</s>PG 44-578 WLCm1l 1961 or 1962 white Chevrolet Impala bearing Louisiana license, number white, purchased gas and tires in the amount of $28.2 at PLYER's Gulf Station in Bartow, using Gulf Credit Card at 12 GULF 52 in the name of s of the men who was wearing cowboy hat and cowboy boots signed the purchase slip with the JAMES HAMMONS. the area that work with a core drilling outfit. discovered that HAMMIONS left the area immediately after this credit card had been cancelled about the week prior to April 22, 1968. May on May 2, 1968, PLAYER read in a newspaper that JAMES EARL had an associate from New Orleans, La. named STREET and similar HAMMINGS, STEIN AND RAY. caused him not and similar to him, and the man with the HAMMERS, He could not recall descriptions of the man in HAMMENS, other than he has a white male with a "fat face," PLAYER such as he was a white man with a fat face. purchase slip, but no longer a record of the number as the slip has been forwarded to Gulf Oil Company Headquarters in the slip has also advised that information that the card has been cancelled came from Gulf Headquarters in Houston, Texas. The following investigation was conducted by SA RAY J. COLINI May 8, 1968 , Mrs. LOVEI GEVER, 1306 Third Avenue, New Kensington, Pa ., phone 337 4242, a Negro, advised a man who was calling JAMES HARMONS, New Kensington. PA ., Phone 327 4242 to a Negro. 1967. She said that he had a scar on his forehead and his ears stuck out and his nose was shaped like subject's. She sears stuck and his face was not covered by his subject's, the Negroes, and that he said he wrote too many that checks. She said the only thing unlike RAY was that this man had the man who had a bad man had a firm but it was not New KensINGTON and that she was unable to identify the firm. The man gave the name JIM DAVIS. 2025 RELEASE UNDER E.O. 14178

Summary  
The document contains fragmented investigative records from U.S. federal and local law enforcement agencies between 1963 and 1968, detailing efforts to trace connections between James Earl Ray and the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK). Key elements include:  
- A white Chevrolet Impala with Louisiana license plates was purchased using a Gulf Credit Card under the name "JAMES HAMMONS" in 1968, though the card was canceled before April 22, 1968.  
- Witnesses described individuals resembling Ray, including a man with a scar on his forehead and a "fat face," observed in Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh), Florida (Bartow), and West Virginia (Charleston).  
- SMOUSE, a gasoline attendant in Pittsburgh, reported seeing a man matching Ray’s physical description sleeping in his car on April 22, 1968.  
- Investigations into laundries in West Virginia and Pennsylvania sought red cloth laundry tags with codes such as "OB26" or "DB2-6," linked to Ray’s alleged activities.  
- Fingerprint comparisons across jurisdictions yielded no matches for latent prints associated with Ray.  
- FBI agents conducted interviews between May 1–30, 1968, and reviewed records from laundries, dry cleaners, and dance studios in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio to verify use of thermo-seal marking machines or specific red cloth tags.  

Key People  
- **James Earl Ray**: Suspected assassin of MLK; described as a white male with a scar on his forehead and "fat face."  
- **SMOUSE**: Gasoline attendant in Pittsburgh who reported seeing a man resembling Ray.  
- **EPLIN**: Barber in Charleston, West Virginia, who claimed to have seen a man matching Ray’s description.  
- **GRIFFIN**: Louisiana resident with a driver’s license linked to a white truck bearing Louisiana plates; described as 6'1" and having a scar on his skull.  
- **RAYMOND SHORT**: Disabled veteran in West Virginia who reported seeing a man resembling Ray in a photograph.  
- **Eric Starvo Galt**: Subject of interest in the MLK assassination investigation; checked for ties to laundries and dance studios.  
- **SA John B. Woodruff, R. Stephen Thompson, Frank H. Geiermann, William H. Doughery, Myron H. Tretrer, Richard A. Jones, James V. Kinnean, Dean M. Hoven, Eugene F. Cable, William F. Hendon, Jr., Cyril J. Laffey, Joseph A. Smith, Jr., John S. Hughes, J. Edward Maday, George A. Patterson, Thomas F. Burgovine, Thomas A. Hughes, Kent C. Dixon, Max L. Geiman**: FBI agents involved in laundry and witness investigations.  

Key Locations  
- **Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania**: Site of SMOUSE’s encounter with the suspect.  
- **Charleston, West Virginia**: Location where EPLIN claimed to have seen a man matching Ray’s description.  
- **Martinsburg, West Virginia**: Center for laundry tag investigations.  
- **Bartow, Florida**: Mentioned as a location where gas and tires were purchased using the Gulf Credit Card.  
- **Fairmont, Clarksburg, Elkins, Morgantown, Mercer County, Wyoming County, Washington County, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania**: Areas surveyed for laundries and dance studios linked to Galt or red cloth tags.  

Key Events  
- **April 22, 1968**: Date referenced in multiple reports, including SMOUSE’s encounter and the cancellation of the Gulf Credit Card linked to "JAMES HAMMONS."  
- **May 1–30, 1968**: FBI agents conducted interviews and investigations into witnesses and suspects.  
- **April 10–18, 1968**: Federal agents checked laundries and dance studios in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio for use of thermo-seal marking machines or red cloth tags linked to Galt.  
- **April 11, 1968**: Laundry tag investigation in West Virginia sought red cloth tags with codes such as "02-062-2" or "DB2-6."  

Key Organizations  
- **FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation)**: Conducted fingerprint comparisons and laundries investigations.  
- **U.S. Secret Service**: Participated via Special Agent Buster Williams.  
- **Pennsylvania State Police**: Involved in witness interviews and fingerprint analysis.  
- **Local Law Enforcement Agencies**: Provided witness statements and forensic data from Pittsburgh, Charleston, and Martinsburg, West Virginia.  
- **Textile Marking Machine Company**: Mentioned in context of thermo-seal equipment used by laundries.  
- **Brand Cleaners and Dyers (Oakland, Pennsylvania), Allen Supply Company (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), Benson Equipment Corporation (North Washington Road)**: Laundries and suppliers investigated for use of specific machines or tags.

MLK Declassified Files

44-pg-578_763522_02-04-part_4_of_6.pdf

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