Jacksonville meth supplier sentenced in federal court; It takes crack to crack the case

2/16/22 - Pablo Antonio Sandoval, 200 block Tilley St. Jacksonville, TX

 

Jacksonville, TX:

In February 2022, Pablo Sandoval was busted with crystal meth and a stolen gun during an early morning traffic stop near his home in Jacksonville, TX. He was held in Gregg County jail under a federal detainer for drug trafficking, and after pleading guilty, eventually moved to Henderson County custody to await his sentencing in US District Court.  

Cherokee County, TX arrests for Feb. 15-21, 2022:

Pablo Antonio Sandoval, 23, Jacksonville, theft of firearm, no drivers licence [sic], traffic offense Class C, possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance.

(Source: Jacksonville Progress)

Pablo Sandoval, 200 block Tilley St., Jacksonville, TX (courtesy Henderson Co.)

Crystal meth dealers living in Cherokee County travel throughout East Texas, delivering drugs and mayhem to neighboring counties. Low income housing, cheap hotels, RV parks and converted half-way homes are used as layovers for drug mules monitored by multiple agencies. Local addicts are in and out of jail based on the amount of snitching they can provide, no matter their escalating risk to the public. Resident crackheads are worth their weight in Narcotic Task Force funding.

10 years ago, Jacksonville City Council rezoned former dormitory buildings from defunct Lon Morris College into multifamily Section 8 apartments along Sunset and Tilley St. where Pablo Sandoval lived.

After the college went into bankruptcy, owner Tilley LLC took control of the property with the intention of combining pairs of the 38 smallish dorm rooms into roughly 22 larger apartments. There are some proposed "double bedrooms" in the plans, each of which will require three dorm rooms to be put together to create, [Jacksonville Public Works Director Will] Cole said. (Source: City Council rezones so former Lon Morris dorms can be converted to apartments, Jan. 10, 2013 Jacksonville Daily Progress)

23-year old Pablo Sandoval, who was born in California, admitted to distributing large amounts of crystal meth in Cherokee County after he was detained by Jacksonville PD in February 2022. He pleaded guilty to drug trafficking last year in federal court and in April 2023, sentenced to 14 years.  (Source: KETK)

The "California man" as they call him, supplied crystal meth to his Jacksonville neighbors in October 2021, but wasn't actually incarcerated until February 2022 when he was picked up in the wee morning hours. Apparently he just rode around town for 4 months without a driver's license... even though the newspaper and Henderson County reported his Jacksonville, Texas residency.

From the US Attorney's Eastern District of Texas press release April 19, 2023:

California Man Sentenced for Federal Drug Trafficking Violations in East Texas -            

According to information presented in court, in October 2021, [Pablo] Sandoval supplied more than 500 grams of methamphetamine to drug dealers in Cherokee County, Texas, which he sourced from suppliers in California. Sandoval was indicted by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Texas in April 2022. (Source: DOJ)

United States v. Sandoval, 6:21-CR-00081-JDK

When a Nacogdoches, TX resident is sentenced for the same drug trafficking charges in the same US District Court, and on the same docket as Pablo Sandoval, the meth dealer is referred to a "Nacogdoches man" -  not by where his suppliers are located. (Source: April 28, 2023, Nacogdoches man sentenced to 15 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to drug trafficking- KETK)

 

The same US District Court that sentences female embezzlers to federal prison for stealing from non-profits, totally ignores over $430,000 stolen by the Cherokee County Tax Assessor's office.

East Texas authorities at the state and federal level attempt to blame other areas of the country for the crystal meth they know is manufactured in Cherokee County, Texas. As if 23-year old Pablo Sandoval was driving back and forth from Bakersfield, California with no driver's license to sell his homegrown East Texas poison. Cherokee County has a fine history of constables and police chiefs cooking up meth labs in the woods, a Jacksonville police officer raping transient women, girls being snatched from abuse shelters and their dead bodies dumped like trash;  and unindicted Tax Assessor officials stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars out the Rusk, TX courthouse.  

The more the local drug addicts steal, the more narcotics enforcement grant money the county can steal. 

