The following details were revealed at the suppression hearing:
- Skinner frantically called numerous federal agencies (local DEA, FBI and several attorneys at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.) to gain immunity before directing them to the lab Skinner had placed at the missile base. He was not under arrest or charged with any crime at the time of his calls. All of the agents "thought he was crazy.....they wouldn't give him the time of day." Skinner had his attorney fly to Washington, D.C. to present his offer and obtain immunity.
- Before calling the agencies, Skinner removed most of the ET (LSD precursor) from the missile base and concealed it at his father-in-law's house in Manhattan, Kansas. He then contacted federal agents to implicate Leonard.
- After being confronted by agents, Skinner continued to deceive them about the ET issue for months, stating that he "knew where some might be", "that there might be a shipment", that he "had it under surveillance", that "it was in Missouri", etc. Skinner even produced two individuals to say that they might be able to help retrieve the material. After several months, fearing arrest, Skinner produced most of the ET, having had an associate drive it from Kansas to California. (See LSD Trial
DEA: Informant concealed $2.6 million in illicit chemicals; The Wamego Times, Jan 30, 2003)
- Unknown to agents, Skinner still retained one kilogram of ET. Upon being notified that he was to be tested with a polygraph about the matter, Skinner brought in the other kilogram. Nevertheless, he failed the polygraph, which indicated "deception".
- Skinner was not charged for his manipulation of evidence in this case. Similarly, none of the four individuals who transported the laboratory to the missile base have been charged, including Skinner's father - Gordon Skinner - a chiropractor in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The elder Skinner has not been interviewed about this case.
- In the suppression hearing, it was revealed that Leonard did not know the laboratory was at the missile base until it was shown to him by Skinner, who was wired for the occasion. This occurred on November 4, 2000, two days before the arrest.
- Before the initial search of the base on October 31, 2000, Skinner hid another kilogram of ET behind a refrigerator, but this was discovered by agents during the search.
- Agents used an elaborate electronic surveillance system, installed at the base by Skinner, to observe activities over several days. This system had infrared illumination, motion detectors, and at least 6 pan/zoom cameras positioned about the property, with 4 monitors and controls within the underground tunnel complex. This surveillance was done without a warrant, by agents within the monitor room. The agents did have a video warrant for one of the bedrooms inside the base, where they installed a closed-circuit video camera due to Skinner's insistence that Leonard would set up the laboratory there. This did not occur.
- In the hour before the driveaway of the truck containing the laboratory, agents again occupied the interior of the base without a warrant. Leonard attempted to open the blast door, but it had been chained from the inside by agents. Leonard cut the chain with bolt cutters, but was physically prevented from entering due to several agents on the other side holding the door lever. This physical encounter lasted for half an hour.
- After the traffic stop of the vehicles and laboratory, agents towed the entire laboratory - not to an impoundment area or licensed facility - but onto the missile base, locking it inside one of the buildings. After a delay of 11 days, agents "observed the vehicles on the property", then applied for a search warrant. Agents then unpacked the laboratory on private property, remaining for 6-7 weeks and occasionally applying for a warrant to "hold" the property because there was a laboratory present.
- Skinner was eventually charged with the manslaughter/homicide of Paul Hulebak, who died of an opiate overdose in Skinner's presence in April, 1999. (A year earlier, another individual almost died from a lethal overdose of fentanyl that Skinner provided him.) Skinner's associates stated that Paul became unconscious, with Skinner slapping him repeatedly and administering several injections of various drugs, including Benadryl. Skinner refused to summon medical aid. After several hours, Skinner and his associates loaded Paul's unconscious body into a car and drove to Manhattan, Kansas, some 30 miles away. Medical assistance was available in Wamego, Kansas, however, only five minutes from the missile base. Upon arriving near the hospital in Manhattan, Skinner insisted on returning to the base where Paul's body - unconscious but still alive - was unloaded. Several hours later, Paul died. Skinner had kept him from medical treatment for over 8 hours. Paul's body was finally delivered by car to a Wamego, Kansas emergency setting only five minutes away. The delay of medical attention by Skinner and his injection of various substances into Paul was only revealed during interviews of Skinner's associates by agents in April, 2001. The manslaughter charges against Skinner were dismissed because Skinner had previously been given immunity for all of his criminal activity.
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For more information about the missile bases see: