</s>FD-36 (Rev. 5-22-64) FBI Date: Transmit the following in (Type in plantextor or code) Via (Priority) OC 44-686 Page TWO FORFORT FEBRUARY LAST AND CHUMLEY HAD LEFT THERE. INVESTIGATION CROWN MOTEL DISCLOSED REGISTRATION RECORDS NOT AVAILABLE, BUT CLERK JUANITA DUNN RECALLS CHUMULEY THERE FROM ABOUT FIRST PART DECEMBER, SIXTY SEVEN, TO FEBRURY ONE LAST. CHECK OF SERVICE STATIONS, CAFES, CAFES, BARS, ETC. IN PROXIMITY CROWN MOTEL NEGATIVE. IN LOCATING ANYONE KNOWING BILLY CHUMLEY. JAMES FOX, OWNER FOX D-X D-XX SERVICE, ONE-HUNDRED EIGHTH AND NORTH MAY, OKLAHOMA CITY, STATES CHUMLY WORKED FOR HIM FROM ABOUT FIRST PAR DECEMBER. SIXTH SEVEN. TO FIRST WEEK IN FEBRUBARY LAST. LEFT SUDDENLY ON A SATURDAY, PROBRABY FEBRUAARY THREE LAST, TAKING FIFTY-FIVE DOLLARS WORTH OF UNIFORMS AND UNDERMINED AMOUNT OF CASH FROM REGISTER. SAME DATE HE LEFT, CHUMBLEY MADE TELEPHONE CALLS TO UNKNOWN TIRE COMPANY MARIETTA, GEORGIA, GEORGEIA, SEEKING EMPLOY- MENT. FOX BELIEVES THIS COMPANY ROYAL TIRE SERVICE OR POSSIBLY A GOODYEAR TIRE CO. AT TIME EMPLOVED BY FOX, CHUMLLEY DRIVING FIFTY EIGHT BUICK, WHITE TOP, GRAY BOTTOM, BEARING SENTY SEVEN GEORGINA LICENSE. ATLANTA AT MARIETA, GEOREGIA: THROUGH ROYAIL TIRE SERVICE AND END PAGE TWO Approved: Special Agent in Charge Sent M Per 2025 RELEASE UNDER E.O. 14176

Summary  
The document contains FBI investigative records detailing efforts to track James Earl Ray, a suspect in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination on April 4, 1968. It includes information about Ray’s criminal history, alias "Eric Starvo Galt," and his flight from Missouri State Penitentiary in 1967. The FBI sought to connect Ray to individuals like Lewie Douda (a former inmate) and John Stout (an ex-guard), as well as to trace long-distance calls linked to his movements, including routes through Texas, Oklahoma, and New Orleans. Investigations also focused on Billy Chumley’s activities in Oklahoma City, including his abrupt departure from James Fox’s service station in February 1968, a telephone call to Marietta, Georgia, and the vehicle he used (a 1958 Buick with Georgia license plates). The FBI checked safety deposit boxes at C & S Bank in Atlanta and reviewed telephone records for potential connections. Additional materials include witness accounts of Edward Lee Walker’s presence at a bar in Granite, Oklahoma, and administrative notes on tracking suspects like Robert Dale Porter and John Stout, who allegedly provided items used in Ray’s escape.  

Key People  
- **James Earl Ray** (suspect in MLK assassination; also known as Eric Starvo Galt)  
- **Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.** (assassinated April 4, 1968)  
- **Billy Chumley** (individual under FBI investigation for movements linked to Ray)  
- **James Fox** (owner of service station where Chumley worked in Oklahoma City)  
- **Lewie Douda** (former Missouri State Penitentiary inmate connected to Ray)  
- **John Stout** (ex-guard from Missouri State Penitentiary, source for information on Ray)  
- **Edward Lee Walker** (retired U.S. Navy man observed at Granite Lounge in Oklahoma)  
- **Robert Dale Porter** (individual linked to supplying items for Ray’s escape)  

Key Locations  
- **Oklahoma City** (service station where Chumley worked; FBI office tracking suspects)  
- **Marietta, Georgia** (tire company call by Chumley)  
- **Pecos, Texas** (telephone records checked for Ray’s movements)  
- **Atlanta, Georgia** (C & S Bank safety deposit boxes checked)  
- **Granite, Oklahoma** (bar where Walker and two men were observed)  
- **New Orleans, Louisiana** (motel registrations and investigations linked to Ray)  
- **Memphis, Tennessee** (site of MLK’s assassination; FBI coordination on case)  

Key Events  
- **April 4, 1968**: Assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  
- **April 20, 1968**: James Earl Ray added to FBI’s "Ten Most Wanted Fugitives" list  
- **April 17, 1968**: Federal warrant issued charging Ray with conspiring to interfere with civil rights  
- **February 3, 1968**: Billy Chumley abruptly left Oklahoma City, taking uniforms and cash  
- **December 1967–January 1968**: FBI tracked Ray’s long-distance calls from Los Angeles to New Orleans via Texas routes  
- **April 19, 1968**: Observation of two men at Granite Lounge driving a dirty blue 1955 Chevrolet or Plymouth  
- **May 5–6, 1968**: FBI and local law enforcement reviewed tow-in logs and call records to locate Ray  

Key Organizations  
- **Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)** (central agency conducting investigations)  
- **Missouri State Penitentiary** (linked to Douda and Stout)  
- **Telephone companies** (Pecos, Texas; others along Ray’s travel route)  
- **C & S Bank** (Atlanta, Georgia; safety deposit boxes checked)  
- **Tulsa County Sheriff's Office** (mentioned in context of Ray’s criminal history)  
- **Gulf Oil Corporation** (referenced in license plate and credit card investigations)

MLK Declassified Files

44-oc-686_sec_002_ser_100-275-part_3_of_9.pdf

Document Summary

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