(April 21, 2023- Vehicle theft ring investigation in Cherokee County leads to 4 arrests, 1 still at large,  KETK)

As a footnote, Cherokee County is patting themselves on the back for rounding up their favorite resident recidivist meth addicts, each averaging about a dozen catch-and-release arrests in the last few years, and charging the group with "Organized Crime."  Their court mandated drug rehab at the Rusk State Hospital has escalated into Grand Theft Auto. One member of the group, Edward Jones, is still at large after being released in Cherokee County last year for Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon on top of multiple drug arrests here, there, and everywhere.

Edward Lee Jones, Jacksonville TX

Cherokee County, TX arrests and releases:

03/25/2021 F.T.A. POSS MARIJ < 2OZ(CCSO) - Bond: $5000

02/10/2022 POSS CS PG 1/1-B >= 4G < 200G - Bond: $20000
POSS CS PG 1/1-B < 1G

02/28/2022 POSS CS PG 1/1-B <1G (JPD WARRANT)  - Bond: $2500.00 

05/21/2022 AGG ASSLT W/DEADLY WEAPON - Bond: $25000

02/07/2023  THEFT OF SERV >= $100 < $750 - Bond: $1000
THEFT OF SERV >= $100 < $750 - Bond: $1000
UNAUTH USE OF VEHICLE  - Bond: $2500
BURGLARY OF BUILDING - Bond: $2500 

Footnote: fugitive Edward Jones was picked up in the Dallas area in mid June for stealing and shipped back home. He is facing facing theft / organized crime charges with a total $90,000 bond. The tattoos on his face gave him away.

 

 .

Edward Jones (courtesy Dallas PD)

Murdering drug snitches turn state's evidence- Part 1

 

 

Capital murder suspect Dylan Welch from Jacksonville, TX gets to live to tell his tale the way it was told to him.

New Summerfield, TX: 

Friday February 3, 2023 - Cherokee County District Attorney Elmer Beckworth announced he would not be seeking the death penalty for Dylan Welch, one of the three defendants from the July 21, 2021 quadruple murder of four New Summerfield residents. (Source: CBS 19) Beckworth was able to flip his favorite of the three currently incarcerated homicide suspects by taking lethal injection off the table and getting the Dylan Welch defense team the most sober court appointed attorney on the Rusk square. Welch will be testifying against fellow drug informants Jesse Pawlowski and Billy Phillips, who both remain eligible for capital punishment. Until one of them admits to only driving the stolen getaway car. (Source: Prosecution will not seek death penalty for 1 of 3 Cherokee County quadruple homicide suspects, KETK)

Stolen 2017 Dodge Challenger (Source: Daily Progress)

 

Cherokee County DA office meets their murder case quota by releasing violent drug offenders.

From July 2021 - Three career criminals in Jacksonville, TX have been arrested and charged with the capital murder of four residents in nearby New Summerfield, TX. The bodies of John Clinton, Jeff Gerla, Ami Hickey, and Amanda Barnes were found in a home in the 1600 block of Hwy 101 N. (Source: CBS 19) The three suspects have avoided past prosecution and tough sentencing by agreeing to be confidential informants for Cherokee County law enforcement. All three have been arrested and released for similar crimes in the last few years, despite being on Supervised Probation.

Left to Right : Jesse James Pawlowski age 20, Dylan Welch age 21, and Billy Dean Phillips age 37 (Source: KLTV)

 

Jesse Pawlowski and Dylan Welch both have probated burglary convictions buried in the 2nd Judicial District court; absconding sex offender Billy Phillips was arrested by Jacksonville Police and released 2 weeks prior to the killings. Pawlowski was reported to have been in an polyamorous relationship with two of the victims. The Cherokee County Sheriff Department issued a statement concluding the killings resulted in a dispute over "guns and clothes," not mentioning the extensive drug use and stolen 2017 Dodge Challenger that led to their arrests. Sheriff Dickson's version of events excluded that all three had been in and out of Cherokee County custody while escalating their crime sprees. (Source: KETK)

Cherokee County's chickens come home to roost

It is Cherokee County's policing policy to catch and release drug addicts and violent criminals to bolster their counterfeit crime statistics for federal funding.

Prison ministries are used by the District Attorney's office to recruit sex offenders to sit on Cherokee County jury pools. Local drug addicts are shuffled into worthless treatment programs so the State can be hourly billed for nonexistent rehabilitation. They get arrested and re-arrested all the time but very rarely see the inside of a courtroom. Friendly neighborhood potheads who could easily be picked up at the Treatment Center for failing their urinalysis, often get their parties crashed by the Po Po during election cycles. Resident crackheads are caught and released with no bail to encourage them to escalate their crime sprees. What results is a show of force by small town police units for news cameras, while chicken shit prosecutors pretend to enforce the law.

