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"A Killing That Won't Go Away" Jim Hill - Former Oregon Senator
| "Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are." -Benjamin Franklin |
Inmate Committed Name Last: CROUSE First: JOHNNY Middle: L Details Gender: MALE Race: WHITE Date of Birth: 06/14/1957 Current Age: 43 Sentence Information Sentence Dates Total Sentence: 10 Years 0 Months 0 Days To 15 Years 0 Months 0 Days Sentence Begin Date: 05/11/1993 Good Time Law: 816 Projected Release Date: 06/29/2000 Parole Information Parole Eligibility Date: 06/24/1998 Parole Hearing Date: Next Parole Board Review Date: 06/2001 Parole Discharge Date: Parole Discharge Type: Release Information Release Date: 06/29/2000 Reason for Release: MANDATORY DISCHARGE Offense Information Offense Term Description Run Code Minimum Maximum County of Commitment ROBBERY CC 10 Yr 0 Mo 0 Da 15 Yr 0 Mo 0 Da LANCASTER Felony - - Alias Names Last First Middle Extension CROUSE JOHN LEE Four years later Crouse fell again on a 1st Degree Felony Assault charge, earning himself another 8-12 year sentence. He is currently within a couple of years of parole, and therefore has been transferred to the prison's work release center in Omaha where he is allowed to work in the community, but is required to return immediately to the work release center at the end of his shift or face escape charges. Inmate Committed Name Last: CROUSE First: JOHNNY Middle: L Details Gender: MALE Race: WHITE Date of Birth: 06/14/1957 Current Age: 50 Facility: COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS-LINCOLN Sentence Information Sentence Dates Facility: COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS-LINCOLN Total Sentence: 8 Years 0 Months 0 Days To 12 Years 0 Months 0 Days Sentence Begin Date: 12/01/2004 Good Time Law: 364 Projected Release Date: 11/25/2009 Parole Information Parole Eligibility Date: 11/25/2007 Parole Hearing Date: Next Parole Board Review Date: 06/2008 Parole Discharge Date: Parole Discharge Type: Offense Information Offense Term Description Run Code Minimum Maximum County of Commitment ASSAULT 1ST DEGREE CC 8 Yr 0 Mo 0 Da 12 Yr 0 Mo 0 Da BUFFALO Felony The following is a mixture of a timeline and corroborating allegations about Crouse from others. It also includes statements alleged by Crouse and some of his testimony in a hearing in Gable’s trial, which was never heard by the jury. Early in the investigation background: From sources given below>>>> « Crouse, who was out on temporary leave in January (1989), was questioned by police in February (1989) about the case. An Oregon Parole Board warrant issued March 24 (1989) for Crouse's arrest said he was wanted for questioning as a suspect in the Francke case. He was returned to the penitentiary on a parole violation in April (April 2, 1989). In April 1989, Patrick Francke had spoke with and corresponded with Johnny Crouse. The above quote is primarily from the following ARTICLE: Oregonian, The (Portland, OR) September 9, 1989 Edition: Fourth Section: Local Stories Page: A01 BROTHER OF MURDERED FRANCKE INTERVIEWS INMATE (CROUSE) AT PRISON \ Author: PHIL MANZANO - of the Oregonian Staff Dateline: SALEM Article Quote: Patrick Francke says he'll share what he learned from Johnny Crouse with the Marion County district attorney. The brother of slain Oregon Corrections Director Michael Francke met Friday with an Oregon State Penitentiary inmate whom police have questioned in connection with Francke's death. Patrick Francke, who testified Thursday before a Marion County grand jury meeting on the case, said he wanted prison inmate Johnny Crouse ``to tell what he knows.'' Francke, 42, was stabbed to death Jan. 17 outside the Corrections Department headquarters. No one has been arrested in connection with the crime. Crouse, who was out on temporary leave in January, was questioned by police in February (1989) about the case. He was returned to the penitentiary on a parole violation in April (1989). An Oregon Parole Board warrant issued March 24 for Crouse's arrest said he was wanted for questioning as a suspect in the Francke case. But Crouse has not been charged, and he has denied in published reports that he was involved in the murder. Patrick Francke entered the prison with Crouse's attorney, Steven Gorham, around 8 a.m. and was allowed into the prison visiting area after passing through a metal detector. The interview took place in a high-security visiting area. A plexiglass barrier separated Crouse from Francke and Gorham, and two guards were with Francke. After the interview, which lasted about a half-hour, Francke would not disclose what the two had discussed, but he said he would share his information with the Marion County district attorney, Dale Penn. ``John Crouse wants out of there. He feels threatened, and I've only talked to him 30 minutes; I can't make an evaluation of the guy,'' Francke said. Francke said he would try to meet with Penn, but he left Salem about 9:30 a.m. to catch an 11 a.m. flight to return to his home in Lenexa, Kan. Phil Stanford, a columnist for The Oregonian, testified for about an hour Friday morning before the grand jury. Stanford has written numerous columns on the Francke murder and has criticized the investigation. ``It was all very friendly. They wanted to know about some of the columns I had written, and I told them what I could without revealing any sources,'' Stanford said. Oregon's shield law protects journalists from being compelled to disclose sources and unpublished material. The law allows sources to talk to journalists freely without fear of becoming known. Stanford said his impression after the meeting was that the grand jury's charge was to find a connection between Michael Francke's murder and allegations of prison corruption. In another development, officials said Friday that a rusted, 10-inch knife found by a Willamette University Law School student Sunday in the general area where Francke was killed was not the only weapon in possession of the murder investigators. Major Dean Renfrow of the Oregon State Police said investigators had found several knives during earlier searches of the area. Penn said more than 20 weapons had been seized during searches and interviews in the course of the investigation. Brad Leutwyler, 24, spent five hours Sunday examining the area where authorities believe a suspect was seen fleeing the night of the murder. Police in January said someone was seen running ``westbound from the parking lot of the Dome Building across 23rd Street'' and into a paved parking area next to the Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Center. Leutwyler said he found the knife behind a Headstart school near the rehabilitation center. Officials, however, say it is unknown whether the knife he found is significant in the case. ``It's a piece of evidence that needs to be examined at this point,'' Penn said. Leutwyler said he was surprised to have found the knife. ``The big question in my mind, even if it does not turn out to be the knife, is `Why didn't someone else find it before me?' '' he said. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX January 14, 1990 FRANCKE KILLING: VORTEX OF A STORM Author: JAMES LONG, PHIL MANZANO and TOM HALLMAN Jr. of the Oregonian Staff “The confusion, real or apparent, seemed to be exemplified fairly early in the case, when investigators began interviewing and giving lie-detector tests to nearly 100 parolees and people who were out on temporary leave from the Oregon State Penitentiary and fit a suspect profile that investigators had developed. One of these was inmate Johnny Crouse, whose checkered background included breaking into cars. (CROUSE) passed the routine polygraph test, but came to the attention of investigators several weeks later and was re-interviewed. He confessed tearfully that he killed Francke. Then he recanted. In any event, the confession directly contradicted the lie-detector interpretation, so investigators had another lie-detector operator look at the results. He concluded that Crouse had not passed the original test at all but had been deceptive when asked if he knew anything about the Francke case. This new opinion was backed up by an FBI polygraph expert who flew out from Washington, D.C., to review the test. After that, though, the original lie-detector operator complained to his state police superiors and the matter eventually was submitted to the state Board of Police Standards and Training. But the argument wasn't over whether Crouse was lying -- it was over whether the FBI expert had a proper license in Oregon. What started as a break in the case turned into labor-relations skirmish. “Investigators won't say now whether they consider Crouse a suspect or a witness in the case or whether he has anything to do with it at all. Later article> From: March 3, 1991CONTROVERSIAL CASE GOES TO COURT Author: PHIL MANZANO - of the Oregonian Staff “The investigators found one witness, an Oregon State Hospital custodian who was leaving the Dome Building about 7 p.m. Jan. 17. The custodian, B. Wayne Hunsaker, told police he heard a sharp yell ``like someone hurt'' and looked to see two men standing facing each other in the area near Francke's car. One man wheeled around and ran west, while the other man -- Francke, investigators think -- went back toward the Dome Building and up the porch steps. Police had a sketchy description of the man who ran and little else. But two months later, a name surfaced. Johnny Lee Crouse, an Oregon State Penitentiary inmate on parole, confessed to the murder. Then, he recanted. Although police remained interested in Crouse during the summer, his status as a suspect was slipping. Disagreement over his lie detector test required bringing in an FBI polygrapher from Washington, D.C. The FBI man tested Crouse again and found he appeared to be lying when he said he killed Francke. Five months (JUNE 1989) after the killing, Crouse told investigators where they could find some clothes that he buried after the killing. The investigators dug through the area but found nothing.” (Crouse was later on the Grand Jury witness list and he testified at trial, but outside the jury.) As time permits I will edit the following articles as I obtain them from NewsBank.com 40. Oregonian, The (Portland, OR) - April 19, 1989 ARREST IN FRANCKE CASE UNLIKELY IN NEAR FUTURE The investigation into the murder of Oregon Corrections Department Director Michael Francke is ``moving forward,'' but an arrest in the near future is unlikely, Dale Penn, Marion County district attorney, said Tuesday.Penn also refused to say whether police on the case were still questioning Johnny L. Crouse, 31, a convicted robber who is in custody on an unrelated charge. Crouse's records with the Oregon Board of Parole said he had been questioned... Purchase Complete Article, of 855 words 41. Oregonian, The (Portland, OR) - May 19, 1989 FOUR MONTHS LATER, QUESTIONS FOR JOHNNY C. It's been four months now since Michael Francke, the state's top corrections official, was murdered outside his office -- and if the investigators are any closer to solving the crime, they aren't letting on. Was it an act of random violence, perpetrated perhaps by a lone burglar caught in the act of prowling Francke's car? Or was this brutal stabbing the product of a conspiracy? After all, just four days before he was murdered, Francke... Purchase Complete Article, of 794 words 39. Oregonian, The (Portland, OR) - June 12, 1989 AT LAST -- JOHNNY C. SPEAKS OUT ``Hello,'' the operator was saying, ``you have a collect call from Johnny Crouse. Will you accept?'' Seated at his desk, 2,000 miles away in Kansas City, Pat Francke swallowed hard. ``Sure,'' he said. ``Of course. Put him on.'' ``Hello, Mr. Francke,'' said the voice on the other end of the line. It sounded like a kid from Nebraska, Francke thought -- easy going,... “ June 12, 1989 Edition: Fourth Section: Local Stories Page: B01 AT LAST -- JOHNNY C. SPEAKS OUT Author: PHIL STANFORD - of the Oregonian Staff `Hello,'' the operator was saying, ``you have a collect call from Johnny Crouse. Will you accept?'' Seated at his desk, 2,000 miles away in Kansas City, Pat Francke swallowed hard. ``Sure,'' he said. ``Of course. Put him on.'' ``Hello, Mr. Francke,'' said the voice on the other end of the line. It sounded like a kid from Nebraska, Francke thought -- easy going, a little bit of a twang -- reasonably enough, since that's where Crouse was from. ``I'm . . .'' ``I know,'' Francke broke in. ``I'm glad you called.'' It had been a week since he sent the letter. ``Dear Mr. Crouse,'' it began. ``Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Patrick Francke, Pat for short. I am Mike Francke's older brother.'' ``You have been on my mind for the past several weeks, Johnny,'' the letter continued. ``There are many things I would like to know, and you can tell me, if you will. It won't give me back my brother, but it will ease my mind and help my mom and dad come to terms with his death.'' When a reporter for The Oregonian sent Crouse a letter, asking for an answer, Crouse simply wrote back saying he wanted to be left alone. That's when Pat Francke decided to give it a try. It was a simple appeal, aimed straight at the heart: ``I need to know,'' he said, ``for my sake and for my family's sake.