TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Investigator: Moore 'hounded' witnesses

Campaign photo

Brian Moore ran for president last year on the Socialist Party ticket.

ADVERTISEMENT

By TONY HOLT | Hernando Today

Published: November 10, 2009

James Rayford

BROOKSVILLE - Try as he might, political activist Brian Moore could not uncover any wrongdoing on the part of the sheriff's office in the death of a fugitive who drowned two months ago during a pursuit.

When he first talked to eyewitnesses two months ago, they told him deputies were responsible, he said.

Now some of those same witnesses are saying Moore has "hounded" them. They told the lead investigator he tried to get them to describe something they didn't see, according to an internal affairs investigation.

Consequently, the Hernando County Sheriff's Office has closed its inquiry into whether James "Little Man" Rayford was killed intentionally. It has been ruled an accidental death.

Rayford, who was fishing in a johnboat Sept. 10 at Hunters Lake, was contacted on his cell phone by Pasco sheriff's detectives who learned of his whereabouts through a bail bondswoman, according to the report.

Rayford, who was on Pasco County's most-wanted list, was being sought for various drug and fleeing charges. Days earlier, he eluded arrest after he jumped out of a window at a motel along U.S. 19. Deputies recovered a handgun and narcotics in the room, investigators said.

He was considered armed and dangerous.

When Rayford was contacted by detectives on the lake, they asked him to return to shore. Instead, he switched boats and wound up on a kayak, deputies said.

He was heading toward an island on the lake. When the Hernando County Sheriff's helicopter approached him, he eventually jumped into the water on his own, according to the report.

"The helicopter responded ... and attempted to persuade him to return to shore," wrote Sgt. Kathleen Reid, the Internal Affairs investigator who submitted the report.

Moore sees it differently.

"The (pilot) used the aircraft in a menacing fashion, lowering the body of the helicopter on top of the boat and on top of Mr. Rayford's head."

He went on to state the pilot "constantly bumped Mr. Rayford" and "hit the boat so hard that it exploded (it) high into the air and once again (came) down hard on top of Mr. Raymond as he floundered in the water."

Moore, who lives nearby, did not see the incident, he said.

He said at least two witnesses told him "the pilot killed the fugitive."

Among the witnesses he spoke to were Eugene and Anna Schaefer.

When contacted over the phone, Anna Schaefer declined to comment other than to say she was "glad it's over."

In Reid's report, she said Schaefer's husband "vehemently denied ever mentioning he observed the helicopter strike the person."

Moore claimed Eugene Schaefer was looking through a pair of binoculars when he saw the helicopter hit the boat, causing it to fly into the air. Schaefer, in turn, was "upset those statements were attributed to him," Reid wrote.

"Mr. Moore apparently wants to make something out of the incident that isn't there and they just want (him) to leave them alone," she continued in her report.

Moore said the Schaefers are "acting out of fear."

"I'm sorry they pulled back from what they originally said to me," he said.

Moore left a message on the couple's voice mail expressing his outrage.

"Mr. and Mrs. Schaefer, we're very disappointed in you," he said. "A man was murdered at your lake ... and you were, like, witnesses to it. You people don't have the backbone or the integrity or the wherewithal to take a stand and speak up for this man ... You know you're going to let, uh, somebody get away with murder?"

Another witness, Arthur Thomas, also complained Moore was making false claims about what he saw that day.

He said he never spoke to Moore, but only saw him riding through the neighborhood on his bicycle.

Moore has shown up at his door and called and left messages, but he doesn't answer, according to the report.

Moore said he did speak to Thomas and at one point asked him why he was "clamming up."

Thomas did not return a message seeking comment.

Two days after deputies converged on Hunters Lake, Rayford's body was found. A medical examiner determined no foul play and said there were no signs of trauma consistent with what Moore claimed, Reid wrote.

The outspoken civic activist said his work is not done. He plans to canvass the neighborhoods surrounding the lake to see whether any residents photographed or videotaped the drowning.

He said he plans to skip Thomas and the Schaefers.

He also plans to write a letter to the Department of Justice.

Moore ran for president last year on the Socialist Party ticket. He has regularly organized anti-war demonstrations since the start of the Iraq War.

Reporter Tony Holt can be reached at 352-544-5283 or wholt@hernandotoday.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT