he found this ad in the local newspaper. ray s own words, again. we got the address of the aeromarine supply out of the wanted ads section. i called there and they had a large supply of rifles. the store owner did not want to be interviewed, but pointed out where ray stood at the counter that day. i asked the salesman for a deer rifle, he showed me one, which i bought. but after ray left, he insisted the mystery man, raoul, told him to get a different rifle. i then called aeromarine and told them it was the wrong kind of rifle. i think i told them my brother-in-law told me that. ray wrote brother-in-law in this account. but the salesman told the fbi that ray said, his brother. did he mean you? were you in birmingham that day? no, that was just a figure of speech, i guess. because at that time i had never been in the state of birmingham. this is the rifle james earl ray would buy.
seller said ray paid him in cash, mostly 20s. he paid that guy $2,000 in 20s, that would be a lot of money. there s another dot connected to the bank of alton. detective john light thinks that money came from the robbery. if so, enough to keep ray on the run for another year. $30,000 back in 1967 was a lot of money. but james earl ray claims the money came from the mysterious raoul. never a last name. he just called that name raoul. that s the only name he ever called him. ray got an alabama driver s license under his alias, eric starvo galt. he registered the mustang under the same name. with this new license plate and his new identity, ray left for mexico. by mid november, ray, on the right, had move on to los angeles and settled into a low-rent hotel on hollywood boulevard. he took dancing lessons and bar tending lessons, but perhaps more significantly, he did this.
come back and do it. he said, if we don t have a peaceful march in memphis, we cannot go to washington. that very next day, friday, march 29th, james earl ray drove from atlanta back to birmingham. he found this ad in the local newspaper. ray s own words, again. we got the address of the aeromarine supply out of the wanted ads section. i called there and they had a large supply of rifles. the store owner did not want to be interviewed, but pointed out where ray stood at the counter that day. i asked the salesman for a deer rifle, he showed me one, which i bought. but after ray left, he insisted the mystery man, raoul, told him to get a different rifle. i then called aeromarine and told them it was the wrong kind of rifle. i think i told them my brother-in-law told me that. ray wrote brother-in-law in
i thought the way to find out what ray knew was to make a deal with him. in august of 1967 at the neptune tavern in montreal, ray said he met a mysterious man he knew only as raoul. the man ray would blame for everything that followed. i think the first time i contacted raoul was the second time i frequented the bar with the pilot wheels in the window. he started the conversation. altogether, i would say i talked to him seven or eight times. as ray told it, raoul paid him to smuggle something, he never knew what, across the border in detroit. 100 square blocks are now under siege. he came back into the country only a few weeks after detroit erupted in a firestorm of rioting. at least 40 killed after a black confrontation with white police. america s second deadly urban riot in the summer of 67. ray drove on to chicago for a reunion with his brother, jerry.
but on that roof, there was no place to hide. if you are up there, anybody can see you from across the street. they walked around just a minute and came back down. the agents left. he never saw them again. that wednesday, april 3rd, in the coffee shop at the lorraine hotel, dr. king was handed court papers forbidding a second march. this local newspaper story mentioned king was staying at lorraine. that evening, on the outskirts of town, james earl ray drove his mustang up to the new rebel inn. he registered again as eric galt. i checked in the new rebel upon arrival in memphis. raoul showed up that night about 8:00 or 9:00. he had a rain coat on, as it was raining out. as ray told it, raoul wanted to show the rifle ray bought in birmingham to foreign buyers in an apparent gun-running deal.