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Show SALT FLAT NEWS, DECEMBER, 1970 4 Lawns Fay Gillette By Richard Menzks boxes of statute books, file cases Tooele Fay Gillette sat at his desk surrounded by a man who &jce of and piles of congested loot. His expression was that of skepticism ali Behind it of humor, it. has seen everything, heard everything, and doesn? believe a word of and violence, pervades the office born of the old West and steeped in the blood and gore of mayhem silent communion with the spirit, and the staff he commands. Nearby sat Chief Deputy Cliff Carson in as extra funny and he sheriff the struck a mildly ironic smile playing on his lips. Then something frowned extra hard a frown like an inverted grin. No one can stand in the office without being affected by the atmosphere; the laconic language of email town law enforcement catches on, and one soon finds himself speaking seldom in the simple ' declarative and observing pregnant silences, at will name his the end blade razor suggests, as the Fay Gillette, fast on the drawl and still sharp Tooele The to service of County. sheriff, of the year turn in his badge, ending nearly a quarter century who underwent major heart surgery a year ago, said his health at the present time is good but he wants to keep it that way. Taking his place will be Chief Deputy Carson, Gillette s. right hand man for more than twenty-tw- o . years. That afternoon, the sheriff was on his way to court and nudged me to come along. As he started the car, the radio began a strain of country and western music; Fay hastily switched to the police band, bunts of static and garblese that only cops can understand. The policemen drove to City Hall, a yellow brick building with a stone replica of the Ten Commandments out front and a plaque by the ' door proclaiming Tooele a Flag City. We entered the chambers where City Judge Earl Marshall sat reading a bill of rights to two very contrite-lookin- g soldiers. Sheriff Gillette and Deputy Carson took seats opposite the prisoners and sat OiAi.AM. nn m n tn KaWA VAVOPOtlflv A mORVl. f 11 Ml IBl Wl 111 lfilV YlflOlfB reeked of authority. 1 Fay Gillette, sheriff of Tooele County for almost a quarter century, will step out of office next year. The two men stood accused of a felony, punishable by one to ten years. When they declined to post bail of one thousand dollars each, the judge suggested they be remanded to the custody of their pornmnnHing officer. A call was placed to Dugway Proving Grounds, but their captain refused the honor. The prisoners were led away. Eightballs, sighed the judge. The sheriff and deputy nodded assent. What are they in for? I asked. Maliciously killing another animal, replied the sheriff. I puzzled that. Inquiring further, I was told the two were accused of murdering a range cow in cold blood, with blasts from a .30 caliber rifle and a shotgun. Why would anyone do something like that? Theyre just full of hell, someone said. There was a pause. The whole worlds full of hell, said the judge. The lawmen nodded. Used to be this town was full of nice folks, added the sheriff, now its full of hoods. The judge, who keeps a picture of a horse on his desk, looked up at the calendar, then at his watch. Seventeen months, twenty-thre- e minutes, he announced. days, four hours, and thirty-seve- n Whats that, asked Carson. Ill be old enough to retire. My mother said I was bom at twelve oclock. Thats when Im going home. The prisoners were driven from city hall to the jail, a whitewashed brick building of approximately the same vintage as the Alamo. As we entered a few tenants stirred, and one young man, the trustee, fairly leaped. A television set had been pushed up to the bars, so the prisoners could, watch daytime television by way of cruel and unusual punishment. Gillette yanked out the plug and shoved the set back. A soft life, he remarked, sitting around watching television. The two soldiers were escorted into the cells, where they stood looking bemusedly, perhaps for the first time, at bars. Without comment, the sheriff slammed the door shut with a peremptory clank and the bemused expressions vanished. ' Only one sound more final than that, remarked Highway Patrolman Howard Cooper afterward, referring to the jail door. Thats the closing of a coffin lid. We were sitting in a Tooele cafe waiting for the cook to fill the prisoners lunch box. Sergeant Cooper and the sheriff were debating which is easier, to drive at a hundred and ten miles per hour with a front tire blown out or with a rear tire blown out. Gillette opted for the front tire, Cooper for the rear. Both seemed to think it possible. Between sips of coffee, the officers bantered with the waitresses, recommending available males for everybody. On the way out, a girl suggested a romantic match for Gillette; however, the sheriff, who describes himself offhand as a sexless senior citizen, declined. The food looked pretty good, I remarked. We dont feed em slop. Two good meals a day. Its not a bad place. Hell, some people, they THRIVE in jail. . As we drove back I brought up the latest murder case in Tooele County. Do you have any suspects? I asked. Suspects? returned the sheriff narrowly. Weve got the ones who did it. You have a good case, then? The sheriff went on to catalog the evidence, including an impression of tire tracks matching the , suspect s vehicle, foliage from the scene found on the getaway car, fingerprints on a recovered gun identified as the murder weapon and registered in the suspects name, and two signed confessions. Do you think we have a case? he added dryly. Why did they do it? They thought it would be fun to kill somebody. Bonnie and Cyle kind of stuff. They must be crazy. Not crazy . . . nuts. Theres a difference, you know. New Sheriff-elec- twenty-tw- o Chief Deputy Cliff Carson, a veteran of and a half years with the sheriffs department. t is er Ratakellcr Try our . . . SPECIALTY SANDWICHES 250 SOUTH 3RD EAST SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH Whats that? Well, a crazy person is insane. A nut is well a university psychiatrist had a word for it." Gillette had a word for it, too. I can only say it was very descriptive and very unprintable. Sheriff Gillette attributes the success of his department in solving the homicide case to a lot of lurd work. Indeed, the wheels of Tooele County justice turn, in the words of the German poet Goethe, without haste, without rest. In like manner Gillette has pursued several killers in his Goethe, without haste, without rest. In like manner Gillette has pursued several killers in his twenty-fou- r years as sheriff and brought them all to justice. On one occasion a latent fingerprint found on a facial tissue box in a car abandoned in the desert lead to the arrest and conviction of a man accused Mexico. He had wiped everything in the car clean with a 5T.!?U,:der8 1 damp rag, Gillette stated, but somehow he missed that box. Evidence or no, it seems that merely the sheriffs implacable, stare could extract a confession from a cucumber. As the past president of the Utah Peace Officers and the Utah Sheriffs associations prepares to step down, he leaves behind no murders unsolved and no persons unaccounted for in his district. But next year there will be at least one missing person in Tooele County Sheriff Fay Gillette. ev&to4' on a big Sourdough French Roll eeww RATSK ELLER 340 East 1st South TAKEOUTS PHONE 355-172- 9 PIZZAS Salt Lake City, Utah 0 Phone 363-120- |