``Mr. Francke,'' said the voice on the other end of the line last Wednesday -- ``I will tell you this. I am not the one that did it.'' Francke and Crouse talked for another 15 minutes. He wanted to clear the whole thing up, Crouse said. He wanted out of prison. The publicity had been hard on his family. Two weeks ago his mother had suffered a heart attack. ``It's been hard on a lot of families,'' said Francke. But he didn't do it, Crouse insisted. Francke listened, politely refraining from asking Crouse about reports that he had given police investigators conflicting stories. When the murder occurred, at 7 p.m. on the night of Jan. 17, Crouse said, he was eating dinner with his girlfriend at the Salvation Army. ``I was on the street then,'' he said. ``I had a good paying job. I was doing good for Johnny Crouse.'' And then Feb. 17, a month after the murder, Crouse was called in, along with a hundred or so other former convicts who had been on leave or parole at the time of the murder, and given a lie detector test. ``I passed,'' said Crouse. But the next day, he told his parole officer he was dropping out of sight for a while. The police thought he ``knew something'' and he didn't want the pressure. In early April, Crouse was arrested on an assault charge and returned to the penitentiary. ``They questioned me for hours, days,'' he said. Among other things, investigators asked him for hair samples. They told him Michael Francke was found with hair in his hands and under his nails. ``I gave them hair samples, and the tests came back negative.'' Crouse said he has requested a meeting with Dale Penn, the Marion County district attorney, in charge of the investigation. ``Your brother was on to something big,'' Crouse said. ``That's what he got killed for.'' When Francke asked for details, Crouse declined saying he was afraid to say much more because the phone line was tapped. He would tell Penn everything when they met. ``I just wanted you to know that I'm not the one that did it,'' he said. Of course, no one would expect anyone to admit to this murder. But if Crouse didn't do it, who did? XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX From Defense investigator notes Interview with Richard Welch: xxx TNL: Richard Welch I interviewed Mr. Welch on August 7, 1990 for information about Cynthia Hathaway and Johnny Lee Crouse. xxx TNL:Richard Welch Mr. Welch asked Cynthia Hathaway, "What do you know about the case?" Cynthia Hathaway responded, "I know that knife will never be found. That knife is in the Devil's Punchbowl." Mr. Welch asked her how she knew, and she responded, "I drove him there in my blue caprice. xxx TNL:Richard Welch Cynthia Hathaway told him that Johnny Lee Crouse told her that he and Tim Natividad had committed the murder. xxx TNL:Richard Welch Richard Dallas Welch firmly believes that Timothy David Natividad was a "punk" who was jealous of Frank Gable's success as a narcotics dealer. He said Natividad had to steal to get things. xxx TNL:Richard Welch Mr. Welch relates that John Crouse and Tim Natividad ran around together. He is frightened to go back to the penitentiary because he believes that the prison guards will kill him as he has helped Frank on his case. He spoke with Steve Jackson five times today. He wants to be a witness for Frank. xxx TNL:Richard Welch He believes that "Cappie Harden is full of shit." Michael Keerins told Mr. Welch that Cappie and he were "ratting" on Frank Gable because Frank is a rat. Cappie Harden told Mr. Welch that he was "ratting" on Frank Gable because, "it was either him or me." xxx TNL:Richard Welch Cappie Harden told Mr. Welch that he was the State's "million dollar baby". Mr. Welch is certain that some kind of a deal was made between the State and Cappie Harden. Interview with Robert Keith Hersha xxx TNL: Robert Keith Hersha (aka "Doctor Bob") Interviewed April 17, 1991 after receiving permission of his attorney, James Evans. xxx TNL: Robert Keith Hersha (aka "Doctor Bob") Hersha is known as Doctor Bob in Salem. He told me the murder of Francke was planned in the Monterrey Apartments by Johnny Lee Crouse and Nancy Smith. ( grannymemo: >>Monterey Apartment manager was Floyd Bunn, Bunn was on Grand Jury list, and later turned in Crouse while he was on the lamb) Hersha was resident of the apartments at that time. Nancy Smith talked two other people into doing the murder: Timothy Marietta and Bobby Pachel. They recruited Pachel because he could get into any type of car. xxx TNL: Robert Keith Hersha (aka "Doctor Bob") On January 17, 1989 the following people departed the Monterrey Apartments to kill Francke: Crouse, Smith, Marietta and Pachel. Hersha did not know in whose car they went. Bobby Pachel opened the car door and Michael Francke saw them. Johnny Crouse stabbed Michael Francke and all of them ran off. They returned to the Monterrey Apartments. xxx TNL: Robert Keith Hersha (aka "Doctor Bob") Two days later Crouse and Smith drove to Portland to deliver the contents of what they obtained from the car. They were paid $3000 by whomever wanted the contents of the car. Apparently, Bobby Pachel had a falling out with the group and was killed. According to Robert Hersha, Pachel's body was placed into a 55 gallon drum and buried in a remote location. 