Two Friends of Dallas Arrested--Then Are Freed

In a sudden turn of events in the case of the weekend capture of escaped killer Claude Dallas, two “cowboy” friends of his were first arrested by the FBI and accused of harboring him as a fugitive and then, within 24 hours, released on the decision of the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles.

An FBI spokesman said Monday that while the bureau had concluded that Dan McCurry Martinez, 38, of Riverside and Gregory Brent Davis, 35, of Perris had given illicit assistance to Dallas, the office of Robert C. Bonner, the U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, decided there was insufficient evidence to prosecute them.

Dallas, a self-described “mountain man,” was found guilty of manslaughter in the 1981 slayings of two Idaho game wardens. Last March 30, he escaped from the Idaho State Penitentiary, where he was serving a 30-year term, and became the subject of a widespread search until Sunday afternoon, when he was seized by shotgun-wielding FBI agents while leaving a Riverside convenience store with an armful of groceries. Dallas, who had vowed not to be taken alive, had been on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted list for months.

At a news conference in Westwood on Monday morning, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles office, Richard T. Bretzing, emphasized the belief that “a number of people” who he said mistakenly admired Dallas as a ‘folk hero’ had assisted the fugitive during his months on the lam.

Bretzing specifically spoke proudly of the arrests of Martinez and Davis. He said the apprehension of Dallas “occurred as a result of a very intensive investigation which, in the latter months, focused on Mr. Martinez as a vital link that Dallas had been using. We set up a net around Mr. Martinez and Dallas walked into it.”

He said Martinez and Davis--whom he described as “quite like cowboys”--were arrested at Martinez’s residence in Riverside shortly after Dallas was seized. The FBI, he explained, believed “that (they) knowingly harbored, transported and supported Dallas in his fugitive status in violation of federal law.”

Dallas, he said, traveled to Riverside to see Martinez.

Several hours later, however, it was learned--initially from the U.S. magistrate’s office in San Bernardino and from Martinez’s landlady, Claudette Tapocik--that Martinez and Davis had been released without any charges being filed.

Calls to the FBI were turned aside for nearly an hour with the explanation that the media spokesmen in the Los Angeles office were busy.

But finally, FBI spokesman Jim Neilson declared:

“We understand the prosecution was not pursued through lack of sufficient evidence. . . . They were released because the U.S. attorney would not prosecute. . . . Maybe what we felt, he (Bonner) felt differently.”

Speaking for Bonner, Assistant U.S. Atty. Richard Romero said: “All I can say is these two people were questioned by the FBI and then released. No charges were ever filed against them. My office decided the charges would not be filed.”

Romero declined to say why.

Martinez, seen Monday afternoon wearing cowboy boots, spurs and other Western garb at his wood-framed home on the property of La Sierra Farms, a horse boarding ranch in a semi-rural area of Riverside, would say only, “I feel real bad about my friend (Dallas).”

His landlady, Tapocik, said that well before Dallas’ arrest, Martinez had spoken of the game warden slayings: “You back a man in a corner hard enough and he’ll lose his temper.”

She said Martinez, who boards nine horses at the ranch, had told her that he met Dallas when both were young riders on the rodeo circuit.

Meanwhile, Dallas, who will be 37 on Wednesday, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Lek Von Kaesborg in San Bernardino on Monday.

“This is a bad guy, according to the record, and I said no bail,” the magistrate commented later. “He can’t get out on a billion dollars.”

Another court session for Dallas, who has not waived extradition, was set for Wednesday in Riverside Municipal Court. Idaho authorities said they were preparing a formal request for Dallas’ return.

Dallas could be sentenced to another five years in prison if he is eventually convicted of escape. He also could lose up to a year of “good time” he had accumulated toward reduction of his manslaughter sentence.

Bretzing said the FBI was investigating what he termed Dallas’ extensive travels through Oregon, California, Mexico and east to South Dakota during the months that he was free, and specifically any people who had helped support him.

“He was not doing the survival thing and was not acting as a mountain man (while he was free),” he said. “To the best of our knowledge, he was receiving aid from friends.

“It would seem that Claude Dallas has become a folk hero,” Bretzing added. “That is an incorrect and unfortunate label to apply to an extremely dangerous individual. . . . In our opinion there is nothing heroic about a brutal execution-style slaying of law enforcement officers.”

In an apparent reference to books and a CBS television movie on the Dallas case, Bretzing remarked that “dramatists got ahold” of the story and glorified the fugitive’s image, inspiring many, including some extreme right-wingers, to admire and support him.

Two sheriffs in Idaho and Nevada who have been deeply involved in the Dallas case, said, however, in separate telephone interviews Monday that they believe the number of real supporters that Dallas had could easily be overstated.

Tim Nettleton, the Owyhee County, Ida., sheriff, and Jim Bagwell, the Humboldt County, Nev., sheriff, said they think that many of Dallas’ so-called friends were very uncomfortable with what he had done and were not eager that Dallas go to them for assistance.

Nettleton, not concealing his contempt for Dallas, said, “When you say ‘mountain man,’ you think of someone who lives off nuts and berries. I’ve never seen a mountain man live off his friends.”

Perhaps one or more of these “friends” might even have tipped the FBI off as to his whereabouts, Nettleton suggested, echoing speculation by Dallas’ father, Claude Dallas Sr., who on Sunday night from his home in South Carolina said that FBI informants were “as thick as fleas on a dog.”.

Bagwell said, “The media created a man that didn’t exist.”

Bretzing said that Dallas, who sported a beard and long hair and wore wire-rimmed glasses at the time of the murders, had apparently attempted to alter his appearance during his flight.

“At the time of his arrest, he was clean-shaven with very short hair and a full mustache. He was also wearing contact lenses . . .” he said. “There was some indication he may have had face-alteration surgery, although we are not sure at this time.”

Employees at the store where Dallas was captured told reporters Monday that the fugitive had frequented the market recently, including last Thursday when he bought a lottery ticket that won $100.

“He was all happy,” clerk Ernie Soto said. “He seemed to be a really nice guy.”

Another clerk, Mike Viernow, said Dallas was talkative and outgoing and pretended to be a strong law-and-order man. Dallas, a draft-dodger, also claimed that he had a lengthy Army career, but was now a part-time government employee, Viernow said.

Kenneth Reich reported from Los Angeles; Louis Sahagun reported from Riverside County. Times staff writers Ronald J. Ostrow in Washington and William Overend in Los Angeles contributed to this article.