HH-8B1
JACK BEAM • 9/27 • NO TAPE
I. Short notes on subjects touched upon by others.
- RwV [Redwood Valley] shooting of Jim: shot came from the grape field, hit Jim in the lower left side below the heart. It was a creasing or glancing hit, not straight in. He thinks likely it was a small caliber pistol. There was a lot of blood around.
- SF bomb incident: He doesn’t know who found it. It was of pipe, 1’ x 1 ½” dia. Commercial fuse stuck out of a hole board in one capped end. The fuse was waxed with a gunpowder center with a barber pole red and white marking, burned partway down.
- RwV shot into church: penetrated screen and Plexiglas and apparently ricocheted. Jack heard it.
- The gun clique: Jim Cobb, D. [Danny] Phillips, Wayne Pietiela and Mike Cartmell were making ammunition in Bob Crabtree’s garage using his loading equipment with his consent. They manufactured a few boxes of ammo but found it too time-consuming and preferred to buy. When JJ found out about it he stopped it. They had begun to accumulate some military weapons, including 3 M1 Gerand rifles and two M1 carbines with wide paratroop stocks. In addition they had a variety of civilian hand guns and [illegible word] rifles, plus a sawed-off shotgun. They also had a couple of cross-bows and a great deal of ammunition. Jack doesn’t know anything about buying M-16 rifles in SF. [Marginal note: “Comments of Bob Kice also”].
- Arson of RwV Church: Jack recalls an incident (not the same one that EC [Eugene Chaikin] recalls) where Jack Arnold was on the front gate, and a guy came along in a Mustang and threw a lighted molotov cocktail at the church. It did not break. This may have been in ‘72. A sheriff’s report was made of this. (Not to be written in affidavit – Jack Arnold took a couple of shots at the car with a .357 and hit the trunk. That created some little peace.)
- Second SF fire: Cleve Davis set it by accident.
- (NEW) Arson, J.B. home: In 1974 there was an attempted arson of Jack’s house in Ukiah. Materials set up alongside the house and set on fire. This was reported to the Ukiah PD.
- Assassination, shotgun, SF: JJ told that he had pulled up to a stoplight in the church. A car pulled up alongside and it look like a member to him driving so he just smiled. He then glanced in the rear of the car and saw a man lying down with a shotgun pointed out of the window at him. He ran the sign, stepped on it and pulled out and into the parking lot. Police report? He thinks that this was in 1976.
- Assassination, JJ run down: JJ had gone out to the front of the church to get the mail and was standing on the edge of the road. A truck swerved and tried to run him down. He jumped up the bank but the truck hit him on his leg and injured it. There was a report made to the sheriff’s office. Medical treatment, medical file? Who?
- Assassination, horse throw: one of the horses threw Jim, one of his, no evidence of driving or tampering.
- Blue Horizon Assassination Attempt: This was in 1974. The church was there for three consecutive nights. The event had been well-publicized with posters and door-to-door flyers. Jack was on the advance crew and they saturated the area. With him were John Harris, Richard Janaro, Archie Ijames. The incident took place on the second night. There was what appeared to be a middle-aged black lady in the audience. One of the ushers came up to Jack (a young, black woman) and said that there was someone described as a black woman, but it was a whiter person in the audience. Jack asked how she could tell and she said that the makeup [illegible word, likely “didn’t”] cover the inside edges of the eyelids which were white. Jack
—–
HH-8B2
and Jim McElvane asked the person to step out, that they wish to speak to “her”. The person declined. They insisted and again declined. They bodily picked the person up, wearing a dress and old overcoat. Under the coat was a short-barreled automatic rifle with a wire folding butt and a large clip sufficient to hold 30 rounds or more. The person was escorted from the auditorium. It was a middle-aged white male, about 5’4” high, well muscled. (In fact they beat the shit out of the person and left him in a dump miles away) The person was carrying no ID. Later that evening the lights unaccountably went out in the auditorium for 15 minutes, whereupon the police appeared and demanded that the place be cleared because there was a regulation against operating without lights but they got fixed and the services were continued. PS. The person was wearing gloves.
- The RwV Burglary series: Jack remembers this somewhat. Says that the law office, Project Center?, Ranch, Helen’s, Mom Taylor’s in Calpella all were hit. Reports were made to the Sheriff’s office.
- Animals harmed: This got bad between 1973, 1974, 1975. There would be dead cats and birds thrown up on the church grounds, crayfish and frogs and whatever strewn and run over on the road in front of the church.
- (NEW) Harassment, drive-by: Increasingly, during the term of the church people would drive by, honk, shout all manners of obscenities, sometimes fire guns. Occasionally they would spin into and around the church lot until it was cut off by a cyclone fence and steel chain barricades were put up, and an occupied guard shed was constructed.
