She died of ovarian cancer in prison because she wouldnt testify against me., But when reminded that he nonetheless confessed to bankrolling the judges killing, Chagra replied: Well, I said I did it to get paroled, so Ill stick to that story right now., He added: Personally, I dont know if Charlie Harrelson killed Judge Wood or not.. Elizabeth Chagra, the wife of Jamiel (Jimmy) Chagra, the drug dealer who is to be tried in a separate proceeding on charges of paying Mr. Harrelson $250,000 to murder the judge, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder and conspiracy to obstruct justice. On March 4, 1933, Frances Perkins was sworn in as U.S. labor secretary, becoming the first female member of the Cabinet. Woody Harrelson's dad Charles Voyde Harrelson was a career criminal who died in prison while serving two life sentences for murdering a judge in a contract Whats Up With All the Kangaroos on the Loose in Texas? Jamiel Chagra: separate trial on murder, conspiracy to murder, conspiracy to obstruct justice; drug conspiracy and trafficking charges; separate indictment on income tax evasionChief Defense Lawyers: Charles Harrelson: Thomas G. Sharpe, Jr.; Jo Ann Harrelson: Charles Champion; Elizabeth Chagra: Warren Burnett; Jamiel Chagra: Oscar B. GoodmanChief Prosecutor: Ray JahnJudge: William SessionsPlaces: Charles Harrelson: San Antonio, Texas. . SIGNIFICANCE: Charles Harrelson was convicted for a hit-man killing of Judge John H. Wood, the only federal judge to be assassinated in the twentieth century. Texas Lege Watch: A House Republican Fights for Chicken Freedom, Texas Monthly Recognized by ASME in the 2023 National Magazine Awards. Throughout, Charles Voyde Harrelson, the man convicted of killing the judge May 29, 1979, with a single shot in the back from a highpowered rifle, appeared at ease, leaning back in his chair and offering the jury faint smiles. Jo Ann Harrelson: 25 years for obstruction of justice and perjury. Charles Harrelson arrives at Federal Court 11-8-82 for his trial in the slaying of federal judge Wood. Joseph Chagra, 50, Lawyer Linked to Assassination, Dies, https://www.nytimes.com/1996/12/15/us/joseph-chagra-50-lawyer-linked-to-assassination-dies.html. Through these collaborations, we have been able to extend our reach to help more families in our local community. Anyone can read what you share. But I believe Joe made up those stories as part of a deal with the prosecution, and so do many others close to the case. "Foster Pantry moved on campus in May 2021 after joining the Harrelson Center initially as an Associate Partner in 2019. Harrelson was sentenced to two consecutive life terms plus five years, while Jo Ann Harrelson got a combined 25 years for obstruction of justice. His son, Joseph Jr., said Mr. Chagra's death was caused by injuries from an automobile accident on Dec. 6 that also killed two passengers. He said that Mr. Kay had bilked Jamiel Chagra by telling him that it was he, Charles Harrelson, who had shot the judge and should collect the $250,000 payoff. The Jo Ann Carter Harrelson Center Inc. is a North Carolina nonprofit corporation 501c3 (EIN 20-3598248) that supports and partners with other nonprofit organizations in the Wilmington community. Then-FBI Director William Webster dispatched dozens of agents to San Antonio for a massive investigation that resulted in Harrelson and four others being charged in connection with Woods assassination a killing still etched in the citys lore. Jo Ann Harrelson: guilty of conspiracy to obstruct justice, perjury. Here, we have shared resources, funding, and space with the Center just bringing it all together. It was a big deal to a lot of people, concurred lawyer Charles Campion, who defended Harrelsons wife, Jo Ann Harrelson, the woman who bought the murder weapon. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate. Federal authorities claimed that attorney-client privileges did not protect conversations between Joseph and Jamiel Chagra, because Joseph (the attorney) was himself a suspect in the conspiracy to conceal the crime. Sessions will preside over the March 14 trial in Shreveport of Chagra, Mrs. Chagra, and Mrs. Chagra's father, Leon Nichols, on tax evasion charges. Judge Wood denied any impropriety and refused to remove himself from the case. -- Jo Ann Harrelson, a former Las Vegas gambler and wife of the hitman convicted of killing a federal judge, was found guilty of perjury -- the Great American Trials. He gave us details that only he