It was 1979 in San Antonio. May 29th, specifically. A man stepped out of his townhouse at the Chateau Dijon, just a regular morning routine, heading to his car. That man was Judge John Wood Jr. He was 63 years old, a Nixon appointee, and the kind of guy who didn't mess around in a courtroom. As he reached to check a tire or open his door—accounts vary slightly on the exact split second—a single shot from a high-powered rifle tore through the morning air.
He was hit in the back. He died right there.
This wasn't just another Texas shooting. It was the first time in the 20th century that a federal judge had been assassinated. It sent a shockwave through the American legal system that honestly hasn't quite settled even decades later. You see, Wood wasn't just a judge; he was a symbol.
Why They Called Him "Maximum John"
If you were a drug trafficker in the 1970s, the last person you wanted to see behind the bench was John Wood Jr. He had a reputation. People called him "Maximum John" because he almost always handed out the longest sentences the law allowed. He didn't believe in slaps on the wrist.
He was old-school. His family had deep roots in Texas—his great-great-grandfather basically founded the town of Rockport. Law and order were in his blood. By the time he was appointed to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas in 1970, he’d already handled thousands of civil cases. He was seasoned, tough, and, to the criminal underworld, he was a massive problem.
One man in particular, a high-rolling drug lord named Jamiel "Jimmy" Chagra, was facing a trial in Wood’s court. Chagra knew that with Wood presiding, he wasn't just looking at prison; he was looking at the end of his life as he knew it.
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The $250,000 Contract
Jimmy Chagra tried to bribe Wood first. Rumor has it the offer was as high as $10 million. Wood, predictably, didn't bite. When the bribe failed, the plan turned dark.
Enter Charles Harrelson.
If that name sounds familiar, it should. He was a professional gambler, a known hitman, and the father of actor Woody Harrelson. Chagra allegedly paid Harrelson $250,000 to take the judge out. It was a cold, calculated business transaction. Harrelson used a .240 Weatherby Mark V rifle—a serious piece of hardware—to fire that fatal shot from a distance.
The FBI’s Most Expensive Hunt
After the trigger was pulled, the feds went into overdrive. This wasn't just a murder investigation; it was an all-out war to protect the integrity of the judicial branch. The FBI spent more money on the Judge John Wood Jr. case than any investigation in its history up to that point—roughly $5 million.
They looked at everyone. They conducted thousands of interviews.
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Eventually, the trail led to El Paso and the Chagra brothers. The breakthrough came from some old-fashioned surveillance. The FBI had recorded conversations between Jimmy Chagra and his brother, Joe, in a prison visiting room. Even though Joe was a lawyer, the feds argued that the conversations weren't protected by attorney-client privilege because they were planning and covering up a crime.
It worked.
- Charles Harrelson was convicted and handed two life sentences.
- Elizabeth Chagra (Jimmy’s wife) got 30 years for delivering the cash.
- Joe Chagra took a plea deal and did time for his role in the conspiracy.
- Jimmy Chagra... well, he was actually acquitted of the murder itself in a separate trial, though he was later convicted of obstruction of justice and drug charges.
The Woody Harrelson Connection
You can't talk about Judge John Wood Jr. without mentioning the Hollywood ripple effect. Woody Harrelson has spent a significant chunk of his life and resources trying to get his father a new trial. He’s hired big-name lawyers like Alan Dershowitz and has consistently maintained that his father didn't get a fair shake.
Charles Harrelson actually died in a Supermax prison in 2007. Until his last breath, he was a complicated figure—sometimes confessing to the murder in a drugged-out haze during a police standoff, then spending years vehemently denying it.
The story even popped up in pop culture. In the book No Country for Old Men, Cormac McCarthy mentions the "shooting of a federal judge in San Antonio." When the movie came out, Woody Harrelson was the star. It's one of those weird, "truth is stranger than fiction" coincidences.
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How the Wood Assassination Changed Everything
Before 1979, the idea of a federal judge being hunted at their own home was almost unthinkable. This case changed the security protocols for the entire judiciary. If you go to a federal courthouse today and see the heavy security, the cameras, and the guarded entrances, you're seeing the legacy of what happened to John Wood Jr.
The John H. Wood Jr. United States Courthouse in San Antonio stands as a permanent reminder. It’s a bit ironic—a building named after a man who was killed because he refused to let the law be intimidated.
Key Takeaways and Insights
If you’re looking at this from a historical or legal perspective, here is what really matters:
- Judicial Independence: The case proved that the government would spend any amount of money to ensure that criminals couldn't kill their way out of a sentence.
- The "Maximum John" Legacy: Wood’s reputation for harsh sentencing was his greatest strength as a judge and, ultimately, the reason he was targeted.
- A Turning Point for the FBI: The techniques used to track Harrelson and the Chagras—including the use of recorded prison visits—set new precedents for how organized crime was dismantled.
To truly understand the American legal system, you have to look at its scars. The assassination of Judge John Wood Jr. is one of the deepest. It wasn't just a hit on a man; it was an attempt to break the scales of justice. It failed, but it changed the way the law protects itself forever.
If you are researching the history of the Western District of Texas or the impact of drug trafficking on the 20th-century legal system, start with the trial transcripts of U.S. v. Harrelson. They offer a raw, unfiltered look at how this conspiracy was unraveled. You can also visit the John H. Wood Jr. Federal Courthouse in San Antonio to see the various memorials dedicated to his service.