News and Press Releases : 2006

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2006 Press Releases

From The Paris News

Editorial: Whelchels will be sorely missed

Staff reports
The Paris News

Published December 29, 2006

Everyone involved in the criminal justice system in Lamar County except the criminals will miss the husband and wife prosecution team of Lloyd and Sherry Whelchel.

The duo recently left the district attorney’s office to return to their previous prosecution positions with Tarrant County.

“Lamar County has benefited greatly from them being here,” Lamar County and District Attorney Gary Young said. “… The docket management has been phenomenal.”

We couldn’t agree more. The Whelchels helped Young and his office whittle down an inherited backlog of about 950 cases to just more than 200 cases. The couple worked countless hours to get tough sentence for dangerous criminals and help make Lamar County a safer place to live and work.

Sherry Whelchel is to be replaced by former misdemeanor prosecutor Merilee Brown, who has done a great job so far for the office. We wish her luck in the future. We hope the lawyer Young hires to replace the outgoing first assistant district attorney has the same passion as his former set of prosecutors.

Lamar County losing top criminal prosecutors

By Josh Edwards
The Paris News

Published December 22, 2006

Today, Lamar County bids farewell to two of its top prosecutors.

After hours of hard work to reduce the Lamar County criminal docket by about 60 percent, husband and wife prosecutors Lloyd and Sherry Whelchel have made the decision to return to their positions at Tarrant County District Attorney's Office.

Today is the last day in Lamar County Attorney's Office for the Whelchels before they are each assigned to one of Tarrant County's nine district courts.

The couple, who met and married while attending Louisiana Tech, says it was a difficult decision to leave friends, family and colleagues to return to Fort Worth.

"We both have enjoyed it. It's been a neat experience to come back to Lamar County — having grown up here — and have the chance to prosecute cases and make a contribution back to the town where I came from," said Lloyd, whose mother is a Realtor and whose father owns an automotive repair shop in Reno.

Helping County and District Attorney Gary Young quickly reduce the caseload has been among the couple's major accomplishments, those who worked closely with the husband and wife team say.

“Lamar County has benefited greatly from them being here,” Young said. “… The docket management has been phenomenal.”

The district attorney's office inherited a backlog of cases from the previous prosecutors, but Lloyd and Sherry helped knock the docket down from about 950 to a little more than 200 cases.

“Lloyd and Sherry are real quality lawyers, very experienced. They have done a great job for the county. They've helped bring the docket down for Gary Young, and I'm going to miss working with them,” 62nd District Judge Scott McDowell said.

“Lamar County has been fortunate to have them as prosecutors,” 6th District Judge Jim Lovett said.

Young selected the couple because he was looking for a Lamar County native who wanted to return home.

“Someone gave me Lloyd's name, so I called his mother and got his number,” Young said.

The couple says they feel like they have helped build a closer relationship with Lamar County law enforcement.

“We feel like we’ve given meaning to the officer’s hard work,” Sherry said.

“The perception was that the prosecution prior to us was not as good as it could have been and should have been,” Lloyd said.

The Whelchels agree investigations in Lamar County seem to often be more in depth than in large cities, such as Fort Worth.

“We’ve been impressed with the investigators here. It seems like the investigations are a little more thorough,” Sherry said.

Both worked particularly close with Sgt. Shane Boatright of Paris Police Department and Sgt. Travis Rhodes of Lamar County Sheriff’s Department during sexual assault cases against children.

“I think I can speak for pretty much everyone at the police department that we hate to see them leave,” Boatright said. “… I would say we have an excellent working relationship. We appreciate the work that Gary and all his folks have done.”

Rhodes, who sheriff’s department officials say is out of the office until early January, was unavailable for comment.

Clearing so many cases in a short period time has provided a myriad of both exciting and difficult moments for both attorneys.

One of Sherry’s most rewarding moments with Lamar County Attorney’s Office was getting a 199-year sentence for James Rene Hayes, a previously convicted drug dealer. The defense asked for a 15-year sentence.

“He was already a convicted felon. He’d been down to the pen already for years,” Sherry said.

She said she also enjoyed working with renowned blood spatter expert Tom Bevel during the Darell James Larson case. Larson was convicted of the stabbing death of Roy Lee Williams.

“It’s amazing to work with someone of his caliber who can come down here and actually show to the jury that this victim had crawled while being stabbed. And then you can see the coups de gras on the wall where his throat was slit,” Sherry said.

Lloyd says some of his most rewarding moments in Lamar County have been getting guilty verdicts on child sex cases, especially Orian Lee Scott, who taped young boys showering.

“To be able to prosecute someone who was so prolific in what he was doing and finally get him convicted” really stands out, Lloyd said.

He was also pleased by the verdict of the retrial of a Paris doctor who was found guilty of molesting his daughter.

“We finally got him convicted when he should have been convicted the first time,” he said.

While these types of cases are rewarding, they can also be emotional draining because of the impact on families and family friends, both attorneys said.

“Some of the battles are quiet battles that you don’t necessarily see,” Sherry said.

The Cody Posey trial stands out to Lloyd as a difficult case. Posey was convicted of two counts of criminally negligent homicide after a fatal crash on Farm to Market Road 195.

“That was a hard case from the standpoint that a lot of people would consider that an accident even though there are two fatalities. I’ve been fortunate enough to try those before and not always get a positive result,” he said. “I’m very impressed with the jury weighing all the evidence and holding him responsible for what he did.”

Lloyd says he became a prosecutor for two reasons.

“It was something I always wanted to do. I remember being a kid and watching Perry Mason, and I wanted to be the guy who put the bad guys in jail, not the one to get them out,” he said. “And I had an uncle who was a lawyer, and I remember watching him.”

His wife says she had always thought about becoming a lawyer and decided on the profession while she was working at University of Houston to help send Lloyd through law school.

After graduating from law school, both interned at Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office before getting jobs there. Sherry also interned at several civil firms but decided prosecution was more fulfilling.

“I’ve enjoyed this work. I thought I was doing something of service to the community,” she said.

The couple also had the unique opportunity to try about 10 cases together. These were the first cases they had tried together and will probably be the last for a while because of the large court system in Tarrant County.

“I always knew my wife was a good lawyer, now I have proof,” Lloyd said.

If there is one thing both prosecutors want to emphasize before they leave, it is Lamar County has top-notch, prosecutors, judges, law enforcement officers and victim services personnel that are just as good, if not better in some ways, than those in Tarrant County.

“We were very pleased with the quality here,” Sherry said.

Man found guilty of indecency

By Josh Edwards
The Paris News

Published November 30, 2006

A 37-year-old Sumner man found guilty of indecency with a child by sexual contact must serve three concurrent 15-year sentences.

After more than two hours of deliberation, a jury of three men and nine women found Billy Wayne McDonald guilty of three counts of fondling a child during a three-year period.

The Paris News has chosen not to release the name or gender of the victim, who is a family member, in order to ensure the victim's privacy.

Rather than face up to 60 years in prison, McDonald accepted the state's offer of three concurrent 15-year sentences and waived his right to appeal. He is eligible for parole in seven-and-a-half years. If current parole trends continue, McDonald will serve at least 80 percent of his sentence before he is released.

Upon release, he must register as a sex offender.

A storm of emotions swept though the courtroom as 6th District Judge Jim Lovett announced the verdict. Joyful sobbing filled half the courtroom as family members close to the victim breathed a sigh of relief. The other half of the courtroom was flooded by tears of sorrow from those who believe McDonald was wrongfully convicted.

One family member close to McDonald wept so loudly Lovett ordered her removal. Her cries echoed though the halls of Lamar County Courthouse as she continued to cry huddled in the corner of the courtroom foyer while jurors left the building.

After the verdict, Country Attorney Office officials escorted the tearful, yet relieved victim to the front of the courtroom to address McDonald.

“I want to let you know that you can't hurt me anymore,” the victim told the convicted child molester.

A family member who maintains McDonald's innocence asked to give an impact statement, but Lovett denied her request, saying the family is in denial.

“The family is not the victim ... This man is a child predator. I suspect when he gets out, he will go back to the same thing,” Lovett told those close to McDonald.

The judge told family members who believe McDonald is innocent that they would “see the true power of the law” if they retaliated against the victim.

“I think justice has been done in this case,” Lovett said.

Prosecutors said they were pleased with the verdict and sentencing.

“I was very pleased to see that the jury agreed that he was guilty of the crime,” Assistant District Attorney Sherry Whelchel said.

Whelchel, who served as primary prosecutor, was assisted by her husband, Lloyd, who serves as first assistant district attorney.

Sexual assault cases are difficult because victims carry the emotional baggage of abuse for the rest of their lives, Sherry Whelchel said.

“We certainly hope this was justice for the victim and the victim's family,” Lloyd Whelchel added.

Defense attorney Barney Sawyer said the case was difficult and he was glad to see it finished.

As part of the sentencing agreement, prosecutors dropped pending charges of aggravated sexual assault of a child. The jury could not reach a verdict for the aggravated sexual assault charge during the trial, and Lovett declared a mistrial on that count.

During the trial, Sawyer asserted his client was innocent and the victim made up the allegations of sexual abuse.

Sawyer questioned several witnesses who claimed to be in the same room when the abuse occurred.

“If the defendant was going to mess with a kid, do you think he would do it with his daughter right there?” Sawyer asked the jury.

The defense attorney also pointed out inconsistencies in the abuse allegations and said the victim is one of “very few people whose memory gets better as time goes by.”

The Whelchels tried to convince jurors that defense witnesses were lying in order to protect McDonald. However, the defense said everyone in the case had an opportunity to lie.

“Everybody who testified in this case had a motive to lie. Some of them, the motive is obvious. Others we might not know,” Sawyer told the jury.

Lloyd Whelchel said the victim was living a nightmare and asked jurors to “help end that nightmare.”

“We can use politically correct terms like aggravated sexual assault of a child or indecency with a child, but it's rape,” he told jurors in closing arguments.

His wife agreed and said such detailed accounts of abuse left no room for reasonable doubt.

“There were too many details for this not to be true,” she said.

Despite a guilty verdict, Lovett allowed McDonald to spend lunch with his family. After sentencing, he was lead away by Sgt. Travis Rhodes of Lamar County Sheriff's Office. Rhodes, who testified Tuesday, also served as the primary law enforcement investigator in the case.

Lovett said child molestation cases are difficult but society demands the “horrible crime” be brought before a jury.

“The wheels of society have gotten to a point where we have gotten tired of it,” Lovett said.

Jury expected to get molestation case today

By Josh Edwards
The Paris News

Published November 29, 2006

The case of a 37-year-old Sumner man accused of molesting a family member was expected to go to the jury this morning after closing arguments.

Billy Wayne McDonald stands accused of molesting a family member more than 10 times during a period of several years. A Lamar County jury should decide his guilt or innocence today. Testimony wrapped up about 4:15 Tuesday afternoon.

The Paris News has chosen to name McDonald, because doing so does not identify the alleged victim.

During opening statements First Assistant District Attorney Lloyd Whelchel asked jurors to imagine they were in the alleged victim's position.

“(The victim) doesn't have to imagine that. That's the nightmare that was endured,” Whelchel said.

Whelchel's wife, Sherry, also served as prosecutor.

“You're going to hear evidence that she is not to be believed,” defense attorney Barney Sawyer countered in his opening statement.

Prosecutors allege McDonald fondled and sexually assaulted a family member during a period of three years. Sawyer says the alleged victim made up the claim but throughout the guilt/innocence portion of the trial he offered no explanation as to why the family member would make up allegations of sexual abuse. However, several defense witnesses testified the alleged victim often tells lies.

The accuser spent the majority of the day recounting multiple instances of fondling and sexual assault.

“The stuff Bill did to me would cause me to lie to stay away from him,” the alleged victim said. “... I was terrified, and I still am.”

The family member also said McDonald threatened to take revenge if abuse allegations ever became public.

“He told me I know what would happen if I told anybody,” the family member said during testimony.

The defense called several other family members who were present when the molestation is alleged to have taken place. McDonald's son and daughter both testified that they were present when instances of abuse are alleged to have occurred. Both say they never saw inappropriate activity.

McDonald's wife testified she and McDonald lived out of town for much of the time period in which abuse is alleged and he could not have come into contact with the accuser during several times in which the family member says abuse occurred.

The state attempted to prove that the witnesses were covering up for McDonald because they were close family members.

Toward the end of the guilt-innocent phase, Sawyer presented several witnesses who testified the alleged victim said “We should spend some time together and get messed up because you might never see me again.” The witnesses also said the accuser made some mention of jail.

Sawyer insisted the family member intended to commit perjury and face a jail sentence. The state said said the witnesses could not be sure what the alleged victim meant by those statements. Sherry Whelchel said the accuser may have been suicidal or intending to hurt McDonald.

Man gets 10 years for endangering child

By Josh Edwards
The Paris News

Published November 19, 2006

District Judge Scott McDowell on Thursday sentenced a 25-year-old Cumby man to 10 years in prison and ordered him to pay a $10,000 fine for endangering a child by smoking and transporting methamphetamine around a toddler.

The punishment came after the jury took only five minutes to convict Micha Stotts of using methamphetime around his girlfriend’s son. His girlfriend, Deanna Pridemore, pleaded guilty to the same charge in September 2005.

“A lot of people say ‘Drugs are a victimless crime,’ and “These people only hurt themselves.’ What we heard from the jury was that we can say that, but its not true. Other people are impacted, including children,” First Assistant District Attorney Lloyd Welchel said.

The child was transported to a Dallas hospital Oct. 26, 2004, with injuries consistent with shaking. Stotts was arrested two days later transporting more than 100 grams of meth from Choctaw County to Lamar County. Law enforcement officials testified that the meth was 90 percent pure.

He was arrested on warrants for endangering a child in May 2005.

Both shaking the child and endangering the child with meth carry the same sentence, so prosecutors decided to pursue the drug charge.

“It’s easier to prove that a drug dealer had drugs around a child,” Welchel said.

The child now lives with his biological father’s parents and his mother, who is on deferred adjudication probation, has visitation rights. The mother received six years deferred adjudication probation. If she completes her probation, her record will be cleared of the charge.

Man given five years for molestation

By Josh Edwards
The Paris News

Published November 21, 2006

After flirting with the idea of probation, 6th District Judge Jim Lovett sentenced a man to five years in prison Monday for two counts of molesting a family member.

Craig Kindle Zant, 53, of Paris was taken away in handcuffs by Travis Rhodes of Lamar County Sheriff's Department who also served as primary investigator in the case.

The Paris News has chosen to name Zant because doing so does not reveal the identity of the victim.

Zant admitted he molested a family member who was 12 at the time. He continued to abuse the victim for two years, prosecutors alleged. The victim, who is now 25, recently came forward with the allegation.

"This is a good example that even years later, if it comes out that you molested children, we will prosecute you," First Assistant District Attorney Lloyd Welchel said.

When Zant is released from prison, he will be required to register as a sex offender.

At one point Lovett told the defendant he would probably get probation if he admitted to the details of the crime, and the judge called a 15 minute recess. When Zant returned to the stand, he continued to say he "guessed" that he had committed the crime.

After testimony, Lovett sentenced the man to two sentences of five years each to run concurrently. Because the offense occurred before 1997, statutes did not allow the sentences to run consecutively.

Prior to 1997 the statute of limitations for child molestation cases was 10 years after the offense date. The case was filed nine years and 11 months after the offense date. The law now allows for victims pursue charges up to 10 years after their 18th birthday.

Motion for new trial denied

By Josh Edwards
The Paris News

Published November 21, 2006

A judge denied a motion for a new trial Monday for the woman who pleaded guilty to running over and killing Harley Dale Nelson of Paris.

Beth Suzanne Landers, 50, of Paris claims District and County Attorney Gary Young should not have prosecuted her because he had once represented her when he was in private practice.

He represented Landers in 2002 when she "was drunk and drove though a house" in Northeast Paris, Young said.

"I don't know why we're hearing this again. I already ruled on this issue during pretrial," 6th District Judge Jim Lovett said.

Landers, 50, of Paris pleaded guilty in October to intoxicated manslaughter and was sentenced to 99 years in prison.

Prosecutors say they were expecting an appeal from Landers, who is now represented by David Pearson of Fort Worth. She was previously represented by Ben Massar.

"This is part of the appeal procedure, and we knew this motion was coming. We're confident the court of appeals will see this the way Judge Lovett has, as a waste of time. But today's ruling should make it clear that you can't use this line of thinking to get a new trial," Young said. "This defendant has nothing but time on her hands, and I'm sure she'll try to come up with something else to appeal the case on."

Special prosecutor Dan Meehan of Red River County represented the state during the appeal hearing.

During the punishment phase of the plea, witnesses testified Landers had engaged in a drunken fight with a romantic acquaintance. She then drove her mother's car without permission and sped west on Clarksville Street at speeds as fast as 100 mph from the Morningside addition in Southeast Paris. Police estimate that she hit Nelson, who was leaving his favorite convenience store coffee shop, while traveling approximately 90 miles per hour.

Nelson was riding an antique Cushman scooter, which was carried more than 100 feet by the 1996 Chevy Lumina that Landers drove.

Sgt. Shane Boatwright of Paris Police Department said Nelson's body was found 224 feet from the point of impact and there was no evidence that Landers ever attempted to stop or slow down before she hit the man. Her car traveled nearly 570 feet before she stopped.

In June 2002, the car Landers was driving ended up in the kitchen of Freeman Safford, who was 80 years old at the time. Safford was in the kitchen moments before the car struck the house. She was not injured but was taken to a Paris hospital, where she was treated for shock.

Landers, then 45, was airlifted to Parkland Hospital in Dallas. A 39-year-old passenger was treated and released at a Paris hospital.

Arneson pleads guilty to embezzlement charges

By Josh Edwards
The Paris News

Published November 9, 2006

Former NETCADA executive director James Arneson pleaded guilty to embezzlement charges during a hearing today in 62nd District Court.

The 72-year-old received four years deferred adjudication probation and must pay $15,000 up front in restitution. Arneson is required to pay $5,000 today and the other $10,000 by Dec. 8.

