"Well, let's see. I was working at CBS at the time in the marketing department, but I was doing some producing and I had just had a lot of success with a Johnny Winter live record. And Sandy had brought me the band twice before, once as the Soft White Underbelly and once as Stalk-Forrest Group. They were sort of a west coast kind of band, you know like Jefferson Airplane, and I was looking for something more immediate, more harder-edged. So he brought the latest configuration and I liked that song Last Days Of May. They had a demo I think with Redeemed, The Last Days Of May, and The Red And The Black. And I felt that Last Days Of May was great. I had the leverage to sign them, so I did."

"And Sandy pushed and pushed and convinced me to listen to his band, which I did, and there was a cut - "Cities on Flame" - that I liked, although I ended up signing them for "Then Came the Last Days of May", which I thought was an exquisite piece of music."

The first two verses are narrative, relating the story and the players. The last verse switches the perspective to the participant, before the event, about to leave for the trip west, and inviting the listener to come along.

"They say the west is nice this time of year, it's what they say."

"There was this news story, basically that three kids from Long Island, college kids that were middle class smart guys, got into dope-dealing at Stony Brook U," recalls Buck. "They sold mescaline and marijuana, mostly.

Anyway, they went out to Arizona to buy marijuana and got ripped off. I don't know who their contact was. But it was two brothers, some notorious family in Tucson or somewhere, that were known rip-off artists or whatever. They just took these kids out, shot 'em, and took their money.

And one of the guys didn't die, and crawled out to the highway and was rescued, and lived. He testified against these two desperadoes; they went to jail for about ten years, then got out. But it was a big story on Long Island, because it was probably the first time that 'good kids' were involved in this stuff.

One of the guys who died, we knew. He went to Stony Brook. So the story was basically factual, from the news accounts. Some of the description was fanciful, but it basically happened."

Apparent narcotics heist - 2 teens arrested in twin killing
Two Phoenix teenagers were arrested here last night as suspects in the slayings of two other youths and the wounding of a third on a highway east of Tucson, early yesterday.

Authorities here said Derrell Lynn Doyal, 18, and Steve Lee Lewis, 18, both of 909 E. Pierce, are charged with two counts of murder and armed robbery in warrants issued from Pima County.

They are accused of murdering William Ramsey Tait III of Merrick, N. Y., and John Chris Gast of Phoenix. The ages of the two dead men, who were in their early 20s, were not immediately available.

The youth who was wounded, David K. Anderson, 21, of Syosset, N. Y., told Pima County sheriff's deputies that the shootings took place while he, Tait and Gast rode in the rear seat of a car about 14 miles east of Tucson on Interstate 10 about 1 a.mi yesterday.

Sheriff Waldon V. Burr of Pima County said the shootings apparently involved a "narcotics heist."

Anderson, who was struck in the lower jaw by one slug, identified the killers as "Steve and Derrell."

He said the car was traveling east near the Wentworth Road overpass when suddenly "Steve," sitting in the front passenger seat, "whirled and began spraying lead" from a 22-caliber automatic pistol.

Anderson said he managed to open the rear door of the moving vehicle and roll out.

He said he picked himself up and raced across the median strip to the westbound lane and flagged down a passing motorist, who drove him to the outskirts of Tucson.

There he called the sheriff's office and told of the shooting. He was taken to Pima County Hospital and later to Tucson Medical Center, where he underwent plastic surgery for the face wound.

Burr said his office learned the last names of the two suspects and gave them to the Maricopa County sheriff's office and the Department of Public Safety.

Doyal was arrested in the office, of Dr. Paul Brewer, a clinical psychologist, in the Rehabilitation Center at Good Samaritan Hospital, 1033 E. McDowell, by Sheriff's Capt. Ralph McMillen, Lt. Dave Lofgren and Sgt. Ed Calles. McMillen said Doyal was asleep in the office when arrested.

McMillen said stains which appeared to be blood were found on Doyal's shirt, trousers and shoes and on some of $1,991 which deputies recovered from a person who was given the money earlier by Doyal.

Doyal apparently had been under treatment by Dr. Brewer on and off for the last six months, McMillen said.

"We've retraced his movements clear back to Tucson last night (Tues- night and we have physical evidence," McMillen said.

He added that the weaepon used in the slayings has not been recovered.

Lewis was arrested by State Department of Public Safety investigators at his residence at 909 E. Pierce. He offered no resistance.

2 Slain, 3rd Shot in Car on Highway
A sudden outbreak of shooting in a car near Tucson. Ariz., yesterday left a Long Island man and a second man dead and a third critically wounded while they and two companions were on an alleged manjuana-buying trip to Mexico, Arizona authorities said yesterday.

Killed in the shooting on a highway was William Ramsey Tait 3d, 21, of 23 Narwood Ave., Merrick, L.I., and wounded was David K. Anderson, 21, of 90 Southwood Circle, Syosset, L.I., police reported. Both were described as students at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, L.I.

Also slain in the shooting was John Gast, 24, of Phoenix, Ariz. Police seized two youths, identified as Darrell Lynn Doyal and Lee Lewis, both 19, and charged them with murder in the case.

Pima County Sheriff Waldon Burr said Anderson escaped from the car despite his wounds and told his story to authorities.

Find Body in Car
Burr said Tait was carrying $5,200 in new $100 bills, and Anderson had put $3,500 in the glove compartment of the rented car in which the men were riding.

Burr said Anderson related that as the car neared Tucson, Doyal suddenly started shooting at him, Tait and Gast. Police found Tait's body along the highway and Gast's was found in the abandoned car later.

Maricopa County Sheriff Capt. Ralph McMillen said Gast was taking Anderson and Tait to Mexico to buy 200 pounds of marijuana that would retail in New York, at $60,000 to $70,000. McMillen said police recovered nearly $2,000 when they seized Lewis and Doyal.

It was learned here that Tait, majoring in political science, and Anderson, a biology major, were to enter their senior year at Stony Brook in September. Anderson was reported in critical condition with wounds of the face.

