[49] Harris, who was granted immunity, describing the machete slaying of Quita Hague, said "Larry grabbed the woman by her hair and took a machete knife and took her 20 feet from the van. The other four whom Harris claimed were part of the conspiracy had to be released. [48], In opening remarks by the prosecution, District Attorney Robert Podesta stated police have the .32 caliber pistol that was used in 5 of the 20 murders and assaults. They also requested the destruction of the Operation Zebra field interrogation cards. Both immediately recognized one of the names Harris had mentioned: Larry Green. The story focuses on the two detectives who looked to solve the crimes. Using court records, police reports, witnesses and interviews with the killers themselves, Howard was able to piece together the horrid details of the murders and the unrelenting hatred that inspired the killers. Investigators heard nothing directly incriminating, but soon learned the slang Green, Simon and Moore used to discuss their crimes: Going rolling meant driving around looking for victims to attack, while to sting meant to carry out an attack. It was in the air. F. Roger Devlin, American Renaissance, January 8, 2020. This time there were witnesses, and a description was radioed out to police. In his initial statements, Harris claimed he stayed outside the store during the robbery and murder of Saleem Erekat. Later that day, an officer visited Richard Hague. By his own admission, he was at least an accessory to the attack on the Hagues. According to Anthony Harris, he objected that such actions might kill Muslims or blacks as well as whites. After that it was anything and everything: suspicions of robbery, battery, burglary, forcible rape, possession of alcohol by a minor, failure to appear on traffic citations, receiving stolen property, possession of marijuana, violation of probation, drunk driving . Oddly, it denied there was any evidence a radical group might be responsible for the crimes. Across the Bay in Oakland where he had moved, Anthony Harris was not earning enough to support his girlfriend and their new baby. The public is urged to cooperate with police authorities and to come forward with information, with the assurance that all the law permits by way of reward of leniency will be recommended in appropriate cases in exchange for valuable information. Manuel Moore had attended California public schools as far as the 10th grade without ever learning to read or write: He could only sign his name and recognize a few words. Sep. 17, 2006. The Zebra victims never became the object of a cult, as many blacks some not even victims in any ordinary sense have become. Before leaving, the man cleaned out the safe and the cash register, netting $1,300. A black man turned the corner onto Fillmore, walking rapidly. Ten days later, Frances Rose, 28, was driving to class at the University of California Extension Campus when a black man flagged her down. (RamZPaul here's hoping you make a YouTube video on the case: no such other documentary/story on the Zebra Killings exists) on the Zebra Killings and Clark Howard's book. According to this witness, his fantasies always involved attacking people too weak to fight back. As she strolled down Divisadero St., a black stranger shoved her into the doorway of a barbershop. He died just a few feet from his home, where friends were waiting for him to arrive to celebrate his birthday. Richard thought the men might be raping Quita and tried to look up; they beat him unconscious with a wrench. The mayor claimed that more than 80 killings all over California since 1971 might all be linked to Zebra and NOI. In a hit-and-run shooting, the gunman would walk up to his victim, shoot the victim repeatedly at close range, and flee on foot. TWO-HOUR DEATH DRIVE. The mayor of San Francisco held a press conference to announce plans for a massive manhunt. At nine oclock that same evening, however, there was a grim postscript to the Zebra murders. The Cadillac headed south. Virtually all were worthless, but all had to be followed up. Harris wandered off more than once over the days and weeks that followed, eluding his guards and disappearing sometimes for days at a time before calling in and again asking for protection. This investigation must be carried on by skilled, professional, dispassionate police work, avoiding emotional appeals and hysterical speculation. A book on the murders describes him: Since before moving out west, Simon had lived a gypsylike life, dropping out of college, roaming around Texas, marrying, fathering a child, then abandoning both wife and child to come to California. Harris subsequently recanted his recantation, claiming the reason he had written the letter was that he had not yet been given an attorney to represent him. Particularly noteworthy is the 10th lesson, which speaks of the Muslims duty to murder the devil:, Muhammad learned that he could not reform the devils, so they had to be murdered. 