- (NEW) Harassment, phone: there was a period in ’74 and ’75 when the phone harassment at night was almost continuous. It consisted of obscenities directed toward answering females and threats toward answering males, both with racial overtones. All forms of harassment built steadily over the years till shooting around the church occurred almost nightly and phone ‘pranks’ a constant phenomenon. It got to the point that by the latter part of 1975 the church was surrounded by barbed wire-tipped cyclone fence, there was floodlight coverage of the entire area, both entrance gates were blocked by steel barriers, and there was a huge garden tower built near the rear of the property which overlooked the entire area. There was 24 hour security and, though they were not armed, arms were available. In fact a state of siege existed in RwV. At the same time the bulk of the congregation was now in the Bay and Los Angeles areas and the whole central emphasis or weight of the work had swung from the Valley, where it had got its start to the Bay Area. Gradually, in a planned act, the staff and the bulk of the congregation began to move down to the Bay area. By the end of 1976 the valley was little more than an appendage in the North. The last major services that were held was on the fourth of July of 1976. At the same time people were encouraged to concentrate in SF, to move there from LA so as to concentrate our strength in the Bay Area. This was to improve the power base there or, if and when things got too bad, to be a springboard to Guyana, which in due course followed. (NEEDS PIX OF ‘ARMED’ CHURCH) (THE ROAD IN FRONT) (BULLET HOLES, IF WE’VE GOT, ETC.)
- (NEW) Surveillance of SF and LA Churches: Numerous times, especially after the news attack began, people would photograph our churches, especially entrances, gates, rear and unattractive areas. This was especially true of the side and rear lots of the SF Temple and the rear lot, its radio antenna and security guards on the rear gate and a balcony high on the rear wall. When one man in SF was asked what he was doing he pulled a gun and threatened to kill JJ and the rest of us. We were circled by a new van for several days that stayed in the area at different spots and from which someone would use a camera from time to time. Often there would be people in the area parking cars for hours sitting around the church.
—–
HH-8B3
(Though the area is a notorious dope sales area, we surely could not attribute all of that activity to dope traffic. On several occasions we approached chief Gaines [Charles Gain] of the SFPD and asked him to increase controls of the area to curb “hanging out” and assorted illicit activities including spying on PT.)
- (NEW) SURVEILLANCE, VERIFIED: Jeanette Kerns sit. Jack remembers a fairly new van, it had a sort of round antenna on it, parked near the church and he and EC went over and asked the people what they were doing and they said that they had just pulled over, we looked in the back and saw a lot of electronic equipment in the van. He also recalls chasing them around the Valley and the Calpella area near the church for half of the night.
- Wires in SF Church: Jack was there when Donnie located them, it was a set of wires that ran from the adjacent building into ours through the cabinet shop area under that floor into our building. They were under the undergirding of our main floor into the building but he could not trace the whole pattern of the circuit.
—–
HH-8B4
JACK BEAM, HISTORY OF THE CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA • NO TAPE
9/27/78
I came out first, early in 1964, and toured all of northern California, Eureka, Ukiah, just looking around. At that time I had come from Brazil with just a short stop in Indianapolis for a few days. I had been sent to scout out a place for us. I only went back to Indianapolis, to get some of my things but never returned there to live. Jim and some of the rest of them stayed in Brazil for a while longer, and Archie had spent the whole time in Indianapolis. I lived in Hayward for that time and worked for General Motors. When Jim left Brazil he returned to Indianapolis for several months, then came out to California with Joe Phillips, held a meeting in Los Angeles, and the three of us went up to Ukiah, looked around and decided that this was it. This was in the summer of 1965. Jim then went back to Indianapolis and sent Marceline and the children out. She bought the property with the house where the Church was later built. Three or four months later about 100 persons (including cats and dogs) came out with Jim and settled in the valley area. It was about 10 families.
At first everyone went to work, anything, picking grapes, picking pears, whatever we could get. Work was hard and hard to get. We began by holding services in Jim’s garage. We were part of a peace march up to the courthouse steps in 1968, and there was quite a verbal confrontation. We started the Redwood Valley church in 1967 and completed it in 1968.
[Handwritten insertion by Eugene Chaikin: “He had a professional secondary previous job from Indianapolis [illegible word] he has a permanent general secondary.”]
