Three-time felon arrested over ten times before shooting Jacksonville cop

In 1990, Smith County convicted Jacksonville, TX resident Bobby Michael Dennis on his third felony for Aggravated Robbery. He was sentenced to 5 years TDCJ Huntsville. After his third strike, Cherokee County arrested Bobby Dennis in 2011 for AGGRAVATED ASSAULT WITH A DEADLY WEAPON, released him on a $20,000 bond and back onto the streets of Jacksonville.  Almost 15 years later, it took nearly killing a police officer to get federal prosecutors involved in Bobby Dennis' dismissed gun charges. 

 Jacksonville, TX:   

(Nov. 19, 2025) The Eastern District of Texas U.S. Attorney’s Office has charged Bobby Michael Dennis, 64, on federal firearms violations after a four-day manhunt in the Jacksonville area early this month. Dennis opened fire with a stolen AR-15 on a Jacksonville police officer issuing an outstanding arrest warrant stemming from a firearm theft in June 2025. Following the shooting, Dennis was placed on Texas' 10 Most Wanted Fugitive Lists and Gov. Greg Abbott's office tacked on an additional $10,000 reward for his capture. Bobby Dennis' local bond is set at $1.3 million. He faces life in prison.

What happens in Cherokee County stays in Cherokee County.

Bobby Dennis had been convicted in Arkansas for felony domestic violence and drug possession; and again in 1990 for aggravated robbery in Smith County, Texas. He was released from prison 5 years later. That didn't stop him spending the next 15 years driving around drunk and high without a license or insurance in Cherokee County. Beginning in 2005, Bobby Dennis was arrested over ten times for the same crimes, but never saw inside a Cherokee County courtroom after his charges miraculously vanished with "time served in the Rusk jail" and unenforced probation deals. In June of this year alone, he was arrested during a traffic stop and released on nine charges:

#1 THEFT OF FIREARM
#2 Unlicensed carrying weapon (by a felon)
#3 Possession of marijuana less than 2 ounces
#4 Speeding
#5 No motor vehicle liability insurance
#6 Violation promise to appear for speeding
#7 Failure to display license plates 
#8 No motor veh liability, 2nd offense
#9 Failure to appear

According to Cherokee County arrest records, three-time felon Bobby Dennis was arrested for multiple drug, gun, and motor vehicle violations over the years, released on bail, and not prosecuted. 20 years of Cherokee County, TX criminal cases against Bobby Dennis, a Jacksonville resident with three prior felony convictions:

06/19/2005 - DUI/Fake license plates          
11/29/2007 - Motion to Adjudicate DUI          
04/26/2011 - Aggravated assault w/deadly weapon           
04/15/2016 - 2nd DUI           
12/12/2018 - Motion to Withdraw 2nd DUI charge           
01/15/2019 - DUI "2nd" Offense
09/11/2020 - Violation of bond
11/13/2024 - Speeding, failure to appear, no insurance
06/25/2025 - Theft of firearm, marijuana, speeding, no insurance
11/05/2025 - Attempted capital murder of a police officer

Three strikes and he's still in the game.

By 2017, Bobby Dennis' relationship with Jacksonville authorities began to detoriate into interlocal disputes. What to do to with a habitual offender getting too old to be of value to the district attorney and narcotics officers? Dennis' encounters with Jacksonville police escalated over the years as his multiple charges continued to be dismissed. According to local accounts, law enforcement's catch-and-release was just an entertaining game of cat and mouse. In 2024, Dennis filed a civil lawsuit against the City of Jacksonville claiming his rights were being violated by the municipal judge, city attorney, and police department. The suit was dismissed October 2, 2025.  Eastern District of Texas (Case No. 6:24-cv-00247) 

Getting Greg Abbott's attention.

To reward Cherokee County district courts on their stellar performances this week, Gov. Greg Abbott appointed the 369th District Court judge as the interim 12th Court of Appeals justice. Michael Davis sits on former 369th District Judge Bascom Bentley's bench for the counties of Anderson, Cherokee and Leon. His appointment to the Tyler Court of Appeals vacancy begins Nov.1 and is set to expire on Dec. 31, 2026. Abbott's and Davis' offices have made no public comment on how many times convicted felons possessing firearms have had their charges dropped before shooting police officers. Abbott also shuffled the Cherokee County District Attorney into Judge Davis' vacated 369th District Court position. The area has not only become one of Abbott's favorite neck of the woods, but for those repeat offenders who should have been incarcerated long ago under Texas' Three Strikes Law. (Source: Office of the Texas Governor | Greg Abbott)

District judges serving Cherokee County can swear they've never seen the likes of Bobby Dennis in their courtrooms. (KETK).  

