Jamiel Chagra
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Jamiel Alexander Chagra | |
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| Born | December 7, 1944 El Paso, Texas , United States |
| Alias(es) | Jimmy Chagra |
| Penalty | 30 years imprisonment |
| Status | Released after serving 24 years |
| Spouse | Grace Chagra (divorced) Elizabeth Chagra (deceased) |
| Parents | Abdou Joseph Chagra Josephine Ayoub |
Jamiel Alexander Chagra (born December 7, 1944) is an American drug trafficker who was active in the 1970s and at that time was one of the biggest drug traffickers operating out of Las Vegas and El Paso. He was implicated in the May 1979 assassination of John H. Wood, Jr. in San Antonio, Texas.
Chagra was arrested in 1978 on charges of trafficking marijuana. He was to appear before Judge Wood. Wood had a reputation for giving out the maximum sentence allowed for drug related crimes. Chagra faced a maximum life sentence without parole if convicted and a law clerk of the late judge told Joe Chagra, Jamiel's brother and attorney, that Judge Wood intended to give Chagra life without parole. Chagra allegedly attempted to bribe Judge Wood for $10,000,000. Facing life for smuggling, Jamiel Chagra allegedlly decided to have the judge killed.
Chagra supposedly hired Charles Harrelson (the father of actor Woody Harrelson) to kill Wood for $250,000. Harrelson fatally wounded Judge Wood by shooting him in the back outside his home on May 29, 1979. The authorities didn't immediately suspect Chagra of involvement in the assassination. His drug case went to trial and Chagra was sentenced to 30 years. He was released for health reasons in Atlanta, Georgia on December 9, 2003.
Harrelson was eventually caught and convicted of being the gunman after Chagra talked about the assassination with his brother Joe Chagra during Joe's visit to Jimmy in United States Penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas.
Both Harrelson and Chagra's brother Joe were implicated in the assassination. Harrelson got life, Joe Chagra got 10 years, and Jimmy Chagra's wife Elizabeth was also sent to prison for delivering the payout money. Chagra himself was acquitted of the murder of Judge Wood in front of judge William Sessions. Chargra's lawyer in the case was Oscar Goodman, who is currently the Mayor of Las Vegas. In a deal with the federal government, Chagra admitted to his role in the murder of Judge Wood and the attempted murder of a US Attorney. He did this in order to have his wife released before she died and to have him transferred to a medical prison. His wife was never released from prison, she died in custody, of ovarian cancer at age 41.
Another of the brothers, Lee Chagra, was gunned down in 1978 in a petty robbery of his office. Joe Chagra died in an automobile accident in 1996.[1]
Jimmy Chagra is reportedly in the Federal Witness Protection Program. The entire story surrounding the assassination of Judge Wood was profiled in an episode of City Confidential.