4.5 stars "When people talk about 'Zebra,' it's usually as a serial killing. Zebra (1979) was written by crime writer Clark Howard and remains the definitive book on the murders. The "Zebra" murders were a string of racially motivated murders and related attacks committed by a group of four black serial killers in San Francisco, California, United States, from October 1973 to April 1974;[1] they killed at least 15 people and wounded eight others. There was a price to be paid by going public that soon. San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen received an anonymous phone call: You read the paper, right? The San Francisco police, under the leadership of Chief Donald Scott, have pierced the veil of a vicious ring of murders called "DEATH ANGELS." That meant the killers attacked her while she was on her back. Ward Anderson asked him for a cigarette. 10 Killers Behind Bars: The Untold Story. The man was identified as Jessie Lee Cooks and he was arrested shortly after. But there was another aspect: The owner often invited speakers to talks to employees, and frequently stirred up hatred against whites. Known as the Zebra murders or Zebra killings, four Black menJessie Lee Cooks, Larry Craig Green, Manuel Moore, and J.C.X. J. C. Simon was now in his late twenties. Like hed take me apart if he could. [103] For NOI, black cops were the lowest of the low traitors working for the white man. Art Agnos, 35, had been involved in local politics for ten years. Witnesses saw him run around the corner to the waiting Cadillac. Maybe he could keep himself out of trouble and solve his financial difficulties at the same time. Alioto does not seem to have known of Harriss statement, so he did not realize how close police were to solving the case. Harris talked about the Hagues being attacked, about Erekat, about Dancik, the five-in-one night all of it. [223]. J. C. Simon died in 2015, aged 69. The only way for Harris to know about it was to have heard it from one of the killers, or to have been there himself. On October 20, 1973, Richard Hague, 30, and his wife, Quita, 28, were abducted at gunpoint and forced into a van while walking from their Telegraph Hill home in San Francisco. Back at the station, Gilford and Sanders ran a search on Larry Green; he had no criminal record. I noted the building. [40], On May 16, 1974, the grand jury indicted all four men on murder charges. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of serviceapply. To this day, he is unidentified body #169., The Sunset District (Credit Image: Robert Ashworth via Wikimedia), There were no bullet wounds, nor anything else to connect the case with the .32-caliber-killings, but it reminded investigators of something else. [59][60], Moore and Simon were charged with two counts each of murder and assault with a deadly weapon in the murders of Tana Smith and Jane Holly. All page references in this article are to that book unless specifically identified as from Clark Howards older and better-known work, Zebra: The True Account of the 179 Days of Terror in San Francisco (1979). Film data from TMDb. However, unlike many other serial killer documentaries, this . Gil and I figured something had to come from that. Once people have been demonized, the idea of killing devils cannot be far behind. Using court records, police reports, witnesses and interviews with the killers themselves, Howard was able to piece together the horrid details of the murders and the unrelenting hatred that inspired the killers. Hed been putting on this show of cooperating, but you could see him tense up when we asked for something real. Agnos then turned around and saw a black man staring at him from only 15 feet away. He made a mocking show of politeness, ending every sentence with sir: yes, sir and no, sir and absolutely not, sir. Both detectives got a strong sense that the man was guilty of something. Her boyfriend, a black cocaine dealer, was briefly suspected, but he had a solid alibi and was clearly distraught over her death. Men not found to be suspicious were to be issued Zebra cards, IDs attesting that they had already been stopped. [56], After twelve months, 212 days in court, and testimony from 181 witnesses, jury deliberations would begin. RELATED: 10 True Crime Documentaries About Serial Killers That'll Keep You Up At Night. However, the surveillance team was picking up more talk about rolling, and no one wanted to wait until more innocents were killed. [Howard 99]. Sanders recalls: Green didnt know what to say at first. On April 27, when Klotz and Brosch went to pick up Harris after one of his escapades, he said he would not cooperate further unless he could talk to the mayor, who was in Southern California that day. The killers were content to slash at Richards face and neck a few times and leave him for dead. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Chronicles the series of racially motivated serial killings, black on white, that took place in San Francisco in 1973 and 1974. Without warning, he pulled out a gun and fired four shots, of which three struck her. Two bullets struck her from behind, leaving her paralyzed. . e track upcoming movies through all stages of film production. 26. He then tied Erekats hands behind his back with a necktie and shot him in the back of the head. When Klotz and Brosch met Harris on the Oakland Parkway, where he said he would be, he was wearing a black tuxedo, tennis shoes, and a fezlike hat and acting paranoid, going on about how dangerous the guys behind Zebra were. But policing is a line of work where race matters, and the men had an intimate knowledge of blacks in San Francisco. Upon parole, he managed to stay out of trouble for 13 months. Whoever the driver was, he seemed to know the neighborhood even better than the police did. It was thought to be a young man between the ages of 20 and 30, but it was castrated, and the head, hands, and feet were hacked off. The police were beginning to suspect a racial motive. But they didnt. it was overshadowed by the 'Zodiac . Two days later, Mayor Alioto was approached by a lawyer on behalf of Harris, who was motivated by a $30,000 reward.[34][35]. Upon release in November 1973, Moore showed up at Black Self-Help. A memo from Barca, disclosed that day, revealed directions to police that stated, "be more selective in making stops. [6], On November 25, 1973, Saleem Erakat, 53, was found dead in his store, across from the San Francisco Civic Center. Later on, he told Gilford and Sanders that he took the gun because with all the talk about Zebra, he was scared of reprisals, and since the cops were in plain clothes he didnt know whether they were really cops or just guys out to get him. [214], Protestors began to follow [Mayor] Alioto around, hounding him with placards that accused him of leading a race war. On the evening of December 20, 81-year-old Ilario Bertuccio was walking home from his job at the local 7-Up bottling plant. Based on his evidence, four men were arrested in connection with the case. Each was also charged with two counts of assault in the attack on Roxanne McMillan. His anger spent, Simon told Harris he was sure that when Harris was ready to get even with whites, he would rise to the challenge, adding that they would never force him to do something against his will. City buses filled to overflowing with people headed home, then turned eerily empty. As previously noted, Simon and Moore were known to have been in the East Bay area the previous afternoon, so it is likely they were responsible for this shooting as well. One of the investigating officers recalls: Id been in the department ten years. [47], After questioning 205 potential jurors over the course of four weeks, on March 27, 1975, the juror panel was seated; five men and seven women. PUBLISHED: July 1, 2021 at 12:00 p.m. | UPDATED: July 2, 2021 at 4:17 a.m. VACAVILLE Jessie Lee Cooks, one of four Bay Area men convicted in the notorious racially motivated serial killing . [18], A stop-and-search program was instituted on April 17, 1974, following the shooting of Nelson Shields. Make them when the individual is acting, or appears to be out of the ordinary. Tonight, were going out and getting us ten black men. It was like all the tumblers in a lock coming together again. She died just before she could celebrate her 25th wedding anniversary. The informant received immunity from prosecution for his testimony and was admitted to a witness protection program for him and his family. Thirty-four . The Zebra killers were black Muslims who wanted to start a race war. 26, and went to work for Black Self-Help Moving and Storage. Later that night, Harris called Fotinos and Coreris, saying he had talked to Green who claimed to know about his cooperation with the police and said there was a contract on his life. Harris told him his story and asked for immunity. An examination of the specific facts in the attached partial list of victims amply supports the inference, on courtroom evidence, that the similarity of pattern is better explained by concert of action than by coincidence. Erekat was not, strictly speaking, white: Sammy, the name by which his neighbors knew him, stood for Saleem, and he was a first-generation immigrant from Jordan. Indeed, the killers may have meant to provoke retaliation. Walsh, Anthony (2005). From the sound, Terry thought it was just an air gun. //