District Attorney runs Assistant DA as opponent; Attorney General investigates missing $1.3 million Lon Morris endowment

Rusk, TX:

 'Tis the season to fool everybody, and political ads have run simultaneously in local newspapers pretending not to know of the incestuous politicking of the Cherokee County district attorney's office. Cherokee County District Attorney Elmer Beckworth (Democrat) is being "challenged" by his assistant district attorney Rachel Patton Rogers, running as a Republican, in the ONLY so-called "contested" race in the county. Beckworth has won praise from his mentor former DA and retired Court of Criminal Appeals Justice Charles Holcomb, who also related to the majority of those at the courthouse, Rusk State Hospital, and remaining county government employees. (Source: Tyler Paper, Nov. 4, 2012)  Family ties go beyond political affiliations, hence public servants' blatant nepotism for the last 40 years goes unreported during the electoral process. The only party lines in Cherokee County, Texas are the ones used to illegally eavesdrop on each other. So much for small town elections.

 Do we really get a choice when one candidate's only purpose is to keep viable challengers out of the primaries?

It is a common in-your-face tactic of Cherokee County shoring up the election, that is the hedging of votes against potential challengers. Both candidates pretend to be in competition by championing a horrible record of local child molestation cases they shared; over 300+ reported probated child sex offenders during Elmer Beckworth's 20 year tenure alone. God only knows what the docket doesn't show. Child molesters and recidivists who are offered probation per Beckworth's office, and then fail their community service requirements is not a record to run on, but to be ashamed of. Nonetheless, the current district attorney's further endorsements come from his published jury pools and the former Cherokee County sheriff - now part of a local cattlemen's association. As long as familial and personal vendettas are played out in their small time political games, no child is safe in Cherokee County. No one is safe.

 Ask the parents of molested children in Rusk and Jacksonville forced to live nextdoor to offenders who make sweet deals with the district court. Ask the loved ones slain by Cherokee County drug informants released after repeated bail violations. Asked those pepper sprayed and beaten up by Cherokee County law enforcement during high school events. Ask the sexual assault victims, battered wives and families of missing women who have to sue the county in Federal Court to get their rapes on the record.  Ask the district judge who's own bailiff is sitting in federal prison for selling crystal meth.

 As Assistant District Attorney for 20 years, Elmer Beckworth's job has been to run interference for his predecessors' judicial remands. Endorsee Charles Holcomb's last case as Cherokee County district attorney resulted in the overturning of an innocent man's so-called "murder for remuneration" conviction that resulted in a commuted life sentence. Even though all evidence pointed elsewhere, then assistant prosecutor Beckworth continued the facade of a bonafide investigation into the murder of Alto, TX feed store owner Jackie Hicks. As a district attorney Beckworth has continued that pattern of lying all the way to the state legislature in Austin.



Daily Progess, June 3, 1993



















Rusk Cherokeean Herald, Feb 22, 1996

As Elmer Beckworth's lead assistant prosecutor, Rachel Patton Rogers worked side-by-side with Beckworth and his investigators. Hence the cycle continues. Beckworth, a life long Democrat, sensed earlier in 2010 the political tides would swing overwhelmingly Republican during this county election cycle. Hence his "first assistant attorney" was quietly shuffled out last year and over onto the local Republican ticket. Are voters actually to believe that both Beckworth and his recruited assistant are vying for the job as Cherokee County's top prosecutor simply because they appear in opposite political parties? The local newspapers would have their readers believe so. Her job has been to make sure the DA office stays "in the family." Meanwhile, bogus political ads have been run simultaneously with articles on the Texas Attorney General's investigation of missing endowment money at the former Lon Morris College. Over $1 million in a restrictive trust fund deposit according to the Rusk Cherokeean is not "missing" at all:

There is no missing money at Lon Morris College. “Contrary to recent news reports, we know where the money went...” (Source: front page Rusk Cherokeean, "No Missing Funds at Lon Morris," Oct. 31, 2012)

All other legitimate news agencies are reporting the missing Dr. James Long endowment to Lon Morris College, now valued at $1.3 million. (Source: KLTV) By law, college endowment funds are restrictive, in that the principal (the $1 million gift) cannot be spent all at once, only accrued interest per the donation.

JACKSONVILLE, TX (KLTV) - Months after the oldest two-year university in the state closed its doors, a serious investigation into its finances has been opened. The Texas Attorney General's office and Lon Morris college are looking for $1.3 Million in missing endowment funds.  

A Rusk man left the money to the school, but explicitly stated in his will that the money would be transferred to Sam Houston State University if Lon Morris College ever closed its doors. 

In 2009, a little more than $1 Million was willed to the school by Lon Morris graduate, Dr. James D. Long. Because of interest, that endowment would now be worth about $1.3 Million. 

The AG's investigators are demanding a long list of documents, including emails, bank records and minutes from board meetings. They're looking for anything that leads their office to who was managing the funds that should have been deferred to Sam Houston State University. 

The Attorney General's Office says the missing endowment funds were brought to their attention after a lawyer for the Long Estate contacted the Texas State University System. (Source: KLTV, "Attorneys question if Lon Morris College honored donor's will," Oct. 25, 2012)

Attorney General questions if Lon Morris College honored donor's will.

County intercepts commissioner’s emails; Child molester acts as jail house snitch

There is nothing inadvertent about the County Attorney and County Judge gaining access to (and carbon copying each other) a Commissioner’s emails before she reads them.

Cherokee County, TX:

County Attorney Craig Caldwell, following instructions from his handlers, has placed a target on Commissioner Katherine Pinotti. Caldwell and County Judge Chris Davis begin building their cases against the Commissioner before she even gets a chance to open her emails. The voting populace is to believe after decades of private improvements by Caldwell’s predecessors, Davis’ in-laws and their collective enablers, that the current Precinct 3 commissioner is the lone elected official who “may have broken the law.”

The next round of concocted controversy stems from Pct. 3 Commissioner Pinotti seeking budgetary advice from a private consultant and a Napa auto parts dealer in an attempt to reduce county expenses. The Commissioner’s Court has refused to pay for the consulting services of $1500. According to the County Attorney’s deliberate misinterpretation of the State’s Civil Code on competitive bidding, Commissioner Pinotti cannot negotiate county contracts. (Source: Cherokeean Herald Jan. 4, 2012)

After 30 + years of the generational corruption going on in Cherokee County, the county attorney's office tells the news media that a $1500 business consultant is illegal, but not this:

• County employees and equipment building catfish ponds.
• Inlets and cattle guards for hunting clubs.
• Brand new roads to nowhere but Rusk city councilmen's property.
• Trustees and probationers raking their yards.
• Bulldozing and graveling driveways for their kinfolks.
• Building a golf course for a private club, a' la the Birmingham Golf Course.
• Giving their buddies construction jobs for kickbacks, with zero bidding.
• County credit cards and vehicles for personal use.

Hacked email correspondences between the vendor and Pinotti highlight the Jan. 5, 2012 interview of County Attorney Craig Caldwell by KETK reporters. According to Katherine Pinotti, she never received emails from a local parts dealer sent to her county email account; the same emails Caldwell and Judge Davis cite back and forth to each other and to the Cherokeean Herald. Pinotti was not even informed there was an issue paying her consultant until the Rusk, TX newspaper claimed she had done something illegal, in order to smear her again. Why does the Rusk Cherokeean refuse to fact check? KETK reporters did the minimal legal research when confronting the "argumentative" county attorney on his misapplication of the penal code.



(Courtesy: KETK Jan. 5, 2012)

Cherokee County doesn’t just hack emails; private and business calls and mail is intercepted for fodder for the District Attorney’s office. Their criminal logic is that if they claim to be "investigating a crime," then they have legal access to the county servers, payphones, mail and anything else they fill entitled to. They believe they own it all. What is Pinotti talking about on the phone that makes their blood boil?

The statutory limit for formal competitive bidding at the county level is $50,000. (Source: Texas Local Gov’t. Code §262.023) All purchases under $50,000 require informal quotes and shall be made by the purchasing agent or in Cherokee County's case, the Commissioner’s Court. Obviously a request to pay $1500 is under the statutory limit of the County Purchasing Act. Even services spelled out in the Texas Professional Services Procurement Act would be void and contrary to law if acquired through a bid basis; instead, professional services must be procured through the Request for Qualifications (RFQ) process. (Source: Texas County Purchasing Association)

GOVERNMENT CODE
TITLE 10. GENERAL GOVERNMENT
SUBTITLE F. STATE AND LOCAL CONTRACTS AND FUND MANAGEMENT
CHAPTER 2254. PROFESSIONAL AND CONSULTING SERVICES
SUBCHAPTER A. PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

Sec. 2254.003. SELECTION OF PROVIDER; FEES. (a) A governmental entity may not select a provider of professional services or a group or association of providers or award a contract for the services on the basis of competitive bids submitted for the contract or for the services, but shall make the selection and award: (1) on the basis of demonstrated competence and qualifications to perform the services; and (2) for a fair and reasonable price. (b) The professional fees under the contract may not exceed any maximum provided by law.
Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 268, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993. Amended by: Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1213, Sec. 14, eff. September 1, 2007.

