Mr. GRIFFIN. No. I am not making myself clear. I am sorry. Did Sorrels
say anything to Ruby about Sorrels' acquaintanceship among the Jewish
merchants, that you recall?
Mr. DEAN. No. I don't--seems like he said something, that he had--that
he knew some Jewish--I don't recall exactly what, but relative to what
you are asking, he did say something about he was acquainted with some
person that was a Jew, something to that effect.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Are you acquainted with the name of a guy named Honest Joe?
Mr. DEAN. Right. Yes, sir.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Tell us what you remember about that.
Mr. DEAN. Well, he said, "Well, I know Honest Joe or"--In other words,
the only thing that I got out of that was that he knew Honest Joe. This
wasn't relative to what I wanted to find out from Ruby, and I just
disregarded this from my mind.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Now, did this take place inside the jail cell?
Mr. DEAN. No, sir. He was in the hallway or the corridor outside a jail
cell. He hadn't been placed in a cell.
Mr. GRIFFIN. And were Archer, Clardy, and McMillon around during this
conversation?
Mr. DEAN. Yes, sir. I think they stood there.
Mr. GRIFFIN. And how long would you say that Sorrels talked with Ruby?
Mr. DEAN. Oh, 10 minutes.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Now, do you remember anything that Sorrels learned from
Ruby?
Mr. DEAN. Yes, sir.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Can you tell us what that was?
Mr. DEAN. Yes. He asked him what possessed him to do it. Of course,
I have testified to all this in court. And he said that he was--had
been despondent over the assassination of the President, also Officer
Tippit, and that he was a very emotional man, and that out of grief for
both these people, was one of the motivations, and that he couldn't see
any reason for a long and lengthy trial, even though he believed in due
process of law.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Did he talk with Sorrels at all at that time about how he
got into the basement?
Mr. DEAN. No, sir. I asked him--Sorrels didn't ask any questions
relative to that. I did.
Mr. GRIFFIN. How long after Sorrels finished talking with Ruby did you
ask that question?
Mr. DEAN. Immediately. After Mr. Sorrels said, "Okay. Thank you." And I
don't recall whether Mr. Sorrels stayed there or whether he walked off.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Who else was present when you asked Ruby that question?
Mr. DEAN. I think McMillon and them were still there. I just really
didn't--I knew that I wasn't by myself with him. I knew that there was
someone there and I believe it was McMillon and Archer that had stayed
there. I am not sure.
Mr. GRIFFIN. What else did you talk with Ruby about, after Sorrels
finished talking to him?
Mr. DEAN. After Sorrels finished, I said, "Ruby, I want to ask you a
couple of questions myself." And he said, "All right." I said, "How did
you get in the basement?" And he said, "I walked in the Main Street
ramp." And he told me, he said, "I have just been to the Western Union
to mail a money order to Fort Worth." And he said, "I walked from the
Western Union to the ramp." And he said, "I saw Sam Pierce--" and he
referred to him as Sam Pierce--"drive out of the basement. At that
time, at the time the car drove out is when I walked in."
Mr. GRIFFIN. Is there a Sam Pierce on the force?
Mr. DEAN. Yes, sir. He is a lieutenant. He is here tonight.
Mr. GRIFFIN. His name is also Rio Pierce?
Mr. DEAN. Lt. Rio S. Pierce, yes, sir.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Does he go by the name Sam?
Mr. DEAN. Yes, sir.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Does he also go by the name Rio?
Mr. DEAN. Yes, sir.