the gun that wasn't there (prologue)
Every day people cross the Rio Grande River and enter into Texas and the United States illegally. Most of these men and women are hardworking individuals in search of a job and a better way of life. [i] But every so often one of these people is a criminal who preys on their unsuspecting victims; and, such was the case in the 1960s with Alfredo Amador Hernandez.[ii]
Hernandez was a bandit whose burglaries and armed robberies, and at least one attempted murder, brought fear and anger into different areas of Real, Uvalde, Val Verde and Terrell counties. Excerpts of his major crimes were written about within the pages of the Uvalde Leader News,[iii] Del Rio News-Herald,[iv] the Sanderson Times,[v] Odessa American,[vi] Corpus Christi Caller-Times,[vii] San Angelo Standard-Times[viii] and the San Antonio Express-News,[ix] but there is so much more to this part of Texas history.
The story is also about the victims, the people who
lived in those counties and the difficulty of the terrain. It is
about the law enforcement officers and their posses who pursued the man with
their limited resources, and it is about Bill Cooksey, the former Terrell
County Sheriff who first told this writer about Hernandez.
Cooksey was a lawman who went to work one day and didn’t take the revolver he usually placed in a holster alongside his right hip. Instead he stuck a small semi-automatic pistol inside the waistband of his pants. It was a decision that nearly cost him his life.
This writer’s investigation into this part of Texas history included literally dozens of interviews, thousands of miles traveled and the research of newspapers, photographs, moon and weather data, court and prison records and a file about Hernandez that Sheriff Cooksey gave me. By the conclusion of the investigation, this writer had developed a sense, a perception of the criminal’s habits and demeanor as he committed his crimes. Even though a few discrepancies were found and memories may not have been as sharp as they were back in the 60s, the following chapters of The Gun That Wasn’t There[x] should give the reader an historical account of what some might call the legend of the Caveman Bandit.
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The Gun That Wasn’t There (Booksurge) includes endnotes and an index. It is available from Amazon.com and in selected bookstores in the Texas Hill Country and West Texas. The softback book retails for $18.99 on Amazon.com and $19.95 in the retail stores. Hardback books are available from several bookstores and the author. |
[ii] Bill Cooksey, former Terrell County Sheriff, interview by Russell Smith, January 6, 1990, Odessa, Texas.
[iii] Uvalde Leader News, June 7, 1962; November 29, 1962; March 7, 1963; December 12, 1963; February 27, 1964; March 1, 1964; March 8, 1964.
[iv] Del Rio News-Herald, July 12, 1965; November 5, 1965; November 7, 1965; November 14, 1965; undated August 1966.
[v] Sanderson Times, January 15, 1965; February 19, 1965; July 16, 1965; August 20, 1965; November 12, 1965; November 25, 1965; April 21, 1966; July 21, 1966; August 11, 1966; August 25, 1966; September 15, 1966; September 29, 1966; November 3, 1966; September 14, 1967.
[vi] Odessa American, November 11, 1965; August 21, 1966; September 11, 1966.
[vii] Corpus Christi Caller-Times, November 6, 1965.
[viii] San Angelo Standard-Times, July 12, 1965; November 5, 1965; November 6, 1965; November 8, 1965; November 11, 1965; November 19, 1965; December 12, 1965; August 6, 1966; August 21, 1966; August 23, 1966.
[ix] San Antonio Express-News, November 19, 1965; August 21, 1966.
[x] Diasy Diaz-Alemany, PhD, LPC, suggested title, Austin, Texas.
