JW ON NON-JW CRIME - PAGE 4 of 4

The following criminal and other cases, in which the Jehovah's Witnesses religion served as the spiritual element of the perpetrators' and/or other actor's formative environment, or otherwise served as one of the major influencers of the perpetrators' and/or other actor's behavior, are often tragic, and speak for themselves.

Court Cases involving Jehovah's Witness Criminals who have been convicted of stealing money from their employers and others, and similarly related crimes, are summarized on a sister website. Click HERE for two webpages of financial related case summaries.

Visitors to this website should keep in mind that this website generally defers to SILENTLAMBS.ORG for coverage of the topic of sexual abuse and molestation committed by Jehovah's Witnesses. However, I will occasionally post summaries of a few of such type court cases in which the perpetrator committed other crimes, such as murder, or where there are other factors which make appropriate the posting of the case on this website.

PENNSYLVANIA v. WILLIAMS was a 1990 Pennsylvania murder court decision. Limited, incomplete details. Labeled a "One Man Killing Machine" by prosecutors, Melvin Troy Williams, 22, a reputed North Philadelphia drug boss, who had been accused of killing four people in nine days in March 1989, was sentenced to the death penalty after an October 1990 trial for one of the four alleged murders and robbery, and after previously pleading "guilty" to the other three murders and robbery. In 2000, Williams was re-sentenced to life imprisonment due to the following.

The reason Williams is believed to have been reared in the WatchTower religion is due to a reference by Williams himself that his mother was a devoted Jehovah's Witness. After Williams conviction, it came to light that the investigating police officers had attempted to frame Williams' mother with a crime in an attempt to force her to provide evidence and/or testimony against her son. She was arrested and re-arrested, but apparently was never convicted of the false charges.

GATES v. RIVERA was a 1989-93 California federal appellate court decision. An African-American Jehovah's Witness Mother, named Allene Gates, brought a federal "civil rights" lawsuit against the police officer who was forced to shoot and kill her son, Marvin McGensey, in 1989. The first USDC jury trial ended in a mistrial, but a second federal jury ruled in favor of the police officer, and the USCA affirmed.

On Sunday, February 6, 1989, an off-duty Santa Ana Police Officer, named John Rivera, was house-hunting in Riverside, California, along with his wife, Susan Rivera, when Rivera observed Marvin McGensey jump over a wall protecting a condominium complex. McGensey crouched, looked around, and then climbed over a second wall into a second condominium complex. Rivera thought a burglary was in progress and decided to investigate. The Riveras entered the second condominium complex. Rivera got out of the car and encountered a resident coming out of his condominium. In an excited state, that resident told Rivera that someone had just tried to break into his residence by prying open the door to his backyard. The resident described the perpetrator as "black", and as carrying what could either be a pipe or a weapon.

Rivera then told the resident to call the police. Leaving his wife and their car where they were, Rivera went to a nearby street intersection outside the complex to await the responding officers. After a fifteen minute wait, during which no officers appeared, Rivera started back towards the condominium complex. Before he reached it he saw Marvin McGensey on top of a wall. Rivera, who already had his badge out, then drew his service revolver from an ankle holster, pointed it at McGensey, and told him, "Hold it. You aren't going anywhere." McGensey hesitated a moment, and then jumped down behind the wall out of Rivera's sight.

Rivera returned to the intersection to look for reponding police, but none appeared. Rivera then went over to and began to climb a wooden fence to get a view of the whole condominium complex. As Rivera climbed the fence, he was surprised to find McGensey already on the top of the fence. Rivera told him that he was a police officer and to hold it. McGensey said, "I ain't done nothing," and repeated variations of this disclaimer, disregarding Rivera's command to climb down. Instead, he climbed higher. Rivera thought he was getting ready to attack him and said, "Don't do it. Don't be stupid. Get off the wall." McGensey who by then had reached the top of the wall lept down on Rivera. McGensey's left hand reached for Rivera's gun, his right hand went to Rivera's neck. Rivera prevented him from seizing the gun by pulling back from the wall. Both men fell to the ground, then both rose. Rivera told McGensey that he had done a very stupid thing, that he could have been shot. McGensey again said that he had done nothing. Rivera told him to put his hands behind his back and lie on the ground. McGensey continued to stand, moved his hands underneath his shirt by his pockets, and took a step toward Rivera, who again warned McGensey, "Don't do it. Just don't to it." McGensey's right hand went into his pants pocket. A moment later, Rivera was hit in the chest by a cigarette lighter which McGensey had hurled at him. Rivera testified that McGensey's hand again went into one of his pockets, and believing that McGensey was drawing a gun, Rivera discharged his weapon and killed McGensey. In Rivera's over 16 years as a police officer, that was the first time he had ever fired his weapon at anyone.

Testimony indicated that Marvin McGensey, age unknown, suffered from manic depression with suicidal tendencies, and from a form of schizophrenia, as well as a cocaine dependency. He had not been employed since 1984. In 1988, Allene Gates had succeeded in getting her son into Sunrise Gardens Guest Home, a Riverside facility for the mentally retarded. She visited every few weeks, and would take McGensey visiting, shopping, to the movies, and occasionally to meetings at a local Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses.

PENNSYLVANIA v. YARBOUGH was a 1987-90 Pennsylvania murder court decision. During the evening of December 3/4, 1987, 20 year-old William Yarbough, who had been reared as a Jehovah's Witness by his JW Mother, Arlene Yarbough, was busy burglarizing the suburban Pittsburgh home of Dr. Jeffrey Farkas, when Farkas interrupted the burglary by waking up to use the restroom. Instead of recognizing what Farkas was doing, and leaving, or waiting for Farkas to go back to sleep, Yarbough attacked Farkas in the second floor bathroom.

The Children's Hospital intern was found dead in the bathtub around 4:00 AM by another doctor who had returned home from work to the shared rental. The house had been ransacked and burglarized, and Farkas' auto had been stolen. The cause of death was hard to determine due to the extremely brutal attack. Farkas suffered multiple stab wounds to his head and neck. Farkas also had been beaten in the head with a fireplace iron. Farkas also had been strangled with a vaccuum cleaner cord. All of this suggests the possibilty that William Yarbough interspersed the ransacking of the house with returning to do additional damage to Farkas to make certain that Farkas was dead.

Yarbough was arrested two years later while he was working as a cook at a restaurant only three blocks from Farkas' house, and he quickly confessed. However, he later alleged that the police had beaten him to obtain the confession, and Yarbough eventually pleaded "not guilty".

In December 1990, Yarbough was convicted of first-degree murder, but during the penalty phase of the trial, witnesses testified as to Yarbough's tough childhood, and his good work history, and the jury declined to sentence Yarbough to the death penalty. Yarbough received the alternative -- life imprisonment without possibilty of parole.

TEXAS v. CLOUD was a 1991 Texas court decision. Limited details. Labeled the "Galleria Rapist", Sammy Lee Cloud, Jr., 36, was convicted in November 1991 of robbing and raping three women in their own apartments. (One can't help but wonder if Cloud located his potential victims while performing "field service".) Cloud was given the maximum sentence -- two life sentences for sexual assault, 60 years for burglary with the intent to commit rape, and 25 years for possession of a firearm by a parolee.

The details are incomplete, but Cloud may have had mental issues. Cloud would not admit to committing the crimes, because he apparently claimed to not remember committing them. Cloud's public defender curiously allowed him to plead "no contest". Cloud's attorney evidently had a hard time dealing with Cloud given that the attorney later told a reporter that all Cloud wanted to talk about was converting him to the Jehovah's Witnesses. Cloud even stated:

Cloud started committing the attacks, and was suspected of many more such assaults and burglaries -- between November 1990 and when he arrested in February 1991-- only one week after being paroled from his third prison term.

