The testimony of L. D. Montgomery was taken at 4:50 p.m., on April 6,
1964, in the office of the U.S. attorney, 301 Post Office Building,
Bryan and Ervay Streets, Dallas, Tex., by Messrs. Joseph A. Ball, John
Hart Ely, and Samuel A. Stern, assistant counsel of the President's
Commission. Dr. Alfred Goldberg, historian, was present.
Mr. BALL. Will you stand up and be sworn?
Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you are about to give before
the Commission will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the
truth, so help you God?
Mr. MONTGOMERY. I do.
Mr. BALL. Be seated and state your name, please.
Mr. MONTGOMERY. L. D. Montgomery.
Mr. BALL. And what is your occupation?
Mr. MONTGOMERY. Police officer.
Mr. BALL. You are called before the Commission to give such information
as you have as to the assassination of President Kennedy, and you have
been advised by your superiors, have you, that we have requested your
presence here?
Mr. MONTGOMERY. I have been over here twice now already.
Mr. BALL. You have been here before?
Mr. MONTGOMERY. Yes; I gave one deposition on this.
Mr. BALL. And that had to do with what subject?
Mr. MONTGOMERY. Well, they covered about all of it, really.
Mr. BALL. Have you already testified as to the search of this Texas
State Book Depository?
Mr. MONTGOMERY. Well, sir; some of that was in there--yes, sir. Mr.
Griffin took it.
Mr. BALL. Did he ask you about the time you went down to the sixth
floor of the Texas State Book Depository?
Mr. MONTGOMERY. Yes; I discussed all that, but I don't believe it's in
that deposition; now, I don't believe it was in the typed deposition.
Mr. BALL. I had better ask you the questions now.
How long have you been on the police force?
Mr. MONTGOMERY. I have been on down there 9 years.
Mr. BALL. What is your job?
Mr. MONTGOMERY. Detective in the homicide bureau.
Mr. BALL. On November 22, 1963, were you on duty?
Mr. MONTGOMERY. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. What time did you go to work that day?
Mr. MONTGOMERY. Let me see, that morning I was working 8 to 4.
Mr. BALL. And to what work were you assigned?
Mr. MONTGOMERY. Well, that particular morning at that time we was
trying to round up some hijackers.
Mr. BALL. Were you sent down to the Texas State Book Depository?
Mr. MONTGOMERY. Yes, sir; I was.
Mr. BALL. What time did you get there?
Mr. MONTGOMERY. I got there, I guess--it was about 12:40 or 12:45.
Mr. BALL. And what did you do when you got there?
Mr. MONTGOMERY. I reported to the sixth floor there.
Mr. BALL. Did you take part in the search of the sixth floor?
Mr. MONTGOMERY. Well, first I reported to Captain Fritz, my partner and
I, and he assigned us to this position over there where the boxes were.
Mr. BALL. Where was that?
Mr. MONTGOMERY. It would be what--the southeast corner of the
building--over there from where the shooting took place.
Mr. BALL. Well, was that before the cartridges had been found or
afterwards?
Mr. MONTGOMERY. No, sir; they had been found when we got there.
Mr. BALL. When you got there they had been found already?
Mr. MONTGOMERY. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. What about the rifle, had it been found?
Mr. MONTGOMERY. No, sir; it hadn't.
Mr. BALL. The rifle was found after you got there?
Mr. MONTGOMERY. Yes.
Mr. BALL. Did you see anything else over in the southeast corner of
that sixth floor?
Mr. MONTGOMERY. Well, sir, as I say, there was a lot of boxes and there
was a sack and there was this pieces of chicken.
Mr. BALL. Was there a piece of chicken over there?
Mr. MONTGOMERY. Yes, sir--there was chicken bones and what not--it
looked like somebody had been eating chicken there.
Mr. BALL. Where was that?
Mr. MONTGOMERY. It was right there with the boxes--right there on the
floor.
Mr. BALL. On the floor?
Mr. MONTGOMERY. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. All right.
Mr. MONTGOMERY. Well, let me see, there was one piece of chicken on a
box and there was a piece on the floor--just kind of scattered around
right there.
Mr. BALL. Where was the paper sack?
Mr. MONTGOMERY. Let's see--the paper sack--I don't recall for sure if
it was on the floor or on the box, but I know it was just there--one of
those pictures might show exactly where it was.
Mr. BALL. I don't have a picture of the paper sack.
Mr. MONTGOMERY. You don't? Well, it was there--I can't recall for sure
if it was on one of the boxes or on the floor there.
Mr. BALL. It was over in what corner?
Mr. MONTGOMERY. It would be the southeast corner of the building there
where the shooting was.
Mr. BALL. Did you turn the sack over to anybody or did you pick it up?
Mr. MONTGOMERY. Yes--let's see--Lieutenant Day and Detective Studebaker
came up and took pictures and everything, and then we took a Dr. Pepper
bottle and that sack that we found that looked like the rifle was
wrapped up in.
Mr. BALL. Now, where was the Dr. Pepper bottle?
Mr. MONTGOMERY. It was over a little more to the west of that window.
Mr. BALL. There was a sack of chicken bones with that--near that Dr.
Pepper bottle?
Mr. MONTGOMERY. No; the Dr. Pepper bottle, the best I can recall, was
sitting over there by itself.
Mr. BALL. Where was the sack with the chicken in it?
Mr. MONTGOMERY. It was right around where the boxes were--where the
hulls there were.
Mr. BALL. The picture was taken of the sack by Mr. Studebaker, and he
said it was the third set of windows near the little two-wheel truck?
Mr. MONTGOMERY. Over there by the Dr. Pepper bottle.
Mr. BALL. Correct.
Mr. MONTGOMERY. I was thinking it was right there--it was probably that
other sack I'm thinking about--the one we found on the floor there that
was used.
Mr. BALL. Here are two pictures, which are Exhibits H and I in the
Studebaker depositions, which show the paper sack and the Dr. Pepper
bottle and a two-wheel truck, and that is in Exhibit H, and Exhibit I
shows the Dr. Pepper bottle and a two-wheel truck.
Mr. MONTGOMERY. Is this the sack right here, now?
Mr. BALL. That's right--do you remember that?
Mr. MONTGOMERY. I don't remember the sack being right there--I remember
it was there somewhere, but exactly--I don't.
Mr. BALL. Evidently you don't know?
Mr. MONTGOMERY. No, sir.
Mr. BALL. Now, was there some more chicken some place there also?
Mr. MONTGOMERY. Yes--there would be some more chicken over here around
where the hulls were found.