New trial is denied in 1983 hangar killings

By Tim Madigan

tmadigan@star-telegram.com

Over the past quarter-century, new witnesses have come forward to suggest that Lester Bower was not the man who killed four people in a Grayson County airplane hangar in 1983. But those witnesses, who testified recently in Sherman, were not enough to convince a state district judge.

In a ruling released late Monday, Judge James P. Fallon of the 15th District Court denied defense attempts to win Bower a new trial.

In doing so, the judge largely agreed with prosecutors who have argued that the witnesses lack credibility because of their admitted drug use and statements that didn't match up.

Bower, who recently turned 65 on Death Row, lived in Arlington with his wife and two daughters at the time of his arrest.

"While the new evidence produced by the defendant could conceivably have produced a different result at trial, it does not prove by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant is actually innocent," Fallon wrote.

The case now goes to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which will render a definitive ruling, probably within months.

"We are ultimately hopeful for a new trial," defense attorney James Glenn said.

"We don't believe under a fair assessment of the evidence as it exists today that a conviction would be possible. It [Fallon's ruling] is a setback in that respect."

Grayson County prosecutors declined to comment on the ruling.

Bower, a chemical salesman and avid hobbyist, was arrested in early 1984 for the slayings of the four men.

Connected to one of the victims through telephone records, Bower repeatedly denied visiting the hangar the day of the killings to buy an ultralight aircraft.

Parts of the aircraft were later found in his Arlington home.

In his trial, prosecutors also alleged that Bower owned a weapon and exotic ammunition similar to what was used in the fatal shootings.

Defense lawyers now argue that the original testimony was incorrect or overstated.

While conceding that he was at the hangar that day, Bower has maintained his innocence.

Five years after his conviction, the first of the new witnesses came forward.

The witness said her boyfriend spoke of participating in the killings during a drug deal gone bad.

At least three other men were implicated.

In the intervening years, defense lawyers have tried to find physical evidence linking the new suspects to the crimes.

Instead, defense lawyers say, other witnesses have come forward to implicate the same gang of drug dealers said to be operating in southern Oklahoma at the time of the killings.

In each instance, however, prosecutors have attacked the new testimony as hearsay while pointing out inconsistencies, as well as the witnesses' heavy drug use.

"The essential point of all the witness statements has remained unchanged," Glenn said.

"The four men were involved in these murders and Les was not."

As the decades-old death penalty case winds toward a conclusion, Bower's lawyers say they will continue to seek new evidence to buttress the condemned man's claim.

"What this does is give us hope and time that maybe we can find the smoking gun," said Christopher Banks, another defense lawyer.

"Maybe someone will come forward that will eliminate the doubt even in the minds of people like Judge Fallon. Anyone who knows anything, any little bit helps."

Tim Madigan, 817-390-7544

Twitter: @tsmadigan

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