Career
He was implicated in the May 1979 assassination of John H. Wood, Junior. in San Antonio, Texas. Chagra was active as a trafficker in marijuana in the 1970s and at that time was one of the biggest drug traffickers operating out of Las Vegas and El Paso. According to one observer, he was "the undisputed marijuana kingpin of the Western world.
He imported more high-grade ganja than anyone, tons at a time, planeload after planeload."
Chagra"s downfall began in 1978 when he was arrested on trafficking charges.
He was scheduled to appear before Wood, a judge who had a reputation for giving out the maximum sentence allowed for drug-related crimes. Chagra faced a possible 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 million. Facing life for smuggling, Jamiel Chagra allegedly decided to have the judge killed.
The authorities did not 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. Both Harrelson and Chagra"s brother Joe were implicated in the assassination.
Harrelson got life, Joe Chagra got ten 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 South. Sessions, future director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Chagra"s lawyer in the case was Oscar Goodman, formerly 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 United States Attorney.
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.
Jimmy Chagra was reportedly placed in the Federal Witness Protection Program.
The story surrounding the assassination of Judge Wood was profiled in an episode of City Confidential. A fictitious name reference to the Judge John Wood assassination also appeared in an "Federal Bureau of Investigation Files" episode Dangerous Company as the show regularly changed names of real-life people to protect privacy. Chagra died of cancer at 10:30am on July 25, 2008.
