Abductions and killings of sheriff's deputies in Dallas
On February 15, 1971, Rene Guzman and Leonardo Lopez abducted five law enforcement officers in West Dallas, Texas, United States, killing three of them and injuring a fourth at a site near the Trinity River. The fifth deputy was able to escape the shooting uninjured and call for help. Guzman and Lopez were suspects in a burglary in Ellis County, Texas, and the officers were obtaining consent-to-search forms when they were abducted.
Guzman and Lopez were able to escape after the shootings, beginning a manhunt that led to their arrest in East Dallas. Guzman and Lopez were tried, found guilty, and sentenced to death. However, following issues in the court case and the death penalty being declared unconstitutional, they were given a retrial. Both were given four life sentences. Lopez was paroled in 1991, but was incarcerated again for a separate case.
Parties involved.
William Don Reese.
Deputy Sheriff William Reese was born on October 15, 1939, in Dallas, Texas, to H. G. Reese and Grace Watson. He served with the Big Spring police force before joining the Dallas County Sheriff's department in 1962. His funeral services were held at the First Baptist Church of Rockwall, and he was buried at Rockwall Cemetery. He had been steadily progressing within the ranks of his department before his death. He was survived by his parents and a brother.
Samuel Garcia Infante, Jr..
Deputy Sheriff Samuel Infante was born on September 21, 1938, in Corpus Christi, Texas, to Samuel H. Infante and Eva Garcia. He was a Navy veteran, and he had spent six years serving in the Corpus Christi police department before joining the Dallas County Sheriff's department in 1967. His funeral services were at the Southland Funeral Chapel in Grand Prairie, Texas, and he was buried at Moore Memorial Gardens in Arlington, Texas. He was described as gentle and conscientious. He was survived by his wife and son.
Arthur James Robertson.
Deputy Sheriff Arthur Robertson was born on June 12, 1911, in Texas, to James R. Robertson and Effie Jackson. He was a veteran of World War II. He worked as a superintendent of the Ellis County Penal Farm and worked in the Texas penal system for 20 years before joining the Ellis County Sheriff's Department. His funeral services were held at the First Methodist Church of Waxahachie, and he was buried in Waxahachie. He was described as jolly.
Arthur Daniel “A.D.” McCurley, Jr..
Officer A. D. McCurley was born on February 24, 1925, in Tyler, Texas. He served as a tank driver during World War II. He worked as a bus driver before entering law enforcement. In 1963 he was named Officer of the Year for his work on investigating the Kennedy Assassination: he was one of the first officers at the scene of the shooting position in the Texas School Book Depository Building. He retired as a deputy Sheriff in 1987, and in 1990 was elected mayor of Murchison, Texas, and served for two terms. He died on September 21, 2001, in Tyler. He was buried at Haven of Memories in Canton, Texas. He was described as humorous and kind. He was survived by his wife, three sons, and two grandchildren. After the shooting, McCurley stated to interviewers that he thought often of the event and why he was spared while others had died.
Wendell Dover.
Deputy Wendell Dover was born on May 29, 1921, in the Byrd community near Waxahachie, to Charlie D. Dover and Ruth Whatley. He served in the Army Air Corps during World War II. He worked as a carpenter before working at the Ellis County Sheriff’s office as a Deputy Sheriff. He later became a police detective in Ennis, then a mail carrier in Bardwell, Texas. He died on March 5, 2005, in Ennis, Texas. His funeral services were held at Keever Chapel, and he was buried at Grady Cemetery.
Rene Adolpho Guzman.
Rene Guzman was born on September 20, 1937, and was 33 years old at the time of the murders. Before the murders, he had received a four-year probated sentence for robberies by assault in Jim Hogg and Hidalgo counties in 1959. His probation was revoked in 1961, and he served time in prison until 1963. He was later found guilty of burglary in Hall and Swisher counties and was given a 10-year sentence for the burglaries. He was out of jail by November 1967, and in July 1968, he was charged with murder in a stabbing incident. The murder charges were dropped after witnesses became reluctant to testify. His brother, 35-year-old Moises Zuniga Guzman, was arrested as a suspect the day after the murders. He had no record of convictions in the office of Dallas District Attorney Henry Wade.
Leonardo Ramos Lopez.
Leonardo was 24 years old at the time of the murders. After his arrest, he told reporters that he had a heroin addiction that cost him $75 to $150 per day. He was married to his first wife at the time of the murders and trials.
Background.
The town of Bristol, Texas, was an alleged target for burglars from Dallas. The town did not have a police force, and investigations were conducted by either Ellis or Dallas County officers. On the afternoon of Monday, February 15, 1971, a home near Bristol was burglarized, and several items including a television set and stereo were taken. A resident of Bristol had copied down the license plate number of a car that was unfamiliar and reported it to the Ellis County police. Ellis County deputies A. J. Robertson and Wendell Dover went to Dallas with a felony warrant to investigate the home of the car owner. They were later joined by Dallas County officers Samuel Infante (who was a Spanish speaker), William Reese, and A.D. McCurley.