Police tank vs. mobile home

 

Jacksonville, TX : 1/17/23 SWAT standoff with resident drug addicts hiding a stolen gun (Source: Barricaded man taken into custody by SWAT team in Cherokee County, KETK)

 

Lionel Charles, Jr. is such a threat to SWAT, they him released 4 times in 2022 without setting bail.

Lionel Joseph Charles Jr., 34, was arrested for drug possession and released WITH NO BOND in Cherokee County on four separate occasions in the last year alone. On January 17, 2023, he barricaded himself in a mobile home during a SWAT raid in Jacksonville, TX. Prior to that he had been arrested and released on multiple marijuana, crack cocaine, theft, and credit card abuse charges.

Lionel Charles has been in and out of drug offenders programs, courtesy of Cherokee County taxpayers and the 2nd Judicial District Court.

Criminal Docket Case 20217 ; FORGERY FINANCIAL INSTRUMENT ELDERLY
THE STATE OF TEXAS vs CHARLES, LIONEL JOSEPH JR
Filed 10/24/2016 - Disposition: 01/19/2017 Deferred adjudication
2nd District Court, Cherokee County, Texas

Criminal Docket Case 20218 ; UNAUTH USE OF VEHICLE
THE STATE OF TEXAS vs CHARLES, LIONEL JOSEPH JR
Filed 10/24/2016 - Disposition: 01/17/2017 Deferred adjudication
2nd District Court, Cherokee County, Texas

Criminal Docket; Case 20219 ; POSS CS PG 1 <1G
THE STATE OF TEXAS vs CHARLES, LIONEL JOSEPH JR
Filed 10/24/2016 - Disposition: 01/19/2017 Deferred adjudication
2nd District Court, Cherokee County, Texas

Criminal Docket; Case 21256 ; CREDIT CARD OR DEBIT CARD ABUSE
THE STATE OF TEXAS vs CHARLES, LIONEL JOSEPH JR
Filed 09/12/2019 - Disposition: 11/06/2019 Conviction-guilty plea or nolo cont-no jury
2nd District Court, Cherokee County, Texas

Criminal Docket; Case 22188 ; UNKNOWN
THE STATE OF TEXAS vs CHARLES, LIONEL JOSEPH JR
Filed 08/29/2022 - Disposition:
2nd District Court, Cherokee County, Texas

Cherokee County releases drug addicts and thieves without bond so they can be followed around town.

Jail records prove Lionel Charles was released unconditionally on his own recognizance (OR) the last four times he was busted, so he could reoffend and lead authorities to the next neighborhood crack house sting. This most recent Jan. 17, 2023 raid was conducted by the Jacksonville Police Department; a stolen firearm and other property were recovered without incident. Jacksonville resident Patrick Long was also arrested for the Gun Theft. (Source: Officials identify suspect involved in SWAT standoff in Cherokee County, KLTV)

Patrick Ryan Long,  aka "Junior," "Big Bad Wolf," and "Fat Pat" 1/17/23 

"Hurry up and go steal something, boy!" 

Patrick Long had just been released on theft charges back in September 2022 with no recorded Bond. Despite multiple arrests by Jacksonville PD, many of his charges have never been prosecuted by the district attorney. The county gets to bill for similar suspects' never-ending substance abuse rehab, who dons such colorful nicknames for the staff.

09/16/2022 -THEFT PROP >= $2,500 < $30K; released no Bond
09/16/2019 - Terroristic threat against family member; Bond: $2500
06/19/2019 - Assault family violence; Bond: $2000
03/08/2019 - Assault Class C; released no Bond
09/13/2018 - Burglary Of Habitation; bond: $30000
08/02/2018 - Assault Peace Officer/ Resist arrest; Bond: $22000
01/08/2018 - Assault Peace Officer/ Resist arrest / threaten family violence; Bond: $22000
09/30/2016 - Discharge of firearm in city limits; citation
04/06/2016 - Terroristic threat; Bond: $1500
07/03/2015 - POSS MARIJ < 2OZ; Bond: $1000
09/04/2010 - charges reduced to Class C misdemeanor
09/13/2006 - POSS MARIJ < 2OZ; Bond: $750
04/21/2004 - Disorderly conduct/ Drug Paraph/ Traffic exhibition accel - released 

