Because of the $500 dollar phone bill Joe and Ray had run up talking to their friends in Siloam Springs. William had the telephone turned off until they could earn enough money to have it turned back on. He wanted to teach them a lesson on the value of money.
For this reason, when the hospital had tried to contact Joe's family they had to call Jim Pruit, who lived next door. Jim came to the house and got William, telling him that Joe had been shot. William went to his house and called Siloam Springs Hospital. They told him that planned to send him by helicopter to Springdale Hospital where they had better equipment to care for him.
William had stopped to get gas and had Sharon go to the pay phone at the station and call the Springdale Hospital to see if he was there yet. She was told that Joe had died. She passed the information on to William He paid for the gas and headed straight for the Siloam Springs Police Dept to find out what had happened.
On Feb. 19,1993, the night of the shooting, William met the man who had been driving the black car. He was a Siloam Springs Police Detective Lt. Dick Wales.
He was now in charge of running the investigation into the death of our son.
William asked him if he knew the Pearson’s. He replied that he knew a lot of people.
William asked if he knew Kim Pearson and Lt. Wales said he did not.
William knew that this was a lie. He had seen him with her in the car at her house.
Note: on the first meeting with George Spence after the Death of Joe William asked for Lt. Wales to be removed due to what he felt was a conflict of Interest.
The Assistant DA assigned to the case was George Spence. When William spoke to Mr. Spence Lt. Wales was in the room. William asked George Spence if some other officer could do the case because he felt uncomfortable with Lt. Dick Wales.
Spence said that he had worked with Lt Wales before and that he would leave him on the case.
Justice is truth in action. BENJAMIN DISRAELI