Also as part of the plea, Arneson agreed to not contest any lawsuits that may be filed by Western Surety, the insurance company that bonded NETCADA and paid off about $30,000 of their loss.

“The $15,000 is for all the expenses and costs (NETCADA) was out figuring out what he had done — to get their books straight,” County and District Attorney Gary Young said.

If he completes a probation program, which also requires him to enter gambling counseling, he will not be found guilty, and his criminal record from this case is sealed.

He faced a prison term of two to 10 years, plus a fine of up to $10,000, but this sentence is in line with others who have stolen from their employers, Young said.

“The reason for the deferred was it gave him the incentive to come up with the $15,000,” Young said.

Arneson and his lawyer Wes Tidwell declined comment today, but Arneson's son released a written statement.

“Our family completely stands by my father, as we always have, and we always will. At this time, the plea agreement was the best option available to our family,” Erik Arneson wrote. “Unfortunately, accepting the agreement means that we won't be able to clear my father's name in court. But nothing has shaken our belief in him and nothing ever will.”

NETCADA board member Linda Reynolds said the embezzlement was not a victimless crime. Many NETCADA employees were laid off and others lost their retirement and insurance benefits because of the financial situation.

Lorinda Icenegle said her hours were reduced to part-time status, so she lost insurance coverage shortly before being diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer.

Prosecutors say, on 50 or more different occasions between Jan. 6, 2003, and May 4, 2005, James Arneson wrote fraudulent checks to himself from the agency. He signed his name and forged the signature of a second NETCADA official, they say.

The NETCADA board didn't learn about the embezzlement until Internal Revenue Service agents contacted County Judge Chuck Superville to report the organization wasn't paying payroll taxes.

In addition to the problems with the IRS, resulting in a demand for $175,000 in taxes owed and penalties, NETCADA appears to be missing “probably between $30,000 and $40,000,” said police Sgt. James Mazy, who was in charge of the investigation into Arneson’s activities.

The day of his arrest, Arneson was taken before Justice of the Peace Ernie Sparks. A bond of $200,000 initially was requested because a “For Sale” sign was in Arneson’s yard and it was thought he might be a flight risk, Mazy said. It later was decided to set bond at $5,000 instead.

Arneson was hired as chief financial officer of NETCADA in 1998 and was named executive director in late 2002. He quit 11 days ahead of his scheduled retirement. Arneson was arrested and taken away in handcuffs five days later after police said between $30,000 and $40,000 appeared to be missing.

Father found guilty of molestation

By Josh Edwards
The Paris News

Published October 27, 2006

A Paris doctor, who is a registered sex offender, was convicted Thursday of molesting his youngest daughter.

The punishment phase of the trial continued today at 9 a.m.

The jury of eight men and four women took only 10 minutes to convict the 56-year-old of inappropriately touching his youngest daughter during a period of several years. The Paris News has chosen not to name the man to ensure the privacy of the victim.

“Obviously, they thought he was guilty. That came out when they returned the verdict after 10 minutes,” District and County Attorney Gary Young said. “We hope to put him in prison for a long time.”

First Assistant District Attorney Lloyd Whelchel assisted Young in the case.

“We’ll have to wait and see what the jury does before we have any other comment on the outcome,” defense attorney James Rodgers of The Moore Law Firm said.

Attorney Judy Hodgkiss assisted Rodgers.

During the trial, prosecutors alleged the man fondled his youngest daughter on a number of occasions and also climbed in bed with her and rubbed his genitals against her. The defense alleged the victim made up the story and told it to a close family friend because she was facing time in youth facility after police detained her for an arson charge. Rodgers and Hodgkiss also said the girl’s father was an easy target because of a previous charge for molesting his oldest daughter. The man received deferred adjudication for those molestation charges and is required to register as a sex offender.

“The friend comes and magically the story changes. She saw it and how to do it. And she saw an easy target,” Rodgers said during closing arguments of testimony that revealed the girl had initially denied any molestation charges against her father.

Whelchel countered during his portion of the closing arguments, saying the girl finally had the courage to admit her story but never changed it once she admitted it.

“It means you were afraid, and it means you didn’t have the courage to do what’s right,” Whelchel said of reasons why the girl would first deny that her father molested her.

Testimony from both the victim and her older sister highlighted the prosecution case. On the stand, the youngest daughter described the alleged molestation and how it took place during a period of several years. She admitted that she initially denied being molested when investigators were looking into allegations that her father molested her older sister.

“I was scared. I didn’t want to say anything in front of him,” the younger sister said.

Rodgers tried to point out inconsistency in the statement by saying that the girl’s father was not around during questioning by law enforcement or trained employees of Children’s Advocacy Center of Paris.

While the young victim was on the stand, Rodgers also questioned her about her motives for the delayed outcry to a family friend. The outcry happened the day before the girl was scheduled to appear in juvenile court on arson charges. The defense claimed the girl made up the story to receive a lighter sentence. Sixth District Judge Jim Lovett ruled that these allegations by the defense opened the door for prosecutors to bring up past allegations of sexual abuse by the father.

Rodgers filed a running objection to all testimony regarding previous sexual abuse, but Lovett overruled.

The oldest daughter described in detail how her father molested her and what sort of consequences faced the family. Young and Welchel asserted that because of the family fallout, the younger daughter was scared to come forward with her abuse allegations.

“I didn’t want any of this to happen to my sister. I had dealt with it so long it became normal, and I didn’t want her to go though that,” the older sister said.

During cross-examination, the older sister revealed that her younger sibling denied abuse during initial investigation.

The defense called a sole witness who supervised the man’s visitations with his younger daughter and son after he admitted to abusing his oldest daughter.

“They seemed like they had a good time. They were always happy when they were there,” the woman said of the family visitations.

Young asserted that the young victim was confused because she loved her father even though he had abused her.

Doctor gets 20 years for molesting daughter

By Josh Edwards
The Paris News

Published October 29, 2006

A Paris doctor and registered sex offender received the maximum sentence Friday for molesting his youngest daughter.

It took the jury less than 20 minutes to sentence the 56-year-old to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine for each of the two counts of indecency with a child by fondling.

The Paris News is not identifying the doctor to help ensure the privacy of the minor victim.

County and District Attorney Gary Young asked 6th District Judge Jim Lovett to stack the sentences, but the judge chose to let them run consecutively. So, the doctor will be eligible for parole in 10 years.

“(The doctor) has had enough time doing what he’s done. Now he will get his just rewards,” Lovett said after trial.

The doctor was immediately handcuffed and taken to Lamar County Jail by a Precinct 5 constable.

This is the second time the doctor has stood trial for the two charges. A trial earlier this year ended with a hung jury. Several years ago, he received deferred adjudication for molesting his oldest daughter.

Defense attorney James Rodgers during his closing arguments of the punishment phase asserted that the doctor was well served by probation. Rodgers argued the doctor showed that he can meet the strict treatment and therapy requirements of sex offender probation.

During closing arguments of the punishment phase, both Young and First Assistant District Attorney Lloyd Welchel asked the jury if they wanted sex offenders living in their neighborhood on probation. Young also pointed out how many gathering places for youth are close to the man’s home.

During the punishment phase, prosecutors presented two patients who both claim they were fondled by the doctor during office visits. One woman testified that three years ago, the doctor fondled and groped her breasts while treating her. The other woman testified that 23 years ago the doctor fondled her breast.

The defense presented Lamar County Probation Director Larry Jordan who said the doctor had followed the strict rules of his probation.

The punishment phase of the trial wrapped up about 10:15 a.m. Friday morning.

After the jury was dismissed, two victims made impact statements to the doctor.

“You were supposed to be a Christian, and I trusted you as a doctor, and you violated that trust. I hope that while you’re in prison you don’t have to suffer the same humiliation and shame,” one woman said.

The woman was a patient of the doctor in 2003 and said she finally came forward because she read in the newspaper about what he’d done and that “he portrays himself as a Christian, and he’s a doctor, and something’s got be done about what he did to me.”

“I’ve forgiven you. We all have, because we had to. But you’ve never shown any remorse. I hope in prison you come to some kind of closeness to God,” another victim said.

The trial revolved around statements the victim made about being abused. During an investigation into the older sister’s abuse allegations, the younger sister denied any inappropriate behavior by her father. She later came forward to a family friend about the abuse.

Prosecutors said the girl chose to wait because she saw the impact her older sibling’s allegations had on the family. The defense alleged the girl made up the abuse allegations to help her get a reduced sentence in a pending juvenile arson case. Rodgers also claimed that the doctor was an easy target because he was previously charged with indecency with a child.

Jury finds stepfather not guilty

By Josh Edwards
The Paris News

Published October 26, 2006

Tears of joy fell in the 6th District Courtroom of Lamar County Courthouse harder and faster than the raindrops outside as family members and friends celebrated the acquittal of a 40-year-old man accused of molesting his stepdaughter whom he had also adopted.

"God does grant miracles," the man said while surrounded by friends and family members who supported him throughout the trial.

The Paris News has chosen not to identify the man in order to ensure the privacy of the minor who made the abuse allegations.

"This is the most justice I've seen done in Lamar County in a long time," defense attorney Judy Hodgkiss of Moore Law Firm said after a long, tearful embrace with her client.

The man was accused of inappropriately touching his adopted stepdaughter a number of times while she was between the ages of 10 and 14. She revealed the allegation when she was 15, and the defense alleged that she made up the abuse in order to gain more freedom than she was given at home. The defense also alleged the girl must be lying because of inconsistencies in her statements to friends and family members.

"I believe Judy did a fantastic job pointing out the inconsistencies in the statement and I believe the jury saw this for what it was and did the right thing," assistant defense attorney James Rodgers said.

County and District Attorney Gary Young said he was "disappointed in the jury's verdict." The state presented Travis Rhodes of Lamar County Sheriff's Department and Danny Huff of Paris Police department who both testified that it was common for children to change their statements to friends and family members.

"We believe the child was fondled by her father. We will continue to prosecute cases similar to these when the victim looks us in the eye and tells us she was abused," Young said. "We're disappointed that certain family friends felt the need to confront her repeatedly about the incident. We know from past experience that it is the completely wrong thing to do."

Child sex cases are always difficult to try but they are the "type of case that society has mandated must be tried even though people don't want it tried," 6th District Judge Jim Lovett said after the trial.

"The families don't want it tried. Family members get hurt as result of it. I am very proud of our prosecutors for taking it on and doing what they've got to do even though they understand it may be a weak case and they may lose it and not allowing the possibility of loss to stop them from tying these cases," Lovett said. "Reasonable doubt it always the ultimate arbitrator in the case and that's what happened here."

A jury of 10 women and two men took just more than two hours to find the defendant not guilty after two days of very emotional testimony.

The girl, her mother and the man all testified that during a family meeting the man asked the girl if she had been molested.

It was the first thing that popped into his head as he was running down a list of worst possible scenarios, the man said. He also claims he had seen a daytime television show about molestation a few days before.

"You want the jury to believe that because two days before you saw 'The Maury Povich Show?'" Young asked during cross-examination.

"Yes," the man answered.

The state also presented a recorded phone call between the man and the girl.

"I promise you I'll never put you in that same position again," the man said on the tape.

During his testimony, the man said he apologized to his daughter because he was told he made her uncomfortable while rubbing lotion on a sunburn.

"The only think that I was ever told is I rubbed lotion on her and made her feel uncomfortable," the man said.

Man gets 13 years for meth possession

By Josh Edwards
The Paris News

Published October 10, 2006

It only took a few moments for 62nd District Judge Scott McDowell to sentence a 69-year-old Powderly man to 13 years in prison for possession of methamphetamine.

Charlie William Canida was sentenced to one year for possession of a controlled substance less than 1 gram and 12 years for possession of a controlled substance of more than 4 grams but less than 200 grams.

"The meth problem we have in this country is one of the greatest threats to young people. I do this for the protection of them," McDowell said after he handed down the sentence.

First Assistant County Attorney Lloyd Welchel and prosecutor Merilee Brown agreed with the verdict. Welchel asked McDowell to sentence Canida to 10 years and said the punishment is "very appropriate for what he did."

Witnesses testified that Canida was in possession of enough methamphetamine oil to "powder out" 14 grams of pure meth — an estimated $1,400 worth of drugs. Drugs such as meth are often diluted to double or triple their street value.

"It's rural America's biggest problems. The judge even expressed that in his sentencing," Brown said.

Defense attorney Ben Massar asked for probation for his client.

"I think it was a pretty weak case," Massar said during the punishment phase. "This case is almost four years old."

A jury of 11 women and 1 man returned the guilty verdict at 2:40 p.m. after about 30 minutes of deliberation.

Tommy Moore of Paris Police Department, formerly assigned to the regional drug task force, testified that Canida and other men were cooking methamphetamine at Canida's home. Rick Tier, another former task force agent, also testified that Canida was in possession of methamphetamine.

Massar alleged that Canida was unaware of the drugs even though they were being manufactured in his trailer.

During the punishment phase, County Attorney's Office Investigator Chris Brooks testified that he and an informant purchased drugs from Canida on several occasions before charges were filed.

Jury comes back with a quick verdict

By Josh Edwards
The Paris News

Published October 6, 2006

Juries often have swift justice in mind, but a Lamar County jury on Wednesday may have set a record for the fastest verdict when they found a 41-year-old woman guilty of driving while intoxicated.

It took less than one minute to convict the woman of misdemeanor DWI, second offense.

"This is the fastest deliberation we've ever seen," prosecutor Marilee Brown of Lamar County Attorney's Office said.

The woman was sentenced to six months in county jail by County Court-at-law Judge Deane Loughmiller. She has at least a dozen previous arrests, according to a search of Lamar County judicial records.

Video of an interview during which the defendant passed out from intoxication may have helped the jury reach their quick verdict.

"The defendant was extremely uncooperative and hostile toward the officers," Brown said.

The tape shows the woman cursing and making personal attacks at Deputy Michael Woodson of Lamar County Sheriff's Department after he found her walking on Madewell Road following a one-vehicle collision. The woman refused a breath test and later became unconscious. The deputy tried to wake her, but she was not responsive.

Prosecutors alleged the woman was driving the vehicle at the time of the collision. She repeatedly denied on the stand that she was the driver, but failed to produce the name or description of the driver when pressed.

Woodson and Rick Legg, a former Reno police officer responded to the collision Sept. 24, 2005.

George Preston served as the defense attorney.

Defendant arrested despite not guilty verdict

By Josh Edwards
The Paris News

Published October 4, 2006

Despite being acquitted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, Sammy David Worthy Jr. left Lamar County Courthouse in handcuffs Tuesday. He was on his way to jail again.

Worthy, 52, was found not guilty of recklessly shooting his estranged wife, but some of the guns confiscated from his residence during an investigation were illegal.

While on the stand in his own defense, Worthy admitted to possessing two short-barreled pistol-like firearms — both prohibited weapons. The state presented the two weapons along with five other guns confiscated from Worthy’s home as evidence. After the non-guilty verdict, he was arrested for possession of a prohibited weapon.

Bond was set at $2,000 for the firearms violation, and 62nd District Judge Scott McDowell issued a protective order that mandated Worthy stay 200 feet from his estranged wife at all times. He was taken away by a sheriff’s deputy and booked into Lamar County Jail.

But Worthy wasn’t in jail very long. He posted bond and was released six minutes later.

The six-man, six-woman jury took just 20 minutes to find Worthy not guilty of recklessly shooting his estranged wife. She suffered a shotgun wound to the side of her head.

“We’re very excited and happy with the verdict,” defense attorney Will Biard said. “We are glad the jury took the time to fully examine the case.”

First Assistant District and County Attorney Lloyd Welchel said he did not feel the jury made the right choice.

“We are severely disappointed that the jury chose to believe the words of an abuser over the word of the victim,” Welchel said.

Worthy admitted to shooting his wife, but claimed it was an accident. During his testimony, he claimed that he was putting the gun under a mattress when it accidentally fire and hit his estranged wife in the face. Part of her ear was lost.

His estranged wife was living with him in Paris at a friend’s mobile home in the southeastern part of the county. The couple had an an argument, and his estranged wife left for their home in Wichita Falls, she testified. When she returned, Worthy shot her while they were packing for their return to Wichita Falls.

Deputy Ted Gibson testified about his interaction with both Worthy and the estranged wife. Worthy did not show much concern for his wife after the shooting, Gibson said.

Investigator Joe Tuttle who is a certified gun expert testified that the gun used in the shooting was in working order and could not have been fired on accident. Jurors viewed a videotape of Tuttle preforming tests on the shotgun.

The defense alleged the shooting was an accident and put only the defendant on the stand. During cross examination, Welchel repeatedly asked Worthy if he was mad when the shooting occurred. Worthy repeatedly denied being angry during the incident.

The entire trial took less than six hours. McDowell began the trial at 8:30 and closing arguments were finished before noon. Jurors took an hour lunch and then deliberated for less than 20 minutes before finding Worthy not guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Man sentenced to 30 years for arson

Staff reports
The Paris News

Published October 2, 2006

An 18-year-old Paris man was sentenced to 30 years Friday after he pleaded guilty to burglarizing and burning down a house in the 900 block of Pine Bluff Street.

Reginald Terrell Lyons, whose last known address is on Fitzhugh Street, broke into a house in the 900 block of Pine Bluff Street on Jan. 11, “to steal some items and, in an effort to cover up his crime, he set fire to the house,” First Assistant County and District Attorney Lloyd Whelchel said.

Prosecutors sought a deadly weapon finding, mandating Lyons spend a minimum half of his sentence behind bars before being considered for parole. The deadly weapon finding was sought because of the amount of damage done to the house and the danger to nearby houses and firefighters who responded.

A lengthy criminal history as a juvenile, beginning at age 10, contributed to prosecutors’ desire for Lyons to spend a significant number of years in prison.

When investigators videotaped the man’s confession they got more than they bargained for on the tape.

“The video confession was very disturbing. Let’s just say his behavior in the interview room when the officers left him alone was sexually inappropriate,” Whelchel said.

Paris Police investigators Stephen Holmes and Shane Boatwright looked into the burglary while Paris Fire Department arson investigators Vance Woodard and Shane Browning examined the fire.