.

All this legal minutiae is irrelevant in Cherokee County; no need to explain the law to a tainted jury pool. If Commissioner Pinotti’s maiden name was the same as the County Attorney’s predecessors or County Judge's in-laws there would be no controversy at all. In fact if she were related to the people who put these two in office, they would all be defending her and going after anyone who complained about it. The Cherokee County grand jury in concert with the district attorney is the weapon of choice against political rivals who don’t tow the corrupt county line. (Source: KETK May 4, 2001)

What ever happened to "all roads in the county need to be maintained by the commissioners...especially the ones leading to our hunting club and catfish ponds...while we're at it, let's build a private golf course with city employees and tax dollars for the County Attorney's Golf Club..."

“An estimated $3,000 in dirt, manpower and equipment to haul, spread and level dirt, as well as backhoe for cleaning out ditch lines has been invested by authority of the city council at the 9-hole golf course on U.S. Highway 69 adjoining the New Southern Motor Hotel." (Source: The Cherokeean, p. 1, October 26, 1978)

The Birmingham Golf Club golf course on the private property of the New Southern Motor Hotel in Rusk, TX was built by city employees for former County Attorney (and president) Charles Holcomb's private golf club. With all the criminal activity going on in Cherokee County to date, it is the only honest and open elected official who is currently guilty? Who do these criminals think they are fooling?

Cherokee County prosecutors are notorious for concocting charges against their political rivals to place doubts in voters' minds. At the same time local sex offenders and other low lifers vying for sweet deals move in and out of the Rusk, TX jail, providing dirt for their keepers. While the Cherokee County grand jury has been called against Commissioner Pinotti for paving Patterson Lane a.k.a CR 3427 and to thwart her cost cutting measures, county tax dollars are spent housing admitted child sex offenders.

Jacksonville, TX:

After admitting to raping a 14-year old girl and threatening to kill her if she told, 53-year old Richard Glenn Dishman has sat in the Cherokee County jail and on the criminal docket for over 2 years, no doubt spilling the beans on his cellmates and drug contacts in hopes of leniency. (Source: KLTV March 20, 2009)

Dishman, whereabouts unknown, faced up to 25 years after his July 2009 indictment and has a history of drug possession charges, burglary and plea bargains within the county. He has not been in front of a judge to face the music since making bail and there is the rumor of him cutting a deal. (Source: Cherokeean Herald July 22, 2009)

.Richard Glenn Dishman

The Jacksonville, TX resident is accused of molesting a neighbor child who inadvertently wandered into his garage “to get some ice cream for herself and her older brother. Mr. Dishman followed her into the garage and sexually assaulted her there.” Dishman confessed the crime to investigating Jacksonville PD officers according to all newspapers and television stations reporting the incident. (Source: Jacksonville Progress March 18, 2009)

Source:
2nd District Court, Cherokee County Criminal Docket; Case 17463; 
AGG SEXUAL ASSAULT CHILD
THE STATE OF TEXAS vs DISHMAN, RICHARD GLENN 
Filed 06/22/2009 - No Disposition

.

Apparently his services are still needed. As of January 2012, the Richard Dishman case has not been heard on the docket despite prosecutors having a rock solid molestation case against him. Instead, we've seen Cherokee County prosecutors spend your tax dollars conducting their personal vendettas as usual. Cherokee County voters have a choice this Spring who they want prosecuting criminals and who they want representing their interests. The county can remain corrupt, or move out of the realm of Third World politics.

 .
.

Lies under oath make for yellow journalism

Rule of thumb: never set foot in Cherokee County.
It was corrupt 30 years ago; it is corrupt now.

Rusk, TX:
Cherokee County systematically goes after those who file complaints and lawsuits against them. County newspapers fearing reprisal don’t mention the railroading of innocent people, nor the colossal cost to the taxpayer when the district courts play out their political vendettas. Locals associated with the courthouse agenda openly publicize their businesses in these small town rags, minus legally required occupational licenses. Homegrown fake real estate brokers, insurance agents and therapists openly advertise themselves on the Internet and in local papers without the fear of prosecution.

Scrutiny is deftly shunted from those in judges’ and prosecutors’ inner circle caught falsely advertising and accepting illegal sales commissions. By detouring their embedded reporters down rabbit trails, they turn readers’ and their constituents’ attention elsewhere. Last week, Austin AM Radio talk show host Randall Kelton was convicted of operating an “investigation company” without a license, while at the same time Cherokee County uses relatives of law enforcement as taxpayer paid confidential informants. Conflicts of interest by community leaders are ignored for decades in the local newspapers. For example, no one in the county would expect the Cherokee County Republican Party chairman -- ousted from his Adult Protective Services position for renting his properties to his clients -- to have a license to run assisted living quarters. (Source: Jacksonville Daily Progress, April 16, 2011 "GOP confirms calls for Looney's resignation") Anywhere west of the Neches River, this in-your-face corruption would be seen as a black eye on the community. Not in Cherokee County; they know there are no repercussions whatsoever for this level of criminality.

Outsiders beware: you may answer to a Cherokee County grand jury as a smokescreen, just for passing through the county.

The Cherokee County grand jury serves a two-fold purpose when used for political maneuvering. The number one way is to go after personal enemies who openly talk negatively about the current status quo. Secondly, District Attorney Elmer Beckworth and County Attorney Craig Caldwell also call a handpicked grand jury to publicly exonerate those accused of corruption. As recently as 2 years ago, Pct. 3 Justice of the Peace James Morris filed a complaint against the commissioners’ court with the Texas Attorney General, which resulted in a quick No-Bill by the Cherokee County grand jury. (Source: Jacksonville Daily Progress, August 13, 2009 "Commissioners’ grand jury case is no-billed") Afterwards, JP Morris alleged a "cover up" to Tyler's Channel 19. (Source: CBS 19 "Commissioners No Billed, Judge Alleges Cover-Up")

Precinct 3 Commissioner Katherine Pinotti was summoned to a grand jury for no better reason than paving a mislabeled road, while her counterparts and predecessors have been maintaining private properties for decades with complete impunity. The most blatant attempts at convincing the locals that private property improvements by Cherokee County commissioners were legal was the attempt back in 1978 to have it “voted on” by “constitutional amendment” within the county. However statewide, Prop. 7 as it was called back then, only allowed for counties fewer than 5,000 people. That didn’t stop the City of Rusk, TX from building the private golf course for the Birmingham Golf Club represented by then County Attorney Charles Holcomb, and Jon Kelsey owner of the New Southern Motor Hotel. As president of the golf club, Charles Holcomb simultaneously pushed for increases in his public salary as County Attorney, while simultaneously acquiring the rights to the newly renovated private golf course.



(Source: The Cherokeean, p.1 July 6, 1978)



(Source: The Cherokeean, p. 16, November 9, 1978)

There was a time when Cherokee County editorials challenged even the most beloved good ol’ boys for in-your-face corruption. They reported THE WAY IT HAPPENED and as a result were accused of “yellow journalism” for simply reporting the facts.

"It is our intention to point out that this dispute has been made a public issue since the use of public-financed manpower has been utilized in improvements at the golf course." (Source: The Cherokeean, p.2, November 9, 1978)

"An estimated $3,000 in dirt, manpower and equipment to haul, spread and level dirt, as well as backhoe for cleaning out ditch lines has been invested by authority of the city council at the 9-hole golf course on U.S. Highway 69 adjoining the New Southern Motor Hotel. "(Source: The Cherokeean, p. 1, October 26, 1978)

After a pseudo trial in the Cherokee County Court-at-Law last week, Randy Kelton was sentenced to one year jail time for trying to pass a note to Robert Fox’s grand jury in March 2009. Only one report from the Jacksonville, TX based reporter for the Tyler Paper mentions the jury selection, pseudo trial and sentencing. Kelton of “The Rule of Law Radio,” was accused of acting as an “investigator” in Cherokee County without a license. Kelton handed out a business card with the letters “I-N-V-E-S-T-I-G-A-T-O-R” printed on it. Every entity involved knows what a frame job looks like, and this is just another documented episode. The talk show host was targeted for telling the grand jury what they already knew, that Cherokee County is corrupt to the core. We’ll reprint his letter to the grand jury at the end of this posting.