Interestingly, each of the three victims who picked Cloud out of a lineup, and later testified against him, were apparently extremely traumatized -- even more so than most females who suffer through such ordeals. All three were reportedly undergoing psychiatric treatment. I get the feeling that Cloud committed these rapes much as did Robert Biddings below -- preaching the Bible all the while.

OHIO v. BIDDINGS and OHIO v. BIDDINGS were related Serial Rape 1988-9 Ohio court decisions. Labeled "The Worst Serial Rapist in Ohio History", a "devout" African-American Jehovah's Witness, named Robert Biddings, continues to be mentioned, as recently as May 2008, as a suspect in even more unsolved assaults from the 1980s.

Dubbed "The Handcuff Rapist", in May 1989, Robert Biddings, 38, was convicted in Columbus, Ohio, of 40 counts of rape, kidnapping and aggravated robbery for raping 13 girls and women between 1984 and 1988. Biddings also pleaded guilty in 1989, in Cincinnati, to 73 additional counts involving another 16 girls and women. Biddings was sentenced to life plus 2,715 years. Reared in Akron, Ohio, Biddings had been convicted of rape there in 1972, when he was only 19 years-old. Biddings was paroled after serving 11 years in prison.

In 1989, prosecutors said Biddings was among the most sadistic of rapists. His victims were usually abducted from parking lots, streets and bus stops. Most victims were raped more than once and all were threatened with death. Biddings typically taunted his victims with a gun or knife. Some of his victims were handcuffed to trees. Others were dragged to a deserted shack along railroad tracks. One woman was held captive up to 13 hours in a hole in the ground.

In contrast, Biddings' attorney described Robert Biddings as a "devout" Jehovah's Witness who attended his local Kingdom Hall several times per week. Biddings' sister testified to same, and added that Biddings also studied his Bible constantly. During the 1989 Columbus trial, one of Biddings' victims even testified that after raping her twice, Biddings then "chatted about religion" even as he held her at gunpoint.

Biddings' attorney even attempted to prevent the taking of a blood sample from Biddings, which were intended for DNA testing and comparison to samples taken from victims, using the argument that such violated Biddings' constitutionally protected "freedom of religion" -- a tired argument that has repeatedly been a loser in multiple states' courts. The Ohio Court of Appeals ruled:

CALIFORNIA v. RODNEY KING was a 1989 California court decision. In November 1989, Rodney Glen King attempted to rob a Monterey Park, California, Korean grocery store, but failed. Rodney King first purchased a pack of gum, but then pulled out a tire iron and demanded that the owner, Tae Suk Baik, open the cash register. The Korean instead grabbed King, and began beating him with a wood pole. King fled. Rodney King was arrested ten days later, and quickly plea bargained to a two year prison sentence. King was paroled on December 27, 1990.

CALIFORNIA v. RODNEY KING. On March 3, 1991, Rodney King, then age 25, became an international celebrity as "The Symbol of Police Brutality".

CALIFORNIA v. RODNEY KING. Unfortunately, King has had several more run-ins with the law since 1991. Such are easily found posted on the internet.

Rodney King had been reared as a Jehovah's Witness by devout Jehovah's Witness Parents, Ronald King and Odessa King, in Altadena, an LA suburb. Odessa King even professes to be "one of the anointed", or "one of the 144,000", which is an elite JW, who the WatchTower Society teaches will rule with Christ during his millennial reign.

UNITED STATES v. WILLIAMS was a 1989-90 Massachusetts federal firearms court decision. Limited details. In February 1990, 19 year-old London Williams, of Roxbury, Massachusetts, pleaded "guilty", along with six other members of the Castlegate street gang, to federal firearms charges relating to the "smuggling" of guns from Georgia to Massachusetts on four occasions. Williams received a sentence of 16 months without parole, and three years supervised release.

Williams' Jehovah's Witness Mother, and his Jehovah's Witness Aunt, both testified on his behalf at a 1989 bail hearing, and "ensured" that if released on bail, he would not commit any more crimes. The JW Aunt, named Margaret Hawkins, stated that her nephew had been "really trying to make a change in his life", which in JW-ese meant that London Williams recently had been reading WatchTower literature, and/or attending meetings at the Kingdom Hall.

MASSACHUSETTS v. WILLIAMS was a 1992-3 Massachusetts criminal court decision. In November 1992, 22 year-old London Williams, who after serving the federal wrist-slap was running with the Hornets gang, chased a rival onto a MBTA bus and stabbed him. Williams was convicted and sentenced to 6-10 years in prison.

NEW YORK v. SUKRAM was a 1988-9 New York criminal court case (there was probably also a related civil court case.) Sometime prior to January 1989 (possibly even earlier than 1988), a 20 year-old Jehovah's Witness, named Andre Sukram, was allegedly involved in an "at-fault" automobile accident somewhere in Nassau County, New York, wherein the innocent driver of the other vehicle was injured.

Andre Sukram purportedly fled the scene of the accident on foot, alone. Sukram left his father, who Sukram later stated had been "too drunk to drive", in the wrecked vehicle. Police eventually located Andre Sukram at a nearby hospital, where he admitted to being the driver of the vehicle, and supposedly that he had had only "a beer" in Brooklyn prior to operating that vehicle. The State Trooper had properly provided both Miranda and Vehicle and Traffic Law "refusal" warnings, and would have requested Sukram's submission to a breathalyzer test but-for the fact that the two-hour time limit was about to expire, and a test kit was not accessible in time.

When Sukram was asked to submit to a blood-alcohol test, both Sukram and his Jehovah's Witness Mother, who had arrived at the hospital (possibly because the father had also been admitted), refused to cooperate -- allegedly because the giving of a blood sample was against their WatchTower beliefs. Because of Sukram's refusal to submit to the blood-alcohol test, his driver's license was subsequently revoked.

During the subsequent criminal trial, Sukram alleged that the statutory mandated revocation of his driver's license, plus the use of his refusal to be tested, as well as the revocation itself, as evidence against him in the criminal trial considering the traffic violations, all were unconstitutional violations of his constitutionally protected right of free exercise of religion.

NEW YORK v. NICOLEAU , NEW YORK v. PEELE, and NEW YORK v. DeCANIO were related New York criminal cases, which involved three Jehovah's Witnesses, named Herriot Nicoleau, 32, who was a Radiologist, Gary DeCanio, 32, of South Setauket, New York, and David Peele, 34, of Centereach, New York.

On December 29, 1988, Denise Nicoleau, 36, of Moriches, New York, a pregnant Jehovah's Witness Licensed Practical Nurse, went into premature labor, and was admitted to Brookhaven Memorial Medical Center, on Long Island. That evening a Cesarean section was performed and a healthy baby boy was delivered. Following the delivery Denise Nicoleau began to hemorrhage, and at midnight it was determined that further surgery was necessary. She remained in surgery until about 4:00 A.M. Throughout the evening and early morning hours Nicoleau lost a substantial amount of blood, and her doctor informed her that in his opinion she would die unless she had a transfusion. However, both she and her husband refused to consent to a transfusion on religious grounds.

Hospital officials decided to seek court intervention in order to save the life of Denise Nicoleau, and around noontime on December 30, 1988, a local court signed an ex parte order authorizing the hospital to administer "necessary blood transfusions". However, when hospital staff attempted to administer the necessary life-saving transfusions, approximately 15 Jehovah's Witnesses gathered in the hospital room of Denise Nicoleau, and physically blocked staff from doing so. Hospital administration spent several hours attempting to reason with the roomful of criminal trespassers, but were eventually left with no option but to call the police.

Only Herriot Nicoleau, Gary DeCanio, and David Peele were eventually arrested on misdeanor trespassing charges. Outcome unknown, but even after being released on bond, David Peele threatened to again block any future attempts by the hospital to adminster transfusions to Denise Nicoleau.

