District Attorney gives probation to Rusk, TX infant molester; Jacksonville companies leave county’s slip-and-fall Free For All

plea-bargain (v.) :
To make an agreement in which a defendant pleads guilty to a lesser charge and the prosecutor in return drops more serious charges.

plea-bargain "Cherokee County Texas style" (n.) :
A deal struck with a court-appointed defense attorney in which a defendant pleads guilty to a more serious charge and the prosecutor offers adjudicated probation.

Rusk, TX:
In 2006 the Cherokee County District Attorney's office offered a plea bargain deal of probation to a Rusk, TX resident after his arrest for molesting a 1-year-old baby girl.
Kenneth Dexter Folmar, age 45, accepted 96 months deferred probation in 2006 for the Felony sexual assault of the female infant. Refer to Cherokee County, TX Criminal Docket case 16209 (2006) State v. Kenneth Dexter Folmar, 2nd Judicial District.

Folmar continues his employment in neighboring Anderson County. The Cherokeean Herald ran the picture of the Rusk, TX registered sex offender Kenneth Folmar in their August 2007 local sex offender update. However, because Kenneth Folmar is related to too many people operating the Rusk, TX courthouse, the actual molestation was never reported by the local media. And of course Elmer Beckworth's plea offer of 8 years probation was not reported either.

The question is why are convicted child molesters in Cherokee County, whose victims are younger than 6 years-old, being put on probation? And their crimes not reported?

Because it is more efficacious for the Cherokee County District Attorney's office and local media to protect the extended family members of the offender from embarrassment than it is to protect the community. Perpetuating the psychotic paranoid small town mentality by covering up the incest.

There are 79 registered sex offenders residing in Cherokee County, Texas according to a 8/15/07 Cherokeean Herald posting. In a 1/24/07 Cherokeean Herald article, the Cherokee County Sheriff's Department released the names of the registered sex offenders living in the county.

As a 'public service,' local Cherokee County newspapers refuse to print the ages of the victims under 16 years-old. Nor the fact that EVERY offender on the local offenders list who was arrested by the Cherokee County Sheriff Department were on superficial probation and their 2nd degree Felony jail sentences suspended by District Attorney Elmer Beckworth- putting the county at risk.

The Cherokeean Herald's policy is not to print the ages of local victms in cases incest, to keep their identities hidden from ostracism and ridicule. In 2003, the Lufkin Daily News was smart enough to print the names and addresses of all registered sexual offenders in the area, including the ages of victims, charges and date of judgment.

The Sheriff Department pretends to be doing the community a service by notifying the public (on a slow news day) of the identity of local child molesters. However, the offer of probation for the violent rape of a small child tells the true story of the criminal justice system operating in Cherokee County Texas. Especially when defendants are related to members of law enforcement, attorneys and clerks employed at the Rusk, Texas courthouse. They want to keep the high incident of East Texas incest under the radar because of their "vested interest in their little communities." So the district attorney gives probation to Kenneth Folmar of Rusk, Texas for sexual assault of a 12 month old. Molesting a defenseless infant must not be that big of a deal for Cherokee County's District Attorney.

Kenneth Dexter Folmar

Similary, Rusk Texas native, dairy hand and registered child molester James Christopher Schlater, age 51, was given deferred adjudication in 2007 after violating a local 6-year-old girl back in 2004. Refer to State v. James Christopher Schlater (2006) Cherokee County, Texas Criminal Docket Case No. 16630.

James Schlater had originally been charged with Felony sexual assault child, according to Cherokee County, Texas Criminal Docket Case No. 15724, State v. James Christopher Schlater (2007). The incident was never reported and of course his picture is not available because Cherokee County has not verified his current sex offense registration.

James Earl Holt, age 52, Jacksonville Texas given 6 years probation in 2007 for the 2003 assault of a 14 year-old girl. Also never reported.
No picture available.

Donald Wayne Thurmon, age 40 from Jacksonville Texas given 10 years probation in 2007 by District Attorney Elmer Beckworth for possessing and distributing child pornography. No need to call the feds in on this one; why waste their time even though it is a federal offense?

Donald Thurman

Manuel Enrique Huerta, age 21, given 10 years probation in 2007 for sexual assault of a 13 year-old Jacksonville Texas girl.
No picture available.

Cody Allen Whiteley, age 22 of Jacksonville, arrested in Cherokee County in 2006 and pled 7 years probation for the sexual assault of a 13 year-old girl.


Cody Whiteley

Bobby Ray Vines, Jr. age 41 from Jacksonville Texas. Given only 4 years probation for the sexual assault of an 11 year-old female in 2001.

Bobby Vines, Jr.

Ollie Ray Grogan, 65 year-old Rusk Texas native given 10 years probation for 2 counts of molestation of a 5 year-old and an 8 year-old.

Ollie Ray Grogan

Dale Joseph Tylich 65 year-old Rusk Texas equestrian given 6 months probation by Cherokee County for sexual contact with a child. 6 Months because he related to just about everybody in town.

Dale J. Tylich

Marin Otis Pitts, age 54, Troup Texas. Arrested by Cherokee County Texas authorities in 1991 and given 10 years probation for 2 counts of sexual assault on a 7 year-old girl.

Martin Pitts

Chenney LaVaughn Carter, age 43 in Troup, Texas. Arrested in 2006 for aggravated sexual assault of a child. The victim was a 15 year-old girl. Elmer Beckworth's office offered Carter 10 YRS DEFERRED ADJUDICATION PROBATION, despite Chenney Carter's local and Smith County priors.

Cheney L. Carter

Joyal Lee Lackey, age 63 Jacksonville Texas, given 10 years probation in 2005 for Indecency and Sexual Assault of a 13 year-old girl.


Joyal "Muggs" Lackey


Robert Michael Lane, age 36, Jacksonville Texas; offered 10 years probation in 1993 for the sexual assault of a 10 year-old girl. Lane was sent to Bootcamp for 90 days according to the DPS registry and the Cherokee County Court Docket records, Case 11818 State v. Robert M. Lane; Felony-Indecency/Sexual Assault of child-Filed 02/11/1992 - Disposition: 04/16/1993 Conviction-guilty plea or nolo cont-no jury, in the 2nd District Court, Cherokee County TX.

Robert Lane

Guadalupe Lora Vera Lara, age 56, given a paltry 5 years probation in 1996 for having sexual contact with 2 Jacksonville Texas girls, one 11 years-old, the other 13 years-old. No picture available.

Patrick Brian Norsworthy age 45, from Jacksonville Texas. Arrested in 1994 for Indecency with an 8 year-old girl. Given 10 years probation in 1999.

Patrick Norsworthy

Kevin Wayne Patton local businessman, age 40 from Jacksonville, Texas. Given 10 years probation for Indecency with a 14 year-old girl. No picture available.

Robby Lee Buffalo , age 35 Jacksonville, Texas was arrested in 1995 by Cherokee County and a 10 year probation deal accepted in 1999 for sexual assault of a local 11 year-old female.

Robby Buffalo

Donnie Wayne Crippen , age 39 Rusk, Texas. Arrested in Cherokee County in 2006 and given 5 years unadjudicated probation by Elmer Beckworth's office for the sexual assault of a 16 year-old female.

Donnie Crippen

Jose Ramon Galan, age 53 Jacksonville, Texas given 10 years probation in 1998 by Cherokee County after molesting a 9 year-old girl.

Jose Galan

Nicholas "Nicky" Noel Harwell, age 33 Jacksonville, Texas, given 10 years probation in 2003 by Cherokee County Texas prosecutors for 2 counts of sexual assault on a 12 year-old girl.

"Nicky" Harwell

Kevin Lyn Hawes, age 45 from Jacksonville, Texas. Arrested in 1999 by Cherokee County authorities for sexual assault on a 15 year-old girl. Hawes was offered 10 years probation.

Kevin Hawes

William Lee Hershiser, age 51 Jacksonville, Texas resident given 10 years probation for sexual assault on a local 15 year-old female.

William Hershier

This only scratches the surface of the convicted sex offenders (still residing in-county) arrested by and registered with the Cherokee County Sheriff Department. These are the sex predators registered with the State and given probation as 'punishment' by District Attorney Elmer Beckworth and his predecessors. Plea offers comparable to a slap on the wrist. What about the offenses passed on by the Sheriff Department and Beckworth's office? The ones the public will never know about?

Even if some of these men are innocent, the District Attorney's office prosecuted them under the penal code which is crystal clear on the punishment assessment for Indecency with a Minor.

INDECENCY OR SEXUAL ASSAULT OF A CHILD: An offense under Texas Penal Code Sections 22.011 (Sexual Assault) or 22.021 (Aggravated Sexual Assault) where the victim is a child (younger than 17 years), and an offense under 21.11 (Indecency with a Child).

§ 12.33. SECOND DEGREE FELONY PUNISHMENT. (a) An individual adjudged guilty of a felony of the second degree shall be punished by imprisonment in the institutional division for any term of not more than 20 years or less than 2 years. (b) In addition to imprisonment, an individual adjudged guilty of a felony of the second degree may be punished by a fine not to exceed $10,000.

That is why there are no reports of the child molesters' probation in the local Cherokee County papers. Only the fact there are registered sex offenders living in the county. Of course the typical excuse of the Cherokee County District Attorney's office et al is that the law would not allow jail time for a 2nd degree Felony. If you're stupid enough to believe it, print it and repeat it. The Texas Penal Code and Constitution do not tie the hands of state prosecutors, only those of the patently corrupt.

The remainder of current registered sex offenders given probation without jail time in Cherokee County Texas:

1. Roy Joe Bailey, age 65, Wells TX: arrested in 2007; 10 yrs. probation/ 12 year-old female victim.


2. Richard Dean Davis, age 50, Rusk TX: arrested in 1996; 10 yrs. probation/14 year-old female victim.


3. J.E. Monroe Martin, age 85, Rusk TX: arrested in 1997; 3 yrs. probation/ 12 year-old female victim.


4. Dale Joseph Tylich, age 53, Rusk TX: arrested in 1996; 6 mos. probation/ female victim unknown age.


5. Tommy Junior Allen, age 51, Jacksonville TX: arrested in 1991; 10 yrs. probation/ 11 year-old female.


6. James Travis Barker, age 25, Jacksonville TX: arrested in 1999; 24 mos. city jail/ 6 year-old female.


7. Roger Hunter, age 75, Jacksonville TX: arrested in 1997; 10 yrs. probation/ 14 year-old female.


8. James L Wells, age 55 , Jacksonville TX: arrested in 1998; 8 yrs. probation/ 2 counts sexual assault on a 5 year-old and a 6 year-old.


9. Gary Michael Morrison, age 51, Alto TX: arrested 1991; 10 yrs. probation/ sexual assault of 12 year-old female.


10. Wesley Boyd Mohr, age 63, Bullard TX: arrested by Cherokee Co. in 1997; 10 yrs. probation for sexual assault of 10 year-old girl.

The summary of every one of these registered sexual offenses is readily available on the Texas DPS Sex Offender Registry website and Cherokee County Texas court docket. However, not one of these rapes, molestations or incidents of child pornography has been NOR ever will be reported by the Cherokee County newspapers. Unless the perpetrator was born out of town. Then they'll throw the book at him.

This blog posting covers only a partial list of the registered sex offenders that actually reside in Cherokee County, TX and on probation for Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child; there is no known count of those child molesters given probation and registered/relocated in other states or counties. Regardless, Elmer Beckworth's and the Cherokee County District Attorney office's pattern of lenient plea bargains going back decades to resident child molesters related to members of the local 'establishment' is crystal clear. They are sheltered and not reported.

A far cry from the more recent sentencing of out-of-towner Gordon Neal Mathis. The former US Army reservist pled guilty in January 2008 to 6 counts of sexual assault of a 12-year-old Rusk, TX girl and on Monday, February 11, 2008 was sentenced to 40 years State time. Mathis had been convicted in federal court and was beginning his 8 years in federal prison for child porn possession. The 2/17/08 Tyler Paper article gives the impression that former the Army reservist Gordon Mathis was "prosecuted" by an Assistant Cherokee County District Attorney, instead of the fact Mathis threw himself at mercy of the district court, claiming post traumatic stress syndrome. And since his offenses were widely reported by the Tyler Paper, the district court got a little busy and decided Adult Probation wasn't appropriate for Mathis' sex crimes. And the Cherokeean Herald quickly dropped their policy of not printing the age of the victim. Gordon Neal Mathis was sentenced on 6 counts of molesting the child for over a two year span.

