The Michigan Daily
Vol LXXXVI No. 53-S
Ann Arbor, Michigan--Saturday, July 24, 1976
Ten Cents Twelve Pages
Kidnap suspect
turns himself in
vanv Protwo c->_U 1I tUN
THE BODY of an unidentified man killed yesterday morning
in a fire on the 26th floor of Tower Plaza is placed in an
ambulance.
26th floor Tower Plaza
re s unidentieman
By JIrFFREY SELBST
An unidentified man died yesterday in a fire on the 26th floor
of the city's tallest structure, Tower Plaza apartment building,
at the corner of William and Maynard Sts. The fire was reported
at 8:37 a.m.
The fire, which authorities believe to have been started by
smoking in bed, did extensive damage to the bedroom and heat
damage was sustained by the rest of the top floor apartment. Ap-
parently the fire began from the mattress and spread to the rest
of the room.
THE MAN'S NAME, given to police by residents of the build-
ing who knew the deceased, has not yet been released pending
final identification and next-of-kin notification. The body was taken
to the U-M Hospital morgue.
The deceased was subleasing
the apartment, 26G, from a Da-
vid Hortin, believed to be trav-
eling in Europe. Hi
Residents were evacuated at
the first alarm, but by 9:15
a.m. were allowed to return to
their apartments. "You should SALT LAKE CITY (4)--Rep.
have seen the commotion," Allan Howe was found guilty
said one resident. "All this heat yesterday of the misdemeanor
and smoke from the elevator, charge of soliciting sex from two
and that damned alarm scream: police decoy prostitutes.
in." Howe (D-Utah) showed no
ALTHOUGH there had been emotion when the City Court
some controversy when the clerk read the verdict from the
Tower Plaza was under con- three-woman, one-man j u r y
struction, concerning a lack of which deliberated one hour, 43
compliance with city building minutes.
codes regarding the building's
height and fire safety, Capt. HOWE'S attorney immediately
Thomas Minick of the Ann Ar- filed notice of appeal to District
bor Police Dept., in charge of Court, and Howe said he would
the police operations, said that continue his campaign for re-
the building "contained the fire election to a second term. He
very well." One Fire Dept. had been under pressure from
source said that the problems some Utah Democrats not to
had been ironed out before the seek re-election.
building was completed. Judge Raymond Uno sentenc-
Officials at the police Dept. ed Howe to a fine of $150 and 30
say the victim's name will be days in jail but suspended the
released after the detective as- jail term on payment of the fine.
signed to the case returns on Outside the courtroom Howe,
Monday. with his wife Marlene and four
MADERA, Calif. U2) - One of three
men wanted for questioning in the kid-
naping of 26 Chowchilla school children
and their bus driver surrendered to au-
thorities in Oakland yesterday, Madera
County Sheriff Ed Bates announced.
Richard Allen Schoenfeld, son of a
prominent San Francisco area doctor,
turned himself in to the Alameda Coun-
ty district attorney, Bates said.
SCHOENFELD was accompanied by
his attorneys.
At 22, he was the youngest of the three
men named in an all-points bulletin is-
sued Thursday.
The others are his brother, James L.
Schoenfeld, 24, and Frederick N. Woods
IV, 24, son of the owner of the Alameda
County rock quarry where the children
and their bus driver were imprisoned
for 18 hours last week.
THE BULLETIN said they were "arm-
ed and dangerous" and should be ar-
rested on probable cause. '
In Oakland, Dist. Atty. Lowell Jensen
said after Richard Schoenfeld was
booked, he would be taken to Madera
County where formal charges will be
filed. Jensen said the- charges would
include 27 counts of kidnaping and 16
of armed robbery. The school children
and their driver were abducted near
Chowchilla in Madera County. Clothes
and other personal items were taken
from some of the kidnap victims when
they were forced to descend into their
underground prison at the quarry near
Livermore, about 100 miles north of
chowchilla.
The s"rrender came as authorities
contineed to hint for clues linking the
three to the kidnap.
A ROUGH draft of a ransom note de-
manding $5 million from the govern-,
meat was found by authorities investi-
gating the abduction, published reports
said yesterday.
The Oakland Tribune said the note,
mapping- out plans for exchanging the
young victims, was discovered in a house
on the estate occupied by Frederick
Woods IV, who is wanted for questioning
in the mass abduction.
THE NEWSPAPER quoted law enforce-
ment sources as saying they believed
Woods wrote the draft of toe note. His
millionaire landowner father owns the
Livermore quarry where the hostages
were entombed in a moving van buried
four feet underground after they were
abducted from a school bus July 15.
They tunneled their way out after 18
hours.
A 10-day gag order prohibits authori-
ties from commenting on the searches,
and there was no official confirmation
of the note.
However, investigators said they had
recovered three vans believed to have
been used to transport the children and
their bus driver from Chowchilla 100
miles north to the quarry. The quarry is
about 45 miles east of the Woods estate.
"THE VEHICLES previously listed by
this agency as wanted in connection
with the kidnap were recovered and are
currently in the possession of this depart-
ment and are being processed for physi-
cal evidence," Alameda County Sheriff's
Deputy James Baugh said in a statement.
He refused to elaborate.
Ed Ray, the Chowchilla bus driver who
led his charges to safety, was flown to
San- Jose to help officers identify two
vans found in a warehouse there. In-
vestigators did not say where the third
van was located.
guilty of sex charge
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3
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of their five children at his side,
said he was "very, very dis-
appointed." He declined to say
whether he thought the trial was
fair.
"WE'VE TRIED to maintain
our composure, and we will
move ahead in that manner,"
he said.
Howe was arrested the night
of June 12 in a red-light district
on a charge of soliciting sex for
hire-trying to buy two specific
sex acts from decoys Kathleen
Taylor and Margaret Hamblin
for $20.
The trial lasted almost five
days, three of which were spent
picking the jury of two house-
wives, an office worker and a
retired mechanic. City court
misdemeanor casesr are heard
by four-member juries in Utah.
THE DEFENSE presented no
witnesses to answer the testi-
mony of the decoys that Howe
approached them on his own.
Asked yesterday why Howe
was not put on the witness
stand, defense attorney Dean
Mitchell replied: "It is con-
sistent with my attitude that my
client's constitutional r i g h t s
were violated." Mitchell was
referring to his previous allega-
tions that publicity and the pros-
ecutor's discussion of the case
with reporters had made a fair
trial impossible.
Mitchell also had contended
potential jurors were influenced
by a statement by the leader
of the Mormon Church, of which
Howe is a member, that Howe
should consider resigning.
HOWE, who represents Utah's
2nd District, which includes
Salt Lake City, was asked
whether he thought the trial
damaged his political future.
He replied, "I have great con-
fidence and faith with the people.
See JURY. Page 2