36. Oregonian, The (Portland, OR) - June 26, 1989 ANOTHER DAY IN THE LIFE OF JOHNNY C. Ordinarily, prosecutors like Dale Penn don't meet with the likes of Johnny Crouse. They leave that sort of thing to the police. But then this was no ordinary situation: Johnny Crouse, the state's number one suspect in the murder of Michael Francke, had sent word that he wanted to talk. Since early April, when he was returned to the Oregon State Penitentiary for parole violations, he'd been leading the investigators on a merry chase. One day... 33. Oregonian, The (Portland, OR) - August 30, 1989 BACK IN THE NEWS WITH JOHNNY C. The rumors have been circulating since the middle of last week, but now it's news: A special grand jury is meeting in Salem to hear evidence of the Michael Francke murder case. Kevin Baird of Channel 2 nailed it first on the Monday night news. But that's not all. From the looks of things, the Marion County district attorney might be going for an indictment of Johnny Crouse. That's the only way to interpret the fact that Larry Crouse, Johnny... QUOTE: August 30, 1989 BACK IN THE NEWS WITH JOHNNY C. Author: PHIL STANFORD - of the Oregonian Staff Article Text: The rumors have been circulating since the middle of last week, but now it's news: A special grand jury is meeting in Salem to hear evidence of the Michael Francke murder case. Kevin Baird of Channel 2 nailed it first on the Monday night news. But that's not all. From the looks of things, the Marion County district attorney might be going for an indictment of Johnny Crouse. That's the only way to interpret the fact that Larry Crouse, Johnny Crouse's brother in Nebraska, has been ordered to report to Oregon to answer questions about a phone conversation he had with his brother several months ago. Johnny Crouse, of course, is a 32-year-old jailbird whose name has come up repeatedly in connection with the case. On Jan. 17, the night of the murder, he was out on temporary leave, having recently completed serving eight years of a 30-year sentence for armed robbery. In April, he was picked up for parole violation and returned to the pen. Since that time he has been at the top of the DA's personal hit parade: a warm body with a criminal past, who, on alternate days, would confess to the murder of Michael Francke. The story he told on these days was that Francke had surprised him while he was burglarizing Francke's car that night, and he stabbed him in self- defense. Of course, every other day, Crouse also would tell his questioners he was making it all up. Those who know Crouse personally felt he was just jerking the cops around. But as every good DA knows, there's no such thing as a perfect case. Mark Gesner knew Crouse, and Earl Childers, Childers connection to Crouse discussed here>> Oregonian, The (Portland, OR) November 10, 1989 Edition: Fourth Section: Local Stories Page: D01 A REGULAR DRUGSTORE COWBOY Author: PHIL STANFORD - of the Oregonian Staff After a while it's hard to keep them straight, what with their furtive eyes, pale skin and institutional clothes. Mark Gesner, for example: When last seen he was in a holding cell in Vancouver, Wash., on a federal gun charge, talking to the Oregon State Police about his old friend Frank Gable. Yes, he said, he knew Gable. No, Gable didn't tell him he killed Michael Francke, sorry. But if he did -- and Gesner looked them right in the eye when he said it -- you can be sure it wasn't over no car burglary. That wasn't Gable's style. And then, maybe because the cops were so nice, and maybe because everyone in prison is looking to work some kind of a deal, he told them about the black trench coat. It was just a long, black raincoat, he told me later. A London Fog knock-off. But the police, it seems, were extremely interested in this particular coat. They wanted to know if he'd seen Gable with it. Sure, said Gesner, he'd seen Gable wearing it several times when they were both back on the street in Salem. And if they wanted to know more they should talk to a guy named Earl Childers, back in Salem. Hmmmm, said the cops, Earl Childers. Then they wrote something in their notebooks and left. Yes, indeed, they wanted to talk to Childers. Investigators working on the Francke murder had been interested in the coat since mid-September, which is about when they started talking with Gable's wife, Janyne. Who knows what she told them, but whatever it was it couldn't have been too good for Gable. At one point, while she was still under protective custody, she told a relative she was ``going for the reward'' -- meaning the $23,000 reward fund sitting in a Salem bank, waiting to be claimed by someone with information leading to the arrest and conviction of the murderer of the former Corrections chief. Gable, of course, hasn't been charged with anything in the Francke murder. He is currently sitting in the Coquille jail, doing time on a wife-beating charge. His foster father says Gable has told him he's innocent. For all we know, this is just another wild-goose chase like the much publicized Johnny Crouse affair. Several months ago the State Police were dead certain it was Crouse, too. Some day maybe they'll find out what really happened last Jan. 17 at the Dome Building. But for now, there's no question but what they're intrigued by the long, black raincoat. According to an anonymous tip I received in September, the state police had just confiscated such a coat from a young man who had known Gable. According to the caller, Gable had sold the coat to him for $30. When the police picked up the coat they had said it belonged to Michael Francke. When I called Bingta Francke, she said Michael had two overcoats. One was khaki, made by Burberry. The other was a black London Fog. But there must be a mistake, she said, because they were both accounted for. The Burberry had been at their house in Scotts Mills. Michael was wearing the black London Fog when we was killed. She knew it because she had a picture of his body, lying on the portico of the Dome Building. I asked her to look again. Ten minutes later she called back. She must have been mistaken, she said. She had thought he was wearing a coat in the picture, but she was wrong. Which meant that, yes, the black London Fog raincoat was missing. So now the police are waiting to talk to a 41-year-old junkie named Earl Childers. At the moment, Childers is back in the pen on an escape charge, stemming from an earlier conviction for tampering with drug records. To judge from the record, that's what he does: Darvon, Dilaudid, amphetamines, a regular drugstore cowboy. His earliest recorded conviction for tampering with drug records goes back to 1971 in Reno. According to sources close to Childers, he would like very much to talk with authorities if he can work something out. And if he can work something out, here's what he'll tell them: That shortly after the murder, maybe even the day afterward, Frank Gable tried to sell him the coat. As Childers remembers it, Gable didn't say he killed Francke. What he said was something like, ``Look, I got myself involved in something, and I got these clothes out of a car.'' Something like that. Childers says he didn't buy the coat because he didn't have any money at the time. He says he'll be happy to talk to the cops if they can work something out. Whatever gets you high. 18. Oregonian, The (Portland, OR) - February 17, 1990 FRANCKE MURDER CASE FIGURE RELEASED FROM PRISON An Oregon State Penitentiary inmate questioned in connection with the murder of Oregon Corrections Director Michael Francke has been released from prison.Johnny Crouse, 32, was released from the Oregon State Penitentiary on Feb. 1 and was paroled to Bend, according to prison records. He was serving a 10-month for parole violation. Francke, 42, was stabbed to death Jan. 17, 1989, in front of the Corrections Department headquarters in Salem. No one has been arrested in connection the... 17. Oregonian, The (Portland, OR) - March 28, 1990 IT'S LADY'S NIGHT AT FELONY FLATS Linda says she might have an alibi, sort of, for Frank Gable, who is currently the No. 1 suspect in the Francke murder case.She says ``sort of'' because she didn't actually see him there at Shelli's house. But he was there -- she's pretty sure of that. And she's also absolutely certain that it was the night of the murder. How does she know that?