Officers had staked out 5-man drug-buying trip
By Carl Twentier

Phoenix and state narcotics agents knew in advance of the narcotics buying trip to Mexico that ended in the deaths of two young men and the wounding of a third early Wednesday east of Tucson, The Arizona Republic learned today.

It also was learned that officers found an empty 22-caliber cartridge, an expended 22-caliber bullet, a holster for a 22-caliber pistol and a bloody handkerchief in the bedroom of a Phoenix home occupied by murder suspects Derrell Lynn Doyal, 18, and Steve Lee Lewis, 18, both of 909 E. Pierce.

Phoenix officers had obtained a search warrant to enter the house at 909 E. Pierce before they heard of the murders of William Ramsey Tait III, 22, of Merrick, N.Y., and John Chris Gast, 24, of Phoenix, it was learned.

They were shot to death with a 22-caliber pistol while sitting in a car about 14 miles east of Tucson on Interstate 10. A third man, David K. Anderson, 21, of Syossct, N.Y., was shot in the jaw, but opened the door of the moving car and flung himself to safety.

"I was in my car eariy Wednesday when I heard about these guys getting killed near Tucson in a big narcotics deal," a Phoenix officer working on the narcotics investigation related.

"Well, when I heard their names," he continued, "I almost fell over. It didn't take us long to put the pieces together and figure out that we were looking for Doyal and Lewis, especially after Anderson mentioned their first names in Tucson."

Lewis and Doyal were arrested later Wednesday in Phoenix.

According to investigators, the two suspects and the other three left Phoenix early Wednesday with slightly more than $5,000 cash.

Their intentions, officers believe, was to purchase marijuana and possibly other narcotics in Mexico and bring them back to the United States where they could be sold for many times the original price.

Authorities speculated that the narcotics might have been destined for New York State, since Merrick and Anderson had arrived in the Valley from there earlier in the week.

The money had been gathered from a number of persons in the Valley area, officers said.

"These guys were running all over town Tuesday night picking up money from here and there," an agent close to the original investigation said. "We knew when they left and we knew that they'd be returning to the Pierce address with whatever they could manage to buy so we decided to wait for them to return with the stuff."

Officers obtained the search warrant for the home sometime Wednesday.

"Why it turned into a murder-robbery, I really don't know," an officer said, "unless the lure of that cold cash proved too strong for the two."

The warrant was used Wednesday evening by city and state agents after learning of the murders. A quantity of narcotics was found and four persons, including Lewis, were arrested on possession charges. It was then the police found the handkerchief and cartridge, shell and holster in Doyal's bedroom. Doyal had earlier been arrested at a doctor's office.

Doyal and Lewis are both accused of two counts of murder, attempted murder and armed robbery.

In addition, police said a bloody T-shirt was found in Lewis' pants pocket when he was arrested.

Plans for the trip reportedly were made at gatherings at Encanto Park and at the Pierce street house, investigators related.

2 Arizona Youths Held in Slayings Of 2 New Yorkers
TUCSON, Ariz., July 10 - Two Phoenix youths were arraigned yesterday in Tucson on two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder following the gunshot slayings on Wednesday of two New York men and the wounding of third.

Derrell Lynn Doyal and Steven Lee Lewis, both 18 years old, were arrested in Phoenix Wednesday following information given to the police by the wounded man, David Knowles Anderson Jr., 21, of Syosset, L.I. The murder victims were identified as John G. Gast, 24, and William Ramsey Tait 3rd, 22, both of Merrick, L.I.

According to Pima County Sheriff Waldon V. Burr, the New York men were the victims of a narcotics "doublecross," having been set up for a $9,000 drug transaction and then shot and robbed before the deal was completed.

Sheriff's deputies recovered almost $2,000 when they arrested Doyal. And $1,991 was found with Lewis's mother in Phoenix. She said he had given; her the money before his arrest.!

The rest of the cash for the alleged drug purchase was found on Mr. Tait's body, which had been left in the desert just off a highway east of Tucson. Sheriff's deputies found $5,200 - including 25 $100 bills - in his pockets.

The Phoenix police said they knew on the night of the killings of the New Yorkers apparent intention to travel to Tucson to make the purchase.

The young suspects were ordered held without bond. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for July 20 in Tucson.

Survivor Tells Of Shooting During Mexico Drug Trip
By Debbie Petranek - Citizen Staff Writer

Five young men were headed for Mexico to buy a large quantity of marijuana early this month when two of them were slain and a third wounded, the survivor of the shootings testified.

David Anderson, 21, of Syosset, N.Y., showed little outward sign of the 2-week-old bullet wound in his jaw as he gave testimony for five hours yesterday at a preliminary hearing, on murder charges against Derrell Lynn Doyal and Steve Lee Lewis, both 18 and of Phoenix. They are accused in the slayings of John G. Gast, 24, and William Ramsey Tait III, 22, both of Merrick, N.Y.

The hearing is continuing today.

Authorities have said the incident, just after midnight July 8 on Interstate 10, about 10 miles outside Tucson, was apparently a drug sale doublecross.

Anderson said he met Gast for the first time in Calif., after flying from New York to Los Angeles July 2 or 3. Several days later, Gast, Anderson and four other men drove to Phoenix, arriving there July 5. Anderson had $3,200.

On July 7, he said, he met Doyal and Lewis for the first time through Gast. An acquaintance of his for several months in New York, Tait flew to Phoenix that same day carrying $5,200, Anderson said.

Anderson did not reveal from whom the marijuana was to be purchased but said the money was to pass from Gast to Doyal and Lewis.

At about 8:30 p.m. on July 7, Anderson said, he and Gast picked up Doyal and Lewis at the Phoenix home they share and continued to a Phoenix motel to get Tait. Lewis offered to drive "because he said he knew the way," and Doyal wanted to use the headrest on the front passenger's side.

Anderson sat in the rear seat behind Doyal. Tait was in the center and Gast was on the left. He described the shooting:

"I was just sitting in the back, and Doyal turned around. I didn't know what he was doing (all I observed was a flash and the noise), and he shot me and emptied the gun' into the back seat."

