Informant: 'Reward on My Head'
As Written in the Wall Street Journal
Death Penalty Averted
JEFFERSON - Police informant Joseph Eugene Vines testified yesterday in the murder trial of Paul Wilson Bare that the Hells Angels' motorcycle gang has placed a $50,000 price on his head.
Vines said he is under the Federal Witness Protection Plan because his life is in danger. He said he was told of the Hell's Angels contract on him in late February. That, he said, is when he was put under the protection of federal agents.
"The main reason I'm in the program is because I found out the Hell's Angels put a $50,000 reward on my head," Vines said.
The case has been tied to Outlaws motorcycle gang operations from Florida to Chicago. But Vines' testimony was the first public indication that the Hell's Angels might also be involved.
Vines is the state's principal witness against Bare, who is charged with kidnapping, robbing and murdering Lonnie Marshall Gamboa of Asheville in December.
Gamboa's body was pulled from the Ore Knob Mine in January along with the body of Tom Forester.
Vines said that Allan Ray Hattaway, also charged in the case, once claimed to be the "head hit man for the Outlaws."
Hattaway also said he had done some "contracts" for the Hell's Angels, Vines testified.
Hattaway, of Salisbury, and Gary Hansford Miller, of Asheville, are also charged with the murder of Gamboa. They are still at large.
Vines is charged with kidnapping Gamboa.
Cross-examining Vines yesterday, defense attorney Edwin Marger attacked the informant's credibility.
In an earlier hearing, Vines had testified that Miller forced to throw Gamboa down the mine twice, because the victim's foot got caught on a root the first time. But this week, Vines testified that Miller motioned him to throw Gamboa down the mine the first time, and that Bare made the motion the second time.
Marger: "Which time were you telling the truth?"
Vines admitted that he was mistaken at the earlier hearing, but said that he had corrected his story at another hearing.
Marger elicited testimony indicating that Vines, who was charged with assault at the age of 17, once swore in court that he didn't have a criminal record.
Marger: "Does lying under oath bother you?"
Vines: "Yes sir, I don't lie under oath intentionally."
Continuing his attach against the prosecution's start witness, Marger brought up Vine's four-to-five-month residency in a mental institution. In addition, he asked Vines about his dismissal from the Army for a mental condition.
Under questioning, Vines admitted that he had never held a job for more than a few months at a time.
"I've worked undercover jobs mostly. Before that, I just traveled around," Vines said.
Marger pointed out that Vines testified at an earlier trial in Florida that he had handled 30,000 undercover cases.
"That's about 275 cases a year, isn't it?" Marger asked. "That's about a case every 32 hours, isn't that correct?"
Marger continued, "Are you a liar, Mr. Vines? Isn't the deceit part of your undercover work?"
Marger also asked Vines if he used drugs in his undercover work. Vines said he sometimes smoked marijuana.
Earlier, the jury had heard a tape-recorded telephone conversation between Vines and Bare in which Vines tried to get Bare to get him some money.
Vines said he made the call to Bare on the night of Jan. 8. He said he called Bare from the Ashe County Sheriff's Department and that Sheriff Richard Waddell tape-recorded the call.