On Saturday morning, November 19, 1988, at around 5:00 AM, a 31 year old African-American Jehovah's Witness, named Gregory Keith Westbrooks, left his Homewood, Pennsylvania residence to supposedly go purchase some cough syrup --presumably for his 10 year-old daughter Leanna Westbrooks . Gregory Westbrooks failed to return home. Westbrooks' automobile was found parked in a residential section of Pittsburgh's Hill District the next day. The auto was locked. The steering wheel was "clubbed". Westbrooks' eyeglasses and wallet, containing money and ID, were locked inside the glove compartment.

Gregory Westbrooks was described by his wife, Leanna Westbrooks, as a "devout Jehovah's Witness", who attended three meetings per week at the Homewood Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses. Other family members described Gregory Westbrooks as being "religious, family-oriented, and hard-working." Westbrooks had worked at a local PPG Industries factory for eleven years, and reportedly had an excellent employment record.

In April 1989, the mummified corpse of Gregory Keith Westbrooks was found in a closet of an apartment not far from where Westbrooks' auto had been parked. Westbrooks' corpse was partially dressed in women's clothing, and he died from strangulation with an item of such clothing. Vague reports seemed to indicate that Westbrooks may have hanged himself, and that he may have had some established "connection" to the leased apartment. Whatever was not being told, Police stated that Westbrooks' death was NOT considered to have been a homocide.

Thereafter, Syring asked the local Circuit Court for an order compelling Tucker to submit to a physical examination, including a blood test, in order to determine whether Tucker carried the AIDS virus, or any other communicable diseases. The Circuit Court concluded that although it could order Tucker to submit to such a physical examination, if Tucker refused to comply, it did not have the statutory authority to treat Tucker's refusal as a contempt of court. The Circuit Court thus concluded that it lacked the statutory power to compel Tucker to submit to the requested physical examination. The Wisconsin Court of Appeals affirmed.

However, the Supreme Court of Wisconsin concluded that while the Circuit Court correctly determined it did not have the statutory authority to force Tucker to undergo a physical exam, it did have the equitable authority to do so. The case was reversed and remanded, and it is assumed that Tucker was forced to submit to physical testing, including blood testing, and that such tests were negative.

It is not known whether Carrie Tucker's refusal to submit blood samples for testing was based on her own genuine interpretation of WatchTower teachings, or whether it was the more likely situation that Tucker simply was being uncooperative with "the system", and was actually just using her JW beliefs as the only legitimate-appearing excuse not to cooperate. [Readers should be aware that there are a number of instances where self-proclaimed JWs have used their alleged WatchTower beliefs as their excuse not to submit blood samples during blood-alcohol cases (see SUKRAM above), parent identification cases, DNA-crime cases (see BIDDINGS above and BROWN ), and other cases. In addition to those, I know of a serial rapist/murderer case, a murder case, and a DUI case, in which all three Perps declared themselves to be JWs, and refused to submit to blood testing. I will post such if and when I am ever able to establish those criminals' past relationship with JWs.] Interestingly, Carol Tucker was supported, and possibly represented, by the ACLU. Although I'm not certain, it does not appear that "religious belief" was part of Tucker's arguments before the various courts. However, since her attorneys would have known that such was a certain loser, even if "religious belief" was not raised during any of the judicial proceedings, such would not mean that "religious belief" was not Tucker's actual or supposed excuse up until that point. What is known is that during one "booking session", Tucker attempted to prevent her photograph from being taken by claiming that such was against her beliefs as a Jehovah's Witness.

The SYRING case was not Carol E. Tucker's only exposure to Madison's legal and judicial systems during the 1980s and 1990s.

WISCONSIN v. TUCKER was a 1989 Court of Appeals of Wisconsin decision. This case was an appeal by Carol E. Tucker of her conviction for "battery by a prisoner", at an unknown time, while she was an inmate in the Dane County Jail, on an unknown charge. Tucker was found guilty of punching a fellow inmate for turning up the volume of a facility television. Tucker lost this appeal which related to the exclusion of testimony regarding that fellow prisoners' credibility.

TUCKER v. MARCUS was a 1988 Supreme Court of Wisconsin decision. In April 1983, Carol Tucker's two daughters and 14 year-old son were swimming at a Madison health club when the son drowned. The three minors had been taken to the club by an unidentified adult on the son's birthday.

Thereafter, Tucker sued the health club for both compensatory and punitive damages. In February 1986, a jury apportioned 70% of the causal negligence to the son, 20% to the unidentified adult, and 10% to the club. The jury then awarded both compensatory and punitive damages to Carol Tucker in her wrongful death action as a parent, and to the estate in a survival action. However, no damages may have been finally awarded due to Wisconsin's then contributory-comparative negliegence statute that disallowed such an award if the victim was more than 49/50% at fault. Outcome of appeal unknown.

LOUISIANA v. DUGAR was a 1987 murder court case. Limited details. In October 1986, an African-American 15 year-old Jehovah's Witness, named Troy Lancaster Dugar, of Crowley, Louisiana, first robbed Donald Williams of $3.00, then forced Williams at gunpoint into the trunk of his car, then stole the William's car, and drove to Houston Texas. Along the way, Dugar stopped long enough to empty his revolver into Williams, and then reload, and empty it into Williams again. Troy Dugar apparently had shown glimpses of mental illness during his youth, but it evidently was not until his murder trial and subsequent appeals that his mental illness was confirmed and treated.

Troy L. Dugar was apparently from a decent home given that his father, Lancaster Dugar, identified himself as being both a Jehovah's Witness and a Lousiana State Trooper. (Lancaster Dugar resigned from the Lousiana State Police shortly after his son's conviction, reportedly due to the WatchTower Society's recent prohibition on JWs holding jobs that could require them to kill someone.) Troy Dugar was initially given a death sentence, but after years of appeals pushed by his father, Dugar's sentence was reduced in 1993 to a term of life imprisonment at hard labor without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence. Even after such, Dugar's father continued his efforts to get the murder conviction overturned, and his son committed to a mental institution. Outcome unknown.

TEXAS v. SORIA was a 1986 Texas capital murder court case. In July 2000, Juan Salvez Soria was executed by lethal injection for his 1986 conviction of the murder of 17 year-old Allen Bolden. In June 1985, Juan Soria, then 18, and a friend asked Bolden for a ride, and Bolden agreed given that he knew Juan Soria. During the ride, the pair kidnapped and robbed Bolden. After Soria's accomplice hit Bolden in the head with a rock, Soria killed Bolden by stabbing him twice in the back of his head.

Juan Soria had been reared in a Jehovah's Witness family of migrant farm workers, who evidently moved around quite a bit. This may have been one of the reasons that Soria dropped out of high school at age 16. Soria's mother testified that Soria had been a "devout Jehovah's Witness" for most of his life until he started hanging around the wrong people. During his appeals, Soria alleged that his father abused alcohol and beat him, but the courts did not find these allegations credible. Soria also blamed his social problems on the limitations placed on him due to his WatchTower beliefs while he was growing up.

Interestingly, Soria had been ejected from the family home the day of the murder. More interestingly, Juan Soria, who had no prior criminal convictions, had been "arrested" for vandalizing and attempting to break into a "church" just two months prior to being ejected from the family home. Whether that "church" was a "Kingdom Hall" is not known, but if so, or even if not so, Soria may have been undergoing problems with his congregation "Elders". In any event, Soria's ejection from the family's home possibly was due to the WatchTower practice of "shunning".

