John Harvey Adamson, racing dog owner and former tow truck operator, attended ASU and was a member of Phi Delta Zeta. A small-time hood, he admitted to planting the remote control bomb and pleaded guilty to second degree murder in 1977. He agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in exchange for a 20-year sentence. After Dunlap and Robison’s convictions were thrown out, he refused to testify a second time, trying to get a better deal. He was then charged with first-degree murder, found guilty and sentenced to death in 1980. Death sentence was overturned on appeal twice and went to the state Supreme Court, which overturned the sentence. After spending more than 20 years in prison, he was released in 1996. He entered the federal Witness Protection Program, but left it voluntarily a few years later. Died in 2002.
Max Dunlap, Phoenix contractor, charged with first-degree murder in the case for ordering the hit. He was found guilty in 1977 of killing Bolles and conspiring to kill then-Arizona Attorney General Bruce Babbitt and advertising man Al Lizanetz. He was sentenced to death in 1978 but the conviction was overturned in 1980 because defense lawyers weren’t allowed to question Adamson closely. The murder charge was dismissed when Adamson refused to testify against him a second time. He was recharged in 1990 when Adamson agreed to testify and found guilty of first-degree murder and conspiring to obstruct the investigation of the case. Sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole for 25 years.
James Robison, Chandler plumber who helped Adamson by triggering the bomb. He was arrested in 1977 along with Dunlap and found guilty of first-degree murder and conspiring to kill Babbitt and Lizanetz. The conviction was overturned in 1980 and the charges were dismissed after Adamson refused to testify a second time. He was re-charged in 1989 after a renewed investigation by the Attorney General’s Office, led by investigator George Weisz. He was re-tried and acquitted in 1993, but went to federal prison for five years after pleading guilty to soliciting an act of criminal violence by trying to have Adamson killed. He was released from prison in 1998 at age 76 and is thought to be living in California.
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