``Remember Johnny Crouse?'' she says.... Quote: “ Linda says she might have an alibi, sort of, for Frank Gable, who is currently the No. 1 suspect in the Francke murder case. She says ``sort of'' because she didn't actually see him there at Shelli's house. But he was there -- she's pretty sure of that. And she's also absolutely certain that it was the night of the murder. How does she know that? ``Remember Johnny Crouse?'' she says. Sure, who could forget good old Johnny Crouse. For the longest while he was the No. 1 suspect in the Francke murder. The state police were all over him. ``Well,'' she says, ``I know it was the same night because that afternoon I went to my PO's office'' -- that's short for probation officer -- ``and Johnny Crouse was there, too. He and I signed our names a few lines from each other on the sign-in sheet.'' So naturally enough when Crouse got picked up a few months later, the police called her in and asked her what she knew. Nothing, said Linda, and that was the truth because she didn't. But that explains why the date is so clear in her mind now: Jan. 17, 1989, the night Michael Francke was killed. ``I went home first,'' she says. ``And I know I didn't leave my PO's until five. So it must have been 6:30 or so when I got over to Shelli's.'' That's Shelli Thomas, by the way, who made the newspapers last week when she got called before the grand jury -- ``pretty, 25 and frightened,'' as one account had it. Also known to dabble in methamphetamine business, too, although Shelli insists it isn't so.” 6. Oregonian, The (Portland, OR) - June 15, 1991 KEY WITNESS IN GABLE CASE HELD IN SALEM A witness described by Frank Gable's lawyers as crucial to their case was arrested late Thursday night while he slept in a Salem apartment.Johnny Lee Crouse, 34, of Bend was arrested at 11:20 p.m. at the Monterey Apartments, where he was apparently staying with a friend. Lt. Robert Sappingfield said police had received a tip that Crouse might be there. Floyd Bunn, the apartment manager, said he remembered seeing Crouse around the apartments as early as Tuesday.Marion... Quote: Marion County Circuit Judge Gregory West authorized an arrest warrant Thursday after Crouse failed to answer a subpoena from Gable's attorneys and defense investigators were unable to locate him. In addition to West's arrest warrant, Crouse was being held in the Marion County Jail on charges of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle in Deschutes County and for parole violation. Gable's jury trial was recessed until Tuesday because defense lawyers had been unable to find Crouse. A hearing outside the presence of the jury will be held Monday pertaining to Crouse's testimony in the Gable case. ``Johnny Crouse and his testimony is central to this case,'' Robert Abel, the defense attorney, said last week when he notified West that the defense team could not find Crouse. ``We can go no further until he is present in court.'' Crouse confessed in April 1989 to killing Francke but later recanted his story. An FBI agent concluded from lie detector tests that Crouse appeared to be lying when he said he killed Francke. From another Oregonian article: Quote: “In other matters, West authorized authorities to issue an arrest warrant for Johnny Lee Crouse, a one-time suspect in the Francke homicide. Defense attorneys said they had subpoenaed Crouse, who confessed to the Francke homicide and later recanted, but he failed to show up for the court date, and they are now unable to locate him. The trial was halted for four days until Tuesday because the defense had wanted to call Crouse to the stand. A hearing pertaining to his testimony will be held Monday without the jury present.” June 14, 1991WITNESS TELLS JURY SHE LIED ABOUT ATTACK ON FRANCKE Author: PHIL MANZANO - of the Oregonian Staff 5. Oregonian, The (Portland, OR) - June 18, 1991 JUDGE TO DECIDE IF CROUSE TESTIMONY ADMISSIBLE Defense strategy in the Frank E. Gable murder trial may have suffered a damaging blow Monday when a man who had confessed to killing Oregon Corrections Director Michael Francke testified he didn't do it. Marion County Circuit Judge Gregory West will decide Tuesday whether to allow testimony in Gable's trial from Johnny Lee Crouse, who in April 1989 confessed to killing Francke, then recanted. Gable, 31, is facing six aggravated murder counts, which each carry the... 4. Oregonian, The (Portland, OR) - June 19, 1991 JUDGE REFUSES TO LET `CONFESSED' KILLER TESTIFY A one-time suspect in the killing of Corrections Director Michael Francke confessed THREE times to the crime but most of his details didn't jibe with the case, an Oregon Justice Department investigator testified Tuesday. Johnny Lee Crouse confessed in April 1989 -- a full five months before Frank E. Gable became the state's prime suspect in the killing. Among the stories Crouse told police on different occasions were that he was hired for $300,000 to kill Francke,... Oregonian, The (Portland, OR) June 19, 1991 JUDGE REFUSES TO LET `CONFESSED' KILLER TESTIFY Author: JOHN SNELL and PHIL MANZANO - of the Oregonian Staff Edition: FOURTH Section: LOCAL STORIES Page: E08 Dateline: SALEM Index Terms: MURDEROregon Estimated printed pages: 3 Article Text: A one-time suspect in the killing of Corrections Director Michael Francke confessed three times to the crime but most of his details didn't jibe with the case, an Oregon Justice Department investigator testified Tuesday. Johnny Lee Crouse confessed in April 1989 -- a full five months before Frank E. Gable became the state's prime suspect in the killing. Among the stories Crouse told police