A struggle ensued between Tait and Doyal, said the witness. The car had slowed to between five and 10 miles per hour, and Anderson opened a door and ran west on Interstate 10.

Unable to flag a ride, he crossed to the eastbound lane and started walking toward Tucson.

He was given a ride 40 minutes later and called the Pima County Sheriffs Office from the edge of the city, he said.

Sheriff's Detective John H. Rock testified that he found $5,200 in bills on Tait's body when it was discovered off the highway near Vail Road overpass.

Rock said deputies discovered Gast's body several hours later in the back seat of the vehicle in the desert on Los Reales Road.

No charges have been filed against Anderson for his admitted part in the marijuana run, although Deputy County Atty. James Howard, handling the case for the state, did not discount the possibility of future charges.

2 Face Murder Trial In Double 1-10 Slaying
Derrell Lynn Doyal and Steve Lee Lewis, both 18 and from Phoenix were bound over to Superior Court yesterday by Justice of the Peace A. Bates Butler on charges of two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder each.

Both are charged with the July 8 shooting deaths of John G. Gast, 24, and William Ramsey Tait III, 22, both of Merrick, N.Y., on Interstate 10 about 12 miles east of Tucson. Investigators described it as a drug sale double cross.

A third man in the death car, who escaped his assailants after being shot in the jaw, testified that the five were heading south from Phoenix to purchase a large quantity of marijuana when the incident occurred.

David Anderson, 21, of Syossett, N.Y., appeared to have recovered from his wound during his appearance for testimony. He said he met Gast in Los Angeles after flying from New York July 2 with $3,200. He testified that he then went with Gast and four other companions to Phoenix July 5 and met Doyal and Lewis there two days later through Gast. Tait, a friend for several months in New York, then flew from there to Phoenix the same day bringing $5,200.

Anderson said they were to pool their cash and give the money through Gast to Doyal and Lewis. He testified that Doyal and Lewis were going to take them to an unspecified spot in the desert south of Tucson that would take about an "eight hour round-trip" from Phoenix to complete. They were to make the drug buy there.

Anderson said that he and Gast borrowed a rental car from Gast's roommate, picked up Doyal and Lewis at their Phoenix residence and then picked up Tait at a Phoenix motel. Anderson also testified that he had wanted to sit in the front seat, but Lewis said he would drive "because he said he knew the way," and Doyal wanted to sit in the front passenger seat to use the headrest to sleep.

"I was just sitting in the back and Doyal turned around," said Anderson. "I didn't know what he was doing and he shot me and emptied the gun into the back seat." He said that one voice said that he'd run "out of bullets" and that "they're still alive", then another voice said, "get them." He also noted that the car's interior light was turned on just after the shooting began.

After the shooting a struggle began between Doyal and Tait, said Anderson. He said the car, which had been traveling about 65 miles per hour, had slowed to about five mph by then and he opened the door, jumped out and ran west on I-10.

He said he was unable to stop anyone, so he crossed the road, began walking towards Tucson and was picked up about 40 minutes later.

Sheriff's Detective John H. Rock testified that $5,200 in bills were found on Tait's body when it was discovered near the Vail Road overpass.

He also testified that Gast's body was found several hours later in the back seat of the rental car in the desert on Los Reals Road. The pathologist's report indicated that Gast was shot once in the head and Tait six times in the chest and arm.

Murder suspect may change plea
Trial of Doyal, Lewis off
Southern Arizona Bureau

Tucson - Jury selection for the murder trial of suspected drug killers Derrell L. Doyal and Steve L. Lewis was halted yesterday when it was indicated that Doyal would plead guilty and testify against Lewis.

Superior Court Judge Richard N. Roylston granted a motion to sever the trials of the two Phoenix youths. No date was set for Doyal's change of plea or for the trial of Lewis.

The two 18-year-old defendants were to have stood trial yesterday on two open counts of murder.

They are accused of shooting to death John G. Gast, 24, and William R. Tait III, 22, both of Merrick, N.Y., last July 8.

According to sheriff's deputies, the dead men and a witness, David Anderson, 21, of Syosset, N.Y., were on a narcotics buying trip guided by Doyal and Lewis.

Instead, deputies said, the two defendants planned to rob the three of about $9,000 they had scraped up among themselves and acquaintances to purchase marijuana.

The state alleges that Doyal fired the fatal bullets from a 22-caliber automatic pistol while Anderson, Gast and Tait were sitting in the rear seat of a rented car traveling toward Douglas 18 miles east of Tucson. Lewis was allegedly driving the car.

Anderson, a state witness, told deputies he was hit in the jaw by one bullet. He escaped when Doyal's gun was empty and the car slowed, enabling him to dash into the early morning darkness.

Tait was found dead beside the highway the next morning. Gast was found lying in the abandoned car in the desert off the Hughes Aircraft Co. access road.

Anderson, who hailed a passing truck and was brought into Tucson, notified deputies and identified Doyal and Lewis from Phoenix Police Department photographs. They were arrested by Phoenix police several hours later.

Phoenix youth ordered to trial in shootings
TUCSON (AP) - Steve Lee Lewis, 18, of Phoenix, has been ordered to stand trial Jan. 6 in connection with an alleged drug sale double-cross July 8 that left two men dead and a third seriously injured.

Pima County Superior Court Judge Mary Anne Richey set the trial date yesterday. It originally was to have begun Monday.

Judge Richey also agreed to appoint three psychiatrists to examine Lewis at the request of the defense attorney.

Lewis and Derrell Lynn Doyal, 18, of Phoenix, were arrested after William Tait III and John Gast were found shot to death.

Police said they believed the victims were traveling in a car east of Tucson when the shooting occurred.

Two Slayings On I-10 Described to Jurors
By Judy Donovan - Star Staff Writer

The surviving victim of an alleged drug-sale double-cross here last July yesterday described a scene of rapid-fire shooting inside the death car and a wild struggle between a gunman and a fatally wounded passenger. The incident ended in death for two men July 7.

