|
03/28/93
Agents warn of tighter security after infiltrations of cult compound
By Victoria Loe / The Dallas Morning News
WACO-There was news of movement in the Branch Davidian standoff Saturday-but the movement was in the wrong direction.
An unidentified person sneaked into the besieged compound Friday night, the second person to do so, said FBI spokesman Bob Ricks.
On Saturday, in a briefing that seemed to offer no hope for a resolution to the monthlong impasse, Agent Ricks conceded that it is "somewhat embarrassing' that two people apparently have penetrated the government's net. He said authorities will tighten security around the compound's perimeter.
For other potential infiltrators, he had a grim warning. Agent Ricks said that if government agents detect a person within the perimeter, and that person is armed, "we will take whatever action is necessary to neutralize them.'
Agent Ricks continued to hammer at cult leader David Koresh, who has not spoken directly to negotiators since Wednesday night. In the past, Mr. Koresh has cut all communications with federal officials from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, the cult's Sabbath.
"It does not appear that he cares about human life, except his own,' Agent Ricks said, adding that negotiators are growing increasingly worried about the health and safety of the 17 children believed to still be inside the cult home.
"David Koresh treats women and children as expendable items.'
"He looks for the lonely, the lost, the unloved, the innocent,'
Agent Ricks said. "These are the people he has brought into his fold, who will do anything that he orders them to do.'
Drug allegations
Also Saturday, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms said for the first time publicly that its agents suspected the compound may have held a methamphetamine laboratory.
The Dallas Morning News reported last week that state officials said ATF agents cited the drug allegations in seeking use of three Texas National Guard helicopters for the abortive raid Feb. 28.
A spokesman for Gov. Ann Richards said a review of federal guidelines indicated that the only way the Guard could have assisted in the ATF investigation was that evidence indicated illegal drugs were involved.
ATF spokesman David Troy said agents learned late in their nine-month investigation of the Branch Davidians that 11 people in the compound had histories of possessing or selling illegal drugs. In addition, testimony in a trial in Michigan alleged that Mr. Koresh was running a speed lab.
Aerial photos by an infrared camera revealed a "hot spot' in the compound consistent with the presence of such a lab, Agent Troy said.
Agent Troy said the ATF believed that the sect might be selling drugs to finance its arms purchases, which were the primary focus of the government investigation.
ATF agents stormed the compound, trying to serve arrest and search warrants for weapons violations. They were met with gunfire, and four ATF agents and an undetermined number of cult members died.
Two intruders
Fourteen adults and 21 children have left the group since the standoff began. On Wednesday, 24-year-old Louis Anthony Alaniz of Houston, described by his mother as a "religious fanatic,' walked past scores of armed agents, armored vehicles and tanks into the sect's headquarters.
The latest person crawled up to the compound Friday night, said a federal official who asked not to be identified. "We don't know who it is. We're not communicating with them right now,' the official said Saturday afternoon.
Mr. Alaniz apparently took a horse from a nearby farm and rode it around the federal perimeter surrounding the compound to find an entry route before running to its buildings, the official said.
Agent Ricks said Saturday that anyone successfully entering the compound may face criminal charges once the siege ends.
Meanwhile, new charges-conspiracy to kill armed agents-were filed Friday night against Kathryn Schroeder, who has been held as a material witness since leaving the compound March 12. She had expected to be freed early this week under an order from U.S. District Judge Walter Smith.
Agent Troy said investigators do not know exactly what role Ms.
Schroeder, 30, played in the firefight. A former Air Force sergeant, her military experience included training as a sharpshooter, according to testimony in a recent detention hearing.
On another issue, Agent Troy again defended the ATF against criticism from outside tactical experts that the agency botched the original raid.
He rejected a suggestion that some of the agents involved in the raid were not adequately prepared or fired improperly during the chaotic gunfight.
"That is not a correct statement,' he said. "We don't feel we had anyone who didn't know what to do.'
Debriefings after the raid indicated that some agents never fired during the 45-minute melee because they could not get clear sights of their targets. That, he said, proved that all agents had acted precisely as they had been trained.
Their conduct was "an outstanding display of courage,' he said. "We are very proud of our people. Their training showed through.'
According to a report in Newsweek magazine to be released Monday, an unnamed federal source believes there is evidence to support a theory that several agents were wounded or killed by "friendly fire.'
ATF spokeswoman Sharon Wheeler said Saturday that the report "is absolutely not true.'
And Jack Killorin, an ATF spokesman in Washington, said an ongoing Texas Rangers' investigation of how the agents died or were wounded has produced "absolutely no information that would substantiate any friendly or accidental fire injuries.'
What happened may not be fully determined until after investigators can examine the bullet-riddled compound, but "at this point in time, to make such an allegation would have to be characterized as smarmy,' he said.
Armed clash feared
Agent Ricks continued to evoke hopes that Mr. Koresh will leave his lair peacefully.
But he said, "We are extremely worried,' reiterating negotiators' fears that Mr. Koresh's refusal to cooperate will culminate in an armed conflagration between his followers and government forces.
"We believe David Koresh would consider it a subtantial achievement to get a large number of his people killed,' Agent Ricks said.
In order to secure Mr. Koresh's surrender, he said, "we are required to prove that David is not Christ-which is an impossible task. . . . When (you believe) you're God, it's very difficult to have someone come forward and prove you're not God.'
Floodlights and loud noises assailed the compound Friday night and Saturday. Also Saturday, federal agents used tanks to push cars, a bus and other debris from the compound.
Mr. Koresh's followers responded with a new banner but quickly pulled it back inside before it could be read.
Meanwhile, a Salvation Army officer charged with the custody of two Branch Davidians called them "delightful people to visit with.'
Rita Riddle, 35, and Gladys Ottman, 67, who left the compound March 21, are under house arrest at a halfway house the charitable group runs under a contract from the federal prison system.
"They're sweet ladies,' said Janet Harrison, the prerelease administrator at the facility. "They've got a couple of the other residents cornered up there now, doing their Bible studies.'
Staff writers Lee Hancock and John Yearwood contributed to this report.
|
Back to Top
