Blaming the Victims. Murder trials postponed to showboat March primaries. Where shady dog kin lie.

Sardis, TX:

Cherokee County, Texas and others have smeared another homicide victim at the hands of Cherokee County deputies. Namely former Lufkin detective Allen Wallace who was gunned down over his mother’s grave in Sardis, TX in September 2007. Police blog sites describe Wallace as 'unstable' in an article sent in and titled “Cherokee County (Texas) Deputies Shoot and Kill Nutcase Former Lufkin Police Officer Allen Lee Wallace over his Mother’s Grave" Typical Cherokee County, TX propaganda; Mr. Wallace was not a “nutcase.” The above mentioned article cites that in 2000 the retired detective had a verbal confrontation with a home builder that was investigated by authorities. However it does not cite the fact that the contractor Wallace was accused of threatening, according to Angelina County district attorney investigator Ron Brandon, was sentenced in 2002 on deceptive practices charges and placed on 10 years probation for mishandling Wallace’s construction account.

Friends and loved ones of the Allen “Stinger” Wallace family also paint a different picture of the gunned down retiree, suicided at the hands of Cherokee County, TX deputies. This is what is called playing both sides of the fence: passing the case onto the Texas Rangers for a verifiable examination of the shooting, yet smearing the deceased as a “nutcase.”

Similarly, in 2005 Jacksonville, TX resident Jennifer Hester was described as “drunk and passed out in her apartment complex parking lot” after a night of “celebration” after graduating from nursing school. She was struck by a vehicle and killed steps from her front door, the driver No-Billed by a Cherokee County Texas grand jury and the homicide investigation potted. Shows you how easy it is to get off when you’re related to the right people in Cherokee County, TX. If the driver of the vehicle had, let’s say, run over an actual transient drunk sleeping under a bridge in Dallas County, then certainly charges would have been levied: involuntary manslaughter.

Former Jacksonville, TX police officer Larry Pugh’s rape victims were also portrayed as homeless drug addicts by the media. No inquest needed for their timely disappearances in the Angelina National Forest prior to Pugh’s federal trial.

Convicted Jacksonville, TX police officer Larry Pugh

Apparently it’s easier to smear victims in the media than it is to follow the letter of law.

Anderson and Cherokee County, hand-in-hand and out of sync with the rest of the region, will be losing out in $50,000 federal grant monies to its Rape Crisis Centers due to an “error on the application.” The Crisis Center of Anderson and Cherokee Counties was seeking extra funding made available for peripheral expenditures for state operated rape centers. The same centers had their state funding completely cut earlier this year. By losing the funding, these local crisis centers can return to not being able to collect a local rapist cop's DNA, while their compromising policies and procedures remain hidden from government oversight. Losing all state and federal funding is nothing to be proud of. Articles posted on the same day show that Cherokee County, TX is more interested in its stray dog problem, than with funding for female victims of sexual assault.
That is of course if the problem is illegal dog fighting or killing neighbor's cats, then the Cherokee County Texas county attorney and sheriff can ignore the problem and reassert PETA's position that Cherokee County's Project Got to Fool 'Em Everyday (when your relatives get caught) is hiding behind fictitious legal statutes. Excuses excuses.

Rusk, Texas: 42-year-old Gordon Mathis sentenced to 8 years in federal prison for child porn in Tyler’s federal district court.

Gilmer, Texas: Upshur County Sheriff’s Deputy Richard Louis Bridgewater, 29 from Big Sandy, has been charged with child indecency after an 11-year-old female came forward with allegations that the deputy had inappropriate contact with her multiple times at his home. Deputy Bridgewater admitted to the charges during an interview with the Texas Rangers. The molestation had been going on for over a year.

Palestine, Texas: Owners of the fraudulent oil and gas investment scheme Caddo Creek Productions, Inc. were sentenced December 7, 2007 in federal court. Donald and Cheryl Douglas of Palestine, TX have to pay over $1 million in restitution to the victims they defrauded. Mr. Douglas faces over 3 years in federal prison; Mrs. Douglas was sentenced to 5 years probation. The Palestine, TX couple conned East Texas investors by claiming non-existent oil and gas drilling production and leases in the area, but used the money for personal expenditures. Mr. Douglas had been indicted on State charges in Anderson County, TX.

