Q: Are you the same Mike Allen who testified yesterday?
A: Yes, sir.
q: Detective Allen, I want to direct your attention to June the 3rd, of 1993. On that date-
the first thing that Detectives do in the morning, what do you all do?
a: We have a morning meeting.
q: About what time does that start?
a: Uh, 8 o’clock
q: Eight o’clock?
a: Yes sir.
q: In general, what takes place in those meetings?
a: In the general morning meetings, uh, you’re referring to during the time we were investigating this homicide?
q: Yes
a: Every morning when we went into the morning meeting, uh, Inspector Gitchell, uh, would have, we would go over what was done the day before, uh, up to that point, then at that point we would talk about who was going to do what that day and people that we were going to talk to that day, or, or whatever needed to be done that day was discussed and assigned out that morning.
q: And on June the 3rd, did you have an assignment to locate a particular person?
a: Yes, sir, I did.
q: All right, and what was your assignment to do?
a: My assignment was to contact Jessie Misskelly, Jr.
q: Ok, and, um, at that time was the defendant a suspect?
a: No, sir.
q: All right, if he was not a suspect, why were you assigned to contact him?
a: He was, it as explained in the morning meeting, he was a friend with uh, friends with Damien Echols and Jason Baldwin.
q: And did you locate the defendant?
a: Yes, sir.
q: And what did you do to locate him?
a: That morning I left the police department and went to the area of Highland trailer park where I understood Jessie Misskelly Sr. and Jr. lived. Went to the, first went to the residence of Jessie Misskelly Sr. Knocked on the door, a lady came to the door, uh, Lee Rush, talked with her, and she, uh, told her I was looking to, needed to talk to Jessie Misskelly Jr. She told me that he wasn’t there, that I could go down to Jim’s Diesel shop which is located there in highland Trailer Park and talk to Jessie Misskelley Sr and he would know where Jessie Misskelley Jr was, so I went to Jim’s Diesel shop and contacted Jessie Misskelley Sr. and inquired to the whereabouts of Jessie Misskelley Jr.
q: All right, let me stop you just a minute. What time did you leave the police department?
a: According to the radio log that morning it was 9:13.
q: All right, you left the police department and you went where?
a: I went to Highland Trailer Park.
q: And where is that in relationship to West Memphis?
a: This is in between Marion and West Memphis just off I-55, north of West Memphis.
q: I want to direct your attention to state’s exhibit 2 and ask if Highland Park is located on that map?
a: This is West Memphis here, this is the interstate, this is Interstate 40, this is Interstate 55. Interstate 55 north here from West Memphis. This, uh, it’s north of this railroad here, so this is Highland Park subdivision, and that trailer park, what we call, here.
q: All right, would you highlight where it says Highland Park? All right, thank you, you can retake the stand. (pause)Now you went to, where you understood the Defendant lived, and you talked to who now?
a: A female, later ID’d as Lee Rush.
q: And after speaking to her you went to Jim’s Diesel.
a: Yes sir.
q: And then at Jim’s Diesel, who did you talk to?
a: Jessie Misskelley, Sr.
q: All right, after you talked to Mr. Misskelley Sr., what happened?
a: He in turn, went to get Jessie Misskelley, Jr.
q: All right.
a: He left in his, a vehicle, it was a pickup truck.
q: And then what happened after he left?
a: He came back with Jessie Jr.
q: Ok, and when he returned, uh, what did you say to the defendant?
a: I asked him if he could come to the WMPD to talk to me about 2 individuals that lived out in Lakeshore.
q: All right, the best you can remember, if you can, be as specific as you can, and as precise about exactly what you said to him.
a: I asked him if he would, if he could uh, I said uh, would you mind coming up to the police department to talk to me about some friends of yours out at Lakeshore?
q: Ok, and then what happened?
a: He said “Sure” and then I said, Jessie Misskelley, Sr. was there and I said “do you want to drive him down there or he can ride with me and I can bring him back?”
q: All right and what happened?
a: He, uh, I assumed his father was working, and told him to ride with me.
q: Ok, you told him, or what? Who told him?
a: I don’t uh, it was uh, I told him I would give him a ride and he indicated to me that he would ride with me.
q: Ok, and uh, when he rode with you, where did he ride in the car?
a: I have a, my car is an unmarked Ford LTD, it doesn’t have a cage or anything in it, and he rode in the front seat with me.
q: All right, was he handcuffed or anything like that?
a: No sir.
q: About what time did you get back to the police department?
a: Um, it was around the 10 o’clock that morning.
q: And after getting back to the police department, uh, what did you do?
a: Uh, went to the detective division, which is up-, located upstairs of the police department, and uh, started talking to Mr. Misskelley.
q: Before you started talking to him, what did you do?
a: Well, I filled out a subject description form, but I was talking to him during the time period.
q: What kind of info do you get on a subject description form?
a: Um, just basic information, your name, sex, race, date of birth, um, education, um, mother & father’s names, relatives names, home telephone number. We have a standard form at the police department to, that we fill out.
q: Your Honor, could I have just a minute? I seem to have misplaced that form.
The Court: Yes, sir. (pause) Was it previously offered?
Q: I think a copy was offered in a previous matter. It was on that same day.
A: That’s it there.
Court: Just remark it.
Q: Mark it twice?
The Court: Yeah.
q: Is that gonna mess you up Barbara?
(unintelligible)
The Court: If you wanna leave the original number on it, it’d be all right.
Barbara: I’ll have to
The Court: Mark it twice, mark it on the back with that sticker. 308, is that what the next number is?
q: Your Honor, this is gonna be 104. I want to show you what I’ve marked for identification purposes with the gray state’s exhibit sticker. State’s exhibit 104 and ask if you can identify that?
a: This is a uh, subject description form that was filled out by me at the WMPD on June the 3rd of 1993.
q: And what time did you fill that out?
a: This was uh, 10am.
q: All right, and did you also make some...
a: Yeah, there is also some, uh, some information that I filled out on the back.
q: Now, is the entire form in your handwriting?
a: No sir, the uh, scars, marks, tattoos was filled out by Det. Bryn Ridge.
q: Your honor, at this time we would offer at this time for identification State’s exhibit 104.
The Court: All right, it may be received for identification purposes.
q: Now after completing the SD form, um, did you talk to the Defendant?
a: Yes, sir I did.
q: And, uh, who else was present?
a: Det. Ridge.
q: And after talking to the Defendant for a while, did you decide you needed to advise him of his rights?
a: Yes, sir
q: All right, and why was that?
a: Uh, I felt that, that everything that he was telling me, wasn’t, wasn’t the truth.
q: I want to show you what I’ve marked for ID purposes State’s exhibit 74 and ask if you can identify that?
a: This is a standard Right’s sheet the WMPD that I typed up on that day that was advised to Jessie Lloyd Misskelly Jr. and witnessed by myself and Det. Bryn Ridge, signed by Jessie Misskelley, Jr.
q: All right, now did you use any force, promises, threats or coercion to get him to sign the form?
a: No sir.
q: How did you go about advising him of his rights?
a: Verbally, I advised him of each one of these rights, read this form to him, and when we got down to the part where i advised him “you have the right to remain silent, do you understand that right? ” and he stated that he did. I read the next one, anything-
q: Let me stop you, did he have any problem understanding that?
a: No sir.
q: And when he said that he understood it, did he signify his understanding in some way?
a: Yes.
q: How did he do that?
a: Either by acknowledging, either shaking his head Yes, or saying “yes”.
q: Well, did he signify it on the form somehow?
a: Yes, by his initials on each, each one of these rights, that he understood them.
q: Did you use any force, promises or threats or coercion to get him to place his initials
on the form?
a: No sir.
q: Did you follow the same procedure in advising him of each of his rights?
a: Yes sir.
q: And then did you ask him to sign the form?
a: Yes sir.
q: Did you see him sign the form?
a: Yes sir.
q: Did you use any force, promises, threats or coercion to get him to sign the form?
a: No sir.
q: Your Honor, we would offer State’s Exhibit 74.
Stidham: No objection.
The Court: Alright, it may be received.
Fogleman: May I exhibit to the jury?
The Court: You may exhibit to the jury.
q: Now after you, um, oh wait, does the form show what time you advised him of his rights?
a: Yes, sir.
q: And after you advised him of his rights , um, did you and the Defendant go somewhere else?
a: We, yes, sir, we did.
q: All right, and uh, where did you go?
a: We went to get a permission form signed by his father.
Stidham: Your Honor, may counsel approach the bench?
(partly inaudible)
DS: ...thought he was going to hold on to that.
COURT: Well he’s not I hope.
DS: ...do they want the jury to think they got permission from his father, is he out of his
mind?...
The Court: Where are you going with it John?
JF: There had to be some kind of explanation for why he went to see the father.