knew, Ray Jahn said. Harrelson argued that Kay's wife had purchased a Weatherby hunting rifle of the type used to kill the judge some 12 days before the killing. Chagras operation had links to the Patriarca crime family in New England. WebThe Harrelson Center is a nonprofit campus that supports and partners with other nonprofit organizations in the Wilmington community to provide centralized services. Dozens killed, injured as Jakarta fuel depot fire engulfs neighborhood. Joe Chagra ended But Chagra and Harrelson werent immediate suspects, and it took thousands of man-hours before they were identified as such. He was sentenced to life in prison. U.S. District Judge John H. Wood was assassinated in San Antonio May 29, 1979, by Charles Harrelson. It was a tragedy., She couldnt speak to Jimmy Chagras crimes or conduct, saying, we werent close.. Copyright 2023 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 3 children killed, 2 hospitalized in North Texas domestic incident, 'Saving Private Ryan,' 'True Romance' actor Tom Sizemore dead at 61, Dozens killed, injured as Jakarta fuel depot fire engulfs neighborhood, Syndicated show 'Rachael Ray' wrapping 17-season run, Migrant woman dies after U.S. Coast Guard stops vessel carrying 54. Guillermo has also worked in Central America, Mexico, New Mexico, Arizona and California and his work has appeared in various publications, including the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, New York Post, Newsday, Denver Post and the Albuquerque Journal. A place where needs are met, dreams are fostered and hope abounds. They tortured her for no (reason). However, U.S. District Judge William S. Sessions ordered the hearing continued at a later date, indicating Mrs. Harrelson still faces possible imprisonment. It was such an iconoclastic case, because it was believed a federal judge could not be touched.. March 3 (UPI) -- A 7-year-old Louisiana boy with a firm grasp of baseball rules is seeking a Guinness World Record as the world's youngest umpire. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. The feds indicted Jimmy Chagra, Charles Harrelson, Joe Chagra, Liz Chagra and Jo Ann Harrelson in the judges murder. 1985) Annotate this Case US Court of Appeals for the ", Missy Bennett, Executive Director, Operation Pretty Things, "The Harrelson Center really provides a unique opportunity to serve people holistically. Judge Woods 1979 slaying by Charles Harrelson was crime of the century, San Antonio Zoo has a long but spotty history with giraffes. Charles Campion, the attorney for Mrs. Harrelson, did not say whether she would appeal. The defendants were charged under Federal statutes governing the killing of a Federal employee. He spent more than 35 years defending some of the most notorious alleged Mob figures, including Meyer Lansky, Frank Rosenthal, Anthony Spilotro and Jimmy Chagra. Jimmy Carters Peanut-and-Egg Taco Made Quite the Impression on San Antonians. People with hearts to serve and love to give.thats what you will find at the Harrelson Center. In 2019, we had a staff of three and were serving maybe 150 individuals. Without his brother's testimony, Jamiel was acquitted of conspiracy to murder charges. Editor's note: This story originally published in a 2017 series honoring the 300th anniversary of San Antonio.A man named Bill Bannister registered at the Town House motel on Loop 410 on Memorial Day 1979. However, there was no physical evidence and investigators had to rely on circumstantial evidence and informants. Assistant U.S. Attorney James Kerr, who had prosecuted several drug cases before Judge Wood, had barely escaped an assassination attempt some six months before Wood was killed. Depen, Chicago Mobsters Convicted of Decades-Old Murders In a recent interview with the San Antonio Express-News, Joe Chagras widow, now known as Patty Chagra Russell, defended her husband, saying the prison recording showed that Jimmy Chagra was a bully toward her husband. As of mid-2001, the appeal remained postponed. Jamiel Chagra: 15 years and $120,000 fine. 