David Anderson, 21, of Syosset, N.Y., who was shot in the jaw during the gunfire, testified at the trial of 18-year-old Steve Lee Lewis of Phoenix. Lewis is charged with two murders and attempted murder. Also facing the same charges is 18-year-old Derrell Lynn Doyal, also of Phoenix. He'll be tried separately.

Anderson, who has been granted immunity from prosecution, said he was riding in the back seat of a rented car driven by Lewis on July 7. Doyal was a front seat passenger, he said, and two other New York men, John G. Gast, 24, and William R. Tait III, 22, were in the back. Tait and Gast were killed.

About 12 miles out of Tucson, as they headed east on Interstate 10 at 65 miles an hour, Anderson said, Doyal turned around and began shooting at him and the others. Just after the shooting began, he said, Lewis hit the brakes and the car began a "panic stop." He also remembered the dome light of the car coming on during the spray of bullets.

"Most of the shots were directed at Tait, who was flailing his arms all around, trying to ward them off and he was screaming," Anderson told the jury. "Then Doyal screamed, 'I'm out of bullets they're not dead yet.'"

Another voice in a different tone which he believed was Lewis, answered, "Get them!" the witness said.

"I saw blood all over Tait and all over me and realized I was shot," he said. "Gast was slouched forward. The car was coming to a stop and I jumped out the door. I could hear Tait and Doyal continue fighting, and I ran back down the road towards Tucson."

After criss-crossing the highway for 40 minutes trying to catch a ride and hiding from cars that might be Doyal and Lewis returning to look for him, Anderson said he finally stopped a car and was taken to a phone.

Deputy County Attorney James Howard said in opening statements that the incident began when Anderson flew to Los Angeles a few days before with $2,300 to purchase marijuana. Gast took him to Phoenix with four other men, and there they arranged with Lewis and Doyal, after Tait joined them from New York, to buy the marijuana from a man in Douglas, Howard said.

Anderson said he stashed a total of $3,200 in cash in the glove compartment, and that Tait had $5,200 in cash in his pockets. When Doyal was arrested in Phoenix the next day, his mother, who had driven him from Tucson to their home, found a roll of bills totalling $1,900 stuffed in her purse, Howard said.

Lewis, when arrested the same day in Phoenix, told officers he "didn't shoot or rob anybody" and that "Doyal got all the money," according to the prosecution.

Defense Attorney Jack Redhair, in opening statements, contended that Lewis was unaware of Doyal's plans, otherwise he wouldn't have hit the brakes as hard as he did, ruining Doyal's aim, and that he left the car after the shooting and hid for a moment because he didn't know what was happening. Lewis walked back to Tucson, phoned his parents for money, and took the bus back to Phoenix, he said.

The trial continues today before Superior Court Judge Richard N. Roylston.

Witness tells nightmare of yells, gun flashes
By Robert L. Thomas

Southern Arizona Bureau TUCSON The surviving member of a drug-buying trio yesterday described a kaleidoscope impression of screams, gun flashes, blood and death during the opening day of the murder trial of Steve Lee Lewis, 19, of Phoenix. When the barrage of bullets ended, David K. Anderson, 21, of Syosset, N.Y., said Lewis' companion, Derrel Lynn Doyal, 19, yelled, "I'm out of bullets and they're not dead yet."

Anderson, hit in the jaw by a bullet from a 22-caliber automatic pistol, told the court he managed to open the rear door of the car in which he and the others were riding and jump to safety in the darkness.

Killed in the shooting, which the state alleges was an execution plot to steal narcotics money, were William Ramsey Tait III, 22, of Merrick, N.Y.. and John Cris Gast, 24, of Phoenix.

Anderson said he and the two victims had pooled a large amount of money and were being guided to a Mexico supply of marijuana when the shooting suddenly began on Interstate 10, 14 miles east of Tucson, last July 8. Lewis, alleged driver of the car, is accused under an open charge of murder. The other defendent, Doyal, is awaiting trial. Deputy County Attorney James M. Howard said Doyal might testify for the state and against Lewis.

Anderson, wearing shoulder-length hair and a full beard, said there was no warning when Doyal turned in the front seat and began spraying lead. Neatly dressed in a gray suit, and tie, Anderson said from the witness stand he initially slumped in the back seat after getting hit on the side of his chin. "I saw blood all over Tait, blood all over me, everybody was shot," Anderson said.

He said that shortly after the first or second shot, the car's dome light came on and he saw Tait, screaming, grappling with Doyal as Lewis slammed on the brakes in a panic stop. As the car screeched down the highway and bounced onto the shoulder, Anderson said, he managed to open the right rear door and jump out. He said he had removed his shoes earlier and he remembered feeling the gravel underfoot as he momentarily ran alongside the still-moving car, attempting to regain his balance.

During this time he said he recalled that Gast was slumping over and that someone was screaming, "Get them." Anderson said he believed Lewis said this, although he could only see the back of defendant's head. The witness said he ran back down the highway toward Tucson and then tried to flag down a passing car or truck.

For some 40 minutes he alternated on different lanes, sometimes hiding in a ditch when he saw a car that resembled the defendants' auto, before finally stopping the driver of a Volkswagen, who drove him to Tucson and called the sheriff's office for him. He testified that he and Tait had met in Laguna Beach, Calif., while both were searching for narcotics and that they went to Phoenix together when they heard drugs were available there.

He said he met Lewis and Doyal for the first time in Phoenix the night of the shooting. Lewis, he said, volunteered to drive the rented car because he said he knew where the Mexican narcotics could be purchased.

Among themselves and from friends in the East the trio had managed to raise almost $9,000 to buy marijuana, Anderson said, to transport the grass they had with them suitcases, plastic bags to wrap the compressed weed and talcum powder to mask the characteristic smell.

Tait was found dead between the two lanes of Interstate 10. An autopsy showed that he had been struck by several bullets but death was caused by a slug that had entered his right armpit, nicked a lung and lodged in the spine.