The Court: I’ll allow it to that extent, but then go on. Ok.
q: About what time did you go to find the defendant’s father?
a: It was approximately 11 o’clock or right afterwards.
q: And, what happened?
a: We went and got into my unit, and
q: And where was he sitting this time?
a: In front of the police department.
q: No, where was he sitting in the car?
a: Oh, I’m sorry. He was sitting in the passenger side.
q: Was he handcuffed?
a: No sir.
q: All right, and then what did you do?
a: We went up Missouri street toward where, which is in the direction toward Highland Trailer Park.
q: Why don’t you take this marker and show with the marker, the general area of the police department and where Missouri street is?
a: This, you see this U shaped driveway here, this is the WMPD here, assume this little mark here is the police department, U , I parked my vehicle in front here, we got in the vehicle, went down Broadway to Missouri St. Up Missouri St. to, we got to...I don’t see Shop Around here, anyways, it’s uh, we got around the McDonalds on Missouri St. where at that time we saw Jessie Misskelley, Sr. in a , I can’t remember if it was a wrecker or some kind of work truck from Jim’s Diesel, coming south on Missouri St. and Jessie said “there’s my Dad” and we flagged him like, uh-
q: You said “we flagged him” what did Jessie Jr. do?
a: Well, I, he said, there’s my dad, and anyways, we, he pointed like he was gonna pull over.
q: Who pointed?
a: Jessie Misskelley Sr.,
q: OK
a: And we turned around, I believe at the Exxon service station, turned around and followed him back down Missouri St. to Cheebottle (?) park which is located on Missouri St.
q: All right, and when you got to uh, the auto parts place, did you have a brief conversation with the Defendants’ father?
a: Yes sir I did
q: And did the defendant stay in the car, get out of the car, what did he do?
a: We got out of the car, where me and his father were talking.
q: All right, now after this conversation, what did you all do?
a: Then we got back in my car and went back to the police department, myself and Jessie Misskelley Jr.
q: And after returning to the police department, did, um, what further involvement did you have with the defendant?
a: None at that time.
q: I don’t have any further questions at this time.
CROSS EXAMINATION BY STIDHAM
DS: Det. Allen, you said that on the morning of June 3rd, 1993 you had a Detective’s meeting about 8 o’clock?
a: yes sir, that’s correct.
DS: And who all was present during that meeting?
a: Um, I’m not sure how many detectives were present at the meeting. Myself , Insp. Gitchell, Bryn Ridge, Bill Durham was there, um, there was uh, probably Det. Hester, uh, I’m not sure that morning whether the 13 or 14 , uh I don't know how many of those 13 or 14 of the detectives we had working on this case were in that morning meeting. It was a room full.
DS: Det. Ridge was there, Det. Gitchell were there though.
a: Yes, sir.
DS: Ok. You told the prosecutor your assignment that morning was to contact Jessie Misskelly Jr?
a: Yes sir.
DS: Can you tell the jury why you were asked to go make contact with him?
a: His name had came up as being a person that was friends or, knew or friends with Damien Echols, and...
DS: And you’re telling the court and the jury that he wasn’t a suspect on the morning of June the 3rd?
a: That’s correct.
DS: Ok. Now you’ve stated that uh, uh, you took Mr. Misskelly, Jr. down to the station house and filled out the basic questionnaire on subject, uh description?
a: Yes sir.
DS: What was the name of the form again?
a: It’s a subject description form.
DS: And then um, I assume you asked him certain things, is that correct?
a: Yes sir.
DS: Do you remember what you asked him?
A: Are you talking about during the subject description form being filled out?
DS: Oh, no, after that.
a: Uh, we talked about Damien Echols at that time.
DS: OK
A: And what he knew about Damien Echols or his friendship with him.
DS: Did he tell you that he was friends with Damien or did he tell you that he knew Damien?
a: He said he knew Damien.
DS: Ok. And what else did he tell you about Damien?
a: Um, he told me that he knew that it, that it, he had been around Damien and Jason - one point, he said that Jason had got into a fight and Damien had taken his finger and wiped blood off of his nose and then licked the blood, uh, things like, things of that nature, uh, I’ve highlighted in some notes that I made, that I don’t have in front of me , some of the things that we talked about.
DS: May I have just a second your Honor, I’m retrieving those notes?
(pause)
Officer Allen, did you ask Mr. Misskelly whether or not he knew anything about the murders?
a: I asked him if he had heard anything about the murders, um, I asked him questions, my questioning of him was based on what he knew about Damien Echols and what he could, if he saw Damien Echols the day of the murder, you know things of that nature. If he, if he knew anything about Damien Echols.
DS: And what was his response?
A: Um, he told me some things about Damien Echols, um, um, he didn’t know anything about the murders. What he told me at that time.
DS: Did you also ask him where he was on May the 5th, the day of the murders?
A: We talked about, we were talking about-this was- now you’ve got to understand this is a month later , on which, almost a month later after the murders, and I asked him in reference to , if he remembered that Wednesday, I believe it was, that the little boys come up missing because he had talked about something that he had told someone about seeing one of the boys on a bicycle and we were trying to get to that date and, and during that time period he said “well I worked with Ricky Dees,” I think he said Tues. Wed and Thurs. or something he said 3 days that week until 5 o’clock each evening.
DS: So he told you he was working on May the 5th.