on different occasions were that he was hired for $300,000 to kill Francke, that he stabbed Francke during an argument over his prison records and that he killed the corrections director while prowling Francke's car. But Marion County Circuit Judge Gregory West ruled Tuesday morning that jurors wouldn't hear testimony from Crouse or any evidence about his April 1989 confessions. West's ruling eliminated a witness that Robert Abel, Gable's attorney, last week said was ``crucial'' to Gable's defense. Testimony about Crouse's confessions was given Tuesday outside presence of the jury. It was done solely to create a record for appellate courts to use, in the event Gable is convicted and elects to appeal West's decision to keep Crouse off the witness stand. Randy Martinak, an assistant chief investigator for the Oregon Department of Justice, testified that he interviewed Crouse between April 4 and April 13, 1989. Crouse, 34, who now lives in Bend, is an ex-convict and was living in Salem at the time. ``During the initial interview he told me he had been paid to do it,'' Martinak said, adding that Crouse claimed he was approached by a man named ``Juan'' who offered him $300,000 to do an unspecified job for him. Crouse agreed, and later happened to bump into the man at a service station near the Corrections Department headquarters. There, Crouse said, Juan paid him $1,500 down on the $300,000, and told him to go to the Corrections Department and kill Francke. Crouse told police he stood outside Francke's office and smoked cigarettes until Francke emerged. Then he slugged and stabbed the Corrections Director and fled on foot. A day later, Martinak said, Crouse's story changed. This time he said he'd gone to the Corrections Department and confronted Francke outside, demanding that Francke turn over Crouse's state prison records. An argument turned into a slugging match during which Francke was stabbed to death. Later still, Crouse said he killed the corrections director after he was caught breaking into Francke's car. Francke grabbed Crouse, he told Martinak, and said, ``Come with me. We're going to make a phone call.'' Francke then tried to lead Crouse back to the Corrections Department so he could call the police. A struggle ensued, and Francke was killed. Crouse recanted his confessions twice to police and ultimately failed a lie detector test. Abel noted that elements of Crouse's story appeared to mesh with circumstances of the killing. Crouse's story about the direction he took when he ran from the Corrections Department, for example, roughly matched that given by a janitor at the nearby Oregon State Hospital, who witnessed a confrontation between two men that police believe was, in fact, Francke's killer. The direction the killer fled, however, was disclosed in news articles that appeared three months before Crouse began confessing. Crouse also said that he stabbed Francke in the right arm and in the chest, Martinak told Abel. Francke, in fact, had stab wounds to the left arm and chest. But Deputy District Attorney Sarah A. Moore noted that there was even more in Crouse's story that did not match up with what is known about the killing: *Crouse said he was wearing a sweatshirt and jeans on the night of the killing, which is not the clothing seen by the hospital janitor. *Crouse insisted that he stabbed Francke with a single-edged hunting knife. But state police tests found no trace of blood on the knife or underneath its handle, nor would the weapon make the same kind of wounds that were found on Francke's body. *Crouse said that during their struggle, he pushed Francke up against the corrections director's car. State police, however, have testified that Francke's car was covered with road grime, and no evidence of smudges was found anywhere on it. END OF ARTICLE Trial hearing testimony Points (actual Testimony below) 1)Crouse was a friend of Mark Gesner four or five years before meeting Gable via Gesner 2)Crouse knew Shelli Thomas and Dennis Gause 3) claimed at Gable trial that he was in Salem the night of January 17, 1989 4) admits dealing drugs over on Waller Street then left 5) then claims he heard scanner traffic in his car about activity at State Hospital night of murder 6) claims it made him drive past the scene to see what was happening 7) claims he saw cop cars across the street from hospital 8) then drove to Hyacinth house of Paul Farm and plugged in a different scanner and listened to all the scanner traffic (most he ever heard before) 9) claims he got to Farms :” I got over there at about, oh, I don't know, between 12:35 probably and 12:50 and left at-- same time I probably always left there, probably about three o'clock, 3:30, and drove home.” 10) Regarding Vicki Boyd: on January 17, 1989 “Vicki Boyd "Cricket" went to Shelli's for the second time that night and was told by Shelli that Dennis had called and Frank had spoken with him. Vicki only knows the date because this was the day she signed the probation log next to John Crouse. Info above (A) is from these investigative notes: Dennis Gause and Shellie Thomas phone records buc:dennis gause/ shelli thomas MEMO TO FILE: (#3) WORK PRODUCT CASE: State vs. Gable, Frank ATTORNEY: Bob Abel RE: DENNIS GAUSE/ SHELLI THOMAS PHONE RECORDS. ALIBI! ENCLOSURES: (1) COPY OF S.D.T. FOR U.S. WEST PHONE RECORDS (2) CERTIFIED TRUE COPY OF RECORDS. B) WITNESS INTERVIEW REPORT #(3) ATTORNEY: Bob Abel/ John Storkel CASE: State vs. Gable PERSON INTERVIEWED: Vicki Boyd 185 23rd. NE Salem. Or. 363-8856 DATE OF INTERVIEWED: 9-20-90 xxx buc:vicki boyd I contacted Vicki at our office and spoke with her. She stated that she had received a call from the DA Tom Boswick. He asked her to come to his office for an interview. She told him that she is not sure if she should do that as she is a witness for Bob Abel; "the other side" and "that would be working both sides of the fence". She stated that she knows better than that as her father was a district attorney at one time. xxx buc:vicki boyd Boswick said something about her talking to the state police and she told him that was because they had come to her door. He told her, "I think you better come on down and see me". It was at this point that she contacted Bob Abels office. xxx buc:vicki boyd She stated that the first thing that came to her attention was when she was subpoenaed to come to the Grand Jury. She was told that she might have information about Johnny Crouse because she was at the parole office the same time as him and her name