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Friday, July 18, 2003 - 8:10 a.m.
On the morning of Friday, July 18, 2003, Officer Joe Wilkins contacted Detectives Armstrong and Murphy at the end of his shift to say he believed he had information that could be relevant to their investigation of the severed hand. Officer Wilkins was interviewed by Det. Ted Armstrong and Det. Sam Murphy. The interview was recorded on a portable tape recorder with the witness's knowledge and consent.
- TA = Detective T. Armstrong
- SM = Detective S. Murphy
- JW = Officer J. Wilkins
TA: Thank you for contacting us, Officer Wilkins. We are going to record this interview, so will you state your name and position for the record, please?
JW: Glad to, Detective. My name is Joe Wilkins. I'm an officer with the Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Department.
TA: You said on the phone you felt you had some information about Andy Fine. Is that right?
JW: Yes, sir. I'm sure I saw Andy Fine early on the morning of July 4.
TA: Well, just tell us in your own words, Joe. You know the drill -- circumstances of the sighting, time, date etc.
JW: Yes, sir. At 1:16 a.m. on July 3, 2003, I observed a purple
Geo Metro driving
erratically on Jackson Avenue West. I suspected the driver was operating his
vehicle under the influence, so I lit him up and pulled him over in the Papa
John's parking lot on the Kaimie's Bowling Alley side. That's in the 1600 block
of Avenue West. I obtained driver's license and registration from the driver,
a Harold Pugh, then requested he exit the vehicle at which time I administered
the Standardized Field Sobriety Test. While I was administering the test, I
observed a white male sort of staggering across the parking lot. I recognized
him at the time as Andrew Fine. It looked like he had traveled on foot east
on Jackson Avenue West and was cutting through the Papa John's parking lot
to Hathorn Road. He caught my attention because he appeared intoxicated
and seemed to be cussin' somebody out, but there was nobody else around. I
didn't attempt to detain him because I was busy with the subject I was already
testing. Pugh failed the test and I took him into custody on a DUI charge.
By the time I had Pugh in the cruiser, Fine was gone.
SM: What time was this?
JW: It must have been close to 1:30 a.m. by the time I had the subject in custody. That couldn't have been more than five minutes after I first saw Fine.
SM: And how did you happen to be able to identify him?
JW: I'd stopped him a couple of days before to give him a warning because his tail light was not operational. I'm positive that the guy I saw walking through that parking lot on the morning of July 4 was the same guy I had stopped.
SM: Did you see where he went?
JW: No. When I looked again, he was gone. But as I was putting Pugh
in the cruiser, I did catch a glimpse of a dark late model SUV just
pulling into the Hathorn Road side of the parking lot. After I got Pugh in
the cruiser, I looked back and the SUV was
pulling out of the parking lot and Fine was nowhere to be seen. I figured someone
he knew stopped, picked him up, and took him home. I didn't think anything
of it at the time, but when I heard about that hand being identified as Fine's
and that body being found, I thought I'd better contact you.
TA: Thanks, Joe. We appreciate your help. I don't suppose you got
a license number on the SUV?
JW: No, sir. As I said, I just figured it was a friend giving a guy a ride home. I had no reason to be suspicious.
TA: Thanks again, Joe. We'll let you know if we need anything else.
End interview - 8:27 a.m.
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