Witness Interview: James Peter (JP) Wallace, former boyfriend of Arlene Melton

Wednesday, November 13, 2002 - 3:45 p.m.

Det. Sam Murphy and Det. Ted Armstrong interviewed this witness, identified as a former boyfriend of Arlene Melton, who was injured in the attack on Wenzel Hitzig at Avent Park, at the Yoknapatawpha County Sheriff's Office. The interview was recorded on a portable audio tape recorder with the witness's knowledge and consent.

TA = Detective T. Armstrong

SM = Detective S. Murphy

JW = JP Wallace

TA: Would you please state your name and address for the record?

JW: Man, as if you guys don't know who I am.

SM: Come on, JP. You know it's for the tape. It's not like this is your first time at this.

JW: Fine. My name is still JP Wallace. I still live at 1657 Jefferson.

SM: So, James Peter, here we are again?

JW: James Peter. Can't you just call me JP like everyone else?

SM: Are you still employed, sir?

JW: Yeah.

TA: Where do you work?

JW: Still breakin' my back over at the warehouse at the Emerson plant.

TA: Yeah, we hear you work pretty hard?

JW: I'm a regular Joe. So enough with the small talk. What did you drag me in here for this time?

SM: Well, as we explained when we asked you to come in, it's because of your relationships with Arlene Melton and Wenzel Hitzig.

JW: Listen, let's get one thing straight here. I ain't currently in a relationship with Arlene, and my contact with the big guy has been limited.

TA: You weren't friends with Mr. Hitzig?

JW: Nah, not friends. Like, I thought he was okay, don't get me wrong -- I've met him once or twice and we weren't gonna be swapping recipes or makeup tips or anything -- but he was okay.

TA: When was the last time you saw him?

JW: Monday, November 4th in Avent Park.

SM: Very funny, JP. Why don't I take you at your word and put you in a cell?

JW: Well, what do you expect? Seems like most every crime happens round here, y'all are dragging me in here like I know something about it.

SM: Let me assure you, JP, there are plenty incidents we deal with that do not require your input.

TA: And we're always grateful for those. Let's get back to the question. When did you last see Wenzel Hitzig?

JW: I think it was Tuesday, November 5th.

TA: And just how did you do that when he was killed, as you know, on the 4th?

JW: Well, you asked me last time I saw him, and that was when I saw his picture on the local news when they ran the story about him being shot dead. You didn't ask me when I last saw him alive. Man, if you want to know something, you got to be specific.

TA: Okay, JP. When did you last see Mr. Hitzig alive?

JW: Don't remember.

TA: Try harder. Last weekend? A month ago? When?

JW: I had nothing to do with this guy. I met him a few times is all. What does it matter when I last saw him?

SM: It matters because we've been given information that you helped arrange a loan for Mr. Hitzig. That gives you a direct connection with the victim. When we put that together with your relationship with Ms. Arlene Melton, well, you can see we have a legitimate reason to question you.

JW: And who told you that I arranged a loan? Arlene?

TA: Whether it was Ms. Melton or not, are you saying it's a lie?

JW: I'm...

TA: Did you arrange a loan for Mr. Hitzig or didn't you?

JW: I wouldn't put it like that.

SM: Really? How would you put it?

JW: I found out a friend of a friend had a need. I knew someone who could help him out with that need. I put the two of them in touch. That's all.

SM: But you wouldn't call that arranging a loan?

JW: Nope.

SM: And this friend of a friend was Wenzel Hitzig?

JW: Could be. Could very well be.

TA: Why didn't you lend him some of your own money? You must have saved quite a lot from your well-paid job, after all.

JW: No need to be like that, Ted. I'm a businessman, an entrepreneur, if you will. I think we all know that. And I'm always looking for a good opportunity, but some things are... outside of my scope. What Wenzel needed was outside of my scope, so I referred him to another entrepreneur I know that I thought could help him.

SM: In what way was Mr. Hitzig's need outside of your scope?

