Jacksonville meth supplier sentenced in federal court; It takes crack to crack the case

2/16/22 - Pablo Antonio Sandoval, 200 block Tilley St. Jacksonville, TX

 

Jacksonville, TX:

In February 2022, Pablo Sandoval was busted with crystal meth and a stolen gun during an early morning traffic stop near his home in Jacksonville, TX. He was held in Gregg County jail under a federal detainer for drug trafficking, and after pleading guilty, eventually moved to Henderson County custody to await his sentencing in US District Court.  

Cherokee County, TX arrests for Feb. 15-21, 2022:

Pablo Antonio Sandoval, 23, Jacksonville, theft of firearm, no drivers licence [sic], traffic offense Class C, possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance.

(Source: Jacksonville Progress)

Pablo Sandoval, 200 block Tilley St., Jacksonville, TX (courtesy Henderson Co.)

Crystal meth dealers living in Cherokee County travel throughout East Texas, delivering drugs and mayhem to neighboring counties. Low income housing, cheap hotels, RV parks and converted half-way homes are used as layovers for drug mules monitored by multiple agencies. Local addicts are in and out of jail based on the amount of snitching they can provide, no matter their escalating risk to the public. Resident crackheads are worth their weight in Narcotic Task Force funding.

10 years ago, Jacksonville City Council rezoned former dormitory buildings from defunct Lon Morris College into multifamily Section 8 apartments along Sunset and Tilley St. where Pablo Sandoval lived.

After the college went into bankruptcy, owner Tilley LLC took control of the property with the intention of combining pairs of the 38 smallish dorm rooms into roughly 22 larger apartments. There are some proposed "double bedrooms" in the plans, each of which will require three dorm rooms to be put together to create, [Jacksonville Public Works Director Will] Cole said. (Source: City Council rezones so former Lon Morris dorms can be converted to apartments, Jan. 10, 2013 Jacksonville Daily Progress)

23-year old Pablo Sandoval, who was born in California, admitted to distributing large amounts of crystal meth in Cherokee County after he was detained by Jacksonville PD in February 2022. He pleaded guilty to drug trafficking last year in federal court and in April 2023, sentenced to 14 years.  (Source: KETK)

The "California man" as they call him, supplied crystal meth to his Jacksonville neighbors in October 2021, but wasn't actually incarcerated until February 2022 when he was picked up in the wee morning hours. Apparently he just rode around town for 4 months without a driver's license... even though the newspaper and Henderson County reported his Jacksonville, Texas residency.

From the US Attorney's Eastern District of Texas press release April 19, 2023:

California Man Sentenced for Federal Drug Trafficking Violations in East Texas -            

According to information presented in court, in October 2021, [Pablo] Sandoval supplied more than 500 grams of methamphetamine to drug dealers in Cherokee County, Texas, which he sourced from suppliers in California. Sandoval was indicted by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Texas in April 2022. (Source: DOJ)

United States v. Sandoval, 6:21-CR-00081-JDK

When a Nacogdoches, TX resident is sentenced for the same drug trafficking charges in the same US District Court, and on the same docket as Pablo Sandoval, the meth dealer is referred to a "Nacogdoches man" -  not by where his suppliers are located. (Source: April 28, 2023, Nacogdoches man sentenced to 15 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to drug trafficking- KETK)

 

The same US District Court that sentences female embezzlers to federal prison for stealing from non-profits, totally ignores over $430,000 stolen by the Cherokee County Tax Assessor's office.

East Texas authorities at the state and federal level attempt to blame other areas of the country for the crystal meth they know is manufactured in Cherokee County, Texas. As if 23-year old Pablo Sandoval was driving back and forth from Bakersfield, California with no driver's license to sell his homegrown East Texas poison. Cherokee County has a fine history of constables and police chiefs cooking up meth labs in the woods, a Jacksonville police officer raping transient women, girls being snatched from abuse shelters and their dead bodies dumped like trash;  and unindicted Tax Assessor officials stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars out the Rusk, TX courthouse.  

The more the local drug addicts steal, the more narcotics enforcement grant money the county can steal. 

(April 21, 2023- Vehicle theft ring investigation in Cherokee County leads to 4 arrests, 1 still at large,  KETK)

As a footnote, Cherokee County is patting themselves on the back for rounding up their favorite resident recidivist meth addicts, each averaging about a dozen catch-and-release arrests in the last few years, and charging the group with "Organized Crime."  Their court mandated drug rehab at the Rusk State Hospital has escalated into Grand Theft Auto. One member of the group, Edward Jones, is still at large after being released in Cherokee County last year for Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon on top of multiple drug arrests here, there, and everywhere.

Edward Lee Jones, Jacksonville TX

Cherokee County, TX arrests and releases:

03/25/2021 F.T.A. POSS MARIJ < 2OZ(CCSO) - Bond: $5000

02/10/2022 POSS CS PG 1/1-B >= 4G < 200G - Bond: $20000
POSS CS PG 1/1-B < 1G

02/28/2022 POSS CS PG 1/1-B <1G (JPD WARRANT)  - Bond: $2500.00 

05/21/2022 AGG ASSLT W/DEADLY WEAPON - Bond: $25000

02/07/2023  THEFT OF SERV >= $100 < $750 - Bond: $1000
THEFT OF SERV >= $100 < $750 - Bond: $1000
UNAUTH USE OF VEHICLE  - Bond: $2500
BURGLARY OF BUILDING - Bond: $2500 

Footnote: fugitive Edward Jones was picked up in the Dallas area in mid June for stealing and shipped back home. He is facing facing theft / organized crime charges with a total $90,000 bond. The tattoos on his face gave him away.

 

 .

Edward Jones (courtesy Dallas PD)

DPS hides identity of hostage taker with prior convictions

Another weekend, another hostage standoff with a resident drug snitch disturbing the peace after violating probation. Another cover up lead by the local chapter of the Texas Rangers when they don't want the public to know the facts. Area authorities have no problem telling the obedient East Texas media who to report on, and who not to, after polishing their Rogues Gallery of busted criminals each week. 

 

 

 

 

 

How to No-Bill a guy holding a gun on his own family after putting him on probation for Aggravated Robbery? Send him back home and don't tell anybody who he is.

In the 2nd Judicial District Court of Texas:

• Burglary and Armed Robbery =  2 years adjudicated probation

• Domestic Violence and Bodily Injury = 6 months probation

• Holding your family hostage and getting shot by SWAT in your own front yard = no grand jury

• An anonymous ride to the emergency room with police escort = priceless 

 Jacksonville, TX: 

 

On Saturday, November 26, 2022, the Jacksonville Police were dispatched to a home at the 36600 block of US-69 N after a man called 911 claiming to be holding his wife and daughter hostage. Responding officers shot the armed suspect in self defense, after he failed to comply and menacingly approached their vehicles. He was carted off to the local hospital for recovery and to sober up; the wife and daughter were uninjured.  (Source: Man shot after allegedly holding wife and daughter hostage in Jacksonville, KETK )

 

 

 

According to the DPS, the 911 hostage suspect is so dangerous he needs to remain anonymous. (Courtesy: KETK)

 

Names have not been released pending an "investigation" by the Texas Rangers. East Texas news is too timid to request body cam footage or the suspect's criminal history. It's too embarrassing to see the sweet deal struck with the District Attorney's office back in the day. It's also embarrassing for the Sheriff Department to report a local armed robber's probated sentence in Carl Phillips' Adult Probation Department.