View the remainder of Cherokee County's bonafide child molesters living in the area on the Texas DPS Sex Offender Registry located at: https://records.txdps.state.tx.us/DPS_WEB/Sor/index.aspx

Do a comparison of sex offenders convicted in other counties by prosecutors following the intent of the law. They put child molesters in prison even for statutory rape.



Athens, Texas: Athens Fire Chief Dan Barnes and Athens Fire Marshall Waylen Padgett were recently placed on admistrative leave and Chief Barnes resigned Monday January 28, 2008 amid an investigation led by the Assistant Fire Chief. The Athens Texas city council has been hush hush regarding the internal affairs review of alleged "allegations."

Longview, Texas: Gregg County Justice of the Peace clerk D. Donna Wallace pled guilty on Wednesday February 13, 2008 to government records tampering. Wallace used an alias to work at the JP office and continue to draw Social Security disability benefits.

Troup, Texas: Dale Lowry and wife Brenda Lowry of Troup, TX were indicted in a Tyler Texas federal grand jury during the first week of February 2008 for allegedly stealing over $28,000 of Social Security disability benefits. The couple had claimed a child as a dependent, even though the child was no longer living with them.

Gregg County, Texas: Sheriff candidate Billy Ray White was sentenced to 6 months deferred probation for falsifying the employment record of one of his employees. White operated a security service; the security guard did not have a firearm license when White hired him.

Jacksonville, Texas: The Jacksonville, TX police department convinced itself from an in-house generated report that racial profiling by its officers was completely imaginary. On Tuesday February 12, 2008, the mayor read the results to the city council that the JPD had ZERO complaints filed regarding discriminating traffic stops and ZERO incidents of racial disparity. Probably because people of ethnic backgrounds and skin coloring are too afraid to drive to the grocery store at night, by fear of being framed, raped or worse.

The city of Jacksonville, Texas is the largest economic center in the county and it is still reeling from the civil suit settlements resulting in the Jacksonville police department starting a race riot at the 2004 Tomato Bowl homecoming game. And for each rape complaint against its decorated patrolman Larry Pugh, sentenced to 17 years in federal prison. When a Cherokee County woman would come forward with an allegation of Pugh raping her, the benign police officer and family man got accommodations by the Jacksonville police department. Until he was caught dragging a complainant into a van by her neck. And despite Officer Pugh facing federal indictment, the County Attorney tried Larry Hinton of Jacksonville, for interfering with Officer Pugh's racial profiling during the 2004 Tomato Bowl riot. But that's "nonexistent."

Jacksonville, Texas: Not only does the Cherokee County Criminal Docket give a peek into the machinations of the district court, the Civil Docket shows the ongoing get rich schemes of relatives planted on Bodily Injury cases. Large companies from out of region foolish enough to set up shop for the cheap local labor are the target of 'slip-and-fall' and other concocted lawsuits.

Two major employers in Jacksonville, Texas, Astro Air- a heating and cooling coil manufacturing plant and Alliance Data- a support tech call center, will be closing their doors permanently in 2008. These firms' relocations will be putting hundreds of locals out of jobs. A sad series of inevitable events for the already destitute county. However, this is probably the first of many wise corporate decisions to vacate the county known for the lack of competitive bidding when it comes to issuing government contracts. And its newspapers not advertising a prescribe method of identifying qualified bidders. The contracts underhandedly going to relatives, even those good ol’ boys with offenses (like those listed above) involving moral turpitude who would otherwise be ineligible to work under any state, county or city job.

For example, city School Board Trustees awarding school renovation projects to their cousin’s construction company. And Billy Bob’s Construction allowing registered sex offenders on the school property to work during class time.

Or instances of county equipment being used as personal property, at the taxpayer’s expense to dig catfish ponds, pave private roads and driveways; including the use of probationers and government employees to work “outside the fence” on private land.

The locals know it’s been going on for decades, but these duped companies’ Board of Directors contemplating doing business in Cherokee County don’t find out until it is too late. The Cherokee County civil docket can attest to the exorbitant amount of lawsuits these remaining companies are facing, and the excessive payouts they are going to pay by summary judgment. There is no such thing as an unbiased juror in a town that small. And they see the flashing dollar signs when a big company makes the mistake of trying to set up an office there. What better way to get a little extra spending money than extorting a company via a bogus lawsuit, with a biased Cherokee County jury chosen before the case is even heard?

For board members of these departing companies, there is no plausible way to estimate the pecuniary damages to the local Cherokee County economy this type of collusion causes. There is no way to compete and/or get a break when the court system is used as a means to wring out their bottom dollar. Certainly these businesses have gotten sick of the Personal Injury suits filed on them; the same cases that backlog the Civil Docket.

Moreover, these corporations’ insurance premiums are bound to have skyrocketed after being targeted by the local ‘slip-and-fall’ con artists. Of course, a sympathetic civil jury related to the victim is readily available for the milking of their profit shares. Cheap labor or not, it is apparently smarter for IT companies and their subsidiaries to avoid the distrustful small town job market. Manufacturing plants owe it to their shareholders to do business where their profit earnings don't line the pockets of East Texas trial lawyers.

Even Cherokee County’s versions of ‘professionals’ are waiting in line to file a claim against these industries. These companies are only attempting to branch into the rural market. However, once the firms set up shop within the county, they can expect to be lambasted with frivolous lawsuits. And they can expect to pay through the nose because everybody wants a piece of the pie. Then these companies venture elsewhere and leave the honest hard working Cherokee County Texas citizen unemployed, bringing the county's economy back to the pre-Reconstruction era. According to the 2000 US Census, Cherokee County Texas has a median income 30% lower than the national average.

The fact is the only economic development Cherokee County Texas has to offer the region is its apparent contribution to the illegal drug trade and prison population. The worst corporate decision a CEO can make is setting an office up in a county whose local government officials have reputations of collusion and conflicts of interests.

Whistlin’ Dixie in the 21st Century. Solved murder bad for Angelina County Sheriff? Tyler man gets bail revoked for 1st violation.

It's 2008, and the Cherokee County, TX media is still doing their darndest to gloss over the arrest record of its law enforcement and abject failure protecting its scant 47,000 citizens. This observation is not the result of a "fishbowl effect" of a disproportionate number of arrests of Cherokee County law enforcement, as compared to larger counties. Sure one constable gets sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, but Cherokee County only has four precincts. Sure one patrolman gets sentenced to 17 years in federal prison, but the city of Jacksonville, TX has only ten cops; and 1/2 of them have been investigated by the FBI in the last 5 years. The fact is the corrupt political structure of the county is so ingrained, things are only going to get worse the more the US Attorney's office scrutinizes the region. These people won't be giving up their government paychecks without a fight and their favorite tactic is to use the local paper to frighten minorities contemplating federal civil rights lawsuits.

Cherokee County honored its Civil War traditions in early December 2007 with a local Sons of the Confederate Veterans hoopla complete with a General Robert E. Lee award, President Jefferson Davis award and General Stonewall Jackson award going to the most lilywhite Rebeller. Candidates for the Abraham Lincoln and M.L.K. award were apparently not invited. This ain’t just a Civil War memorial, you know what I mean?
View the Alto, TX Confederate States of America chapter on the internet.



There is no thinly veiled agenda in the local ‘heritage defense league.’ Or as local chapters of the SCV call it: “The Northern War of Aggression, the true history of the South.”
But then again there is no historical reenactments or literature provided either at their clandestine meetings on taxpayer property. Other than the local Cherokeean-Herald insulting their black readers with a blasé contention that the Confederacy shouldn’t be indentified with the KKK. But then again, telling their readers who the members of the White Brotherhood are. Printing this redneck rubbish solely for the Martin Luther King holiday and upcoming Black History month. And displaying it at the city of Alto, Texas Public Library Conference Room.

To outsiders this type of Rebel Rousing would appear to be typical East Texas race baiting. However to the large number of black Americans living in the area, it is designed to have a deeper psychological impact. The message is crystal clear.

Without delving back to the turn of the century, we will take a brief look at Cherokee County, TX retrospectively over the last 18 months. Go down the list and tell yourselves Cherokee County, Texas isn’t corrupt. What a great year for the taxpayer.

Cherokee County Texas (2006 to 2007):
Constable Pct. 3 Randall Thompson pleads guilty in March 2006 for possession and distribution of 108 grams of crystal meth after ‘evading’ his duties as district court bailiff. Thompson was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison after his ‘resignation.’ Thompson had been appointed as deputy constable by Cherokee County commissioners and had been elected Constable Pct. 3 in 2004. The Texas Association of Counties (TAC) gives a description of Constable Randall Thompson's duties he perform while manufacturing and distributing meth.

• subpoena of court witnesses;


• acting as bailiff for the 369th District and officer of the court;


• process of service and executing judgments;


• patrolling;


• assisting criminal investigations and drug raids; and


• acting as executive officer for the Justice of the Peace.

You, the lowly taxpayers are supposed to believe that after being elected as Constable, Thompson never worked a single day in the Rusk, TX courthouse or Hodges Unit. You are to believe that in a town that small, where everybody knows what you ate for supper the night before, that :
NO ONE in the district court or county commissioner’s office knew that Constable Thompson had been arrested for drug dealing -
AND they didn’t know where Thompson was before his federal arraignment?

As a matter of fact, a Failure to Appear hearing in the 369th district court was convened a day before Randall Thompson's federal indictment "Because they hadn’t seen their bailiff for 2 years…" A constable who was appointed by Cherokee County commissioners in 2002 then elected to office in 2004, all the while working as a correctional officer and bailiff in Rusk, Texas. It would take a court hearing to remove an elected official, however Cherokee County was apparently pleased with Constable Thompson's service until the feds caught him dealing crystal meth and indicted him. Pleased enough to keep paying his salary and lawyer fees. But of course they never met the guy, had him over for dinner or took him to the deer lease---hell, he didn't show up for work for 2 years... Must've been driving that "Cherokee County" marked SUV down to the valley each week to deal drugs "to pay his child support."


Constable Pct. 3 Randall Thompson circa July 2005, tells KLTV Channel 7 Tyler-Longview-Jacksonville, TX in an expose' on how he spends his gas money "dealing with illegal dumping, serving warrants, making traffic stops and arrests." Looks like he's on his way to work.

However, hours before Thompson's federal indictment for drug dealing, it became more expedient for the district court and county commisioners to distance themselves from their guy they had appointed in 2004 to serve their wealthiest precinct. It is this type of perpetuated lying that is intrinsic in Cherokee County Texas political culture. Decades of the same nonsense reprinted and linked to here.

Anderson and Cherokee County crisis centers (located in Palestine and Jacksonville, TX) lost state funding in September 2007 along with losing private grant funding and federal funding in November 2007. Due in large part to the city of Jacksonville’s handling of the Larry Pugh rape attacks on Cherokee County women. In December 2007, the centers were temporarily saved when $159,000 was granted through a discretionary fund via the governor’s Criminal Justice Division and lobbying efforts of state Senator Robert Nichols (R-Jacksonville).

State District 3’s former senator Drew Nixon (Rep.-Carthage) and his run-ins with law have also been swept under the carpet. Nixon retired his state senate seat in 2000 after being charged with soliciting a prostitute in Austin and was indicted by a Panola County grand jury in July 2007 for fixing the Panola County Fresh Water Supply District board election. Drew Nixon’s latest state charge is official oppression for his “abuse of office.” However, District 11 State Representative Chuck Hopson’s (Rep.-Jacksonville) 2002 campaign treasurer once married to a convicted burglar apparently wasn’t an issue for the papers, either.



TX State District 3

In more horror stories in the month of September 2007, former decorated Jacksonville, TX patrolman Larry Pugh sentenced to over 15 years in federal prison for rape and retaliation, also linked to the skeletal remains of one of his missing federal complainants.

convicted Jacksonville, TX police officer Larry Pugh

New Summerfield hired Michael Meissner as Chief of Police in March 2007. Meissner was subsequently fired for his lack of current TCLEOSE certification and continues to seek employment in law enforcement in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex.

Michael Meissner and friends [courtesy Ellis County Observer]

Local media interpret the hiring of Meissner as a simple mistake in a formal background check, placing the blame on Meissner for not reporting his silly little TECLEOSE reprimands. Why would Meissner need a peace officer license when interns for the district attorney's office can walk up and down the hallways of the Rusk, TX courthouse pretending to have passed the State Bar exam?

$150,000 stolen from the Rusk, TX Water Department by a city employee in March 2007. The community was lied to about the embezzlement case going to a Cherokee County grand jury in September 2007. In December 2007 the Rusk City Council was still waiting for a resolution of the case and an indictment. District Attorney Elmer Beckworth’s excuse was a potential conflict of interest with a member of his October 2007 grand jury being related to the case…as if that was the first relative being seated on a Cherokee County grand jury before. Only when the Texas Rangers are involved in the case.

In April 2007, the city of Jacksonville, TX settled a police brutality suit with victim Larry Hinton after Hinton was beaten, tasered and his teeth kicked out during 2004’s Tomato Bowl riot. Hinton had been acquitted of “misdemeanor charges of interfering with an officer’s duties” after the 2004 High School homecoming brawl. Misdemeanor charges that resulted in Mr. Hinton and his pregnant wife being kicked, beaten and falsely put on trial. Interfering with a police officer’s arrest is actually a felony; hence the protest on the Rusk courthouse steps in January 2006.

Mr. Larry Hinton not only had his teeth kicked out and his pregnant wife beaten up, but HE was placed on trial by Cherokee County Attorney Craig Caldwell. The charge of "interfering" during the race riot based on the report of a police officer out on federal bond for rape AND during which the affiant (Jacksonville TX police officer Larry Pugh) was stalking and disposing of his federal complainants.

Apparently the word of a rapist facing 144 months in federal prison is worth more than a black man and his pregnant wife’s, enough to waste the taxpayer’s dollars to tell the county what a good job Pugh and others did starting the 2004 Tomato Bowl riot. View Larry Pugh’s March 2007 federal sentencing on the Department of Justice press release NOT published by Cherokee County media: http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/txe/news_release/news/EDTX_PUGH030107.html

However, the Jacksonville Daily Progress did report that Cherokee County Sheriff Deputy Regina Battley had the excessive force suit against her, filed by the Hintons and a female victim, dismissed in December 2006.

Civil Rights Class Action Suits include Sandra Rene Roca, Tonya Burns, Debra A Williams, Felicia A Colbert, Della Tyler, Wanda Wilson and Felicia Mosley v . Larry Pugh, the city of Jacksonville, Texas et al, No. 6:2007cv-00081(US Dist. Ct., E.D. Texas, Tyler Division, February 15, 2007). These women are the other handful of Cherokee County rape victims seeking settlements with Officer Pugh's employers. Never read about them anywhere did you?

Yes, 2007 has been a typical year for Cherokee County, Texas but nothing to cheer about. Local officials hiding under the pretext of false legal statutes and pretending they never hired nor worked with the above mentioned criminals. A sharp contrast to the Fort Worth, TX police department who fired 2 police officers on December 20, 2007. Officers Craig Murrah and David Babb are separately accused of spanking a female detainee and Babb for groping the 9 year-old daughter of a co-worker. Babb had been indicted in September 2007 for the fondling; Murrah is awaiting the Tarrant County grand jury and had prior indecency complaints.
Based on the “merits of the case,” Fort Worth police chief Ralph Mendozza terminated both policemen prior to their trials. Cherokee County would have promoted the pair.

In other corrupt news for the beginning of the New Year.

Jacksonville, TX:
The Eastern District Federal Grand Jury in Tyler indicted Jacksonville, TX resident Kenneth Dale Kern on January 11, 2008. Kenneth Kern was True Billed for theft of social security money and government property. The indictment alleged that Kern fraudulently accepted $32,000 in Social Security disability benefits between 2002 and 2007 and did not disclosed to government administrators his job with Jacksonville employer Nicky Joe Tarrant. Kenneth Kern also faces 10 years for making false statements to federal agents. Cherokee County, Texas media outlets, probably due to Kern’s Jacksonville employer being related to members of the Jacksonville, TX ISD school board , the captain of the Jacksonville Fire Department and a Rusk, TX correctional officer, have not reported Kenneth Kern’s federal indictment. Kern apparently had worked for the Tarrant family business for years while simultaneously receiving government disability checks.


Upshur County, TX deputy indicted; Deputy Richard Louis Bridgewater age 29 was indicted in December 2007 on 5 counts of child indecency. The deputy had admitted to inappropriate contact with an 11-year-old girl. Bridgewater is being held in neighboring Titus County jail as a “safety precaution.” He had a brief stint with the Overton, TX and Big Sandy police departments. Bridgewater now faces 20 years in prison if convicted.

Smith County, TX:
Suspended volunteer firefighter Austin Harden age 17 was arrested December 24, 2007 for posing as a fireman at a house fire on FM 2493. Harden had also been arrested in August 2007 for impersonating a police officer.

Hale County, TX:
A prison guard at the Wheeler Unit in Plainview, TX has been indicted for murder by a Hale County grand jury on December 24, 2007. Jose Rodriguez was charged in the death of inmate Paul Ray Judia after Judia died from head injuries sustained in his cell.

Kilgore, TX:
Gregg County correctional officer Eric Sanders age 24 arrested December 11, 2007 for passing illegal drugs to inmates in the North Jail facility.

Rusk County, TX:
Chief Deputy Daniel “Dusty” Flanagan in Tyler Federal Court Wednesday January 9, 2008. Flanagan had his sentencing hearing postponed. Chief Deputy Flanagan and Lt. Johnny Leon Davidson Jr., both pleaded guilty in July 2007 for assaulting Shawn Wright will in custody. The former sheriff deputies and Rusk County are facing excessive force civil suits by Wright AND sexual harassment suits by a former female deputy. U.S. District Judge Michael Schneider postponed Flanagan’s federal sentencing (he is facing 10 years for the police brutality against Mr. Wright) until the civil matter of restitution is resolved. Flanagan and Davidson concocted fraudulent police reports to cover their actions.

In neighboring Cherokee County, TX , the assaulting police officers would have been promoted and the fraudulent police statements held up as irrefutable proof by the district attorney’s office as in the case of Mr. John Brown of Alto, Texas. Officers with a history of excessive force are even endorsed to run in elections as Cherokee County Constables now that have proven their mettle in federal court. With a few minor drug busts under their belts and proving their willingness to violate the law can get some cushy jobs. Remember, the Trade Winds motel in Jacksonville, TX provides “anonymous” tips to Cherokee County deputies; not an illegal phone drop placed on a motel room. Tips are called “anonymous” by Cherokee County deputies when phone lines are illegally monitored.

Then again, they may be knocking down your door when an "anonymous tip" from the jailhouse leads to a 911 call being generated in a lightning storm. That’s called intelligence gathering; it’s “against the law” for Cherokee County sheriff deputies to “listen in” to private citizens phone calls, not inmates in the county jail. Therefore the sheriff's office can have it both ways- deny they monitor jailhouse payphones and tell the FBI a jailbird gave them information.

Henderson County, TX:
Mayor Gene Bearden of Log Cabin, Texas (pop. 733) under investigation for personal use of an EXXON credit card. The case had been investigated by the Texas Rangers and handed over to the Henderson County district attorney.

Gregg County, TX:
Correctional officers Johnny W. Adair and Michelle Parvin were arrested Monday December 17, 2008 for passing banned tobacco products to inmates in the Gregg County jailhouse. This comes after the arrest of fellow Gregg County jailer Chris Sanders one week earlier for delivery of contraband to prisoners. All three were terminated after taken in for questioning according to Sheriff Maxi Cerliano.

Tyler, TX:
Tyler police officer Scott Bradley resigned after a DWI charge on December 5, 2007. Apparently Officer Bradley had been out drinking that night with a visiting Los Angeles detective scheduled to testify in Smith County court. Officer Bradley was arrested at the scene after crashing his car into a telephone pole. He was later placed on administrative leave, and then subsequently quit his position. Bradley was a decorated cop and was recognized by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in May 2007 for his service breaking up a nationwide methamphetamine ring. Officer Scott Bradley was part of a federal drug task force operating in Tyler, Texas.
Had Officer Bradley been operating in Cherokee County, TX to the south, then he could have had a relative in the Rusk post office smash his blood sample on its way to the Austin DPS. His drunken melee’ would have never made the local papers either. In fact oodles of accolades would have spilt from the Cherokeean Herald pressroom.
No one would be the wiser….

Nacogdoches, TX:
Tnisha Steadman, correctional officer for the Nacogdoches County sheriff’s department was fired and arrested Tuesday January 8, 2008 for passing a cell phone to an inmate. Ms. Steadman’s posted her bond at $5000. Sheriff Thomas Kerss commented on having to arrest one of his staff members, “We don’t put ourselves above the law.”

Lufkin, TX:
Angelina County Sheriff candidate and Lufkin police officer Trent Burfine has posted on his campaign website autopsy pictures of a slain local teenage girl. Pictures he says proves the mishandling of the 2003-2005 murder case by Angelina County investigators. The graphic crime scene photographs have caused controversy in the sheriff race, however officer Trent Burfine was within the state’s open records laws when the murder case was closed.

Officer Burfine contends on his webpage Angelina County Sheriff Ken Henson potted a murder investigation of the slain teenager after autopsy reports indicated toxic levels of crystal meth present in her system. Even though her body had extensive bruising and no needles or other indications of an overdose (or suicide) was discovered. The photos show how sheriff investigators contaminated the crime scene. The Lufkin police department took up the murder investigation, resulting in multiple convictions in 2005. A murder Angelina County refused to even consider. This attitude is shared in neighboring Cherokee County, Texas when it comes to investigating the death of undesirables. Why spend the money? It is unfortunate that Sheriff Henson decided it wasn’t in his 2003 budget to investigate the murder of Candice Alexander. Neighboring Cherokee County shares the same mentality as when 2 Jacksonville, TX women went missing prior to Larry Pugh’s federal trial. They collectively treat these women lower than roadside litter, and candidate Burfine should be commended for his exposure of this malfeasance. No murder investigation was needed up in Jacksonville, either. Of course no one up there ever challenges the established mindset or incumbents.

Case comparisons of the month-
State vs. Michael Frater (Smith Co. 2007) AND State vs. Michael Harris (Cherokee Co. 2005)

Tyler, TX:
On November 15, 2007, 47 year-old Tyler, TX resident Michael Edward Frater went on trial for “threatening” his estranged wife Ethel Gibson Frater. Unlike the case State v. Michael Harris in Jacksonville, TX, the Smith County district attorney’s office filed a motion to revoke Frater’s bail on an unrelated probation violation after Frater allegedly made one threatening call to his estranged ex-wife. In the similar scenario a few years earlier in Cherokee County, Michael Harris was out on felony bond for arson and continued to threaten, harass and trespass onto his ex-wife's property. Mr. Frater had his bail pulled immediately; Mr. Harris had his bail reset during multiple hearings at the Rusk, TX courthouse, while simultaneously being escorted to drug treatment at the Rusk State Hospital.

Michael Edward Frater

Mr. Frater’s bond was NOT set and reset and reset as Cherokee County did for Michael Harris; Mr. Frater was also not in custody or under State supervision. Frater had been paroled in 2006 from Tarrant County for a felony DWI and denied threatening his ex-wife.
Frater was put on trial by the Smith County district attorney for felony retaliation. Michael Frater was acquitted by a Smith County jury on November 16, 2007. Michael Harris continued his escalating domestic violence and murdered his ex-wife Faye Bell Harris of Jacksonville in 2003.

Michael Harris also accepted a plea bargin of life in prison and the family of the deceased was told Harris' bonds just couldn't be rescinded until Texas law was changed. Cherokee County blamed the 4th Amendment of the United States and the Texas constitution for deliberately resetting a drug informant's bail, allowing Michael Harris out on the streets to eventually murder his former wife.

http://www.cherokeecountytexas.blogspot.com/
369th-district-court
369th-district-court

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

Jacksonville City Manager's wife gets DUI. Vote for Prop 13 again?

Cherokee County Texas Blogspot is now on sister sites Technorati, the Austin American Statesman AND a contributing journal for Austin's Burnt Orange Report.
Thanks for all the contributing articles and old newspaper clippings.