Gast died of a single bullet in the brain. He was found in the back seat of the abandoned car off the Hughes access road, 12 miles south of Tucson.

The trial will resume today.

Shooting Survivor Recalls Murders
The lone survivor of an alleged drug doublecross testified yesterday that one of the defendants, Derrell Lynn Doyal, fired the shots that killed two men and then screamed, "I'm out of bullets and they aren't dead yet."

The witness, David Anderson, 21, wounded in the incident last July, was called to testify in the first degree murder trial of Steve Lee Lewis.

Lewis is charged in the deaths of John Ghast, 24, and William Ramsey Talt III, 22, both of Merrick NY, July 7. Doyal, 19, Phoenix, also is accused of the slayings, which occurred as the men drove toward Mexico to make what the victims allegedly believed would be a narcotics buy.

Anderson who escaped after being wounded, said at the Superior Court trial, "It appeared the driver of the car (Lewis) said, 'Get them!' "

Anderson said Lewis made the comment, "like an order," after Doyal, who was riding in the front seat, had fired at the victims in the back seat.

The witness added, "I saw blood all over Tait and then I saw blood all over me. I heard Tait scream. I grabbed for the door handle, opened the door, jumped out and started running."

Anderson said Doyal gave no warning before firing the gun.

"Mr. Doyal turned "around, faced the back and began shooting - in my direction and then in the other areas of the back seat. I observed a flash and a muffled noise," he said.

"At first I didn't know what was happening. Immediately after the shots started, the dome light (ceiling light of the car) went on. Then the car slowed to a panic stop. The brakes were locked."

Anderson said he did not see Doyal turn on the dome light. He added that the doors of the car were not open at the time of the shooting.

Jack Redhair, the defense lawyer for Lewis, said the evidence will show that Doyal "solely" committed the murders and that Lewis was not involved in any murder plan.

Anderson testified that he had taken $3,200 with him to purchase marijuana and that Tait was carrying $5200 to make a narcotics buy.

The trial is being conducted before Judge Richard N Roylston.

Witnesses Claim 'Ripoff' Planned
Two young men from Phoenix testified today that Steve Lee Lewis and a second man openly planned a drug "ripoff" which ended with the slaying of two men and the wounding of a third July 7.

Dale Bratelien testified that Lewis, standing trial in Superior Court for first degree murder, "told me he would be rich - that he was going to pull a rip off," slang for a double cross.

Bratelien added that Lewis said "he would kill anybody who tried to stop him - that there would be thousands of dollars involved."

The slayings took place on Interstate 10 southeast of Tucson in a car which the victims believed was taking them to a place where they could make a marijuana purchase.

Lewis, said to have been driving the car, and Derrell Lynn Doyal, a passenger in the front seat, are accused of killing William R Tait III, 22, and John Gast, 24, both of Merrick N.Y.

They also allegedly wounded a third man, David Anderson, 21, who testified earlier that the victims had planned to make a marijuana purchase the night of the incident.

Bratelien said that Lewis "sort of snickered" as he told him about the then planned drug doublecross.

"He (Lewis) laughed and he said 'We're gonna be rich.' Derrell said 'Yeah,'" Bratelien testified.

Ronald Grotjan, a student at Phoenix College, said Lewis and Doyal asked him for a gun more than a week prior to the shootings.

"Derrell asked me if he could use my gun," Grotjan said. "He said they were going to do a drug deal. I said I can't do that. Then they asked me where to get some other hot guns."

Grotjan said the pair told him they would need his gun for about eight hours and that they wanted to have two guns to pull off the robbery.

Yesterday, Henry Moreno, a former sheriff's deputy, testified that $5200 was found on Tait when deputies discovered his body on a median strip on I-10 the morning after the shootings.

Prosecuting the case is Deputy County Atty. James M. Howard. Tucson lawyer Jack Redhair is defending Lewis.

Trial For Murder
Agent Quotes Lewis As Denying Shooting
A narcotics agent for the Department of Public Safety today quoted Steve Lee Lewis as denying he participated in any "shooting or robbery."

Lewis, who is on trial in Superior Court for first degree murder in the July 7 deaths of two young men, made the denials after his arrest, Agent Charles Allen said. "Mr. Lewis said, 'I didn't shoot anybody and I didn't rob anybody,'" Allen testified.

The agent also said that Lewis contended another man accused in the killings - Derrell Lynn Doyal - "took all the money."

The slayings of William R. Tait III and John Cast, both of Merrick, N.Y., occurred on Interstate 10 southeast of Tucson in a car which the victims, according to police, believed was taking them to a place where they could make a marijuana purchase.

Drug Deal Planning Described
Slaying Suspect Allegedly Talked Of Double-Cross
By Judy Donovan - Star Staff Writer

Four Phoenicians, including an undercover narcotics agent, testified yeterday that Steve Lee Lewis planned a major marijuana sale about a week before a double murder here that allegedly took place during a drug sale double-cross.

Lewis, 18, is on trial in Superior Court, charged with the July 7 murders of John G. Gast, 24, and William Ramsey Tait III, 22, both of Merrick, N.Y., and the attempted murder of David Anderson, 21, of Syosset, N.Y.

Another 18-year-old Phoenix youth, Derrell Lynn Doyal, is also charged with the same crimes and awaits trial.

Superior Court Judge Richard N. Roylston ruled yesterday at a sanity hearing for Doyal, that the youth is able to understand murder charges against him and to assist in his defense.

John Charbonneau of Phoenix, a paid informant of the Arizona Department of Public Safety narcotics division, told the jury that on June 30 in a Phoenix park, Lewis and another youth approached him to find a buyer for 100 kilos of marijuana at $60 a kilo.

Charbonneau said he set up a coffee-shop rendezvous for the next day with Lewis and Doyal, to which he brought DPS Agent Norman Beasley posing as a prospective buyer.

