Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - Audit: Police could not find AK-47, 7 submachine guns

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Saturday, June 9, 2001
Audit: Police could not find AK-47, 7 submachine guns
12 shotguns, 4 stun guns were also unaccounted for in review of training department's inventory
By Mary Moreno
Caller-Times
   A day after a grand jury no- billed a former Corpus Christi police captain in connection with the disappearance of a police-owned submachine gun, the department released information that as many as seven other submachine guns and other weapons were unaccounted for.
   The list released Friday also showed an AK-47, 12 shotguns and four stun guns weren't in the police department's training division's armory.
   Police Chief Pete Alvarez has said that some of the other weapons have been located, but on Friday he couldn't be reached to specify which ones.
   The audit of the weapons in the department's training station also found that the fully automatic Tommy gun was missing.
   The Tommy gun was later found in the home of retired police Capt. Jerry "Curly" Mathis, who has since returned it.
   The grand jury's decision means that the case against Mathis has been dismissed.
   "I can tell you that I am extremely disappointed in the grand jury's decision," said police Cmdr. Jesse Garcia, whosaid he was denied the opportunity to testify.
   Garcia said First Assistant District Attorney Mark Skurka told him Wednesday night that the grand jury wasn't going to convene Thursday because it lacked a quorum.
   Skurka said he didn't know that the grand jury would have the nine jurors needed for it to convene until Thursday morning.
   He also said Garcia's testimony wasn't necessary because he had a two-page statement made by Garcia.
   Skurka said he asked District Attorney Carlos Valdez if he should call the officers in to testify and that Valdez said not to if they were going to say the same things on their statements.
   Garcia wanted to testify because it was Garcia who in 1992 gave Mathis the police-owned fully automatic Thompson submachine to take home.
   Garcia, a captain at the time, said he gave Mathis the gun because Mathis told him it was his.
   "(Mathis) approached me and told me it was his weapon," Garcia said.
   "He said he wanted it back.
   "I checked with (Cmdr. Robert Sullivan) who checked with the Chief of Police (Henry Garrett). I was told to give him the weapon."
   Mathis said he told Garcia that the gun wasn't his.
   Garrett said he doesn't remember any conversations regarding the gun with either Sullivan or Garcia.
   "I don't remember any of that," said Garrett, who has stated that he never would have allowed Mathis to take the gun home.
   "In my opinion the gun never belonged to anyone but the police department."



Contact Mary Moreno at 886-3774 or morenom@caller.com

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