was next to his on the sign in list. xxx buc:vicki boyd She said that she had no memory of these certain events happening on January 17th, 1989 until they told her. xxx buc:vicki boyd On January 17th, 1989 she went to see her parole officer at the office on center street. She didn't know the name Johnny Crouse until she was told by the cops that she was there at the same time. However when she saw some photos of Johnny Crouse she recognized him as the person she saw and talked to while at the parole office. She never knew Crouse before that day and she has not seen him since. xxx buc:vicki boyd At the Grand Jury they asked her about his actions, their conversation and what he wore. She told them that he was quiet speaking and seemed calm. He stated that he was looking for a job. She saw and talked with him for about five minutes before she went in to talk to the P.O. When she came out he was gone. xxx buc:vicki boyd Crouse was dressed casual. He looked like he might be looking for a job. She didn't remember him having a coat with him. She does remember him wearing a plaid long sleeve shirt. They made a big deal about what socks he was wearing. She didn't know why. She said that she really didn't see his socks. She seems to remember him having on low top leather shoes. Johnny Crouse testimony Q Did you, in fact, go to Salem the night of January 17, 1989? A Yes, I did. Q And did you deliver any drugs to your contacts on that date? A Yes, I did. Q Okay. And what, if anything, do you recall about that night, January 17th, 1989, when you're in Salem? A I left a friend's house /-RBGS over on Waller Street /-RBGS and as I was leaving, I had my scanner-- I have a base scanner in the car, and as I was driving I heard some-- some stuff go down over by the State Hospital grounds and I figured it was a riot so I said cool, I have never seen a riot, so I was going to drive past. And as I was driving down Center Street, there is the State Hospital on this side of the street and there is all of the cop cars on that side of the street, and that's not the same side of the street that the hospital is on, so something else is going on, so I went over to Paul's house on Hyacinth and Portland Road. Q Okay. A And finished listening to my scanner. Q Okay. So, you said after you drove by the State Hospital that night you went over to Paul's house? A Uh-huh. Paul Farm. Q And what, if anything, did you do at Paul's house? A I had a different scanner that was for sale that I took over to Paul's /-FPLT and I placed that-- I took that scanner into the apartment and plugged it in, in his living room, and we were listening to it. And that was the only night that I can recall ever hearing that much radio traffic at once. Q And then how long did you stay at Paul's house that night? A I got over there at about, oh, I don't know, between 12:35 probably and 12:50 and left at-- same time I probably always left there, probably about three o'clock, 3:30, and drove home. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX NewsBank InfoWeb NewsLibrary Estimated printed pages: 3 Oregonian, The (Portland, OR) April 17, 1989 Edition: Fourth Section: Local Stories Page: B01 Topics: Index Terms: Column `HOW DID YOU KNOW THAT?' HE ASKED Author: PHIL STANFORD - of the Oregonian Staff Article Text: We'll have to call her Jane, as in Jane Doe. That's how Kevin Francke refers to her. Kevin Francke is the younger brother of Michael Francke, the head of the state Corrections Department, who was murdered last January. runs a contracting business on the west coast of Florida. And Jane is a psychic. Do you believe in psychics? Well, Kevin wasn't too sure himself when he went to see her one Monday night earlier this month, April 3 to be exact. But at this point he was willing to try anything. The Friday before Michael Francke was killed, he had had a troubling late-night telephone conversation with Kevin. There was, he had said, ``an organized criminal element'' within the prison, and after he finished presenting his budget to the state Legislature in a couple of weeks, he was going to conduct a housecleaning. Then, on the night of Jan. 17, Michael Francke was stabbed to death as he was leaving work. Immediately after the murder, Kevin had told the investigators about his conversation with Michael. But for weeks now, the investigators had been telling the public they had no leads in the case. It made him boil every time he heard them say it. And so, after a few weeks went by and it began to look like the official investigation into his brother's death was going nowhere, Kevin started one of his own. That is why he was calling on Jane, the psychic. Some friends in law enforcement had told him about her. Jane, who also lived in Florida, had helped the police on several occasions, they said. She appeared to have special powers. Sometimes the FBI used her on cases. We'll see, thought Kevin. He knocked and Jane answered immediately. She was a short woman in her mid-fifties. She motioned him to a seat in the living room and sat across from him. At the time, Kevin says, she had been told only that someone named Michael Francke had been killed on Jan. 17, and that he was Kevin's brother. ``Now, I'm going to sit here for a few minutes and write some notes on this pad,'' she said. ``If I look a little spacy, don't be alarmed. Above all, don't interrupt me to ask questions. When I'm finished, I'll go over everything I've written and explain it to you.'' About fifteen minutes later, she looked up. ``I see a briefcase,'' she said. ``I see a hand going into the briefcase and taking out papers.'' ``There were three men,'' she said. ``Two outside and one inside.'' She described them and gave Kevin some names. ``I see two cars.'' Kevin was beginning to wonder what he had gotten himself into here. None of the accounts from witnesses mentioned cars. ``One of them was parked half a block from the big steps that go up.'' And with that she began to describe the big domed Corrections office building, which as far as Kevin knew, she had never seen. And then she described in some detail the inside of the building, and the hallway leading off to the left where Michael Francke's office was located. ``Tom could help us on this,'' she said. Kevin asked her who Tom was. Tom, she explained, was a psychic who lived in Sante Fe, New Mexico. ``That's where your brother's funeral was held,'' she said. This was true, but Kevin says she had no way of knowing it. Then Jane asked a question. ``Do you know they have