Jacksonville, Texas: Just in the nick of time, another murder trial for the Cherokee County District Attorney to champion, Bernie Lucas, 52, held police at bay during an hour-long standoff at his Jacksonville, TX home in October 2007. Lucas will be on trial for the murder of 43-year-old Shelia Gray, also of Jacksonville, who was found shot to death during the standoff.
Still no murder investigation into the missing federal witnesses against ex-Jacksonville, TX police officer and convicted rapist Larry Pugh, nor the witness’ remains found in the Angelina National Forest.

Terri Reyes (l) and Shunte Coleman (r) missing Cherokee Co. TX residents.

However a December 1, 2007 article in the Tyler Morning Telegraph shows that other state agencies are quick to charge potential murderers after the disappearance of citizens, even without a body covered in DNA. People go missing, suspects are arrested, and that is in counties other than Cherokee County, Texas. Prosecution witnesses go missing before a decorated Jacksonville, TX police officer’s federal trial; instead they are reported as homeless drug addicts that deserved the euthanasia.

Rusk, TX: For December 2007, it is again reported that convicted murderers Buenka Adams and Richard Cobb had their appeals rejected, to keep the trial fresh on the minds of those voting in the Cherokee County primaries (and to make it appear Cherokee County tried more than 1 murder case in the last 3 years)
The Tyler Morning Telegraph : reports in December 2007 the same thing that was reported in June 2007: death row inmates Adams and Cobb have lost their appeals. Nothing has changed since then; no federal appeals on the horizon for Richard Cobb. So the Tyler, TX news agencies get a quick blurb to go over the same Cherokee County trial that took place 4 years ago? The article reports, without a timeline or date, that Adams and Cobb lost their appeals in the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Adams was denied a writ of habeas corpus that his attorneys filed in November 2007.

Cherokee County Texas media reported in June 2007 that both Adams and Cobb lost their direct appeals in the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. The end. So every 3 months up to March primaries, reports of the same rejected appeals to give the impression the Cherokee County TX district attorney’s office is hard at work? The point is Buenka Adams and Richard Cobb's latest appeal was lost in June 2007. No date of the rejection is provided by staff writers of this article that is reprinted every time they are told to.

The fact is Texas death row inmates Beunka Adams and Richard Cobb really lost their last appeal 6 months ago and have been sentenced to death. Their execution dates have not been set yet. Both Richard Cobb and Beunka Adams have depravity points of 21 according to the American Judicature Society and certainly deserve to die by lethal injection. So report that when it happens.
The murder rate in Cherokee County, TX unfortunately for those seeking "victim's rights awards" is 1000% lower than neighboring counties. 1 murder reported in 2004 and ZERO homicides reported in 2005 according to City Data.

death row inmate Beunka Adams

Beunka Adams and Richard Cobb were convicted of robbing a Rusk, TX convenience store, kidnapping and assaulting two female employees, then murdering a third male hostage.
The above-mentioned trial of Beunka Adams and Richard Cobb took place in 2004. An Anderson County jury sentenced Adams after a change of venue sent the final phase of the trail to Cherokee County's sister jurisdiction.

In October 2004, the now defunct Dogwoods Trail Narcotics Task Force indiscriminately arrested 72 Anderson County, TX residents during the failed crystal meth roundup of the century. Same Tulia tactics used, resulting in the shooting of an unarmed black man wanted on an unrelated though outstanding marijuana arrest warrant. If defendants are black or indigent, no evidence needs to be reviewed by Cherokee County or Anderson County juries; they are presumed guilty. It's the "hang 'em high" mentality that can't be shaken easily after decades of corruption and racism ingrained in the region. And rest assured, these innocent people’s appeals never make it to local papers. Only when appeals are favorable to incumbents, are they reported ad nauseum. If the district judge makes a 'judicial error' then the case itself will not be published by the 12th Court of Appeals and the precedent hidden from legal research. And let's be honest here: East Texas prosecutors don't have to prove anything when the jury is stacked with kith and kin.