“It’s a credit to their excellent work we were able to apprehend Mr. Lyons,” Whelchel said.

A Crimestoppers tip also helped investigators.

Lyons is the second person prosecuted in what Whelchel called “a rash of arsons and suspicious fires” this year, two in the same neighborhood.

“Our county and city are fortunate to have investigators both in the police and fire departments who can, and do, take these cases seriously. By their very nature, these cases can be tragic and catastrophic. They’re also just not easy to solve,” Whelchel said.

September 29, 2006

For Immediate Release

Teen pleads to 30 years for arson

An 18-year-old Paris man pleaded guilty Friday and received a 30-year sentence for burglary of a habitation and arson.

Prosecutors sought a deadly weapon finding, mandating Reginald Lyons spend a minimum half of his sentence before being considered for parole. First Assistant Lamar County and District Attorney Lloyd Whelchel said the deadly weapon finding was sought because of the amount of damage done, the danger to nearby houses and to firefighters who responded.

Lyons broke into a house in the 900 block of Pine Bluff Street on January 11, 2006, "to steal some items and, in an effort to cover up his crime, he set fire to the house," Whelchel said.

A lengthy criminal history as a juvenile, beginning at age 10, contributed to prosecutors' desire for Lyons to spend a significant number of years in prison.

"The video confession was very disturbing. Let's just say his behavior in the interview room when the officers left him alone was sexually inappropriate," Whelchel said.

Paris Police investigators Stephen Holmes and Shane Boatwright looked into the burglary while Paris Fire Department arson investigators Vance Woodard and Shane Browning examined the fire. "It's a credit to their excellent work we were able to apprehend Mr. Lyons," Whelchel said. A Crimestoppers tip also assisted investigators.

Lyons is the second person prosecuted in what Whelchel called "a rash of arsons and suspicious fires" this year, two in the same neighborhood.

"Our county and city are fortunate to have investigators both in the police and fire departments who can, and do, take these cases seriously. By their very nature, these cases can be tragic and catastrophic. They're also just not easy to solve," Whelchel said.

Landers gets 99-year sentence

By Josh Edwards
The Paris News

Published September 28, 2006 - Updated 49 minutes ago

Following two days of highly emotional testimony, a jury took only 45 minutes to sentence Beth Suzanne Landers, 50, of Paris to spend what will most likely be the rest of her life in prison for the intoxicated manslaughter of Harley Dale Nelson.

Landers pleaded guilty to the crime and was sentenced to 99 years in prision. She is not eligible for parole until she is 80. She took the stand Wednesday to apologize to the Nelson family. She said she has been addicted to drugs and alcohol since she was 15 years old, and if she got out of prison she would begin drinking and using drugs again.

About 20 tearful members of the Nelson family attended the sentencing. Some of of them offered forgiveness, while several were clearly still angry about his death.

"Nothing will bring my brother back," Nelson's brother, Jack, said during a victim impact statement. "I'm just happy now that you'll never get the chance to hurt anybody else ever again."

The case was a tragedy for all involved, County and District Attorney Gary Young said.

"This is the type of case we hope we never have again," Young said. "The jury made the right decision, and justice was served. She's spent 32 years wreaking havoc on those around her, including those who love her, and this ensures that it'll never happen again."

Young and Assistant District Attorney Lloyd Welchel began the punishment phase by presenting evidence from the medical examiner who preformed Nelson's autopsy.

Witnesses testified that Landers had gotten into a drunken fight with a romantic acquaintance and took her mother's car without permission. She then sped from the Morningside addition in Southeast Paris and traveled west on Clarksville Street at speeds in excess of 100 mph. Police estimate that she hit Nelson, who was leaving his favorite convenience store coffee shop, while traveling approximately 90 miles per hour.

Nelson was riding an antique Cushman scooter, which was carried more than 100 feet by the 1996 Chevy Lumina that Landers drove. Nelson's body left an indention in the hood of the car, and his head hit the windshield. Both shoes were knocked off his feet and were found in different locations.

A Southwest Medical Institute coroner testified that Nelson died when his head was completely severed from his spinal cord and vertebrae. It was not clear if this happened during the impact or while Nelson was carried more than 220 feet by Landers' car. Nelson's heart, spleen and liver were lacerated, and he suffered sever brain injures, the Dallas-based medical examiner said.

For the first time, family members saw autopsy photos of Nelson's body during the medical examiner's testimony. Both family members and jurors began to cry.

Sgt. Shane Boatwright of Paris Police Department said Nelson's body was found 224 feet from where he was hit, and the car Landers drove that day did not stop. There was no evidence that Landers ever attempted to stop or slow down before she hit Nelson, Boatwright said. Her car traveled nearly 570 feet before she stopped.

Officers Leigh Foreman, David Whitaker and Doug Thompson responded to the collision and testified about Landers' reaction to the fatal collision. Jurors saw and heard video from Foreman's patrol car in which Landers showed more concern about herself than remorse for Nelson's death.

Defense attorney Ben Massar argued that Landers was a different person while using drugs and alcohol, which were both found in her blood, and asked the jury to sentence her to 20 years.

Sixth District Judge Jim Lovett removed Landers from the courtroom Tuesday for a brief period of time when he believed she was pretending to cry.

Landers has an extensive criminal history, including convictions for robbery, driving while intoxicated and delivery of a controlled substance. She was also charged with driving while intoxicated after a 2002 incident in which she "was drunk and drove though a house" in Northeast Paris, Young said.

"She's had numerous wake up calls and continued to live the way she did," Welchel said.

Landers' punishment range was extended from five years to 20 years to five years to life because of the previous convictions.

September 27, 2006

For Immediate Release

99 years given for death of Dale Nelson

Beth Suzanne Landers, 50, took the stand Wednesday and apologized to the family of Harley Dale Nelson, whom she killed in a drunken auto accident early on a Sunday in October 2005 on Clarksville Street.

The jury, however, saw it as "too little, too late" and, after 45 minutes of deliberating, sentenced Landers to 99 years in prison for intoxicated manslaughter with a deadly weapon.

"Nothing will bring my brother back," Jack Edwin Nelson Jr. told the defendant in a victim impact statement at the trial's conclusion. "I'm just happy now that you'll never get the chance to hurt anybody else ever again."

Testimony in the two-day punishment trial before District Judge Jim Lovett included Paris police officers who interacted with Landers at the hospital and police station shortly after the accident. Jurors saw and heard video and recorded phone calls which showed Landers was more concerned with her own state of affairs, trying to get released from jail and wanting medication the morning of the accident than remorse for Nelson's death.

Defense attorney Ben Massar argued Landers was a different person when intoxicated and using cocaine, which were found in her blood, and asked the jury to sentence her to 20 years.

Lamar County and District Attorney Gary Young chronicled Landers' criminal history, which included convictions for robbery, driving while intoxicated, and delivery of a controlled substance, for which Landers spent time in prison. He also noted a 2002 incident where Landers was "drunk and drove through a house" in northeast Paris.

Landers' mother, Nelda Crawford of Paris, took the stand and explained how she'd tried for years to help her daughter, including raising one of her two children. Landers admitted being an alcoholic and drug addict "since I was 15-years-old."

The deceased Mr. Nelson was fondly remembered by his widow, Helen Nelson, who said Nelson was on his way that morning to his favorite convenience store coffee shop, riding his Cushman scooter.

Cobb takes plea, gets 3 life sentences

By Josh Edwards
The Paris News

Published September 21, 2006

Christopher Cobb, 23, faces three life sentences with no possibility of parole for the August 2004 murder of his father's grandparents and the stabbing of a jailer with a sharpened toothbrush while he was held at Lamar County Jail.

He pleaded guilty during a hearing that wrapped up about 3 p.m. Wednesday.

Two of the life sentences run concurrently. The sentence for attacking the jailer runs consecutively with the second capital murder sentence. The plea deal discludes any possibility of parole or appeal.

“We're happy to get it resolved,” defense attorney Steven R. Miears of Miears and Rule, a Bonham-based law firm representing Cobb.

Special prosecutors from the attorney general's office referred all comments to the Austin office.

Notably absent from the courtroom were members of the Lamar County District Attorney's office.

“Mr. (Gary) Young and the office understand why the special prosecutor accepted the plea from the defendant. However, Mr. Young and his office believe that Mr. Cobb deserves the death penalty and believe a Lamar County jury would have given that,” said Allan Hubbard, Lamar County Attorney's office spokesman and victim advocate.

Hubbard attended the sentencing hearing to represent the victims of the crime. During the hearing, Hubbard said victims Charley Smith, 89, and Ruth Smith, 88, must not be forgotten.

“They loved him very much,” Hubbard said of Cobb's great-grandparents.

About 25 people, including family members, attended the plea and sentencing hearing.

Cobb offered no expression on his face as he entered the courtroom shackled in leg irons and a leather belt connected to handcuffs.

He showed little emotion during the hearing except when his voice wavered while entering guilty pleas. Following the hearing, he smiled and told family members he loved them as he was lead away by Lamar County Sheriff's deputies.

The plea hearing involved a series of questions to make sure Cobb was competent to stand trial and was not forced into guilty pleas.

During pretrial hearings, Miears raised questions about the defendant's competence to stand trial, but when Cobb was examined by a psychiatrist, he was found fit to face punishment.

"I do not have any concerns whatsoever that he is competent to stand trial," Miears said during the hearing.

The case was delayed indefinitely this spring when Miears sought to remove the county attorney as prosecutor because Young had previously represented Cobb in other cases.

Young recused himself, and the case was handed over to a special prosecutor from the Texas Attorney General's Office.

Police initially arrested Cobb on a theft warrant for jewelry stolen from his parents' home. Investigators checked with a pawn shop and discovered that Cobb had pawned jewelry valued at more than $1,500. The jewelry was identified as items belonging to his parents, who had not given permission for their son to take the items, police said.

He gave law enforcement agents permission to search his room, and a blood-stained towel, a blood-stained sheet and a blood-stained bedspread were found during the search. Cobb later told police he burned his clothes in a barrel behind his residence.

A bag of marijuana was found in the room and a plastic bag believed to have once contained cocaine was found in Cobb's possession. He told officers the bag contained cocaine he “thought he had already used.”

Cobb was taken to the Paris Police Department for interrogation, where he first denied any knowledge of the murders but later gave details of the slayings, according to Reno Police Chief Jess Wilson.

“He advised he killed them on Sunday night late and said he stabbed and shot his great-granddad and then shot his great-grandmother,” Wilson wrote in the arrest report. “Cobb gave specific detail as to how the offense occurred and where the weapons were left, which all match evidence found during the investigation.”

According to evidence, Cobb's great-grandfather was repeatedly stabbed with a kitchen knife and shot twice in the face with his own gun. Cobb's great-grandmother was shot once in the head. There was originally confusion about whether the victims were Cobb's grandparents or great-grandparents.

The bodies were found by a caretaker Monday, Aug. 30, 2004, in their residence at 3735 Smallwood Road in Reno. Smith’s body was found in a pool of blood in the living room, and his wife’s body was found in a pool of blood in a bedroom.

Cobb told investigators he stole money from his great-grandfather after the murder, according to the arrest report.

He was originally indicted on two counts of capital murder in 2004, but the indictment was thrown out when Young recused himself and his staff from the case.

Assistant Attorney General Charles "Mac" Cobb lead the prosecution. He is not related to Christopher Cobb.

Juries send tough message to criminals

The Paris News

Published September 11, 2006

Juries proved that crime is not tolerated in Lamar County when they handed out several hefty sentences to convicted repeat offenders. We hope this sends a strong message to criminals and those who are considering committing crimes.

Crimes — especially drug-related crimes — are a huge problem in Lamar County. We are glad to see that two repeat drug offenders get large sentences.

“The jury here has set the price high for being a drug dealer in the Paris area,” said Assistant District Attorney Sherry Whelchel, lead prosecutor in a case in which a jury sentenced a man to what amounted to 199 years in prison.

James Rene Hayes, 45, was convicted on a drug charge and pleaded guilty on other drug charges. With the remainder of his parole added, Hayes' sentences equals 199 years. Mario Deshun Gill, 29, is also a repeat offender. He was found guilty of possession of 5.4 ounces of marijuana and sentenced to 20 years in prison — the maximum allowed by law. Testimony showed both men were in possession of large amounts of drugs, which is typical of drug dealers.

Offenders should think twice before peddling drugs on the streets of Paris and the surrounding area. If they don't, they may be spending the rest of their lives in prison. One drug dealer can provide illicit substance to tens, if not hundreds, of users. By putting drug dealers behind bars, a number of drug-related crimes are prevented, including robbery and burglary by drug addicts who need money to buy more drugs.

A jury also sent a strong message when they sentenced a convicted child molester to spend the rest of his life in prison. We have chosen not to identify the man so that the victim can remain anonymous.

During closing arguments of the sentencing phase, district Attorney Gary Young asked the jury to sentence the man to at least 50 years in prison, and they returned a 99 year sentence. The man has a lengthy history of domestic violence and testified he did not know how many women he had beaten during his life.

"I don't believe that there is a more heinous crime than sexual assault of a child," Young said in his closing arguments of the sentencing phase. The jury obviously agreed, and so do we.

Hopefully, future juries will stay tough on crime and send the message that criminals in Lamar County must pay their debt to society. With enough stiff sentences, we believe that the crime rate will decrease and criminals will be scared to commit crimes here because of the consequences they would face.

Jury gives 20 years for possession

By Josh Edwards
The Paris News

Published September 7, 2006

A Lamar County jury took less than five minutes Wednesday to sentence a Paris man with a lengthy criminal history to two decades in prison for marijuana possession.

Mario Deshun Gill, 29, was found guilty of possession of 5.4 ounces of marijuana. In addition to 20 years in prison, he was also ordered to pay a $10,000 fine.

The sentence is the maximum allowed by law.

“The jury wanted to give him more time,” Lamar County and District Attorney Gary Young said.

“This is the kind of message juries are continuing to send to drug dealers in Lamar County,” Assistant District Attorney Marilee Brown said, noting a 199-year sentence handed down last week to a crack cocaine dealer.

The charges from the 2005 arrest were enhanced due to convictions for attempted robbery in 1998 and delivery of cocaine in 2003.

Jurors returned with a guilty verdict after an hour of deliberation Wednesday.

Brown argued Gill was selling large amounts of marijuana near a playground. Defense attorney Cameron Lenahan said the drugs did not belong to Gill.

Gill was arrested Feb. 23, 2005, after officers Leigh Foreman and Shane Stone received a Crime Stoppers tip about possible narcotics violations at Gill's residence. When officers arrived, they smelled a very strong odor of marijuana in the front porch area. Foreman received consent to search the residence and found a shoe box with 5.4 ounces of marijuana in a bedroom.

Small plastic bags commonly used to package marijuana and a set of digital scales were also found.

Because the residence is within 1,000 feet of a playground, the offense was enhanced to include a drug-free zone designation.

Ebony Harrell, 28, was also charged during the drug bust. She pleaded guilty in June 2005 and was sentenced to two years in jail.

September 6, 2006

For Immediate Release

20 years for marijuana possession

A Lamar County jury gave the maximum 20-year prison sentence Wednesday to a man they found guilty of possession of 5.4 ounces of marijuana.

Mario Deshun Gill, 29, was also ordered to pay a $10,000 fine. Gill's February 2005 arrest was enhanced due to two prior felony convictions: attempted robbery in 1998 and delivery of cocaine in 2003.

"The jury wanted to give him more time," said Lamar County and District Attorney Gary Young. Jurors returned with a guilty verdict after an hour of deliberation Wednesday. Deciding Gill's punishment took less than five minutes.

Assistant district attorney Marilee Brown argued Gill was selling large amounts of marijuana near a school playground. Defense attorney Cameron Lenahan said the drugs did not belong to Gill.

"This is the kind of message juries are continuing to send to drug dealers in Lamar County," said Mrs. Brown, noting a 199-year sentence handed down last week to a crack cocaine dealer.

Prosecutors said a Crime Stoppers hotline tip led to the arrest.

Convicted drug dealer gets nearly 200 years

By Josh Edwards
The Paris News

Published September 03, 2006

A Lamar County jury Friday gave a convicted drug dealer what amounts to nearly 200 years in prison.

“The jury here has set the price high for being a drug dealer in the Paris area,” the case’s lead prosecutor Assistant District Attorney Sherry Whelchel said.

James Rene Hayes, 45, pleaded guilty to a 2006 charge of possession of a controlled substance, more than 4 but less than 200 grams, in a drug-free zone, and was sentenced to 99 years in prison for that charge.

Jurors found him guilty of the same drug possession charge for offenses in 2002 and 2004. For those crimes, he received two 80 years sentences to run concurrently. Hayes also must complete another sentence stemming from a 1993 conviction. He had been on parole for that drug crime.

He was sentenced to 30 years in 1993 and was imprisoned for about eight years, Assistant District Attorney Lloyd Whelchel said.

“He begins his new prison time completing what was left on that, so about 20 or so more years,” he said said.

After the remainder of his parole, Hayes begins the two 80-year sentences. The 99-year sentence begins at the conclusion of the concurrent sentences.

“Basically, it was 199 years when stacked,” Sherry Whelchel said.

The jury heard testimony Thursday from several police and narcotics officers in Judge Jim Lovett’s 6th District courtroom. Hayes took the stand to open Friday’s testimony and said he was an addict, not a crack cocaine dealer. The jury was handed the case to decide guilt or innocence at 2:30 p.m. Friday and returned with guilty at 4:15 p.m.

Prosecutors said they got all the punishment evidence in during the guilt-or-innocence phase of the trial and rested before defense attorney Michael Mosher put a local pastor on the stand to say Hayes would be a benefit to the community if allowed to go to rehab and return to Paris.

The jury took the punishment under deliberation at 5 p.m. and returned with a sentence at 7 p.m.

Defense attorney Mosher asked the jury for 10 years on the guilty plea in the 2006 case and five years for the remaining cases— a total of 15 years.

Hayes was also ordered to pay a $40,000 fine.

