Mr. BELIN. All right. And then what did they say?
Mr. JOHNSON. Well, they wanted to see the rooms. They had described his
age, his build, and so forth, and we had two more boys rooming there.
Uh--and my wife was going to let them see the rooms.
Mr. BELIN. Your wife was going to let them see the rooms that you
had--and you had a total of 17 roomers, I believe you said?
Mr. JOHNSON. Well, no. I don't know just how many roomers we had. We
have 17 bedrooms--but I don't know just, at that time, how many roomers
we had.
But, anyway, we had a couple of boys around his age that had moved in
just a few days before, and, so, she was going to let them see their
rooms.
Mr. BELIN. All right. And then what happened?
Mr. JOHNSON. Well, I saw his picture on television and I hollered at
them and told them. They were out in the back, started around the house
to the--uh--basement where these boys room. The bedrooms are all in the
basement. And they were going back there.
And--uh--I just called them and told them, I said, "Why, it's this
fellow that lives in here."
Mr. BELIN. You told them that you had seen the picture of this man on
television?
Mr. JOHNSON. Yes.
Mr. BELIN. And did you tell them what this man was known to you as?
Mr. JOHNSON. Yes.
Mr. BELIN. What did they say?
Mr. JOHNSON. Well, they wanted to see the records, and we showed
them--the register, I mean--and we showed them the register.
And then they searched his room.
Mr. BELIN. You showed them the register with this name of O. H. Lee?
Mr. JOHNSON. That's right.
Mr. BELIN. When was it, after that, that Mrs. Roberts said that he had
been there that day?
Mr. JOHNSON. It was along about--during the conversation with
these--uh--men.
Mr. BELIN. Did she see his picture on television at the same time you
did?
Mr. JOHNSON. Yes.
Mr. BELIN. Did she say anything about him being O. H. Lee--or not?
Mr. JOHNSON. Uh--yes. We all--uh--were just discussing it, you
know. And she told him--I believe she did--or my wife did. Said,
"Well, that's the reason we didn't understand who they were looking
for--because we didn't know him as Oswald."
Mr. BELIN. All right. Who recognized his face on television first? You
or Mrs. Roberts?
Mr. JOHNSON. I believe I was the one--best I remember.
Mr. BELIN. Was Mrs. Roberts looking at television at the same time you
were then, or not?
Mr. JOHNSON. Well, we were all talking--talking, like I say, to the
officers and so forth. And--uh--I believe though that she was looking
at it at the same time I was. My wife had just stepped out of the house
with the officers.
Mr. BELIN. Now, what did Mrs. Roberts say about this man having been at
the home earlier that day--this O. H. Lee, which they had identified as
Lee Harvey Oswald?
Mr. JOHNSON. She just--uh--I believe she told them that he came in
and got a little--uh--sport coat, or some sort of a little coat, and
slipped it on and went right back out. And she said that she made the
remark that he--said, "You must be in a hurry"--and he didn't say
anything; went on out the door.
And the next thing we knew or heard of him was after Tippit was shot.
Mr. BELIN. Do you remember anything else she said about Lee Harvey
Oswald's visit to your home?
Mr. JOHNSON. No. That's just about it.
Mr. BELIN. Could you describe Lee Harvey Oswald at all? What kind of a
person was he?
Mr. JOHNSON. Well, he was nice enough, I'd say, as a roomer because
he always kept his room nice and he was very well-behaved. He
didn't--uh--talk to anyone. He might speak to you when he came in and
he might not. I suppose it was according to the mood he was in, or
something, I never did think too much about it--because--uh--we have so
many roomers anyway that I don't pay too much attention.
Mr. BELIN. Did he drink at all?
Mr. JOHNSON. Not that I know of. I don't--if he ever did drink a bottle
of beer, I never did know it; never did smell it, or anything.
Mr. BELIN. Did he smoke cigarettes--do you know?
Mr. JOHNSON. I don't remember.
Mr. BELIN. Do you remember if he was right-handed or left-handed?
Mr. JOHNSON. [Pausing before reply] No.
Mr. BELIN. Did he stay out late at night or was he generally home
relatively early in the evening?
Mr. JOHNSON. He was home--uh--usually right after work and just--uh--I
suppose he'd go out and eat or maybe to the washateria or somewhere
like that. If he was ever gone any other than this--the night before
the assassination, I didn't know it. It was after we had already gone
to bed, if he did leave.
Mr. BELIN. What time did he leave for work in the morning, do you know?
Mr. JOHNSON. I believe, around 7:30, something like that. Now, I
wouldn't be sure because we leave out real early and I was never there.
But I--I think that they said--Mrs. Roberts, I believe, or some of
them--said he left around 7:30. Now, I wouldn't say for sure.
Mr. BELIN. Do you know whether or not he took his lunch to work with
him?
Mr. JOHNSON. No; I don't.
Mr. BELIN. You don't know?
Mr. JOHNSON. No.
Mr. BELIN. Is there a bus that goes by or near your house that goes
near to where he worked?
Mr. JOHNSON. The bus comes right by the house.
Mr. BELIN. What bus is that?
Mr. JOHNSON. The Beckley bus.
Mr. BELIN. The Beckley bus? Does it stop right in front of your house?
Mr. JOHNSON. It stops right--uh--well, my house is the third house from
the corner, and it stops right on the corner.
Mr. BELIN. And does that go right to or near Elm and Houston?
Mr. JOHNSON. It goes right by there.
Mr. BELIN. And can you pick up a bus near Elm and Houston to get right
back to your house?
Mr. JOHNSON. Yes; I believe it goes right back down--uh--Elm.
Mr. BELIN. Did Lee Harvey Oswald generally stay at your home on
weekends?
Mr. JOHNSON. No.
Mr. BELIN. Do you know where he went?
Mr. JOHNSON. Uh--no; I don't. I just assumed he went home.