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Wednesday, October 29, 1997
Onetime hostages of Texas separatists describe ordeal
By EDUARDO MONTES / Associated Press Writer
ALPINE, Texas (AP) -- A woman taken hostage by Texas separatists pleaded
with a 911 dispatcher for help as armed militia members shot their way into
her house last spring, according to a tape of the call played in court Tuesday.
A frantic Margaret Ann Rowe is heard telling the dispatcher that Republic
of Texas members are "running around our yard with guns."
"Send somebody out here," she pleads just seconds before being
interrupted by the crackling sounds of a militia member shooting through
the door where Mrs. Rowe's husband had taken cover.
Joe Rowe was injured by glass fragments when a bullet shattered the storm
door.
"They're shooting at our house. You're hit. My husband's hit,"
Mrs. Rowe says on the tape. "They're coming in the door. They've got
my husband."
The chilling tape, which ends with Mrs. Rowe saying that she is being
forced off the phone, was a dramatic moment in the second day of the trial
for Republic leader Richard McLaren and Robert Otto, his top lieutenant.
The pair are charged with engaging in organized criminal activity for
allegedly plotting to kidnap the Rowes, who lived near Republic members
in the Davis Mountains Resort, a rural community 175 miles southeast of
El Paso.
The April 27 abduction, carried out by three of McLaren's followers,
sparked a standoff with nearly 300 state troopers and Texas Rangers. The
siege ended May 3 when the group agreed to lay down its weapons.
Earlier in the day, Joe Rowe recounted how Republic members Gregg and
Karen Paulson and Richard Keyes III shot their way into his home.
The group apparently believed from listening to police radio traffic
that Jeff Davis County Sheriff Steve Bailey had shot Robert Scheidt, identified
as their "captain of the embassy guard," Rowe said.
"I thought we were probably in a world of trouble if they thought
our sheriff had killed one of their (Republic of Texas) militia," Rowe
said under questioning from District Attorney Albert Valadez.
Bailey, who arrested Scheidt on April 27 on weapons violations, testified
Monday that he radioed about having a man on the ground, meaning he was
making an arrest.
Mrs. Rowe testified that she felt particularly threatened by Keyes, who
kept aiming his pistol at her. "Richard Keyes wanted me bad,"
she said. "He wanted to kill me."
The Rowes both testified that Gregg Paulson continually used a radio
to check in with McLaren at the group's headquarters during the 12 hours
the group was in the house.
The couple were freed early April 28 after authorities agreed to release
Scheidt, who returned to the group's so-called embassy, a trailer and cabin
deep in the wooded resort.
Unidentified officers are accompanying the Rowes to court. Valadez said
the couple "are scared for the lives" even though there have been
no recent threats against them.
McLaren attempted only a brief cross-examination, asking the Rowes whether
they were aware that they were named as defendants in a federal suit he
has filed in Washington.
The Rowes said yes.
McLaren and Otto -- who are ignoring their court-appointed attorneys
and representing themselves -- also continued to interrupt proceedings with
rambling political statements and were ejected several times.
Both have emphasized their belief that the state courts have no jurisdiction
over them because they are citizens of the Republic of Texas. They believe
Texas was illegally annexed by the United States.
They could face up to life in prison and a $10,000 fine if convicted.
The Paulsons will go on trial in December on the same conspiracy charges.
Keyes will be tried at a later date.
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