At another meeting the next day, Charbonneau said, they told him they planned to "rip off," or double-cross and rob, the drug buyer for $6,000, using a gun to do it. Lewis, the witness said, told them he'd go along to do the shooting.

Charbonneau said he canceled the deal with Doyal and Lewis on the excuse that the buyers were going out of town.

Agent Beasley corroborated Charbonneau's testimony about setting up the marijuana deal. There was no testimony to show the sale ever took place.

Dale Bratelien, a Phoenix youth, testified that Lewis approached him about a week before the shooting just east of Tucson to come in on a "rip-off" he was planning, and get thousands of dollars.

"He told me he was going to be rich and not have to work anymore," Bratelien continued. "I said, no, they'd catch us, and he said he'd kill anyone who tried to stop him."

Another witness, Ronald Grotjan, a Phoenix College student, told the jury that Doyal and Lewis tried to borrow a gun from him about two weeks before July 7, to use in a "rip-off."

Doyal's mother, Mrs. Madge Doyal of Phoenix, was the final witness of the day. In a choked voice she told the jury she had found a roll of bills in her purse shortly after driving her son from Tucson to Phoenix on July 8.

Upon arrival in Phoenix, she took him to the emergency ward of a hospital for psychiatric treatment, she said. She testified that he had been under psychiatric care for three or four years.

She told the Jury he suffered from a congenital sight deficiency, that he knew throughout his life that he was eventually going to be blind.

TUCSON (AP): When 19-year-old Steve Lee Lewis was arrested for allegedly killing two New York men near Tucson last July, he denied shooting and robbing them, according to a state narcotics agent.

Charles B. Allen testified yesterday that Lewis, standing trial in Pima County Superior Court on charges of murder, said, "I don't think the charges are valid and I didn't shoot anybody."

Allen said Lewis later told him that he "didn't have any of the money - Derrell had it all."

Derrell Lynn Doyal, 18, of Phoenix, is charged with the same crimes but will have a separate trial.

Two men, John G. Cast, 24, and William R. Tait III, 22, of Merrick, N.Y., were shot to death and another man was wounded while driving on Interstate 10 about 12 miles southeast of Tucson July 7.

Defendant In Slaying Says Shots Sounded Like Blowout

Steve Lee Lewis, accused of slaying two men and wounding a third during a drug "ripoff" last July 7, said in court this morning that he thought a tire had gone flat when he heard the shooting occur.

Lewis, 19, is standing trial in Superior Court for the murder of William R. Tait III, 22, and John ast, 24, both of Merrick, N.Y., and for attempted murder of David Anderson, 21, of Syossett, N.Y.

The killings, investigators have claimed, occurred as the men drove south on Interstate 10 to make a narcotics buy. Lewis told the court he was driving the three men to Douglas where they were to purchase a large amount of marijuana from a person named Scott.

He said he heard a "big explosion sound," which he thought was a tire going flat and that he slammed on the brakes and yelled for everyone to hold on.

It was then, he said, that he turned around and saw "a bunch of confusion" but that the three men were being shot by Lewis' roommate, Derrell Lynn Doyal, 19, of Phoenix, who also is accused in the slayings.

Lewis said he turned the car off the road, slowed and jumped out, and then ran down the road and hid. He said he saw the fatally wounded Tait run down the highway and collapse and saw Anderson run away, and that at that point Doyal was shouting incoherently.

Lewis said Doyal and he then drove the car to the nearest access road and that he then walked back to the freeway, dropped a bundle of money given to him by Doyal and then walked back to Tucson where he said he called his parents for money to take the bus back to Phoenix.

Lewis said his father teaches at Sunnyslope High School in Phoenix and his mother teaches at Westbrook Elementary School in Phoenix.

He said he was in an accelerated class in high school and received his diploma after only three and a half years. He said he lived with his parents until last June, when he moved into an apartment with Doyal because he "wanted to experience life."

He denied ever having discussed a "ripoff" with others and denied ever having questioned anyone about obtaining too "hot guns," and said he and Doyal had a gun along on the night of July 7 for protection purposes only.

TUCSON (AP): A 19-year-old Phoenix youth charged with the slayings of two New York men last July told a jury yesterday how he threw away a bundle of money his companion handed him as they abandoned their car in the desert.

Steve Lee Lewis, on trial for the murders of John G. Gast, 24, and William R. Tait III, 22, both of Merrick, N.Y., described how he tossed the money on the ground as they neared Interstate 10 on foot.

Lewis said he was driving, along with Dcrrell Lynn Doyal, 19, also of Phoenix, when Doyal suddenly turned around in the car and began shooting at the two victims and a third man who was seriously wounded in the incident.

During testimony last week, the sole surviving victim of the incident, David Anderson, 21, of Syosett, N.Y., testified that he heard someone yell "Get them" shortly before Doyal began shooting.

Defendant Testifies At Trial
2 Slayings On I-10 Described To Court
By Judy Donovan - Star Staff Writer

A Phoenix youth charged with two murders and attempted murder took the witness stand yesterday in Pima County Superior Court.

He told the jury how he threw away a bundle of money handed him by his partner as they abandoned the death car in the desert last July.

Steve Lee Lewis, 19, said his partner in an alleged drug sale trip from Phoenix to Douglas with the three victims, handed him a bundle of bills as they walked from the car in which the gunplay occurred.

Lewis said he wrapped the money in a shirt he had tun jumping from the car during the shooting, and threw it on the ground as they neared Interstate 10 on foot.

Lewis and Derrell Lynn Doyal, 18, also of Phoenix, are both charged with the July 7 murders of John G. Gast, 24, and William R. Tait III, 22, both of Merrick, N.Y., and the attempted murder of David Anderson, 21, of Syosset, N.Y. Doyal will be tried separately.

Lewis said he was driving the four men on I-10 southeast of Tucson on their way to Douglas when he heard a deafening explosion like a tire blowing out, and saw a flash that illuminated the car.

He said he yelled, "Hold on!" to the passengers as he slammed on the brakes, then heard continued explosions, yelling and screaming, and saw "people lying around in confusion."

