Ray Grant for a long time has argued that Robert Connelly and Frank Gasser passed the gate #10 turnout on Lake Herman Road at 10pm, heading to the Marshall Ranch for a spot of raccoon hunting, not the 9pm as Connelly claimed in the police report. Ray Grant believes the sighting of the white Chevrolet Impala in the turnout was spotted simultaneously by Robert Connelly and sheepherder Bingo Wesner at 10pm, as Bingo Wesner exited the gate to enter Lake Herman Road. The major problem with this hypothesis, is that nowhere in the police report does it say that Bingo Wesner was in his truck when he spotted the white Chevrolet Impala. Nowhere in the police report does it say he was exiting the turnout at 10pm. Nowhere in the police report does it say that Robert Connelly saw Bingo Wesner's truck exit gate #10. And nowhere in the police report does it say that Bingo Wesner saw the red pick-up truck of Connelly & Gasser pass the turnout.
In the only account given by Bingo Wesner in the police report, he stated "Last night he was checking his sheep at approximately 10:00 pm and he observed a white Chevrolet Impala Sedan parked by the south fence of the entrance to the pumping station. He also observed a red Ford pick-up truck with wood side boards in the area". Bingo Wesner tended his sheep east of the Benicia Pumping Station. The land he tended his sheep on was likely the Frank Dotta Ranch, located (on maps in 1919) east of the pumping station and bordering the gate #10 turnout. Two parcels of land were owned by Frank Dotta alongside Lake Herman Road. Whether the eastern portion was still owned by Frank Dotta in 1968, I cannot verify, but this is the location Bingo Wesner tended his sheep. You will notice that the police report states "he was checking his sheep at approximately 10:00 pm and he observed a white Chevrolet Impala Sedan parked by the south fence of the entrance". Nowhere in this statement does it say he noticed the Chevrolet while driving his truck. He said he noticed the Chevrolet while checking his sheep. That's because he was still in the field at 10pm. Then he made the belated statement that he had "observed a red Ford pick-up truck with wood side boards in the area". He didn't say he observed a red pick-up truck by the same turnout he just saw the Chevrolet.
In the only account given by Bingo Wesner in the police report, he stated "Last night he was checking his sheep at approximately 10:00 pm and he observed a white Chevrolet Impala Sedan parked by the south fence of the entrance to the pumping station. He also observed a red Ford pick-up truck with wood side boards in the area". Bingo Wesner tended his sheep east of the Benicia Pumping Station. The land he tended his sheep on was likely the Frank Dotta Ranch, located (on maps in 1919) east of the pumping station and bordering the gate #10 turnout. Two parcels of land were owned by Frank Dotta alongside Lake Herman Road. Whether the eastern portion was still owned by Frank Dotta in 1968, I cannot verify, but this is the location Bingo Wesner tended his sheep. You will notice that the police report states "he was checking his sheep at approximately 10:00 pm and he observed a white Chevrolet Impala Sedan parked by the south fence of the entrance". Nowhere in this statement does it say he noticed the Chevrolet while driving his truck. He said he noticed the Chevrolet while checking his sheep. That's because he was still in the field at 10pm. Then he made the belated statement that he had "observed a red Ford pick-up truck with wood side boards in the area". He didn't say he observed a red pick-up truck by the same turnout he just saw the Chevrolet.
The police report of Robert Connelly recalled that "when they arrived there at 9:00 pm a white 4-door hardtop, a '59 or '60 Impala, was parked there, and also, a truck coming out of the gate. This coincides with information from Bingo Wesner that when he came out of the gate he saw the same Impala and also saw the red pick-up truck go by". Nowhere in this statement does it say they saw the truck of Bingo Wesner exiting the gate. Bingo Wesner never said he exited the gate at 9pm. In fact, Bingo Wesner never said he exited the gate at 10pm. Neither Connelly or Gasser described the truck coming out of the gate at 9pm. They never even identified its color. There were many businesses and ranches beyond the gate #10 turnout, so this truck could have belonged to anybody. The big mistake that police made was evident in the final paragraph of page 22. They remarked upon the Connelly & Gasser statement, by stating "This coincides with information from Bingo Wesner that when he came out of the gate he saw the same Impala and also saw the red pick-up truck go by". But it didn't coincide at all with his statement. Bingo Wesner never said he saw the Chevrolet when he came out of the gate, and Bingo Wesner never said he saw a red pick-up truck go by. Bingo Wesner said he saw a red truck in the area. Unfortunately, the police took two separate accounts of that night and believed they coincided with each other. Here's what most likely happened.
We don't have any idea of the movements of Bingo Wesner before his account of tending his sheep. Let us assume he had been in Vallejo earlier that evening/night and headed east along Lake Herman Road towards gate #10 somewhere between 9pm and 10pm. As he passed the turnout of the Marshall Ranch he noticed the red pick-up truck of Connelly & Gasser parked 25 feet into the field/property. He could have noticed the red pick-up truck on his outward or inward journey, or both. This is where the Your's also saw the red truck just before 11pm. Bingo Wesner continued his drive to the Lake Herman Road turnout and entered gate #10 (let's say 9:30pm) to tend his sheep. After parking and exiting his truck, he walked onto the field east of the Benicia Pumping Station, and sometime later while checking his sheep he "observed a white Chevrolet Impala Sedan parked by the south fence of the entrance". The time was 10pm. He would later recall to police that he "also observed a red Ford pick-up truck with wood side boards in the area". That's it.
ENTRANCE TO THE MARSHALL RANCH
Even Robert Graysmith in his 2002 book "Zodiac Unmasked", indicated that the truck coming out of gate #10 at 9pm hadn't been identified as Bingo Wesner. He described the truck as "unidentified". It means that the Chevrolet Impala was parked in the turnout on at least two separate occasions - 9pm and 10pm. It must have left and returned between this hour, making it a little more suspicious when you consider what would transpire shortly after 11pm that cold winter night.
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