A: Yes sir.
DS: Ok, Now you stated earlier in your testimony Off. Allen that for some reason you didn’t believe him when he was telling you these things. is that correct?
A: From the information that I had at that time , from other officers, some of the things he was saying, uh, did not agree with what they had said, and, and I didn’t know at that point who was telling the truth.
DS: Ok. Did you make any attempt on June he 3rd, 1993 to call Mr. Dees and see if in fact he was working that day?
a: No sir.
DS: Ok. Are you aware of the fact that Mr. Misskelly has a mental handicap?
A: No sir, I was not.
DS: Do you have any specialized training in dealing with people who are mentally handicapped?
A: I have dealt with mentally handicapped people before, but I did not know that he was mentally handicapped at that time, or if he is mentally handicapped. I have no knowledge of that.
DS: So this information that you’re suggesting that you didn’t believe, you had cause to not believe Mr. Misskelly was something about this cult stuff, right?
A: Repeat that question again?
DS: You said you had reason to believe Mr. Misskelly wasn’t being truthful with you, and my question is, is that the information about the cult? That you were aware of?
A: That was some information, yes sir.
DS: So the police department had received information that Mr. Misskelly had been to a cult meeting or something to that effect?
A: Yes, sir.
DS: So, did the WMPD believe at this time that this was a cult related killing?
a: At this point, we were investigating this murder and we had no knowledge at that point of what we, exactly what we had. We, that had been one aspect of the investigation.
DS: Ok, well, tell the jury what information you had that made you want to go pick up Jessie Misskelly that morning.
A: Insp. Gitchell of the WMPD assigned me to go pick him up because of some information that he was associated or friends with Damien Echols. We picked up, everyone else had assignments to go pick up different people in regards to other individuals and he was the person I was assigned to pick up.
DS: At a previous hearing, Off. Allen, you testified that Damien Echols was a subject from the beginning in this case. That’s correct, isn’t it?
A: To the best of my knowledge, I don’t know exactly from the very beginning what point or what day afterwards, but I know he was a suspect, one of the suspects during this time period.
DS: On June the 3rd, Off. Allen, did you ever talk to Jessie or Jessie Sr. about the 30 thousand dollar reward that was being offered?
A: Um, before when we had this conversation, I do not remember, I rem- if it was asked of me how much the reward was, I would have probably said something , but uh, that, it does not ring a bell with me as far as whether or not that conversation was brought up about a reward with Jessie Misskelley, Sr.
DS: It could have happened but you just don’t recall?
A: If someone, during that time period, if someone would have asked me I would have told them, if I, whatever the reward was , I would have told them yea there’s a reward available.
DS: You also testified at an earlier hearing that you couldn’t remember exactly all the questions you asked Mr. Misskelly that morning, is that true?
a: That’s true.
DS: So your notes don’t reflect everything that was asked?
A: Generally, what the questions the highlight or whatever of the conversation , my notes reflect the basic things that I wrote down while I was talking to them.
DS: How many people would you estimate Off. Allen that the WMPD rounded up and asked about their association or any contact they had with Damien Echols?
Q: Are you talking about before or after the arrest?
DS: I’m talking about before.
A: I have no knowledge on numbers. I know we, during this course of this investigation we talked to probably hundreds of people.
DS: May I have just a moment, your Honor?
Nothing further, your Honor.
REDIRECT BY FOGLEMAN
Q: Mr. Stidham asked in regard to any alleged reward and of course you responded the way you did, did you ever bring up anything about a reward?
A: No sir.
Q: Now, uh, Mr. Stidham also um, asked about uh, how many people were rounded up? Friends, supposed friends of Damien Echols, you responded you’d talked to literally hundreds
or y’all had literally talked to hundreds of people...
A: Not necess- I don’t know many people in regards to Damien Echols, I know we talked to hundreds of people in regards to numerous suspects that we had.
Q: Was Damien Echols-I think you just answered my question, but was Damien Echols the only suspect you had?
A: No sir.
Q: I don’t have any more questions.
RECROSS BY STIDHAM
DS: Was Damien Echols your prime suspect on June the 3rd?
A: I don’t know if you could - there were several suspects , uh, things seemed to turn , a lot of things that seemed to turn back toward him, but we had a, there were other suspects - I’m not sure at that given time but during the course of this investigation there were numerous suspects.
DS: Was he in the top 3?
A: Uh, I would, I would say yes.
DS: Now, Off. Allen, Mr. Misskelley was 17 years of age on June the 3rd , is that correct?
A: Um, yes sir.
DS: Did you at any time get his father’s permission to waive his Miranda warnings? His constitutional rights?
A: No sir.
DS: No further questions.
Q: I don’t have any further questions.
The Court: You may stand down.