The car owner was registered as living at 2810 Ingersoll Street, Dallas, Texas. Infante, Robertson, and Dover were the first to arrive at the address. Guzman and Lopez were seated in a white Ford Fairlane in the front yard of the house. The car that had been reported in Ellis County, a red and white 1962 Ford, was backed up to the house. The two men invited the officers into the house, with Infante acting as a translator. While inside the house, Infante contacted the Dallas Sheriff's office and requested for Reese to bring a blank consent-to-search form to the house. Reese was joined by McCurley and the two made their way to the house. Guzman and Lopez told the officers that the car in question had been left at their house and that they had not participated in any burglaries. Dover stepped out of the house to check if the engine in the 1962 Ford was still warm. While he was checking the car, one of the men followed him out of the house and pressed a gun to Dover's back. The man took Dover's pistol and forced him into the house, where Dover saw Infante and Robertson being held at gunpoint and seated. After Infante had ended his call to the sheriff's office, Guzman and Lopez pulled their guns on the officers and disarmed them. Robertson told Dover to do as the gunmen said. Dover, Infante, and Robertson's hands were tied and the gunmen awaited the arrival of the officers Infante had called. Reese and McCurley arrived at the house around 15 minutes after the officers were disarmed and were told to enter by an unknown voice.
Abduction and shootings.
McCurley and Reese entered the house and saw Infante, Robertson, and Dover with their hands bound and seated on chairs. Guzman and Lopez had waited on either side of the entry door, and they had a gun in each hand. They threatened McCurley and Reese before taking their weapons and binding their hands with rope. A third man entered the house for a short time and spoke with Guzman and Lopez before leaving. Infante attempted to reason with Guzman and Lopez. He told the men that they had the officer's guns, money, and cars, and could flee to Mexico. The men refused. Dover stated that neither of the men appeared to be under the influence of drugs, and that the taller gunman seemed nervous whereas the shorter man appeared "steady as a rock". One of the men went out and backed a squad car to the back door of the house. The men then took the officers and sat them inside the county squad car. Infante was placed in the front seat, and the rest of the officers were placed in the back seat. One of the men returned to the home, and one remained at the squad car. Officer Reese spoke to the remaining man and attempted to convince him to release them, but the other man returned and the two men entered the car with the officers.
Infante's hands were untied, and he was forced at gunpoint to drive. The men were driven onto Singleton Drive going east, turned onto Hampton Road going north towards the Trinity River, west onto Canada Drive, and then north towards a dirt road parallel to the Trinity River levee. While approaching the Trinity riverbank, Reese whispered to McCurley that he had freed his hands, and that the incident had "...gone far enough. They mean to kill us." As Infante was ordered to stop the car in a small gully between the levee and the dirt road, he stated aloud: "This is it. They're going to kill us now." Guzman and Lopez had been communicating with each other in Spanish. All seven men quickly got out of the car. Reese told Guzman and Lopez that all of the officers had freed their hands, and both he and an Ellis county officer attempted to dissuade Guzman and Lopez from killing them. Reese swung at Guzman, and was shot by Guzman. Infante tackled Lopez, and was shot and killed.
Dover and Robertson fled the scene towards Westmoreland Street. Robertson saw that Guzman and Lopez had returned to the squad car and were driving towards Dover and Robertson, and he shouted to Dover that the men were going to run them down. Dover and Robertson went over the levee to the riverbank. Dover reached the edge of the river after Robertson and saw Robertson cornered by the shorter of the two men. The man's gun was jammed, and Robertson called for Dover to help him capture the man. As Dover made his way to Robertson, the other shooter came down the riverbank towards them. He was armed with two guns. Robertson yelled at Dover to run and the two fled down the river bank. Robertson was shot in the back near the river's edge. Dover ran up to the bank in an attempt to retrieve a loaded shotgun from the squad car when he was shot by a gunman from the top of the river bank. He fell unconscious. When he regained consciousness, he saw Robertson laying near him. He checked for a pulse and found that Robertson was dead. Reese was also laying nearby, and Dover found that he was also deceased. Dover made his way over the levee embankment and could not see the gunmen. He went over the embankment and went towards Westmoreland Street.
As the shooting broke out, McCurley dove backwards over the riverbank. He landed down the slope near the edge of the Trinity River. A tree at the edge of the river stopped McCurley from falling into the water, and caused him to free his bound hands. He had feared falling into the water with his hands tied. He ran east alongside the river and crawled under bushes until he reached Westmoreland Road. McCurley was able to flag down a car, and the driver took him to a gas station. McCurley used the phone at the gas station to call city police, and obtained a small pistol from the gas station attendant. A city officer picked McCurley up from the gas station, and the two returned to the scene of the shooting. Guzman and Lopez had left. Dover was found stumbling through a grassy area northeast of the shooting site. He had been shot in the chest and arm. McCurley and the officer picked him up and took him to Parkland Hospital. Other police officers and deputies made their way to the shooting site and found the bodies of