Stories from the Historical Committee OUR HISTORY The Patty Hearst/SLA Case by Larry Langberg (1969-1999), Society President identification cards. He was shot down in a political murder by SLA assassins using cyanide, hollow-tipped bullets. The February 4, 1974, was just another day in the San murderers were SLA members Russell Little and Joe Remiro. Francisco Bay area — nothing special to distinguish it from a Starting two days after the Hearst abduction, the SLA week or month earlier. The same was true on the east side of issued a series of letters and tape recordings saying that the Bay at the University of California, Berkeley, a hot bed of they had Patty Hearst, threatening to execute her. The SLA radical student activity during the 1960s and 1970s. demanded that the Hearst family distribute food worth $6 However that was all about to change. A violent million to the poor areas of the city. The food distribution was kidnapping, with shots fired by the kidnappers, occurred at chaotic, a riot erupted; so it was temporarily discontinued. an apartment where heiress Patty Hearst resided with her Later, in tape recordings from Patty Hearst, sent after 50 some fiancé Steven Weed. The three kidnappers were members of days in captivity, she claimed allegiance to the SLA, and took the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA), a small, leftist radical the name Tania. Her parents offered $4 million in ransom Marxist group that viewed our society as being oppressive, money. (Hearst later said in testimony that she was kept racist and corrupted by capitalism. This action initiated the bound and gagged in a dark closet during the early part of opening of a major kidnapping case (HEARNAP), at the her captivity.) time, the largest case the FBI In April 1974, a video of Patty Hearst was captured by had ever worked. Thousands bank surveillance cameras, showing that she was armed and of Agents worked on this case participating in the robbery of a Hibernia bank located near and thousands of interviews San Francisco, which netted $10,000. were conducted. The SAC in First Person Recollections by the Author San Francisco was Charles Bates On May 16, 1974, Patty Hearst and Bill and Emily and the Case Agent was Monte Harris were implicated in a shoplifting incident involving Hall. Hall was assisted by Leo Case Agent Monte Hall ammunition at Mel’s Sporting Goods store in Inglewood, Brenneisen, Arden Keith and Tom CA (part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area). Patty Hearst Padden. Agents and administrators from across the country used an automatic 30 caliber carbine to cover for the fleeing arrived in San Francisco to bolster the office’s personnel. This Harrises. I remember this incident specifically — the Los was a “Special,” and a highly publicized case. Angeles Office called all Agents into the office on May 17, The victim, Patty C. Hearst, was the 19-year-old daughter 1974 to respond to this and other related incidents once they of Randolph and Catherine Hearst. Her grandfather, William connected it to the Patty Hearst case. On a golf course with Randolph Hearst, created the largest newspaper, magazine, three other Agents, I remember being called off the course to newsreel and movie business in the world. go to work and helping other Agents on the scene follow up The SLA was previously an obscure group which was on various leads. formed in the late 1960s or early 1970 in the Vacaville Medical Facility. A University of California Berkeley professor founded the group and sent “tutors” into the prison system to teach and radicalize black inmates. The tutors were mostly white, well-educated, young upper-class leftist men and women. At its strongest, the SLA consisted of 12 members and some associates. An escaped prisoner, Donald DeFreeze, serving time for armed robbery, became the leader of the SLA, adopting the name and title of Field Marshall Cinque — the name of a slave who led a rebellion on a slave ship in the 1800s. The group’s first victim was the black Oakland Superintendent of Schools, Marcus Foster, who was targeted because he supported a plan to require students to carry Symbionese Liberation Army Leader — Donald David DeFreeze, aka Cinque 18 January/February 2016 to Dwight and myself, we were parked directly behind the subject house across the small open field. (I learned later that a local female TV newscaster walked up to the front door of several of the addresses, camera running and asked if Cinque was there. This was right at the time the SWAT teams were positioning themselves to assault the residence. It was an unprofessional action by the news person and not only jeopardized the SWAT team’s safety but she was lucky she was not taken hostage.) Shortly after that, all hell broke loose. Dwight and I bailed out of our vehicle as bullets began whizzing by and impacting on the houses to our rear. Dwight had a shotgun; I had my .38 caliber S & W 6 shot (how woefully inadequate that seemed considering the conditions.) All the fire going on was automatic and semi-automatic fire. Dwight sought cover behind the rear wheel well, while I sought cover near the front wheel well. We both proned out on the street. I would estimate the firefight lasted about 45 minutes. The front of the house was where the SWAT teams were pouring rounds into the house, so I suspect most of the “Tania” (left) and “Field Marshall Cinque” (right) at the Hibernia Bank bullets impacting in our area were friendlies. I learned later Robbery that most, if not all, of the SLA fire was coming out from the However, a short time later, an open radio transmission front of the house. — no encrypted radios in those days — directed all Agents in the field to respond to a location and large parking area in First Person Recollections of SA Steven Ducker South Central Los Angeles. (This was probably midafternoon.) Steve was the SRA at the LAX Resident Agency, and he When I arrived, there were large numbers of Agents already and his fellow RA Agent Carl Pilkvist were both SWAT team there, as well as large numbers of other law enforcement members, and both grenadiers. They were also directed to officers. This turned out to be a staging area set up by the respond to South Central Los Angeles on May 17th. Upon Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). My memory is that arrival, they made contact with ADIC Bill Sullivan and an LAPD informant, a prostitute who knew Cinque, had huddled with the LAPD on-scene Commander. The LAPD advised that Cinque and several members of the SLA were advised that their gas had been ineffective. The Agents had staying at a house nearby. This connected to the information M-79s and CS gas. They were directed to lob rounds into the from the van left at Mel’s Sporting Goods store. The LAPD subject house. An Agent in a suit escorted them to a positon thought they were at one of three possible addresses. Several LAPD SWAT teams were preparing to assault the appropriate residences. They furnished the three addresses and told those who had gathered to spread out in the neighborhood, no closer than 2 blocks from the various addresses. We had two Agents per car — I was with SA Dwight Morrison. We drove into the area and parked several blocks from the nearest suspected address. This neighborhood of Los Angeles was residential and made up of single family homes, many of which were run down. We parked near a small open field and waited for further instructions. Unknown to us, the informant had now advised the correct address was a fourth address at 1466 E. 54th Street, Los Angeles. This was not transmitted on the Hibernia Bank Robbery radio for security reasons. Also unknown the Grapevine 19 in a vacant house directly across the street from the subject also in the crawl space under the house, but at the southwest house: corner of the house. She emerged from the crawl space firing Steve said, “This house, a single-story wood frame an automatic weapon. An additional SWAT team that had building was vacant and devoid of any furniture. There was moved into the area, stationed on a carport near where Perry a great deal of gunfire going off and shortly after we entered emerged shooting, engaged her, shot and mortally wounded that house, a round came through the front of the house her. about seven feet high. I remarked to Carl, who was about six Camilla Hall, the sixth member, was also killed in the four, that being short was not always a disadvantage.” gunfight. She was not found in the ash remains of the house “Both Carl and I had a large case containing the until the following morning. M-79 and four types of ammunition. We had two or three First Person Recollections by the Author inert practice rounds and the same number of white star That morning after the gun fight, Agent Jack Blair and or white parachute rounds. We had about four rounds of I were instructed to respond to the Los Angles Coroner’s anti-personnel ammunition loaded with a large number of Office to help identify this final person. There was some buckshot. The remaining ammunition, about twelve or fifteen rounds, was CS gas. It took no time to open the case, break open the weapon and load it. I believe my first round was a practice round, which, to my surprise went right into the front window of the house the subjects were occupying.