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03/18/93
Teen-ager who left sect ordered held as material witness; Action may deter exits, lawyer says
By Christy Hoppe / The Dallas Morning News
WACO-A judge ordered a 19-year-old cult member held without bail Wednesday after prosecutors unveiled a recorded conversation in which the teen said he could have shot a federal agent during a confrontation last month.
Oliver Gyarfas of Australia, who voluntarily left the Branch Davidian compound Saturday, said the federal agent was "lucky' he wasn't shot, according to a transcript of the tape.
Disclosure of the tape was the first public indication that the negotiations were being recorded by the FBI and that comments made by members of the religious sect could be used in court against them.
U.S. Magistrate Dennis Green ordered Mr. Gyarfas held without bail as a material witness in the gunbattle Feb. 28 between Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents and the Branch Davidians.
Mr. Gyarfas' attorney, Brian Pollard, had sought to have him released. Mr. Pollard said after the hearing that the detention of Mr. Gyarfas could send the wrong message.
"I kind of think if people think they're going to be detained when they get out, they're not going to want to come out,' Mr. Pollard said, referring to other cult members in the compound.
U.S. Attorney Ron Ederer of San Antonio told reporters that he did not know whether such information would be detrimental to negotiations between the FBI and the followers of religious leader David Koresh.
Asked whether all adults who leave the compound will be detained, he said, "You'll have to ask the judge about that.'
Mr. Ederer declined to discuss any potential action in the case involving Mr. Gyarfas.
In the hearing, Texas Ranger Robert Garza read a transcript of a conversation recorded at 12:04 a.m. March 8, between Mr. Gyarfas and FBI negotiator John Cox.
Mr. Garza read only a small excerpt from the 20-minute talk, which begins by Mr. Gyarfas saying, "Hello, this is an Aussie from down under, mate.'
He then goes on to tell Mr. Cox: "I'd just like to tell you about my experience (on Feb. 28). I heard gunfire, so we've got a bunker- you know, what that is? Well anyway, it's like a tornado shelter or something like that.
"I went down there and walked up in a tunnel entrance, and I could see one of you guys in a puddle (reflection). I couldn't shoot the guy because he was behind some cement. He was lucky. I'm ready, I'm ready for any action you guys want to give out. That is all I'm telling you.'
Mr. Pollard said after the hearing that his client was asleep when the shooting began and went down into the shelter for cover. He said Mr. Gyarfas was unarmed, and his comments were taken out of context.
He said Mr. Gyarfas was upset because his friend at the compound, Peter Gent, was killed during the shootout, and he was just "venting his anger' at federal agents in the phone conversation.
Mr. Pollard also said he knew his client had talked to an FBI negotiator but the transcript and the recording, which was not brought to the courtroom, came as a surprise.
"I had known that he had talked to authorities before, but I didn't know there was a tape made,' he said.
Mr. Green is expected to decide Thursday whether to continue the detention of cult follower Kathryn Schroeder, 30, who walked out of the compound the same day as Mr. Gyarfas.
Mr. Gyarfas' only relatives in the United States are his pregnant sister, her daughter and her husband, who remain in the compound, according to evidence presented at the hearing. Mr. Gyarfas' mother and father, who are unemployed, are in Australia.
In addition, testimony indicated that Mr. Gyarfas entered the United States to join Mr. Koresh's group April 1 and that his tourist's visa expired in September.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Johnston, who handled the hearing in Waco, asked that Mr. Gyarfas be detained because he had no ties to the area and posed a flight risk to the court.
Mr. Gyarfas was handcuffed and manacled on his way into and out of the courthouse. Mr. Gyarfas took the stand in his defense, saying he no longer had his passport and would promise to stay in Waco, possibly at a halfway house.
During his four days in custody, Mr. Gyarfas has spoken to Mr.
Koresh twice to assure him that he is being treated kindly, Mr. Pollard said.
"He would like the people in the compound to realize he's being treated OK,' Mr. Pollard said.
He said Mr. Gyarfas took the ruling of his detention well.
"Even though he might have some unorthodox religious beliefs, I
think that perhaps he sees it as, well, bad things happen occasionally, and I'm going through some temporary bad things and I'll withstand it,' the attorney said.
Mr. Gyarfas, as he returned to the jail, told reporters that he loves those in the comopound and hopes "to see them one day.'
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