 (Courtesy: texas.arrests.org)

As a footnote, another violent drug spree with hostages and SWAT took place Tuesday, January 24, 2023 in southern Cherokee County. Three local drug addicts with long criminal histories were arrested for attempting to kidnap residents in a trailer park north of Wells, according to Tyler based media. (Source: 3 arrested in alleged kidnapping, assault in Wells, KETK)

Alice Hayes, Wesley Wallace, and Chad Campbell (courtesy KETK)

Alice Hayes and Wesley Wallace were charged with aggravated kidnapping w/deadly weapon; Chad Campbell was charged for drug possession. The three suspects live in the Wells, TX community. (Source: KLTV) Cherokee County newspapers remain silent on the incident.

 

Such a safe place to raise a family. (Source KLTV)

Stolen: over $430,000 from Cherokee County tax office (and they won't report who did it)

They won't tell you who stole $431,375 out of the Cherokee County, TX courthouse over a 5 year period. 

Every wonder why your property taxes keep going through the roof each year? It was quietly reported in July 2022 that the Texas Rangers were investigating the disappearance of over $430,000 in funds from the Cherokee County, TX Tax Assessor-Collector's office.  (Source: Funds missing from Cherokee County tax office, KLTV) After all the hemming and hawing with the County Appraisal District's property tax shortfalls, even blaming "clerical data entry mistakes," there is a simple reason why the county tax roll levy doesn't match what is reported to the State Comptroller. (Source: Jacksonville council calls for chief appraiser’s removal,  Jacksonville Progress)

County commissioners gear up to sue courthouse thief before their unnamed coworker is charged. Or will she ever be charged?

Will she be indicted by her cousins at all? After several forensic audits, $431,375.91 was confirmed stolen between 2015 and 2021 by an elected official in the Cherokee County Tax Assessor's Office.  Instead of publishing the name of the former Cherokee County official responsible for the missing money, the Cherokee County Commissioners Court is suing the unnamed female embezzler in Civil Court with the help of Tyler based attorneys Flowers Davis PLLC. (Source: County leaders to pursue civil suit in tax office theft case, Cherokeean)

In 2021, an internal audit of the Tax Assessor’s Office revealed county documents did not match what was reported to the state comptroller, said the Cherokeean.

Another audit was conducted by an outside company, and they also found there was an inconsistency and that $431,375.91 was missing, said officials. This was allegedly taken between 2015 and 2021 by an employee who had worked for the county for several years, according to the Cherokeean.  (Source: Cherokee County Commissioners Court votes to begin civil suit after money stolen from county tax office, KETK)

Cherokee County Commissioner's Court "...we're gonna get that money back from her, but we ain't gonna tell you who stole it..." (Courtesy: Jacksonville Progress)

 

 

Putting the cart before the horse.

With countywide elections around the corner, County Commissioners are eager to appear on top of the $430,000 stolen out from under their noses. They've announced a lawsuit against a still unnamed and unindicted defendant who is apparently related to members on the last two sitting 2022 Grand Juries. This gives the District Attorney's office time to wrangle with the thief's cousins behind closed doors before a potential trial jury is hand-picked and she is offered a settlement. Of course local media doesn't question the bass-ackwards civil suit against an undisclosed former county employee who hasn't been charged with an actual crime. In the interim you are to assume a low level courthouse clerk is capable of doctoring the books of nearly half a million dollars reported to the State Comptroller. They wouldn't lie to you...

Friends in low places

Will Elmer Beckworth recuse himself?

The "investigation" into the missing $430,000 began in January 2022; it was hidden from the public for 7 months until being leaked to the press in July 2022.  It's been over a year since the initial audit confirmed the stolen $430,000 and there are no reports of any criminal charges being filed by good friend Cherokee County District Attorney Elmer Beckworth who works in the same building as the thief.  As does Chris Davis and the entire Commissioners Court. She always brought cookies for everyone...

Gina Upshaw, (4th from the left) et al are lauded with their 15-year service awards, circa 2019 (Jacksonville Progress).