'I have ordered the hearing continued and you can logically assume what that means,' Sessions said. It was the day after (Memorial) Day, the day Chagras trial was to start, Ray Jahn said. The first giraffe in San Antonio was part of a traveling circus that stopped here in 1901. March 4 (UPI) -- Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu made a rare visit to frontline troops in Ukraine on Saturday as Kyiv's grip on the embattled city of Bakhmut appeared to be slipping. Elizabeth Chagra was convicted of conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to obstruct justice. Charles Harrelson's son, the actor Woody Harrelson, later supported a motion for a retrial, based on both the inadequacy of the original defense and the federal government's methods of gathering evidence. Jo Ann Harrelson, whose daughter has been imprisoned more than three months for refusing to testify before a federal grand jury, walked away from the federal She also said that when she had demurred about delivering the money, thinking it was a gambling payoff, he had hissed, ''This is for the judge.'' This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. Mr. Chagra returned to El Paso in 1988 from a Federal prison in Stafford, Ariz., where he had served six and a half years of a 10-year sentence for conspiracy. Joseph Chagra, a Texas lawyer who admitted his complicity in the first assassination of a Federal judge in more than a century, died last Sunday in Thomason Hospital in El Paso. Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list. But it also spotlighted allegations that federal investigators and prosecutors treaded on constitutional rights such as attorney-client and marital privilege and the secret recording of private conversations. Reports suggest Prince Charles will live "in a flat above the shop" when he becomes king. In an unsuccessful effort to try to free his wife early from her 30-year sentence, Chagra later admitted to his role in the conspiracy to murder Wood and agreed to testify against people who had tried to kill James Kerr, a federal prosecutor who had initially obtained drug-trafficking indictments against Jimmy Chagra and battled repeatedly in court with Lee Chagra. ", Cindy Moore,Quality Services Director, GHA Autism Supports, "The Center has been such a big part of our growth and development providing us with a solid home base and a network of valuable partners.". On the morning of May 29, 1979, Judge Wood, 63, was slain in the driveway of his town house in San Antonio, struck in the back by a bullet from a high-powered rifle. Jo Ann Harrelson, whose daughter has been imprisoned more than three months for refusing to testify before a federal grand jury, walked away from the federal courthouse in San Antonio without being held in contempt. Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. But they would have had leaves on them at the time of the murder, rendering the witness testimony not credible. The investigation cost more than $11 million, at the time the most extensive investigation in the bureaus history. After Joe was killed, the bad publicity inevitably returned, so Patty took their daughter, Samantha, a seventeen-year-old high school honor student, to all the television stations in El Pasojust so they could see her face and know what they had put her through. After that, Patty told me, the flavor of the stories softened. At a subsequent trial, held in Florida because of the publicity in Texas, Jimmy Chagra was Charles Harrelson, arrives at the U.S. Courthouse in San Antonio, Texas, Tuesday morning, September 28, 1982, to begin the trial for the May 1979 murder of Federal Judge John H. Wood, Jr.( AP PHOTO/ STEVE KRAUSS). Lee considered Joe his property and took what he wanted, including Joes first serious girlfriend. On Feb. 26, 1979, he was indicted on five counts of trafficking in marijuana and cocaine. But the judge could not be corrupted. 'The hearing will continue when I hear further from the government or the witness (Mrs. James had a deal to receive $250,000 from the government if Chagra was convicted. Agents searched the El Paso homes of the Chagra family. To provide a humanitarian services campus of nonprofit organizations that offer hope, opportunity, and empowerment. Bikers and other street toughs were dragged in on hold-over charges. It's an amazing way to provide a warm handoff so that people have all of their needs served. ''I asked him if he was the one who murdered Judge Wood, and he said he was,'' Mr. Chagra testified in a San Antonio Federal Court. Bill Thompson, HP staff / Houston Chronicle, S.A.