3 SL: 44-775 A search of the subject's room, located at a .765 caliber Belgium Browning Automatic, Serial Number 57195, which contained one live cartridge in the chamber and five live cartridges in the clip. A second .38 caliber revolver, "live cartridges located in the clipper, a second revolver, serial number, 249, was also located and found to shoot three live cartridges in the cylinder. Upon questioning, JAMES EARL RAY admitted that he was the owner of these weapons and made the statement to the officers. I guess that they were wanted to shoot the trigger for up. "RAY GUESSEY was wanted by City Kroger for examination and was found to be suffering from a laceration of the scalp, which was not considered to be serious, and with the other. Which was not considering to be careful, and without the police Station where he was charged. The second individual involved in the burglary, JAMES OWENS, was conveyed directly from the place of apprehension to the St. Louis Police. The 1958 Plymouth sedan used in the commission of the robbery was determined directly from in the property of JAMES L. OWENS and was towed away from the front of the Park Avenue address and was taken from in local police. When questioned further at the District Station, OWENS stated he had fired further at at the DISTRICT Station, about three months prior to the offense, having met him at the St. Louis Rescue Mission located at 4023 Olive Street, Both eventually began speaking to each other with a difficult and eventually began to speak to other police officers. Pull a hold-up- OWENS advised that in the early P.M. of October 9, 1959, he was advised that he was in the Early P.m. of October 9, on the following day. OWENS admitted that JAMES EARL RRAY had given him the snub-nose revolver which he had used to the hold- given him to the sub-noose revolver where he had had to let RAY out of his 1958 Plymouth automobile for the purpose of stealing a second automobile to use in the hold -up. 111

Summary: The documents detail FBI and law enforcement investigations into James Earl Ray’s criminal activities in St. Louis, Missouri, including a 1959 Kroger store robbery committed with James Owens using stolen firearms. Both were arrested and charged with robbery and resisting arrest. Investigations focused on Ray’s residence, alleged trip to Mexico, fingerprint comparisons by the St. Louis Police Department and Missouri State Highway Patrol, and interviews with individuals linked to hippie rooming houses. Walter E. Nolan, a former Missouri prison inmate with multiple robbery convictions, was scrutinized for potential ties to Ray, including claims of prior incarceration together at Missouri State Penitentiary. Inmate statements from Jefferson City and Morberly prisons indicated Ray’s alleged escape attempts but noted no knowledge of plots against Martin Luther King Jr. or financial incentives for his assassination. FBI records reference "COOLEY Associates" and potential connections to political figures like Major B.J. Porter, though these lack concrete evidence. Financial records of Nolan’s bank account (opened in November 1967) and administrative notes on parolees, prison transfers, and case numbers (e.g., 44-775) are also included.  

Key People: James Earl Ray, James Owens, Walter E. Nolan, Bobby Ash, Jim Bradley, John Edward Johnson, Frank Maberry, Robert Dale Porter, Billip Miles, Fred Miller, Carl Drake, John D. Dyer Jr., Carmen Patton, Mrs. Bradley, SA John O. Trethewey Jr., SA William H. Warfield, SA Thomas L. Buckley, SA Lawrence B. Curtin, Richard H. Dixon, Gloria L. Dixon, Edmond Hatton, E.C. Cowley, Mrs. G. McLaughlin, Mr. Kramer, Les Carmichael.  

Key Locations: St. Louis, Missouri (including 2023 Park Avenue, 2021 Park Avenue, 4023 Olive Street, 4810 McKissoe, TWA Airlines, McPherson Street, Kampden Hall Apartments, Florissant, Kirkwood, University City, Clayton, Webster Grove); Missouri State Penitentiary (Jefferson City), Morberly, Missouri; Puerto Vallarta, Mexico; Wellston, Illinois; Kansas City, Missouri.  

Key Events: Robbery at a Kroger store (October 9, 1959), arrests and charges against Ray and Owens, investigation into Ray’s residence and criminal history, fingerprint comparisons by law enforcement agencies, interviews with hippie rooming house residents, inquiry into Ray’s trip to Mexico, financial records of Nolan’s bank account (opened November 1967, last deposit April 16, 1968), inmate reports on Ray’s alleged escape attempts from Missouri prisons, FBI inquiries into Ray’s prison associates and potential connections to MLK assassination plots, administrative notes on parolees and prison transfers.  

Key Organizations: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), St. Louis Police Department, Missouri State Highway Patrol, Missouri State Penitentiary, Missouri Training School for Men (Morberly), Commercial Credit Rating Company, Metropolitan St. Louis Police Department, Missouri Corrections system, Trans World Airlines (TWA), Suit’s Laundry, Rio Hotel, YMCA, Kampden Hall Apartments.

MLK Declassified Files

44-hq-38861_hs1-233652821_10-04-part_4_of_5.pdf

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