JW: Dude was shopping for some big bucks, more than I'd handle. If I did that sort of thing, of course.

SM: How much?

JW: Well, since I don't do that sort of thing, I couldn't say for sure, but if I had to guess, I'd say it was in the neighborhood of twenty big ones.

TA: Twenty thousand dollars?

JW: That's what I heard.

TA: So you heard Wenzel wanted to borrow $20,000. What did you do about it?

JW: Could be there's a guy I've heard of who can help people out when the bank ain't so willing. If I knew a dude like that, could be I mentioned it to someone who could get that information to Wenzel.

SM: So if I can wade through the JP-speak there, it sounds like you knew a loan shark who could lend Mr. Hitzig the twenty grand and you told Arlene Melton who the person was and how Mr. Hitzig could get in touch with him. Is that right?

JW: Could be. Could be.

SM: And this loan shark would be?

JW: You know, a businessman like myself has to play it close to the vest. I can't exactly go around giving up the names of all my contacts. How am I supposed to stay in business if I do that?

TA: JP, this is a homicide investigation and, since this isn't your first time being involved in a homicide investigation, you know what that means. We're going to go through the victim's life in detail. I'm sure we'll find out who lent him the money from somewhere. Why not tell us and save us some time?

JW: It ain't exactly my job to do your job for you. If you're gonna find out somewhere else anyway, then you should just do that and leave me out of it. I got a reputation to protect.

SM: Yeah, we're all broken up worrying about your reputation, JP. Give us the name and we'll do what we can to keep your name out of it. Don't give us the name and, no matter how we find out who it is, we'll be sure he knows it came from you.

JW: Man, Sam, you don't want much, do you? I can't believe you'd do me like that after all we've been through together. I've always been good to you, haven't I? Always treated you right? At least, as right as you'd let me. I think we both know I could treat you even better, if you'd just give me the chance.

SM: JP... I'm about out of patience with you. If you aren't going to tell us what we want to know, I'd just as soon lock you up for interfering with a police investigation as sit here looking at your face for one more minute. So you got a name for us or not? No more screwing around.

JW: Don't go gettin' your panties in a wad there, Sam. It's all good. Now, I'm not saying I'm actually involved in any of Wenzel's financial transactions, but if I had to guess at who might be, I might say you could look at a guy named Vince Spinelli.

TA: Spinelli? Yeah, I've heard of that guy.

JW: If you pull him in, don't you be mentioning my name.

TA: You seem a bit nervous, JP.

JW: I ain't nervous, Ted. I just don't really need to be involved in this right now.

SM: Why not? If you know this Spinelli character well enough to recommend him to Mr. Hitzig, why are you acting scared now?

JW: Because, could be I've had enough trouble with Spinelli and I ain't looking for any more.

TA: What kind of trouble?

JW: Let's just say, maybe Wenzel missed a payment at the end of last year, and it could be then Spinelli paid me a visit to tell me how disappointed he was in me. Like, what the **** has it got to do with me? You know what I'm saying?

SM: But why would Spinelli hold you responsible?

JW: Could be, you know, if I was the one who put Spinelli and Hitzig in touch and then Hitzig ****** up, then Spinelli might think it's on me 'cause I was the one who hooked 'em up in the first place. You know what I'm saying?

SM: So?

JW: So? So it could be Spinelli thinks he's a wise guy, goes on a lot about respect. You hear things about him. Don't want to get on his bad side, if you know what I'm saying.

SM: I'm sure Mr. Hitzig was very pleased you put the two of them together.

JW: Hitzig wasn't in a position to be fussy, man. He would have gone anywhere for the money. I figured it wouldn't hurt me to help him out.

SM: You were paid a fee for your part in this?

JW: You know... I saw a dude with a need and I knew a guy who could meet that need. Maybe I just did what I could to help them set up a mutually beneficial relationship.

SM: So you just did all this out of the goodness of your heart?

JW: Hey, I'm a nice guy.

SM: Yeah, right. And you didn't get a thing out of it?

