TRINIDAD, Texas
Sep 03 -- With holsters slung across their hips, three bearded men
wearing camouflage hats and torn jeans sit in folding chairs at the end
of the dirt driveway.
Homemade signs in various sizes and colors hang from the gate,
barbed-wire fence and tree trunks: "We are militia and will live
free or die!" "Disobedience to tyranny is obedience to
God!" "Notice to all public servants. No trespassing --
survivors will be prosecuted."
For six weeks, a felony assault suspect and more than a dozen of his
relatives -- including seven children -- have been holed up in a remote
part of a ranching community some 50 miles southeast of Dallas. The
adults stand guard 24 hours a day.
John Joe Gray, 51, charged with trying to take a Texas Department of
Public Safety trooper's gun and biting him after a traffic stop, says he
won't surrender.
He has a two-year supply of food and arsenal of weapons on this 50
acres beside the Trinity River. He's even built a bunker marked
"kids inside." In a handwritten note delivered by a friend,
Gray told authorities to bring body bags if they step on his land.
"We don't want to hurt anybody, but we're going to defend our
property," said his wife Alicia Gray. "Joe didn't do anything
wrong, and we just want to be left alone."
So far, authorities have done just that.
Henderson County Sheriff Howard "Slick" Alfred has taken no
action to prevent people from delivering food and supplies, nor has he
set up round-the-clock surveillance. Alfred insists there's no plan to
storm the property.
"There's never been a standoff or a siege. This isn't another
Waco," Alfred said. "Joe Gray is just something else in the
normal work day. I really think he'll get tired of all of it. He's just
kind of pinned in there."
The subject of another Waco is a sensitive one in Texas.
In 1993, David Koresh and about 80 of his Branch Davidian followers
died after a standoff at a compound near Waco, about 75 miles from
Trinidad. It began 51 days earlier when federal agents tried to serve
members with search and arrest warrants, and the ensuing gunfight killed
four agents and six Davidians.
Waco became a rallying cry for religious and militia groups, some of
whom -- fueled by Internet rumors of increased police surveillance,
federal involvement and an impending raid -- now are calling on members
to go to Trinidad by the busload.
So far, several have responded. Michael Treis heard about the Grays'
saga a few weeks ago and drove to this East Texas town from Alexandria,
La., where he leads the Yahshua Messiah Seventh-day Ministry. Treis, his
wife and teen-age son have been staying with the Grays ever since.
"It's pretty bad when a pastor has to strap on a gun and protect
a family from an attack like Waco," said Treis, adjusting his
shoulder holster. "If things start taking a turn for the worse,
there'll be more people here."
Authorities hope that doesn't happen.
Ed Miers, a former police chief in nearby Malakoff, has been
mediating. He's trying to ease the Grays' distrust of the government
while urging authorities to back off further. But false reports spread
by some radical groups could hinder negotiations, he said.
"One lie in a situation like this can be volatile," Miers
said.
Others want law enforcement to be more aggressive.
Keith Tarkington believes his ex-wife, who is the Grays' oldest
child, is keeping their two young sons on the property. Tarkington has
not seen the blond tots since April 1999, when Lisa Gray Tarkington
moved in with her parents, he said.
Their divorce was final in August 1999, according to documents filed
in Henderson County District Court. Tarkington was given full custody of
4-year-old Joe Douglas and Samuel, who will turn 3 this month.
Sheriff Alfred said removing the children was too risky even before
the so-called standoff, but now he does not want to risk bloodshed by
storming the Grays' property.
Tarkington already fears for their safety. He contends that the
family would not leave the compound even for a medical emergency. And
the house has no air conditioner since the electricity was turned off
months ago for nonpayment.
"I just want my kids back, and the police should do their job
and go in there and get them," Tarkington said.
Mrs. Gray will not say if Tarkington's children are there. But she
says she has seven grandchildren and confirms that seven youngsters are
staying on the property.
Tarkington says authorities have long feared Gray, a carpenter who
has been involved in the militia and distributed anti-government
literature for years.
Mrs. Gray explained that the family believes the government is so
corrupt that people should only recognize God's authority. The Grays
also were involved with the Republic of Texas, which fosters the idea
that Texas is an independent nation, until the group splintered after
the 1997 standoff in West Texas involving its former leader.
In December, highway patrol officers in nearby Anderson County pulled
over a speeding car in which Gray was riding and found weapons. Gray
then allegedly got into a skirmish with a trooper. Gray was indicted in
March.
Gray and his family left the property occasionally until in mid-July,
after hearing a rumor about an impending police siege.
Chip Berlet, senior analyst with Political Research Associates, a
think tank in Somerville, Mass., is an expert on militia activity. Based
on what authorities have learned from other standoffs, he said,
Henderson County officials are handling the Gray case appropriately.
"This is a dilemma for law enforcement because they know that
going in there with extreme force can end in tragedy, but on the other
hand, it sets a bad example in terms of people obeying the law," he
said. "But the issue is not whether law enforcement is insulted but
whether justice is done. Ultimately, the government has more
power."
Meanwhile, the Grays are fishing, hunting and living like others do
in the country, Mrs. Gray said. The family has generators, a spring-fed
well and cell phone and gets food deliveries from friends.
Their house and cabin, hidden by a thick grove of trees, are a few
hundred feet away from the narrow dirt road that winds between cow
pastures and cotton fields.
Jonathan Gray, one of the couple's children, says they have no plans
to leave.
"We've lived here 16 years and never had a problem with the
law," he said. "We're a peaceful people -- until we're
provoked."
Reporter: By Angela K. Brown, The Associated Press
Copyright: 2000
by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright
2000 by WFAA-TV Co., A Belo Subsidiary
Henderson
Co. Standoff in 6th Week