Jury gives molester life in jail

By Josh Edwards
The Paris News

Published August 31, 2006

District Attorney Gary Young asked a jury Wednesday to put a convicted child molester in prison for the rest of his life. That’s exactly what they did.

The five-man, seven-woman jury sentenced the 41-year-old man, who was convicted of molesting a family member, to 99 years in prison — the maximum allowed by law. The man will not be eligible for parole until he is 85, and those convicted of sex crimes against children are rarely released on parole after their first hearing. The man must also pay a $20,000 fine.

The Paris News has chosen not to identify the man so that the victim may remain anonymous.

“I don’t believe that there is a more heinous crime than sexual assault of a child,” Young said in his closing arguments of the sentencing phase, before asking for at least a 50-year sentence for the man.

Jurors returned a maximum punishment for the man less than 30 minutes after a short sentencing hearing. Earlier in the day, the 41-year-old man was found guilty after less than an hour of deliberation by the jury.

“We’re very pleased with the verdict and sentencing,” First Assistant County Attorney Lloyd Whelchel said.

Trial testimony presented by the state included the victim, her mother and a sexual assault nurse who examined the victim.

“She got on the stand and gave the details of what happened with her teddy bear in her lap. She did a very good job,” victim witness coordinator Allan Hubbard said of the victim’s testimony.

“It’s always a difficult case when you have to put a child on the witness stand to tell a story about something that happened two years earlier. You never really know how consistent it’s going to be. In this case she did real well and the jury believed her and wanted him punished and punished him greatly,” Young said.

Defense attorney Cameron Lenahan presented renters who knew the family as character witnesses during the trial. However, 6th District Judge Jim Lovett suppressed a motion to present an expert witness who was to testify on the nature of children and inconsistent statements, because the witness had not spoken to the victim.

The case stems from a 2004 incident in which the victim told her mother that the man had preformed oral sex on her. The outcry happened in Midland, but the incident happened in Lamar County. Investigator Travis Rhodes of Lamar County Sheriff’s office put the case together based on evidence gathered in Midland. Rhodes is in charge of investigating crimes against children for the sheriff’s office.

The 41-year-old man has a lengthy history of family violence and alcohol arrests. Rhodes testified that the man had been arrested 17 times in the last 16 years.

Jackson gets 45 years for '05 murder

Staff reports
The Paris News

Published August 29, 2006

The man who pleaded guilty to the murder of a wheelchair-bound former truck driver faces a 45-year prison sentence for the crime.

Terry Jackson, 43, of Paris was sentenced Monday by 6th District Judge Jim Lovett. Jackson pleaded guilty in July to the April 2005 slaying of the former truck driver.

Jackson stood emotionless in the county jail-issued orange jumpsuit with shackled wrists and ankles, but he looked at each person who spoke during the hearing.

Joe Cavasos' ex-wife and one of his daughters made victim impact statements to the court regarding how the crime affected them. Sentencing in the case was delayed so that family members could attend.

“You might not be asking for it, but I forgive you. I have to forgive you, for me,” one of Cavasos' daughters said as she cried.

Cavasos' ex-wife said her grandson was looking forward to going fishing this summer for the first time with his grandfather but did not get the chance.

“Everybody makes mistakes. I just hope the man who did this will become something better than a killer,” she said.

Lovett said that hearing victim statements helps remind him how much impact crime has on victims and the community.

“We who work with crime every day get hardened to it. This reminds me how difficult it is for victims,” the judge said.

Assistant District Attorney Sherry Whelchel said she was glad the family received justice.

Investigators said Cavasos was killed with a single bullet from his own gun.

He was dead approximately two days before his body was found in the brick duplex he rented at the corner of Northwest 16th and Walker streets.

Officer David Whitaker found Cavasos dead about 1 p.m. April 26, 2005, after he was flagged down by a home health care worker.

Jackson was arrested April 24, 2005, in Delta County and charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon. He was then transported to Lamar County, where he was indicted for murder in December 2005.

Jackson to be sentenced for man's death

By Josh Edwards
The Paris News

Published August 22, 2006

Terry Andra Jackson, 43, of Paris is expected to be sentenced Monday for the April 2005 shooting death of wheelchair-bound Joe Cavasos.

“He pleaded guilty in July, but we delayed sentencing to accommodate the victim's family,” Lamar County Attorney's office spokesman Allan Hubbard said.

One of Cavasos' daughters is in the military and is expected to be on leave and in Paris by Monday, Hubbard said. The sentencing was delayed to allow for her to be able to attend.

Jackson is also expected to plead guilty to a charge of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, Hubbard said.

Jackson was indicted in December 2005 for first-degree murder. He had been in Lamar County jail for seven months before his indictment for the slaying.

“By the time Paris Police Department figured out he was the guy who did it, he was already in custody on parole violation,” Hubbard said.

Police said Cavasos was killed with his own gun. A single bullet entered his left shoulder and tore through his rib, heart and lung before coming to rest in his liver, autopsy results revealed.

Cavasos was dead for approximately two days before his body was found April 26, 2005, in a brick duplex at the corner of Northwest 16th and Walker streets, where he had lived for several years. Neighbors said they last saw Cavasos on the afternoon of April 24 sitting in his wheelchair outside his front door.

A home health care worker flagged down police officer David Whitaker about 1 p.m. April 26, after she got no response at Cavasos’ residence for the second day in a row. The officer entered the home and found Cavasos shot dead.

The night of April 24, Jackson was arrested in Delta County, leading to charges of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, and he was transferred to Lamar County to face attempts to revoke parole on previous felony convictions.

A television set and two guns were missing from Cavasos’ duplex on the day his body was found. Several weeks later, the guns were recovered and sent to Texas Department of Public Safety laboratories for ballistics tests, DNA tests and other lab work.

Sgt. Stephen “Red” Holmes of Paris Police Department lead the investigation.

“This was great detective work by Red Holmes prior to his injury,” Hubbard said. Holmes was injured in May when he flipped his 2003 GMC Envoy while off duty.

Jackson has a lengthy arrest and conviction record. He has been in court on felony charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, robbery, delivery of a controlled substance, burglary of a residence and burglary of a habitation with intent to commit theft.

Cavasos was a long-haul truck driver until he was injured in a truck accident about nine years ago and became paralyzed, family members said. He was divorced, and moved to Paris about 1998.

At the time of his death, Cavasos lived alone in the north half of his duplex. The other half was vacant, neighbors said.

Editorial: Asking the right questions at the right time

Staff reports
The Paris News

Published August 13, 2006

Because of what District Attorney Gary Young described as “good police work,” one of this city’s bigger cocaine dealers is out of business.

Prosecutors say Effrin Jermon Smith, 29, had hundreds of rocks of crack cocaine in his apartment in the 400 block of Grand Avenue when police executed a search on his residence five months ago. Lawmen were looking for clues into the murder of Lanny Walker of Roxton, but what they found was a stash of 120 grams of cocaine valued at $12,000 packaged and ready for sale on Paris streets. They also found a gun in the apartment.

We want to commend whoever called Lamar County Crime Stoppers to provide information about Smith, who was reported to be among the last people seen with Walker. But that tip would have been of little value if investigators had not followed it. Lawmen went beyond the murder investigation, asking questions that resulted in enough information to secure the raid on Smith’s apartment.

“It was good police work, being in the right area, asking the right questions at the right time,” Young said.

We agree. While it isn’t every day that a tip leads to a major drug bust, it is this type of work that lawmen do all the time. Often this kind of work results in small busts, but occasionally investigators get a major bust like this one. It’s hard work, but it pays off. Getting hundreds of rocks of cocaine off our streets does more for our community than most of us realize. It may have even saved lives.

It is unfortunate that this bust didn’t result in the arrest of those who supplied Smith. Lawmen and prosecutors sought information about the distributor, but Smith wasn’t willing to talk. Investigators asked the right questions, but Smith wouldn’t answer. Smith said he would take responsibility for his crime but wasn’t going to be a snitch.

Because of his unwise choice, Smith probably got a tougher sentence and his supplier was allowed to go free. Smith was convicted of delivery of cocaine and possession of the same drug with intent to deliver. He got 25 years on the first charge and 10 years on the second. Because sales took place in a drug-free zone, the sentences have to be served back-to-back. Also, Smith has to serve at least half of his 35-years before he is eligible for parole. He’s not likely to sell drugs again for a long time.

We commend the officers and prosecutors who participated in this case, realizing that although one of the bigger dealers has been closed down there are other sout there ready to take his place. Good police work will never rid our community of all drug dealers, but it will slow the flow, make our community a safer place to live and work, and perhaps even save lives. Thanks, and keep up the good work.

Former nurse gets 10 years for drug fraud

By Charles Richards
Special to The Paris News

Published August 06, 2006

Sherry Baker Lenoir, 39, of 2150 Plum St., was sentenced Friday by visiting state District Judge Webb Biard to 10 years in prison for fraudulent possession of a prescription drug (hydrocodone) by misrepresentation.

The sentence came two days after a jury convicted her in 6th state district court of the second-degree felony, whose range of punishment was two to 20 years.

The jury concluded that she acquired patients’ pain medication for her own use while working as a health care professional at an assisted living center in Paris last summer.

Lenoir got probation after similar convictions in 2001, 2003 and 2004 in Lamar, Kaufman and Nacogdoches counties while working as a health care professional. She voluntarily surrendered her registered nurse’s license in 2003.

She chose to have visiting state District Judge Webb Biard decide the punishment, and the judge heard testimony Friday.

Trial testimony showed Lenoir called in a patient’s prescription for hydrocodone to a local pharmacy and picked up the prescription herself.

The owner of the assisted living center where Lenoir worked testified that she called police after discovering that despite a patient having an ample supply of hydrocodone, Lenoir put in a prescription for more. The owner said 206 hydrocodone pills were unaccounted for.

Lenoir testified Friday that since the incident she has continued to take hydrocodone, under her own prescription, because of back pain.

During cross-examination, District Attorney Gary Young told her she must have been taking 10 or 15 pills a day.

“Mr. Young, I’ll be honest with you. I’ve taken as many as 40 a day,” Lenoir replied.

Defense attorney George Preston asked that Lenoir be placed on probation and said his client would like to enter a drug treatment facility.

“If this was a crack cocaine dealer or user, with four prior convictions, we would not be considering probation,” Young said.

Young also noted that Lenoir went to a drug treatment center in 1997, but her problem continued. He recommended a 12-year prison sentence.

Biard then set her sentence at 10 years in prison.

Lenoir has been in jail since her conviction on Wednesday. The judge denied her request to be given some time to take care of some things.

Man gets probation for sexual assault

By Charles Richards
The Paris News

Published August 04, 2006

Jeremie Ray Allison, 23, of Lamar Point was spared a prison sentence Thursday, but was fined $1,000 and placed on five years' probation for a sexual encounter two years ago at Pat Mayse Lake with a 13-year-old girl.

Allison pleaded guilty Monday to aggravated sexual assault of a child, and visiting state District Judge Webb Biard pronounced sentence after the trial's punishment phase in 6th State District Court on Thursday afternoon.

Defense attorney James Rodgers argued for probation on grounds the encounter was consensual and the girl was fondling Allison and encouraging the encounter.

Prosecutor Lloyd Whelchel objected repeatedly during Rodgers' questioning of witnesses. He said Rodgers was attempting to paint the girl as promiscuous and blame her for the attack even though the defendant had already pleaded guilty.

The girl admitted on the stand that she had flirted with Allison and “thought he was hot,” but she said she tried to pull away when their mutual flirtation evolved into sex. Still, she didn't cry out to her friends who were only about 25 yards away, she said.

One of the other girls in the party testified that the victim was not upset when she told her after they left the lake about what had happened.

Allison faced punishment of five years to life for the first-degree felony, but prosecutor Lloyd Whelchel sought a maximum of five years in prison.

Whelchel said if Allison were granted probation, he would not ask that he be ordered into regular behavior therapy that frequently is prescribed for those convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a child.

“I don't think he is a pedophile,” Whelchel said.

Still, a 21-year-old man has to know it is wrong to have sex with a 13-year-old girl, the prosecutor said.

The defendant acknowledged on the stand that he knew the girl was underage, “but I didn't know she was that young.”

Whelchel asked that if the judge granted probation, Allison be made to spend at least some time in jail “so we will know we got his attention.”

As part of the sentence, the judge ordered Allison confined in the Lamar County Jail for two weeks. He will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

The teenage girl agreed during testimony that she began flirting with Allison soon after she and two friends began talking with him and two of his friends at the lake. One of her friends already knew him, she said.

Allison's parents testified they were shocked to discover what he had done, but said he had always been a good son and had matured significantly in the two years since the incident.

The youth minister of a Lamar Point church testified that he knew both families. Allison hadn't dated or had a girlfriend since the incident, the man testified. He said he considers Allison a fine young man who made a serious mistake.

One of city's 'bigger dealers' sentenced

By Charles Richards
The Paris News

Published August 04, 2006

District Attorney Gary Young says it was “good police work” during a murder investigation that led to a search of a near-downtown apartment five months ago, revealing hundreds of rocks of crack cocaine packaged for sale on the streets.

Effrin Jermon Smith, 29, is “one of the bigger dealers that we have caught” in Paris, Young said Thursday after the man was sentenced to 35 years in the Texas Department of Corrections.

Smith pleaded guilty Monday, and visiting state District Judge Webb Biard sentenced him Thursday to 25 years in prison for delivery of cocaine and 10 years in prison for possession with intent to deliver.

By law, because Smith sold cocaine in a drug-free zone, his sentences must be served back-to-back rather than concurrently, Young said. Smith must serve at least half the 35 years before he will be eligible for parole.

On Feb. 28, in Smith's apartment in the 400 block of Grand Street, police officers found about 120 grams (four ounces) of cocaine. The street price for crack cocaine is about $20 a rock, or $100 a gram, Young said, making the drugs worth about $12,000 on the street. Smith also had a gun in the apartment.

Police had a tip for a potential witness who was reported to be among the last people seen with Lanny Walker of Roxton. Walker was found dead earlier this year near railroad tracks off West Washington Street, the district attorney said.

“It was good police work, being in the right area, asking the right questions at the right time,” Young said.

No arrests have been made in the murder, and Smith is not a suspect, but while checking out a CrimeStoppers tip, officers “ran across someone with drugs on them and parlayed that into searching the apartment,” Young said.

Defense attorney George Preston sought probation for Smith, who testified that his only previous citations were for disturbing the peace and playing music too loud.

“The judge might have gone a little more lenient on him had he taken full responsibility and told the judge who he sold to and who he was getting his drugs from,” Young said.

“I think he still would have gotten prison time, but I doubt he would have gotten as much as he did.”

On the stand Thursday morning during the punishment phase, Smith repeatedly refused to give any information on those he bought from or sold to, despite the judge's threat to find him in contempt of court.

Smith said he was taking responsibility for his crime, but wasn't going to be a snitch.

He said most of his buys were at “the Corner” — the intersection of Tudor and Northeast Fifth Street.

Smith said he bought the drugs that were found in his apartment on Feb. 28 outside a convenience store on North Main Street, three blocks north of the downtown Plaza.

“You bought drugs across the street from the courthouse?” Young asked Smith.

Woman convicted of possession

By Charles Richards
The Paris News

Published August 03, 2006

A 39-year-old Paris woman has been convicted of charges alleging that while working at an assisted living center she diverted a patient's prescription pain medication for her own use.

After a day of testimony, a nine-man, three-woman jury deliberated an hour Wednesday afternoon before finding former registered nurse Sherry Baker Lenoir of 2150 Plum St. guilty of fraudulent possession of hydrocodone in June of last year.

Visiting state District Judge Will Biard dismissed the jury after its 5:15 p.m. verdict, because Lenoir opted to have the judge decide her punishment. The punishment phase gets under way at 9 a.m. Friday in the Lamar County Courthouse.

Fraudulent possession of prescription drugs by misrepresentation is a third-degree felony punishable by two to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.

The conviction is Lenoir's fourth.

Lenoir got probation after similar convictions in 2001, 2003 and 2004 in Lamar, Kaufman and Nacogdoches counties while working as a health care professional. She voluntarily surrendered her registered nurse's license in 2003.

A Paris pharmacist testified that on June 13, 2005 a fax was received from an assisted living center in Paris ordering a prescription for two patients in the amount of 180 hydrocodone pills.

The fax was signed by the defendant, who also wrote: “I will pick this up!”

The pharmacist testified it is common for prescriptions to arrive by fax, but unusual that someone was coming to pick up an order, since the pharmacy routinely delivers prescriptions.

Lenoir came in later and picked up the prescription, the pharmacist testified.

The owner of the assisted living center testified about his facility's procedures for ordering prescriptions, how they are logged in, where maintained, etc.

The owner said he called police after discovering that despite an ample supply of hydrocodone pills on hand for one patient, Lenoir retrieved 60 pills beyond that and ordered more.

The owner said 206 hydrocodone pills were unaccounted for.

Jackson pleads guilty to 2005 murder

By Mary Madewell
The Paris News

Published July 09, 2006

Terry Andra Jackson, 43, of Paris pleaded guilty Friday to the 2005 murder of Joe Mack Cavasos.

He appeared before County Court-at-Law Judge Deane Loughmiller. Sentencing is scheduled Aug. 28.

Jackson, who was arrested on a parole violation warrant from Delta County in June 2005, was indicted by the Lamar County grand jury in December 2005 on a first-degree murder charge as well as a charge of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.

Cavasos, 48, was found shot to death April 26, 2005, in his residence in northwest Paris. His was the first homicide of that year.

Todd Varner, at the time a spokesperson with the Paris Police Department, told the press that a home healthcare worker flagged down police officer David Whitaker after she got no response at Cavasos' residence in the 500 block of West Walker Street.

Cavasos, who was confined to a wheelchair, had lived alone in the north half of a duplex that faces west on the corner of Walker and 16th Streets.

The victim had lived in Paris about seven years. He was paralyzed about nine years before his death when a truck he was driving overturned.

July 7, 2006

For Immediate Release

Guilty plea entered for murder of disabled man

A Paris man entered a guilty plea Friday for the April 2005 murder of Joe Mack Cavasos.

