warrant Clause protects only dwellings and other specifically designated locales. As we have noted before, the Fourth Amendment protects people, not places; more particularly, it protects people from unreasonable government intrusions into their legitimate expectations of privacy." Burger listed a series court decisions that had required warrants in various situations. Those cases, he said, "illustrate the applicability of the Warrant Clause beyond the narrow limits suggested by the government" Wl Tfce New Yk TkMi WASHINGTON The Supreme Court rejected yesterday an attempt by the Jus-' tke DepL to substantially limit the reach of the Fourth Amendment's requirement that the police get warrants before conducting searches. In a trio of opinions deciding a case from MMrfkMi, the justices found that the Fourth Amendment warrant requirement is -not limited to situations in which an Individ-, ual has a strong privacy interest, such as a search of borne or mafl.

over the years some exceptions have been created for searching automobiles and for "searches incident to an arrest." In such situations, an officer arresting someone may make a brief, immediate search of the person and of the area within the person's "control" to prevent destruction of evidence or to safeguard the officer from attack with a concealed weapon. The government's position in yesterday's case was that warrantless searches should be permitted of any personal property in the possession of someone who was arrested in public kmg as there is probaMe cause to believe the property contains contraband or agreed with the majority en the legality of the particular search involved in yesterday's case, the warrantless search of a 200-pound foottocker filled with marijuana that was seized outside a train station. The two contended that this should be ruled permissible. The Fourth Amendment states that "the right of the people to be secure in tbeir persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue but upon probable cause. This has generally been interpreted as barring warrantless searches.

However, evidence of crime even if the search takes place some time after the police have taken the property. (A spokesman for the Tucson Metropolitan Area Narcotics Squad said the unit's procedures will not be affected by the ruling because search warrants are routinely obtained for such containers. Pima County Atty. Steven Neety said. "Ordinarily if they have enough probable cause to open the bags, they have enougi to get a search warrant" He said be does not expect the Supreme Court's lanjUiounia to have much effect ia Tucson.) the court, and had asked the court to rule that the Fourth Amendment was limited in this way.

In the department's view, the warrant requirement applies to searches of one's borne, office or hotel room, and to searches of one's private communications, as when the authorities listen in to telephone conversations or open matt. It would not, however, apply where authorities were searching personal property they had seized in a public place. Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, in a majority opinion joined by six of his eight cofleaguet, stated, "We do not agree that The two justices Harry A. and William H.

Rehnqoist dhv The department had appealed the.

Get access to Newspapers.com

  • The largest online newspaper archive
  • 300+ newspapers from the 1700's - 2000's
  • Millions of additional pages added every month

Publisher Extra® Newspapers

  • Exclusive licensed content from premium publishers like the Arizona Daily Star
  • Archives through last month
  • Continually updated

About Arizona Daily Star Archive

Pages Available:
2,185,287
Years Available:
1879-2024