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A former death-row inmate and the Texas Ranger whose investigation once helped convict him both returned to a Burleson County courtroom Friday as attorneys prepared for a re-trial. Ranger Ray Coffman, who now serves as chief in command of the state police agency, contradicted previous testimony as he took the stand for a hearing scheduled, in part, to determine if Anthony Charles Graves' $1 million bail should be reduced. The judge did not make an immediate decision regarding the bail and Graves remained late Friday in custody at the Burleson County Jail. In 1992 - when Graves and co-defendant Robert Carter were accused of having killed a woman and five children in Somerville - Coffman was a ranger for the agency's Bryan office who quickly took over as chief investigator in the case. Authorities accused Graves and Carter of shooting and stabbing 45-year-old Bobbie Joyce Davis, her teenage daughter and four grandchildren before setting her house on fire with the victims' bodies inside. Both co-defendants were found guilty of capital murder and sentenced to death. But Carter, who testified against Graves at his trial, later recanted parts of his story - stating moments before his execution in 2000 that he acted alone. Graves, who has maintained his innocence, has retained the backing of the Texas Innocence Network and a team of attorneys who have taken on his case for free. Last April, a federal court ruled that his 1994 trial was invalid because of false testimony and withheld witness statements. On Friday, Ranger Coffman testified that Carter never told him directly that his alleged accomplice was not guilty. "Not to me, no sir," Coffman said when asked repeatedly about the interactions. "I think he had told the district attorney at that time [and] I think he told the grand jury." During a hearing in October, Coffman surprised defense attorneys with what appeared to be a completely different story. Carter approached him several times stating Graves was not involved, but Coffman never recorded the statements in any reports, he said then, according to a transcript of the hearing. "I've heard him say that [he acted alone] several times to me," he was recorded saying as attorneys repeated the questions several times. "I didn't believe him." Coffman was under oath during both hearings. At the conclusion of Friday's hearing, which took the bulk of the day, 335th District Judge Reva Towslee-Corbett said she will have a decision about Graves' bail at the next hearing, which she scheduled for early April. Towslee-Corbett set the bail at $1 million in December without holding a hearing after a federal judge ruled bail would be set a $50,000 if no action was taken at the state level. Bail bondsmen generally require a cash payment of about 10 percent of a bail amount to represent a defendant - meaning Graves probably would have to raise $100,000 for his current bail but only $5,000 if the federal bail amount were instituted. Witnesses called to the testify Friday by the defense team stated that $5,000 was about all Graves' family could afford. "I already drew my savings when my son was first incarcerated to get some legal counsel for him," Brenham resident Doris Curry said, adding that, if released, her son could stay with her in her two-bedroom apartment. The defense also identified a sister of Graves' who is willing to let the defendant live with her in Pflugerville while out on bail and a real estate developer from Brenham who said he would give Graves a job. Prosecutors, however, pointed out during testimony by Sheriff Dale Stroud that of the two capital murder cases that have occurred in Burleson County over the past five years, one defendant was given $1 million bail and the other was held without bail. Towslee-Corbett also announced Friday rough plans for when the trial will take place. She would prefer that it start in late June, but certainly "no later than August," she said, adding later during the hearing that she hopes to establish a more firm date at the next hearing. Defense attorneys responded that the only hang-up might be the physical evidence - much of which, they said, appears to currently be missing. Prosecutors, who said they still are searching for some items, were given a deadline of May 1 to compile a list of what could not be found. Items that are recovered probably will be sent for forensic testing that was not widely available during the first trial, defense attorneys said, pointing out that such a process could take months - possibly pushing back the desired trial date. Because of a gag order instituted by Towslee-Corbett late last year, attorneys were not allowed to speak about the case outside the courtroom. • Craig Kapitan's e-mail address is craig.kapitan@theeagle.com. Printed from: http://www.theeagle.com/stories/031007/local_20070310070.php
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