US v. Pardue

• Decision Date: 13 May 1991
• Docket Number: Cr. No. 90-50012-01,90-50012-02 and 90-50012-03.
• Citation: 765 F. Supp. 513
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff, v. David PARDUE, Jack Pardue, Michel Pardue, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Western District of Arkansas

765 F. Supp. 513

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff, v. David PARDUE, Jack Pardue, Michel Pardue, Defendants.

Cr. Nos. 90-50012-01, 90-50012-02 and 90-50012-03.

United States District Court, W.D. Arkansas, Fayetteville Division.

May 13, 1991.

J. Michael Fitzhugh, William Cromwell U.S. Atty., Fort Smith, Ark., for U.S.

Phillip Moon, Fayetteville, Ark., for David Pardue.

John Wesley Hall, Little Rock, Ark., for Jack Pardue.

Jenniffer Morris Horan, Fayetteville, Ark., for Michel Pardue.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

H. FRANKLIN WATERS, Chief Judge.

Defendants, Jack Pardue (the grandfather), David Pardue (the son), and Michel Pardue (the grandson), were indicted in a three-count indictment charging them with violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1958 and 18 U.S.C. § 371. Specifically, defendants were charged with use of the mail or other facilities of interstate commerce or causing others to use such facilities and to travel in interstate commerce or to cause others to so travel to commit murder in Arkansas. In layman's terms, this is a "murder for hire" case. The case was tried to a jury from April 1 through April 5, 1991, and, after almost five hours of deliberation, defendants were all convicted. Pending before the court are separate Rule 29 motions for judgment of acquittal filed by all defendants.

Facts

David Pardue, son of Jack Pardue, and father of Michel Pardue, was charged in state court in Benton County with robbing a Wal-Mart store in April of 1987. It appears from the evidence that David had a long history of engaging in shoplifting activities with various other individuals in Arkansas and surrounding states. In April of 1987 David and his confederate, Bob Harrington, were engaged in this activity when confronted by a woman security guard employed by Wal-Mart. A chemical known as "Mace" was sprayed on the guard and the shoplifters fled. David was later arrested and was tried in December of 1987. After being convicted by the jury of the robbery charge, he was sentenced to a five-year term of imprisonment and was sent to the Varner Unit of Cummins Prison operated by the Arkansas Department of Correction. At some subsequent time not shown by the evidence, his confederate in the robbery, Bob Harrington, came to the attention of the local prosecutor's office in Benton County. For whatever reason, the prosecutor, David Clinger, did not charge Harrington, but instead, with Harrington's help, charged David with committing perjury and causing others to commit perjury during his December, 1987, trial.

Two of David's jailmates when he was in the Benton County jail, Bobby Jones, and Joe Head, both convicted felons themselves, testified in behalf of the government in the trial in this court that during David's incarceration with them in the Benton County jail he indicated a desire to have someone kill Harrington. Head testified that David told him "if I go to jail, he (Harrington) is a dead man." Jones said that David also offered money to him to kill or have someone kill "these people." Jones also claimed that David "thought Clinger should be dead." He said that when he was released from jail, David gave him a code name of "Scanner" and a telephone number that he was to call, apparently to arrange the murder. He said that the telephone number belonged to David's son, Michel, but when he called the number several months later and used the code name, the party who answered "hung up."

Apparently soon after arriving at the Varner Unit of Cummins, David talked to a fellow inmate, David Wayne Coleman. This conversation with Coleman and the various conversations with Gary Garrett described below took place during sessions of the "Substance Abuse Training Program" (called by the inmates SATP class). It appears that this program, which, from its name, seems to have laudable purposes, was in reality an inmate run program with little supervision which most if not all of the inmates attended whether they were claimed to have substance abuse problems or not because it was an opportunity to meet with the other inmates in a largely unsupervised atmosphere. At least in respect to this case, it appears that the inmates utilized this time to discuss and plan other criminal endeavors.

In any event, according to Coleman's testimony, during one of those sessions, or immediately after the session, David asked Coleman if he knew anyone on the outside who could "scare someone." Coleman told him that he did not but that another inmate, Gary Garrett, professed to have contacts on the outside that could apparently accomplish about anything anyone might want accomplished. Coleman suggested that David might discuss the matter with Garrett.

