http://www.dallasnews.com/texas_southwest/203527_norris_31tex.A.html
Saturday | November 11, 2000

'Walker' offers help in standoff

Anti-government fugitive holed up on Texas farm

10/31/2000

By Scott Parks / The Dallas Morning News

Chuck Norris, who plays a Texas Ranger on television, has jumped into
the middle of a standoff between real-life Texas lawmen and an
anti-government fugitive holed up on his Henderson County farm.

Mr. Norris, 59, said in a prepared statement that he has offered to
provide free legal representation to John Joe Gray, who is accused of
assaulting two highway patrolmen last December during a traffic stop
near Palestine, Texas.

Mr. Gray, 51, who espouses a militant combination of Christian
fundamentalism and anti-tax beliefs, posted bail on the charges and
then retreated to his property near Cedar Creek Lake.

In May, authorities issued warrants for his arrest after he failed to
appear in court. He and various members of his family - his wife,
children and grandchildren - are heavily armed and have threatened to
shoot anyone who tries to arrest him.

Mr. Norris visited the Gray family at its 47-acre farm on Oct. 18 at
the request of John Cullins, a deputy constable in Collin County. Mr.
Cullins said he asked Mr. Norris to intercede in the standoff because
he learned that the Grays consider him a hero.

"There's two people that that family looks up to: Mel Gibson and
Chuck," Mr. Cullins said. "This visit didn't mean that Chuck is on
their side. It just means that he's trying to get this thing out from
under a tree on the bank of the Trinity River and into a courtroom
where it belongs."

Mr. Norris said he went to the Gray property only after alerting the
FBI and "state law enforcement." Mr. Norris' wife, Gina, and Collin
County Constable Bob Bell also attended the meeting with the Grays.

Keith Tarkington, Mr. Gray's former son-in-law, said he was
disappointed that Mr. Norris appeared to be helping the Grays.

Mr. Tarkington has been involved in a lengthy child custody dispute
with Mr. Gray's daughter, Lisa, his ex-wife. He said he last saw his
two sons, 4-year-old Joe and 2-year-old Sam, in April 1999 at the Gray
family property.

Court records show a judge awarded Mr. Tarkington custody of the two
boys in August 1999 after a bitter divorce. He said Monday that he
doesn't know whether his ex-wife is holding his sons on the Gray family
property or somewhere else.

Mr. Tarkington has consistently criticized law enforcement agencies for
not arresting Mr. Gray and enforcing the court's child custody order.
He also began alerting news organizations to Mr. Norris' involvement in
the case late last week.

"No one is helpin' me," Mr. Tarkington said. "It seems like in his [Mr.
Norris'] show [Walker, Texas Ranger], he tries to help people like me.
But in real life, he's for the criminal."

Mr. Gray, 51, has been a member of the Texas Constitutional Militia, an
anti-government group similar to the Republic of Texas. He and several
family members refuse to maintain driver's licenses, or register and
inspect their cars, and they espouse the belief that the government has
no right to impose taxes.

Some law officers refer to the 6-month-long standoff as a low-intensity
event. The goal, they said, is to persuade Mr. Gray to turn himself in
without shots being fired.

Reporters, intermediaries and Gray family members regularly come and go
from the property at all hours of the day and night.

Mr. Norris' trip to the Gray farm on Oct. 18 lasted for two or three
hours. He and his wife and other members of their group were
photographed with the Gray family.

Those photos are now appearing on an anti-government Web site that has
taken up the Gray family cause.

In the prepared statement, Mr. Norris said, "During the course of our
meeting, it became clear to me that the lack of proper legal
representation for the family has been a major factor in the stalemate.

"I offered to provide the family with representation at no cost to
them, to which they agreed," the statement continued.

Mr. Gray's felony charges stem from a traffic stop in Anderson County
last Dec. 24. Two state troopers said Mr. Gray was armed with a pistol
in a shoulder holster and refused their order to get out of the car.
During a scuffle, he bit one officer on the hand and tried to disarm
the other one, according to the charges.

Since May, Mr. Gray and family members have been living without
electricity on their farm. Sympathizers bring them food and clothing.
Authorities have not attempted to seal off the roads going into their
farm.

Mr. Norris said he believes "significant progress" has been made in
resolving the standoff and that everyone hopes to "bring it to a
peaceful and equitable" solution.

Chief Deputy Ronny Brownlow of the Henderson County Sheriff's
Department said Monday that Mr. Norris' intervention has had no
noticeable effect on negotiations.

"It hasn't had any yet," Mr. Brownlow said. "All I know is he [Mr.
Norris] went out there."

Anderson County District Attorney Doug Lowe, who would prosecute Mr.
Gray, was not available for comment Monday. Other officials involved in
the case said Mr. Lowe has met with the attorneys hired by Mr. Norris.

"We're still intent on resolving this thing peacefully," Mr. Brownlow
said.