Governor Abbott snubs area State Rep, Appraisal District drops Cherokee County in official name

Travis Clardy is against school choice and sends his own kids to private school. (Courtesy: KETK)

According to Greg Abbott's recent cease and desist letter, Texas House Rep. Travis Clardy (District 11) is falsely claiming the governor endorses him for re-election. Clardy has been sent to Austin for over a decade while drugs, crime, poverty, and illegal aliens have taken over his District. His counties include Nacogdoches, Shelby, Rusk, Newton, Sabine, and Panola. He represented Cherokee County through last year's redistricting (Source: Ballotpedia). 

Texas House District 11 would lose Cherokee County and pick up new territory to the east under a draft proposal being considered in the Texas Legislature. “I have been so proud to get to know and represent the folks of Cherokee County,” Clardy said in a video address to constituents Friday. (Source:  Oct. 5, 2021 Daily Sentinel)

Cherokee County has no Democrat Primary this March and all Republican incumbent candidates are unchallenged, even their Precinct 4 Constable currently under indictment (Source: Grand jury indicts Cherokee County constable on assault charge, KLTV) Hence zero reporting of local uncontested elections to keep potential rivals at bay. They can pretend to just sweep into office.

In neighboring Nacogdoches County, Travis Clardy faces Republican challenger Joanne Shofner. Shofner and Clardy both reside in Nacogdoches; she gets endorsements from Greg Abbott, Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and numerous conservative organizations. Travis Clardy is endorsed by the teachers union pushing Critical Race Theory and LGBTQ crap. Clardy has also used snippets of Governor Abbott’s past feigned praise during his campaign, resulting in a ‘Cease and Desist’ threat directly from the governor’s office. Abbott makes it perfectly clear that he does not endorse Travis Clardy’s reelection. This election is not all about school choice vouchers, even with inappropriate teacher-student relationships on the rise in East Texas. It's about the backstabbing bullshit going on in the Texas House of Representatives, i.e. the RINO-orchestrated coup to oust the duly elected Attorney General.

AG Ken Paxton's sham impeachment trial will have political consequences for years.

Many a Republican legislator will be dumbfounded when they are not endorsed for trying to remove  Ken Paxton on made up allegations. They claim to be "tough on the border" while at the same their colleagues are creating land deals for illegal alien settlements like Colony Ridge in Liberty County. Whether a poison pill or an actual attempt at controlling the Southern border, Governor Abbott has publicly drawn the line on illegal immigration and its effect on Texas communities. (Source: KETK, Feb 1, 2024)

"Nichols and Bailes made Colony Ridge possible"- Ken Paxton

 In an open letter to the governor, Attorney General Paxton points out that two Republican legislators representing Liberty County, State Senator Robert Nichols out of Jacksonville (SD 3) and State Rep. Ernest Bailes (HD 18), sponsored legislation in 2017 to create a self-governing Municipal Management District for Colony Ridge. This backroom deal was designed to enrich the developers and themselves at the expense of their own constituents. Nichols' and Bailes' hidden consent agenda legislation did not fall under the Texas Open Meetings Act, and did not have deliberations or a vote. 

READ HERE : AG KEN PAXTON'S FINDINGS TO THE GOVERNOR RE. COLONY RIDGE AND THE NICHOLS/BAILES HIDDEN AGENDA ITEMS.

"Colony Ridge is a huge problem... that's why we helped create it," say political ads for Ernest Bailes while Robert Nichols waits out his term.

Welcome to Colony Ridge, USA, courtesy the Republican Party of Texas

East Texas’ state and congressional representative districts have been gerrymandered for decades with little to no input thanks to the political ignorance and indifference of locals. Cherokee County was in Texas House District 11 in 2023 before being paired up with Anderson County in District 8 will little to no fanfare. Small town newspapers wait until the last minute to publish the roster of primary candidates and challengers. Cherokee County papers didn't bother to mention their handpicked shoo-ins for 2023. They don't want folks to know what's going on. Residents don’t know who they are voting for, where to vote, or what’s on the ballot. Voting sites are operated by partisan poll workers related to county clerks. Ballot boxes are taken home, left in car trunks, and go missing. Counting continues in secret long after polling places close. In between elections, the area is deliberately flooded with drugs and crime for local politicians to promise to fight. Local media perpetuate the lie of Republicans' chosen “conservative” contenders fighting for Christian values in Austin while they are all openly involved in shady land deals like Colony Ridge.

The federal government doesn't crack down until undocumented migrants are foreclosed on.

Homegrown East Texan Republicans are getting rich on anti-American real estate deals. Their scheme is to offer housing to the millions upon millions of illegal border crossers already living in Texas. To be anointed, State reps and senators stay mum on the growing illegal populations in their home districts. State senator Robert Nichols has never said a word publicly about how he set up the legal framework for Colony Ridge's deceptive financing. No mention of the exploding East Texas crystal meth epidemic or the thousand percent increase in crime moving in next door. Pseudo-conservatives claim to be “tough on the border,” while voting to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton for suing the Biden administration over the illegal alien invasion. They attend abortion rallies in Austin and pro-Life churches back home. Like Jacksonville's Robert Nichols, they're for paid maternity leave and pro-abortion at the same time. If their backroom legislation ever gets reported, their hometown newspapers sing their praises for screwing over their constituents. They just call it something else to fool everyone.

Cherokee County's Appraisal District has given themselves a makeover by dropping their perceived affiliation with the Cherokee County Tax Assessor Collector's office and changing their name. Not to be confused with the thieves in the Cherokee County courthouse, as of 2024 CCAD will be referred to as “Cherokee Central Appraisal District.”  (Source: Jacksonville Progress, Feb. 2, 2024)

Tax Assessor Collector clerk Gina Upshaw, indicted for stealing more than $430K - CBS19

An internal audit of Cherokee County offices and departmental accounts revealed a discrepancy of $431,375.91 related to the tax office. (Source:  Audit reveals over $430,000 missing from county tax office, July 12, 2022, Daily Progress)

With $430,000 stolen out of the Cherokee County Tax Office, and the former Tax Assessor bookkeepers’ embezzlement trial coming up in April, the Cherokee County Appraisal District board has voted to remove the word “County” from their official title. Other municipal facilities and parks have also dropped the word "County" from their Cherokee County designations. They don't want to be associated with the other maniacal elitist turds running the place into the ground. Those appealing any Cherokee County Appraisal District decisions will still contend with the Review Board's allies in the District Court. 

Thou doth protest thou property taxes too much

County judges and commissioners don't pay squat for their hundred acre homesteads. Those taxpayers who reside elsewhere and use their Cherokee County property for agricultural and recreational purposes continue to pay the brunt of the county revenue that goes "missing." The Cherokee County Appraisal District board of directors have blamed farm exemptions on skyrocketing property taxes, sanctioned their appointed Chief Appraiser to undervalue commercial property in millions of dollars to be passed on as "delinquent" school taxes, cheated the City of Jacksonville out of hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax revenue; and forced their Section 8 rental properties' back taxes onto rural landowners. They pretend to be ignorant on how property values are certified with the State, offering conflicting numbers on tax roll levies to hide what they're doing. The name has changed, but are things really the same?

Alto ISD manipulates enrollment, gets UIL suspension; Property tax disasters postponed

It's better to be a big fish in a small pond.

County Judge Chris Davis' alma mater is currently under a 3 year UIL probationary suspension for misreporting the number of students in attendance. Alto ISD football had been playing with the big boys in the 2A- Division I conference for several years. In 2021, they dropped themselves down to Division II after a long losing streak.

2A Division I: 165.5 - 229 students
2A Division II: 105 - 165.4 students

(Source: UIL)

On Aug 2, 2022, UIL ruled unanimously Alto High School football ineligible for playoffs for 2 years, and on probation for 3 years. They don't have a thousand kids to keep track of; there are less than 166 enrolled students per conference cutoffs.

The vote comes after violations of conference based enrollment reporting. The UIL said the Alto, TX school district turned in enrollment numbers that were not accurate and affected Alto in realignment which moved them into conference 2A-II instead of conference 2A-I. (Source: KLTV)

This is only newsworthy to regional football teams, however it is yet another example of the systemic flipping of facts of practically everything that comes out of Cherokee County. And the padding of enrollment numbers to get into a larger state football conference and the dropping of a few to get into a more competitive one when things don't work out. It is being reported the UIL Committee realigned Alto ISD because of an alleged "error" involving three late enrolled students. The football team has currently been playing the 2021-2022 season in the lower ranked 2A Division II. 

The Jacksonville Progress reports the UIL was alerted by two former employees that Alto ISD deliberately misrepresented enrollment numbers to remain in its winning football conference.

An allegation by two former Alto Independent School District employees, one of which resigned and the other terminated — was submitted to the UIL earlier this year stating that the district had under counted it students on Snap Shot Day (Oct. 30, 2021).

The UIL investigation revealed that the district's 163 number did not include three students who began class in the district on Oct. 19-20, 2021. These students were officially reported as being enrolled in the district on Nov. 1, 2021.

Dr. Jamey Harrison of the UIL reminded everyone that schools were sent a Snap Shot Verification form on Nov. 16, 2021, so that corrections could be made to the number submitted if needed.

Alto officials signed off on the form, confirming that the original number sent in was correct. (Source: UIL Executive Committee rules Alto football ineligible for district awards, Jacksonville Progress Aug. 2, 2022)

The fact the Alto ISD superintendent blames the high school counselor and principal for the SNAFU tells you exactly who is running this train.

Property owners get railroaded with defaulted school taxes.

Texas school districts are funded from county property taxes and directly from the state. As of 2022, each district receives an allotment of $6100 per student each year. Federal funding is also distributed based upon need and attendance. After years of misappropriations, reporting has ceased on how delinquent school taxes are resolved after being passed on to property owners.  To date, state government watchdogs have overlooked this reverse Robin Hood. They know if they start asking questions, so called "conservative" Cherokee County and neighboring counties would flip to Democrat in a New York minute. They'd rather watch the place implode.

One disaster after another.

Jacksonville and Rusk school districts voted to increase property taxes to cover their combined $1.7 million tax deficits, to avoid being penalized by the Texas Comptroller's Office. Commercial real estate appraisals came in 15% lower than actual market values according to MAPS audits conducted by the State in 2018 and 2019. (Source: Cherokee County Appraisal District fails state property study, Daily Progress Feb. 13, 2020) Timber and agricultural exemptions in rural areas were blamed for CCAD's tax shortfalls, not the commercial and Section 8 rental properties of board members.

Cherokee County TX Chief Appraiser: "This is insane."

Cherokee County blames the Tax Code for devaluing the property of those controlling the purse strings, and passing costs onto those not in the clique. It's just so "confusing and unfair" according to Chief Appraiser Lee Flowers who Jacksonville City Council recently voted unanimously to remove from office for a $5 million tax "mistake." The CCAD Board of Directors who own a big chunk of property in the area of course voted to keep Flowers on the county payroll.

The Jacksonville city council called for the removal of Cherokee County Chief Appraiser Lee Flowers in May 2021 over pending litigation from conflicting numbers on an amended tax roll levy.

City Manager Greg Smith stated the city had lost $200,000 in tax revenue as a result of the difference in original tax levies Flowers deemed "clerical data entry mistakes." (Source: Jacksonville Progress May 15, 2021)

Source: CCAD 2022 Newsletter

 (Click to view)

The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts has done "limited scope" property tax appraisal audits since the 2018 failures, thanks to County Judge Chris Davis and Governor Greg Abbott declaring Cherokee County a disaster area right in time to cleverly circumvent in-depth biennial MAPS reviews. Never forget, as Attorney General, Greg Abbot's office also did not pursue criminal charges against those who robbed Lon Morris out of existence, Texas' oldest Junior College. Offended locals would jump party lines if their kinfolk were exposed manipulating enrollment and Financial Aid. They were such good stewards of your tax dollars and public trust funds. Keep forking it over, folks. You know you love it.

Everyone gets good marks during election year.

They also hope you forget about the $431,375.91 stolen out of the Cherokee County Tax Assessor-Collector's office. Stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars each year out of the Rusk, TX courthouse apparently doesn't get the attention of the governor or Attorney General.

Funds missing from Cherokee County tax office - July 12, 2022

RUSK, Texas (KLTV) - Texas Rangers are investigating the disappearance of funds from the tax office in Cherokee County.

District Attorney Elmer Beckworth said the office notified him about missing funds and he forwarded the case to Texas Rangers.

Beckworth said he could not comment further on time periods or how much money was missing.

The county auditor’s office deferred comment to Beckworth. (Source: KLTV)

Audit reveals over $430,000 missing from county tax office - July 13, 2022

An internal audit of Cherokee County offices and departmental accounts revealed a discrepancy of $431,375.91 related to the tax office.

“Red flags were discovered by my internal auditor in doing a routine part of the audit that initially drew our attention to this,” said Cherokee County Auditor Steven Daughety. “We did do an audit report. Those findings were turned over to the D.A. because of our concerns with it.”

The information was presented to the district attorney on January 12, 2022, according to Daughety. (Source: Jacksonville Progress)

Governor Abbott blames Biden for dead migrants smuggled by Palestine, TX truck driver

 

Somebody has to pluck the chickens, bale the hay, and milk the cows. Those hired ranch hands are illegal aliens shipped into Anderson County and surrounding areas by the thousands. They plant the saplings in the National Forests for timber companies and clean the homes of the wealthy. Their employers are large property owners in East Texas and Greg Abbott's campaign donors. The truck drivers who haul them in from the Southern border and up to the local dairy farms are resident CDL operators, living in the friendly Ol' Piney Woods.  This isn't "human trafficking;" it is cheap seasonal labor facilitated by both Republicans and Democrats. 

"We've tried nothing and we're all out of ideas..."

In April, Gov. Greg Abbott ordered state police to inspect every commercial vehicle entering Texas through a port of entry. To immigration experts, Abbott's mandatory commercial vehicle inspection had little to no effect on the flow of illegal immigrants from Mexico into Texas. 

Despite Abbott's attempted immigration security measures, earlier this week and 200 miles from the border in San Antonio, 53 undocumented workers perished in a tractor trailer that made its way from Mexico on Interstate 35 through multiple federal immigration checkpoints. No inspection was performed on the rig or it's cargo contents.

Before the vigil candles were lit, Governor Abbott hopped on Twitter to blame Joe Biden's open border policies, despite several of President Trump's immigration protocols including Title 42 still being in effect. (Source: Greg Abbott blames Joe Biden for migrant deaths, but the governor’s own border security efforts have fallen short KHOU)

One of the smugglers is Palestine, TX resident Christian Martinez. Martinez and 3 other migrant couriers were arrested and held on federal detainers Monday, June 27, 2022. (Source: Mugshot released for man arrested in Palestine, charged in connection to San Antonio smuggling incident KETK) These drivers aren't paid by coyotes or Mexican drug cartels to bring illegal aliens to their destinations. They are long haul truck drivers working for the lumber companies and Walmart distributors in East Texas. They are compensated by the chicken processing plants and cattle ranchers who line the pockets of those in Austin. They are also paid by the illegal aliens themselves for the transport. Their big rigs and semitrailers aren't checked by busy immigration authorities.

18-wheeler owner operator Christian Martinez lives in Palestine, TX (courtesy Henderson County)

Law enforcement doesn't question the employers of deported illegal aliens who return to East Texas for work, even after they kill children. Local media misspells their names, buries their criminal histories, and most certainly never publish the names of those who hire and house them. (They also don't report or withhold income taxes but that's a subject for another topic.)

Gustavo Gonzalez murdered his 10-year cousin in Bullard, TX.

A previously deported illegal alien has pleaded guilty to strangling and drowning his ten-year-old cousin after attempting to sexually assault her in 2016 in Cherokee County, Texas. Source: (REPORT: East Texas Child Murdered by Previously Deported Illegal Alien, Breitbart)

Until Chamber of Commerce Republicans begin to arrest, shut down, and fine their donors who hire illegal aliens for cheap labor, tragedies such as these will continue. Who are we going to replace them with? Open border communist psychopaths like Beto O'Rourke? Governor Abbott will surely appoint some inbred crony to look into the immigration matter while Texans remain held hostage. Talk of actual immigration enforcement is just lip service from career politicians.

It's easier to play both sides of the border fence.

As a footnote, both drivers have been indicted in the Western District Federal Court for the deaths of 53 smuggled illegal aliens. (Source: DOJ) Governor Abbott continues to bus detained illegal aliens deeper into the United States, preferably to Democrat controlled safe havens, where they can register to vote and swing Presidential elections. Authorities and media claim Christian Martinez of Palestine, TX is illiterate; however he isn't too incompetent to help drive big rigs through federal checkpoints with 50 + illegal stowaways. 

On Wednesday, August 31, 2022, the federal court in San Antonio declared during a detention hearing that Christian Martinez would be detained pending his trial. Previously reported as "too incompetent to stand trial," text messages revealed Martinez was responsible for the transnational truck loading manifest that evaded immigration inspection. (Source: KETK)  A federal judge denied bond for the 800lbs. truck driver, who is not a flight risk, though he could get stuck in the bathroom. The McDonald's in Palestine, TX are safe for now.