Saturday, May 5, 2007

369th Judicial District Court bailiff convicted on METH charges in Cherokee County, Texas

bailiff (n): A sworn peace officer and officer of the court that maintains order and security within the courtroom by assisting in the administration of court functions as directed by the judge and clerk.
 

To avoid confusion in the ongoing Nacro-drug trade of Cherokee County, Texas law enforcement, this US Department of Justice news release from January 2006 is posted here: http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/txe/news_release/news/thompson_moore.pdf  

This is regard to Cherokee County Constable (Pct. 3) and acting court bailiff for the 369th Judicial District being arrested and convicted for intent to distribute methamphetamines. The headline should read "Officer of 369th Judicial District, Cherokee Co. TX, Sentenced to 10 Years for Intent to Distribute Drugs."  

Note to readers: this is not the Chester Kennedy (chief of police in Troup, TX) arrest, but the indictment of Cherokee County precinct 3 constable Randall Lee Thompson, 38 of Jacksonville, TX . The 60 year Troup police chief Chester Kennedy's arraignment can be read at: http://www.news8austin.com/content/top_stories/default.asp?ArID=156663 (AP) 

Chester Kennedy was found guilty on two counts in Nov. 2006 and sentenced a month later to 10 years. He was later "fired" by Troup, TX city council on a vote of "non confidence." Kennedy was also taking drugs and money as bribes to cover up other crimes.
 

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Troup, TX is on the border of Smith and Cherokee Counties.

This posting is in regards to Constable Pct. 3 and 369th District Court bailiff Randall Thompson. Constable Thompson was busted by the feds for distributing meth, unbeknownst to the Cherokee County District Court and Sheriff's Department. This Law Dog's salary was paid for and approved by the Cherokee County Commissioners Court. Constable Thompson was further employed by the Cherokee County Sheriff's Department, during his drug dealing stints, at the county Correction Facility, making ends meet as a jailer for TDCJ's Hodges Unit in Rusk, TX. Thompson was facing 20 years in federal prison.

 

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Of course in typical East Texas/Cherokee County fashion, the local media did not initially report that Constable "Randy" Thompson worked as a bailiff for the Cherokee County District Courts found at URL: http://www.jacksonvilleprogress.com/local/local_story_011111403.html
 
The aforementioned article indicates (if you can find it) that Thompson was removed from his post by Judge Bascom Bentley III for not showing up for his baliff's duties. Probably didn't know that Thompson was sitting in a federal holding block on a million dollar bond ...A drug dealing bailiff that represented the 369th Judicial District and coordinated case loads with the Cherokee County District courts.
 
Several former members of the now defunct Dogwood Trails Narcotic Task Force have passed through the halls of the Cherokee County courthouse. According to the Rusk, TX city council minutes from February 2006 there was an ongoing need for the "Burn (sic) Grants," i.e. Byrne grant money to clean-up the methamphetamine labs in the county. Constable Randy Thompson (Precinct 3) was busily doing his part in the drug enforcement arena at the Cherokee County courthouse for years, before Judge Bascom Bentley III and a fictitious hearing "fired" him.
 
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The Jacksonville Daily Progress article dated January 11, 2006 is oblivious of the fact that the US DOJ had arrested Constable Thompson for drug dealing. The question is: how can that Thompson was "a no-show" for his bailiff assignment but salaried as a Hodge Unit jailer- missing his duties for over a month? For the trials and hearings he sat in on providing courtroom security? 
 
We will post the outcome of the Randall Thompson federal appeals, if it is reported by the local media outlets. Latest posts from J'ville Daily Progress for March 6, 2006 was that Constable Thompson plead guilty to "possession/distribution of approximately 108 grams of pseudo-ephedrine, a component of methamphetamine."
 
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No mention of the fact that Randall "Randy" Thompson was the assigned bailiff for District Judge Bascom Bentley III 's court. NO more reporting can be found posted by local media on Cherokee County drug dealings. But a good picture and a sob story of underfunding in Precinct 3 ran in June 2005, featuring a healthy Randall Thompson pumping gas into a county vehicle, at his own expense:
 
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Thompson's quote is that he " spends at least $600 a month on gas. But he gets only $150 from the county. That forces him to take at least $450 out of his own pocket every month."  www.kltv.com/Global/story.asp?S=3625355
 
 
READERS: Be sure to read the article at URL: http://www.jacksonvilleprogress.com/local/local_story_011111403.html where Cherokee County officials try to cover for the "missing" bailiff / constable, without acknowledging in print, that in fact Constable/Bailiff Thompson was incarcerated by the feds. Meth appears to be the drug of choice for East Texas law enforcement over the years. A March 28, 1991 article from the Cherokeean Herald shows a TDCJ Skyview correctional officer being arrested for conspiring to manufacture methamphetamines in his speed lab out in the Anderson County boondocks.
 
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Click pic for larger image.
 
 
Cherokee County has its private methamphetamine users (found at U.S. Attorney media release on February 17, 2007 ) who do pose a threat to society, like this guy storing explosives in his home in Jacksonville, TX, http://www.ntxe-news.com/artman/publish/article_40543.shtml Arrests of this nature are published as the shining example of Cherokee County law enforcement, hard at work with federal agencies, actually putting a dent in the East Texas drug trade, instead of scoffing at the law and arbitrarily enforcing it. However, a constable such as Randall Thompson that makes drugs for distribution, but is obviously not a drug user or addict, is apparently trying to hook members of the local community.
 
http://www.cherokeecountytexas.blogspot.com

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The guy had three jobs to hold down, no wonder he thought he could make a few dollars more rigging up smack for the courthouse.