McCREADY v. MOORE was a 1985-6 California appellate court decision which involved a Jehovah's Witness Elder named Thomas Moore. In March 1985, Gary McCready and Mark Pyle were placing anti-watchtower leaflets on the windshields of automobiles street-parked near the Palm Srings Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses when they were assaulted by a group of male Jehovah's Witnesses led by Elder Thomas Moore. McCready also had his camera broken and a window in his vehicle broken during the scuffle. McCready first won an unspecified amount in small claims court in 1985, which Moore appealed. The appellate court ruled in McCready's favor in 1986.

McCREADY v. WATCHTOWER BIBLE & TRACT SOCIETY OF NEW YORK was a 1986 California lawsuit which was based on the scenario described above. The WatchTower Society settled this lawsuit with McCready and Pyle for the amount of $12,500.00.

TEXAS v. JAMES ALLRIDGE was a 1985-2004 Texas capital murder criminal case which involved an African-American Jehovah's Witness named James Vernon Allridge. James' father was in the military, and eventually retired due to disability. James Allridge's mother, who was originally a Methodist, converted to the Jehovah's Witnesses when James was 9 years old. James and his older brother Ronald (11) were taught the tenets of the Jehovah�s Witness religion. They were not permitted to celebrate holidays or birthdays - at home or at school. At school, they were not permitted to stand during the playing of the National Anthem, nor permitted to recite the pledge of allegiance to the flag. They were required to leave the classroom when the other children exchanged cards and gifts or did other things to celebrate holidays such as Valentine�s Day or Christmas. James and Ronald were not permitted to play with children who were not Jehovah�s Witnesses, unless the other children first sat for an hour of religious instruction.

The isolation imposed on the children by their Mother's new WatchTower religion brought James and Ronnie closer, in spite of the myriad of differences in their personalities. James, who was a skinny and small kid for his age, was quiet, studious, a "Momma�s boy", who tried hard to please. Thus, James embraced the teachings of the Jehovah's Witnesses, while his older brother did the least he could get by with per his age. James became one of the youngest �vacation pioneers� in the state of Texas -- donning his suit each day after school, and passing out WatchTower literature. James later wrote the following to a Christian pastor from prison:

"I was raised a Jehovah's Witness and I spent 13 years of my life, knocking on people's doors, pursuing my classmates down the hall and walking up to strangers, trying to convince them that my religion's, my way of thinking and believing was the only true religion, and if they didn't believe, then they were doomed. I walked around with a little smug self-assurance that I had a secret that they didn't, because I knew I was going to live in paradise and they were going to be destroyed. And then I learned that everything I had been taught to believe to be true, was not only inaccurate and manipulations of the Scriptures, but outright lies in some instances. I was disillusioned for some time, but I kept searching because I've always felt God's hand on me. I can't really explain that statement but I just felt it."

When James was 13, Ronnie took a pistol, which he had previously stolen during a burglary, to school and shot and killed a high school bully who had regularly been picking on Ronnie and stealing his lunch money. Ronnie (15) was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to ten years in prison. James had not done anything worthy of criminal charges by the state, but his fellow Jehovah's Witnesses were not as lenient. James faced judicial proceedings within the Jehovah�s Witness community for his failure to disclose Ronald's misdeeds to his parents and the church elders. James was disfellowshipped for six months. The Jehovah�s Witness community shunned James for six months; requiring him to attend all five Kingdom Hall meetings, but refusing to speak to him or to acknowledge him during that time. James� parents were even harder on him than before. It was as if they felt they had failed with Ronnie, and they didn�t want James getting into similar trouble also. With his parents now more strict and overly protective regarding his JW rearing, James felt more alone than ever. Thirteen year old James lost his only playmate. He wasn�t allowed to have any associates that weren�t Jehovah's Witnesses, and the JW children were even forced to shun James during the six months he was disfellowshipped. James� thereafter entered his first year in high school. He felt like an outsider, as he had felt all of his life. At lunch time, James fulfilled his Jehovah�s Witness obligations, standing on the steps trying to "place" WatchTower literature with the other kids.

James would sometimes stand alongside the tennis courts, watching his classmates play. One day, one of the kids asked James if he wanted to play. James started playing tennis with the other boys, and he didn�t stop. James played regularly after that. He played in the mornings before school, during lunch period, and after school. James' mother was angry that James was playing tennis, because Jehovah�s Witnesses are not supposed to engage in competitive sports, but his father told James he could play, and James excelled. He made the varsity team as a sophomore, and was a letterman for three years. James began to discover friends and life beyond the Jehovah�s Witness community. Years later, one James high school friends stated:

"I always thought James� family structure was strange. James�s mother was extremely fanatic about her religion She was a Jehovah�s Witness. I remember James� mother as being extremely controlling. Her views were so extreme that sometimes I felt that she was like David Koresh. I always felt that James missed out on a lot when he was growing up because of his mother�s fanaticism. He didn�t celebrate birthdays or holidays. He never went out to eat and always wore hand-me-downs. Through our friendship, James was exposed to things he had never been exposed to, such as birthdays and holidays. James discovered a whole new life, which he seemed to embrace. For example, James started celebrating birthdays and holidays, but always had to do so secretly for fear that his mother would find out. When I knew James, James had very low self-esteem. I think the fact that he was very skinny and had very poor skin contributed to his low self-esteem. James was desperate for friends."

Around 1982, Ronald was released from prison. James did everything he could to help Ronald re-enter society, but prison had turned a troubled, mentally ill child into a hardened adult criminal. Instead of James changing Ronald; Ronald changed James. For a while, although living together, James managed to keep his distance from Ronald's criminal activities and criminal friends.

However, in February 1985, Ronald talked James into robbing a Circle K convenience store which James had worked at previously. James Allridge knew the store's procedures, and he knew where the store's safe combination was kept. However, upon arriving at the store, James discovered that the clerk on duty was one with whom he had worked with while employed at the store -- thus, someone who could identifiy James as the robber. James Allridge committed the robbery while Ronald waited in the car. Using his past friendship with the clerk, James gained entry into the store twice after the clerk had closed for the evening. James committed the robbery during the second entry. James Allridge executed his friend by shooting him in the back of the head twice before exiting the store.

James Vernon Allridge was convicted of the murder in 1987. He was finally executed by lethal injection on August 24, 2004.

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TEXAS v. RONALD ALLRIDGE was a 1985-95 Texas capital murder criminal case which involved an African-American Jehovah's Witness named Ronald Allridge. Ronald was 11 years old when his mother converted to the Jehovah's Witnesses and began to require Ronald and his younger brother, James, to adhere to the beliefs and practices of the WatchTower Society. Ronald had exhibited aggressive and violent anti-social behavior prior to the family converting to the Jehovah's Witnesses. Rather than getting Ronald the professional help recommended, the parents tried to remedy Ronald's problems themselves. It is anyone's guess how much the additional stresses placed on Ronald by the new WatchTower religion played in Ronald's turn to crime when he was only 15.

In 1985, about seven weeks after James robbed the Circle K where he had previously been employed, and shot and killed his former co-worker, Ronald Allridge targeted a fast-food restaurant where he too had been previously employed. There, while robbing the restaurant's customers, Ronald Allridge shotgunned a young female who resisted.

Ronald Allridge was convicted, imprisoned, and executed by lethal injection by the State of Texas on June 8, 1995.

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THE SUPPOSED "UNSOLVED" 1980s TYLENOL TAMPERING RANDOM MURDERS. As of the posting of this summary, "googling" the individual words "tylenol" and "tampering", or the words "tylenol" and "cyanide", each yields in excess of 155,000 possible hits. Add to those two searches the phrase "Timothy Green", or "Timothy R. Green", and the Google hits plummet to only four or five 1986 New York Times articles, which are mostly redundant.

Despite the lack of interest in the deceased Jehovah's Witness, named Timothy R. Green, as possibly being "a perpetrator", or even possibly "the perpetrator" of the TYLENOL TAMPERING RANDOM MURDERS, such does not negate the fact that the circumstances of Timothy Green's life and death raise many unanswered questions which could be interpreted as pointing to Green as being either "a" or "the" perpetrator.