Cherokee County, TX has not had a murder trial to grandstand since the Beunka Adams/Richard Cobb sentencing. Michael Harris of Jacksonville was given a plea deal after killing his ex-wife because his bail was set repeatedly for the same offense, the driver of the pickup that struck and killed Jennifer Hester also of Jacksonville was given a No-Bill, and Jacksonville, TX police officer Larry Pugh was only given 12 years concurrent state time on top of his 12+ federal years for rape and retaliation. Murders and homicides have taken place in Cherokee County since the Buenka Adams/Richard Cobb trial; however they are neither reported nor make it to a judicial hearing. But Cherokee County is gearing up another 'once in a lifetime' murder trial to make waves and the headlines with Bernie Lucas at the helm. And each step of the appeal process will be repeatedly reported as if it just occurred. To make it look it like everybody at the Cherokee County Texas courthouse is busy. Busy as cats in a litter box.

Rusk, Texas: In a county of less than 50,000, the reports on the Cherokee County, TX county attorney’s office is that the staff is ‘overwhelmed with case loads’ and had to hire an assistant county attorney. The article cites the multitude of Child Protective Services’ citations and Crisis Center protective orders being issued throughout the county. A good decision to hire an outsider to handle cases, this way Cherokee County judges can avoid being reprimanded for backlogging the local docket as they pursue their side jobs as visiting judges in other counties, you know, clearing mental health commitments out of their jurisdiction. Does the backlog of cases for the Cherokee County's county attorney include the arrests made by convicted rapist and ex-patrolman Larry Pugh’s?

Last year, there was enough time for Craig Caldwell’s office to try Larry Hinton of Jacksonville, TX with misdemeanor charges of “interfering with Larry Pugh’s police investigation,” even though the charge is a felony. Hinton was acquitted in county court and settled with the city of Jacksonville, TX on Larry Pugh’s excessive force. Hinton's wife was beaten and tasered during the Tomato Bowl melee and Hinton's teeth kicked in during Pugh's arrest. The Cherokee County district attorney's office did not get their hands dirty on the Larry Hinton court case; they let Craig Caldwell take the credit.

Upcoming murder trials have been pushed back on the Cherokee County Texas docket, right in time for March’s elections. No real need to go out and buy election signs when incumbents are installed in their positions for life and they run against, well NO ONE. Cherokee County Texas rarely has challengers, even in opposite political parties, for Sheriff, Judge, County Judge and/or District Attorney. However, other neighboring counties actually trying to clean up the corruption in their respective agencies see more names on the ballot. And they don’t use murder victims to ham up the local media.

Henderson, TX: In Rusk County, after episodes of police corruption were exposed in the Rusk Co. Sheriff’s department, retired law enforcement vie for Sheriff of the beleaguered county.
The candidates pledge to clean up Rusk County, Texas after June 2007’s suicide of retiring Lt. Fred Dunlap, investigator Michael Davis’ insurance fraud conviction and Deputy Kenneth Martin’s child porn possession. In May 2007, Lt. Johnny Davidson, Jr. and Chief Deputy Dusty Flanagan pleaded guilty to sexual harassment of a female coworker. Current Rusk County Sheriff Glenn Deason has not filed for re-election as of December 2007. The issue of official oppression and political corruption is being openly addressed in the media and amongst voters.

Repetitious reports of the same murder trial that was settled in 2004, as in the Beunka Adams and Richard Cobb death sentence, won’t convince Rusk County, Texas voters to continue with the same old patterns of police misconduct and deceit. So if you are voting in the Cherokee County Texas primaries, make sure you avoid the booths that are serving 'nature's brownies.'
That's the staple of life for the incumbents.

http://www.cherokeecountytexas.blogspot.com

Drug Deals and Insurance Pay Offs for all

Why so much corruption in such a small place?

I have been doing internet research on East Texas corruption and came across the interview of Joe Gray from Henderson, TX posted in 2001.  Mr. Gray gives detailed accounts of his experiences in nearby Anderson County and his theories about District Judge Bascom Bentley.

Judge Bentley also operates in neighboring Cherokee County and Leon County.

Joe Gray's article states East Texas officials have generationally benefited from the ongoing narcotics trade by being involved in it at ever level. Not only are federal monies under the Byrne grants siphoned off by these corrupt small town law enforcement agencies, but local officials use the Tulia Laws to grab up foreclosed property of supposed drug dealers. One of Mr. Gray's talking points is that Bascom Bentley III owned over 600 acres in Anderson County; land he apparently did not inherit but accumulated over the years to sell off. Tulia law injustices are common and even more common are Byrne grant monies being swindled to family members and political allies.