-area rancher catches the hearts of American Idol judges, Take a look inside this $3.5 million 'mystery' mansion, USAA wants some remote employees in the office three days a week, Boy, 11, shoots self in head with gun he found in apartment, 10 things to do this weekend in San Antonio, New food truck park opens at The CO-OP SA, Heres why it hailed through the Alamodome last night, Chicken Salad Chick to open second S.A. location, Judge Sarah Garrahan-Moulder, who helped prosecute hit man Charles Harrelson in San Antonio, dies at 84, Look inside historic $2.3 million King William home. The real shock, however, was yet to come: The FBI was bugging Harrelsons celland also the visitors room at Leavenworth, where Joe was routinely subjected to Jimmys abuse. I got to know Joe well in the two years I was writing my book on the Wood assassination, Dirty Dealing, and I watched the sordid story unfold through his eyes. Ive published three articles in this magazine about Wood and the Chagras, but Ive never written all I knowuntil now. 'Saving Private Ryan,' 'True Romance' actor Tom Sizemore dead at 61, Syndicated show 'Rachael Ray' wrapping 17-season run, Migrant woman dies after U.S. Coast Guard stops vessel carrying 54. Midland was in the jurisdiction of U.S. District Judge John Wood, known as Maximum John for his tough prison sentences in drug cases. https://www.encyclopedia.com/law/law-magazines/charles-harrelson-trial-1982-83, "Charles Harrelson Trial: 1982-83 Chagra was let out on bail and he disappeared. As a result, people used him. Joseph Chagra did not testify. The map led the feds to learn that the murder weapon had been purchased by Harrelsons wife, Jo Ann. Even though every partner is Adding further to their indignation, the trial was presided over by then-federal Judge William Sessions, who was a pallbearer at Woods funeral and delivered a eulogy, Campion said. Tapes of Jerry Ray James' extensive conversations with Jamiel spelled out details of the plot to kill the judge. ''I thought he should,'' Joseph Chagra said. ''O.K., honey,'' Mrs. Chagra said she replied. On the basis of the wiretaps, the FBI searched Joes home, turning up not only his private stash of drugs but also the map Harrelson had given him. I know, of course, that on the witness stand Joe testified that he counseled his brother Jimmy to order the hit, and I know he did time in federal prison. But as his lawyer, Harrelson reasoned, anything Joe discovered about Woods murder would have to be kept confidential because of attorney-client privilege. 7-year-old baseball umpire seeks Guinness World Record. You cant imagine the shock when Jimmy Chagra was acquitted.. The pair wed in 2001 and share four children, but their political differences during the Trump administration took a toll on their relationship. The prosecution produced no murder weapon or any eyewitnesses. However, after a game of pickup basketball between Woody and Fred Biery, the judge scheduled to hear the case, the judge disqualified himself and the case was continued to the year 2000, to be heard before Judge Orlando Garcia in Denver. Consequently, they got a bunch of bad stories, a bunch of bad information.. In his testimony over more than five days on the witness stand, Mr. Harrelson said he had gone to lure Jamiel Chagra into a crooked card game. Jamiel Chagra was acquitted of murder and conspiracy to murder but convicted of conspiracy to obstruct justice and conspiracy to possess marijuana; he was later convicted of tax evasion. Mr. Harrelson's wife, Jo Ann, was found guilty of conspiracy to obstruct justice, the only charge against her in this case. He was 63. At least two grand juries have investigated the slaying for more than two years, and U.S. Attorney General William Webster last March said indictments were near, but no charges have been levied in the case. . ", - Kim Ceasar, Executive Director, Soaring As Eagles, "The Harrelson Center changes the lives of people in amazing ways. Jimmy Chagra broached the matter again in early May 1979 as the brothers walked on the lawn of Jimmys Las Vegas home, Joe Chagra testified. On another visit Jimmy told Joe, Youre the one who said, Do it, do it, do it. Joe tried to conceal his shock by talking tough, saying he never thought his brother would hire an asshole like Harrelson. It was then, the Government asserted, that ''the fear began. Released in 1978, he married for a third time the next year, this time to Jo Ann Starr. According to newspaper stories citing trial testimony, a drug trafficker and flamboyant gambler originally from El Paso, Jamiel Jimmy Chagra, paid Harrelson $250,000 to kill Wood because Chagra feared a trial and sentencing by Maximum John. Wood earned the moniker for his reputation of giving tough sentences to drug traffickers.

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