Harris Informant’s Trial Lawyer Says He Knew of No D.A. Deal

Joey Dee Abshire was a jailhouse “snitch” but was not acting as a police agent when he questioned Robert Alton Harris and testified at Harris’ 1979 murder trial, San Diego County Superior Court Judge William Mudd said Friday.

Mudd was a defense lawyer when he represented Abshire, a career criminal who has emerged as a controversial figure in Harris’ case. Abshire and Harris briefly shared a holding cell on July 26, 1978, when Abshire questioned Harris about the killing of two teen-age boys, a crime for which Harris was later convicted and sentenced to die in the gas chamber.

A few hours after talking to Harris about the murders, Abshire, 44, gave a tape-recorded account of his conversation to district attorney investigators John Boulden and Raymond Cameron. Abshire told the investigators that Harris admitted killing the boys because they were witnesses to crimes committed by him and his brother, Daniel Harris.

Abshire later testified at Harris’ murder trial, and his testimony helped prosecutors prove that the killings were premeditated, necessary since they were asking for the death penalty.

However, Abshire recanted his 1979 testimony on Tuesday in a special hearing in U.S. District Court, testifying that Boulden and Cameron enlisted him to act as a police agent to question Harris. In addition, Abshire said the investigators encouraged him to lie and coached him on how to testify.

In exchange, Boulden and Cameron promised him favorable treatment, including a promise that he would not be extradited to Louisiana, where he was wanted for escaping from a prison hospital, Abshire now claims.

Harris’ attorneys have argued that their client deserves a new trial because of prosecutorial misconduct. They said Abshire was acting as a police agent when he questioned Harris and that Harris should have been made aware of his right against self-incrimination. They also contend that Abshire’s 1979 testimony should be ruled inadmissible.

State appellate court Justice Richard Huffman, who was a chief deputy district attorney when he prosecuted Harris in 1979, testified on Thursday that Abshire was never a police agent and no deals were ever struck between him and the district attorney.

On Friday, Mudd echoed Huffman’s testimony.

“Any negotiations would have to be approved by Huffman, and I would have to deal with him,” Mudd testified.

Later, speaking with reporters outside the courtroom, Mudd said:

“There was nothing to indicate to me he (Abshire) was acting as a police agent or informant.”

Abshire walked away from a county honor camp on Aug. 4, 1978, nine days after meeting with district attorney investigators. He was captured six days later and charged with felony counts of burglary, auto theft and receiving stolen property and a misdemeanor count of escape. Mudd testified that Abshire was interested in plea bargaining with prosecutors over those charges.

However, Abshire, who had at least three and perhaps five felony convictions on his record at the time, was not in an advantageous position to bargain with Huffman, Mudd said. He testified that Huffman repeatedly told Abshire that he would not approve a deal.

Finally, Huffman agreed to charge Abshire with burglary and drop the remaining two felony counts and escape charge if he testified truthfully at Harris’ trial, Mudd said. But Huffman refused to approve Abshire’s request that he recommend a sentence in the County Jail to the sentencing judge.

Abshire was eventually sentenced to 16 months in state prison.

Mudd was followed to the stand by retired county marshal Sgt. Charles Shramek, who testified at Harris’ trial that he overheard the jail cell conversation between Abshire and Harris. Shramek said that he was shocked to learn on July 26, 1978, that Harris, who was already in custody for murder, was being transported from the downtown San Diego County Jail to South Bay Municipal Court in Chula Vista for a drunk driving hearing.

Harris was in chains and handcuffs when he arrived at the Chula Vista courthouse about 8:30 a.m., Shramek said. Because Harris was a high-security risk, he arranged for his case to be heard first and had him transported back to San Diego about 9 a.m.

While returning Harris to the holding cell about 8:45 a.m., Shramek said he saw Abshire, who was already in the cell, approach Harris and begin questioning him about the killings. After closing the cell door, Shramek said, he sat down on a nearby bench and began taking notes on the conversation between the two inmates.

A few minutes later, Shramek called investigator Cameron and arranged for the district attorney investigators to talk with Abshire later that day.