The Rio Grande Sniper Killings: Caught in the Sights of a Drug Conspiracy

BOOK REVIEW

The Rio Grande Sniper Killings: Caught in the Sights of a Drug Conspiracy

By John W. Primomo

Reviewed by Magistrate Judge Henry Bemporad

History Press, 2023, 140 pages, $23.99

As F. Scott Fitzgerald famously said, “There are no second acts in American lives.” Well, that saying is definitely not true of John W. Primomo. After completing a long and distinguished career of federal service as a well-respected United States Magistrate Judge, Primomo has pursued his second successful career, as an outstanding author of historical non-fiction.

Judge Primomo’s books reflect his wide interests. His first, The Appomattox Generals (2013), told the stories of the parallel lives of Joshua L. Chamberlain of Maine and John B. Gordon of Georgia, who represented the Union and Confederate armies at the formal surrender ceremony at Appomattox Courthouse on April 12, 1865. His second, Architect of Death at Auschwitz (2020), was a biography of Rudolf Hoss, the longest-serving Auschwitz commandant, and often considered the worst mass murderer in the history of the world. But Judge Primomo’s latest book, The Rio Grande Sniper Killings: Caught in the Sights of a Drug Conspiracy, may be his best yet.

John W. Primomo

A gripping tale of drug dealing, witness intimidation, and murder, The Rio Grande Sniper Killings reads like a fictional script written for a combination Law and Order episode and Quentin Tarantino movie. Yet it is a true story, one which ended up as a notable 1980s federal criminal case, tried right here in the Western District of Texas.

The Rio Grande Sniper Killings centers on the senseless and tragic deaths of Charlotte Elliott and Kevin Frase, two young bystanders shot by Lloyd Walker, an amateur assassin hired to murder a federal grand jury witness. Walker fired a rifle into Pepe’s On the River, a popular outdoor bar in Mission, Texas, right on the Rio Grande. He missed his target, but killed Elliott and Frase in the process. The story of killings, the Austin drug case that led up to them, and the federal murder prosecution that followed, is both complex and fascinating. In telling it, Judge Primomo brings not just his literary skill and his expertise as a legal analyst, but a personal perspective as well. He was a first-hand observer of Walker’s murder case, serving as law clerk to the legendary U.S. District Judge H.F. “Hippo” Garcia, who presided over the trial.

The Rio Grande Sniper Killings is a great read for anyone, but it will be of special interest to those in the legal communities of San Antonio and South Texas. The original drug conspiracy was known as the “Loop 360 Deal,” as it involved landing a load of marijuana on the then-uncompleted Highway 360 in Austin. And the cast of legal characters in the story reads like a Who’s Who of criminal practice in the region. The federal prosecutions were led by former Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Murphy and Archie Carl Pierce—the latter perhaps best known for his role in prosecuting the drug case underlying the assassination of U.S. District Judge John Wood. As for Walker, he was defended by renowned Houston attorney Mike DeGeurin. Other famous, and infamous, lawyers make appearances in the book, including Percy Foreman and Sidney Powell.

As always, Judge Primomo approaches his subject not just as an engaging writer but also as a careful historian and biographer. Although it is a quick read, The Rio Grande Sniper Killings reflects the Judge’s exhaustive research, with deep dives into the backgrounds of all the characters, a careful review of the documents of the case and, whenever possible, first person interviews with those involved.

For the local bar, the best part of the book might be Judge Primomo’s loving portrait of Judge Garcia, his mentor and friend and one of San Antonio’s most beloved state and federal trial judges. And while the book expertly tells the story of the legal cases involved, from beginning to end, the Rio Grande Sniper Killings is filled with compassion for the two innocent victims and their families. As Judge Primomo explains, although he tells the whole story from the original drug conspiracy though all the court cases, his “book has always been about remembering Charlotte and Kevin.”

The Rio Grande Sniper Killings is a mustread both for true crime fans and for Texas history buffs—especially those interested in the South Texas region. And it offers a particular pleasure for San Antonio lawyers and the legal community. As for me, I just hope that Judge Primomo keeps up his great “second act” as a historian and author.

Henry J. Bemporad has been a United States Magistrate in the San Antonio Division since 2012. Prior to joining the bench, he was the Federal Public Defender for the Western District of Texas. He previously served as law clerk to then-United States District Judge Edward C. Prado.