 

Carl Phillips, head of Cherokee County Probation and convicted child molester.

 

Each week for over 30 years, Cherokee County newspapers lavished praise and adoration on a resident pedophile grooming his way up the ladder to Director of the Probation Department. They reported Carl Phillip's post-retirement conviction for stealing from the county, then ceased when he was busted for child molestation. Hiding crimes is nothing new to them, especially when it makes the county look bad. The most recent hostage situations and drug related homicides in the county are prime examples of them misleading the public. 

 

Even though last week's shooting of the armed suspect threatening his family and law enforcement was justifiable by all accounts, the DPS won’t be disclosing the suspect’s prior convictions. There are mandatory minimal sentencing requirements under State law that for some reason, Cherokee County's District Attorney loves to ignore. Such as Burglary and Armed Robbery sentences of only 2 years concurrent probation. Plea deals for Domestic Violence / Bodily Injury result in 6-month probation sentences in the 2nd Judicial District Court when defendants are recruited by District Attorney investigators to snitch on fellow drug users.

Criminal Docket Case 10715 : BURGLARY OF BUILDING
Filed 07/20/1988 - Disposition: 02/08/1989 Deferred adjudication
2nd District Court, Cherokee County, Texas

Criminal Docket Case 11359 : AGGRAVATED ROBBERY
Filed 08/29/1990 - Disposition: 01/29/1991 Conviction-guilty plea or nolo cont-no jury, Deferred adjudication
2nd District Court, Cherokee County, Texas

Criminal Docket Case 14031 : THEFT PROP>=$1,500<$20K
Filed 06/28/1999 - Disposition: 07/31/2001 Deferred adjudication
2nd District Court, Cherokee County, Texas

Criminal Docket Case 54579 : ASSAULT BODILY INJURY FAMILY VIOLENCE     
Filed 06/03/2013 - Disposition: 12/11/2013 Deferred adjudication
2nd District Court, Cherokee County, Texas

 

Lazy prosecutors making deals with habitual criminals knowingly leads to escalated violence against the public and law enforcement.

 

 

Suspect's name withheld indefinitely after being shot during standoff. (Courtesy: KLTV)

 

This guy's name also won't be on the lips of the upcoming Grand Jury as long as the suspect's family doesn't sue the Jacksonville Police Department for shooting him in the ass. Daddy will be released on minimum bail courtesy of taxpayers, and back home soon if he agrees to continue using his John Doe alias around town. And stop calling 911 when he's beating his wife unconscious in front of the kids.

 

 

 To Catch a Predator, Cherokee County, TX edition.

 

One day earlier on Friday, November 25, 2022 another Jacksonville, TX resident with priors was arrested for Attempted Kidnapping and Aggravated Assault. Ledarrious Grady, 31 is currently being held on a $75,000 bond. Grady did not call 911 or cause a SWAT situation like the suspect who was shot and released the following day. Grady is black so he doesn't get a Get Out of Jail Free Card.  (Source:  Jacksonville man arrested for alleged aggravated assault, kidnapping, KETK)

Ledarrious Grady, Jacksonville TX

12/8/2022: As a footnote, the wounded suspect has been released from UT Health -Jacksonville, booked in Cherokee County jail and waiting on his momma to come get him. Lucky for him, he shares a cellblock with former ETMC ER doctor Karl Kauffman, facing additional charges of molesting his kids.

 

Dr. Karl Kauffman, UT Health (Source: Medical Board suspends license of doctor accused of molesting child, Lufkin Daily News) 

1/22/2023: Ledarrious Deshun Grady, 31, was arrested again for DUI while out on bail for his previous ASSAULT and KIDNAPPING charges in Cherokee County back in early December. Just keep on keepin' on.

Ledarrious Grady, Jacksonville TX, 1/22/2023

 

 

Life sentence for Rusk, TX child molester the media reported as living in Carrollton, TX

 

Rusk, TX:

When Cherokee County child molesters are known by arresting agencies, their identities and residencies are lied about to news outlets. They lie about where the sex offender is employed, especially if the offender works at the County Jail and is petitioning the District Court for early supervised release. They can even get a County Judge to forge the name of the District Judge (by permission) on the sex offense release orders of a school nurse moonlighting at the jailhouse.

(Source:  From School Nurse to Sex Offender, Jan 12, 2010 KLTV)

Rebecca Blankinship has gone from school nurse to convicted sex offender. She pleaded guilty in 2010 to sexually assaulting a 14 year-old female Rusk ISD student. The assault happened in 2009 while Blankinship was employed at Rusk ISD. Her sex offense probation was illegally scrubbed in 2013 by County Judge Craig Fletcher who did not consult prosecutors. 

Officials don’t deny the District Judge's signature on Rebecca Blankinship's sex offense release order was written by former county court-at-law judge Craig Fletcher, even though BY LAW sex offense registry is for life and mandatory probation lengths are stipulated in the Texas Penal Code. (Source: Jacksonville Progress, Dec. 19, 2013)

Can't have a sex offender checking on the well-being of the other sex offenders in jail, unless of course it's the County Probation Department.

Carl Phillips, head of Cherokee County Probation Dept.

In 2019, Carl Phillips was sentenced to 50 years in prison after pleading guilty to the continuous sexual abuse of a child and to two probation revocation cases involving stealing from the county. Despite heading the Cherokee County Probation Department for over 35 years and being the longest serving Cherokee County employee on record, Phillips was simply referred to as "a man from Jacksonville" by Cherokee County newspapers. (Source: Former East Texas corrections director molested child for more than 18 months, KETK)

"Cherokee County sex offender gets life in prison...but he doesn't live here...."

John Wesley Allen Jr., 57, is a longtime Cherokee County, TX resident according to his Voter Registration. He has been living at the end of the dirt road on DECHARD ST in RUSK, TEXAS since 2010. Allen was arrested in 2020 for the ongoing sex assault of a Rusk, TX child, when it was falsely reported he lived in the DFW area. Allen sat in the Cherokee County jail on $1 million bond for the last couple years; and was recently convicted in the 369th Judicial District Court and sentenced to life in prison with no parole. He did not accept a more lenient plea deal. (Source: Cherokee County man sentenced to life in prison for abuse of child, KETK) Some East Texas reported the Big Fat Lie in the 369th District Court's post trial brief that John Wesley Allen, Jr. lived in Carrollton, TX and not in Cherokee County. Is this really a case of some out-of-town child molester preying on kids in Rusk, TX and not a local predator endemic to the area?

They just want you to feel vested in your little community, and repeat the lies with them.