Garrett and David attended SATP classes together and "became friends." Accordingly to Garrett's testimony, David told him about his problems and that Harrington was a "backstabber" and that he "wanted him taken care of." Garrett said that David wanted someone to kill Harrington, his wife, and small daughter and that he would pay $10,000 for the job, $5,000 to Garrett and $5,000 to the person he obtained who accomplished it.

Garrett, who might be the most reprehensible character ever to testify before this court, obviously immediately started plotting to ensnare David and members of his family for no other purpose than to benefit Garrett. He told David that he could obtain someone on the outside to kill the persons as David desired and he had the unsuspecting David write for him what was introduced as government's Exhibit # 1 which said:

I want both of them picked up. I want her left in Oklahoma somewhere. `Just over the border'. And him never found!

David also gave to Garrett a piece of notebook paper introduced as government Exhibit # 2 which contained a hand drawn map of Arkansas showing the location of Gentry where Harrington lived, and other surrounding towns, and the address of Bob Harrington which was shown as 300 S.W. Giles Street, Gentry, Arkansas. He also obtained from David a rather good photocopy of a picture of Bob Harrington and a not so good copy of a picture of Harrington's wife, introduced as government's Exhibit # 3.

Armed with that damaging evidence, Garrett immediately set out to gain an advantage for himself. In a casual conversation he asked David the name of the prosecuting attorney responsible for convicting him, and was given the name of David Clinger. On April 30, 1990, he mailed a letter to Clinger (government's Exhibit # 4) advising him, among other things, that:

I have certain information and can get you enough evidence to convict David Pardue and some family members of a certain conspiracy charge. I cannot disclose the nature of the conspiracy in this letter. But can guarantee you it is a major charge. The penalty I believe would be probably life. (emphasis in original).

He went on to say that there was "little time to stop this from happening" and that "I'm sure we can come to some kind of agreement." He then told Clinger in a postscript that he could "guarantee you'll be pleased when you hear me out."

Garrett subsequently wrote additional letters to Clinger or other officials which were date stamped by the receiver as having been received on June 4, 1990 (government's Exhibit # 5), June 6, 1990 (government's Exhibit # 6), June 15, 1990 (government's Exhibit # 8), June 22, 1990 (government's Exhibit # 9), June 29, 1990 (government's Exhibit # 10), and July 11, 1990 (government's Exhibit # 10a).

In each of the letters it appears that Garrett attempted to prod the officials to "do something." In the letter stamped June 4, he said:

I believe I was working in good faith with the people you sent to talk with me and was under the impression you would do something for me. Please let me know what's going on.

In subsequent letters he told Clinger or other officials that he had talked with David and that David intended to get someone else to do the job if he could not find someone for him and that "we do not have much time." And "he's in a big hurry to get this over with."

It appears from the evidence that most of the contacts that Garrett had with authorities were with either David Clinger, the prosecuting attorney for Benton County, or state or local police officers apparently working under the direction of Clinger. However, at some point shortly prior to July 1, the Federal Bureau of Investigation became involved in the case. A letter was written by investigating officers to Garrett, purportedly from Garrett's cousin, "Chuck", advising Garrett that:

I got the stuff you sent me about the deal in Arkansas. I can help your friend with that problem of his. But not without ½ up front. I no (sic) how these things go. You know that might be all I get. Let me hear from you soon. I need some green.

While it is not completely clear from the evidence, it appears that this letter was written some time shortly before June 20, 1990, because, in a letter from Garrett to Clinger postmarked June 20, 1990, Garrett refers to "the letter your man mailed from Eagleton Ok."

In the June 20, 1990, letter Garrett also told Clinger that he expected David Pardue to respond to the letter written by the investigating officer and that it would "be wrote in his handwriting." Significantly, Garrett also told Clinger in this letter that:

He is real protective of his son. He don't want nobody else but me to meet him.

Unless they're with me. I've talked myself blue in the face to him but to no good.

However, Garrett, who was not easily deterred from his desire to help the authorities to help himself, reported to Clinger by letter postmarked June 28, 1990, that he "might have come up with a way for your man to meet with the people you want him to meet", and urged Clinger to contact him either by phone or in person.

FBI Agent, Gary Danzer, from Kentucky, then entered on the scene, posing as hitman, Chuck Ross, Garrett's cousin. July 1 was a regular visiting day at the Varner Unit and apparently Danzer was to...