Remember, these are the same people who let Brandon Robertson (a paroled drug dealer) out of jail after the DPS stopped him north of Rusk with a GUN and crystal meth. (Source: Longview News Journal, May 8, 2008 "Suspect arrested weeks before trooper's shooting") They did not inform the Smith County parole department he was in their custody. Instead, they pocketed the absconder’s bond money and set Robertson free to kill the next DPS trooper who stopped him. Trooper Scott Burns was murdered 3 weeks after the Rusk, TX city municipal judge set Robertson’s bond and the Sheriff’s Department refused to notify Smith County about the drug mule parolee carrying a gun. Robertson dropped $1,500 cash on the court's table for bail.

To the local media it is perfectly OK for their elected officials to perjure. In an attempt to have his original “tampering with a government record” trial heard in another county, Robert Fox filed a motion for change of venue in October 2009. That motion was denied despite nearly 2 years of local newspaper reports of Fox being a “terrorist linked to Timothy McVeigh,” and some sort of dangerous Canadian anti-government fugitive. The Cherokee County district attorney challenged that motion by having the likes of the district judge, city councilmen and the sheriff testify that Fox could in fact have a “fair trial” in the same county he was suing. This after keeping him locked in the Rusk jail for 9 months without Due Process and them answering as defendants in Fox's federal civil rights complaints.

After this lying under oath was rubberstamped, Sheriff James Campbell’s own son-in-law was seated as a juror at Robert Fox’s trial.

That is what Cherokee County calls a “fair trial.” Even though Fox's case resulted in a mistrial in June 2011, Cherokee County cannot succeed in framing their intended targets when cases without merit are moved out of the region. (Source: Jacksonville Daily Progress, June 2, 2011 "Mistrial declared for Fox") Based upon Mr. Kelton’s own complaints earlier to the Robert Fox grand jury in 2009, he should have followed his own advice and never set foot in the county. As a radio personality and investigative journalist, he knows East Texas branches of the US Attorney’s office are complacent about this level of conspiracy to violate the civil rights of those in the crosshairs of local rogue prosecutors. They go along with the “sovereign citizen” rhetoric while turning a blind eye to rapist cops such as Jacksonville, TX police officer Larry Pugh. Unlike large metropolitan regions, Cherokee County’s law enforcement doesn’t have enough to do, and the axiom “idle hands make mischief” certainly applies to them; or in their case “idle hands make a rapist cop.”

That’s just the way Cherokee County, TX operates, folks. State representatives know it and the US Attorney’s office knows it; the Tyler branch of the FBI knows it. Randall Kelton, Robert Fox, county commissioners, JPs, along with hundreds of others have spelled out specific grievances to the State Bar, the State Attorney General and US Attorney’s offices about Cherokee County violating the law. So the question is: why do these agencies who are responsible for policing public corruption allow it to not just fester but to thrive under our noses? Until the voting population removes these people from office, they can expect the entire area to spiral down into insolvency. Neighboring counties and businesses are witnessing how things operate here, and now with the outspoken Randy Kelton in their jail, the economic repercussions will be generational.

There are several theories as to why the Feds enable corrupt East Texas authorities to make a living by framing ‘out of towners.’ The primary reason would be that prosecuting district attorneys after years of violating their oaths of office would undo decades’ worth of convictions. Convicted murderers from these counties could be set free; every Tom, Dick and Harry could have their criminal records expunged. It would take a colossal amount of time and money to review each case handled in these areas for the last 40 years. Hence, Cherokee County’s pattern consists of violating the simplest legal procedures and being corroborated in Tyler’s 12th Court of Appeals. How can prosecutors and bailiffs get away with suborning juries in front of everyone in the courthouse and planting juries with those who are coached to lie during voir dire?

Moreover, the Federal authorities in these areas rely on the phone tapping and other illegal snooping that these underling agencies are willing to do day in and day out. Why go through the hassle of getting a federal warrant to eavesdrop on who they call suspected drug dealers, when they have deputized telephone company employees, cable guys and bored small town cops willing to do it for them? Cherokee County’s telephone exchanges are one big party line.

Again, admission of this unconstitutional activity would result in thousands -- if not tens of thousands -- of court cases being overturned. Consequently, local justice authorities subvert their version of “investigating authority” into a means of listening to and controlling the lay population. This criminal activity is conducted as openly as the way they rig their ballot boxes. When incumbents receive more votes than actual registered voters, you would think that red flag would be investigated. Instead, they are allowed to cover up the corruption with hand-picked grand juries charged with “investigating” made up crimes that only a rogue district attorney can present to them.

Surely the thinking populace doesn’t believe Mr. Kelton is sitting in the Rusk, TX jail for being an investigative journalist with business cards. Is Kelly Gooch of the Tyler Paper next on their get list for covering the Pct. 3 JP’s complaint against Cherokee County’s open meeting violations? (Source: Tyler Paper, June 5, 2009 “Cherokee County JP makes accusations of corruption towards commissioners”)

Below is the March 2009 letter composed by Randall Kelton, on Robert Fox’s behalf, after his research of Cherokee County and federal authorities in East Texas refusing to intervene.

Dear Foreperson:

I am a radio show host out of Austin, Texas. I do not live in Cherokee County, neither do I have business there. My only contact has come through calls to my radio station. After looking into some of the allegations, what I found was disturbing. I talked to persons involved then came to court and witnessed acts personally that indicate that the police and courts in Cherokee County are totally out of control.

In an effort to give those involved fair notice, and without initiation any action against anyone, I filed a set of criminal complaints with the grand jury. They were not official as they were not signed or verified as would be required. It was my intent to simply give fair notice so that the individuals involved would know they were under scrutiny.

The problem was that any time anyone attempted to defend themselves in the county court, the court would start retaliation against them by filing false charges to have them arrested. The court would then set an outrageous bail, then arrest them again on another false charge, more outrageous bail, and on and on until the person was unable to raise bail. Attached is a statement detailing the abuses.

To my surprise, when I tried to give them fair warning, they were not impressed and filed criminal complaints against me because I filed the documents with the grand jury. They are now trying to trap me in their jail as they have been doing others.

I sent this document directly to you as the local United States Attorney and FBI are fully aware of what is going on and refuse to do anything to stop things.

I wrote this letter in the hope you would initial it and return it in the included envelope. The reason is that there is a standing practice on the part of United States Attorneys to secret evidence from federal grand juries. I ask for initials as the prosecutor has a stamp with your name on it and my investigations have shown that it is a common practice for the prosecutor to use the stamp without your knowledge, or the knowledge of the grand jury panel. This is especially a problem with superseding indictments.

Therefore, so that I can be sure the United States Attorney did not secret this from you, will you please initial this document and return it to me. And please, examine into the allegations made here. The problems in Cherokee County run very deep. Along with the retaliation as a matter of policy, people are kept in jail without bond beyond the 90 days allowed by law. This is done as a matter of course. People are arrested and secreted from magistrates, thrown in jail and no amount of motions or pleadings make any difference as they are all denied as a matter of course.

Please help us return the rule of law to Cherokee County, Texas.

Respectfully Submitted,

Randall Kelton

Grand Jury Foreperson: __________ Date: _________

(Courtesy: jurisprudence.com)

Murderers and drug addicts on the Cherokee County payroll

 

(Courtesy: Smith County)

Michael Dashawn Harris, sentenced to life (with parole) for the murder of Jacksonville, TX resident Faye Bell Harris.

Time served: 6 years.

(Source: Jacksonville Daily Progress, January 22, 2004)

"Harris faces competency hearing."

The capital murder case of Michael Dashawn Harris is scheduled to get underway next week - in a preliminary sense - with a hearing to determine his competency to stand trial.

Judge Dwight Phifer, who oversees the state's 2nd Judicial District, has also ordered that jury selection for the trial begin on either Feb. 9 or 17.

Police officers arrested Harris, 44, on Aug. 4, 2003, after he went to his mother-in-law's house and allegedly shot and killed his estranged wife, Faye Harris. Harris was also charged with retaliation.

In Texas, any time a murder is committed in the course of committing certain felonies - such as retaliation - a person may be charged with capital murder and be eligible for the death penalty.