Before examining some of those circumstances, allow me to first address the main counter-argument -- that the F.B.I. and Tennessee authorities supposedly fully investigated the circumstances of Timothy Green's life and death, and concluded that Green's death was an isolated case of suicide due to "financial problems" caused by his failing part-time jewelry business. I would first direct readers to the "Hinrichs" summary on Page 1 of this section, and also to the "history" and "draft dodging" sections located at this websites' sister website. I will also here insert my personal speculation that the Jehovah's Witnesses, as a group, probably received more attention from the F.B.I. and other agencies of the U.S. Government, from the 1920s through the 1980s, than 95% of other groups which generated possible "security concerns" inside the United States. Why? Obviously, not because of any illegal activities. Why, then? Due to the "potential" abuse that could have been made of JWs' known fanaticism. I will also relate a personal anecdote here, which readers should feel free to value for whatever they feel such is worth. Sometime during the late 1960s or early 1970s, I heard a longtime JW publicly state that the WatchTower Society was well aware of the fact that it was constantly surveilled by the F.B.I., and that the F.B.I. even had attempted to infiltrate the WatchTower Society. The WatchTower Society supposedly knew those things because some of those "infiltrators" supposedly became genuine, devout members along the way, and disclosed their original "mission". Whether that decades-old "war story" is true or not, few people who have ever attempted a FOIA request with the F.B.I. on the topic of the WatchTower Society probably doubt that tale.

My understanding is that the TYLENOL TAMPERING RANDOM MURDERS actually consist of only two episodes. In September-October 1982, seven people in the Chicago area died after ingesting Extra Strength Tylenol capsules, which had been laced with "potassium cyanide". Then, 3 1/2 years later, on February 8, 1986, a New Yorker died after ingesting two Extra Strength Tylenol capsules laced with "potassium cyanide", which had been purchased at a supermarket in Bronxville, New York. A second tampered package of Tylenol capsules was discovered on February 13, still on the shelf of a second Bronxville retailer.

After both episodes, there were dozens of "copy-cat" incidents of Tylenol, and other product tampering, but in the handful of cases where deaths occurred, it is my understanding that all such incidents were eventually ruled to be suicides, or murders in which the specific victim was targeted by a known perpetrator, or other circumstances unattributable to a serial random murderer.

In contrast, no person has ever been convicted of the 1982 Chicago or the 1986 New York murders, in which the perpetrator(s) randomly placed tampered packages of Tylenol in retail stores in order to murder random victims.

On February 10, 1986, Timothy R. Green, 32, and his girlfriend, Naomi Roberts, both residents of Nashville, Tennessee, purchased a bottle of Extra Strength Tylenol capsules, and each took a couple capsules from the bottle. Sometime in early February, either just before or just after February 10, Timothy Green supposedly had had a "nose job", or what his friends referred to as a surgical correction of a "deviated septum". In the late 1980s, most health insurance plans would not pay for a cosmetic "nose job", but they would pay for a medically necessary repair of a "deviated septum".

After Green's death, his friends related that Tim Green had been fatigued, sickly, short of breathe, suffering severe headaches, and had been spitting up blood for several weeks preceding his death -- physical complications which they could have rightly attributed to the recent surgery which Tim Green supposedly had had. However, one or more of the media reports seem to indicate that some of these symptoms preceded the surgery, which also admittedly could have been the reason for the surgery. Of sourse, such raises the questions as to why Green was not seeing his doctor or surgeon about such complications, and why was Green seeking out OTC painkillers, when he should have had a prescription for serious painkillers.

However, I would like to know whether it is a fact that Green actually had such surgery, and if so, whether the surgery was cosmetic or medically necessary, and where and when the surgery was performed. Why? Click HERE to read the symptoms of mild, gradual cyanide poisoning.

On Tuesday, February 18, 1986, Timothy Green called in "sick" to his employer. Green subsequently called a second time and said that he was coming in to work. Green then called his employer a third time, and said that he was so sick that he would not be in that day, nor on Wednesday. At some point on Tuesday, Green went and purchased a one-pound container of "sodium cyanide". Green told the supplier that he was going to use it to clean jewelry.

On Sunday, February 23, 1986, friends of Timothy Green found his corpse in the bed in the bedroom of his small duplex. Green had been dead since Tuesday or Wednesday. Green's corpse contained 20 times the lethal limit of cyanide. Under Timothy Green's bed was discovered the Tylenol bottle which Green had purchased on February 10. The bottle was empty except for one lone capsule. That single capsule contained some sodium cyanide, and the bottle itself reeked of sodium cyanide. Interestingly, the autopsy found no acetaminophen in Green's corpse.

Timothy Green's friends described Green as an "active, devout Jehovah's Witness", who possibly was a "Regular Auxiliary Pioneer" in the West Nashville Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses. Green's friends did not believe that he had committed suicide. And why should they? Green evidently had an ongoing relationship with a girlfriend, relationships with other JW friends, and he supposedly had had either corrective or cosmetic surgery just within the past couple weeks. That does not sound like someone who thought that he had no further reason or desire to continue living.

Timothy Green was described as an aspiring songwriter from St. Paul, Minnesota (the aspiring songwriters I have known have been the overly optimistic sort), who had moved to Nashville approximately four years previous (some reports said only one year previous). Green supported himself as a guitar repairman and as a part-time jewelry salesperson. [Although I have not been able to locate the source, I recall from past readings on this topic, that Timothy Green had also lived in more locales than just Minnesota and Nashville. It would be nice to know if Green had ever been a "Bethelite", or had any other connections to WatchTower world HQ given that Bronxville is not that far away.]

It is highly doubtful that Timothy Green was a random victim of a third episode involving a random murder via a tampered Tylenol capsule.

It is possible that Timothy Green suffered from hidden depression exaccerbated by side effects from a recent surgery, and that Green committed suicide by ingesting a large quantity of cyanide.

It is possible that Timothy Green committed suicide in the only just way because of feelings of guilt emanating from the resurgence of a past problem which he may have thought had been conquered.

It is possible that Timothy Green died accidently from gradual exposure to cyanide, that possibly resulted from improper handling of cyanide in December 1985 or January 1986, and was pushed to the point of lethality by even more improper handling of cyanide on February 18-19, 1986.

In any event, there were no more TYLENOL TAMPERING RANDOM MURDERS, at least attributable to a serial murderer, after the transient Jehovah's Witness Pioneer, named Timothy R. Green, passed from the scene in February 1986. And, that fact probably was predictable after the F.B.I. finished its investigation of Green, which should have revealed the answers to the questions above, as well as whether Green had been in the Chicago area in 1982, and whether Green had traveled to the NYC area just before February 1986.

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ILLINOIS v. THOMPKINS was a 1980-2008 Illinois murder court decision. In December 1980, a 30 year-old African-American Jehovah's Witness, named Willie Thompkins, Jr., of Chicago-area, Illinois, participated in a conspiracy which ended in the robbery and murder of two drug dealers. Although sentenced to the death penalty in 1982, Thompkins received clemency in 2003, and thereafter was sentenced to two concurrent natural life sentences, which on Thompkins' appeal was affirmed by an intermediate appellate court in 2007. Given that Thompkins has already received four Illinois Supreme Court decisions during the decades of appeals, it is likely that a fifth is in the works.

Willie Thompkins, Jr. had already spent 4+ years in state prison after being sentenced to a 15-20 prison term for the September 1970 shooting (four times) and attempted execution of a former fellow gangmember, whom Thompkins suspected of informing to local police. Although supposedly reared in a Chicago area Pentecostal Church, Willie Thompkins became a dedicated Jehovah's Witness during that short prison term. Given that the then young 21-25 year-old hardened gang leader was from a large extended family, several of whom have repeatedly testified to his upstanding moral character, it is more probable that his "conversion" was the result of the efforts of family members who were Jehovah's Witnesses, than the possibility that the gang leader picked up the WatchTower religion on his own while in prison.

