RONALD REAGAN: IMAGE OF THE BEAST

I proceeded up Belair Boulevard toward the Reagan Mansion. As I got to the top of the road where the house was on the corner I crouched down so that the Secret Service agents who were stationed at the gate could not see me. Then I ran up to the wall that was along the street, in what was either a part of the Reagan complex or a neighbor’s yard. After I climbed the wall, I could see that there was a fence straight ahead about thirty yards up the hill. Towards the right, was a wall, which I then realized behind which, was the Reagan home. In a crouched position I ran to the point where the fence met the wall. I then tried to climb the wall. It was about seven feet high on my side. As I attempted to climb the wall I broke a wire that ran along the top. I thought that this was an alarm wire so I began to panic. On my second attempt, I got over, however in the process my glasses fell off as did my shoes. The other side of the wall was more than seven feet high. It was about twelve feet to the ground, so I hung on the wall and let myself down. I did not know that anyone had seen me climb over the wall, so I started to proceed slowly up the driveway towards the front door.

The next thing I knew was that there was a secret service agent telling me to stop or he would shoot. At that point I broke into a full gallop towards the door. I had about a thirty-yard lead on the agent who had just come out of the guardhouse at the foot of the driveway. As I got to the front door I froze. That was as far as I had originally expected to get. I thought in my mind that the door most certainly would be locked. Then small voices in my head said try the door. I did. It opened. I ran in.

I am often asked just what the house looked like inside. This is what I can remember. As soon as you open the front door you are in a vestibule. To both the right and the left are sitting areas. In the vestibule are four chairs. They were blue with a flower pattern on them. Straight ahead is a glass sliding door leading to the patio. In the rush that I was in that’s all that I can remember.

As I ran in I took a quick look around and headed for the sliding doors. I opened them and ran outside. Then I stopped. The agent had reached the front door, which I had left open. He yelled at me to freeze and he had his gun drawn. He caught up to me and placed his gun against my head. Then he moved me over to the sliding doors and told me to place my hands against them while he radioed for help. According to court documents that we received at the trial, it was at this point that Nancy saw me. She was in her bedroom where she saw me out of the window. She was talking to a Secret Service agent about an upcoming trip when she said “There’s a man in my house and they’ve got a gun to his head.”