 "Just pay back what you can and don't talk to nobody..."

 

 Missing vs. Stolen

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

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. 

District Attorney Elmer Beckworth confirmed only that the Texas Rangers were investigating the matter and that, if the missing amount is proven, the offense would be considered a felony. When questioned about the forensic auditor Daughety said was retained, Beckworth would only speak in generalities, stating the hire of a forensic auditor in such cases would be standard procedure. (Source: Daily Progress, July 13, 2022)

Where are the feds and the Attorney General?

Cherokee County voters are supposed to remain in the dark while their tax dollars are embezzled in the Rusk courthouse. Imagine the response in neighboring Smith County (with a population and budget 5 times the size of Cherokee County) if a mere $4500 went missing from the county tax rolls.  The suspected official's name and face would be all over the 6 o'clock news. Commissioners jumping the gun with a civil suit, before a criminal case has been made by the District Attorney's office, portends the Dog & Pony Show leading up to the May election cycle.  Local media does not make the correlation between hiding the identity of government thieves and their incentive to keep stealing. Obviously, they're all in on it.

Footnote 6/2/23: Gina Upshaw, 62 from Rusk TX was formerly indicted by a Cherokee County grand jury for stealing $431,375.91 from taxpayers during her tenure as Tax Assessor bookkeeper. Of course, no one in the Rusk courthouse has ever met her, or laid eyes on her. They do hope you enjoy your ever increasing property tax hikes (Source: Cherokee County tax office bookkeeper indicted for theft, money laundering, KETK).

Gina Upshaw receives 15-year service award, circa 2019 (Jacksonville Progress).

Gina Upshaw, was employed for 18 years at the Rusk courthouse with the County Clerk's office, and later handpicked by the Commissioners Court as the Cherokee County Tax Assessor Collector Bookkeeper.  (courtesy KETK)

DPS hides identity of hostage taker with prior convictions

Another weekend, another hostage standoff with a resident drug snitch disturbing the peace after violating probation. Another cover up lead by the local chapter of the Texas Rangers when they don't want the public to know the facts. Area authorities have no problem telling the obedient East Texas media who to report on, and who not to, after polishing their Rogues Gallery of busted criminals each week. 

 

 

 

 

 

How to No-Bill a guy holding a gun on his own family after putting him on probation for Aggravated Robbery? Send him back home and don't tell anybody who he is.

In the 2nd Judicial District Court of Texas:

• Burglary and Armed Robbery =  2 years adjudicated probation

• Domestic Violence and Bodily Injury = 6 months probation

• Holding your family hostage and getting shot by SWAT in your own front yard = no grand jury

• An anonymous ride to the emergency room with police escort = priceless 

 Jacksonville, TX: 

 

On Saturday, November 26, 2022, the Jacksonville Police were dispatched to a home at the 36600 block of US-69 N after a man called 911 claiming to be holding his wife and daughter hostage. Responding officers shot the armed suspect in self defense, after he failed to comply and menacingly approached their vehicles. He was carted off to the local hospital for recovery and to sober up; the wife and daughter were uninjured.  (Source: Man shot after allegedly holding wife and daughter hostage in Jacksonville, KETK )

 

 

 

According to the DPS, the 911 hostage suspect is so dangerous he needs to remain anonymous. (Courtesy: KETK)

 

Names have not been released pending an "investigation" by the Texas Rangers. East Texas news is too timid to request body cam footage or the suspect's criminal history. It's too embarrassing to see the sweet deal struck with the District Attorney's office back in the day. It's also embarrassing for the Sheriff Department to report a local armed robber's probated sentence in Carl Phillips' Adult Probation Department.

 

Carl Phillips, head of Cherokee County Probation and convicted child molester.

 

Each week for over 30 years, Cherokee County newspapers lavished praise and adoration on a resident pedophile grooming his way up the ladder to Director of the Probation Department. They reported Carl Phillip's post-retirement conviction for stealing from the county, then ceased when he was busted for child molestation. Hiding crimes is nothing new to them, especially when it makes the county look bad. The most recent hostage situations and drug related homicides in the county are prime examples of them misleading the public. 