After being paroled in June 1975, Willie Thompkins married Barbara Thompkins in January 1976. She, her daughter, and the couple's own two sons apparently joined Willie as active Jehovah's Witnesses. Between 1975 and 1980, Thompkins worked as a Nursing Assistant and a Paramedic, and even took some classes towards a degree in Respiratory Therapy.

However, on December 22, 1980, Willie Thompkins' sister-in-law, Pamela Thompkins (possibly the wife of brother Berwyn Thompkins), "arranged to purchase some cocaine" from two local drug dealers. While making the deal in the basement of Pamela Thompkins' home, Willie Thompkins' appeared with a gun, and told the two drug dealers, "Put *** your hands on the table. This is the police." Despite the presence of another male and another female (who was allegedly Willie Thompkins' mistress), it is unclear who did the shooting. Willie Thompkins attempted to blame the other male. In any event, one dealer was shot while in the basement, and the other was shot at the location where the two bodies were eventually found dumped.

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UNITED STATES v. FORBRICH was a 1984 Florida federal espionage court decision. In 1984, during a visit to the United States, a West German National, named Ernest Forbrich, 43, was arrested, charged, and convicted of two counts of espionage committed on behalf of the communist East German government. Forbrich was arrested during an F.B.I. sting conducted in Clearwater, Florida, during which he purchased classified military documents from an undercover F.B.I. agent. Forbrich received a mere 15 year prison sentence.

The scenario that gave rise to this conviction allegedly was merely a drop in the bucket compared with what all Forbrich allegedly had done over the previous 17 or so years during the time that he had operated an auto repair business near an American military base located in West Germany. An American brother of Ernest Forbrich mentioned to a reporter that a third brother had been arrested in West Germany on charges connected to this case, but that third brother supposedly had been released. Given that the second brother was also asserting the innocence of Ernest Forbrich, who knows what actually became of the case in West Germany against that third brother.

Interestingly, in an F.B.I. interview which was introduced at trial, Ernest Forbrich mentioned that he had been reared in East Germany, but that at some point his family had "moved" (assumed that readers know why I have placed "moved" in quotes) to West Germany after their father had served a prison sentence for his activities as a Jehovah's Witness. Thus, it is likely that the Forbrich brothers had, at a minimum, been reared as Jehovah's Witnesses, if not more.

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NEW MEXICO v. BALDERAMA and NEW MEXICO v. RODRIGUEZ were related 1977 New Mexico kidnapping and rape cases. On the evening of January 4, 1977, 19 year-old Steve Anthony Balderama, of Cloudcroft, New Mexico, and his uncle, Abraham D. Rodriguez, 24, of Eunice, NM, abducted at gunpoint an 18 year-old female as she walked along a Hobbs, NM sidewalk. The Duo drove the female to an isolated location outside the city limits, where they both raped her, before eventually releasing her. The abduction was witnessed and the Duo were arrested soon after returning to the city limits.

Abraham Rodriguez plea bargained to the rape charge only, and was sentenced to 10 to 50 years in prison, and a $10,000.00 fine. However, Steve A. Balderama claimed that the victim had consented to having sexual relations with him, after having first done so with Abraham Rodriguez, and demanded a trial by jury. At his July 1977 trial, Steven Balderama was convicted on kidnapping and rape charges, and Balderama was sentenced to two concurrent prison sentences of 10 to 50 years each.

Apparently, Steve Anthony Balderama had been reared in a Jehovah's Witness family, which probably meant that his uncle, Abraham Rodriguez, also had JW ties. Although neither were identified as JWs, there are too many clues to conclude otherwise.

Despite the fact that even if the situation were as Balderama claimed -- consensual sex -- (which is an excommunication offense for JWs), Stan Boyd, a Jehovah's Witness [Elder?] from Alamogordo, did not allow such to prevent him from appearing as a "defense witness" in Balderama's behalf. Boyd stated that he had known Balderama since Balderama was 15 years-old, plus stated that Balderama and he studied the Bible together once a week [Book Study Conductor?]. Stanley Boyd described Steve Balderama as "a serious-minded boy with a desire to do what is right."

An Alamogordo "civil service retiree", who was probably also a JW, testified that he had known Balderama since Balderama was a child, and that he had found Balderama to be "honest and reliable", and that he had never known Balderama to have been in trouble. Two Alamogordo school officials described Balderama as a "passive individual", who had a good reputation for "truth and veracity."

More interstingly, Balderama testified that such had been his first sexual experience. And, using one of the WatchTower's oldest courtroom tricks, Balderama carried a Bible into the courtroom, which he displayed for the jury on the defense table, and from which he read before trial and during recesses. And, in probably what was the biggest tipoff that Balderama was a Jehovah's Witness, after his conviction, Balderama formally complained that he had not received a "fair trial".

PENNSYLVANIA v. PARKER was a 1979 Pennsylvania prison escape court case. In 1975, a 32 year-old African-American Jehovah's Witness, named Larry Parker, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was serving a 10-20 year prison sentence for his role in the 1969 armed robbery of a Pittsburgh jewelry store, and murder of an employee, when he was granted permission to attend a WatchTower Circuit Assembly at the local Civic Arena.

On Saturday, November 23, 1975, while being accompanied by two other prisoners, and two prison guards, the five discovered that it was the wrong weekend. Amazingly, one guard left to take care of personal business, while the other guard and one of the prisoners went to a nearby Kingdom Hall to check to see what was wrong. Parker and a second prisoner were left alone at a restaurant across from the Arena. Larry Parker walked away, and was apparently not re-captured until sometime in 1978.

UNITED STATES v. HOKER was a 1972-4 Texas federal criminal court case. In 1973, a 19 year-old Houston Jehovah's Witness, named Dennis Frederick Hoker (reportedly now deceased), was convicted on federal charges of knowingly and intentionally importing marijuana into the United States from Mexico, and knowingly and intentionally possessing a controlled substance with intent to distribute. Dennis F. Hoker was sentenced to 4 years in prison, with a special parol term of two years to follow, and a $2500.00 fine.

On appeal, the USCA reversed Hoker's conviction and ordered a new trial. The USCA ruled that in Hoker's jury trial that the judge became so certain that Hoker was lying that the judge asked so many searching and clarifying questions that the judge in effect became a second prosecutor and prejudiced the jury against Hoker. Outcome of second trial unknown -- that is, if there was no plea bargain.

On September 14, 1972, Dennis Hoker, who still lived in Houston with his JW Mother, decided that he would take a short vacation to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. Hoker's mother testified that Hoker left home that day "hitchhiking", and Hoker testified that he hitchhiked all the way to Laredo, Texas. There, Hoker walked across the International Bridge into Mexico. After walking a short distance, Hoker was offered a ride by Hal Sparks, who was a Jehovah's Witness Friend from Houston, who just so happened to also have decided to take a short vacation in Nuevo Laredo. Thankfully to this amazing coincidence, Hoker and Sparks decided to share a motel room, and the Duo partied together that night. Hal Sparks allegedly returned to Houston before Hoker woke up on the afternoon of September 15.

Hoker went out partying again on the night of September 15, alone, and while sitting with some strangers, Hoker happened to mention that he was nearly out of money. One of the strangers then told Hoker that he would pay Hoker $200.00 to drive a Texas-registered 1955 pickup truck back to Houston, to which Hoker agreed. The next day, at the border checkpoint, the border agents' suspicions were immediately aroused. The truck was inspected, and 446 pounds of marijuana were found in six secret compartments.

