January 8, 2014
James Perry, an Omaha police lieutenant active in the investigation
of the murder of Larry
Minard, Sr., maintained his own cache of dynamite outside the
police evidence locker. Perry, who is now deceased, was recorded in
2002, according to a newly released transcript. Perry’s interview with
a private detective, funded by Nebraskans for Justice and released to
the public on January 7, 2014, contains his admission to storing
dynamite out-of-state, outside the police evidence protocols and
security.
Two Black Panther leaders, Ed
Poindexter and Mondo
we Langa (formerly David Rice), are serving life sentences at the
Nebraska State Penitentiary for the August 17, 1970 bombing murder of
Patrolman Larry Minard, Sr. Both men had been targets of J. Edgar
Hoover’s
COINTELPRO operations and Hoover wanted them convicted for
Minard’s murder ordering the FBI Laboratory to withhold a report on the
identity of the anonymous 911 caller who lured Minard to his death.
Lt Perry was a commanding officer in the search for Minard’s
killers, but Perry already had his own ideas about the crime. “You
would have to be a sap-sucking idiot not to know who was responsible
for the bombing you know,” said Perry.
Perry was asked by private detective Tom Gorgen if he had any idea
the dynamite allegedly found in Mondo we Langa’s basement was planted
there.
“”Oh s**t that’s preposterous. First off there wasn’t a policeman on
the job that knew anything how to you know, I didn’t know what a stick
of dynamite looks like for Christ sake you know. And or how you dealt
with it,” said Perry.
But Perry actually did know what a stick of dynamite looked like, he
had a cache of the explosive in rural Council Bluffs, Iowa. Perry said
an informant, Jim Uding, directed him to a box of dynamite in July 1970.
Perry said Uding called him about 2 a.m. one morning. “And he wanted
to know if I wanted this dynamite so he says I had to come out there to
72nd and Grant Street is where he had this used car place.” Perry
continued, “So I drive out there and he gives me a shovel and he says
it’s over in that vacant lot by the tree.”
“So we dug it up and there was a box there with 19 sticks if I
remember right,” said Perry. “So I kept that in my car overnight. And
then the next day we took it over to Rannies in Council Bluffs. Then
that is where I left it.”
Perry said that Uding would not say anything about where the
dynamite came from.
Shortly after Perry’s shovel work a detective, Jack Swanson,
arrested three men with dynamite in their car trunk. Swanson
transported that dynamite over to Perry’s explosives depot at a private
quarry. Charges against the trio were eventually dropped after Swanson
testified that he found dynamite in Mondo we Langa’s basement.
Swanson’s trial testimony was later contradicted by another
detective, Robert Pfeffer, who also claimed he found the dynamite in
Mondo’s basement. No crime scene photos of dynamite in the basement
were ever made. Crime scene technicians did not see any dynamite until
they photographed it on a table in a conference room at police
headquarters.
Police also claimed that dynamite particles were found in Mondo’s
pants pockets. However, Mondo’s hands, when swabbed after his arrest,
tested negative for dynamite. Casting doubt on the police version of
events, Mondo we Langa was photographed by the Omaha World-Herald moments
before his arrest and subsequent hand-swabbing, with his hands buried
deep in his pants pockets raising the question, just when and how did
dynamite particles get in Mondo’s pockets and not show up on his hands.
U. S. District Judge Warren
Urbom listened to James Perry testify about the events leading to
Mondo we Langa’s arrest and concluded that Perry was not to be trusted.
““On the basis of the entire record before this court and having heard
and seen Lt. Perry testify, it is impossible for me to credit his
testimony in the respects mentioned. “
Ed Poindexter and Mondo we Langa continue to deny any involvement in
the death of Larry MInard, Sr. and both remain imprisoned in the
maximum-security Nebraska State Penitentiary serving life sentences.
For more information see CRIME MAGAZINE
Permission granted to reprint.
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