John Wesley Allen Jr., somebody's neighbor, friend, and co-worker

No, this John Wesley Allen Jr. has lived and worked in Rusk, TX for decades where, according to trial testimony, he molested a child for years beginning when the kid was 6 years old. Allen did not drive back and forth from the Dallas area to continually molest the kids in his trailer park. He lives in Rusk because it is a haven for pedophiles who get summoned for jury duty. They can even get their criminal histories illegally expunged by the District and County Judges for what they consider "good behavior," i.e. working at the County Jail and pretending they have an official jury summons. Why do they go out of their way to get the media to lie about where John Allen, Jr. lived while he molested kids in Rusk? Because they know him and worked with him for decades, just like they worked side-by-side "a man from Jacksonville" Carl Phillips for over 35 years. (Source: Jacksonville man sentenced to 50 years in prison for continuous child sexual abuse, CBS19) A Jacksonville man who only worked 35 years for Cherokee County as their longest serving and top Criminal Justice employee.

Catch and Release sex offender kidnaps local man during drug binge

 

Timothy Andrew Gorko (Courtesy DPS)

Another strung out sex offender with nothing to lose, another slap on the wrist; another illegal gun, another local victim. Another drug dealer in and out of jail to snitch on his buddies; another day in Cherokee County, Texas. 

This isn't the first time Timothy Gorko has been arrested in Cherokee County for being a paroled felon with a gun. Gorko, age 37, has been living in Rusk, Texas for the last 10 years under Cherokee County sex offender supervision from a 2008 statutory rape conviction in Pennsylvania. He was charged last month in Montgomery County, Texas for dealing crystal meth in the Conroe area. Takes a lot of tobacco spit to keep up with this guy.

How does a paroled sex offender with multiple drug charges get released on bail?

Timothy Gorko, arrested 11/09/21 for Possession with Intent to deliver a controlled substance (Courtesy Montgomery County).

Meanwhile, back at the crack house in Rusk, TX:

One month later on Monday 12/13/2021, the Cherokee County Sheriff Department was alerted Tim Gorko had shot at his girlfriend and another person during a domestic dispute. Before deputies arrived, Gorko forced one of his neighbors at gunpoint to drive him to Lufkin to evade arrest. After a high speed chase, he was apprehended by the Highway Patrol. Gorko was shot in the neck during the traffic stop and taken back to Rusk; the hostage driving the car was shaken but unharmed. Timothy Gorko is charged with aggravated assault, kidnapping, evading arrest, and of course, delivery of a controlled substance called crystal meth. (Source: KETK)

Cherokee County hides the identity of local sex offenders.

Police released the body cam footage of the incident, however Cherokee County and local media did not release Timothy Gorko's extensive CRIMINAL HISTORY and SEX OFFENSE status. Gorko is a Lifetime Sex Offender. His supervision by the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office began in 2012. He was officially released from parole in 2016 while he was actually incarcerated for violating his parole. Gorko was out on bond during this latest hostage standoff. Because he is a sex offender with a gun and multiple arrests, this story has dropped off the East Texas news boards. 

(KETK)  

Sweet deals keep a comin' for violent sex offenders.

Timothy Gorko was on parole when he moved to East Texas. After settling into his new digs in Cherokee County, Gorko was arrested in 2015 for absconding his sex offender registration and charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon. He pleaded no contest, sentenced to 2 years TDCJ, and released in 2018. (Source: Jacksonville Progress, "3 arrested during sex offender compliance check" Dec 11, 2015)

Timothy Gorko at age 31 circa 2015

Cherokee County Criminal Docket Case 19988
THE STATE OF TEXAS vs GORKO, TIMOTHY ANDREW
Filed 03/28/2016 - Unlawful Possession of Firearm by Felon
Disposition: 05/03/2016 Conviction-guilty plea or nolo cont-no jury

Anyone with two working brain cells knows this drug addict was constantly being monitored and his meth connections surveilled. 

Gorko has been in and out of Cherokee County custody for drug possession and parole violations, making him the perfect Jail House snitch, until something goes wrong. And it usually does when drugs are involved. (Source: Jacksonville Progress, March 12, 2016) The District Clerk will have to strike Timothy Gorko's name from the next jury pool headed to the courthouse basement.

The criminal justice system in Cherokee County Texas is there only to enrich the District Attorney, a small group of lawyers on the Rusk square, and a handful of people running the place into the ground. Law enforcement still operates in the lazy 1970's, while their drug informants on the dole are getting more violent and more dangerous to the public. State Senators and Representatives, the FBI, and Texas Rangers all look the other way while those at the top of county government like Carl Phillips steal money and molest children for decades.

(Source: Former East Texas corrections director molested child for more than 18 months, KETK)

Crystal meth dealers and out of state sex offenders pour into the area because they know if they cooperate with authorities, they'll be part of the clique. 

In 2020, father and son Theodore Smith and James Smith moved from California to Cherokee County, TX because it is a safe haven for child molesters. They knew convicted pedophiles are called for jury duty and the District Judge's signature was forged to release sex offenders. They thought if they ever got caught, they'd be in good company with the former head of the Cherokee County Probation Department who filmed and raped children.  In October 2021, the two were arrested in their Alto, TX  home after Sacramento law enforcement made a discovery on their California property of a horde of child pornography dating back decades. Theodore Smith was extradited back to California, charged with 34 counts of lewd acts with a child and his bond set at $7 million.

Two men arrested in Texas in connection with California child sexual assault case

Theodore Smith, 86, and his son James Smith, 62, who live in Alto, Texas, were arrested and are in custody awaiting extradition to California for their alleged involvement in the sexual assault of children, according to a news release.

The case leading to the arrests emerged in mid-March, when a Sacramento County resident who was renovating a recently purchased home discovered hundreds of images containing child pornography and children involved in sex acts, according to the news release.

Detectives who inspected the images believed the pictures were taken between 1985 and 1995 and were left behind by the previous residents of the home, who had moved to Texas the year prior.

On Wednesday, sheriff’s detectives assisted by two Texas sheriff’s offices and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security served a search warrant at a home in Cherokee County, Texas. After that, arrest warrants were issued for the two men. The elder Smith was arrested at home in Alto while his son was arrested while on a trip back to California, according to the news release. (Source: Sacramento Bee, Oct. 15, 2021)

 (KETK)

County Judge's assistant arrested for 3rd Degree Felony Tampering with Government Records and making false statements

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peggy Cornelius, Notary Public

County Judge's office used in Power of Attorney scheme.

Texas Penal Code § 37.10 - Tampering With Governmental Record (a) A person commits an offense if he or she: (1) knowingly makes a false entry in, or false alteration of, a governmental record; (2) makes, presents, or uses any record, document, or thing with knowledge of its falsity and with intent that it be taken as genuine. 