Sometime in the mid 1960s, the actor who played in the then extremely popular television series, "Ben Casey", was accosted during a Tucson, Arizona publicity appearance by a Jehovah's Witness who was angry over a recently televised program whose theme was "blood transfusions". Media reports conflict. One report said that the JW pulled a knife on the actor, while another report claimed that the JW had a ball bat.

TEXAS v. JACK WALLACE was a 1956 Texas criminal court case which involved one of the WatchTower Society's "District Sales Managers". In February 1956, a WatchTower Society "Circuit Servant", named Jack Wallace, 41, was arrested in Kerrville, Texas, on charges of "Indecent Exposure". A local married woman swore that Wallace had accosted her from his car on a downtown street. The woman first reported the incident to her husband, who then made the report to local police.

Jack Wallace was arrested and jailed for three days until his court appearance. Wallace evidently pleaded guilty, and paid a $50.00 fine. The local newspaper reported that Wallace's "attractive" wife awaited his release. The WatchTower Society representatives reportedly promised the Kerrville Police Chief that they would immediately leave town.

An internet search discloses that "a" Jack Wallace was from a large Jehovah's Witness family of 11 children in Kingsport, Tennessee. "That" Jack Wallace played a well publicized role in a 1943 "anti-JW incident" in which his "travel trailer" was wrecked. "That" Jack Wallace also was a "Congregation Servant" in Kingsport in the early 1950s, and possibly Memphis, Tennessee, in the 1960s. Donald Wallace, a brother to "this" Jack Wallace, also was a "Circuit Servant".

IDAHO v. GOYEN and IDAHO v. SINGLETON were related 1955 Idaho court decisions. In January 1955, two Jehovah's Witnesses, Joe Goyen Jr, 24, and DeWayne Singleton, 17, called at the Drummond, Idaho, farmhouse of Walter Jones, 50. According to Mrs Jones, she had first told the pair to leave, but they persisted in their message. At some point, Walter Jones came on the scene, and an argument developed. Jones also told the pair to leave, but when the JW Duo apparently were slow in complying, Jones testified that he pushed Goyen out the door. Goyen testified that Jones hit him with his fist, and that was when he, Goyen, blackened the farmer's eye. A fight ensued between the JW Duo and Farmer Jones, Jones' son, and Jones' dog, which took a bite out of Goyen's leg. The fight continued until Goyen pushed Jones into a snowbanked, which allowed the JWs to get into their auto and escape. Goyen and Singleton were convicted of assault and battery, and fined $100.00 each, but an appeal was filed. Outcome unknown.

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TEXAS v. WILLIAM M. OLLIFF was a 1954 Texas criminal court decision. A Jehovah's Witness, named William Oliff, who already had a criminal record, owned and operated a "trailer park" in Midland, Texas. Sometime in latter 1952 or 1953, Olliff's "sons" (Oliff had two sons who were "Bethelites") and the "sons" of one of his tenants got into a literal "mud slinging" contest, and Oliff told the family to move immediately. The family moved their trailer, but without paying the final $12.00 lot rental bill, which angered Oliff, and he went looking for the former tenants. When Oliff did not find the tenants at the relocated trailer, he evidently spotted the couple entering a friend's home somewhere else in Midland. Oliff pulled into the drive, and got out of his car. Oliff and the former tenant first argued, and Oliff claimed that the tenant grabbed his arm. Oliff then reached into his car and got his loaded pistol, which just so happened to be lying on the front seat. Oliff testified that he did so simply to bluff the tenant. Oliff further testified that he only intended to scare the tenant when he pulled the trigger after being certain that the gun was pointed away from the tenant. Amazingly, the bullet struck the tenant in the heart, and he died. At a June 1954 trial, William M. Oliff was convicted of murder and sentenced in 15 years in the state penitentiary. It does not appear that appeals were successful. I wonder whether the WatchTower Society issued any national press releases when this scenario developed? Some attorney did appeal Olliff's conviction all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States, which refused certiori.

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INDIANA v. HARWOOD was a 1953-4 Indiana criminal court case. Ralph Harwood, 41, who was the leader, or "Congregation Servant", of Jehovah's Witnesses in Crawfordsville, Indiana, was arrested in November 1953 on charges of "Attempted Rape". Harwood had been regularly conducting a home bible study at the home of a young couple, after which one evening, Harwood offered to drive the "pretty young housewife" to the grocery. On the way, Harwood started making advances to her. After he stopped and purchased a bottle of wine, Harwood evidently drove his bible study out into the country, where his advances became more aggressive. Harwood's bible student was finally able to escape the auto. The police later found the auto wrecked, and Harwood lying unconscious next to such. It is unclear whether the crash was the result of the woman's efforts to escape, or whether the crash was simply a combination of Harwood's drinking, agitation, etc., or whether the crash was Harwood's first botched suicide attempt. Later, at the county jail, Harwood unsuccesfully attempted to hang himself.

Apparently, the WatchTower Society wasn't very selective as to whom were appointed "leaders" in the 1950s, since police disclosed that Ralph Harwood had a criminal record that included public intoxication, robbery, and grand larceny.

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STATE v. POWERS was a 1951 Indiana court case. In October 1951, a Jehovah's Witness, named Walter Powers, was arrested in Evansville on the complaint of a 63 year-old male homeowner, who accused Walter Powers of assaulting him on his front porch after he had declined Power's offer of WatchTower propaganda.

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NORTH CAROLINA v. DILLINGS was a 1949 North Carolina criminal court case. In October 1949, in Charlotte, North Carolina, a 26 year-old "Jehovah's Witness Preacher", named Claude M. Dillings, was arrested and accused of being part of a "tire theft gang". Outcome unknown.

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NEW JERSEY v. STANTON was a 1945 New Jersey criminal court case. A Jehovah's Witness, named Wilbert Stanton, 42, was laid-off from his job as a Philadelphia-area "shipyard worker" in the weeks that World War II wound down, which would seem to indicate that this JW, like many other hypocritical JWs during WW2, had been employed in a position that involved "war work".

By October 1945, the Stanton family was behind in their apartment rent, and the landlord obtained an eviction order. When a local Constable arrived at the Stanton's apartment to enforce the order, Wilbert Stanton showed a rifle, and threatened to shoot the Constable. When local Police arrived, Stanton also threatened to shoot them, and a "stand-off" developed. After several hours, a local Jehovah's Witness, who was probably Stanton's "company servant", was able to talk Stanton into surrendering. However, the "company servant" was not willing to provide bail for Stanton, who was forced to remain in jail due to lack of funds. Outcome unknown.

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IN RE JENNINGS was a habeas corpus action filed in January 1945 by an imprisoned Jehovah's Witness, named Charles Jennings. Jennings accused the warden at Pennsylvania's Eastern State Penitentiary of discriminating against him by taking away his WatchTower Society religious literature, when other prisoners were permitted to possess literature of their own denominations. Given that JW Minister Jennings had been in prison only 14 weeks at the time he decided to filed this action, it would appear that Jennings was someone who demanded immediate attention to his legal rights. Interested in knowing why Jennings was in prison?

In October 1944, Charles Jennings, alias Charles Conniffe, had been sentenced to 5-10 years for a single armed robbery, which he and another short-term acquaintance had committed during an interstate armed robbery spree back in 1930. Jennings decided to plead guilty to the single charge after he was confronted in court by the accomplice, who after serving 10 years for the crime had moved to Canada.

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MAINE v. COX was a 1940-2 Maine criminal court case which involved a 49 year-old Jehovah's Witness, named Arthur F. Cox. Arthur Cox was convicted of murdering a North Windham businessowner named E. Dean Pray, who also served as that small village's Deputy Sheriff, while Cox was doing "door-to-door witnessing". Link also summarizes other JW criminal/civil court cases.

