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04/09/93
Hopes for sect surrender dim; Group discounts hope of post-Passover end to standoff
By Christy Hoppe / The Dallas Morning News
WACO-David Koresh and his followers Thursday again dimmed hopes that they will emerge from the Branch Davidian compound soon after their observation of Passover ends Wednesday.
In a telephone conversation Thursday morning, Koresh lieutenant Steve Schneider told FBI negotiators that, "he never understood what the big deal was about Passover. And he was wondering why everybody was putting so much stock in them coming out after the passing of Passover,' FBI Special Agent Bob Ricks said.
Agent Ricks called the conversation "disheartening' but noted that the religious cult members had backtracked on promises before. He said he still holds out some hope that the 40-day standoff might end next week.
Houston attorneys Jack Zimmermann and Dick DeGuerin met with the cult leader and Mr. Schneider on Sunday and reported that the 96 Branch Davidians would probably leave their compound peacefully after Passover.
"Now, Mr. Schneider said he doesn't know where that came from,' Agent Ricks said.
Mr. Zimmermann said Thursday that he still believes the siege might end soon after Mr. Koresh completes his seven-day observation of the holiday.
"They agreed that it would be in their best legal interest to follow our advice and come out peacefully,' Mr. Zimmermann said.
"We didn't give anybody a date. Mr. DeGuerin was asked if he thought they would come out soon after Passover. He said he thought they would. We remain in that position.'
The apparent backtracking by Mr. Schneider followed a night of bangs and flashes set off by FBI agents after a person in the compound exited through a window about 10 p.m. Wednesday.
Agent Ricks said he thought the person might have been trying to retrieve firewood or water, an act violating the FBI's requirement that anyone leaving the compound must get federal permission, especially at night when FBI agents fear sniper or other attacks.
The FBI agent said that as soon as someone was seen crawling out the window, incendiary devices and loud bangs were set off to chase him back inside.
Mr. Schneider quickly called the FBI after the devices were set off but refused to confirm to the agency that someone had left the compound.
Mr. Koresh also talked to the FBI, and Agent Ricks said the leader also was reminded that no one could leave the compound unannounced.
After Mr. Koresh responded with a barrage of angry swearing, "we hung up on Mr. Koresh because of his abusive language,' Agent Ricks said.
Despite his claims to be Jesus Christ, he added, "David Koresh regularly uses four-letter words, and some of them are a little longer than that.'
The only known activity Thursday night was the unfurling of a new banner from a compound window. It read: "FBI: God sees your lies.' At the bottom, it referred to a bible verse, Habakkuk 3:14. The verse reads: "You pierced with his own arrows the head of his warriors, who came like a whirlwind to scatter us, gloating as if ready to devour the poor who were in hiding.'
On Thursday, federal Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Special Agent David Troy said he could not comment on a report that a federal undercover agent in the Branch Davidian compound advised his supervisors to cancel the Feb. 28 raid.
A story in the Houston Chronicle, citing two unidentified sources, reported that an undercover agent inside the compound just before the raid told his supervisors in Waco and Washington to cancel the action because Mr. Koresh had gotten a telephone tip warning that ATF agents were on the way.
The newspaper also reported that the undercover agent had recounted his warning and his shock that the warning wasn't heeded to Texas Rangers investigating the deaths of four agents killed during the raid.
Two federal law enforcement officials familiar with the raid and ongoing Rangers investigation said Thursday that some-but not all- of the newspaper story was accurate.
One official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the undercover agent's account to ATF investigators shortly after the raid differed from the sworn statement he gave to Texas Rangers two days later.
"The (undercover agent's) story has become more definitive as to what he saw and observed as time has gone on. It has become more emphatic, the surety that Koresh had to know something,' the official said.
The agent's statement to the Rangers is at odds with sworn statements taken from agents who were inside the house where the undercover agent went after leaving the compound and raid commanders who spoke to the agent about conditions inside the compound, the official said. "Their recollection of what happened and what was said is different than his,' the official said.
The official said the undercover agent spoke only to raid tactical commanders in Waco and reported to them that Mr. Koresh was nervous and agitated after taking a telephone call. "No call was made to Washington,' the official said. "All the decisions were made in Waco.'
Another official, who helped plan and participated in the raid, said the undercover agent also reported that Mr. Koresh also specifically told his followers that ATF was "on the way.'
But that official insisted that the undercover agent did not urge his superiors to cancel or postpone the raid, which capped an eight-month investigation dubbed "Trojan Horse.'
But as a result of the undercover agent's report, the official said, the raid was moved up 20 minutes earlier than originally planned. "We decided to hurry up and go in. After he got that phone call, we didn't want to give him any time to think about it,' the official said. "You get burned on raids. It happens. And if you think you've been burned, you think he'd be destroying evidence or trying to flee before you get there. In Koresh's case, we thought he'd be praying. We pushed it ahead for safety's sake,' the official said.
Instead of praying or normal activity, however, 80 agents assigned to take the compound met with intense gunfire when they drove up in horse trailers and began their assault to the code word "show time.'
Meanwhile, authorities seemed unconcerned that any future investigations might be compromised by the presence of a former law enforcement officer among the Branch Davidians. Jaydean Wendel, 34, served as a Honolulu police officer for 10 months in 1980 and 1981, said Police Department spokeswoman Jean Motoyama. During that time, Ms. Wendel was assigned to the Waikiki and downtown Honolulu area, where she probably served on foot patrol, Ms. Motoyama said.
Staff writers Lee Hancock and Diane Jennings contributed to this report.
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