Cherokee County District Attorney Elmer Beckworth has not said if he will seek the death penalty in the Harris case. (Courtesy: Daily Progress)

After trying to burn down their house and later murdering his ex-wife in front of their daughter, Michael Dashawn Harris passed away 6 years into a life sentence arranged by District Attorney Elmer Beckworth. The version of events promulgated by the folks in Cherokee County and the district attorney is that the murder was a result of lax felony bond requirements and that prosecutors followed the letter of the law. After all that money was spent on Beckworth traveling to Austin to ostensibly champion Faye Bell Harris as a victim's rights advocate and to grandstand, Cherokee County newspapers did not contest Michael Harris' possible early release to the Parole Board.

They are confident the ignorant public has been fooled completely in this case; they convinced the Harris family that they were not responsible for allowing a drug informant on the streets after repeatedly arresting him for escalating domestic violence. What is Michael Harris' value to the district attorney's office?

Michael Harris was initially arrested on a Cherokee County warrant by the Tyler Police Department on January 27, 2003. He was transported back to Cherokee County where he was charged with arson/attempt to cause bodily injury in a house of worship. He made bail and continued to repeatedly attack his estranged ex-wife while on felony bond.

Oddly enough, Michael D. Harris was not just charged with a homicide; he pleaded to murdering a "peace officer or fireman"  and attempting to burn down this so-called "place of worship."  To the district attorney's office, the Harris household was a religious safe house strategically located in the city of Jacksonville's northern drug corridor. Hence Elmer Beckworth charged Michael Harris with murdering a "peace officer," [the victim Mrs. Harris], i.e. the other informant living in the house and cooperating with the Cherokee County Sheriff's Department. Faye Harris worked as a therapy technician at the Rusk State Hospital according to the Cherokeean Herald.

 (Source: Cheorkeean April 30, 1998 Sec. A, p. 7)

Sources:  Criminal Docket Case 15388: CAPITAL MURDER OF A PEACE OFFICER OR FIREMAN THE STATE OF TEXAS vs HARRIS, MICHAEL DASHAWN. Filed 09/22/2003 -Disposition: 10/18/2004 Conviction-guilty plea or nolo cont-no jury.

Case 15354: MURDER; Case 15387: ASSAULT CAUSES BODILY INJURY FAMILY VIOLENCE ENHANCED; Case 15250: ARSON BODILY INJURY/DEATH IN PLACE OF WORSHIP. 2nd District Court, District Clerk, Cherokee County, TX.

The Michael Harris case never went to trial; he pleaded No Contest to the 2003 homicide after his in-and-out rehab stints at the Rusk State Hospital. His bail was set and reset multiple times by the Cherokee County court system. Faye Harris' calls to the district court to have her ex-husband locked up for his escalating domestic violence were ignored. Thousands of taxpayer dollars have been spent to convince the public otherwise.



Are residents beginning to realize the depth and breadth of public corruption going on under their noses and why their municipalities' police forces have dried up? Where has all the taxpayer money for public safety gone? Exactly how is the District Attorney's Law Enforcement Fund from seizures being spent?

Taxpayer money is spent subsidizing the families and allies of the same group of people who have been draining Cherokee County dry for decades. Cherokee County is a family-operated criminal enterprise and along with their familial kickbacks, their confidential informants have bankrupted the city and county coffers. According to CBS News, the towns of Wells and Alto, TX have both had their entire police forces furloughed as their city councils do some fiduciary housecleaning. The tiny town of Alto, TX is making up for a $185,000 budget deficit with the layoffs. (Source: CBS News, Tiny Texas town lays off entire police force)

For the first time in modern history, these one stoplight towns have done a little fiscal oversight and discovered that their city services are in the RED. Too much taxpayer money has been allocated for personal use which includes paying law enforcement and their families to illegally monitor the law-abiding public. They have decided to cut their city law enforcement and have overextended sheriff’s deputies respond to their emergencies. The local Cherokeean Herald reports Alto, TX (population 1150) had five officers on payroll for nighttime alarm patrol in a one-horse town.


Looking for an oral history of Cherokee County, Texas? 

Chapter 1: A history of corruption that cannot be rewritten or ignored.

Former Alto police chiefs’ salaries have ranged from $16K to over $100K, depending on who the applicant was related to, even though the city's population has remained at or below 1100 for the last 30 years. Their turnover has been frequent, controversial and bitter at times. Relatives of the former district attorney have framed past police chiefs to run them out of town and move themselves into a coveted salaried position. (Source: Cherokeean) Former Alto mayor Garwin Baugh tells the Jacksonville Daily Progress in 1992 how he and Police Chief Tom Griffith were targeted for openly discussing the cover up of a murdered feed store owner. (Source: Daily Progress May 1, 1992)

Chief Griffith was ousted and the district attorney's investigator took his job to make sure the capital murder conviction in the case was not overturned. All public discussions of the case were quelled. The conviction was eventually overturned and an innocent defendant facing life in prison was released on time served.  The case was The State vs. Terry Watkins. Elmer Beckworth represented the State at Watkins' appeal; his job was to thwart any and all evidentiary review hearings that proved Terry Watkins' innocence. The victim's life insurance was used among other things to pay State witnesses for the prosecutor, former district attorney Charles Holcomb. Taxpayer money has always been spent to keep the family clan in office and against whistleblowers. Proceeds from insurance payouts also come in handy for hush money.

Charles Holcomb takes money to hire witnesses (Source: Daily Progress August 23, 1990)

During this current police furlough, the sheriff’s department and district attorney’s office will have to rely solely on their good ol’ boy/ bitty network to keep watch over the southern part of the county. Even more taxpayer money will be allocated for illegal phone drops, jury plants, ‘anonymous’ tipsters and other reserve officers' clandestine eavesdropping.

Every week the local newspapers report the status of merchant sales tax revenues as if it were a true signal of the economic status of the county. Following their logic, these little towns rake in the sales tax but cannot afford to have police protection? Think again.



The only investigative technique utilized by law enforcement in this area is illegal phone tapping of its residents. At least since the 1920's they have enlisted their family members to listen to and record as many perfectly legal telephone and innocuous business conversations as possible throughout the county. In their minds there is no need for an active police force in rural areas because their 3rd generation phone tapping network is intact and operating at 100%.

Informants provide routine drug busts to justify county and state level investigators and their salaries, while taxpayer money is pooled to help pay these CIs' house bills and keep them in the county. Instead of being ostracized, murderers and drug addicts are on the dole in Cherokee County. When it comes to politicking, these informants provide pabulum for district attorney's and sheriff investigators. That is where the money has gone. Tax revenue goes to keep these salaried parasites in office and against any and all who challenge them. Traveling public beware if you use the local telephone systems or post offices.



No need to dial 9-1-1 folks; they know about crime before it even takes place. Usually they are the perpetrators.

Sales tax reciprocity from the city to the county level will cease to exist until Cherokee County voters are brave enough to do some judiciary housecleaning. Meanwhile, Cherokee County taxpayer dollars are still being spent on prosecuting Robert Fox for filing a Notice to Sue in Smith County; investigating the Precinct 3 Commissioner for her bonafide due diligence; and decades of private property improvements by county officials in bed with the district attorney. The entire county, much less the small towns of Alto and Wells, TX, can no longer afford the public corruption that has been going on for decades.

Blue hairs steal another election. "Jessica's Law" 18 months later.

Texas House of Representatives District 11:

Voter fraud is a crime against our most sacred rights as Americans. In Cherokee County incumbents can rely on benign looking old ladies volunteering at the voting booth to falsify election results in their favor. Their job is to pervert the outcome of every election, no matter how inconsequential the political position. They've been doing it for decades and it is the same type of blue-haired biddies every election cycle. However, when they defraud the outcomes of Congressional elections, results affect the entire State.



Another election in the crapper thanks to Cherokee County voter fraud. That’s their track record and we've been reading about it since the days of Lyndon B. Johnson. Apparently ballot voting in this region is tongue-in-cheek and the Attorney General's office is complacent with election results. As an added bonus, elected officials quickly register bogus ballot counts and the local media reports the counterfeit results before the Secretary of State can certify the election. Even in the age of mandatory electronic voting.

Terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah harbor their rogue activities from reprisal by sheltering them within houses of worship and schools. They know public opinion will be in their favor by stationing themselves within these sanctuaries and they are free to conduct their assault on Freedom. Similarly, the Cherokee County Commissioner's Court, County Judge, et al have chosen the community churches as the best places in which to conduct voter fraud while cloaked behind the facade of presumed benevolent and guileless environments.



