U.S. v. Massey, 76-2595

• Decision Date: 08 April 1977
• Docket Number: No. 76-2595,76-2595
• Citation: 550 F.2d 300
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. John Clayton MASSEY, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit

Page 300

550 F.2d 300

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. John Clayton MASSEY, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 76-2595.

United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.

April 8, 1977.

Allan P. Clark, Jacksonville, Fla. (Court-appointed), for defendant-appellant.

John L. Briggs, U.S. Atty., Robert S. Yerkes, Asst. U.S. Atty., Jacksonville, Fla., for plaintiff-appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

Before JONES, COLEMAN and TJOFLAT, Circuit Judges.

COLEMAN, Circuit Judge.

John Clayton Massey has been convicted on a one-count indictment charging a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001:

§ 1001. Statements or entries generally

Whoever, in any matter within the jurisdiction of any department or agency of the United States knowingly and willfully falsifies, conceals or covers up by any trick, scheme, or device a material fact, or makes any false, fictitious or fraudulent statements or representations, or makes or uses any false writing or document knowing the same to contain any false, fictitious or fraudulent statement or entry, shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.

The indictment charged that Massey willfully and knowingly stated to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) that he was engaged in, and had knowledge of, a conspiracy to assassinate President Ford and Senator Edward Kennedy and that these statements were false. Massey was sentenced to two years: six months in jail, the remainder suspended, and a two year probationary period imposed.

We reject the arguments that the indictment failed to charge an offense and that the evidence did not support a conviction within the meaning of the statute.

We agree, however, that a violation of Miranda standards mandates a reversal of this conviction.

I. FACTS

Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, the circumstances are as follows: At approximately 8:30 a. m. on September 24, 1975, Massey telephoned the office of the Resident Agent of the FBI at Ocala, Florida. Massey said that he desired to furnish the FBI with information concerning a conspiracy to kill President Ford and Senator Kennedy.

Testimony of FBI Agent Anderson. (Extraneous Matter Omitted.)

"As I answered the telephone, the individual speaking said his name was John Smith and that he desired to furnish the Federal Bureau of Investigation some information concerning a conspiracy to kill President Gerald Ford and Senator Ted Kennedy. He stated that there were two assassination teams consisting of four or five men each and that these teams had been undergoing training in South Carolina and Georgia and that one team was there and another team like it was on the West Coast, possibly in California.

"He indicated that he had been recruited by an unidentified male and that this person was one of the members of the group in South Carolina and Georgia, and that they were identified to him only as "A", "B", "C" and "D".

"Smith stated that he was the wheel man, or the person that would be driving the car in this particular type of a conspiracy, and his group was composed all of war veterans and that he was actually supposed to meet them on Friday in Atlanta, Georgia.

"He stated that they planned to accomplish the assassination by utilizing one of these following methods:

"Of dropping a bomb by plane over a place where President Ford or Senator Kennedy might be speaking; by throwing hand grenades; by using rockets in rocket launchers.

"And at this point, because of the type of information he was furnishing on the phone, I told him that I would like to talk to him personally to get more information about this matter.

"At that time, he said that he did not want to come to the office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation because he felt that someone would be checking on his activities.

"He suggested that we meet at a place just east of Silver Springs, Florida, on U.S. 40, and we decided that we would meet right there; it's by the Oklawaha bridge, at 9 o'clock that same day.

"I proceeded immediately, because there were no other Agents at that time available in the Ocala Resident Agency, alone to this spot on the Oklawaha bridge where I met with this individual.

"I met with an individual who was driving a white panel truck. And at that time, he still indicated his name was John Smith. And it was not until the conclusion of the time that I talked with him and after I had talked with him for some time did he actually finally identify himself as being John Clayton Massey."

(Q. Now, what did he tell you at that time?)

"He said that some time in June of 1975, he had been employed as a service station attendant at the Super Test Station in well, it's near Belleview. It's Interstate 75 and State Road 484 and he said a white male, approximately 50 years of age, described as 5 feet 7 to 5 feet 8, about 210 pounds, gray hair, wearing glasses and driving a late model white Eldorado Cadillac, drove into the service station. He had some conversation with Massey and then he asked Massey if he were interested in making a large amount of money, and Massey indicated that he was.

