TALK OF THE TOWN TURNS TO MURMURS

Los Lonely Boy Faces Scandal And A Record He Wants No Part Of

SAN ANGELO -- At the very least, there will be an asterisk attached to the
history of a band of local legends. And no matter what, whispers of what
happened that night will trail a pair of young women.

Something has been lost here.

With the midnight stroke of a magistrate's pen, a search warrant was issued
Jan. 6. Evidence seized from the San Angelo home of Grammy-nominated Los
Lonely Boys drummer Ringo Garza, area celebrity: Towels. Clothing. Carpet
samples. Washcloths. "1 apparatus and two hand-rolled cigarettes." The
suspected crimes are pot possession and drug-assisted date rape.

The lurid scandal trifecta is thus complete: Sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll.

The band, its manager and lawyers have said that the alleged incident is
out of character for Ringo Garza and that they will let the process play
out rather than try the case in the media.

"We expect there will be a full and fair investigation," said Neal Davis, a
Houston lawyer representing Ringo Garza, 23, and his wife, Lenora, 24. "We
are just going to let the police do their work."

As the inquiry proceeds, Ringo and Lenora Garza are charged only with
possession of about 2 ounces of marijuana that police say turned up in
their search. They were released from jail after posting $1,000 bail each.

Los Lonely Boys have been the talk of San Angelo since the 2003 debut album
by the band of brothers -- drummer Ringo, bassist JoJo and guitarist Henry
- -- began to gain traction. The record is now closing in on 2 million copies
sold. Austin, where the band's incendiary live gigs set the buzz meter off
the charts, is virtually the band's second home. The band is nominated for
four Grammy Awards, which will be presented Feb. 13, and is set to head
into Pedernales Studios in Spicewood this month to record its follow-up.

The saga of Los Lonely Boys is a great American success story built on the
power of la familia, Mexican-American culture, Latin rhythms and gale-force
blues guitar licks. It became a different kind of story Jan. 5, when two
20-year-old women -- one of whom is from a prominent family -- sat down
with San Angelo Police Detective Kathy Walker.

Police get involvedSan Angelo Police Chief Tim Vasquez, the city's top
lawman since July, was in his newly remodeled office at headquarters Jan. 6
when the supervisor for investigations walked in.

We have a big one on our hands, the supervisor said.

Officer Raymond Gallion had responded to a call from Shannon Medical Center
and taken initial statements from the women, whom he calls Jane Smith and
Ann Smith in his police report. According to the report, both women told
Gallion that they had been at Club Hypnotic -- a no-frills spot with bare
concrete floors, a couple of well-worn pool tables and an area for tango
dancing -- the night before and sat at a table with a group that included
Ringo Garza and his wife. After a few drinks, about 2 a.m., the Garzas
invited the women to their home in the Country Club Lake Estates
development in southern San Angelo.

Gallion called police detectives Walker and Jaime Padron, nine-year
veterans of the force who were next up in the rotation to catch a case.
Both detectives were dispatched to the hospital.

"The minute they told me Ringo Garza was involved, I just thought there
could be serious ramifications involved for everybody, including this
community," said Vasquez, a native of San Angelo.

"They are hometown heroes, and this community is very proud of their
success," he said. "(They) put San Angelo on the map in a positive light."

Vasquez said the detectives interviewed the two women and staffers at
Shannon, where rape exams were conducted, for several hours both at the
hospital and at police headquarters. They decided that they had enough
information to ask a judge for a search warrant, which a magistrate signed
at 12:45 a.m. Jan. 6.

The warrants describe what the women told investigators about that night:

Somebody else was buying the drinks that Jane Smith and Ann Smith left
unattended at the table. After a couple of hours, they caught a ride to the
Garzas' home. A Chevy Tahoe and two vintage Pontiac GTOs were in the driveway.

A half-hour after arriving, Jane Smith told police, she grew "extremely
tired" and lost consciousness. Jane Smith said she later had a brief period
of coherence during which a naked man was lying on top of her, face to
face. She told investigators she had consumed the same unspecified amount
of alcohol before and had never become ill.

According to the warrant, Ann Smith gave a similar account. She said that
after arriving at the home she lost consciousness and that when she woke
up, she realized she had vomited in a bed. She said she saw Jane Smith
lying next to her, undressed from the waist down.

Lenora Garza drove the women back to their car at Club Hypnotic in the
Tahoe. At about 5 a.m., Ann Smith called a friend to tell her that she and
Jane Smith were too sick to drive. The two women went to the hospital later
that day.

Twelve hours and 15 minutes after Lenora Garza dropped them off, about 5:15
p.m., she called Jane Smith's cell phone and "checked on the girls and
thanked them for coming to her residence the previous night," according to
the search warrant.

By that point, presumably unknown to the Garzas, the investigation was up
and going.

During the search of the Garzas' home, police seized dozens of items, which
have been sent to a Texas Department of Public Safety lab in Lubbock for
testing. They were looking for items such as Rohypnol, commonly known as a
date-rape drug, and Ketamine, an animal tranquilizer. Vasquez said the
results could be crucial in helping authorities determine whether
additional charges will be filed.

"These cases are always difficult," said Vasquez, whose department
responded to 133 reports of sexual assault last year. "A lot of cases come
in as a 'he said, she said' type of deal. You have to look at every piece
of evidence."

Vasquez said his investigators are conducting the investigation just like
any other -- with blinders to the celebrity and popularity of both the
possible suspects and victims. A Texas Ranger also is working on the case.

Asked about the women's stories, Vasquez would say only: "We have nothing
to indicate a lack of credibility."

Allison Palmer, the first assistant district attorney for one of Tom Green
County's two districts, echoed Vasquez's commitment and said, "A full,
complete and thorough investigation needs to take place. Everyone intends
to proceed in a responsible manner. We just want to maintain the rights of
the young ladies as well as those that aren't even charged yet."

Hometown supportTuesday. Open-mic night at the Steel Penny Pub, a joint in
a strip mall, the rock club where Los Lonely Boys cut their musical teeth
as teenagers. Then they started playing the place once a month, and the
show would sell out every time.

On a recent Tuesday, with the band's patriarch, Ringo Garza Sr., waiting
his turn, a local comic named Alex Rios wrapped up his set in a serious tone.

"Powerful rock stars don't buy date-rape drugs," said Rios, who owns a
downtown salon. "They don't need to. Ringo doesn't need to use drugs any
more than Lance Armstrong."

Then Ringo Garza Sr., an affable bearded man in a cowboy hat and Wranglers,
picked a few tunes. Then he mingled with the crowd, shaking hands and
saying simply, "God bless."

Patti Prescott, who lives near San Antonio, thanked Garza for raising good
sons. She said her own sons are in a band that recently opened for Los
Lonely Boys at the club. Afterward, she told Ringo Sr., they asked for
advice from his sons.

Prescott said they told them: "If you hear it in your ears and you hear it
in your heart, if you believe in God and believe in family, then you'll
make it."

Garza hung around a few more minutes before leaving to go to Club Hypnotic.
He declined an invitation to comment on the criminal investigation of his
son and daughter-in-law.

Conspiracy theoriesHenry, JoJo and Ringo have the family name tattooed on
their forearms. Ringo Garza also has "Jesus" inked into his other arm. God
and family can be said to be in the Garza boys' blood. Moreover, by all
accounts the brothers have remained rooted and levelheaded as their fame
ballooned. This leads many residents to speak in emphatic tones about the
allegations against Ringo Garza.

"I work on guitars and amps, and I've known them for years," said Matt
Wilson of Matt's Music and Repair. "I know Henry and JoJo really well. Man,
they're just regular guys like you and me -- great musicians. They've
always been a lot of fun to hang around with."

The allegations?

"Pot? Yeah, who knows?" Wilson said. "Half the people I know smoke pot. But
the other stuff, I know what kind of family they're from. And they're not
like that. Somebody's trying to take advantage of them. Everybody's of the
opinion that this wouldn't have happened if they hadn't been famous or on
the verge of fame."

The prevailing sentiment on the music scene is that this did not happen, or
if something did happen, it could only have been a shakedown or a setup.

"I think it's completely out of character," said Tray Weaver, manager and
sound technician at the Steel Penny Pub. "I've never known him to do
anything that way. There's no way this could be true, especially with
Lenora involved."

Matthew Flores, a senior at Angelo State University who plays rhythm guitar
in the band Delayed Reaction, suggested that there was a racial element to
the scandal, in this city where entrenched Anglo ranchers and cotton
farmers have been reluctant to embrace other cultures: "It's a setup job,"
he said, " 'cause they're Mexican."

The same people who vociferously defend the band and wax conspiratorial
have curiously little to say about the alleged victims. They are thought to
be from prominent families, not run-of-the-mill groupies. According to the
police report, they are both 20 and white.

Vasquez, the police chief, said that based on his experience as an officer,
he does not feel the women are trying to get money from the Garzas.

"We are going to investigate and make sure that's not the case," he said.

Rock star's streetHousing dollars go much further here than in Austin.
Ringo and Lenora Garza live in a $139,000 house on a quiet street named St.
Andrews Road. A San Angelo police officer lives a few doors down to the
east; a former county commissioner is at the other end of the street. The
handful of neighbors interviewed at their doors last week said they did not
know, at least not until recently, that there was a rock star on their block.

Last Wednesday morning, there was a child's plastic car in the front yard
of the red one-story house, and Ringo Garza's brother-in-law was working on
a Ford pickup in the driveway. The garage door was open.

Ringo Garza stepped out the front door, shook hands and regretfully said he
could not talk about what happened that night.

"I can't really comment," said Garza, who was wearing a black T-shirt and
pajama bottoms. "Talk to my lawyer. I'd love to tell you more, but I gotta
respect the judicial system."

A visitor noted the incident came at a particularly bad time, with the
Grammys coming up.

"There's never a good time for this," Garza said.

How is Garza doing?

"I'm doin' all right," he said. "I'll be OK. I got God on my side."