Terry Andra Jackson, 43, stood before County Court-at-Law Judge Deane Loughmiller and answered "guilty" to the murder indictment as well as a charge of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.

Jackson will be sentenced on August 28.

Cavasos, the deceased victim, was found by police April 26, 2005, shot dead in his home on West Walker Street in Paris. A home health worker had been attempting to make contact with Cavasos but could not get an answer at his door or telephone. Cavasos was wheelchair bound.

Jackson was arrested on a parole violation warrant in Delta County in June 2005 and indicted by the Lamar County grand jury in December 2005.

Jackson is represented by defense attorney Jana Turner.

Man gets 30 years for assault of trooper

Staff reports
The Paris News

Published July 02, 2006

After two days of testimony this week, a jury late Friday handed Daniel Remsburg, 24 of Brookston, a 30-year prison sentence for crimes that included assaulting a state trooper.

Remsburg was found guilty of burglary of a building, evading arrest, and two counts of aggravated assault on a public servant stemming from a Dec. 18, 2005, incident.

Shortly before 5 a.m. that morning, a citizen spotted Remsburg prying open the door to a west Paris convenience store. Paris police officers Billy Pillars and Vance Boehlar were dispatched to the scene. Remsburg fled as the officers arrived, and attempted to run over Officer Pillars with his vehicle as he evading arrest. A chase through surrounding neighborhoods followed with Remsburg driving through a residential yard, officers testified.

Texas Department of Public Safety trooper Greg Wilson was alerted by radio traffic which identified Remsburg’s vehicle, as he pulled over on an exit access road off northwest Loop 286 near U.S. 82.

The trooper’s in-car video showed Remsburg putting the vehicle in reverse in an attempt to run over the trooper as well as the subsequent scuffle for control of the vehicle. A witness testified to seeing the altercation, as did Paris Police officer Shane Stone, who arrived on the scene. Stone testified that Remsburg continually fought with as many as four officers as he was arrested, which required officers to hog-tie him in order to subdue him.

Remsburg himself took the stand in his own defense and agreed with much of the testimony. But when asked by Lamar County District Attorney Gary Young if the officers were lying, Remsburg said that his innocence stemmed from “a difference in perspective” between he and the officers.

The jury deliberated less than 30 minutes Friday afternoon before returning the guilty verdict. They only took another 45 minutes to return with the punishment of two years for burglary, five years for evading arrest, 25 years for the assault of Pillar, and 30 years for the assault of Wilson. The sentences will run concurrently, and the orders were signed by presiding judge Jim Lovett.

“Our officers do not deserve this kind of treatment,” Young said. “They are here to protect the citizens from criminals like this, and when they, themselves, are assaulted it certainly does not sit well with me. It obviously doesn’t sit well with jurors, either.”

Young was assisted by prosecutor Sherry Whelchel. Ben Massar served as Remsburg’s defense attorney.

Posey must send apology letter to family

Mary Madewell
The Paris News

Published July 02, 2006

Cody Posey, 19, who jurors found guilty Thursday on two counts of criminally negligent homicide with a deadly weapon, is to send a letter of apology to his victims’ family as well as Christmas cards each of the five years of his probation.

Those are two of six conditions of probation 6th District Judge Jim Lovett scheduled Friday.

Posey also is ordered to take a defensive driving course within 90 days and sponsor two high school students to take the course in memory of two people killed in a 2004 vehicle accident.

The judge banned Posey from the possession of firearms and ordered him to perform a minimum 400 hours of community service.

Marie “Tudy Girl” McDonald, 54, and her grandson, Kevontre “Keke” McDonald, 3, were killed shortly before Christmas in 2004 on a snowy afternoon on FM 195. The woman’s son and the child’s father, Kevin McDonald, was the driver of a car involved in the accident and had stopped for a turn when Posey’s vehicle collided with the car from behind.

Testimony in the trial, which began Monday, ended shortly after noon on Wednesday. Jurors brought back a guilty verdict about 5:30 p.m. After a brief punishment phase, jurors sentenced Posey to five years probation.

Prosecutors had indicated they might request the judge limit the type of vehicle Posey could drive, but the judge set no vehicle limitation. Posey had been driving a truck with a high lift kit on the day of the accident.

“We believe by Mr. Posey’s actions and the condition of his truck on that day that this was more than a tragic accident,” Lamar County and District Attorney Gary Young said. “This was negligence. The jury agreed and justice was served both on the guilt/innocence angle and in his punishment.”

First assistant prosecutor Lloyd Whelchel, who tried the case, agreed.

“The people of this county believe you owe a duty of care and responsibility when you drive,” Whelchel said. “By their verdict, the jury showed they will hold you responsible when you’re negligent.”

Criminally negligent homicide is a state jail felony, punishable by up to two years in a penitentiary.

June 30, 2006

For Immediate Release

Jury gives 30 year sentence for assault on trooper

After two days of testimony this week, a jury late Friday handed Daniel Remsburg, 24 of Brookston, a 30-year prison sentence for crimes that included assaulting a state trooper.

Remsburg was found guilty of burglary of a building, evading arrest, and two counts of aggravated assault on a public servant stemming from December 18, 2005.

Testimony showed Remsburg was spotted by a citizen before 5 a.m. on the date in question prying open the door to a west Paris convenience store. Paris police officers Billy Pillars and Vance Boehlar responded and Remsburg attempted to run over Officer Pillars with his vehicle, then fled the scene evading arrest. A chase through neighborhoods included Remsburg driving through a residential yard, officers testified.

Texas Department of Public Safety trooper Greg Wilson was alerted to radio traffic identifying Remsburg's vehicle, which he pulled over on an exit access road off northwest Loop 286 near U.S. Highway 82. The trooper's in-car video showed Remsburg putting the vehicle in reverse attempting to run over the trooper and the subsequent scuffle for control of the vehicle. Another citizen testified to seeing the altercation, as did Paris Police Officer Shane Stone who arrived on the scene. Stone testified Remsburg continually fought with as many as four officers, requiring the suspect to be hog-tied.

Remsburg himself took the stand in his own defense and agreed with much of the testimony. But when asked by Lamar County District Attorney Gary Young if the officers were lying, Remsburg said that his innocence stemmed from "a difference in perspective" between he and the officers.

The jury deliberated less than 30 minutes Friday afternoon to return the guilty verdict, then another 45 minutes to return the punishment of two years for the burglary charge, five years for the evading charge, 25 years for the assault on Officer Pillar, and 30 years for the assault on Trooper Wilson. The sentences will run concurrently and were signed by presiding Judge Jim Lovett.

"Our officers do not deserve this kind of treatment," Young said. "They are here to protect the citizens from criminals like this and when they, themselves, are assaulted it certainly does not sit well with me. It obviously doesn't sit well with jurors, either."

Young was assisted by prosecutor Sherry Whelchel. Defense attorney was Ben Massar.

Trial ends with tears on both sides

By Mary Madewell
The Paris News

Published June 29, 2006

A tearful ending to a tragic event describes the scene in Lamar County District Courtroom Wednesday when a teenager convicted in the 2004 death of a woman and her grandson and the mother of the child embraced.

A jury had just convicted Cody Posey, 19, on two counts of criminally negligent homicide with a deadly weapon in the death of Marie “Tudy Girl” McDonald, 54, and Kevontre “Keke” McDonald, 3.

Tokqina Edwards, the mother of the child, addressed Posey after a jury gave him two years probation, according to Allan Hubbard with the district attorney’s office. Hubbard witnessed the trial.

“Every time you hold your daughter, I want you to think about my son,” Hubbard reported Edwards saying as she looked across the room at Posey.

“I don’t want you to go to prison, and I am glad you are not going,” Hubbard said she added. “I do need an apology from you.”

Judge Jim Lovett, who will set the terms of probation at 1 p.m. Friday, dismissed the courtroom.

Immediately, Posey walked from his defense table to the young mother and apologized to her, Hubbard said. The two embraced, and later Posey handed his baby girl to Kevin McDonald, the deceased child’s father and the driver of the vehicle Posey collided with shortly before Christmas 2004 on a snowy afternoon on FM 195.

“The two families blended together in sobs and hugs,” Hubbard said. “It was a beautiful moment.”

Testimony on the trial, which began Monday, ended shortly after noon on Wednesday. Shortly before 5 p.m. Lovett asked the jury to make a decision if possible because of other trials scheduled for Thursday, Hubbard said. About 30 minutes later, the jury returned with a guilty verdict.

During the punishment phase, prosecutor Lloyd Whelchel reminded the jury to take notice that at the time of the accident Posey had pending evading arrest charges against him from an event that occurred 10 days prior to the fatal accident, Hubbard said. The prosecution produced no new evidence.

During the trial, prosecution presented video footage of Posey being arrested after evading a Lamar County Sheriff Department deputy on a four wheeler.

Defense attorney James Rodgers put Posey’s mother and father on the stand during the punishment phase, which lasted about 30 minutes. The parents testified that if given probation, their son would have family to surround him and make sure he complies with the conditions of probation, Hubbard said.

Whelchel, assisted in prosecution by his wife, Sherry Whelchel, did not ask for a prison sentence.

“He was eligible for probation because he had no prior felony convictions,” Hubbard explained. “Everyone was in agreement it was not intentional but that negligence was involved, and that two people died.”

Hubbard said he anticipates prosecutors will ask Lovett to make it a condition of probation that Posey not drive a truck with a high lift kit.

It was such a truck, sometimes referred to as “ a monster truck” that plowed over the McDonald car three days before Christmas in December of 2004.

Hot check division extends hours

Staff reports
The Paris News

Published June 12, 2006

The hot check division of the Lamar County and District Attorney’s Office has increased hours of operation.

The department added an hour from noon to 1 p.m. when offices relocated to the restored Lamar County Courthouse at 119 N. Main St.

A special window located on the third floor of the courthouse is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday to allow merchants to deliver insufficient checks and hot check writers to pay on their offenses.

“When taking the elevator, get off and immediately turn left," Hot Check Coordinator Shanna Reily said.

Reily said the change is with the public in mind.

“We’re always looking for ways to make our services more convenient to the public,” she said. “In the past, we were closed during lunch. But now we hope to make it easier for people to drop by on their lunch hour and take care of their hot check business.”

The hot check division works to collect restitution for area merchants and individuals who have been victims of an insufficient check writer. So far in 2006, a total of $158,564 has been collected and returned to businesses in the form of restitution and merchant fees.

June 9, 2006

For Immediate Release

Walters adds more years to his prison term

A man convicted by a Lamar County jury on drug charges in April and sentenced to 20 years in prison received more time Friday from additional pending felonies.

Merley "Trey" Walters III, 34 of Paris, worked a plea bargain through his court-appointed defense attorney, Myles Porter of Bonham, and Lamar County and District Attorney Gary Young.

"Walters decided to avoid the appellate process and another trial and accepted four additional felony convictions," Young said.

Walters pleaded guilty and received 20 years on a burglary of a habitation charge, 13 years for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, 10 years for felon in possession of a firearm, two years in state jail for possession of marijuana more than four ounces but less than five pounds. All sentences were set to run concurrently by State 62nd District Judge Scott McDowell.

"We know since 1995 he's been dealing narcotics in Lamar County," Young said.

"Now we'll concentrate on Walters' half-brother's involvement in the same aggravated assault," Young said referring to David Ryan Robinson, who, along with Walters and his girlfriend's son, Matthew Shores, are charged with beating up a man in January in connection with methamphetamine distribution.

When sentencing Walters in April, 6th District Judge Jim Lovett said, "Whenever I prepare to sentence someone, I look for some redeeming social value in them. I try to give them another chance to become a good citizen. I find no redeeming social value in your life."

The deadly weapon finding in one of the charges mandates at least half the sentence be served before parole consideration. Since the sentences will be served concurrently, Walters will be eligible for parole in six and one-half years.

At the conclusion of Friday's hearing, Walters told Young, "If we're both still alive when I get out, let's play a round of golf together."

June 7, 2006

For Immediate Release

Hot check department increases hours for public convenience

The Hot Check division of the Lamar County and District Attorney's Office has increased hours of operation for the convenience of the public.

Hot Check Coordinator Shanna Reily said with the move to the newly restored Lamar County Courthouse comes an additional hour from noon to 1:00 p.m. where merchants can deliver insufficient checks and hot check writers can pay on their offenses.

"We're always looking for ways to make our services more convenient to the public," Mrs. Reily said. "In the past, we were closed during lunch. But now we hope to make it easier for people to drop by on their lunch hour and take care of their hot check business."

A special window located on the third floor of the courthouse is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. "When taking the elevator, get off and immediately turn left," Mrs. Reily said.

The hot check division works to collect restitution for area merchants and individuals who've been the victim of an insufficient check writer. Thus far in 2006, $158,564 has been collected and returned to businesses in the form of restitution and merchant fees.

Additionally, people who've written hot checks can make payments at the service window to satisfy the judgment in their cases, Mrs. Reily said.

Judge keeps juvenile on probation

By Mary Madewell
The Paris News

Published June 07, 2006

County Judge Chuck Superville on Tuesday ordered a 14-year-old Paris girl convicted earlier this year of arson to remain on probation and live with relatives.

The ruling does not sit well with County Attorney Gary Young.

“There have been teens deservedly sent to Texas Youth Commission for lesser offenses, and arson certainly deserved TYC,” Young said.

The county attorney said his office sought detention in January.

“We wanted this girl to go to TYC (Texas Youth Commission) from the beginning,” Young said earlier today. “The judge put her on probation in January. Now she has violated the conditions of that probation. If you look at probation as a second chance, which she got, we think she clearly now deserves TYC, but the judge does not.”

In January, the teen was convicted of an arson charge for setting fire Dec. 5 to the family’s rented residence on Pine Bluff Street

At that time, Superville placed her on probation until she is 18 years old and ordered all community services for mental health and counseling be put in place. The judge ordered she be under direct supervision of her mother.

Tuesday’s order placed her with a brother and sister-in-law.

Since January, juvenile probation officers reported her to be in violation of the judge’s orders, according to Allan Hubbard, spokesperson with the county attorney’s office.

The teen was written up for leaving a classroom without permission in April, according to testimony at Tuesday’s hearing. She was detained at the Hunt County Juvenile Detention Center for 48 hours.

Superville released her back to the mother’s custody on May 8 under a new agreement that included all recreational activity be approved by probation officials, Hubbard said.

The teen was suspended from school in May for leaving campus without permission and Superville sent her to Hunt County Juvenile Detention Facility for 10 days beginning May 22. She remained there until Tuesday’s hearing.

At yesterday’s hearing, the teen pled “true” to probation violations. Testimony included the girl to be openly defiant and belligerent with her mother in the presence of her probation officer as well as other court officials on more than one occasion.

While issues of adequate supervision were brought up in the original trial, juvenile probation officer Debbie Kennedy testified Tuesday that the girl’s mother has made sure all appointments have been kept, the girl is receiving weekly counseling from multiple sources and is reportedly taking prescribed medication.

Kennedy also testified that although local resources are being utilized, the girl’s behavior has not changed.

The youth’s attorney, Ben Massar, says he believes the county judge made a prudent decision about “a difficult situation.”

“She has emotional problems that need to be dealt with, but I don’t think she is going to reoffend and I don’t think TYC would be the place for her to receive the help she needs,” Massar said.

“I think the judge looked at this juvenile as an individual, took the case seriously and did what he thought was in the best interest of this child,” Massar said. “I believe he listened to my arguments and sees potential here.”

Superville said he made his decision Tuesday because the prosecution did not prove TYC would be in the best interest of the child or that local resources for rehabilitation have been exhausted. The judge said the teen has adequate family support.

All three causes need to be proven before a TYC sentence is warranted according to law, Superville said.

The judge said although the child has been “acting out” the only alleged violation of probation is “that she left campus for 15 minutes.”

“I have given the child appropriate punishment to get her attention,” Superville said of her stays at Hunt County Juvenile Detention Facility.

“This child is making progress slowly but surely,” Superville said. “I just did not see it was in her best interest to go to TYC, and I think everyone is safe.”

The judge said he ordered her into the custody of a brother and sister-in-law because the sister-in-law is a stay at home mom and the couple lives in the country.

Primm sentenced for evading arrest

By Mary Madewell
The Paris News

Published June 04, 2006

Billy Jack Primm, 40, of Commerce has received an eight-year prison sentence on an evading arrest with a deadly weapon charge.

The sentence resulted from a plea bargain reached late last week. Lamar County Attorney Gary Young’s office negotiated the deal.

Primm, suspected of stealing checks from mailboxes in Paris, was captured after a high-speed chase that resulted in injuries to Paris Police Sgt. James Mazy on Feb. 2.

Primm entered a guilty plea to the evading arrest with deadly weapon charge. He also received a two-year sentence on forgeries to run concurrently. He is eligible for parole in four years.

“I am glad that Mr. Primm took responsibility for his actions,” prosecuting attorney Sherry Whelchel said following Friday’s plea. “He admitted his crimes and was cooperative in disposing of his cases.”

Whelchel pushed for the deadly weapon case, which made the charge a third degree felony with a maximum 10-year sentence, county attorney spokesperson Alan Hubbard said.

Primm also was indicted on three separate forgery cases, each with multiple counts resulting from multiple checks.

The incident happened in February and was disposed four months later to the day, Hubbard said.

“That doesn’t happen very often,” he added.

Mazy returned to work after recuperating from injuries suffered during the chase that reached speeds of 110 mph.

Mazy lost control of his unmarked police car during the chase. He was trying to negotiate a curve about five miles northeast of Paris on Farm-to-Market Road 195, about a quarter-mile from the Faught Volunteer Fire Department, according to Police Chief Karl Louis.

Primm was taken into custody about 30 minutes later when law enforcement officers hemmed him in on FM 194 a short distance southeast of Blossom after a chase that first took officers from Faught to Blossom, into Red River County on U.S. 82, south on a county road and back west of FM 194 back toward Blossom again.

A number of mail documents lawmen believed to have been stolen from mail boxes in a residential area behind Paris Ford prior to the chase were found in Primm’s vehicle after he was arrested.

Mazy, who joined the Paris Police Department Oct. 26, 1991, had been investigating a mail theft scam in Paris and parked in an area where he could observe activity on Vegas, Reno and Fargo streets off Northeast 34th Street, an area that had been a target of the scam.

The officer said he watched Primm take mail from several mailboxes on the street. When Mazy drove toward Mazy minutes later, the officer activated his flashing lights and held a gun out his window, ordering the vehicle to stop. Instead, the man stepped on the accelerator and drove by, starting the chase.

October date set for Cobb murder trial

By Charles Richards
The Paris News

Published May 18, 2006

State District Judge Jim Dick Lovett on Wednesday scheduled jury selection to begin Oct. 23 in the capital murder trial of Christopher Lee Cobb, accused of killing his great-grandparents Aug. 29, 2004 in their Smallwood Road residence north of Elk Hollow Golf Club.

The state seeks the death penalty against Cobb, who turns 24 the day before jury selection begins.

Lovett said after jury selection, testimony will begin after the jury is seated.

Lamar County District Attorney Gary Young removed himself and his staff from the case March 21 because of concerns by defense attorney Stephen Miears of Bonham that the district attorney had a conflict of interest. While in private practice, Young had twice been Cobb’s attorney.

Miears filed a motion to quash the earlier indictments against his client, and Lovett granted the motion Wednesday.

“Mr. Young sought and got the indictments and was subsequently disqualified to try the case, so when the motion was made to dismiss the indictments, I didn’t want to take a chance of going through a full trial and then having the whole thing reversed on a minor thing like that, so we dismissed the indictments this morning,” Lovett said Wednesday.

The judge then immediately convened a special grand jury early Wednesday afternoon, and the panel quickly fulfilled its only purpose by re-indicting Cobb on two counts of capital murder in the deaths of Charley Smith, 89, and Ruth Smith, 88.

Presenting evidence to the grand jury was special prosecutor Charles “Mac” Cobb of the Texas attorney general’s office, no relation to the defendant. Young and his staff have turned over all their files on the case and won’t be involved in any way in the prosecution. Mac Cobb is a former district attorney in Mount Pleasant, but has been with the attorney general’s office for more than a quarter-century.

“We’ll start jury selection in our new, renovated courthouse,” the judge said.

“We’ll have to call several hundred people in, and we’re going to have to use that big courtroom to go through the first big list of jurors,” Lovett said.

“We’ll move over here for the rest of the jury selection and the trial,” Lovett said, speaking of the Lamar County Courthouse Annex on Lamar Avenue. “We have only one district courtroom, and I can’t take it up for six weeks. Judge (Scott) McDowell wouldn’t appreciate that,” Lovett said.

The judge said he anticipates it will take two to three weeks to select a jury.

“Testimony will start right after we get the jury seated,” the judge said.

Wednesday’s grand jury also re-indicted Cobb on five counts of aggravated assault against a public servant. Those first-degree felony charges grew from an alleged March 2005 attack on jailers in the Lamar County Jail.

Sheriff B.J. McCoy said Cobb lunged at four jailers with a sharpened-down toothbrush, yelling at Sgt. Sherry Haltom, “I’ll kill you, b----.” Cobb was overcome after some resistance, and all four jailers went to the hospital for treatment, the sheriff said.

Cobb’s capital murder trial was scheduled for jury selection Feb. 21, 2006, but the 6th State Court of Appeals in Texarkana halted proceedings with a Feb. 15 announcement that it would hear Miears’ request for a writ of mandamus seeking Young’s removal. Young took himself and his staff off the case a month later.

Cobb is accused of killing his great-grandparents in their residence next door to where Cobb lived with his parents. Police from both Paris and Reno investigated until it was determined the victims’ residence was inside the Reno city limits.

Investigators allege Cobb killed his great-grandparents for money to buy drugs.

Cop killer paroled to Lamar County

By Charles Richards
The Paris News

Published May 05, 2006

A man who was sentenced to life in prison for killing a Terrell police officer in 1980 has been paroled to Lamar County.

Ronnie Eugene Davis, 48, is living in the 700 block of Northwest 27th Street in Paris, following his release last week from the Telford Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in New Boston, near Texarkana.

Police officer William Robert “Bob” Stout was shot and killed with his own service weapon June 5, 1980, after being assaulted while investigating a noise complaint at an apartment complex in Terrell, which is 30 miles east of Dallas on Interstate 20.

According to police reports, when the 28-year-old police officer arrived at the scene about 1 a.m., he encountered a group of people outside.

Davis, one of the men in the group, became belligerent and jumped Stout from behind, ramming his head into a brick wall, police reports stated. The officer’s revolver fell out when his holster was torn open from the force of the impact. Davis grabbed the gun and fired all six shots. Only one hit Stout, but it killed the father of two.

Davis, 22 at the time, fled the scene, but later turned himself in and was charged with capital murder.

“It was a cowardly act. He jumped him from behind, took his gun and killed him,” said Pat Burnett, who was a 24-year-old officer for the Terrell Police Department at the time of the shooting. Stout had been on the police force four years, and Burnett was Stout’s best friend.

“They had just split us up, or I would have been with him that night,” said Burnett, now 49 and the sheriff of Van Zandt County.

The Kaufman County district attorney’s office didn’t seek the death penalty against Davis. Instead, on March 27, 1981, Davis agreed to plead guilty and waive appeal in exchange for a sentence of life in prison.

Including the nine months Davis spent in jail awaiting trial, he did only 10 years of his life sentence before he got out on parole June 5, 1990.

“I was never notified. He was already out before I found out about it. I was livid,” said the slain officer’s widow, Nancy Stout, 53, a court bailiff who worked then and continues to work today for the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department. Her husband would be 58 if he were still alive.

Davis stayed out of prison less than a year. He was arrested again in 1991 “after he held his girlfriend overnight against her will,” Burnett said.

Charges against Davis on that case were dropped, but his parole was revoked, and he returned to TDCJ. There he remained until the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles decided recently to release him again.

“He’s done less than 26 years in prison,” Burnett said.

Just as in 1990, Nancy Stout said, she got no notice that Davis was up for parole. She learned in a telephone call from The Paris News on Tuesday afternoon that Davis was out of prison again.

“Just that he is alive bothers me,” she said.

Tuesday night, Stout called Burnett to inform him that Davis was out again, and Burnett made phone calls Wednesday to the Paris Police Department and to the Lamar County Sheriff’s Department. Both agencies have circulated pictures of Davis to their officers.

“I’m praying for the officers in your city and county, and for your citizens," Burnett said in a telephone call Thursday to The Paris News.

Gaines sentenced to 30 years for murder

By Charles Richards
The Paris News

Published May 04, 2006

A Lamar County jury has recommended a 30-year sentence for a 23-year-old man in the June 25, 2005, murder of his brother at the Wholly Cow Trailer Park five miles north of Paris on U.S. 271.

A 10-woman, two-man jury handed up the sentence recommendation about 4:15 p.m. Wednesday on a first-degree murder charge against Jared Heath Gaines. He had admitted fatally stabbing his brother, Jeffery Gaines, 21, after a night of drinking that culminated in a fight.

The jury considered only punishment because the defendant abruptly changed his plea from innocent to guilty during jury selection Monday.

The jury could have recommended Gaines get anywhere from five years to life, or it could have recommend two to 20 years had it agreed with a defense argument that the defendant killed his brother in the heat of passion. It also could have recommended probation.

Gaines must serve at least half the sentence — 15 years — before he becomes eligible for parole.

“I think the jury had a tough decision, and I think it’s probably a fair verdict,” District Attorney Gary Young said.

The jury was handed the case shortly before noon Wednesday. The panel deliberated about two hours before breaking for lunch, then returned at 3 p.m.

Gaines testified in his own behalf. He was on the stand

about an hour Tuesday afternoon, then completed his testimony Wednesday morning.

Although he told a Lamar County sheriff’s deputy that he killed his brother, he testified he didn’t remember actually stabbing his brother.

He said he, his brother, and Zabrina Bowers, his girlfriend at the time, had been drinking for several hours in the trailer home where he and Bowers lived with his parents.

“I still can’t believe I did it, but it must have been me,” he said, adding that his girlfriend wouldn't have killed his brother. ”

“I don’t know if it was the alcohol or if it was because we had a fight and he called Zabrina a (deleted). I lost it. A man can be pushed only so far before he loses his cool,” the defendant testified.

His parents testified that despite their son’s guilty plea, they still believe he’s innocent. Their sons were inseparable, loved each other, and it would have been impossible for one to kill the other, they argued.

The defendant testified he never admitted to his parents that he killed his brother “because I knew (his mother) had a bad heart, and I was trying to protect her from that. I didn’t want to lose her.”

Jeffery Gaines had been dead for three weeks when Lamar County sheriff’s deputies went to the trailer park about midnight Sunday, July 16, 2005. Officers found the man’s remains under his parents’ trailer.

Officers went to the trailer park because of information out of Collin County, where Jared Gaines had been arrested on a misdemeanor family violence assault charge.

Bowers told law enforcement officers he had assaulted her. She also told them he had killed his brother and where the body could be found.

Gaines was represented by attorney Ben Massar.

Gaines sentencing hearing continues

By Charles Richards
The Paris News

Published May 03, 2006

Jared Gaines, 23, testified Tuesday that he "lost it" in June of last year after his brother, with whom he had just had a fist fight, called his girlfriend names and said he was going to kick her out of the trailer house where she was living with their parents and Jared.

The next thing he remembers, he was holding his brother in his arms, trying to stop the bleeding. A knife was embedded in his brother, Jeffery Gaines, 21. The handle of a kitchen knife had broken off and lay beside him.

"He died in my arms with tears in his eyes. I was screaming out to God, asking God, 'Why?' " Gaines testified before a 10-woman, two-man jury in the court of State District Judge Scott McDowell.

Gaines said he didn't remember what happened and loved his brother, "but it had to be me, didn't it?"

Gaines faces from five years to life in prison on the murder charge in connection with the June 25, 2005, death of his brother, whose decomposed body was found 22 days later under a corner of the trailer house in the Wholly Cow Trailer Park on U.S. 271, five miles north of Paris.

McDowell recessed the trial at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, after a day in which the defendant's former girlfriend, both his parents and an uncle testified.

Gaines abruptly changed his plea from innocent to guilty halfway through jury selection on Monday, so the case went directly to the punishment phase on Tuesday.

Gaines was to return to the stand at 10:30 a.m. today. The case was expected to be turned over to the jury soon after.

Despite the guilty plea, both parents testified they still don't believe their son is guilty. They said they were convinced his ex-girlfriend, Zabrina Bowers, committed the murder.

Bowers, 26, testifed earlier that after a night in which all three had drank a lot, the brothers got into a skirmish in another room and she overheard Jeffery Gaines calling her filthy names.

Jeffery stumbled through the trailer and went into his parents' bedroom, where he fell asleep in a drunken stupor, she said.

What was her boyfriend's reaction when she went to him crying, telling him how hurt she was?

"He said he was going to kill his brother. I didn't think he meant it," Bowers said.

Then he went into the kitchen and got a knife and said he was going to "take care of business," she said.

He forced her to watch, she said, as he went to where his brother was passed out drunk and drove the knife into his brother's upper chest. The handle broke off from the force of the attack, she said.

Jared wrapped a sheet around his brother's body and made her help him drag it out of the trailer, and he then put the body under the trailer, she testified.

She said she spent hours cleaning up while he slept and then they asked a neighbor to take them into Paris, where they got a room at a motel. Her father came from McKinney the next day to pick them up, she said.

Lamar County sheriff's officers got a call on July 16, 2005, from Collin County. Officers there had arrested Jared Gaines after another night of drinking and Bowers had complained he had assaulted her.

She told law enforcement officers that Gaines had killed his brother and told them to look under the trailer house. Shortly later, Lamar County sheriff's deputies went to the trailer park and made the grisly discovery.

Walters gets maximum sentence

By Charles Richards
The Paris News

Published April 28, 2006

“Whenever I prepare to sentence someone, I look for some redeeming social value in them. I try to give them another chance to become a good citizen,” State District Judge Jim Dick Lovett told Merley Walters III, 34, on Thursday at the end of his trial on charges of possession of cocaine and methamphetamine with intent to deliver.

“I find no redeeming social value in your life,” the judge said, telling Merley he has been nothing but heartache and disappointment to those who care for him.

Then he sentenced Walters to 20 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, the maximum sentence possible on the two felonies that a seven-woman, five-man jury found him guilty of on Wednesday.

Paris police were searching Walters after a traffic stop last June 11, and the patrol car video camera was rolling when a black bag containing about a dozen rocks of crack cocaine and 10 packets of methamphetamine packaged for sale fell down his pants leg.

Lovett appeared to telegraph his intentions shortly before sentencing when he asked District Attorney Gary Young for his recommendation, and whether the sentences on the two convictions could be “stacked” or must be served concurrently.

“What is unfair is that this defendant is only looking at 20 years,” Young replied.

Walters has prior convictions, which in some circumstances are grounds for enhancing the range of punishment. But Walters’ previous convictions were state jail felonies and can’t be used to enhance a higher-level crime, Young said. The most recent convictions can’t be stacked because they were tried simultaneously.

Defense attorney Gene Gaines of Dallas said it was the toughest case he’s ever tried.

“I had nothing — nothing,” he said. “You can’t impeach the testimony of a videotape.”

He argued that the evidence was seized during an illegal search, but didn’t convince the jury. The drugs were found on Walters after he was arrested for failure to show a driver’s license, and the license was later found in the vehicle. But the initial stop was for Walters’ driving without his lights at 2 a.m. at Northwest Seventh Street and Shiloh Street, which police consider a high drug-traffic area.

Immediately after the sentence, Gaines, 70, asked Lovett to allow him to withdraw from other cases in which he is listed as Walters’ attorney. He said he is in declining health, didn’t feel he had defended Walters as capably as he should have, and felt Walters’ interests would be better served by someone else.

Gaines was hired by Walters’ family. The defendant told the judge he can’t afford a lawyer, so Lovett replaced Gaines with former Fannin County Attorney Myles Porter on other cases pending against him.

Gaines, like Walters, is black, and the jury was all white. Gaines said that is the fault of the black community.

There were about half a dozen blacks in the jury pool, but one after another, they begged off, saying they couldn’t be fair and impartial, Gaines said.

“Black people understand black people better than white people do, and we need black people on the jury to articulate those understandings. But that can’t happen as long as black people refuse to serve on a jury,” Gaines said.

A succession of police officers testified Wednesday afternoon and Thursday about various other felony charges pending against Walters in connection with arrests in the past year.

Among them is a highly publicized incident in January in which he and two teenagers — armed with a shotgun and two pistols — are accused of severely beating a man in the 1900 block of North Fitzhugh Street. The driver of the pickup truck that took the three to the address testified Thursday about the incident.

Shonda Walters, 31, who filed for divorce in January, also testified for the prosecution Thursday. She said that in the more than 10 years she and the defendant were married, he never had a legitimate fulltime job for longer than six months. They have two children, ages 8 and 10, she said.

“How did he make a living?” Young asked.

“Selling drugs,” she replied.

Walters made regular trips to Dallas to buy “mainly marijuana and cocaine” from a man named Lupe, she testified, “then bringing it back and selling it.”

The first she ever noticed methamphetamine around their residence was a few weeks after he got out of prison in 2004, she said. He had several guns, which he kept at his shop near Northeast Seventh Street and Booth Lane, she said.

The last three or four weeks they were together, last April, she and Walters used crystal meth, or “ice,” together every day, she testified. They also smoked marijuana together frequently, she said.

He abused her physically toward the end, she testified.

“One night, he broke my nose with a cell phone and broke three ribs,” she said.

Walters found guilty on all counts

By Charles Richards
The Paris News

Published April 27, 2006

A Lamar County jury returned a quick guilty verdict Wednesday afternoon against Merley Walters III, 34, of Paris on second-degree felony charges of possession with intent to deliver cocaine and methamphetamine.

A black bag fell down Walters’ pants leg as police officer Jamie Blount began a search in a convenience store parking lot at Shiloh Street and Northwest Ninth Street after Walters was pulled over about 2 a.m. last June 11.

The bag contained about a dozen rocks of crack cocaine and 10 packets of methamphetamine “packaged for sale,” Blount testified in the trial, which began Monday afternoon and resumed Wednesday after a one-day interruption.

Defense attorney Gene Gaines of Dallas argued the search was illegal, because it followed an arrest for Walters not displaying a driver’s license, and the license was actually found in his vehicle later.

That was not a stumbling block, said jury foreman Todd Varner, a Paris police officer for more than 20 years before becoming a city code enforcement officer last September.

“We understood where the defense was coming from, but when the evidence was that overwhelming, it was hard to find any straws to grasp at for the jury to have reasonable doubt. We were pretty much of one mind from the start,” Varner said after the jury was dismissed.

Blount testified he pulled Walters over initially for driving without his lights in an area considered a high drug-trafficking area. The arrest followed a logical progression, the officer said.

Blount testified he handcuffed Walters because he acted “very nervous,” was unable to produce a driver’s license, and appeared ready to run as he questioned him.

Walters began fighting and tried to kick the bag away after it fell to the pavement, Blount and fellow police officer Doug Murphy testified. They said they went to the ground with Walters and eventually used pepper spray to subdue him.

The arrest was captured on a videotape that was activated when Blount activated the overhead lights on his patrol car.

The seven-woman, five-man jury retired at 2:22 p.m. Wednesday to begin its deliberations, and at 2:42 p.m. the jury announced it had a verdict: guilty on both counts.

The punishment phase of the trial proceeded immediately before State District Judge Jim Dick Lovett, who showed surprise when Gaines announced a preference for the judge, not the jury, to decide on Walters’ punishment.

“Are you aware of my reputation for handing down tough sentences?” Lovett asked Gaines.

The defense attorney said he had confidence the judge would be fair and impartial.

“I’ll be fair and impartial, but you should know that local lawyers will not let me set the punishment,” Lovett said.

Gaines huddled again briefly with Walters and said: “My client has told me, ‘Do what you think is right.’ I will stick with my request.”

The punishment phase proceeded for about an hour and a half before Lovett recessed the trial at 4:30 p.m. It was to resume at 9 a.m. today with several more prosecution witnesses due to testify.

Man takes 15-year sentence

By Charles Richards
The Paris News

Published April 05, 2006

Late in the night of last Nov. 27, three days after Thanksgiving, 31-year-old Tyrone Harris knocked on the bedroom door of a family member he was living with in Paris and delivered a message: someone was at the front door.

That wasn’t really the case, however, and when the family member opened the door Harris attacked with a billiard stick, hitting her with the pool cue over and over and over again, delivering life-threatening injuries.

Probably the only thing that saved the woman’s life, Lamar County prosecutor Sherry Whelchel said, was an eloquent 8-year-old boy who witnessed the attack and called 9-1-1, giving a very descriptive account of what was happening.

Authorities arrived moments later, and Harris was subsequently charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a second-degree felony punishable by a sentence of two to 20 years in prison.

A pool of prospective jurors was on hand for jury selection Monday, but before a jury of his peers could be selected, Harris decided to plea bargain. He volunteered to plead guilty in exchange for a 10-year prison sentence. Whelchel refused, countering with 15 years, and Harris accepted.

Because of the severity of the assault, Harris must serve at least half the sentence, or seven and a half years, before he will be eligible for parole.

State District Judge Scott McDowell accepted the plea and sentenced Harris on Monday to 15 years in prison.

Afterward, the victim of the attack addressed Harris, as is permitted by law. She told how the beating had affected her and her children and asked him why he did it.

Harris’ response was so outrageous that the victim exploded in rage and had to be led out of the courtroom, a member of District Attorney Gary Young’s staff said. The staff member declined to elaborate on the record about the comments.

Young recuses himself from Cobb trial

By Charles Richards
The Paris News

Published March 22, 2006

Lamar County District Attorney Gary Young on Tuesday removed himself and his office from prosecuting the Chris Cobb capital murder trial, which was on hold while a court considered whether he had a conflict of interest because while in private practice he had twice been the youth’s attorney.

Young said Tuesday that he approached defense attorney Steven Miears on Monday after it became obvious that the issue could tie up the trial for months and would be a continuing issue for years even after a conviction.

“We’re not conceding anything. In fact, I think the court of appeals would render in our favor. But what we’ve done, Steve and I jointly, we’ve notified the court that I’m going to voluntarily recuse myself and my office, and I’ve already contacted the attorney general’s office, formally requesting that they appoint a special prosecutor,” Young said.

That makes moot the appellate court’s deliberations on whether Young's participation in the prosecution was a conflict that should require state District Judge Jim Dick Lovett to order Young and his staff off the case. Miears argued that because Young represented Cobb in a divorce case and in a felony forgery case, he had information he shouldn’t be entitled to in arguing for the death penalty.

“The longer we looked at it, it became apparent that the issue the defense was presenting was about me, and trying to get me off," Young said. "The case was becoming about whether I’m doing right or wrong. That’s not fair to the family, or to the victim.

“That issue was going to follow this case forever, so we made the decision to ask for a special prosecutor so this case can get tried timely and efficiently.”

The Paris News was unable to reach Miears for comment by telephone or e-mail. A member of his staff said Tuesday afternoon that he was out of the office. He had said Tuesday morning in Paris, where he was in court on another capital murder case, that he expected a development soon on the Cobb case.

Cobb, 23, is accused of killing his great-grandparents, Charley Smith, 89, and Ruth Smith, 88, on Aug. 29, 2004, in their residence next door to where Cobb lived with his parents on Smallwood Road, in the Reno city limits, north of Elk Hollow Golf Club.

Paris Police Chief Karl Louis said when he questioned Cobb about the killings, Cobb at first denied knowing what happened, but later confessed in detail to both murders — stabbing his great-grandfather and then shooting his great-grandmother. It’s alleged Cobb killed them for money to buy drugs.

The case was scheduled for jury selection on Feb. 21, but the 6th Court of Appeals halted proceedings with a Feb. 15 announcement that it would hear Miears’ request for a writ of mandamus seeking Young’s removal as the prosecutor. The Texarkana court heard oral arguments on March 1, when two Austin attorneys representing an anti-death penalty group argued for Young’s removal.

“A group that opposes capital punishment has gotten involved, latching onto this. We’ve removed all that. If the goal is to get Mr. Cobb executed, this will make it happen the fastest way,” Young said.

The district attorney said neither he nor any of his staff will be involved in prosecuting the case.

“The attorney general’s office has a division for criminal law enforcement, and within that division is a capital murder prosecution group, for this specific reason,” Young said.

He said he expects two prosecutors and perhaps an investigator to try the case, which still will be scheduled for Lovett’s courtroom in Paris.

“They basically will come in, and we’ll hand them our stuff. It will then basically be their case to do with as they see fit," Young said. He said he will not discuss either Cobb’s divorce case or a charge in which Cobb was accused of forging his mother’s check — two cases in which Young served as Cobb’s attorney.

“If he gets the death penalty, it’s not going to be because he forged his mom’s check or for being a horse’s rear while being married. He is going to get the death penalty, if he gets it, by what he did and what he’s done in the past violently and by what he’s done since he’s been arrested,” Young said.

The district attorney said he expects the Cobb case to be tried in the next three to nine months.

Victim's family speaks out for her at hearing

By Charles Richards
The Paris News

Published March 22, 2006

“I’m here today to let this man know who the lady was that he brutally murdered,” Martha Dennis, 73, began on Tuesday morning, moments after Clark Mays was sentenced to life in prison for killing her crippled sister two years ago in the victim’s apartment near downtown.

“She was a perfect sister. She always had a smile and never complained even though she had a right to complain more than anyone I know,” Dennis said of Mary Ann “Sister” White, 74, who died in February 2004 from strangulation and multiple blows to the head.

Mary Ann White suffered burns over three-fourths of her body when she was 5 years old, after falling into a boiling pot of water while her mother and grandmother were cooking hominy, Dennis said. Her sister spent more than a year in the hospital, and many skin grafts were performed on her face, arms and legs from other parts of her body.

“After this, she could use only her right arm. Her left hand and arm were drawn near her body and she had no control or use of them,” Dennis said.

Dennis spoke for about 10 minutes from a prepared statement after State District Judge Jim Dick Lovett asked at the end of the trial if any member of the victim’s family wished to direct comments toward the defendant.

Assistant prosecutor Sherry Whelchel stood beside her, consoling Dennis with gentle pats on the back during the several times that she struggled to maintain her composure.

“Thank you, ma’am. Beautiful tribute,” Lovett said when Dennis finished.

Eyes diverted, the 40-year-old Mays sat expressionless about 20 feet away from where Dennis stood. Afterward, he offered no apology or other comments to the family.

Her sister also had infantile paralysis, which affected her throat and legs, Dennis said.

“Mary Ann was a person who had suffered incredible pain and sickness all her life and could not do many common things that we enjoy doing, such as using both hands, eating fast, driving a car, riding a bike, cooking a full meal, running to play ball, tying her shoes or having children,” Dennis said.

“Mary Ann never complained about her disabilities. Her goal was to go to church every Sunday and be thankful for her family and friends,” Dennis said. All of her family looked upon her sister as a second mother, she said.

Her sister could have lived with her, Dennis said, “but she liked living in Paris,” in an apartment in the 200 block of Northwest Third Street, across the street from a Hibernia Bank drive-in window and the “Hole in the Wall” restaurant.

“She enjoyed being able to walk to the grocery store, drug store and the Plaza,” said Dennis “Most of all, she liked being able to get on the Trax bus with her older lady friends to go to the mall and Wal-Mart. She was very careful with her money. She had to be encouraged to buy what she needed. She wanted to be sure that her bills were paid first.”

Testimony in the trial was to have begun Tuesday morning, but defense attorney Steven Miears abruptly changed his client’s plea from innocent to guilty halfway through jury selection on Monday.

Miears said there was no use continuing after Lovett refused to allow him to pursue a legal argument that Mays suffered mental illness preventing him from having the necessary “intent” to kill someone.

Miears offered to plead Mays guilty in exchange for the judge’s agreement to allow him to appeal the conviction on that one issue.

The formal plea came Tuesday morning, followed by the automatic sentence to life in prison, since the prosecution had waived the death penalty. Mays must serve 40 years in prison before he is eligible for parole.

Mays gets life sentence for murder

By Charles Richards
The Paris News

Published March 21, 2006

In the middle of jury selection Monday, the attorney for Clark Dewayne Mays decided to plead his client guilty to capital murder charges in the death of a 76-year-old Paris woman more than two years ago in her downtown apartment.

State District Judge Jim Dick Lovett said he would accept the plea at 9 a.m. today and sentence Mays, 40, to life in prison for killing Mary Ann “Sister” White on Feb. 4, 2004, in her apartment in the 200 block of Northwest Third Street.

A nephew, who came by to check on the woman, found her dead in the apartment where she lived alone. An autopsy found that she died from strangulation and repeated blows to the head. Her clothing had been torn away, but she had not been raped.

Mays must serve at least 40 years of the sentence before he would be eligible for parole.

The judge agreed Monday to an offer from defense attorney Steven Miears of Bonham to plead his client guilty in exchange for an agreement that he could appeal Lovett’s ruling that barred Miears from arguing that Mays was mentally ill to the extent he could not have had the necessary “intent” to kill someone.

Any appeal is limited to that one issue under the plea agreement.

Miears was laying the foundation for his insanity defense when assistant prosecutor Sherry Whelchel interrupted with an objection.

The jury was excused from the room while attorneys argued whether such a defense was applicable in Texas.

“Where we disagree, my understanding of the case law is you cannot submit evidence of mental evidence to show that someone didn’t have the intent to commit crime,” Whelchel said.

“There is no diminished capacity law in Texas. There is a very small area it can be used,” she said, arguing that it could be argued only in the punishment phase of a trial.

“Since we were not seeking the death penalty, punishment would be automatic life in prison anyway,” Whelchel said.

If Miears prevails on his appeal on the “diminished capacity” issue, the case would be returned to Lamar County to be tried again, this time with the defense allowed to argue the difference between intent to commit murder as opposed to mere “knowledge” that his actions were likely to have caused a person to die.

Friends and relatives of the victim were being rounded up Monday in case they desired to confront the defendant in court. Victim statements are allowed at the very end of a trial. Mays became a “person of interest” in the case after he was seen near White’s apartment, watching as police officers conducted their examination of the murder scene.

The manager of a store two blocks to the east testified during a hearing earlier this year that Mays was in his business when police cars first were racing to the scene. Mays could hardly carry on a conversation because of his intense attention to what was going on down the street, the businessman said.

It was months before DNA evidence linked Mays to the apartment and he was charged with capital murder. He has been incarcerated in Lamar County Jail since late 2004.

March 21, 2006

For Immediate Release

Man gets life in guilty murder plea

The man who killed Mary Ann White in February 2004 admitted his crime Tuesday and received life in prison as punishment.

Clark Dewayne Mays, 40, was scheduled to stand trial this week for the murder of Ms. White in her near-downtown Paris apartment. As jury selection was underway Monday, defense attorney Steven Miears of Bonham offered to have Mays plead guilty to life in prison if district judge Jim Lovett would allow him to appeal the case on one issue.

Mays was charged with killing Ms. White, who died of blunt force injuries to the head and strangulation. He was arrested by Paris police in October 2004 after a lengthy investigation and indicted by the Lamar County grand jury in December 2004.

"Older people should be able to enjoy the last years of their lives, and Mr. Mays did not allow Ms. White to do that," said lead prosecutor Sherry Whelchel. "He cut short a life that had been full of helping others and being a 'second mom' to her nieces and nephews."

Mays entered his guilty pleas Tuesday before Judge Lovett and a gallery of friends and family of the victim, who was known as "Sister" to those who knew her. The victim's sister made a victim impact statement to the defendant at the conclusion of the hearing where she detailed the life and good-naturedness of the victim as Mays listened.

Normally, cases resolved by plea bargain do not allow for appeal. However, Miears was prepared to offer a defense that centered on Mays' inability to form the intent to kill due to his limited mental capacity. Judge Lovett said he would not allow such a defense to be presented, so he allowed Miears to have a conditional appeal on that issue only.

Under Texas law, life in prison requires a minimum 40 years to be served before parole is considered. Mays will be 80 years old before he is eligible for parole.

Student sent to TYC for shoving aide

By Charles Richards
The Paris News

Published March 12, 2006

A 14-year-old girl has been sentenced to a state juvenile correction facility “for an indeterminate period not to exceed her 21st birthday” for shoving a 58-year-old teacher’s aide.

The incident occurred Sept. 30 at Paris High School, while the aide was on hall monitor duty. The girl has a history of problems at school, according to court testimony.

County Judge Chuck Superville said the girl must spend a minimum of one year at a Texas Youth Commission facility. How much longer she will stay depends upon her progress, the judge said.

A three-man, three-woman jury listened to testimony Thursday and Friday before being handed the case about 3:30 p.m. Friday. The jury deliberated just 10 minutes before reporting it had a verdict: “We the jury find it true that the respondent ... did engage in delinquent conduct by commission of an assault on a public servant as charged in the petition.”

Superville discharged the jury, and the trial moved into the punishment phase, which continued for about two and a half hours before defense attorney Wesley Newell and the Lamar County district attorney’s office rested about 6:15 p.m. Friday.

School officials said they have dealt with the girl, who is now a high school freshman, many times on disciplinary issues dating back several years.

Newell argued for probation, and Superville had gone on record that sending a teenager to the TYC was something he generally would do only as a last resort.

Prosecutors argued against probation, saying that the girl’s mother is perhaps her biggest problem and that the girl has no hope of getting better as long as she’s in the same home as her mother. District Attorney Gary Young said the mother’s response to any problem at school was to paint school officials as racist.

During the punishment phase, a half-dozen or so teachers — both white and black — from the high school or from Paris Alternative School, where the girl was transferred after the incident last September, described the girl as “openly defiant, generally did not follow rules.”

Michael Johnson, a teacher/coach at the alternative school, said after a teacher “wrote her up” for violation of rules, the girl told him “I’m going to bust her in the nose.” She wanted to go home, but he made her go to the office with him, Johnson said. He said she told him, “You don’t know me very well, because I’ll burn this school down.”

Johnson, who is black, said the girl’s mother berated him, calling him the equivalent of an Uncle Tom.

The jury had three women, one of whom was black, and three men.

PHS principal Gary Preston said the school district made available every resource it had “but regularly got road-blocked with non-support of her mother.” He said he knows of nothing more that can be done.

“I think (the girl) is capable, but she is enabled by a mother who won’t support the attempts to help her. ... Up until now, I think it has been very harmful for her to be in the same home with her mother.”

The girl admitted pushing the teacher’s aide, Cleda Brownfield, but said she did so only after Brownfield shoved her first.

The Sept. 30 incident occurred about 15 to 20 minutes before regular classes were to begin at 8:30 a.m. at Paris High School. Brownfield was the hall monitor in a building where some students were having meetings and others were being helped by tutors.

The hall monitor’s job is to lock the doors about 8:05 a.m., keeping all other students out of the hallways until 8:30 a.m. to keep disruptions at a minimum. Brownfield said she was on her way to lock the door when the girl walked in. When the girl was told she couldn’t come in, she protested, saying she had to go to the restroom, Brownfield testified.

She told her she’d have to use a restroom in the cafeteria across the courtyard, and the girl finally left, she said. Minutes later, when another student was admitted into the building for a meeting, the girl insisted that she also be let in. When the girl told her, “I’ll knock your block off,” and moved to come in, Brownfield said, she put up her hands in a defensive posture, and the girl responded by shoving her hard.

A teacher, Jerry Fleming, was nearby and the girl complained that he had a pencil in his hand, causing a cut on her hand when he put out his hand to restrain her. He also stepped on her shoelaces, causing her to fall, and she bumped her head, she said.

School resource officer Brad Ruthart testified he was on duty in the parking lot when he was summoned to the building because Brownfield “had been assaulted by a student.” He said he found her in the lounge and the student seated outside the principal’s office.

Brownfield “was crying, very upset, holding her arm. I asked her if she was OK, and she said she was not. I felt she needed medical help. She was so upset she had difficulty talking,” said Ruthart, a Paris police officers who works as a school resource officer for PISD.

The girl “was very calm, didn’t appear to be a threat,” Ruthart testified. During the next half hour, he talked to the various teachers who were either involved or had seen part of what happened. He also talked to the girl and to several of her friends, all of whom insisted that Brownfield shoved first.

“I thought it didn’t seem like something Brownfield would do. From what I knew of her and from what others were saying, it didn’t add up,” he said. Ruthart said he had known the teacher’s aide for several years and described her as “mild-mannered, soft-spoken, a grandmotherly type.”

The girl’s mother testified late Thursday afternoon that she got dressed and drove to Paris High School after receiving a telephone call that her daughter had been involved in an incident.

“She was sitting in the office with two other girls, crying. She had a knot on her head and a cut on her hand,” she said.

She talked with Ruthart and Preston, she said.

“I was upset because my daughter was sitting there hurting, and nobody was doing anything to help her. I asked them why nothing had been done to treat her injuries,” she said.

Newell asked if she got any satisfaction from them.

“No, they could care less,” she said.

She took her daughter to the hospital emergency room, where she was treated for a contusion on her head, a laceration on her hand and a sprained neck, she said.

About an hour after the incident, Brownfield was removed from the school on a stretcher and was taken by ambulance to the hospital.

The girl’s mother said her daughter has Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) and was trying to get into the building that day so she could get medication from the school nurse.

Brownfield testified the girl made no mention of needing to see the nurse and that if she had, she would have been allowed to do so. Ruthart said the girl also said nothing to him about having wanted in the building to see the school nurse.

Man sent to jail for sex offense

By Charles Richards
The Paris News

Published March 08, 2006

With the jury deadlocked 8-4 and a mistrial likely, a plea bargain was struck Tuesday that sends a Paris man to prison for a sexual offense last year involving a 12-year-old girl.