(Source: Cherokee County Commissioners Court October 14, 2008 meeting)

Published Cherokee County, TX polling locations by precinct on the county Public Meeting Notice:

#10, Northeast, Rusk Civic Center
#11, East Rusk, Blount Chapel Baptist Church
#12, North Rusk, Gallatin Community Center
#13, North Maydelle, First Baptist Church
#14, Southeast Jacksonville, Corinth Baptist Church
#15, Ward #3 City of Jacksonville, Tyler St. Baptist Church
#16, Dialville, Dialville Methodist Church
#23, South Rusk, Salem Baptist Church Hwy 241
#24, Rusk, Cherokee Civic Theater in Shriner Bldg/5th St.
#25, Wells,City Fire Station
#26, East Alto, Calvery Tabernacle United Pentecostal Church
#27, West Alto, City Fire Station Hwy 21
#28, South Maydelle, Assembly of God Church
#29, Forest Baptist Church
#32, Mt.Selman Baptist Church
#33, Reese Community Center, Hwy. 175
#34, Mixon First Baptist Church
#35, Cove Springs Baptist Church, Hwy 175
#36, S W Jacksonville, New Hope Baptist Church FM 747
#37, Mt. Haven CME Church
#38, Ward #2, City of Jacksonville Activity Center Peoples Street
#42, Ward #1, City of Jacksonville Old Elberta St. School
#43, Ward #4, City of Jacksonville Public Library
#44, Northeast Jacksonville Tecula Baptist Fellowship Hall
#45, New Summerfield First Baptist Church
#46, Pleasant Hill Blackjack Baptist Church
#47, Ponta First Baptist Hwy 110
#48, Concord Presbyterian Church, CR 4705 FM 856



Like a fundamentalist terrorist, these seemingly gentle old church moms would cut your head off as soon as your back was turned. They are the backbone of the culture of corruption and they volunteer their time to keep their kith and kin in office. When the biddies aren't busy listening in on private phone conversations for the district attorney's office, they're stuffing ballot boxes and filling out fake provisional voter registration cards. And tossing out challengers' votes as fast as shucking peas.

Incumbent State Representative and Jacksonville, TX resident Chuck Hopson (D) 'won' the November 4th Texas House District 11 race by this same tried and true technique. Hopson's opponent challenged the results and requested a supervised recount. A senior citizen election official squeaked out an extra 104 votes during the December recount and Cherokee County’s incumbent State Representative was sent back to Austin for another term. Chuck Hopson, a conservative Democrat and honorable politician in his own right defends the blatant voter fraud and corrupt election process from his hometown district. Texas House District 11 is composed of Henderson, Panola, Houston and Cherokee County. Hopson's challenger was Republican Brian Walker of Panola County, TX.

TX HD 11

On election night and after a “recount,” Rep. Hopson’s home district in Jacksonville, Texas – Precinct 36, or “Box 36,”provided the 100 + fraudulent votes needed to save his seat. Challenger Brian Walker had been ahead of Hopson on election night, until Box 36 came strolling in three hours after the polling booths closed, giving Hopson the votes to remain in office. Polling place No. 36 is located in on FM 747 in South West Jacksonville at the New Hope Baptist Church. Go figure.

Because the blatant mislabeling of ballot boxes was being questioned by the Walker campaign, the Cherokee County Commissioner's Court rushed to form a canvas board of local relatives of the election judges.

Candidate Brian Walker petitioned the Texas House of Representatives for a recount and an investigation. Walker’s formal request contends Cherokee County acted in violation of Texas electoral procedures and allowed fraudulent provisional votes to be cast for the incumbent. At the same time, other votes in his favor were tampered with and/or discarded. The bulk of tossed out votes were overseas ballots of service men and women with legal residency in Cherokee County. Before the Texas House of Representatives convened to hear the petition, Walker withdrew his request for a formal hearing.

Brian Walker contested the certification of the election that Cherokee County is in violation of the Texas Election Code. These are election laws broken by election officials:

NUMBER ONE: 900 cast votes, enough to swing the close election, were never properly sealed nor locked once Cherokee County was notified of a recount. These ballot boxes remained with members of the Hopson camp until they were subpoenaed.

ELECTION CODE

TITLE 6. CONDUCT OF ELECTIONS

CHAPTER 66. DISPOSITION OF RECORDS AND SUPPLIES AFTER ELECTION

Sec. 66.058. PRESERVATION OF PRECINCT ELECTION RECORDS.

(a) Except as otherwise provided by this code, the precinct election records shall be preserved by the authority to whom they are distributed for at least 22 months after election day.
(b) For a period of at least 60 days after the date of the election, the voted ballots shall be preserved securely in a locked room in the locked ballot box in which they are delivered to the general custodian of election records. On the 61st day after election day, the general custodian of election records may:
(1) require a person who has possession of a key that operates the lock on a ballot box containing voted ballots to return the key to the custodian; and
(2) unlock the ballot box and transfer the voted ballots to another secure container for the remainder of the preservation period.
(b-1) Except as permitted by this code, a ballot box or other secure container containing voted ballots may not be opened during the preservation period.
(c) If during the preservation period an authorized entry is made into a ballot box or other secure container containing voted ballots, when the purpose for the entry is fulfilled, the box or container shall be relocked or resecured, and the box and key or secure container returned to the custodian.
(d) A custodian of a ballot box or secure container containing voted ballots commits an offense if, during the preservation period prescribed by Subsection (a), the custodian:
(1) makes an unauthorized entry into the box or container; or
(2) fails to prevent another person from handling the box or container in an unauthorized manner or from making an unauthorized entry into the box or container.
(e) An offense under Subsection (d) is a Class A misdemeanor.
(f) The records in ballot box no. 4 may be preserved in that box or by any other method chosen by the custodian. If the records are removed from the box, they may not be commingled with any other election records kept by the custodian.
(g) Repealed by Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1197, Sec. 2, eff. June 15, 2007.

Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1078, Sec. 18, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1315, Sec. 40, eff. Jan. 1, 2004.
Amended by:
Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 950, Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2005.
Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1197, Sec. 1, eff. June 15, 2007.
Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1197, Sec. 2, eff. June 15, 2007.

NUMBER TWO: The election judge of Representative Hopson’s home district was not appointed in accordance to the Texas Election Code; rather she is a Chuck Hopson “volunteer.” This election judge was not on the roster authorized by the Cherokee County Commissioner’s Court.

ELECTION CODE

TITLE 3. ELECTION OFFICERS AND OBSERVERS

CHAPTER 32. ELECTION JUDGES AND CLERKS

SUBCHAPTER A. APPOINTMENT OF ELECTION JUDGES

Sec. 32.001. PRESIDING JUDGE AND ALTERNATE FOR EACH ELECTION PRECINCT. (a) A presiding election judge and an alternate presiding judge shall be appointed for each election precinct in which an election is held.
(b) The alternate presiding judge shall serve as presiding judge for an election if the regularly appointed presiding judge cannot serve.

Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986.

Sec. 32.002. JUDGES FOR COUNTY ELECTION. (a) The commissioners court at its July term shall appoint the election judges for each regular county election precinct.
(b) Judges appointed under Subsection (a) serve for a term of one year beginning on August 1 following the appointment, except that the commissioners court by order recorded in its minutes may provide for a term of two years.
(c) The presiding judge and alternate presiding judge must be affiliated or aligned with different political parties, subject to this subsection. Before July of each year, the county chair of a political party whose candidate for governor received the highest or second highest number of votes in the county in the most recent gubernatorial general election shall submit in writing to the commissioners court a list of names of persons in order of preference for each precinct who are eligible for appointment as an election judge. The county chair may supplement the list of names of persons until the 20th day before a general election or the 15th day before a special election in case an appointed election judge becomes unable to serve. The commissioners court shall appoint the first person meeting the applicable eligibility requirements from the list submitted in compliance with this subsection by the party with the highest number of votes in the precinct as the presiding judge and the first person meeting the applicable eligibility requirements from the list submitted in compliance with this subsection by the party with the second highest number of votes in the precinct as the alternate presiding judge. The commissioners court may reject the list if the persons whose names are submitted on the list are determined not to meet the applicable eligibility requirements.
(d) The county clerk, after making a reasonable effort to consult with the party chair of the appropriate political party or parties, shall submit to the commissioners court a list of names of persons eligible for appointment as presiding judge and alternate presiding judge for each precinct in which an appointment is not made under Subsection (c). The commissioners court shall appoint an eligible person from the list who is affiliated or aligned with the appropriate party, if available.
(e) The commissioners court shall fill a vacancy in the position of presiding judge or alternate presiding judge for the remainder of the unexpired term. An appointment to fill a vacancy may be made at any regular or special term of court. Not later than 48 hours after the county clerk becomes aware of a vacancy, the county clerk shall notify the county chair of the same political party with which the original judge was affiliated or aligned of the vacancy. Not later than the fifth day after the date of notification of the vacancy, the county chair of the same political party with which the original judge was affiliated or aligned shall submit to the commissioners court in writing the name of a person who is eligible for the appointment. If a name is submitted in compliance with this subsection, the commissioners court shall appoint that person to the unexpired term. If a name is not submitted in compliance with this subsection, the county clerk shall submit to the commissioners court a list of names of persons eligible as an appointee for the unexpired term. The commissioners court shall appoint an eligible person from the list who is affiliated or aligned with the same party, if available.
(f) Subject to Section 32.003, the judges appointed under this section shall serve in each election ordered by the governor or a county authority in which the regular county election precincts are required to be used.

Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1349, Sec. 8, 9, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1009, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.
Amended by:
Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 89, Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2005.

NUMBER THREE: Of all the electronic and more accurate voting machines, Hopson’s home precinct relied on paper ballots, based upon a “malfunction” that was never reported. In typical Cherokee County fashion, polling places allowed bystanders access to ballot boxes, while feigning a ‘friendly good old fashion’ political setting. Cherokee County remains off the map as county officials will not allow the Texas Election Administration Management (TEAM) system access to its fraudulent votes. Cherokee County prefers to remain in the dark ages instead of implementing a secure computerized voter management system. They get a kick out of submitting falsified voter returns.

ELECTION CODE

TITLE 13. RECOUNTS

CHAPTER 214. COUNTING PROCEDURES

SUBCHAPTER A. MANUALLY COUNTED BALLOTS

Sec. 214.046. TEST OF PROGRAM AND EQUIPMENT. (a) After the time set for beginning an electronic recount but before the recount is made, the recount tabulator shall conduct a test of the program and equipment in the same manner as the test that is conducted immediately before an original count of ballots for an election. Each person entitled to notice of the recount or the person's representative at the recount is entitled to examine the program and the test materials on request.
(b) If the test is unsuccessful, the recount tabulator shall notify the recount committee chair, who shall notify the recount supervisor, and the supervisor shall investigate the cause of the test's failure. The electronic recount may not proceed until a test is successful on the equipment used for the first test or on other equipment selected by the supervisor.
(c) If the recount supervisor determines that the program is defective, the supervisor shall inform the person requesting the recount or the person's agent. The person requesting the recount may notify the supervisor:
(1) to have the ballots recounted manually; or
(2) to attempt to correct the program so that an electronic recount may be conducted with the corrected program.
(d) A recount using a corrected program may not be made unless the tabulation supervisor of the central counting station or the presiding election judge of the polling place at which the ballots were counted, as applicable, and the person who prepared the program sign a written statement indicating that the original program is defective. If the statement cannot be obtained, the recount supervisor shall have the ballots recounted manually.
(e) If a recount using a corrected program is to be made, the original program shall be preserved without change and a complete new program shall be prepared. The original set of test materials shall also be preserved without change and a complete new set shall be prepared if the original set is unsuitable for testing the corrected program.
(f) The recount supervisor shall obtain from the person who prepares a new program a signed statement that the program was prepared by the person, with the date of preparation and the person's address shown on the statement. The new program, the preparer's statement, and the test materials used for verification shall be preserved in a sealed container in the same manner and for the same period as the original program.
(g) The costs of a recount under Subsection (c) may not be assessed against a person regardless of its outcome. If other precincts are included in the same recount document, the assessment of the costs in the other precincts shall be determined by the overall outcome in all precincts included in the document.

Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 864, Sec. 224, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.

NUMBER FOUR: On election night November 2nd, the ballot box from Rep. Hopsons’ home precinct arrived at the courthouse at 9:45 pm - nearly three hours after the polls had closed. This voting precinct is twenty minutes from the courthouse in downtown Rusk, TX. The election judge gave different accounts of why she was late for vote tally.

NUMBER FIVE: The ballot box from Rep. Hopson’s home voting precinct, as well as others throughout Cherokee County, was a plain cardboard box, not a padlocked metal container as required by Code. After election night and prior to the physical recount, all boxes' seals had been removed and tampered with.

NUMBER SIX: Cherokee County, TX refused software tests and calibration of its voting machines prior to the December recount.

NUMBER SEVEN: Rejected ballots were never provided for scrutiny.

NUMBER EIGHT: Every ballot register the County Clerk certified was falsified; all 31 voting precincts in Cherokee County had different totals certified than were actually serialized on the boxes. Many precincts failed to record the actual amount tallied on election night on the ballot boxes.

NUMBER NINE: Cherokee County election officials added votes during the recount computation that were never matched nor reported. Voters from outside House District 11 were allowed to cast their secret ballots. Ballot registers have never been made available to the Walker campaign. Nonetheless, Walker withdrew his petition.

Brian Walker conceded to Chuck Hopson on December 22, 2008 but told the Tyler Paper his investigation of voter fraud in Cherokee County would continue. The Secretary of State would have to throw out the last 50 years of elections in Cherokee County if that were the case. The Texas legislature is currently divided by party lines at a close 76/74. The political melee of contesting what the Speaker of the House must view as an insignificant House seat would bring Cherokee County out of the dark and into the sunlight. Apparently nobody can stomach the rats and roaches scrambling in the slime when the eyes of the State are on them. The legacy of Cherokee County providing falsified information about its systemic corruption continues. The only question is whether or not the Attorney General's office is going to certify it.

The alternate Universe of Cherokee County, TX newspapers:

Sensing the coast is clear from an Attorney General’s investigation into the stolen election, the Rusk, Texas Cherokeean Herald rubs the victory of their chosen incumbent in the face of the Brian Walker campaign. The daughter of the editor compares Republican Brian Walker to the “Wizard of Oz” and chastises him for not responding to the newspaper's phone call interviews during the recount.

Beginning the day of the Nov. 4 General Election and continuing until last week, Mr. Walker and his staff have dodged more than 25 calls from the Cherokeean Herald.

With every twist and turn down this yellow brick road, the Cherokeean Herald attempted to call Mr. Walker for reaction to basic questions.

In contrast, the lines of communication with state Rep. Chuck Hopson (D-Jacksonville) and state Sen. Robert Nichols (R-Jacksonville) have always been prompt, even if their staff had to research a question.

If the Wizard of Oz isn't available to take calls, does anyone have the cell phone number for the guy in the control booth pushing the buttons?

The fact is the Brian Walker campaign did not have Mr. Walker’s grandmother operating as an election judge in Cherokee County. Mr. Walker did not have operatives working as election judges in swing precincts. The only county with the ongoing history of voter fraud and stolen elections is the hometown of the Cherokeean Herald. The only county embroiled in a contested election is the Herald's.

Mr. Walker is smart enough to smell the corruption of a stolen election and equally astute enough not to give interviews to the enemy. Furthermore, the Cherokeean Herald has a 30-year track record of making up fictitious stories for print, without any fact checking by an outside entity. The Cherokeean Herald will not report on the federal crimes of its law enforcement, Post Office employees or kinfolks. Certainly Brian Walker and associates have found a good use for the Rusk, Texas newspaper- lining litter boxes and bird cages. The fact is the editor's hometown Pravda, the Cherokeean Herald, has an eerie resemblance to Nazi propaganda fast forwarded to the present.

County officials quick to certify the voter fraud understood what type of scrutiny they would be exposed to with a Brian Walker victory. The Cherokeean Herald has been unabashedly in support of the Chuck Hopson reelection since the March 2007 primaries. And constantly deflecting the reality of resident child molesters on probation and living amongst them. Probation given to them by Cherokee County’s Elmer Beckworth and the district courts lazily pushing offenders through the docket.

To his credit, State Representative Chuck Hopson (D) introduced legislation in 2005 that would prevent convicted sex offenders receiving State subsidized erection enhancement drugs. Other legislation on the books for Federal Prosecutors includes the Adam Walsh Act, in 18 United States Code 2250, making it a federal crime for sex offenders to travel across state lines and fail to register. More recently is Jessica’s Law, ignored by Cherokee County, TX prosecutors unless it gets a blurb in the paper or the defendant isn't a blood-relative.