Rusk, TX:

County Judge Chris Davis' secretary and personal assistant has been busted for doing what long term county employees do best within their culture of corruption. Peggy Cornelius has worked in Cherokee County government since 1993 as Chris Davis' handpicked administrator, running Commissioner's Court agenda, and as the county's software custodian. Their friends and family in the County Clerk's office run Cherokee County's election system. Cornelius received her 25 year service award in 2019, even though courthouse officials are gearing up to pretend they never saw her before. Kinfolk use their heir apparent position to help themselves to taxpayer funds, like they've been doing for the last 30 plus years. Cornelius just got caught in her old age.  Charges include tampering with government records, i.e. notarizing a fake Power of Attorney, and lying about it to arresting officers. 

TEXAS PENAL CODE

TITLE 7. OFFENSES AGAINST PROPERTY

CHAPTER 32. FRAUD

Sec. 32.01.  "Financial institution" means a bank, trust company, insurance company, credit union, building and loan association, savings and loan association, investment trust, investment company, or any other organization held out to the public as a place for deposit of funds or medium of savings or collective investment.

It's not "county business;" it's just a County Auditor using the seal of the County Judge's office to steal someone's property. There's a victim in this case... of bank fraud inside the county... who lives in the county... and whose property is in the county... but it's not "county business."

Peggy Cornelius and another county employee have been under investigation beginning last month according to Sheriff Dickson, after a bank in Jacksonville, TX reported a fraudulent Power of Attorney. Cornelius has been released from Cherokee County jail on $5000 bond along with her co-conspirator in the County Auditor's office. Chris Davis and local media are keeping mum on her arrest. We will update if and when facts are (rarely) reported by outside news agencies. No word from the victim yet, either.

County business as usual.

Cherokee County Commissioners hold regular session 3 days before Court Coordinator Peggy Cornelius posts bond (Aug. 28, 2021 Jacksonville Progress)

After approving next years' budget, Cherokee County Commissioner's Court has other public meetings slated regarding proposed tax rates. Expect these to be closed to the public for the next few weeks while Commissioner's Court goes into damage control.

The case is "ongoing" meaning the nepotism and lying never ends.

County Judge secretary Peggy Cornelius swears Cherokee County Judge Chris Davis into office on Jan. 1, 2019 in the county courtroom at the Cherokee County Courthouse in Rusk. (Courtesy Cherokee Co.) 

 

Peggy Cornelius' job is to make sure County Judge Chris Davis keeps his. Apparently so is the job of the local newspapers.

 

Cornelius has access to the county's entire IT management system and has the goods on every elected official and employee. Expect a speedy resolution to her Felony Tampering charges. Don't expect an explanation in Chris Davis' personal hometown rag, The Cherokeean Herald. After publishing her every trip to the grocery store for the last 30 years, as of last week Peggy Cornelius has ceased to exist. No need for the city newspaper where the crime occurred to inform their readers. If they close their eyes, hold their breath, and write stories about puppy dogs, maybe all this will go away. If they don't mention County Judge Chris Davis by name, maybe his secretary everyone knows will get a fair trial...

 

The suppression of information is the mark of thieves and cowards.

 

Cherokee County employees present to receive their years of service award during the July 9 Commissioner’s Court meeting were, in no particular order, Jennifer Crowley, Judia Husband, Kelly Ray, Marceia Hamilton, Jonathan Hughes, Pam White, Peggy Cornelius and Chris Davis. Also pictured are county commissioners Kelly Traylor, Pct. 1; Steven Norton, Pct. 2; Patrick Reagan, Pct. 3 and Byron Underwood, Pct. 4. (Cherokeean July 11, 2018)

Who is paid to alter county data reporting for property tax purposes?

 

Underlings forged District Judge Bascom Bentley's signature on court documents, so what's wrong with a little fake Power of Attorney to defraud the elderly out of their property?

Cherokee County courthouse employees have access to personal emails, business calls, and first dibs on taxpayer money. Commissioners and those in the family clique enjoy county bulldozers maintaining their private properties, along with yard care provided by probationers. Sex offenders on good behavior are carpooled in for Jury Duty, then dropped off at elementary schools or the local golf course to help clean up the grounds. It's par for the course.

Community Services Director Carl Phillips oversaw 30 years of probated Cherokee County, TX sex offenders. (Former East Texas corrections director molested child for more than 18 months, KETK)

Cherokee County newspapers don't report the crimes committed by their families and friends.

In another all time low in Cherokee County reporting, questions remain if Peggy Cornelius is on permanent leave with full State retirement benefits, or will she continue to notarize county business while out on Felony bond. This will be the first courthouse retirement party in 100 years not advertised in the local newspapers.

As a footnote, Peggy Cornelius relinquished her State of Texas Notary Public seal on the day of her arrest August 27, 2021, and Cherokee County is quietly advertising job openings for her and her co-conspirator's positions.

Peggy Cornelius certifies Cherokee County's annual budget.

Former Cherokee County Director of Adult Supervision sentenced to 50 years for continuous sex assault of child

Criminal Docket Case 21242 :
CONTINUOUS SEX ABUSE OF CHILD - VICTIM UNDER 14

THE STATE OF TEXAS vs PHILLIPS, CARL
Filed 08/23/2019 - Disposition: 12/12/2019 Conviction-guilty plea
369th District Court, District Clerk, Cherokee County, Texas
Plaintiff: THE STATE OF TEXAS
Defendant: PHILLIPS, CARL- DOB: 10/03/1950  

The continuous sex assault of a child only gets a 3 sentence paragraph in all but one East Texas newspaper and no mention the perp was head of the Probation Department. Why? Because the Cherokee County Sheriff Department and District Attorney's office have worked side by side with child molesters for decades. They work in the courthouse, in law enforcement, and serve on juries. That's what Cherokee County tax dollars are paying for. The man in charge of supervising the probation of county sex offenders for over 30 years is a convicted pedophile.

Cherokee County's longest serving employee and top Criminal Justice official is a convicted child molester.

Children living in Cherokee County, TX and neighboring areas have always been in great danger because the media down there only reports what they want you to know. They don't dig very deep when the story involves their own next of kin. They publish cookie cutter garbage fed to them by corrupt parasites and perverts. They don't want the public to know exactly what's going on at the schools and daycare. On cue they scramble to the press room to give themselves fake awards after their accomplices are caught raping children.

The head of the Cherokee County Probation Department for 30+ years is a child molester. This is another reason why Cherokee County District Attorney Elmer Beckworth and the district courts have placed hundreds of local child sex offenders on probation, despite mandatory sentencing for sex crimes. Registered sex offenders are confidential informants and do what they are told when impaneled on juries.

Former Adult Probation Director Carl Phillips, 69 Jacksonville, was arrested in July 2019 for sexual contact / indecency with a child, quickly indicted and sentenced in record time. Before the ink could dry on the District Attorney's press release, Phillips pleaded guilty to the sex abuse of a minor, had his almost completed probation revoked, and was sentenced to 50 years in prison. (Source: CBS 19) Apparently he violated his own Deferred Adjudication for stealing county credit cards back in the day while he was receiving county awards. During this time, Phillips also worked as a Teacher's Aide in a neighboring Smith County Jr. High School. The reported child molestation occurred over an 18 month period. (Source: KETK)

Former East Texas corrections director molested child for more than 18 months

RUSK, Texas (KETK) – A former top employee for Cherokee County will spend the rest of his life in prison after pleading guilty to sexually abusing a child over an 18 month period.