someone in custody?'' ``No,'' said Kevin, ``not to my knowledge.'' ``But they do,'' said Jane. ``They just picked up someone but they're not telling you. His name his John Khhha'' -- she made the sound -- ``I think it's a K.'' This, keep in mind, was the night of April 3. A week or so later, Kevin, who was busy following up other leads, called someone in Oregon who is aware of what's happening inside the investigation. ``Do you have someone in custody by the name of John K.?'' he asked. The man was shocked. ``How did you know that?'' he said. After a few more questions, Kevin learned that the investigators were indeed talking to an ex-con by the name of John Crouse -- it was a hard C, not a K -- who'd been on temporary leave at the time of the murder. He'd been picked up on an assault charge. ``When?'' asked Kevin. ``April 2,'' said the man. ``Why?'' CROUSE CALLS PATRICK FRANCKE: NewsBank InfoWeb NewsLibrary Estimated printed pages: 3 Oregonian, The (Portland, OR) June 12, 1989 Edition: Fourth Section: Local Stories Page: B01 Topics: Index Terms: Column Oregon Murder AT LAST -- JOHNNY C. SPEAKS OUT Author: PHIL STANFORD - of the Oregonian Staff Article Text: ``Hello,'' the operator was saying, ``you have a collect call from Johnny Crouse. Will you accept?'' Seated at his desk, 2,000 miles away in Kansas City, Pat Francke swallowed hard. ``Sure,'' he said. ``Of course. Put him on.'' ``Hello, Mr. Francke,'' said the voice on the other end of the line. It sounded like a kid from Nebraska, Francke thought -- easy going, a little bit of a twang -- reasonably enough, since that's where Crouse was from. ``I'm . . .'' ``I know,'' Francke broke in. ``I'm glad you called.'' It had been a week since he sent the letter. ``Dear Mr. Crouse,'' it began. ``Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Patrick Francke, Pat for short. I am Mike Francke's older brother.'' Michael Francke, the head of Oregon's Correction department, had died last January at the age of 42 -- stabbed in the heart as he was leaving his office in Salem. Three months later, the papers reported, investigators were questioning an inmate by the name of Johnny Crouse. They hadn't charged him with anything, but according to sources close to the investigation, they were interested. Crouse, a slender, 31-year-old career convict, with dark, sad eyes, had been on temporary leave from prison at the time of the murder. ``You have been on my mind for the past several weeks, Johnny,'' the letter continued. ``There are many things I would like to know, and you can tell me, if you will. It won't give me back my brother, but it will ease my mind and help my mom and dad come to terms with his death.'' According to the same sources close to the investigation, Crouse was a bit of a puzzle, telling one story one day, another the next. One theory was that Crouse got caught breaking into Francke's car. It wasn't much to go on, but it was the best they had. And besides, if Crouse didn't do it, why didn't he just say so? When a reporter for The Oregonian sent Crouse a letter, asking for an answer, Crouse simply wrote back saying he wanted to be left alone. That's when Pat Francke decided to give it a try. It was a simple appeal, aimed straight at the heart: ``I need to know,'' he said, ``for my sake and for my family's sake. ``Mr. Francke,'' said the voice on the other end of the line last Wednesday -- ``I will tell you this. I am not the one that did it.'' Francke and Crouse talked for another 15 minutes. He wanted to clear the whole thing up, Crouse said. He wanted out of prison. The publicity had been hard on his family. Two weeks ago his mother had suffered a heart attack. ``It's been hard on a lot of families,'' said Francke. But he didn't do it, Crouse insisted. Francke listened, politely refraining from asking Crouse about reports that he had given police investigators conflicting stories. When the murder occurred, at 7 p.m. on the night of Jan. 17, Crouse said, he was eating dinner with his girlfriend at the Salvation Army. ``I was on the street then,'' he said. ``I had a good paying job. I was doing good for Johnny Crouse.'' And then Feb. 17, a month after the murder, Crouse was called in, along with a hundred or so other former convicts who had been on leave or parole at the time of the murder, and given a lie detector test. ``I passed,'' said Crouse. But the next day, he told his parole officer he was dropping out of sight for a while. The police thought he ``knew something'' and he didn't want the pressure. In early April, Crouse was arrested on an assault charge and returned to the penitentiary. ``They questioned me for hours, days,'' he said. Among other things, investigators asked him for hair samples. They told him Michael Francke was found with hair in his hands and under his nails. ``I gave them hair samples, and the tests came back negative.'' Crouse said he has requested a meeting with Dale Penn, the Marion County district attorney, in charge of the investigation. ``Your brother was on to something big,'' Crouse said. ``That's what he got killed for.'' When Francke asked for details, Crouse declined saying he was afraid to say much more because the phone line was tapped. He would tell Penn everything when they met. ``I just wanted you to know that I'm not the one that did it,'' he said. Of course, no one would expect anyone to admit to this murder. But if Crouse didn't do it, who did? More on Wednesday |
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| Johnny Crouse Confessed to Francke murder This is a temporary page consisting of information obtained through hours of research pertaining to Johnny Crouse. As time permits I will try to assemble it in an easier format to read. Numerous results were obtained simply by entering the names “Johnny Crouse” and "Larry Crouse," (Johnny's brother) through cross-referenced google searches and zaba searches. The names Johnny Crouse and Larry Crouse both occurring in five states. The search was narrowed down to West Virginia and Nebraska of the five, by assuming perhaps the two lived near each other. A search of Nebraska prisons was an instant hit, and resulted in locating Johnny Crouse. Apparently, Crouse fled Oregon to his home state of Nebraska rather quickly, and got himself crossed out on a robbery conviction a mere two years following Frank's trial with a 10-15 year sentence. He was paroled on a Mandatory Discharge 7 years later. |
| Special thanks to "Granny" for all the time and expense involved in this research |