Rusk, Texas:

After 18 months of Jessica’s Law being the law of the land and after decades of legal precedent, Cherokee County prosecutors decide that ongoing incestuous relations are illegal, but only to offenders they haven't placed on the next jury pool. Jessica’s Law, introduced as House Bill 8 in Texas, became law on September 1, 2007. Under the provisions of HB 8, legislators proposed a 25 year minimum sentence for first time offenders convicted of child molestation. Dual legislation also created a new offense called “Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Young Child.” Jessica's Law has proven to be an effective weapon for prosecutors willing to prosecute Indecency with Minor charges known to have been ongoing. It was design to be used in every case a sex offense against a child occurs; the law’s origin was not created to be used at the discretion of small town district attorneys trying to get their names in the paper. Children in Cherokee County, TX have been continually abused physically and sexually for decades. The local media helps cover this up. Hence after a year and half of Jessica’s Law being on the books, Cherokee County finally comes out the dark ages.

A quick check of the local newspapers archives of the last 18 months shows only a few cases of unlawful acts with children get prosecuted to the fullest extent of Jessica's Law. In a recent Tyler Paper interview, the Cherokee County District Attorney office boasts the December 10, 2008 conviction of George Henry Williams, Jr. Of course, Williams is not directly related to anyone in the Rusk, TX courthouse.

Like his forefathers and those shielding his conduct, Williams engaged in a continuous incestuous relationship with a 5-year old girl. Prosecutors declined to describe the family connection between Williams and the victim. Had Williams been related to officers of the court, the victim’s story of ongoing assault would have been buried and Jacksonville-based reporters would have written about how great a guy George Williams is to hang out with at the local eatery. Or perhaps thrown his name in as a victim of recent car burglaries. George Williams was arrested on February 3, 2008.

The same District Attorney’s office has instructed their Jacksonville , TX based reporters to ignore the last 18 months the law was in existence. The fact is “Jessica’s Law” has been ignored until someone not related to elected officials arrived on the docket. Anti-pedophile legislation on the books for decades has been available for Texas based district attorneys competent enough to utilize it, without politicizing the crime. HB 8 became the law of the land in 2007, but in the meantime 99 % of the sex offenses in Cherokee County, Texas have been prosecuted as Misdemeanors.

Earlier in May 2008, Jacksonville, Texas resident Glenn R. Wingard (arrested the same day as George Williams) was sentenced to 95 years for aggravated sexual assault of a child. Wingard was arrested one year after the assaults occurred and before Jessica’s Law was enacted. In January, 2008 Rusk, Texas resident Gordon Neal Mathis was sentenced to over 40 years for aggravated sexual assault of a child. That’s it; 3 offenses prosecuted out of the dozens of sex assault cases reported in the Jacksonville Daily Progress since Jessica’s Law became law.

Therefore there has been nothing stopping Cherokee County prosecutors from putting sex offenders on trial other than (1.) the embarrassment of rampant incest throughout the county; and (2.) the embarrassment of prosecuting their previous jury members.

In November 2008 alone, The Jacksonville Daily Progress reported on their back pages the summertime plea bargains of several resident Cherokee County child sex offenders (complete with deliberately misspelled names). These guys received deals not prosecuted under Jessica’s Law:

• Thomas Elledge [sic], sexual assault of a child. The plea agreement was for four years in prison; and
• Justin Paul, aggravated sexual assault of a child. The plea agreement was for eight years in prison.

Not the minimum 25 years established under Jessica's Law.

Rusk, Texas resident and registered sex offender Kevin Lyn Hawes, age 45, was sentenced to 70 years confinement in November 2008 for violating the terms of his probation. Deferred adjudicated probation given to him by District Attorney Elmer Beckworth in 1999, before the invention of the Internet was discovered in Cherokee County. Hawes was arrested in 1998 for attempted sex assault of a 15-year old female. The terms of his 10-year probation sentence included Community Service and not having sleepovers with little kids, both conditions Hawes violated. They pulled straws in the judge's chambers and decided Kevin Hawes needed to be made the sacrificial lamb. Hawes was less than a year from release from Adult Supervison, i.e. probation.

Kevin Lyn Hawes, registered sex offender

Kevin Hawes tried to date rape a 15-year old Rusk, TX girl; Jessica Law would not apply to his case. The fact is the teen testified against Hawes and resulted in his conviction. The Jacksonville Daily Progress reports the Hawes case as if it were in fact a sex crime involving a child much younger, who was unwilling to testify. Hawes probation violations are not prosecutable under Jessica's Law. As a matter of fact, Kevin Hawes' probation revocation has absolutely nothing to do with "Jessica's Law." The Jacksonville Daily Progress would choose their readers to believe otherwise.

And Cherokee County’s Elmer Beckworth continues the lie implied in the article:

Like many cases that deal with victims of this age, many times the victim is unwilling to testify, leading to these cases being dismissed or getting a plea. Thanks to recent changes in the law and more children’s advocacy programs, we’re seeing more and more victims get counseling and are able to testify.

Again, the fact is the 15-year old victim Kevin Hawes attempted to have underage sex with did in fact testify against him. And Hawes' probation violations have nothing to do with Elmer Beckworth’s track record of offering probation to resident Cherokee County sex offenders. God help them if these defendants aren’t related to anybody working in the Rusk, Texas courthouse. Kevin Lyn Hawes is currently(as of January 2009)incarcerated in the Cherokee County jail awaiting transport to TDCJ.

Cherokee County prosecutors have a proven track record lying about their own cases, often just for the sake of diverting attention away from their cronyism. Sometimes they lie just for the ego trip of remaining unchallenged by the local media and in local elections. It keeps the Cult of Confession in check. Not only is Cherokee County steeped in voter fraud, it is immersed in one of the longest ongoing Criminal Court con games in Texas history. This history will be discussed in detail in the coming months along with the upcoming retirement of Criminal Court of Appeals Justice Charles Holcomb. As Cherokee County’s highest ranking State Bar member, Justice Holcomb is mentor to several of Cherokee County’s current swear-ins.

Who will the Governor choose to replace Cherokee County’s favorite son as Justice on what has been called the worst criminal appeals court in the United States? Place 8's appellate Justice won't have to rely on voter fraud to be elected- he or she will get to be appointed by Rick Perry.

Wild hogs pig-out on poison and propaganda

Cherokee County Texas:
Cherokee County bemoans the intrusive feral swine multiplying by the hundreds in East Texas and leaving a path of destruction in their wake. Or so FEMA and other government backed insurance agencies are being told. County Judges, local dairymen and government subsidize farmers throughout the county have written in to the local newspapers to tell of their own stories of how the filthy little beasts have ravaged their mother's flower beds. The State of Texas has agricultural extension services available to local farmers and ranchers coping with the influx of feral hog populations. However, in Cherokee County some well-intentioned dairymen and women have taken the matter in their own hands.
For example in 2004, Jacksonville Texas dairy owner Forrest Dyess and others were charged in federal court for illegally poisoning indigenous and benign wildlife, in order to rid a fellow rancher of feral pigs running across his property. Dyess, a licensed pesticide distributor, sold powerful TEMIK brand poison to Rusk Texas dairyman David Jones, who in turned applied the chemical agent on his buddy Glenn Smith's property. The pesticide was mixed with horse feed and spread along Smith’s property line and resulted in the killing of deer, buzzards and probably a bunch of squirrels (all out of season and/or illegal) and the Game Warden levying a hefty $21,000 in fines to the group.



The Forrest Dyess family dairy located in Jacksonville, TX has been the recipient of over $500,000 in federal disaster aid payments from 1995 to 2006. Cherokee County’s total farm disaster compensation in the time period was $8.7 million, whereas larger Smith County to the North and Nacogdoches County to the South were both only $3.8 million each. Dairies and farms in Nacogdoches and Smith Counties outnumber Cherokee County’s 10:1. Guess it helps having a cousin or three at the county seat declaring every rain event in town a “natural disaster.” And someone who can sympathize when pigs are eating their carnations before the Homecoming.

Jacksonville Texas: FEMA get rich schemes may not be reported in the local media; however a few defrauders found themselves in federal court this month. Lifelong Jacksonville, TX residents Jerry Bovard, age 20, and Joe Murray, age 45, were both charged by federal prosecutors for filing false wind damage claims with FEMA, both claiming to have resided in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. These two unrelated alleged swindlers have never left the county, nonetheless after all the other fraud occurring right down the road, who wouldn’t be tempted to follow suit?

Houston County Texas:
City of Crockett, TX Police Chief Jimmy Fisher resigned after credit card abuse indictments handed down in August 2008. Fisher had obtained credit cards in his son’s (a DPS officer) name, without the latter’s consent.