As years of news paper clippings show, insurance fraud is the get rich quick scheme most favored by Cherokee County, TX law enforcement and their families. Of course when they are caught no reports are circulated. In fact every opportunity to deny it is taken. A common tactic in local Cherokee County Texas newspapers is for officials to mention in passing an incarcerated ally, as if at the time of publishing they just saw him at the grocery store. Or they just scored a big buck or prize fish at the hunting club. Or name him on a list of 'Who's Who' seen at the downtown Christmas festival. Even though they are doing time in prison. What is the efficacy of printing a bald face lie, when every individual reading it knows that the guy they're talking about is sitting in prison?

Why do these representatives of the community publish demonstrative artificial announcements? What can possibly be gained for knowingly making patently false statements? The answer is manifold, but most importantly they must fool the locals (not within their circle) that their buddies haven’t been breaking the law for decades.
Another favorite ploy of officials is playing the victim and/or pretending to be the defender, while they themselves are the ones committing the crime.

Rusk, Texas: Tuesday, October 23, 2007 Gordon Neal Mathis, 42 of Rusk, TX had his sentencing day in federal court for possessing child pornography, however his attorney did not show up and could not be reached. Mathis’ sentencing has been postponed. Cherokee County, Texas authorities seized his computers back in November 2006 after a 12-year-old girl reported being sexually assaulted by Mathis for almost a year.

The editor is certain the illegal images found on Gordon Mathis’ computer will appear elsewhere after being copied and stored by Cherokee County, TX law enforcement. Crime scene pictures ranging from suicides to burglaries are shared with local attorneys in an informal “open policy” forum. An “open policy” within the cult of confession, however not with out-of-town attorneys. No need to file a motion of discovery when everybody has the pictures of each other's wives. It's part of the culture of corruption in East Texas courthouses outside news agencies call "winning at all costs" which will be discussed later.

Tyler, Texas: Smith County correctional officer Kenya Bush, 25 of Tyler, TX has been indicted for conspiracy to commit capital murder and now faces trial in 241st District Judge Jack Skeen Jr.'s court. Co-defendants include Jonathan Toliver, 37 of Lindale, TX , and Toliver’s mother who allegedly bonded out a state witness out of jail in order to silence him. Smith County jailer Kenya Bush is accused of supplying a cell phone to Toliver and information on the confidential informant. Toliver had been under suspicion of manufacturing narcotics since 1997.

Toliver

Smith County’s undercover narcotics officers and a crack dealing CI testified at the Toliver trial.
On October 23, 2007, Johnathan “Bisco” Toliver received life in prison for his murder for hire conspiracy.

Kilgore, Texas: Pastor of the Gladewater Church of Christ, Larry Jackson, 54 of Kilgore, TX was arrested for sexual assault charges.

Pastor Jackson

Jackson is accused of assault and indecency with 3 girls all under the age of 10, occurring at the Church of Christ on West Clair St. in Gladewater, TX. He bonded out of Gregg County jail on $135,000 on October 11, 2007 and continued to preach during the detectives' investigation.

Longview, Texas: October 11, 2007: Longview, TX psychiatric ward closed down for egregious acts, including sexual assault on minor patients. The Texas Department of State Health Services suspended for 10-days and revoked the license of the Acadia Pathways Psychiatric Hospital. Acadia housed over 2 dozens out patients, including elderly. On October 29, 2007 the Longview, TX based sanatorium was completely shut down amidst the allegations of physical assault of twenty eight patients and six employees.

Bullard, Texas: Douglas Wadrup, 22 arrested October 12, 2007 for having child pornography on his computer.

Nacogdoches County Jail: Another escape of an inmate Tuesday October 16, 2007
due to booking errors and open delivery gates. The inmate, 19-year-old Adam Christopher Stripling was captured 3 minutes later and has been classified as a flight risk. The jailer has been disciplined for the mistake.

Jacksonville, TX: Deborah Raissi, the wife of Jacksonville City Manager Mo Raissi was arrested in Smith County on October 14, 2007 for DUI and possession of marijuana. Deborah Raissi was traveling on Hwy. 69 at 3:30 am when she was stopped by patrol officers in Bullard, TX. Jacksonville's Mayor Robert Haberle stands by the City Manager and states in the article that Mrs. Raissi’s drinking and pot smoking does not reflect poorly on the city. Forget about it... that was just an isolated incident. Wonder who sold her the bag of dope?


Deborah Raissi
TCLEOSE: On September 4, 2007 The Tyler Morning Telegraph ran an expose’ on corrupt East Texas law enforcement called “Breaking the Badge.” This article ran in tandem with several left leaning Texas bloggers’ (from the Austin metro area) comments and postings. The author Kenneth Dean of The Tyler Morning Telegraph lists the litany of police misconduct charges and convictions, mainly from the law enforcement operating in and around Cherokee County, Texas. The crimes range from sexual assault of women in police custody, drug dealing and rape. The article also cites the observations of Special Agent Peter Galbraith of the Tyler, TX FBI and TCLEOSE Executive Director Timothy Braaten. Namely, small East Texas towns with corrupt officers make the problem appear to be disproportionate than the rest of the country, and secondly these small towns don’t have the resources to hire good quality police officers.

A police officer such as Larry Pugh of Jacksonville, TX who has a history of official oppression and now a 12 + year federal sentence for rape and retaliation is not merely “unacceptable behavior.” The hiring of Michael Meissner this year to be the Chief of Police of New Summerfield, Texas was not just an ‘oversight’ or a slight ‘mistake.’ It is against the law to be a police impersonator. It is against the law to hire a police impersonator. There is no defending the hiring of a “gypsy cop” when you know the candidate is not a licensed peace officer.

Cherokee County Constable Randall Thompson did not just quit showing up for work while he was dealing crystal meth. The day before his federal indictment, the district court that employed him went into spin mode, and attempted to absolve themselves of Thompson, their bailiff and ally. District Court hearings, both civil and criminal, put Constable Thompson operating in the Rusk, TX courthouse all during 2006. That’s the point; not only is Thompson now in federal incarceration for 10 years for intent to distribute, BUT the Cherokee County, Texas media prints complete falsehoods fed to them from the district court. No retraction has ever been printed: Randy Thompson worked in the courthouse, Rusk TX's Skyview Unit and patrolled Precinct 3. It didn’t take a court hearing to fire him---the Eastern Federal District of Texas did it by indictment.