Carl Phillips was the former director of the Cherokee County Supervision and Corrections Department and had previously pleaded guilty to spending tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars on personal purchases.

Phillps [sic] was sentenced to 50 years in prison with no chance of parole for the child sexual assault. According to the indictment, the molestation took place between January 2018 and June 2019. Court records indicated the child was younger than 14. (Source: KETK - Former East Texas corrections director molested child for more than 18 months)

Not one county "news" outlet reported Phillips was the head of the Cherokee County Probation and Community Services Department for three decades. They refer to him "a man from Jacksonville," not a former Criminal Justice Department head. The truth is too unsavory.

A 70-year old man having sex with children while drawing a county pension doesn't get much attention in incestuous backwoods East Texas. County officials aren't upset that Cal Phillips was stealing probation money and molesting children, they're pissed that a news outlet in Tyler, Texas informs the public.



Director of Corrections Carl Phillips receiving his 35-year Cherokee County service accommodation from County Judge Chris Davis circa 2009 (Courtesy: Jacksonville Progress) 

Rusk, TX:

Corrections Director Carl Phillips, 69, began working in Cherokee County government in 1974 and was awarded his 35-year service pin in January 2009. After he retired later that year, he was charged with 2 counts of Felony Theft by a Public Servant and Tampering with Evidence. His initial charge was dismissed in July 2009; a year later he was offered 10 years deferred probation.  He embezzled over $60,000 on county credit cards. Phillips is the longest serving Cherokee County employee on record, working in the Probation Department and ironically heading the Juvenile and Sex Offender Bootcamps. (Source: Jacksonville Progress) Even more ironic, he was chosen to represent Cherokee County as a member of Congressman Charlie Wilson's "Crime Task Force, " a bible-based morality crime legislation panel in the 1990's, i.e. the perfect cover for a homegrown pedophile. 

 

As head of the Cherokee County Corrections Department, was Carl Phillips ever asked to recuse himself from jury duty while he was stealing probation money and molesting children?

Christmastime in Cherokee County circa 1997 (Courtesy Cherokeean Herald)

Criminal Docket Case 17638 : THEFT OF PROPERTY BY A PUBLIC SERVANT
THE STATE OF TEXAS vs PHILLIPS, CARL Filed 11/23/2009 - Disposition: 07/29/2010 Dismissed-insufficient evidence
2nd District Court, District Clerk, Cherokee County, Texas

Criminal Docket Case 17845 : THEFT OF PROPERTY BY A PUBLIC SERVANT
THE STATE OF TEXAS vs PHILLIPS, CARL Filed 07/26/2010 - Disposition: 10/28/2010 Conviction-guilty plea
369th District Court, District Clerk, Cherokee County, Texas  

Credit card abuse by a county employee gets a higher word count in the local newspapers than the rape and murder of local children.  Sex crimes committed by officials are buried in the advertisement section.

DA’s office announces conviction -Jacksonville Daily Progress Oct 30, 2010

Carl Phillips, former director of the Cherokee County Supervision and Corrections Department, was sentenced to 10 years deferred adjudication community supervision for theft and 10 years confinement in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Institutional Division for misapplication by a fiduciary Thursday.

The alleged theft and misapplication of property by Phillips took place between January 1999 and June 2009. His actions came to light after his June 2009 retirement, when an employee of his former office alerted his successor to the theft. Phillips was accused of using a state-issued credit card for personal expenses totaling more than $20,000 but less than $100,000.

Credit card charges made by Phillips included food, oil, gasoline, tires, household utilities, dental services, cell phone services, musical instruments, lodging, concert tickets, sporting event tickets and other services, according to the indictment. Phillips then shredded, secreted or otherwise destroyed credit card receipts, according to the December 2009 indictment.

Phillips had been employed by Cherokee County for about 35 years Phillips will file a motion for “shock probation” after serving 60 days in TDCJ, according to a statement from the Cherokee County District Attorney’s office. The sentencing was part of a plea agreement between Phillips and the State of Texas, in which the Court approved. (Source: Jacksonville Progress)

Local pedophiles serve on juries as insurance to keep district court cases from being overturned. For decades 369th District Judge Bascom Bentley acted as if he were district judge of the 2nd Judicial District Court, and vice versa. He even allowed his signature to be forged on sex offender orders.

 

Fast-forward to 2019 and the Cherokee County newspapers refuse to identify a convicted serial child molester as the former head of the Probation Department. Carl Phillips was part of the county budget decision making for over 30 years according to their own articles. What they don't report has been going on in plain sight for decades. For example why District Judge Bascom Bentley's signature was forged and rubber-stamped for the early release of sex offenders.  And why registered sex offenders are called for jury duty. They hide Phillips' identity to cloak their ongoing involvement. Phillips is currently incarcerated in the Gurney Unit in Palestine, TX.

Beware… Elmer Beckworth wants his old job back

 


Lock up your daughters and lock up your wives. He's back.

Angelina County Assistant DA and lifetime Democrat Elmer Beckworth (D) announced several months ago he was switching to the Republican Party after remaining a registered Democrat for over 30 years - all the way through two elections of Barrack Obama that didn't change his mind. Elmer's flip-flop comes after losing the 2012 Cherokee County District Attorney’s race to his own younger savvier Assistant DA who ran as a Republican. Beckworth had stayed in office three terms, with only 2% of the Cherokee County vote, by running unchallenged and not facing any competition. (Source: Jacksonville Progress) With the help of the Good Ol' Boy and Biddy Network, he's hoping to run unchallenged again. Are we to believe Elmer Beckworth is so feckless as to forget he owes his entire career to the Cherokee County Democrats Club? The same people who along with him caucused for Wendy Davis and against the values of every single Republican in the county?

Which begs the question if the current Cherokee County Republican Party will greet with open arms the candidate who has shit smeared them and his potential rivals for decades, in both public and private practice. Will the Chairman be forced to commit suicide over sexual innuendo and blackmail? Will life insurance payouts be divvied up for billboards and television ads as they were for Elmer Beckworth's predecessors? The fact is Beckworth cannot win an election without the ingrained Rusk/Jacksonville law firms, also devoted lifetime Democrats, trickling votes and money away from a viable opponent. And they can't run against an honest candidate.

Is Cherokee County still rife enough with corruption to oust their first female district attorney who took to task District Judge Bascom Bentley’s falsified signature on sex offender Orders? With Beckworth still in office, County Judge Craig Fletcher would not have been exposed for his own shenanigans between Rusk sex offenders and Bentley’s office. (Source: Daily Progress)  Hundreds of thousands of dollars would still be wasted on Robert Fox’s tirades and appealing his overturned conviction in the 6th Court of Appeals, Texarkana. (Again Source: Daily Progress) Every dumb lie coming out of Elmer’s mouth could be in publication in the Jacksonville newspaper and his hometown Rusk Cherokeean for generations to come. 