He pulled off the road and opened the door to jump "because I became aware it was gunfire and I got scared," he said.

"I fell getting out of the car, and skinned my knees. Derrell was fighting with Tait when I jumped out. I ran behind some bushes 10 to 15 feet to the side of the car. Derrell didn't seem coherent. He was yelling and screaming my name and telling me to get the car off the road."

Lewis said he returned to the car, and he and Doyal got back in. The fatally wounded Gast was still in the back seat. Tait had run across the road and collapsed.

Lewis said he turned the car back toward Tucson and they drove about 15 miles until they finally abandoned the car in the desert near Los Reales Road and the Hughes Access Road.

James Howard, deputy county attorney, asked Lewis, "You drove 15 miles on the freeway and didn't ask him (Doyal) why he had shot all those people?". Lewis answered, "No. I was quite shocked."

In testimony last week Anderson, the surviving victim of the shooting, said he heard someone yell after the shots ceased, "I'm out of bullets. They're not dead yet."

Lewis said yesterday that he didn't hear anyone say that. He also denied a conversation with an earlier witness about a planned "rip-off" or drug sale double-cross, a few days before the July 7 killings.

Lewis' parents, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Lewis of Phoenix, his brother, Dave, a cousin and school associates testified as character witnesses that the youth had a reputation for peacefulness and non-violence. His mother said her son had known Doyal since they were in fourth grade together.

Lewis left home last June to live with Doyal in a Phoenix apartment. He said he had made other marijuana sale deals and had planned other drug transactions in Phoenix and Yuma that failed to come off.

Slayer Of 2 Found Guilty
Sentencing is scheduled March 26 for Steve Lee Lewis, 19, of Phoenix, convicted last night of the first degree murder of two men and attempted murder of a third last July 7. Lewis was found guilty in the murders of William R. Tait III, 22, and John Gast, 24, both of Merrick, N.Y., and the attempted murder of David Anderson, 21, of Syossett, N.Y.

The Pima County Superior Court jury called for life imprisonment on each of the first-degree murder counts. Tait and Gast were killed and Anderson was wounded when traveling from Phoenix to Douglas with Lewis and Derrell Doyal, also 19, supposedly for the purpose of making a marijuana purchase. Doyal, of Phoenix, still faces trial on the same charges.

Deputy County Atty. James Howard told the jury in his final argument yesterday that plans for the doublecross and killing were formulated more than a week before the offense occurred, before the two slain men were even known by the defendant and Doyal.

Howard charged that Lewis' testimony on his own behalf was "inherently incredible and unbelievable and not substantiated by one bit of evidence." Lewis' defense was that Doyal committed the shootings, and not because of any pre-conceived plan that Lewis knew about.

Lewis admitted driving the car taking the five men to Douglas, where he said arrangements had been made to purchase at least 100 kilos of marijuana from someone named Scott.

Howard argued that a marijuana purchase never had been planned by Lewis, that no marijuana was being held in Douglas for them, and that the person named Scott does not exist.

Steve L. Lewis Lewis guilty in 2 deaths, one attempt
Associated Press Tucson - Steve Lee Lewis, 19, of Phoenix, was convicted last night of two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder in the shooting deaths of two men and wounding of another last July 8 near here.

Sentencing was scheduled March 26 by Pima County Superior Court Judge Richard Roylston. The jury called for life imprisonment on each first-degree murder count.

Prosecutor James Howard, deputy county attorney, said in remarks at the close of the 7-day trial that Lewis was a co-conspirator in a continuing scheme to rob three New Yorkers, John G. Gast, 24, and William R. Tait III, 22, both of Merrick, and David Anderson, 21, of Syosset. Gast and Tail were shot to death, but Anderson survived a bullet wound to the chest.

The trio allegedly was going to Douglas to buy 100 kilos of marijuana from Lewis and his roommate Derrell Lynn Doyal, 18, of Phoenix. Doyal will be tried here on the same charges.

During the moments of the midnight shooting about 12 miles southeast of here on Interstate 10, Howard said that, Lewis, the driver, turned on the car dome light because he knew Doyal, armed with a .22-caliber revolver, had a serious eye problem and couldn't see well in the dark.

Lewis slammed on the brakes and the shooting started, Howard contended, because one of the backseat passengers, Tait, started to fight with Doyal and "things weren't going as planned."

The defendant threw away a bundle of money Doyal gave him as they abandoned the death car, Howard continued, not because it was forced on him but because he intended to come back and get it.

Some $3,200 in cash that Anderson had stashed in the glove compartment was missing when police found the car. Tait's body still had $5,200 on it when discovered beside the highway.

"Lewis' testimony is inherently incredible and not substantiated by the drug sale that was supposed to take place in Douglas." the prosecutor said. The "rip-off or drug-sale double-cross had been planned from the beginning, he told the jury.

Defense Attorney, Jack Redhair attacked the summation, asking the jury why, if it had been so well planned, hadn't the defendants tried to hide the bloody bodies and the car which was so easily traceable.

He claimed that Lewis hit the brakes in panic at the unexpected shooting, even ruining Doyal's aim.

Redhair pointed out that four other persons involved in a "syndicate" with the three victims were in Phoenix with knowledge of the planned marijuana sale and could easily have pinpointed Lewis and Doyal as the last persons they were with.

Teen Guilty in LIer's Deaths
Special to Newsday Tucson Ariz. - The first of two trials resulting from the killing of two would-be marijuana buyers on a lonely Arizona desert highway is over. Late Tuesday night, a jury found Steve Lee Lewis guilty of murder and attempted murder and recommended life imprisonment.

David K. Anderson of Syosset, L.I., took the Stand at the start of Lewis' week-long trial and recounted the events that he said led to the killing of William Ramsay Tait III, 24, of Merrick, L.I., and John G. Gast, 24, of Baltimore, on a highway 18 miles south of Tucson shortly after 1 AM last July 8.