Mr. Gray's para-military/militia preoccupation would make his wild claims of "black helicopters" and DNA theft at the county jail seem laughable to the outside media and the US Attorney's office, thus making him, in the eyes of local officials, the ideal candidate for property foreclosure. Those who publicly complain about the corruption have been met with law suits, police raids, and death.

In Bentley v. Bunton- Texas, in 1996 Judge Bascom Bentley successfully filed a defamation suit against a Palestine radio talk show host who called the judge "corrupt" among other things on air. If that were the case then the South East Texas Political Review whose radio talk show host calls by name, the entire judiciary in Beaumont "corrupt and incompetent" would be liable (libel?) Who knows? Bentley may have just benefited by being in the system when the thousands of acres in Palestine were seized and put up for sale. Being a district judge may have given him first shot at low bid at the Sheriff's Auction.


Whatever the basis of Joe Buntly's "personal vendetta" against the Anderson/Cherokee County judge, the fact remains the legal and law enforcement system operating with the corrupt Dogwood Narcotics Task Force out of Palestine, has branched into drug dealing. And under Tulia laws, a simple accusation results in forfeiture of property. The rest of Texas is shying away from this practice and there is now legislation to reign in these rouge anti-drug task forces. It took Governor Rick Perry to pardon 35 innocent defendants convicted under Tulia laws, while the good ol' boys who prosecuted them 'retire' to Lake Palestine and Lake Jacksonville (with a little extra cash and land).(Source: CBS News


The drug trade in neighboring Cherokee County involves local constable precincts, not the district courts per se. The district courts are involved in more personal enrichment schemes, like sexual blackmail of enemies and phone tapping. Typically Anderson County probably does not operate the same as its twin sister Cherokee County. I would call Cherokee County the genetically defunct second cousin to Anderson County. Judge Bentley behaves one way on the record in Anderson County court and completely different in Cherokee County because he knows he is unaccountable in the Rusk, TX courthouse. Cherokee County is simply not astute enough in its own self-worship to produce an official who would clean up the mess, without being extorted or blackmailed by the District Attorney's office. God knows they hate people talking about them, i.e. they have convinced themselves that it is moral, albeit illegal, to tape record phone calls of citizens throughout the county. They will collectively smear and repeat any propaganda that the District Attorney tells them, not matter how ludicrous or unrealistic, for job security. Mind you 90% of them are related. What a way to make an East Texas living.


Cherokee County law enforcement turns a blind eye to its own internal drug activity while at the same time paying off drug mules and jail house snitches. It is the usual suspects, one being a former DEA agent out of the Dogwood Narco-Force and a recently "retired" Cherokee County District Attorney Investigator. Readers should applaud that the corrupt Dogwood Narcotics Task Force, based out of Palestine is no more. The only thing the unchecked Tulia Laws created with this pseudo-agency was the ongoing drug trade by Cherokee County law enforcement. There is a vacuum of drug dealing to fill, now that these good ol' Christian men have "retired." It takes neighboring Smith County and the US Attorney to file charges on the current culprits while at the same time relying on the same people for drug bust quotas.


In regards to the drug dealing of law enforcement in Cherokee County; let me give you some info on Cherokee County's unscrupulous activity to be found on the internet. These news articles list the illegal activity in Cherokee County just this year alone, in 2006!!! The firing of Constable Precinct 3 Randall Thompson who was also the Cherokee County District court's bailiff for Judge Bascom Bentley III. Fired for not showing up for his bailiff post. Local media portrays Thompson as missing for 6 months, then gathered a constable's hearing together the day before Thompson was indicted in federal court. Ostensibly, the district court did not know that Constable Randy Thompson had been making and selling speed, if you believe such nonsense. Details found at the US Department of Justice news release. Constable Randall Thompson had participated in all his assigned duties until his arrest.

• The firing of the New Summerfield Chief of Police after being fired from the Cherokee County Sheriff's Dept.

• Chief of Police Chester Kennedy of Troup and Sgt. Mark Turner arrested by Smith County Sheriff Department for selling drugs. NO arrests by Cherokee County officials.

• Jacksonville, TX police officer Larry Pugh molesting women during traffic stops; it again takes the FBI to arrest him and charge him on 9 counts of rape and assault. AND when the guy is out on bond he tries to kill one of victims to keep from testifying.