Local pedophiles serve on juries as insurance to keep district court cases from being overturned.

 

Will the honest County Commissioners be threatened yet again with Elmer Beckworth's stacked grand jury, or will the Rusk Hunting Club continue paving their roads with taxpayer dollars? Come this March Primary, businesses in the area will see if Cherokee County puts the target back on them, their business calls, and personal email. Voters can choose between who Sheriff James Campbell and the local papers endorse, and those they will drum out of town (see Ben Tinsley, et al). Such exciting times for the astute Cherokee County voter. But watch out, Elmer's confidential informants are ready to come out of retirement from the methadone clinics to murder their wives.


 

Michael Harris endorses Elmer Beckworth

After all, the Old Wives Family Affair may not have to drive all the way to Lufkin to sit on Elmer’s current bosses' juries. The Good Ol’ Boys may get their man back in their pockets. Nonetheless, family members of Cherokee County sex offenders are anxiously awaiting to cast their votes for the guy who gave them probation in the first place. If Elmer Beckworth gets his old job back in his hometown of Rusk, the county will be flooded with the likes of extradited child rapist and accused murderer Tommy Stricklen. (Source: Jacksonville Progress) Guess who got the bigger ticker tape parade in Cherokee County newspapers and raised more money through donations: Beckworth running for reelection or a local sex offender with a handicapped daughter?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tommy Stricklen

 

Thanks to Elmer Beckworth and his supporters, every single learning institution in Cherokee County has hired child molesters, some who have sat on his juries repeatedly for decades; some who have been exalted in the local newspapers for decades until being caught. (Fast forward to Cherokee County Probation Director Carl Phillips.) Look no further than the sheltered hallways of nearby private Christian academy, The Brook Hill School, quietly scrubbing all records of their recently arrested girls' volleyball Head Coach. Ricky Eugene Clements, 61,was busted this month for texting a 16-year old female student to "spend the night with him" and driving her off school property without the school's knowledge or parental consent. (Source: KETK) These too are the people who claim to be Christian Conservatives.

 
Ricky Clements, Brook Hill Lady Guard head coach (Courtesy: Smith County)  

County audits bring finger-pointing to Precinct 3; Bullard police officer admits having sex with minor

Jacksonville, TX:
Things are steaming up in Cherokee County, folks, but talk about 'the pot calling the kettle black.'  The embedded corrupt aspect is targeting recently elected officials who shake the tree and expose the ingrained favoritism. Longtime Cherokee County elected officials and generational county employees have funneled the equivalent of millions of taxpayers’ dollars to themselves and their ilk over the last several decades. County equipment has been used to bulldoze, pave and enhance the private properties of in-laws for the last 30 years. The installation of culverts, cattle crossing guards, wooden bridges and roadbed are routine for Cherokee County’s so-called elite on their rural properties. In order to distract from the ingrained corruption, Cherokee County is attempting again what they do best, that is to blame someone else for exactly what they themselves blatantly do. Their target this month is the only forthright County Commissioner in their ranks.

They hope to pass the stench over to agencies within the county who do not buckle under the pressure of the corrupt Rusk, TX courthouse. Local reporters enable false charges by deliberately not fact-checking the accusations made against the whistleblowers. And the Cherokeean Herald is Johnny-on-the-spot eager to publish the crap fed them by current occupants of the Rusk courthouse. According to the Daily Progress, Precinct 3 Commissioner Katherine Pinotti is being investigated by law enforcement for maintaining a misidentified county road. Instead of keeping his nose in his own jurisdiction, longtime Precinct 4 Commissioner Byron Underwood has tattled on his political opponents’ maintenance of a segment of County Road 3403 (now called Patterson Lane), 5 miles north of Jacksonville in the Mount Selman area. (Source: Jacksonville Daily Progress August 26, 2010)

The county road in dispute, Patterson Lane, is currently maintained by Precinct 3 because it is a thoroughfare from CR 3401 (Old Jacksonville Rd.) to CR 3404,  just West of HWY 69. According to the Daily Progress article, Commissioner Pinotti performed her due diligence in requesting county maps be updated to reflect the delineation of missing roads and her constituents’ requests to maintain Patterson Lane. Especially after the heavy rains her boss County Judge Chris Davis claims to have championed just months earlier. The fact is Patterson Lane is not a private road. The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Department that is spearheading the “investigation” and County Attorney hope the rest of the county thinks otherwise. It all depends on who you are related to as to whether or not you can get away with using county equipment on private property. Precinct 3 has been open and has kept records about its maintenance of Patterson Lane. How dare this woman publish how and where the precinct maintenance money is spent!

The good ol’ boys are playing gotcha politics with the only female Commissioner in Cherokee County, Texas. Their tactics are as old as the corruption they perpetuate: criminalize perfectly legal actions and prosecute those outside of their circle for the shenanigans that they themselves commit every single day. Once again their goal is to make a law-abider spend thousands of dollars in legal fees to fight a trumped up charge. Their modus operandi is always the same; they use the Sheriff's Department and courthouse to ruin the reputations and the lives of political opponents. The County Bosses hold the purse strings and they aren’t letting go until Cherokee County taxpayers wise up, shed their inertia and vote them all out.

Commissioner Pinotti is not under attack for merely ingratiating herself by extending county services to the residents on Patterson Lane; she is accused of the crime of “misusing county funds” that her entrenched political peers have been committing for decades. They say she improperly used county equipment, labor and time to maintain a road not under the aegis of her Precinct. Of course it is not a crime for a county commissioner to maintain a lateral road on which dozens of homesteads are located.

Those on the attack want Precinct 3 residents to believe as a commissioner, Pinotti has no discretion as to where she sends her crews. Does she have to, according to County Attorney Craig Caldwell, ask for the male members of the Commissioner's Court to grant her permission to fix a street name sign?  Has Caldwell ever held the other commissioners to that standard during his tenure? Of course not. Patterson Lane is not a private driveway; it is a school bus route used to pick up the children living up and down the road. In the County Attorney's mind the contiguous tracts of land are still conveniently "undeveloped" but part of a "subdivision," nonetheless. (Source: "Commissioner paves Patterson Lane" Cherokeean Herald August 25, 2010) So where's the crime?

Let's look at those private catfish ponds dug by county employees on the clock and with county equipment. Let's look at community service workers maintaining private driveways, such as the ones all over Precinct 2 and Precinct 4. 

How dare a woman challenge the good ol’ boy network!

Unfortunately for the Pinotti family, every single private phone conversation they’ve ever had in that county has been intercepted by law enforcement and their mail rifled through by post office employees since she began upsetting the political hiarchy. Those in high places must not like what she has to say about them in private phone calls and certainly don’t like her candidness with the voters. It is their plan to have Commissioner Pinotti buckle under the financial strain of hiring an attorney to chase rabbit trails and coerce her to admit to “some type of mapping error.” In order for the Commissioner’s Court to go back to the way it was in the good ol' pre-Women's Lib days of meeting behind closed doors with no citizen or fiscal oversight.



It’s like the foxes guarding the chicken coop!

