8
execution’s doorstep
cruised into Oklahoma. They did not get far before blue lights showed in their rearview mirror. They pulled over, and when ordered to come out with their hands up, they obeyed, except for Sandman Smith. Sandman, so named because he had a habit of getting drunk and passing out, was asleep. A search of the van yielded up Sandman, and numerous incidentals including a ratty green blanket belonging to Sandman’s girlfriend, the steer horns, two .22 pistols, and Ron’s broken-down shotgun. Each of the bikers was carrying a knife, of the pocket variety, except for Sandman Smith, who wore a large hunting knife strapped to his leg. The hitchhikers had filed armed robbery charges against the bikers. Charges were also pending, of an unspecified nature, regarding the Kathy Ibrahim incident. The bikers spent the next five days in a jail in Weatherford, Oklahoma. For the most part they thought it was a big joke. How bad could it be? They had taken the dollar the hitchhiker o=ered for the beer and let him keep the change. His buddy was not seriously hurt. Ron expected an indecent exposure charge for the Kathy Ibrahim shenanigans and, at worst, a $25 fine—that was what Sandman’s torn-pants episode had cost him. When Ron’s turn came to make the phone call he was entitled to by law, he ordered a pizza. The o<cer yanked the receiver out of his hand and smacked him in the head with it. Of primary concern to the bikers at the time of their arrest was that the unexpected delay would make them late for next week’s mandatory Vagos meeting.
A Castrated John Doe Early on the morning of February 13, a crow hunter tramped the frozen earth in the Tijeras Canyon and stumbled on a castrated corpse crudely concealed beneath a sage bush. Albuquerque City Police were first to arrive on the scene, but the Bernalillo County Sheri= ’s Department took over the investigation when it was determined the body was on county land.14 The victim, a young male, wore an army-green jacket with an orange lining.15 His pants were pulled down around his knees. In addition to being emasculated, the victim had been shot in the head and slashed across the chest. There was a rope tied to his ankles, suggesting the body had been dragged to its present location.16 With no wallet and no identification of any kind found on the corpse, the authorities were stumped. Dr. James Weston, the state’s chief medical examiner, was at a conference in Texas. Weston had assisted in the autopsy of JFK and had impressive credentials. Out of state, so unable to participate in the autopsy of the castrated John Doe, Weston provided what help