THAT FATEFUL DAY

When I first began this blog, my plan was to take the reader through the details of this case.

In my visit with Sheriff, I asked him if he would allow me to use the crime scene photos...he didn't immediately say no, but instead that he would consider it since the case was closed.

He said, "they aren't pretty."

In some of the writings of the blog, I have had emails from family members about things that I haven't gotten exactly right (I am trying very hard to do that) and things that were written, that while there were no complaints, I could tell they were hurtful.  True, but hurtful.  I don't want to hurt. There has been enough of that.

So...as I have come to this day, I have changed my mind about the crime scene photos on that fateful day.  You and I have all watched enough tru tv to know what a gory crime scene looks like.

THAT FATEFUL DAY

I was very depressed at this time due to all the heck I had been going through and then to top it all off Mr. Miller was an alcoholic who liked to scream, hollar and cuss.  Three things I can't stand.

I wiped his butt, cooked his meals, cleaned his home, mowed his grass, took care of his dogs, washed his clothes, and anything else he needed and all I got for my services was disrespect.

All I wanted to do was to go back home to my kids and my family but Mary Jane (bail bondsman and Miller's aunt) wouldn't allow me to go home.  She told me to come up with $500 and I could go home.

My friend Jack told me "I don't know how you let that man talk to you like that.  Him and Mike didn't get a long.

One day my mom called and and wanted to talk to me and when I got back from work he told me "that bitch called and wanted to talk to you."  I thought he was talking about my girl friend--that's when he said "I was talking about your mom."

I cooked him something to eat and forgot to put a spice he wanted on the food and he threw the plate of food on me and then he said "screw you, why don't you just take that shotgun and go blow your brains out."

The next day Jack took me to Lipscomb County Courthouse for my arraignment (DWI) then we went to Beaver for Jack to get some rum and Mike some beer.  And I decided to grab me a bottle too.  I drank some that night and the next day.  Jack didn't come get me for work the next day, so I started drinking with Mike.

I remember sitting in his room talking to him about how he wanted his steaks cooked that day and then later on I woke up on the couch and found Mike in his bed, shot in the neck with a shotgun.

Jack told the police that he came over that morning to bring me peppers and tomatoes to use with the steaks and he heard Mike tell me to blow my head off.  I don't know for sure what happened.

....and then later.....

only God knows....maybe Mike wanted to die due to the physical state he was in and had been for the past 10 years. Maybe he used me to accomplish his mission.

Here are the things I wonder....

1.   Would Mike still be alive today or was is health in such decline he would have died on his own?
2.   If Chuckwa was getting the gun to kill himself and tripped and the gun went off? (the wound was in the back of the neck)
3.  If a person who accidentally kills someone should spend their life in prison or be given a chance after they have paid time for the crime?
4.  If Chuckwa would have opted for a jury trial...where would he be today?

what....what do you wonder?

Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.  Psalm 139:16

THE DEFENSE ATTORNEY

Mitchell Gassaway & Jones LLP: James M. Mosley

**An effort was made to contact Mr. Mosley for an interview.  No contact has been made to date.

"I got railroaded due to the fact of not having any money for an attorney.  My attorney didn't try to help me at all.  He knew the deck was stacked against me.  NE WAYZ I wasn't an easy win 'cause of the emotional state I was in at the time.  I was under a great deal of duress.  I just wanted it to all be over with so I took the easiest way out.  I think the truth would never be heard nor was it ever searched for.

They questioned me on the day of the event 'till I finally got tired of messing with them and told them OK,  I shot the guy because he called my mom a bitch can I go lay down now?

I kept telling them I didn't know what happened and they kept telling me you'll feel better if you just tell us .  I threw up in the trash can and the kept questioning me.

They shouldn't have been questioning me in the state I was in and my attorney should have gotten all that scratched.  But his wife was pregnant during all this so he didn't have time for my case as he was busy tending to her.  She had her baby right around the time I was due to go to trial.  He told me I better take the 40 years or would end up with life and 20 years stacked on.

I've thought a lot about tryin' to change my plea agreement...if nothing changes, I will come up for parole the 1st time in 2030.  

I am not a murderer or a liar or a thief and I am truly remorseful."

Lamentations 1:20

"See, O LORD, for I am in distress; My spirit is greatly troubled; My heart is overturned within me, For I have been very rebellious. In the street the sword slays; In the house it is like death.

THE PROSECUTOR

Ochiltree County Attorney David T. Scott

DAVID SCOTT OBITUARY

COMMENTS ON NEWS STORY ABOUT THE MURDER

"I know quite a few people who are well known that weren't too happy with the outcome of my case.  So to answer your question, yes, David Scott used me and my case and my vulnerability to his advantage.  There are several different charges that could have and should have been considered but were not.  1st Degree Murder, which is what I was charged with, entails a premeditated act.  I never planned to kill this man, I was taking care of him."



In rural communities, it is considered a

Coup de grâce

for the victim, the victim's family, the county in which a lengthy and expensive trial will take place and yes...perhaps even the one who commits the crime,

to never in fact...go to trial.

Chuckwa has said over and over how he wished he'd never taken the plea agreement and felt coerced into doing so.

During the re-election of David Scott, who had been the County Attorney for many many years, a new candidate arrived on the scene.  The race took an ugly turn and became quite competitive.  The voters decided...the new man...Barrett Dye would become the new attorney for Ochiltree County.  

A few short months later...Scott would be dead at the age of 53.

1 John 1:9

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 

THE SHERIFF

(Quote from Amarillo Globe News Story October 2010 by Ali Allison concerning the arrest of Chuckwa)

"We are still young in the investigation, I don't think it was premeditated," says Bouchard.

In a discussion with Sheriff Bouchard, he stated that in the time that Chuckwa was in his custody, he was a model inmate who was a hard worker and caused no issues.  Bouchard said that Chuckwa enjoyed working from sun-up until sun-down in the inmate garden plot located at the Ochiltree County Jail.  Bouchard also stated that Mr. Miller was not a very nice person to Chuckwa, who was only trying to help him.

From Amarillo Globe News April 2007

Terry Bouchard, 46, was sworn in as sheriff on Tuesday at the Ochiltree County Commissioners Court meeting in Perryton.

Bouchard said he has been with the sheriff's office for about 16 years. He was with the Perryton Police Department before that, starting in 1985.

Bouchard, along with two other applicants from the sheriff's office, applied to finish out almost two years of Hataway's remaining term. Bouchard said he would run for election once he completed Hataway's partial term.

Hataway, 65, is retiring because of health issues and plans on moving home to Sunray.
"I like participating in the community. This is my home," Bouchard said Thursday. "I felt it was a good career choice for me and my family."

Bouchard is originally from Tucumcari, N.M. He graduated from New Mexico State University in 1984 with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice.

Bouchard's love for police work began in college when he helped with the arrest of a drunken driver.
"I heard an accident by my apartment. I wandered over there to see what was going on," he said. "The police officer was having difficulty arresting the suspect. I jumped in and assisted him. I thought that was pretty neat."

Despite his long career in law enforcement, Bouchard said he is following in the footsteps of a great sheriff.

"I've got some very big shoes to fill. Joe Hataway was an excellent sheriff and a great man who is very well respected," Bouchard said.

"I'm looking forward to serving the (residents) of Ochiltree County for many years. I'm very fortunate to have stepped into a department with very, very good people working for me."
Bouchard will officially take up the position today and receive a salary of $46,200.


Where there is no guidance the people fall, but in abundance of counselors there is victory. – Proverbs 11:14