"So at that time, the white male told Massey to quit his job near Belleview where he was and to return to his home in Georgia and arrange a basis for a separation from his wife and to await further instructions from this individual.

"Massey told me that he followed the individual's instructions and went back to the home of his mother, who was Mary Agnes Massey. She lived at 550 Grove Street in Royston, Georgia.

"About two weeks after returning to Royston, on about July 4th of 1975, he received a telephone call from another unidentified male and that person instructed him to meet him at the Pure Town Truck Stop at Interstate 85 at Fair Play Fair Play, South Carolina, and that was to be that evening at 11:00 p. m.

"Massey stated that this individual, when he met him, referred to himself as " Bud" only. He was about 35, sandy hair, crew cut, 6 feet, 170 pounds.

"Bud and Massey then drove to a wooded area nearby where Massey met four additional white males and their ages ran from 25 to 30 years of age.

"They were only addressed by Bud in front of Massey as "A", "B", "C", and "D".

"Massey was, he said, referred to as "E".

"At that time, Bud stated and told Massey that the group was organized as a mercenary group to fight with the revolutionary elements in South America or Central America, some country like Ecuador or Guatemala.

"Well, after meeting Bud and these four individuals, Massey stated he went back to his mother's home.

"Massey then stated that during July, he received instructions by telephone, again from an unidentified male, to meet with the group for guerilla training. The group would go to isolated areas, wooded areas, where they would camp out overnight and they would remain there several days while in training.

"Massey said he was unable to pinpoint specifically the locations but he could locate them if he went there with an Agent.

"He said that these areas were located in several places south of Columbia, South Carolina. One location was south of Washington, Georgia, near Lake Clark Hill; and another area was north of Greenville, South Carolina.

"During the training, he said the group fired .303 caliber British Enfield rifles. They practiced throwing hand grenades at bull's-eye targets laid upon the ground and they used rockets in rocket launchers.

"And at one point, Massey stated, during the training while they were there, one of the unknown subjects, who was called "B" but Massey learned was named Joe, no last name, they went to a bar, not further identified by Massey, in South Carolina, where they drank heavily. And during this conversation in this bar with "B" or Joe, Joe told him that the purpose of the group that they were affiliated with was not to fight revolutionaries in South America but it was specifically organized by an unidentified individual or individuals to assassinate President Ford and Senator Kennedy, and there was a second group of four or five men that were organized in training like the group Massey was to be in that was training somewhere on the West Coast, Massey believed was California, and one of the members of the Western group supposedly was a pilot.

"Now, according to the assassination plan, attempts were going to be made to assassinate President Ford and Senator Kennedy some time between then and the party conventions in 1976.

"The plans included the possibility of bombing an area where President Ford might be speaking, or bombing the Kennedy's compound at Hiannisport, Massachusetts, or using hand-grenades or rocket launchers aimed at hitting Ford and Senator Kennedy in places where they might be speaking.

"Now, according to what Joe told Massey, the reason for this attempt to assassinate Kennedy was because of the fact that the individuals who had organized the conspiracy were afraid that Senator Kennedy might be get elected President if Ford was assassinated; and because of the fact that they did not want Senator Kennedy to be President, they included him in this assassination plot.

"Massey also stated that, at this meeting I had with him, he was also supposed to meet one of his group in the westbound lane of Interstate 20 west of Interstate 75 in Atlanta, Georgia, between 10:00 o'clock and 12:00 o'clock noon on September 26 of 1975.

"Massey was supposed to be in this white van that he drove and on the side of the road and some individual would drive by, honk his horn, and Massey would then follow this car and get further instructions after making contact with this person.

"He told me, Massey did, he had already received $5,000 from the group and they had paid it to him in two twenty-five hundred dollar installments, and he got them in $100 bills and $20 bills.

"He stated that it was his duty to report this information to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, but...