US vs LEONARD PELTIER TRIAL TRANSCRIPT EXCERPTS Case Number CR77-3003

SA ROBERT A. BUNCH, COLORADO

MR. CROOKS:  If it please the Court, the United States would call as its next witness Mr. Robert A. Bunch.
 ROBERT A. BUNCH, being first duly sworn, testified as follows:
 DIRECT EXAMINATION
BY MR. CROOKS
 Q  Special Agent Bunch, would you again give your full name for the record.
 A  Robert A. Bunch.
 Q  What is your occupation, Mr. Bunch?
 A  I'm a special agent with the FBI.
 Q  What is your present assignment?
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 A  Monterey, California.
 Q  And how long have you been assigned as a special agent in that area?
 A  About six months.
 Q  Where were you assigned prior to that?
 A  Santa Cruz, California.
 Q  Calling your attention back to the summer of 1975, what was your assignment during the month of June, 1975 or prior thereto?
 A  I was assigned to the Colorado Springs Resident Agency out of the Denver office.
 Q  How long had you been in the Colorado Springs office, Mr. Bunch?
 A  Just about six years.
 Q  During your time at the Colorado Springs office were you assigned with another special agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation by the name of Jack R. Coler?
 A  Yes, sir, I was.
 Q  Had you known or -- well, first let me ask, how long had Mr. Coler been assigned to the Colorado Springs office?
 A  Approximately three years.
 Q  And how many man office was the Colorado Springs office?
 A  While he was there I think it was from six to eight.
 Q  All right. So he was one of approximately eight agents including yourself?
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 A  Yes, sir.
 Q  Had you known Special Agent Coler prior to his coming to the Colorado Springs Resident Agency?
 A  No, sir.
 Q  During the period of time that you worked with him, I believe you stated approximately three years, did you have occasion to work with Mr. Coler?
 A  Yes. I did.
 The last year we were assigned as a team, two partners.
 Q  And how would you describe your personal relationship with Special Agent Coler?
 A  We were close friends.
 Q  Now did there come a time when Special Agent Coler was placed on a temporary assignment in another resident agency?
 A  Yes, sir.
 Q  And approximately when was that?
 A  April, I believe it was, 1975.
 Q  And where did he get the assignment to?
 A  To Pine Ridge, South Dakota.
 Q  And are you personally familiar with how long the assignment was to have been?
 A  Yes. I believe it was either a sixty or a ninety day assignment. I believe sixty.
 Q  And he was assigned in April?
 A  April or May or 1975; yes, sir.
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 Q  So in June of 19, June 26, 1975 he would have been approaching the end of his tour, would that be correct?
 A  Either that or almost; yes, sir. Maybe even halfway through. I'm not sure.
 Q  Now insofar as Special Agent Coler was concerned, you indicated that you were, in addition to being a fellow worker, a close personal friend.
 Did you take care of any of Mr. Coler's personal things such a car, mail and so forth in his absence to the Pine Ridge area?
 A  Yes, sir. I did.
 Q  And will you describe, not in detail but in general, what kind of personal things you could take care of for him.
 A  Well, mail, for instance that would come to his residence and to the office and the upkeep and maintenance of his residence as well as his vehicle.
 Q  All right. And during the time that he was in Pine Ridge did you have occasion to talk to him by the telephone on occasion concerning personal matters as well as business matters?
 A  Yes, sir. Quite often.
 Q  And could you give any kind of an estimate as to how often this would be, say, on a weekly basis or some estimate of that nature?
 A  At the minimum, two times a week. Probably averaging around {490} three or four. Close to every other day.
 Q  All right. Special Agent Bunch, I would hand you Exhibit No. 28 and ask you if this is the individual identified or your friend, Special Agent Coler?
 A  Yes, sir. It is.
 Q  All right. Now during the time that he was at Pine Ridge were there occasions when you would have to visit with him about cases that you'd worked on together at Colorado Springs?
 A  Yes, sir. Quite often.
 Q  Calling your attention specifically to June 26 of 1975, the day of Special Agent Coler's death, did you have occasion to talk with him on the telephone?
 A  Yes, sir. I did.
 Q  And when did that telephone conversation take place?
 A  Approximately 9:00 a.m on the 26th.
 Q  All right. Would you, first of all, describe generally what the -- well, first of all, how long did the conversation, telephone conversation last?
 A  I'd say from, anywhere from twenty minutes to half an hour, thirty-five minutes.
 Q  Would you mention just briefly some of the subject matters that were part of the conversation without going into the complete details?
 A  Yes, sir.
 I was in Denver at the time when I received the call {491} and it dealt with the things that I mentioned before about personal items about mail, had I forwarded mail. Also some cases that we had worked together in Colorado Springs that were pending trial and whether or not he would be subpoenaed to testify for those cases.
 The work here, excuse me, in Pine Ridge, he discussed the cases that he was working, the people that he had contacted, a number of persons he had contacted.
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 Q  During that telephone conversation did Special Agent Coler indicate how things were going for him insofar as the Pine Ridge assignment was concerned?
 A  Yes, sir, he did.
 Q  And would you relate just generally what he told you in that regard?
 A  He said he enjoyed the work. He mentioned this before, and he contacted a lot of people that he enjoyed working with and that he had contacted during investigations, and he enjoyed his assignment.
 Q  Did he say anything about -- during that conversation, concerning the people that he had met, law enforcement and lay type people?
 A  Yes, he did. He liked -- as far as I could tell, he liked just about everyone he came in contact with.
 Q  And during the course of the conversation did he relate to you anything concerning possible transfer to the Pine Ridge area or to the Rapid City area?
 A  Yes. He thought that he would consider changing his office of preference in order to work there and move from Colorado Springs.
 Q  All right. During the conversation did he indicate any particular problems with regard to any of the cases he was working on?
 A  No, sir.
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 Q  Did he discuss specifically the case he was working on at that time?
 A  Yes, he did. He told me that -- I believe it was just about as soon as he was finished with this -- the conversation that he and I were having on the phone -- that he intended to assist another agent in the location of a subject they had a warrant for. I believe it was a kidnapping charge.
 Q  All right. I don't want you to give the details, but do you recall him going into any of the details of the crime?
 A  Yes, sir, I do.
 Q  And I don't want you to go into that.
 Did he mention the name of the individual who he was seeking?
 A  Yes, sir, he did.
 Q  And who did he say the individual was?
 A  Jimmy Eagle.
 Q  Now insofar as the name, Jimmy Eagle, was there any particular reason that you would recall that name having been given to you that morning?
 A  Yes, sir, there was because subsequently, as I learned more and more about the details of what later occurred that day, that name was repeated a number of times, that this was a particular case that Jack and the other agents were working.
 Q  And approximately how long after your conversation with your friend and fellow agent did you learn of his death?
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 A  I would say it was five to six hours.
 MR. CROOKS:  We tender the witness for cross examination, your Honor.
 MR. TAIKEFF:  May I have just one moment, please, your Honor?
 THE COURT:  You may.
 (Counsel confer.)
 MR. TAIKEFF:  No questions.
 THE COURT:  You may step down.
 (Witness excused.)