• More on Troup, Texas Police Chief Chester Kennedy caught tampering with drug evidence in future posts.

• In New Summerfield, north of Rusk on Hwy 84. Chief of Police and city treasurer fired; mayor resigns after cleaning house.
• A Jacksonville, TX woman is run down and killed in her own apartment complex. No investigation required according to current Cherokee County District Attorney Elmer C. Beckworth, Jr. The victim was a drunk 'passed out in the parking lot.' Beckworth offered no explanation for not bringing the case to trial; why bother to convene a formal grand jury when you know the outcome. Why even bother to NO-Bill the culprit, it's easier to smear a hit-and-run fatality to the media.

To combat the systemic corruption, HB 1239 was written in 2004 and debated after the Tulia debacle, when 46 people were rounded up in Swisher County Texas during a drug sting and put on trial. Their properties were seized and several quick convictions handed down. The Dogwood Trails Narcotic Task Force was quietly dissolved after bad publicity leaked out about the 72 indigent defendants with court appointed Anderson County lawyers being set free after their properties were seized. 60 Minutes did an expose' in 2004 of the sham arrests in Tulia, TX.

The televised interview tells it all. Complete with gypsy cops with criminal records.



There were never any official arrests on record in Cherokee County by the Dogwood Task Force, though they conducted numerous raids. One botched raid simultaneously occurred in Jacksonville and Alto, TX, when the Force raided the wrong homes in an obvious attempt at "asset seizure." The Department of Justice documented that the Dogwood Trails Narcotic Task Force operating under the radar in Cherokee and Anderson County reported no seized assets during the year 2002, despite having conducted numerous raids. And no arrests to back up the raids. Where did the seized drugs and money go???

In neighboring Cherokee County, the get rich scheme of choice is insurance fraud. This trend started decades ago. Fire insurance policies are underwritten as quickly as property is destroyed. Unlicensed insurance agents have frequently set up shop in small towns like Alto, TX and Rusk, TX. Any 'claims adjustment' is done by local law enforcement. The county has been operated for over 30 years by family members and in-laws of the Cherokee County District Attorney's office. Namely, former District Attorney Charles Holcomb, who is now a sitting Justice on the Court of Criminal Appeals in Austin.

Judge Charles Holcomb has deliberately omitted some factual tidbits from his State Bar profile about his "last big case in Alto, TX" back in 1990, in which Holcomb convicted an innocent man. Holcomb fails to mention in his profile that the 12th Court of Criminal Appeals in Tyler, which Holcomb was sitting on, reversed this conviction in 1993.


Charles Holcomb's state bar profile on "his last colorful case in Alto, TX" should accurately read: In 1990, Cherokee County District Attorney Charles Holcomb succeeded in convincing a biased jury to convict an innocent man of murder. The victim's CPA, Terry Watkins of Nacogdoches, was sentenced to life in prison by relatives of the deceased who were planted on the trial jury. And lied during voir dire to be seated on the case-a typical Cherokee County maneuver. Holcomb also refused to recuse himself. After intense public outcry and scrutiny, Watkins' attorney John Heath, Sr. (also of Nacogdoches, TX) was able to successfully petition the Tyler Court of Appeals and had Terry Watkins released 5 years into his life sentence. It was shown that "the sheriff deputy first on the scene," as Holcomb's publicist recalls, and the widow shared the "$800K" life insurance policy with the Cherokee County District Attorney's Office "to hire outside state witnesses" and according to Holcomb's statements to KTRE an investigator paid "not to solve the case."

District Attorney Charles Holcomb not only accepted money from the deceased’s father to hire an expert witness, Holcomb also accepted money from the murder victim’s widow to hire a private investigator. In an obvious attempt at shifting the onus of suspicion away from anyone other than Mr. Terry Watkins. Or in defense attorney John Heath, Sr.’s comments to hire an investigator but “not to solve the case.” However the investigator was not allowed by Holcomb to interview the widow nor the Cherokee County Constable first on the scene. Eventually this private investigator came to Terry Watkins' defense during resentencing. As stated earlier, the sheriff deputy as Holcomb 'vaguely' recalls was actually a Cherokee County Constable Precinct 2 who formally married the victim's wife months after the murder.