 

Even though last week's shooting of the armed suspect threatening his family and law enforcement was justifiable by all accounts, the DPS won’t be disclosing the suspect’s prior convictions. There are mandatory minimal sentencing requirements under State law that for some reason, Cherokee County's District Attorney loves to ignore. Such as Burglary and Armed Robbery sentences of only 2 years concurrent probation. Plea deals for Domestic Violence / Bodily Injury result in 6-month probation sentences in the 2nd Judicial District Court when defendants are recruited by District Attorney investigators to snitch on fellow drug users.

Criminal Docket Case 10715 : BURGLARY OF BUILDING
Filed 07/20/1988 - Disposition: 02/08/1989 Deferred adjudication
2nd District Court, Cherokee County, Texas

Criminal Docket Case 11359 : AGGRAVATED ROBBERY
Filed 08/29/1990 - Disposition: 01/29/1991 Conviction-guilty plea or nolo cont-no jury, Deferred adjudication
2nd District Court, Cherokee County, Texas

Criminal Docket Case 14031 : THEFT PROP>=$1,500<$20K
Filed 06/28/1999 - Disposition: 07/31/2001 Deferred adjudication
2nd District Court, Cherokee County, Texas

Criminal Docket Case 54579 : ASSAULT BODILY INJURY FAMILY VIOLENCE     
Filed 06/03/2013 - Disposition: 12/11/2013 Deferred adjudication
2nd District Court, Cherokee County, Texas

 

Lazy prosecutors making deals with habitual criminals knowingly leads to escalated violence against the public and law enforcement.

 

 

Suspect's name withheld indefinitely after being shot during standoff. (Courtesy: KLTV)

 

This guy's name also won't be on the lips of the upcoming Grand Jury as long as the suspect's family doesn't sue the Jacksonville Police Department for shooting him in the ass. Daddy will be released on minimum bail courtesy of taxpayers, and back home soon if he agrees to continue using his John Doe alias around town. And stop calling 911 when he's beating his wife unconscious in front of the kids.

 

 

 To Catch a Predator, Cherokee County, TX edition.

 

One day earlier on Friday, November 25, 2022 another Jacksonville, TX resident with priors was arrested for Attempted Kidnapping and Aggravated Assault. Ledarrious Grady, 31 is currently being held on a $75,000 bond. Grady did not call 911 or cause a SWAT situation like the suspect who was shot and released the following day. Grady is black so he doesn't get a Get Out of Jail Free Card.  (Source:  Jacksonville man arrested for alleged aggravated assault, kidnapping, KETK)

Ledarrious Grady, Jacksonville TX

12/8/2022: As a footnote, the wounded suspect has been released from UT Health -Jacksonville, booked in Cherokee County jail and waiting on his momma to come get him. Lucky for him, he shares a cellblock with former ETMC ER doctor Karl Kauffman, facing additional charges of molesting his kids.

 

Dr. Karl Kauffman, UT Health (Source: Medical Board suspends license of doctor accused of molesting child, Lufkin Daily News) 

1/22/2023: Ledarrious Deshun Grady, 31, was arrested again for DUI while out on bail for his previous ASSAULT and KIDNAPPING charges in Cherokee County back in early December. Just keep on keepin' on.

Ledarrious Grady, Jacksonville TX, 1/22/2023

 

 

Paroled drug snitch holds family hostage; Jacksonville Police Chief steps down

 

Jacksonville, TX 5/24/24- absconding parolee Justin Ray processed for the 23rd time after charges dropped by sympathetic prosecutors. (Courtesy CCSO)

369th District Court, Cherokee County, Texas
Criminal Docket Case 22515 EVADING ARREST/ DETENTION W/VEHICLE
THE STATE OF TEXAS vs RAY, JUSTIN ODELL
Filed 08/28/2023 - Disposition: 05/28/2024 Dismissed-insufficient evidence
 

Career criminals avoid prosecution by working with Cherokee County narcotics enforcement.

Drug dealers and habitual thieves have their parole violation warrants dismissed after pulling guns, assaulting victims, and running from arresting officers. It's a game of cat-and-mouse. By giving up their fellow meth users, they avoid Unlawful Possession of a Firearm by a Felon charges and have state jail felonies dismissed despite prior convictions. Of course they escalate their drug use and always reoffend while they're out on bail. Law enforcement who release them believe the public is too stupid to figure out what is going on.

Justin Ray, Jacksonville TX busted 8/24/2022

Justin Odell Ray, 32, of Jacksonville, TX was arrested for the umpteenth time for holding a gun on a group of people during a crystal meth binge. East Texas media incredulously reports Ray's in-and-out parole journey beginning early this year in Cherokee County. In March, Justin Ray had a parole violation warrant issued for drug possession charges; he was arrested by Jacksonville PD and released without a parole hearing.

Justin Ray, busted 6/2/2022

In June, Justin Ray was charged with assault and evading arrest, and again released. In August this year, the Texas Pardon and Parole issued another warrant for Ray's arrest, which led a few days later to a foot chase with local SWAT. Ray had pulled a gun and threatened to kill some folks in the interim.  (Source: East Texas man arrested, accused of multiple parole violations, holding family at gun point KETK)

Justin Ray, circa 2007

Criminal Docket; Case 17350 and Case 17351 ; BURGLARY OF HABITATION
THE STATE OF TEXAS vs RAY, JUSTIN ODELL
Filed 12/17/2008 - Disposition: 06/11/2009 Conviction-guilty plea or nolo cont-no jury
2nd District Court, District Clerk, Cherokee County, Texas

Criminal Docket; Case 19183 ; AGG ASSAULT W/DEADLY WEAPON
THE STATE OF TEXAS vs RAY, JUSTIN ODELL
Filed 05/27/2014 - Disposition:
2nd District Court, District Clerk, Cherokee County, Texas

Criminal Docket; Case 19248 ; POSS CS PG 1 <1G
THE STATE OF TEXAS vs RAY, JUSTIN ODELL
Filed 05/27/2014 - Disposition: 03/18/2016 Dismissed-insufficient evidence
2nd District Court, District Clerk, Cherokee County, Texas

 

 Some Jacksonville residents are more valuable on the streets than locked up and rehabilitated.

Justin Ray has been a stoolie for Cherokee County law enforcement for over a decade. Despite being a habitual parole violator, arrest after arrest have led to mediocre bonds and his immediate release. A small fraction of his charges were ever prosecuted. Ray's public rap sheet begins at the age 18 with arrests spanning several counties that include domestic violence on numerous occasions, burglary, assault, theft, drugs, and parole violations.  Who makes the decision to release a violent habitual parole violator back on the streets of Jacksonville to terrorize residents? KETK reports the Texas Pardon and Parole Board dismissed Ray's parole violation warrant back in March after he was charged with possessing and dealing crystal meth.

Texas Pardon and Parole lifted the March 2022 parole warrant for Ray’s arrest, “releasing him back into society.” 

He was found to be in possession of narcotics and ammunition at the time of his arrest, according to officials. (KETK)

In June 2022, Justin Ray was previously arrested by Jacksonville PD and released for:

#1 Evading Arrest or Detention with a Motor Vehicle
#2 Evading Arrest Detention
#3 Assault Causes Bodily Injury
#4 Parole Violation

In a matter of days, he was back out for his latest ASSAULT WITH A DEADLY WEAPON crime spree.

The real question is,  who in Cherokee County pressures the Texas Pardon and Parole to lift warrants for a habitual criminal on parole for AGGRAVATED ASSAULT?

Jacksonville Police Chief Joe Williams

Chief Joe Williams has reportedly taken a few weeks sabbatical after a whistleblower made an anonymous complaint against him. On August 29, 2022, Williams voluntarily took administrative leave as the Jacksonville Police Department's dirty laundry is squelched by "outside" third party resources uninterested in alleged sexual misconduct. (Source: Jacksonville police chief placed on administrative leave following ‘allegation’ -KETK) The shakeup comes on the heels of the high profile Cody Roberts murder trial that resulted in a mistrial in March and a not guilty verdict a week earlier. (Source: Jury finds Cody Roberts not guilty of 2018 murder in Cherokee County - KETK) The trial highlighted the sloppiness of investigators and jurors' disbelief in the State's case.

In house fighting, finger pointing, and political shenanigans are common in small town rumor mills. Hopefully the allegations are not serious enough for any female complainant to be dismembered in some nearby National Forest.

Shunte Coleman, Jacksonville TX

"Forensic pathologist identifies remains of Texas woman missing since 2006" (Wikipedia)

The skeletal remains of Shunte Coleman, a missing person since 2006, have reportedly been found near the Angelina National Forest in the US state of Texas. On Friday, the San Augustine, Texas sherriff's department announced remains found in San Augustine by a forester earlier this year are a DNA match for Coleman.