JW: Could be I coincidentally received a gift around that same time from my buddy, Vince. Like a late birthday present.

SM: A gift, huh? No strings attached?

JW: Nothing in life comes without strings, Sam. You should know that. Could be that's why Spinelli thought maybe I should be keeping a closer eye on Wenzel and his payments.

TA: When was the loan arranged?

JW: Pretty sure it was November last year.

SM: And he missed the December payment? No wonder Spinelli was annoyed. It wasn't a good start, was it?

JW: You could say that.

TA: How much did Mr. Hitzig have to pay each month?

JW: I don't know the details, but knowing Spinelli, a lot.

SM: Did you talk to Mr. Hitzig about the loan?

JW: I might have mentioned something to him like I didn't appreciate him making me look like a jerk. I might have suggested that he get his ******* act together and not let me and Arlene down.

SM: You were still with Ms. Melton at this time?

JW: Yeah, you could say I was, as much as I'm ever with any woman. We had a good few months together when she came back from Atlanta.

SM: When did you two break up?

JW: Months ago now. I don't remember really, March maybe.

TA: Why did you break up?

JW: C'mon, Ted. You know all the ladies love JP. Not fair to them for me to limit myself to just one girl, is it?

SM: Yes, we remember the general celebrations in Murff's and the streets of Oxford when we all heard you were back on the scene.

JW: Never left it.

TA: You weren't faithful to Arlene Melton?

JW: Don't go getting all upset now. It's not like Arlene is big on being faithful, is it? Do you think I didn't know she was hooking up with Wenzel at the same time as me?

SM: Did that bother you?

JW: Other than make me physically sick, you mean, when I imagined them together? Yuck. Don't get me wrong. She's a hot piece, but I could never see the attraction of the big guy. And the two of them together doing it? Let's not even go there. But, you know, it didn't have anything to do with me. Her life is her business. If that's what she wanted to do, that's on her.

SM: Would you say your break up with Arlene Melton was amicable?

JW: Well, I'm sure she was devastated not to be getting a regular dose of JP anymore, but we kept on speaking terms.

SM: Yes, I'm sure. When was the last time you slept with her?

JW: What's that got to do with this?

TA: Before or after you broke up?

JW: After. July, not that it's any business of yours.

SM: How did it come about? You call her and ask her out?

JW: Nah, I just ran into her one night. I heard she'd moved in with that loser Travers, so I thought I'd give her another taste of what it's like to be with a real man, in case she forgot, living with that wuss. Like a win-win situation, have fun and annoy Travers.

SM: Still sore over the Missy Hammond thing, huh?

JW: What do you think? Travers was telling anyone who'd give him the time of day that I was a killer. He wasn't too happy about Arlene when I told him, believe me.

TA: You told him you slept with Ms. Melton?

JW: Even better than that, told him where and when too. In his house. He was pissed.

TA: Don't you think that was just asking for trouble?

JW: What's Travers going to do, man? Hit me?

TA: You don't think he's the violent type?

JW: He's a loser. Always has been, always will be. That pussy wouldn't have the stones to take me on. Didn't back when I was with Missy and wouldn't to this day.

SM: He speaks very highly of you, too.

JW: Hey, I hope you guys are going to be talking to him too. He might be your man. I don't really have him down as the violent type, but sneaking around the park and shooting someone, I can see him doing. That's just the kind of pansy-ass thing he'd do.

SM: Let's concentrate on you for a bit longer. Can you tell us where you were on the morning of Monday the 4th of November?

JW: I was working.

SM: What time did you start work?

JW: I got in around 11:00 in the morning. Might have been a few minutes late.

SM: And what time did you leave work that day?

JW: 'bout 5:00. Headed over to Murff's, had a drink with some buddies. I think you'll find I can account for my movements all that day.

SM: We'd expect nothing less, JP. Okay, well, I think that's all we need from you at this point. You understand we may need to speak to you again?

JW: I can't wait.

TA: Feeling is mutual.

Interview ends 4:27 p.m.