For the longest time Jim held two teaching jobs. There was a day teaching job in the high school in Boonville, and a night civics class at Ukiah HS. He finally gave it up because the driving got to be too much. He used the classes, especially the night classes, to interest people in the work. Several of the day students, including Judy Ijames, and Danny Parks used to (Jim Cobb) travel with Jim daily to school at Boonville. The meetings in the garage were political education and self-analysis, some healing. This went on for the longest time, perhaps a year and a half till the first expansion to San Francisco. This was done by a joint meeting with Rev. Bedford at [blank space] Baptist Church, followed by an invitation for their congregation to meet in Ukiah, which they did at the fairgrounds. The congregation came up once more to the opening of the RwV Church. Jim did some healing. Shortly after a few meetings were held at Verdella Duncan’s (Jim had converted a few of Bedfords people), and another place, then at Benjamin Franklin [Junior High]. It spread like wildfire once about six families were convinced. Soon BF was full, and a schedule was established where meetings were held for alternate weekends in SF and the Valley. About this time transportation became an issue and they started buying buses. The first were got in late ’69 or ’70 and by spring 1972 the whole fleet of 11 buses was bought.
The first entrance into Los Angeles was [document ends here]
—–
HH-8B5
Statement of Sharon Cobb (Jones) • 9/25/78 • Tape 1, side 1 & 2
When I went to Santa Rosa JC [Junior College] in 1970 there were already some there: Danny Phillips, Ava, Mike Cartmell, Kathy Jackson?, Suzanne Cartmell, Terri Cobb, Wayne Pietela, Tom Podgorski. Vera Ingram (Biddulph) went down when I went down, Mickey Touchette, Anita Ijames, Debbie Blakey, were there or went down with me. Was no paramilitary when she first came down.
Jim Cobb (who was a leader at that time) called a meeting where we lived (the girls had two apartments, the boys one). This was directed by Jim Cobb and Mike Cartmell who through a series of meetings began a program of studying about Vietnam, its history, physical fitness which became extremely rigorous and all of the students were required to do it with heavy pressure to keep going. We were told that we were doing this to get physical fitness to become a paramilitary strike force or sabotage group. They would draw up plans for “attacks” and put us through a number of practice maneuvers, we went on cross-country marches at night preparing for “strikes” when we carried rope, canteens, knives, etc. Some of us, notably Jim Cobb, Terri Cobb, and Mike Cartmell practiced shooting with rifles and pistols, but it was a “select few”.
Ava Jones (Cobb) joins the discussion at this point…
Joyce Parks: Almost all of the paramilitary went on in the Valley, not at Santa Rosa, and it was led by Cobb and Pietela. Cartmell laughed about it a lot. Danny Phillips was in it too. The guns, weekend military maneuvers equipment purchases for all through the sub group in SF/RwV during the year and a half of 1972 to the last half of 1973.
When the group left they wandered around the state for a while and surfaced in Washington State. They lived together there then they split up. Jim Cobb dropped out of school then returned and finished, and Mickey stayed with him for some time in SF. J. Cobb is a licensed, practicing dentist now.
An interesting figure in this is Danny Phillips who left about 1972 go to the Army … stayed out for two years (military intelligence?) … and returned for about a year. He had been in Germany, left from Gtn/G [Georgetown, Guyana] 12/30/73, and returned to Germany.
Summary to date: Some of the “paramilitary” went on in Santa Rosa, but it was mostly just vigorous training, a base for the “higher stuff,” okayed by Mike C whose word was Gospel, believed to be the right hand of Jim. However the more military training went on in the Valley where the arms were kept, shooting practice went on, and maneuvers were mostly conducted. This stuff was mainly done by the eight who went out at the same time. Jim never knew much about this stuff, what blew up at the dorms and got stopped was the confrontations, though the military hikes also were mentioned and the whole thing was stopped. Jim Cobb and the others were mightily pissed behind this because it destroyed their powerbase in the group, and shortly after they all went to SF to school and started drifting away. All say Cobb never had any money, especially J.P. [Joyce Parks] says he used to take money out of her purse, take her car without asking, etc. S.C. [Suzanne Cartmell] and A.J. [Ava Jones] say J.P. or J.B. Jr. were the only ones with cars and money in the group.