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MAINE v. BOBB. In October, 1940, Edwin Bobb of West Chester, Pennsylvania, was convicted of "assault with intent to kill", and sentenced to four years in prison in Maine. Link also summarizes other JW criminal/civil court cases.

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WALROD v. STATE was a 1945 Oklahoma criminal appellate court case which involved an ongoing battle between the citizens of Stillwater, Oklahoma, and the Jehovah's Witnesses. This was at least the third criminal case which involved the Jehovah's Witness named Mr. E. F. Walrod. Mrs. Walrod was charged in at least one other case. Other JWs were charged in other cases. In this instance, Mr. E. F. Walrod was arrested and convicted of "assault and battery" by a Justice of the Peace. On appeal, a jury also convicted Walrod, which he thereafter appealed.

Stillwater citizen, Mert Poole, complained that on a Saturday afternoon as he walked past Walrod, who was attempting to pass out WatchTower literature on the sidewalk in front of a Stillwater Bank, that Walrod thrust some of the WatchTower literature up under Poole's nose, and that Poole knocked it away, and started on up the sidewalk. Poole alleged that he had taken three or four steps away, when Walrod ran up behind him, jumped on his back, knocked him down, and struck him several blows on his face. There were no eyewitnesses to the start of the fight, except Poole and Walrod, who each accused the other of starting such. However, the prosecution used two eyewitnesses who testified that they did see Walrod on top of Poole and striking him repeatedly. Poole acknowledged during the jury trial that he had testified against Walrod on two previous occasions when Walrod had been charged in Stillwater with certain alleged breaches of the peace, and that he had told Walrod never to offer him any WatchTower literature, nor bring it to his house.

This appellate court affirmed the jury's decision, but modified the sentence, stating in part:

We have come to the conclusion, after an examination of this record, that the complainant Poole is not altogether without fault in this altercation. Both he and the defendant should have been taken before the police judge of the city of Stillwater and fined for fighting. Poole's testimony discloses that he felt bitter towards the defendant and thought that he was not a patriotic American citizen because of certain religious practices of the organization to which the accused belonged. The defendant lost his temper or the fighting would not have occurred. Under the record, the verdict of the jury must be sustained. However, the severity of the punishment is not merited by the record. Justice requires a modification. The minimum fine of $5 and costs is a sufficient punishment.

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STATE v. MARTIN and STATE v. BOURNE were related 1941 Wisconsin court decisions. In an April 1941 "trial by jury", which would seem to indicate that the situation was accurately assessed, two Jehovah's Witnesses, Robert Martin, 21, from Lincoln, Nebraska, and Donald Bourne, 20, of Jumper, Wisconsin, were convicted of "assault and battery" on a Peshtigo, Wisconsin, farmer, named M. H. Byers. Sentence unknown. This jury trial was actually an appeal from a justice court conviction, where a judge had sentenced the pair to 10 day jail sentences and $10.00 fines. The JWs appealed again. However, when a transcript of the trial was requested, such could not be located due to the death of the court reporter. The judge then granted the JWs' motion for a new trial. Apparently, Byers was irritated with the whole mess, and never showed up for the third trial in October 1941, so the charges were simply "dismissed". The two JWs won because they were prepared to worked the legal system to the nth degree, while the poor farmer had better things to do with his life.

On March 12, 1941, the pair of Jehovah's Witnesses had stopped at the Byers' home, where they started playing a recording of one of Judge Rutherford's denunciations. Although not known, I suspect that the farmer's wife was their audience, and that seeing someone at the farmhouse, the farmer came in from his work to check on his wife. Each side blamed the other for starting the fight, but interestingly, the only indicated physical injuries were to the farmer, who received a lacerated scalp and various body bruises. The farmer did manage to put a shovel through their windshield before they could get away. After the JWs finally got their convictions dismissed, they probably filed a civil lawsuit against the farmer for their windshield.

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STATE v. LEIBY was a 1940 New Hampshire appellate court decision. Milton L. Leiby, 43, described as the "leader" of the Jehovah's Witnesses in New Hampshire, thus possibly the WatchTower Society's "Zone Servant" for the state, was arrested and convicted for "Carrying a Concealed Weapon", namely, brass knuckles. Leiby was initially sentenced to one year in prison, but on appeal, he pled "guilty", in exchange for court costs and a suspended sentence.

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NEW JERSEY v. STEINLE was a 1939 New Jersey Supreme Court decision, which I cannot locate. Sometime in 1937-8, a Jehovah's Witness named Fred Steinle was distributing WatchTower literature when he muttered some type of "indecent" remark to a woman who refused his offer. The woman reported Steinle to the police, and he was arrested for "disorderly conduct", convicted, and sentenced to 90 days in jail.

Typical of the JWs in this era to legally "bully" anyone and everyone, even this criminal conviction was appealed all the way to New Jersey's Supreme Court. The JWs contended that Steinle had uttered the offensive remark in a "low tone", thus such did not constitute "disorderly conduct". Outcome unknown.

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STATE v. HOPKINS, STATE v. JONES, STATE v. DODDS, STATE v. JAMES, and STATE v. STIGERS. A January 23, 1936, incident in McFarland, California resulted in the arrest of five Jehovah's Witnesses -- all from "out-of-town". Christian James and James Stigers, were from Los Angeles, which means that the only two men were from the WatchTower Society's California branch office. The three women, Miriam Hopkins, Mrs. Jimmie Jones (Johns), and Ula Dodds were all from Bakersfield.

On a Thursday, apparently during the noontime recess, the five JWs arrived at McFarland Grammar School in two vehicles. They parked across the street from the school's playground. One vehicle was equipped with loud-speakers, which began to play "military band" music. Once the attention of all the children on the playground had been gained, the loudspeakers began to blare a recording of Judge Rutherford's "Saluting The Flag" speech, which proclaimed that the American Flag was an "idol", and that saluting or pledging the flag was an act of false religious worship worthy of God's vengeance.

It is unclear just how long the five JWs were outside the school, or whether the Principal tried to get them to cease and desist, or whether the JWs refused to stop and/or leave, but the Principal had time to go to a Judge, swear out the complaints, locate a Deputy Sheriff, and then have the five JWs arrested for "disturbing the peace" and "loitering in the vicinity of a public school".

After being arrested, one of the two JW males from Los Angeles asked for his telephone call. It was placed to WatchTower HQ in Los Angeles. During his call, he apparently purposefully talked so that the Police could hear, and it was discussed that three more loud-speaker trucks be sent to "serenade" the city of McFarland. The Police let them know that if more trucks showed up, then all JWs in them would be arrested.

Interestingly, the reason for this illegal demonstration was due to the fact that 3-5 JW children at this school had recently started refusing to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Even more interesting is the fact that instead of suspending the 3-5 JW children, as most all schools were doing at that time, the local school system decided that rather than taking punitive action that school officials would temporarily ignore the JW students' non-participation, and attempt to persuade participation. In fact, that is why the JW leaders attempted to stir up this hornet's nest. Non-participating students at two other local schools had already began to recite the Pledge.

The jail and courts which served the town of McFarland were located in Bakersfield, which likely explains why the two JW HQ Instigators brought along the three JW females from Bakersfield. Sure enough, three weeks later, at trial, the cases were plea bargained down to all charges being dropped against the one male and two females in the second car, who claimed only to have passed out flyers, and the male and female in the loud-speaker truck pled guilty to merely "disturbing the peace".

FOOTNOTE: Christian James died in Utah in 1949, while traveling as a representative of the WTBTS. Local authorities sent telegram notifications to the WTBTS and relatives, but noone responded. They did sufficient research to find out that he was a WWI veteran, so the local Mormon Church gave James a funeral, and the American Legion gave a military burial.