A perfect example of "winning at all costs." Got to fool 'em every day.

In the age of instant background checks, there is no other conclusion to come to other than small East Texas counties deliberately employ police officers with less than reputable backgrounds. These men are recruited because of their pasts. These men are promoted because of their connections with the ongoing criminal elements in the Piney Woods. They are put in place because they are willing to violate the law and do the things honest police officers would not. Their bosses get paid to keep the ruse going ad nauseum. And they simply get a kick out of it. It is their character. Unlike counties such as Smith and Nacogdoches that terminate crooked officers, Cherokee County ignores the problem until the problem worsens and the Feds have to step in. Then they rush the media with preposterous stories on how they never associated with the perpetrator (didn't even know where they were, a la' Randall Thompson) even though they've worked side-by-side for decades.

Further reading of September’s Tyler Morning Telegraph article shows the point that has been missed. There can be no glossing over the police misconduct: it took the FBI and the US Attorney’s office to bring charges against the rouge officers. Only Smith County has supervision and a system in place to reprimand the bad officers. Rusk County and Nacogdoches County openly discuss their disciplinary actions against offending officers. Police misconduct incidents are simply swept under the carpet in Cherokee County, TX and/or simply not reported. All these crimes discussed within this blog are not isolated incidents; it bleeds over into the local school systems where many of the relatives of Cherokee County law enforcement scratch out a living. And because they hate the sunlight passing through the magnifying glass, sexual deviants are sheltered instead of ousted. A quick check of the DPS sex offender registry gives the names not reported by their relatives: 16 registered offenders in Rusk, TX; 49 in Jacksonville, 3 in Wells, 2 in Alto, 1 in Gallatin, 1 in Maydelle and 22 in Troup, Texas. Never read about all of them in the paper?

According to the AP, Texas is ranked No. 2 in the nation in the number of teachers disciplined for sexual misconduct with students. In small close-knit communities, sexual abuse and police misconduct can go on for decades when the perpetrators are related to elected officials. Most of these incumbents never face an opponent during the primaries, because challengers are blackmailed out of the race.

Houston Chronicle, March 2005: The Chronicle published an article based on the East Texas legal system where only a handful of attorneys practice criminal defense "and fewer still are willing to openly criticize the district attorney in the town's tight-knit legal community. It's a community in which intermarriage and blood ties abound..." The focus of this article was heavy handed tactics of Smith County prosecutors and excessive sentencing issues. In Cherokee County, Texas it's not a matter of "winning at all costs" it is a matter of not losing at EVERY cost, no matter how long they drag a case out or what the price to the taxpayer. It is a matter of using law enforcement to harass those members of the bar association who break the code of silence and communicate with the US Attorney's office. It is a matter of circling the band wagon when one of their own is arrested for DUI after nearly killing people in a drunken wreck on the city streets of Jacksonville, TX. It is a matter of employees in the Rusk, TX post office smashing a sample vial of blood being mailed to Austin, after a Cherokee County deputy is arrested by the DPS [or vice versa] for drunk driving and disorderly conduct. No test-tube, no test results for the Sheriff's drinking buddies. It is a matter of pedophiles, rapists, imposters, drug dealers and murderers AND those who hire them given the responsibility of keeping Cherokee County 'crime free.'

Does the Department of Public Safety ever receive anything from Cherokee County, Texas?
Other than recruits that can't hack it being a disciplined trooper?
Certainly seized drugs aren't making it to their proper and legal destination when Cherokee and neighboring counties don't exist on the Department of Justice Fund Report (even though tiny towns do).
Yet drug seizures, raids and successful crackdowns alongside the DEA are routinely reported by the local Cherokee County, TX newspapers, as the September 10, 2007 seizure of 24 pounds of marijuana by local authorities and the October 4, 2007 arrest of an Anderson County fugitive. In their minds it doesn't matter how many federal laws they violate, as long as a pittance of dope can be seized and divvied up.

Statewide and Rusk, TX: On November 6, voters have the opportunity to have wool pulled over their eyes again with another constitutional amendment on the ballot: Namely Proposition 13 which states the amendment would deny bail if a person violates “certain court orders” or is released on felony bond or in a case of family violence. Prop 13 allows a district judge to assess if a defendant poses a danger to the community or a further threat to a domestic violence victim and again deny them bail.
This ruse of denying a violent and repeat offender bail has been tried and tried again for publicity stunts. Voters have already approved the exact same ridiculous con in November 2005. And as the media cites, these amendments became effective September 2006.
Why do we need to vote on this sham of denying bond of violent lawbreakers again? Because the author of this garbage wants what the previous person(s) responsible for its creation: a sympathy vote and something to champion. If someone poses a threat, and keeps posing a threat, as did Michael Harris in Cherokee County, Texas’ 2003 capital murder debacle, then the Texas Constitution, the United States Constitution and every legal precedent for the last 150 years allows for the denial of bail. Hopefully, the Texan voter will be getting sick of this excuse making by deficient District Attorneys. Send a message to them---quit letting your drug-dealing informants out on the streets to murder their wives.
Michael Harris murdered his wife in August 2003 after his bond was granted multiple times by the Cherokee County Texas district court; Faye Harris even had a protective order against her husband, who was seeking drug treatment at the Rusk State Hospital.

Notice in the Texas Council on Family Violence statement for the year 2003, just 2 months prior in June 2003, Runny Session, 37 of Rusk, TX murdered his wife Tracey Moore and killed the couple’s 16-year-old son Randy before killing himself. Not one article about this murder/suicide ever appeared in the Cherokee County newspapers. Wonder why? Because of the deceased kinship to those working for Cherokee County. A similar murder/suicide in March 2007 of a couple from Jacksonville, TX (who had moved to the Beaumont area) received the same anonymous and ‘closed-lipped’ reporting.

Makes all the sealed indictments and plea bargains appear to be just a family affair - a Cherokee County tradition.

Certain public sites outside http://www.cherokeecountytexas.blogspot.com expire over time, namely the TDCJ inmate registry.

To open a new search session on the TDCJ Offender/Prison Inmate site, go to http://168.51.178.33/webapp/TDCJ/index2.htm

The site also provides admission and release dates, including judgments, facility location and age/gender of inmates.