—–
HH-8B6
JEFF CAREY • 9/25 • NO TAPE
THE “EIGHT”: The “3” left first on a Sunday night. A month or so later the “8” left. Jim Cobb was always a divisive bastard, always referred to race and to black nationalism. He had a “fascist mentality” and saw things in terms of power and force. At one time there was a military US deserter in church. His name was “John Rayfield” or “Raphael” but he went by John Williams. He wasn’t a deserter and we harbored him in ‘69 and ‘70… TOS [Tim Stoen] knew. We helped him get to Canada. (Jeff thought he was real – described him as a hard worker). They, Mike C. and Jim C. tried to get this guy and Jeff to buy guns from some people – deserters – John knew in the Bay Area. They wanted M-16 rifles. Mike was planning to rob an armory or something. They told Jack Beam, and Mike got brought up in a meeting about it. They [missing word] M1 carbines, rifles and pistols. They had been taught how to make pipe bombs. I went on hikes and military maneuvers with them. We took tactics and military training (on the side) at Santa Rosa, and tactics. Mike C. in ’70, Jim Cobb in ’71, and ‘72. On weekends, near Ukiah or above Tom Kice’s house, we did the training. It went on for two years. Occasionally they carried weapons. They trained with Bob Crabtree on how to make ammunition, especially Jim Cobb and Wayne Pietela. They learned how to make pipe bombs and booby-traps with shotgun shells. They left it the day I started working at Sambo’s with Mike T. [Touchette]. Mike and I were asleep there and I woke up with Podgorski standing over me with a knife in his hand. I understood that they thought that we were on to their plan to leave because we had gone there that night but it was just a coincidence.
… I watched while Mickey Touchette regularly stole money from Motel 6 in Santa Rosa where she worked. $10 to $40 at a time, maybe $700 over all.
… Ruth Kerns and friends in, he thinks the summer of ‘73, came to church one Wednesday night (she had left a year before and gone to Florida) out there was some kind of a van with radio equipment and another batch of her “Ukiah” friends in a car. There was a chase and a wild night. Was there a sheriff’s report filed?
… Bus Bomb incident of summer of ‘74. He thinks bomb squad came. He saw the bomb, it was a 6” pipe, large enough he said to blow the back off of the bus (he has fooled with them). It was on the ground underneath [Bus] #7 Parking lot of Benjamin Franklin Junior High School in San Francisco. He was on security on the second floor balcony facing Geary and saw no one but church people. He thinks it must have been a Church person. He saw Steve Addison come away from the bus just a little before the bomb was found. He does not recall who found it.
… He remembers a Wednesday night meeting in RwV in summer ‘72 when a shot was fired through the church. There was a hole in the screen but none on the other side of the building. It was said that Jim had captured the bullet.
… When Jim was run over by a truck he saw Jim’s leg which was bad and bleeding for some time. He thinks that Jim was standing on the side of the road and the truck hit him. Police, Sheriff or CHP report?
… Saw Dad get shot in the RwV Church lot, it came from the grape field, saw Jack Beam with the bloody shirt with the hole in it. Had been next to Jim just before but was sent away a few minutes before the shot. Did not see the shirt on Jim and him bleeding.
—–
HH-8B6
Don Jackson • 9/26 • NO TAPE
He saw the Bus bomb incident in ‘74 in the JHS [junior high] parking lot. He was on security on the balcony in the wing opposite the auditorium wing, looking down over the rear of the Auditorium wing. #7 was parked just to the rear of the auditorium wing. It was light out. He saw no one but church people. He did not say who found the bomb, but did see the bomb. It was almost 1’ long and 2” in diameter according to his description and have a partially burnt wick. He recognized it as a pipe bomb. He saw the police and the bomb squad come. PIX?
Wesley Breidenbach • 9/20 • NO TAPE
In 1974 and 1975 he lived with Tim and Grace Stoen. So did his sister Melanie. This was at the Calpella House. Tim stayed back on weekends. He never ate at home, never attended church. Grace and Tim never slept in the same room. TOS character was constant, he spent most of his time at the office and whenever W. tried to get him he could find Tim there. He wonders where Tim got his money. He gave his check to Grace. They have a checking account. (60% probably at Mendo Svgs Bank) He lived there 1 year, 9 months, and left 3 weeks after Grace split, July 4, 1976. That summer TOS was working in Mendo and SF as well. TOS once offered WB a book “Sayings of Chairman Mao” if he were good, and told him that Mike Cartmell was an incarnation of Trotsky, and he was excited about it… Grace was close with Danny Kutulas before he left, with Jack Arnold Beam before he left, with Walter Jones… She started hanging around with him shortly after Carol left (she split about the same time as the Purifoys). Grace spent a lot of $ on food. Melanie found several thousand dollars under Grace’s mattress. She was ripping her off. It had been in a Q-tip box at Calpella – a stack of $100 bills. Doesn’t know if it was $2000 or more. Grace used to give him money out of the Church petty cash box. When Grace left her clothes, the money and pix of John were gone. She talked about leaving now and then. Melanie was closer to her. Grace had a lot of physical contact with Wesley, teased him somewhat, “Do you want me?” It was a kind of intimidation. Grace never brought money on the trips or spent it like she did at home.