Anderson, who was granted immunity from prosecution, testified thait he, Tait and Gast believed they were about to consummate an $8,400 marijuana purchase - for resale on Long Island - when the killings took place. He said that Lewis, 19, and Derrell Lynn Doyal, 18, of Phoenix, supposedly were taking them into the desert to make the purchase when Doyal suddenly turned and opened fire. Lewis was driving the car, Anderson said.

Anderson was shot through the jaw with a .22-cal. pistol, but escaped and hitched a ride to Tucson. Tait his fellow buyer was hit six times. Gast, reportedly a middleman who apparently was duped along with his two Long Island clients, took one fatal bullet. Lewis and Doyal allegedly fled with $3,500 of the $8,400 in the car. They were arrested in Phoenix.

According to Anderson's testimony, he went to Phoenix to make a large marijuana purchase, met gast and was eventually introduced to Lewis and Doyal. When the deal got too big for Anderson to finance, Anderson said Tait was invited in and flew to Phoenix. On the night of July 7, the five drove from Phoenix toward what Lewis and Doyal said would be a desert rendezvous with the sellers.

Doyal is awaiting trial on charges identical to Lewis' - two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. Anderson is expected to be the main witness in Doyal's trial as well. Lewis is scheduled to be sentenced March 26.

Arizona Youth Guilty in SB Student Death
The first of two young men to stand trial in Tucson, Arizona for the killing of a Stony Brook student, his companion and the attempted murder of another Stony Brook student was found guilty last week of all charges against him. The jury recommended life imprisonment.

The Tuscon jury found Steve Lee Lewis guilty in the July 8, 1970 murder of William Tait III, 24, a political science major here, John Gast, 24, of Baltimore and the attempted murder of David K. Anderson, a biology-premedical student here.

Anderson took the stand at the start of the week-long trial and recounted the events that he said led to the killing of Tait and Gast. Granted immunity from prosecution, he testified that he, Tait, and Gast believed they were about to consummate an $8400 marijuana purchase for resale on Long Island - when the killings took place. He said that Lewis, 19, and Derrell Lynn Doyal, 18, of Phoenix, supposedly were taking them into the desert to make the purchase when Doyal suddenly turned and opened fire. Lewis was driving the car, Anderson said.

Anderson was shot but escaped and hitched a ride to Tuscon. Lewis and Doyal allegedly fled with $3500 of the $8400 in the car. They were arrested in Phoenix.

In his testimony, Anderson said that he went to Phoenix to make a large marijuana purchase, met Gast and was eventually introduced to Doyal and Lewis. When the deal got too big for Anderson to finance, he said, Tait was invited in and flew to Phoenix. On the night of July 7, the five drove from Phoenix toward what Lewis and Doyal said would be a desert rendezvous with the sellers.

Doyal is awaiting trial on charges identical to Lewis'. Anderson is expected to be the main witness in Doyal's trial as well. Sentencing for Lewis has been set for March 26.

Doyal Pleads Guilty In 'Ripoff,' Gets Life
Derrell Lynn Doyal pleaded guilty today to first degree murder in the ripoff slaying of William R. Tait III 22, of Merrick, N.Y., and was sentenced to a life term. "I'm sorry I did it," he told Superior Court Judge Richard N. Roylston.

The plea came after Roylston ruled a sanity hearing that Doyal, of Phoenix, was able to understand the charges against him.

After sentencing, Roylston dropped additional charges of first degree murder in the slaying of John Gast, 24, also of Merrick, and attempted murder of David Anderson, 21, of Syossett. N.Y. Doyal admitted being the triggerman in the triple shooting.

A companion, Steve Lee Lewis, 19, of Phoenix, was sentenced to two life terms in prison and a concurrent 10 to 15 year sentence for the wounding of Anderson. Doyal, 19, admitted shooting the three last July as they sat in the back seat of the Lewis car.

Doyal gets life in drug slaying
Tucson (AP) - Saying "I'm sorry I did it," Derrell Lynn Doyal, 19, confessed yesterday to shooting three New York men during a narcotics double cross east of Tucson last summer.

Pima County Superior Court Judge Richard Roylston sentenced the Phoenix youth to life in prison. Doyal had to plead guilty only to killing William R. Tait III, 22, of Merrick, N.Y., because the judge dropped a separate murder charge and an attempted murder charge.

The surprise plea came after Roylston ruled yesterday that Doyal was able to understand the charges against him and to help in his defense. Another Phoenix youth, Steve Lee Lewis, 19, was sentenced earlier this month to two life terms in prison for the shootings.

Tait and John Gast, 24, of Merrick were killed and David Anderson, 21, of Syossett, N.Y., injured in the shooting spree.

Still At Large Decades Later - Steve Lee Lewis

Lewis, now 56, escaped Nov. 21, 1983, from the Arizona State Prison Complex-Florence's minimum custody North Unit.

Officials don't know how he got away.

Lewis was an 18-year-old Phoenix resident when he stood trial in 1971 for the murders of William R. Tait III, 22, and John Gast, 24, both of Merrick, N.Y., and the attempted murder of another man. Lewis and co-defendant Derrell Lynn Doyal agreed to take the victims to Nogales on a drug run. On the way there, Doyal shot the men. Doyal struck a plea deal and testified against Lewis.

Lewis was convicted and sentenced to two life terms. Doyal pleaded guilty to one murder and was sentenced to life. He was paroled in 1998.

I believe the reporter for the Phoenix newspaper that worked with the Newsday journalists in NY to publicize the story that inspired Last Days of May was murdered some years later himself while investigating crime and corruption in Arizona.

I'd have to research it, but I'm fairly sure it was the same fellow. Don Bolles was the Phoenix reporter. Courageous guy.

Flashes of gunfire in the darkness of the Arizona desert ended a major deal in drug smuggling and left two men dead and a third severely injured. Newsday reporter Brian Donovan spent six weeks trying to trace the paths that brought two of those promising young men from comfortable Long Island homes to the drug culture and eventually to their tragic date on the desert. He held almost 200 interviews, spent a week in the world of Phoenix drug dealing and crossed the US for this story.