Anderson County Texas:
Anderson County Commissioner Pct. 3 Ronny Smith resigns after entering a guilty plea of three felony counts of misuse of government funds. Commissioner Smith took $2600 of county asphalt and topsoil to his own property; he was placed on 1 year probation and given a $1000 fine. Quite a common scene in neighboring Cherokee County, but with cousins as County and District Attorneys, the story of former County workers getting new driveways and private property maintenance goes quite literally “buried.” Especially for those related to sitting Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Justice and Cherokee County Bar Association member, Charles Holcomb. Freshly stocked catfish ponds and county bulldozers maintaining private property working on the taxpayer dime is the norm for those sitting at the top (bottom?) of the East Texas political hierarchy. Smith was also accused of taking a tractor hose fitting from county equipment and using it in his garden. Palestine Texas newspapers make a bigger deal out of Commissioner Ronny Smith "borrowing indefinitely" left over county dirt and tractor parts, than Cherokee County does its constables double-dipping as drug runners, a la Randall Thompson.

Cherokee County Texas:
Similarly, former Rusk city hall employee Doris Robinson is scheduled to have jury selection begin on October 14 for her embezzlement trial. Mrs. Robinson was indicted after 18 months of postponement for allegedly stealing over $150,000 from the Rusk Water Department. Mrs. Robinson maintains her innocence and prosecutors, along with defense, are beginning to surmise an “accounting glitch,” so everyone can be paid off equally and this horrid little story will go away.

Cooke County Texas:
Oak Ridge TX Police Chief Michael Todd Lacey pleaded guilty in Federal Court on September 10, 2008 to one count of extortion. Chief Lacey was apparently fond of pulling over Hispanic motorists on Highway 82 and demanding money in exchange for not issuing citations. Lacey was indicted in April 2008 and is now facing 18 months in federal prison for his extortion tactics. He wasn’t raping his traffic stops on the side of road as Jacksonville TX police officer Larry Pugh did recently, but nonetheless Lacey was violating the civil rights of travelers through his gracious jurisdiction.

Kaufman County Texas:
Sunnyvale ISD Jr. High teacher Chad Michael Hutchins was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for possession of child pornography. Hutchins was arrested at his Forney, TX home in June 2007 on similar charges stemming from his correspondences with under age girls on My Space.

Remember the Good Ol' Days Before You Donate, Your District Attorney May Need It To Hire State Witnesses.

Cherokee County, TX has always been a yellow-dog Democrat district. It's political and societal rejects come across as very conservative as they feign their religious and moral convictions, but don't let the benevolent Democrat party tag fool you. They are not liberals; they are not conservatives; they work side by side drug dealers that use extortion to put money in their pockets. If you donate to them, then you need to know where your money is going, to whom and whom they are backing (even if they're pretending to be running against them).

Not all of the law enforcement, court personnel and attorneys are corrupt, but the entire Cherokee County political system has been corrupt for decades. For example, if one of their court appointed defense attorneys faces an Injury by Motor Vehicle civil suit, as in ALLBRIGHT, GREGORY WAYNE VS. TUCKER, BERT NEAL (Cherokee Co. Civil Docket; Case 2001030257) after a day of heavy drinking at the Rusk, TX courthouse, then where is the Cherokee County Bar Association's attorney reprimand? Is it that drunken court appointed counsel is more valuable than sober? Of course; it doesn't matter that an elderly man, a six-year-old girl and a car with a local Rusk family has crashed---sending all involved to the hospital. That is because the Cherokee County District Attorney's office and their associates DEFENDS the actions of an alcoholic bar member. And covers up the fact that people died and committed suicide over their injuries sustained in Cherokee Co. TX Civil Docket; Case 2001030257; Injury Involving a Motor Vehicle ALLBRIGHT VS. TUCKER.

In the 1960's, Cherokee County, TX never reported a single vote until Lyndon B. Johnson told the district judges the exact number of votes needed to win an election. Then Cherokee County would come in with the Democratic votes needed, right at the last minute. Sound familiar? With every voting officer related to the incumbent at the local precinct voting hall, Cherokee County to this day provides more votes than actual registered voters. Could we see the self professed right-wingers and Pro-Lifers do that now in 2007 with the Republican swing vote? Certainly. Cherokee County was corrupt then and it is corrupt now. Even neighboring Smith County has a history of voter machine "break downs" and voter fraud. Smith County and Cherokee County are not part of the state of Texas' Election Administration Management database.

All but 30 counties in Texas are not members of the TEAM's service, and Cherokee County will remain off the charts. There is no formal oversight in the local voting precincts.

This how you have individuals such as former Cherokee County District Attorney Charles Holcomb

Justice Charles Holcomb (R) TXCRIMAPP

being elected to judgeships, even as Cherokee County District Attorney accepting money from a murder victim's insurance payoff and convicting an obviously innocent Nacogdoches gentleman in 1990. And not mentioning it in his Texas State Bar profile that the conviction was reversed by the 12th Court of Appeals in 1993 and the defendant was ACQUITTED of Holcomb's charge of capital murder for remuneration. The case is State v. Terry Watkins; Watkins served 5 years.


Jacksonville Daily Progress June 3, 1993 click pic for large view.
The State was represented by Cherokee County's Elmer Beckworth during the appeal.

The Jacksonville Daily Progress August 23, 1990 ran an article on the actual murder trial, Charles Holcomb's "last big case" as District Attorney of Cherokee County, TX. The trial jurors themselves questioned Holcomb's acceptance of money from the victim's father in order to hire a State witness.


Daily Progress August 23, 1990 click above pic for larger view.

From The State of Texas v. Watkins in 1990:
You would think that state charges would be filed on the recipient of a $800,000 insurance policy of what Holcomb calls a "botched burglary (which was a charge thrown out by the 12th Court of Appeals in Tyler, TX). " The widow he says was "rumored to have had multiple affairs---" even though Holcomb knows the trial lasted for months due to the defense calling all her lovers, including the former police chief of Alto, TX, and several of Holcomb's friends and relatives. Read more at the Dec. 2006 posting.

Is this selective amnesia or a deliberate omission of the truth? The defense in State v. Watkins subpoenaed the various lovers of the victim’s promiscuous widow because her widespread pattern of infidelities was commonly known. This was not inconsequentially vaguely “rumored” but instead reported as the trial progressed. Many of her lovers were called to the stand, and as such, the State vs. Terry Watkins (1990) was the longest running criminal trial in Cherokee County, TX history.


Cherokeean Herald August 2, 1990 Click pic for larger image.

Is it honorable for a sitting Justice on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to cite to the Texas State Bar patently false resolutions to cases he prosecuted? Or is this the version Charles Holcomb wants the Bar to print because there are no old news articles from his hometown in circulation to prove he is in fact, being dishonest? Or no attorney within the Bar would research the case State v. Watkins (1990) on Find Law, because Holcomb's colleagues on the 12th Court of Appeals in Tyler chose not to publish the ruling against Holcomb who had just been elected to the bench?
Read Judge Charles Holcomb's State Bar profile for further comparison.

Ask yourself before you donate in the Cherokee County, Texas primaries:
Is the money you give going to a candidate who is pretending to be a God fearing Republican or an opportunistic pervert?
Is the money going into someone's wife's new S-Class Mercedes, to make up for the secret escapades of a bored and alcoholic trial attorney?

Is this guy you're turning over your hard earned money to a bonafide civil rights championing Democrat, or did he do his part in blaming the victims of racially motivated beatings at the hands of Cherokee County, TX law enforcement?

Do these guys actually play golf with each other and laugh all the way to the bank for basically doing nothing, because their paychecks depend not only defending and prosecuting the petty crimes of a handful of locals, but getting a cut from the REAL drug dealers working in law enforcement?

Has your trial lawyer candidate ever been involuntarily committed to drug rehab by the District Judge and Cherokee County Bar Association? Has this attorney been given court appointed representation for his DUI's, yet assigned local court appointed service as a friend of the Cherokee County District Court? Has he drunk himself literally to death as he is in and out the hospital, but at the same time assigned to 'represent' indigent clients on the docket?

And lastly, is your choice for public office simply hedging votes for a buddy, just to turn around and endorse an "opponent"- one of the oldest tricks in the book!

Is that where you want your children's future to be in the hands of? A county with multiple drug convictions of its bailiffs, constables and police chiefs; AND NOT ONE ARREST BY THE CHEROKEE COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT?

If you enjoy having your property taxes and city services monies stolen by the government employees you elected (and will never be prosecuted for embezzlement), then Cherokee County is the place to for you live and do business. If you don't have a problem with the constable that serves your subpoenas (and works as your bailiff in the court house), why, if don't care that he's dealing drugs while he "enforces the law," then the welcome mat is rolled out for you. Remember that when you attend a good ol' fashioned political rally with cupcakes and pecan pies for sale. The drug dealer of your choice depends on it.