Post by Anja Nieser on Sept 26, 2006 15:16:09 GMT -5
Escapee had been in jail before shooting: Suspect in Hawkins murder had
been arrested 'several times
Details continue to emerge about Gary Thomas Sharron, 59, the Alabama
prison escapee who is also a suspect in the slaying of a Navarro County
man 2 weeks ago.
Sharron was known for years in Henderson County as Glenn Ray Boelter, but
was in reality a convicted murderer from Alabama who was on the lam for 29
years before being captured.
Sharron has told investigators that he had some close calls in his three
decades on the lam, and was even arrested, but because the violations were
minor, his fingerprints were never run through national databanks for a
criminal history check.
"He told us he got arrested a couple of times," said Capt. Elmer Tanner
with the sheriff's office.
At least one of his violations was in Seven Points, although he wasn't
booked over there, according to Seven Points Police Chief Wayne Nutt.
"He's never been in our jail," Nutt said. "I seem to recall he got a
ticket once here, disorderly conduct."
The ticket was issued Jan. 1, 2004, after a fight at his barbecue
restaurant, Chattahoochees, in Seven Points. The restaurant has since been
sold, and the name changed to Brown's.
Sharron, along with his son, and another man, were all cited in that
incident, Nutt said. When they went to court, Sharron and his son were
found not guilty, but the other man was convicted.
"We never had a reason to check him or anything," Nutt pointed out. "If
you've been on the run for that long, you're probably not even worried
about it anymore."
Sharron evidently felt secure enough to keep evidence of his former
identity in his storage unit, where it was found by investigators
executing a search warrant, explained Navarro County Sheriff Les Cotten.
"It was an attach case with trial papers and everything in it," Cotten
said. "When the deputies ran the search warrant on the storage unit they
found these papers and contacted Alabama authorities and found out who he
was."
Alabama officials sent fingerprints from Sharron for comparison with
Boelter's prints. Local Justice of the Peace Bob McQuary, a local expert
on fingerprint matching, said it was a match.
"To make 100 % sure they sent it to the FBI in Dallas and they verified it
was the same person," Cotten said.
Sharron was convicted in 1973 of murdering a soldier in a bar near Phenix
City, near the Georgia state line, and sentenced to 25 years in prison.
After four years of incarceration, he walked away from a work-release
program and had been evading authorities ever since.
Navarro County sheriff's officers were looking at Sharron in connection
with the Labor Day slaying of Sammie Hawkins, 59, of Kerens. Sharron was
arrested Sept. 9, and remains in jail in lieu of a $750,000 bond. He is
expected to be charged with capital murder, a potential death penalty
offense.
Navarro County's claim on Sharron's freedom will override Alabama's older
claim, according to Criminal District Attorney Steve Keathley.
"He'll stay here," Keathley said. "Technically, Alabama could move to have
him brought back to serve the rest of his sentence, but I doubt seriously
that's going to happen.
"I think Alabama will be more than content to have the Texas taxpayers pay
for his care," Keathley added.
Alabama's laws on extradition require the prison system to consult with
the District Attorney in Russell County, where he was originally
convicted, then with the state Attorney General's office, and the
Governor's office before making a recommendation, explained Brian Corbett,
spokesman for the Alabama Department of Corrections.
"It's the governor's decision," Corbett said.
However, the process will probably be put on hold until Sharron is found
either guilty or innocent in Texas, Corbett said.
"Before we can get him back, he's going to have to be tried there first,"
Corbett said. "It's not likely that Texas officials are going to want to
give this inmate up considering he's facing a murder charge."
(source: Corsicana Daily Sun)
been arrested 'several times
Details continue to emerge about Gary Thomas Sharron, 59, the Alabama
prison escapee who is also a suspect in the slaying of a Navarro County
man 2 weeks ago.
Sharron was known for years in Henderson County as Glenn Ray Boelter, but
was in reality a convicted murderer from Alabama who was on the lam for 29
years before being captured.
Sharron has told investigators that he had some close calls in his three
decades on the lam, and was even arrested, but because the violations were
minor, his fingerprints were never run through national databanks for a
criminal history check.
"He told us he got arrested a couple of times," said Capt. Elmer Tanner
with the sheriff's office.
At least one of his violations was in Seven Points, although he wasn't
booked over there, according to Seven Points Police Chief Wayne Nutt.
"He's never been in our jail," Nutt said. "I seem to recall he got a
ticket once here, disorderly conduct."
The ticket was issued Jan. 1, 2004, after a fight at his barbecue
restaurant, Chattahoochees, in Seven Points. The restaurant has since been
sold, and the name changed to Brown's.
Sharron, along with his son, and another man, were all cited in that
incident, Nutt said. When they went to court, Sharron and his son were
found not guilty, but the other man was convicted.
"We never had a reason to check him or anything," Nutt pointed out. "If
you've been on the run for that long, you're probably not even worried
about it anymore."
Sharron evidently felt secure enough to keep evidence of his former
identity in his storage unit, where it was found by investigators
executing a search warrant, explained Navarro County Sheriff Les Cotten.
"It was an attach case with trial papers and everything in it," Cotten
said. "When the deputies ran the search warrant on the storage unit they
found these papers and contacted Alabama authorities and found out who he
was."
Alabama officials sent fingerprints from Sharron for comparison with
Boelter's prints. Local Justice of the Peace Bob McQuary, a local expert
on fingerprint matching, said it was a match.
"To make 100 % sure they sent it to the FBI in Dallas and they verified it
was the same person," Cotten said.
Sharron was convicted in 1973 of murdering a soldier in a bar near Phenix
City, near the Georgia state line, and sentenced to 25 years in prison.
After four years of incarceration, he walked away from a work-release
program and had been evading authorities ever since.
Navarro County sheriff's officers were looking at Sharron in connection
with the Labor Day slaying of Sammie Hawkins, 59, of Kerens. Sharron was
arrested Sept. 9, and remains in jail in lieu of a $750,000 bond. He is
expected to be charged with capital murder, a potential death penalty
offense.
Navarro County's claim on Sharron's freedom will override Alabama's older
claim, according to Criminal District Attorney Steve Keathley.
"He'll stay here," Keathley said. "Technically, Alabama could move to have
him brought back to serve the rest of his sentence, but I doubt seriously
that's going to happen.
"I think Alabama will be more than content to have the Texas taxpayers pay
for his care," Keathley added.
Alabama's laws on extradition require the prison system to consult with
the District Attorney in Russell County, where he was originally
convicted, then with the state Attorney General's office, and the
Governor's office before making a recommendation, explained Brian Corbett,
spokesman for the Alabama Department of Corrections.
"It's the governor's decision," Corbett said.
However, the process will probably be put on hold until Sharron is found
either guilty or innocent in Texas, Corbett said.
"Before we can get him back, he's going to have to be tried there first,"
Corbett said. "It's not likely that Texas officials are going to want to
give this inmate up considering he's facing a murder charge."
(source: Corsicana Daily Sun)