A few weeks prior to this façade, the Jacksonville Daily Progress reported Justice of the Peace clerk Heidi Jones Tyler was accused of stealing cash money straight out of the Precinct 3 office. She was placed on administrative leave after preliminary county audits of Pct. 3 funds fell short by $30,000. (Source: “Up to $30,000 missing” Cherokeean Herald August 18, 2010)

Justice of the Peace James Morris was alerted when a resident asked for a cash receipt for a previously paid fine. The fine had been falsely entered as “dismissed.” Sources close to the investigation report an arrest in the case is imminent.  (Source: CBS 19TV August 13, 2010) J.P. Morris has also been outspoken about the corruption he has witnessed at the Commissioner’s Court meetings and has written letters to the Texas Attorney General’s office. After bowing to pressure from new county commissioners, Cherokee County’s local and 3rd party auditors are revealing the depth and breadth of missing funds in particular agencies.

Perhaps “missing funds” are made up for by the county’s unethical revenue-generating tactic of withholding proceeds payable to owners of real and mineral properties. Cherokee County deposits unlawfully nondispersed funds into interest-bearing accounts with associated cumulative fees generating for the county treasurer’s and county clerk’s offices to ‘administer.’ The county certainly knows how to utilize its databases when it demands bloated taxes from its citizens. But those good ol’ boys and gals in the Rusk, TX courthouse just can’t seem to come up with a serviceable mailing address when the county has its mitts on funds due to those on their Muck With List.  

The Cherokeean Herald cites another $18,881 stolen in 2009 from the Adult Probation Office that taxpayers will have to reimburse. Cherokee County Adult Probation Director Carl Phillips was charged in December 2009 with embezzling over $60,000 in illicit credit card purchases during an alleged 10-year spending spree. County Auditor L.H. Crockett tells the Herald readers:

I understand that when Tommy Kerzee [incoming probation director] replaced Mr. Phillips, he was told what was going on. It seems some probation department staff members knew about the credit card charges. Mr. Kerzee called the state and they sent (state) auditors to go through the old records,” County Investigator Lt. John Raffield said that Mr. Kerzee came to him, District Attorney Elmer Beckworth and DA Investigator Randy Hatch.

The article continues:

Mr. Raffield said at least two persons in the probation department knew that Mr. Phillips was allegedly using the credit card for his own personal use. (Source: Cherokeean Herald December 23, 2009)

Carl Phillips gets his service award from County Judge Chris Davis.

Despite the evidence and county employee witnesses, initial charges against Phillips were dismissed on July 29, 2010. In order to drag the case out indefinitely and shunt from public spectacle, the case was re-entered on the Cherokee County docket. It’s good to have friends in high places who you can collect dirt on to stave off a costly defense.

Does it normally take a decade of witnesses coming forward and a handful of district attorney investigators for Elmer Beckworth to prosecute one of his favorite jury panelists?

Sources: Criminal Docket; Case 17638; THEFT OF PROPERTY BY PUBLIC SERVANT GREATER THAN $20K LESS THAN $100K THE STATE OF TEXAS vs CARL PHILLIPS Filed 11/23/2009 - Disposition: 07/29/2010 Dismissed-insufficient evidence; 2nd District Court, Cherokee County, TX. Criminal Docket; Case 17845; THEFT OF PROPERTY BY PUBLIC SERVANT GREATER THAN $20K LESS THAN $100K THE STATE OF TEXAS vs CARL PHILLIPS Filed 07/26/2010 - Disposition: current; 2nd District Court, Cherokee County, TX.

Bullard, TX:



Steven Wayne Morris: Bullard, TX cop received 8 Years in prison for sexual assault to a child. The case began with intercepted texts to a 15-year old and his suspension as reported in local newspapers. (Source: KLTV) Morris is eligible for parole in 2020 thanks to Smith County prosecutors.

Cherokee County resident and resource officer for the Bullard ISD, Steven Wayne Morris, age 26 has been with the Bullard Police Department for two years. Officer Morris was suspended without pay in June 2010 during an investigation involving an undisclosed student at the Bullard High School. The patrolman initially lied to his superiors about having a relationship with a student and was terminated. During questioning by the Texas Rangers, Morris admitted to having repeated sexual encounters with a 15-year-old Bullard student in the back of her car. Officer Morris has been charged with sexual assault of a child and is incarcerated in Smith County jail on a $350,000 bond. (Source: "Bullard police officer charged with sexual assault of child" KLTV, August 20, 2010)

Director of Adult Probation in Rusk, Texas indicted for public theft. State Rep fined for ethics violations

Rusk, TX:35-year veteran Cherokee County employee and Adult Supervision and Corrections Department director Carl Phillips was recently indicted on charges of theft by a public servant and misappropriation of public funds. The three-count indictment lists thefts of property beginning in 1999 and deliberate destruction of credit card receipts in excess of $20,000 but limited to $100,000. Phillips’ alleged stealing spree was reported in 1999 to, and ignored by, former Cherokee County District Attorney Investigator Randy Hatch according to the article (Source: Tyler Paper December 17, 2009). Ten years later, Cherokee County Sheriff Department investigators revisited the original allegations.

Carl Phillips began his employment with Cherokee County in 1974. The theft of funds was reported again to Phillips' successors after the indictee's 35-year retirement party. Phillips was Cherokee County’s longest employed public servant on record according to friends recusing themselves from pretrial. Friends such as all the district and county judges, the sheriff and every Grand Jury foreman for the last three decades. Notwithstanding his own recusal, good friend and District Attorney Elmer Beckworth predicts a traveling judge will hear the case (Source: Tyler Paper). Obviously not in the local Rusk diner where Phillips, et al might be found sipping ice tea, reminiscing about the good ol’ days and discussing those taxpayer subsidized vacations.

Jacksonville Daily Progress

Carl Phillips (l.) congratulated by current County Judge Chris Davis (r.) for 35 years of excellent public service.

 

House District 11:
Soon after switching parties, former Democrat and now Republican State Rep. Chuck Hopson (R) of Jacksonville has been fined for ethics violations for nondisclosure of political contributions. Rep. Hopson was ordered to pay $2900 in restitution by the Texas Ethics Commission for his campaign being in violation of section 253.032 of the Election Code and section 20.29 of the Ethics Commission Rules. (Source: News-Journal January 13, 2010)

According to the Texas Ethics Commission, Rep. Hopson and his Cherokee County based campaign treasurer

failed to properly report and improperly reimbursed
political expenditures from personal funds, failed to disclose information regarding contributions
from out-of-state political committees, failed to properly disclose total political contributions
maintained, and converted political contributions to personal use.

The Commission continues, that State Representative Hopson (R-Jacksonville):

failed to disclose the payees, payee addresses,
dates, purposes and amounts of political expenditures for mileage made with personal funds
on his 30-day pre-election report for the November 7, 2006, general election, and January
and July semiannual reports for the years 2007 and 2008.

