Caley and J.D. had several sessions with the prosecutor. They all were in agreement they had sufficient evidence to arrest Oats for the murder of Cyndi and Daryl. The crimes of shooting a law enforcement officer and the murder of the two boys in 1968 would normally be under the jurisdiction of the FBI. After discussions with the federal prosecutor, it was agreed Jane Winfrey, the Prosecutor would take the lead on prosecuting Oats first for the murder of Cyndi and Daryl. The incident was expected to draw big headlines and probably even national media attention. Everyone wanted to proceed with a united front. The plan was in place. Caley and J.D. departed the jail complex headed toward Flood’s Place.
Oats and Patrick were sitting at the picnic table in front of the building when they arrived. Oats was having a beer and Patrick was drinking a soft drink.
“You are under arrest for the murder of Cyndi Cooper and Daryl Crews,” said Caley as she walked over to Oats.
Oats, in no mood to be jovial, let out a mock laugh that was more nervous than comical and said, “You gotta be crazy.” Caley didn’t respond to the remark, but J.D. did by reciting Oats his Miranda rights. He seized the man by one arm, placed his hands on the car and searched him for weapons. Then J.D. put his hands behind his back and cuffed him.
Oats looked over at Patrick and said, “Take care of things around here for me Patrick, I won’t be gone too long.”
Surprised by the situation, Patrick said, “OK Mr. Oats. Don’t worry about it.”
“Also call my lawyer, Charlie McRaine and tell him to get down to the jail as soon as he can.”
“Yes Sir, I’ll do it right away,” said Patrick.
Then without further incident, Oats was put into the back of the sheriff’s car and was on his way to jail. On the way to the jail J.D. and Caley, both tried to hold a conversation with Oats, but he refused to say a word.
It wasn’t but a few hours before the word was out that Oats had been arrested. It was national news almost immediately and carried on all of the major networks. The media was in such frenzy that the local prosecutor received a call from the State Attorney General for a personal update. The phone call put the prosecutor under pressure to call a press conference. Jane Winfrey, J.D. Caley and her boss, Sheriff Thad Wilson, were at the conference to provide information to the media. Wilson an elected official, couldn’t pass up an opportunity to make politics out of the affair. At the news conference, he took over the show. He started out by giving accolades to Caley and J.D. for their hard work in fleshing out the “truth on a crime that had been committed against two young people.” Referring to the 1968 incident, he went into more detail than anyone thought necessary. He started by stating, “How the entire sheriff’s department and Federal officials had worked together to solve a horrendous crime. He hoped that this would provide a sense of closure to the victim’s family caused by the social injustice years earlier. Thank God, the people of Caldwell Country no longer live under the fear of bigotry. We owe it to all citizens to fight against such injustices.” By the time he finished, it was evident to all that he was pandering to the county’s large population of black people.
At the jail, Charlie McRaine sat across the stainless steel table from Oats with a guard watching from the far corner of the room. In his red prison coveralls, Oats didn’t look like a beaten man. He seemed combative and to fight hard for his freedom.
McRaine started the conversation, “Well Otis, first I need to know whether you committed those murders in 1968 or not. Don’t lie to me. I am your lawyer and anything you say to me is privileged. If you did the crime and I know the truth, we can prepare a defense that will make it much easier to win your case than if you lie to me.”
“I did not,” said Oats. He said it without a hint of shame.
“Did you shoot the special agent?”
“Damn right I did, but I was half asleep when it happened. The bastard was nosing around in my place, and I thought he was a prowler.”
“What about Cyndi Cooper and Daryl Crews? “
“Well yes. I did it to help out Jeff Ireland.”
“Well, this is not good, but now I know where we need to start our defense. I don’t know how to go about it just yet, but I need you to start with what you remember about Cooper and Crews. Start from the beginning and don’t leave out anything.”
Charlie placed a small recorder on the table and Oats started talking. They talked for two hours. Charlie wasn’t interested in the details of Bubba’s shooting or the civil rights crimes at this time. Right now, he wanted to prepare a case to get Oats out on bail if possible. He knew it would be a long shot.
While Charlie was preparing his case to defend Oats, Jane Winfrey, the prosecutor, was busy putting together her case against him. Jane had prosecuted mostly cases involving robberies and other small crimes during the past four years she had been on the job. This would be her first murder case. The pressure would be on her from the federal authorities but mostly from the State Attorney General. She felt that one thing in her favor was that she would have all the resources at her disposal she needed. On the other hand, since this would be a high profile case she would get more advice than she needed. Most important for her right now was to present a case against Oats Schoenfeld's release on bail, which his lawyer was sure to attempt.
At the bail hearing, his lawyer put up a brilliant case for letting Oats out pending the trial. The judge heard an array of pleas: his client was an upright citizen, he was a small businessman who needed to maintain his business, or it would go under, that he had never been outside of the United States, and he certainly wasn’t about to flee the country or the state now, he was, “anxious to have his day in court to present his side of these hatched up politically motivated charges.” Jane Winfrey was equally aggressive against bail, pointing out that Oats was on trial for a capital offense, charges that would normally prevent him from being granted bail. After carefully listening to both sides, the judge remanded Oats back to jail. Both he and his lawyer were very disappointed. Oats was escorted out of the courtroom by two officers to be incarcerated until his trial.