</s>Complaint Form FD-71 (Rev. 10-26-65) NOTE: Hand print names legally: handwriting satisfactory for remainder. Indices: Negative Subject: name and aliases See below Address of subject Character of case MURKIN (144-157L) CR Complaintain Complaint's address and Complaint received telephone number LAPD Personal Sgt. P. K. RICE Intelligence Div. ., Personal 5-7-68 Time 6:02 PM Race Sex Height Hair Build Birth date and Birthplace W Male 5-6 Black Age Weight Eyes Complexion Female 145 Scars, marks or other data 3/4 day's growth of beard. Details of complaint Details of Complaint Sgt .: Rice received the following information from Officer BOCK, Accident Investigation, LAPD, and therefore had no further details that that listed below: Officer BOCK (#297L) talked to one WILLIAM BATES, employed by Plant Security (which Sgt. Rice assumed to be a BATES), who said he was at the parking lot of Bank of America at Manchester and Broadway, and the man who described above him where Dodge drove up and the men who described asked him where he could find a cheap hotel, Mr. Bates and recommended the El Rey '11 Hotel at 6th and San Pedro, Los Angeles, and party left. The auto was red in color. He was accompanied by a heavy-set female and another man. In place of a license plate the car, on the road, and in the front window, Lost rag. On the front baseball vehicle (presumably the front windshield) was a sticker of the Baseball or Boxing Association of Atlanta. 44-5-1-1/4-1.0 SEARCHED (INDEXED) SERIALIZED: 1968 Action Recommended Check El Rey Hotel Harold R. Bodilly (Agent) 2025 RELEASE UNDER E.O. 14176

Summary:  
The documents include multiple FBI complaint forms and records from 1968 involving individuals linked to investigations related to Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination. A complaint (FD-71) details a witness, William Bates, who reported seeing a man with a red car and a baseball/boxing association sticker at the Bank of America parking lot in Los Angeles. Another complaint (FD-71) mentions James Joseph identifying a man resembling Earl (likely James Earl Ray) at a cafe in West Covina, California, based on a TV photo. FBI records reference individuals like Dennis Wade, Fontenot, and others with arrests for offenses such as vagrancy, disorderly conduct, and burglary, some tied to Los Angeles and other locations. A teletype (FD-36) notes James Earl Ray's alleged connection to a correspondence club in California and his potential identification through fingerprint and handwriting analysis. The documents also reference FBI investigations into "MURKIN" and military personnel claims, including a U.S. Air Force serial number linked to a man described as white, 5'10", with a scar on his forehead.  

Key People:  
- William Bates (reported sighting of a man with a red car and baseball/boxing sticker)  
- James Joseph (identified a man resembling Earl at a cafe in West Covina)  
- Dennis Wade, Fontenot, and others (arrest records for various offenses)  
- James Earl Ray (alleged connection to correspondence club, fingerprint/handwriting analysis)  
- Colonel Robert Frank Moran (U.S. Air Force serial number inquiry)  

Key Locations:  
- Los Angeles, California (Bank of America parking lot, El Rey Hotel, West Covina cafe)  
- Ogdensburg, Utah (Hill Air Force Base, referenced in military personnel claims)  
- Memphis, Birmingham, and San Francisco (FBI offices and teletype communications)  

Key Events:  
- Witness reports of a man matching James Earl Ray's description in Los Angeles  
- FBI investigation into "MURKIN" and potential connections to James Earl Ray  
- Military personnel inquiries regarding U.S. Air Force serial numbers and uniform wear  
- Fingerprint/handwriting analysis requested for identification purposes  

Key Organizations:  
- Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)  
- Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD)  
- U.S. Air Force (military personnel records)

MLK Declassified Files

44-la-1574_742142_003-04-part_7_of_7.pdf

Document Summary

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