The nine page Order and Resolution can be read at : http://www.ethics.state.tx.us/sworncomp/2008/2809327.pdf

The original complaint can be read at : http://www.texasethicsreport.com/Hopson_TEC_10-1-2008.pdf



Don't forget to read the ongoing corrupt activities in Cherokee County, Texas on Austin's acclaimed Politico "The Burnt Orange Report"

Agents of prevarication kiss and make up

Deputy Sheriff sends emails falsely claiming police chief is being sued for sexual harassment; public told to forget about it.

Jacksonville, TX/ Rusk, TX:

For argument’s sake, let’s say a high-ranking deputy with the city of Jacksonville police department sends a slew of anonymous emails to East Texas news agencies asking why they aren’t reporting that Cherokee County Sheriff James Campbell is resigning under the pressure of multiple sexual harassment suits. Cherokee County taxpayers should ask themselves if they would witness a ‘kiss and make up’ scenario between those agencies, as the one we’ve just seen painted last week. (Source: Tyler Paper December 19, 2009) Or for the sake of debate, let’s say a lay citizen bombards news outlets with emails falsely claiming Sheriff Campbell is facing lawsuit after lawsuit for sexual harassment in the workplace. In the case of a private citizen making those types of false claims against Sheriff Campbell or Jacksonville police chief Reece Daniel, then the district attorney himself would crawl out from behind his facade of trustworthiness and beat the drums of prosecution. They all would be crowing from the Rusk courthouse steps about how they would hold that individual and his network of allies criminally accountable. With the local media chiming in to fan the flames of criminal/civil action and to pervert the jury pool.

However, the shoe is on the other foot: The outside world got a tiny glimpse last week into the slanderous and lowlife blackmail methods Cherokee County officials employ against each other and their political counterparts. Agencies that routinely share illegally obtained information and work hand-in-hand violating our constitutional rights make for bad bedfellows when one decides to complain to the Texas Attorney General’s office about the other. Or butt heads and embarrass the district attorney, as Chief Reece Daniel did in May of this year when he petitioned against Elmer Beckworth's handling of the Robert Fox charges. (Source: Jacksonville Daily Progress May 3, 2009)

Sheriff James Campbell’s chief detective Chris White, captain for the Cherokee County sheriff’s department, recently sent anonymous emails to various East Texas news agencies claiming Jacksonville police chief Reece Daniel was resigning under the pressure of five (nonexistent) sexual harassment suits. Chief Daniel responded to the libelous accusations with a statement to the local press that the Jacksonville police department would no longer work alongside the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Department until White was reprimanded or fired. Chief Daniel chooses his words carefully in his response to the Sheriff Department’s emailed accusations:

“Chris White told me he had sent the email in retaliation for me refusing to accept a case that originated in Cherokee County that he wanted my detectives to investigate. This is an extremely paltry reason for a law enforcement officer to get angry over and, in my opinion, violate the law. If he will do this to me knowing all the resources I have at my command then I worry about what he might do to an innocent civilian who makes his angry.”
(Source: KLTV December 14, 2009)

Statements like those can never be retracted, even though Chief Daniel has been counseled to sing Sheriff Campbell’s praises, and ignore the Penal Code statutes he himself cites within his complaint to TCLEOSE and in his response to Chris White’s accusations. Cherokee County taxpayers have the right to know why Sheriff Campbell refuses yet again to hold his deputy’s feet to the fire. Detective White’s actions cannot be undone and his anonymous emails (claiming sexual harassment) leave the recipients in those media outlets scratching their heads. How can Cherokee County’s sheriff continue to employ a deputy who retaliates against a fellow officer? What other dirt and mudslinging does the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Department sanction? We know this latest published episode only scratches the surface. The broader intent of the emails was not only designed to smear Reece Daniel, but to frame someone else for sending the emails actually authored and distributed by a Cherokee County Sheriff’s deputy.

Campbell continues his decades-old pattern of unaccountability, even when his highest ranking deputy is caught red-handed emailing libelous content about a local police chief to news agencies. Campbell hides behind his department’s taxpayer supplied attorney rather than acknowledging his own deputy’s guilt. Sheriff Campbell’s statements deny knowledge of the emails’ “content,” but he surely knows his deputy White’s actions are rogue to say the least. (Source: KLTV December 14, 2009)

Instead of hiding behind his lawyers and saying that he knew nothing of the emails’ content, Sheriff Campbell could have taken the honorable route the day Chief Daniel responded to his accusers. Campbell could have made a simple statement that he would not tolerate this level of crap out of any of his employees. Despite the thousands of wasted taxpayers’ dollars and hours he and the Cherokee County newspapers have spent crooning about the county's highest paid Deputy Sheriff. Campbell chose to play word games that he was "unaware" of anything while he remained hidden from comment.

City and County lawyers warn Chief Daniel ‘not to go there’ by pointing out repeatedly that one female employed with the Jacksonville Police Department made one accusation of sexual harassment against the chief in the past. Which resulted in her prompt promotion out of the field and into a higher paying position within Cherokee County law enforcement (thanks to a deal brokered by the current city of Jacksonville attorney). Sources: Jacksonville Daily Progress and Cherokeean Herald December 16, 2009

And they top off yet another of Cherokee County’s notorious lies that the emails are a result of a “personal conflict” between Detective White and Chief Daniel. Then why the use of both a county attorney and the city of Jacksonville attorney for a private pissing match? Sheriff Campbell cannot make a statement to his constituents without an attorney looking over his shoulders and writing his unapologetic smokescreens. These are the questions the local media should be asking before closing the book on this latest installment of sexual blackmail, Cherokee County style. The pattern of unethical behavior is not over; it will continue as long as these people hold office.

There is enough criminal activity and dirt to spread around, so if these guys want to keep their jobs, it is apparent that in their minds, they had better stick together. They will have to continue to feign solidarity during intrajurisdictional disputes and target the innocent people Chief Daniel refers to in his statement. Hopefully, they believe, this sordid little story during the Christmas holidays will disappear from the evening news.

Chief Detective Chris White’s libelous emails about Reece Daniel are not only unethical, they shed light into the modus operandi that has been going on for decades in Cherokee County. Too many of these current public officials are bought and owned by these sexual harassment/ blackmail techniques. A thorough Spring house cleaning is long overdue. Get rid of these corrupt parasites at election or continue to have your taxpayer dollars lining their attorneys’ pockets. Or you can continue to support the vermin while they pay each other off with your hard earned tax dollars. You have just witnessed a microcosm of their unethical universe: a salaried deputy sheriff sending anonymous and inflammatory emails on a County computer in order to deflect media attention onto the police chief of Jacksonville. With the intention of blaming someone else for it until his IP address was traced.

Merry Christmas Cherokee County and have a blessed New Year. The March primaries are right around the corner; vote the prevaricators and provocateurs out. It is time to bring some semblance of honor into your public offices. Next month we will discuss the case of 35-year veteran Cherokee County employee and true friend of the courthouse Carl Phillips, the director of the Cherokee County Supervision and Corrections Department. Phillips was recently indicted for theft of services and allegedly tampering with government records while head of Adult Probation. (Source: Tyler Paper December 17, 2009)