The widow and Cherokee County Constable live happily ever after, splitting a murdered man's estate, the recipients of an accurately reported $650,000 life insurance payout to everyone involved. As if Charles Holcomb, the prosecutor and now a sitting Justice did not remember. Well preserved news article of the murder trial speak volumes.

 

Back to Justice Charles Holcomb's state bar profile, especially the part where he discusses "his last big case in Alto" from 1990. Charles Holcomb, as District Attorney, accepted monies from the widow of murdered business owner Jackie Hicks of Alto, TX as reported by KTRE and the Lufkin News, ostensibly to send a private investigator on a wild goose chase to south Texas. Even though Holcomb had the coffers of the state of Texas at his disposal. Even though the number one suspect would have normally been the promiscuous widow receiving the $600- $800K insurance policy taken out on her estranged husband, Jackie Hicks. Of course the widow and her lover (a Cherokee County Constable "first on the scene") were never formally questioned nor deposed by the then District Attorney Charles Holcomb nor by his 'investigator.'

Holcomb gives his version of events to the State Bar in an attempt to rewrite history. The fact is an innocent man was released after 5 years on the above mentioned technicalities because of Charles Holcomb's handling of the case. The question on the jurors' and the community's mind was why was the District Attorney Charles Holcomb accepting money to "hire state witnesses" when he had the coffers of the State of Texas and Cherokee County at his disposal? A double indemnity policy pays out for accidental deaths and would not have paid out in case of a homicide, another misdirection of the Cherokee County District Attorney's office even then. Holcomb's quick recap of the case in his State Bar profile quotes the widow "was rumored to have multiple affairs" throughout the community. Because of the number of multiple lovers of the widow that the defense called, State v. Terry Watkins (1990) was the longest running criminal trial in Cherokee County history.

Cherokeean Herald August 2, 1990

District Attorney Charles Holcomb was elected to the 12th Court of Appeals in Tyler, TX and his assistant Cherokee County District Attorney, Elmer C. Beckworth, Jr. continued the façade that the murder of Jackie Hicks was thoroughly "investigated." The case against Terry Watkins received so much public outcry and so many people cried foul, that the next-in-line Alto, TX police chief Thomas Griffith was called to a grand jury.
Tyler Morning Telegraph article about former Alto, Texas police chief Thomas Griffith predicting the conviction of Terry Watkins for the murder of Alto, TX business owner Jackie Hicks would be reversed and the case reopened because:

“there are people in this area who possess information that would be very useful in this case.” Chief Griffith would eventually be drummed out of his position by Charles Holcomb's relatives on the Alto, TX city council. Thomas Griffith had publicly maintained his belief that Terry Watkins was in fact innocent and had evidence to back up his statements. Holcomb's former investigator would eventually become the police chief of Alto, TX, a revolving door position. Any evidence maintaining Watkins' innocence would be ignored by Beckworth, et al, until Watkins' conviction was overturned. Elmer Beckworth argued for the State and against Watkins' early release which was eventually granted. The 12th Court of Appeals reversed that conviction and acquitted Watkins in 1992 of capital murder. At a 1995 resentencing, Watkins was denied an early release and sentenced to five years for murder (he had already served over 4 years) as reported in 1996 by Charles Holcomb's hometown paper The Cherokeean Herald.

Cherokeean Herald Feb. 22, 1996 Terry Watkins was freed by the Texas 12th Court of Appeals, with a commuted murder sentence, thereby closing the door on a local 'investigation' into the murder of Jackie Hicks of Alto. However, the statute of limitations is always open for the State's Attorney to seek murder charges. If any reader has information on this conspiracy, they should contact the Attorney General’s office. Those guilty of this crime should not go unpunished, no matter whose wing they may be under and no matter how long it takes.

It may be commonplace in East Texas for innocent people to be charged with crimes committed by law enforcement, however a sitting Justice on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals lying to the State Bar about a murder case he prosecuted and lost on appeal is another thing all together. Good luck on your website and your expose' of East Texan politics both good and bad. The narco-trade is alive and well in Cherokee County. Each time I read about one, I'll post it for the world to see. Who knows, maybe a 6th grader in Rusk, TX might want to do a book report on local corruption or the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Or a kid in China might want to find out what's going on in East Texas. Or a Houston or Dallas/FW based entrepreneur might have second thoughts about doing business in a county that has an entrenched history of drug dealers, rapists and murderers on the payroll.