A forensic anthropologist from Sam Houston State University assisted with the investigation and determined the findings matched Jacksonville resident Coleman.

In 2006 Coleman's family said the 26-year-old Shunte was likely dead. Connections were drawn between Coleman and Jacksonville Police Officer Larry Pugh, who was later sentenced in March 2007 to a twelve-year jail term for sex assault while on duty and retaliation against a witness.

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.

 

Life sentence for Rusk, TX child molester the media reported as living in Carrollton, TX

 

Rusk, TX:

When Cherokee County child molesters are known by arresting agencies, their identities and residencies are lied about to news outlets. They lie about where the sex offender is employed, especially if the offender works at the County Jail and is petitioning the District Court for early supervised release. They can even get a County Judge to forge the name of the District Judge (by permission) on the sex offense release orders of a school nurse moonlighting at the jailhouse.

(Source:  From School Nurse to Sex Offender, Jan 12, 2010 KLTV)

Rebecca Blankinship has gone from school nurse to convicted sex offender. She pleaded guilty in 2010 to sexually assaulting a 14 year-old female Rusk ISD student. The assault happened in 2009 while Blankinship was employed at Rusk ISD. Her sex offense probation was illegally scrubbed in 2013 by County Judge Craig Fletcher who did not consult prosecutors. 

Officials don’t deny the District Judge's signature on Rebecca Blankinship's sex offense release order was written by former county court-at-law judge Craig Fletcher, even though BY LAW sex offense registry is for life and mandatory probation lengths are stipulated in the Texas Penal Code. (Source: Jacksonville Progress, Dec. 19, 2013)

Can't have a sex offender checking on the well-being of the other sex offenders in jail, unless of course it's the County Probation Department.

Carl Phillips, head of Cherokee County Probation Dept.

In 2019, Carl Phillips was sentenced to 50 years in prison after pleading guilty to the continuous sexual abuse of a child and to two probation revocation cases involving stealing from the county. Despite heading the Cherokee County Probation Department for over 35 years and being the longest serving Cherokee County employee on record, Phillips was simply referred to as "a man from Jacksonville" by Cherokee County newspapers. (Source: Former East Texas corrections director molested child for more than 18 months, KETK)

"Cherokee County sex offender gets life in prison...but he doesn't live here...."

John Wesley Allen Jr., 57, is a longtime Cherokee County, TX resident according to his Voter Registration. He has been living at the end of the dirt road on DECHARD ST in RUSK, TEXAS since 2010. Allen was arrested in 2020 for the ongoing sex assault of a Rusk, TX child, when it was falsely reported he lived in the DFW area. Allen sat in the Cherokee County jail on $1 million bond for the last couple years; and was recently convicted in the 369th Judicial District Court and sentenced to life in prison with no parole. He did not accept a more lenient plea deal. (Source: Cherokee County man sentenced to life in prison for abuse of child, KETK) Some East Texas reported the Big Fat Lie in the 369th District Court's post trial brief that John Wesley Allen, Jr. lived in Carrollton, TX and not in Cherokee County. Is this really a case of some out-of-town child molester preying on kids in Rusk, TX and not a local predator endemic to the area?

They just want you to feel vested in your little community, and repeat the lies with them.

John Wesley Allen Jr., somebody's neighbor, friend, and co-worker

No, this John Wesley Allen Jr. has lived and worked in Rusk, TX for decades where, according to trial testimony, he molested a child for years beginning when the kid was 6 years old. Allen did not drive back and forth from the Dallas area to continually molest the kids in his trailer park. He lives in Rusk because it is a haven for pedophiles who get summoned for jury duty. They can even get their criminal histories illegally expunged by the District and County Judges for what they consider "good behavior," i.e. working at the County Jail and pretending they have an official jury summons. Why do they go out of their way to get the media to lie about where John Allen, Jr. lived while he molested kids in Rusk? Because they know him and worked with him for decades, just like they worked side-by-side "a man from Jacksonville" Carl Phillips for over 35 years. (Source: Jacksonville man sentenced to 50 years in prison for continuous child sexual abuse, CBS19) A Jacksonville man who only worked 35 years for Cherokee County as their longest serving and top Criminal Justice employee.