Testimony began Monday morning in 6th State District Court in the trial of Lynn Wendell Goree, 54, of 743 Southeast Sixth St., who was charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child and indecency with a child by sexual contact. Both sides rested after the victim went on the stand and was cross-examined.

Goree did not testify on his own behalf, and the jury began its deliberations mid-morning.

But the jury deliberated for about five hours Monday without reaching a unanimous verdict, and — without indicating whether it was leaning toward conviction or acquittal — sent out word that it was deadlocked, seven to five.

The jury returned Tuesday, and after three more hours of deliberation was still deadlocked eight to four. While the panel was out on a break, talks on a deal resumed and Gore pleaded guilty to indecency by fondling — which was count three in his indictment — in exchange for a sentence of three years in prison.

“All we had was two witnesses,” the victim and the accused, “and one of them didn’t have to testify,” Assistant District Attorney Lloyd Whelchel said.

Goree must serve at least two years in prison — less credit for five months in jail already served — before becoming eligible for parole.

If the trial had been declared a mistrial because of the jury’s inability to come to a unanimous verdict, and the defense hadn’t agreed to a deal, “we would have retried him,” Whelchel said.

Whelchel said had the jury convicted Goree, the prosecution would have talked during the punishment phase about another sexual assault charge against Goree, which was said to have occurred in 1984.

In last year’s case, Goree was accused of molesting a girl who had been entrusted to his care while her mother was at work.

State court set to hear Cobb appeal

By Charles Richards
The Paris News

Published February 26, 2006

A state appellate court hears oral arguments Wednesday in Texarkana on whether Lamar County District Attorney Gary Young should be barred from prosecuting Christopher Cobb for capital murder in the August 2004 slayings of his great-grandparents.

Defense attorney Steven Miears of Bonham, says it would violate Cobb’s constitutional rights for Young to prosecute his client because the district attorney once represented Cobb in his divorce and in a felony forgery case. Young gained information and insight to Cobb’s life that the prosecutor is not entitled to, Miears said.

The prosecution is seeking the death penalty for Cobb.

Miears sought Young’s recusal on several occasions last year, but state District Judge Jim Dick Lovett denied the request on more than one occasion.

Jury selection was scheduled to start last Tuesday, Feb. 21, but on Feb. 13 Miears filed a motion with the Texarkana appellate court, seeking a writ of mandamus to force Lovett to order Young and his staff off the case.

Two days later, on Feb. 15, the Texarkana court ordered all trial proceedings, including jury selection, halted until it had a chance to review Miears’ motion.

Then last Monday, Miears asked the court to hear oral arguments on the case. On Wednesday, the court agreed, announcing it would hear oral arguments this coming Wednesday. Proceedings in Texarkana are scheduled to begin at 1:15 p.m. Wednesday.

“Each side will get 20 minutes,” Young said. “Mr. Miears will argue for 20 minutes, then we will argue for 20 minutes. The court will ask us questions, and then he (Miears) gets 10 minutes rebuttal,” Young said.

Then, the court will take some time and will announce its decision, hopefully within a few days.

“This court has always been good about getting its opinions out quickly once oral arguments are heard. It’s an expedited process,” Young said.

Either side can appeal the decision to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, delaying the actual start of the Cobb trial further.

“I don’t know if Mr. Miears will appeal it to the State Court of Appeals if the (Texarkana) court denies his request. I suspect he would. If the court grants the request, we will appeal it to the state court of appeals,” Young said.

Just because the 6th Court of Appeals decision likely will be appealed to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals — either by the prosecution or defense — does not mean a long delay.

“Typically, the State Court of Criminal Appeals makes decisions on these things in, say, a week or two,” Young said.

Should the defense prevail with its insistence that Young and his staff be barred from prosecuting the case, Young would probably ask the attorney general’s office for assistance.

“A lot of small counties don’t have the resources and experience in the prosecutor’s office to try a capital murder case. If I was here by myself, that would be the situation here. The attorney general’s office has a capital murder assistance section where they go around the state, helping when it’s needed. We would ask assistance from them,” Young said.

At one time, jury selection in the Cobb trial was planned for November, as the first major trial in the renovated Lamar County Courthouse. But the opening of the new courthouse was delayed and now is not expected until May or June.

“We decided we could no longer wait for if and when we got into the new courthouse. But we may go back to that now. If we’re going to be in the courthouse in the next few months, I would prefer now that we wait and just do it all in the new courthouse,” Young said.

“I would hope that we would have this issue (before the appellate court) resolved by the end of March,” he said.

“If you read our response to Mr. Miears’ motion, we’re arguing that the remedy he is asking for should not be granted. Basically, the judge had a hearing on the motion, listened to the evidence, and at his discretion — which is what his job is — he ruled,” Young said.

“You’re not supposed to now be able to go to an appellate court and stop the trial process, and that’s what Mr. Miears is trying to do. Any appeals are supposed to come after the trial.”

A motion for a writ of mandamus, the district attorney said, “is for when you’re allowed to do something by law and the judge won’t allow you to do it. Something the law says very clearly you’re entitled to but aren’t given.”

Once the issue is resolved, a new jury pool will be drawn up and jury selection will follow.

But that will be a month or two down the line, at the earliest.

With the Cobb trial on the schedule, most other cases were delayed for a later time. Now, with the Cobb trial on a back burner, other cases are being expedited again.

Former fugitive gets 40 years

By Charles Richards
The Paris News

Published February 24, 2006

In late 2003, Mark Lee Bolton, then 19, fled Paris rather than face charges of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl only three months after receiving probation for sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl.

On Thursday, 17 days after he was tracked down and arrested at his mother's house in Abilene, Bolton accepted a plea bargain and was sentenced by state District Judge Jim Dick Lovett to 40 years in prison. Bolton, now 22, must serve at least 20 years before he will be eligible for parole.

After returning to the courtroom Thursday morning following a 30-minute closed-door meeting with his lawyer and his father, Bolton appeared nauseated and asked for a trash can. He bent over the can briefly before the proceedings could continue, but did not vomit.

Had Bolton not accepted their offer, prosecutors were prepared with evidence of the sexual assault of the 15-year-old girl, a friend of Bolton's first victim. Bolton also faced charges of failure to register as a sex offender and technical violations of his probation.

As a condition of the plea bargain, prosecutors dismissed the second sexual assault charge and the failure to register as a sex offender.

One of the victims and two of the parents elected to confront Bolton at the end of the proceedings through a court-approved victim impact statement. All indicated they were glad Bolton had been caught and now faces punishment.

"Neither time nor distance aided Mr. Bolton to escape justice. They only served to delay it. Offenses of this nature will be punished, and Mr. Bolton will now have plenty of time to think about what he did. His victims received justice today," first assistant district attorney Lloyd Whelchel said.

Bolton was charged March 1, 2003, with aggravated sexual assault of a child, a first-degree felony, in the attack on the 13-year-old girl.

He claimed the sex was consensual, and on Aug. 15, 2003, Bolton appeared before state District Judge Scott McDowell, who sentenced him to eight years deferred adjudication, fined him $1,000 and ordered him to perform 400 hours of community service. Had Bolton stayed out of trouble for the next eight years, the guilty verdict would have been wiped off his record.

But only three months later, on Nov. 15, 2003, Bolton was charged with sexual assault of the 15-year-old. He disappeared.

Family members had been uncooperative in locating Bolton, officials said, but U.S. marshals arrested him Feb. 6 in Abilene after information led law enforcement officers to his mother's house.

Bolton was represented by Ben Massar.

February 23, 2006 - For Immediate Release

Absconded sex offender gets 40 years

A Paris man delayed prosecution but could not escape justice for sex offenses with young girls by hiding for more than two years reached a plea bargain with prosecutors Thursday.

Mark Lee Bolton, 22, was sentenced to 40 years in prison by district judge Jim Lovett. Bolton pleaded true to charges that he violated conditions of his deferred adjudication probation from a 2003 aggravated sexual assault of a child case.

Prosecutors were prepared with evidence of an additional sexual offense which Bolton committed within three months of being placed on probation. The new offense, prosecutors said, also involved a minor. Bolton also faced charges of failure to register as a sex offender and technical violations of his probation.

Bolton was arrested by U.S. Marshals in Abilene on Monday, February 6, after information led officers to his mother's house. Family members had been uncooperative in locating Bolton in the past when a grand jury investigated the situation, said First Assistant County and District Attorney Lloyd Whelchel.

"Neither time nor distance aided Mr. Bolton to escape justice. They only served to delay it," Whelchel said. "Offenses of this nature will be punished and Mr. Bolton will now have plenty of time to think about what he did. His victims received justice today."

One of the victims elected to confront Bolton at the end of the proceedings through a court approved victim impact statement, as did two of the parents. All indicated they were glad he had been caught and will now face punishment.

Bolton was represented by defense attorney Ben Massar.

Cobb trial delayed indefinitely

By Charles Richards
The Paris News

Published February 19, 2006

The capital murder trial of Christopher Cobb, scheduled to start with jury selection next week, has been delayed indefinitely, and the 400 prospective jurors who got a summons to be at Love Civic Center on Tuesday can ignore it.

“We cannot proceed with any further efforts in this trial, including picking the jury, and that stay will remain in place until we are informed differently, and that will not happen by Tuesday,” Allan Hubbard, an aide to District Attorney Gary Young, said. “Anybody who got a summons for Tuesday should now not report.”

The state is seeking the death penalty for Cobb, 23, who is accused of killing his great-grandparents, Charley Smith, 89, and Ruth Smith, 88, on Aug. 29, 2004, at their residence inside the Reno city limits in the 3700 block of Smallwood Road, near Elk Hollow Golf Club.

The 6th Court of Appeals in Texarkana ordered the delay Wednesday after receiving from defense attorney Steven Miears of Bonham an application for a writ of mandamus. The trial judge, District Judge Jim Dick Lovett, twice rejected motions by Miears seeking to have Young and his staff recused because Young was Cobb’s attorney in a divorce in 2000 and in a felony forgery charge in 2003.

A 20-page document Miears filed with the court Monday sought to force Young to recuse himself and, barring that, for Lovett to be ordered to disqualify Young and hire a special prosecutor to take his place.

Wednesday, Miears hit pay dirt. The court ordered a stay until its judges have time to review the application for writ of mandamus.

It was Thursday night before Young and his staff learned that the Cobb trial had been put on hold; Lovett learned of it Friday morning, when he returned a telephone call from the district attorney. Neither was pleased that he hadn’t been informed of the ruling on the same day of the ruling.

Young called the appellate court Friday morning to confirm the news, then sent someone on a 90-minute trip to Texarkana to hand-deliver his response to Miears’ attempt to halt the trial until judges can finish a study of the request for a writ.

The district attorney hoped to get the court to complete the review by Friday afternoon and reject the defense assertion that Young shouldn’t prosecute someone he once represented in a divorce trial and against felony forgery charges.

By late Friday afternoon, it became obvious that wasn’t going to happen.

“It is now apparent that a ruling to reverse the stay, even if it is forthcoming, is not going to happen in time for us to proceed on Tuesday,” Hubbard said.

Most likely, the 400-person jury pool selected for the Cobb trial will be discarded, and if and when the word comes to proceed, District Clerk Marvin Ann Patterson will be asked to order up a new jury list once Lovett sets a new trial date.

Other court business had been put on a back burner for a month or more while the Cobb trial was going on.

Now, Young says, he will look at other pleadings and trials that could be put on the docket.

Miears said if Young prosecutes the case, his client would suffer irreparable harm. His client, he said, “faces the possibility of being cross-examined by the very person to whom he formerly communicated in confidence with the attorney-client privilege.”

Cobb trial could be delayed

By Charles Richards
The Paris News

Published February 17, 2006

The office of District Attorney Gary Young was scrambling today to avoid a delay in next week’s scheduled jury selection in the capital murder trial of Christopher Cobb.

Four hundred potential jurors have been summoned to be at Love Civic Center on Tuesday morning to begin a jury selection process that is expected to take three weeks, but the timing was jeopardized by an order issued in midweek by a state appeals court.

The 6th Court of Appeals in Texarkana issued an order Wednesday to stay the proceedings while it studies an application by defense attorney Steven Miears of Bonham for a writ of mandamus to prevent Young and his staff from prosecuting the case.

“Everyone who received a summons to appear for jury selection at the Civic Center on Tuesday needs to plan on being there. We don’t want anyone to think they’re not supposed to come,” Young said this morning.

“We have asked the court to expedite this, and they have said they will look at it today. We will be hand-delivering a copy of our response to Texarkana, and we’re hoping for a ruling on the writ today. If not today, then sometime before Tuesday,” the district attorney said.

“At the minimum, we have requested that they lift the stay and let us go through the qualifying process with jurors on Tuesday. All that is scheduled to happen on Tuesday is for the prospective jurors to fill out questionnaires and allow us to go over the qualifications. A number of jurors would undoubtedly be excused. Then, we could call back jurors in subsequent days as we need them, in groups of 75. That way, the delay would only be two or three days, instead of 60 or more.”

Allowing three weeks for jury selection, testimony in the trial itself was projected to get under way March 20, the week after local schools observe Spring Break.

The state seeks the death penalty for Cobb, 23, who is accused of killing his great-grandparents, Charley Smith, 89, and Ruth Smith, 88, on Aug. 29, 2004, in their residence inside the Reno city limits in the 3700 block of Smallwood Road, north of Elk Hollow Golf Club.

Young should disqualify himself from prosecuting Cobb because he represented him in mid-2002 in a divorce proceeding and again in October 2003 against a felony forgery charge, Miears said in a 20-page document submitted to the court Monday. If Young doesn’t recuse himself, as he has so far refused to do, state District Judge Jim Dick Lovett should himself issue an order disqualifying Young from prosecuting Cobb, Miears asked.

Should Cobb elect to testify in his own behalf during the trial, “he faces the possibility of being cross-examined by the very person to whom he formerly communicated in confidence with the attorney-client privilege

After being elected district attorney in 2004, Young voluntarily recused himself and sought the appointment of a special prosecutor on numerous other cases involving defendants with whom he had a prior attorney-client relationship, Miears noted in his application for a writ of mandamus.

Miears argues that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has previously held that a post-trial appeal is not an adequate remedy and thus granted defense attorneys the ability to file mandamus petitions in pre-trial settings that involve the attorney-client relationship.

If jury selection were to begin next week as scheduled, Miears argued, the harm his client will suffer from Young’s involvement in the case “will become irreparable.”

Two-year plea taken for assault

By Charles Richards
The Paris News

Published February 16, 2006

Chad Lee Lester, 25, of 430 Southwest 13th St. accepted a plea bargain Wednesday, agreeing to a two-year sentence for terrorizing a young couple almost a year ago at Lamar Point, near Lake Pat Mayse.

Lester was being tried without a jury in the court of state District Judge Scott McDowell on Wednesday morning when he decided to accept the two-year sentence that prosecutors had offered him on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, his pickup truck.

Had the trial gone to completion and Lester received a sentence of 10 years in prison, he would have been eligible for parole in two and a half years. Under the plea agreement that defense attorney Michael D. Mosher reached with prosecutors, Lester must serve two years in prison, less five months in county jail he has already spent.

McDowell instructed Lester to report back at 2 p.m. Friday, the day before his 26th birthday, to begin serving his sentence.

With two women in his pickup truck as passengers, Lester rammed the rear of a car in which two young people he didn't know were sitting about 11 p.m. on Feb. 26, 2005, assistant county attorney Lloyd Whelchel said. When the couple attempted to drive away, Lester rammed them from the side, then got out and punched the driver through an open window and grabbed him around the neck, Whelchel said.

The driver was able to break free and drive away, the couple called 9-1-1 on a cell phone, and Lester subsequently became stuck, officials said.

There was no testimony indicating a motive for the attack.

“Mr. Lester needs to understand that this type of behavior will not be tolerated,” Whelchel said after the trial.

At one point, Mosher said his client had gotten stuck in the mud, and drove into the rear of the other vehicle during the process of getting unstuck.

Prosecutors said Lester has a criminal record of mostly misdemeanor offenses. He was convicted of felony criminal mischief in 2001 for which he was given five years probation. Lester was indicted in May of last year on the charge for which he was convicted.

Convicted murderer to be released

By Charles Richards
The Paris News

Published February 12, 2006

A man sentenced in 1981 to 50 years in prison for the murder of a 75-year-old night attendant at an all-night truck stop in Paris will be paroled from prison in four months, and the victim’s daughter and the Lamar County district attorney’s office are unhappy about it.

District Attorney Gary Young said his office was notified in January that Joe Edgar Mosley, 46, will be paroled back to Paris on June 12 after serving 25 years in prison. A co-defendant, Ray Harmon, was paroled back to Paris in 1998, also at the age of 46, after serving 16 years and four months of a life sentence.

“And we don’t know how Harmon was released after serving only 16 years of a life sentence,” said Allan Hubbard, victim’s advocate for the district attorney’s office.

Hubbard said Mosley has friends in other parts of the state “and we’re asking that he be sent there.” If Mosley is returned to Paris, “we’re asking that he be required to be under electronic monitoring at all times” via an ankle bracelet, Hubbard said.

Mosley was 20 and Harmon was 29 when they robbed an all-night truck stop in the early morning hours of April 22, 1980, and Harmon killed attendant D.W. “Mac” McDaniel, 75, during a struggle. McDaniel was missing for three days, until two boys came across the body about 10 miles north of Paris in a secluded stock pool off Farm Road 2648, a few miles west of Novice.

It was almost a year and a half later, in the fall of 1981, before Mosley and Harmon were arrested and charged with murder. Both men confessed, indicating the crime was the other’s idea.

Harmon pleaded guilty on Nov. 2, 1981, and was sentenced to life in prison by District Judge Henry Braswell.

Two weeks later, Mosley also pleaded guilty, and District Attorney Tom Wells and defense attorney Eric Clifford agreed on a 35-year prison term, noting that Mosley had testified before the grand jury and had agreed to testify against Harmon. Braswell refused to accept the plea bargain, and Mosley asked that his punishment be set by a jury.

A seven-man, five-woman jury deliberated two hours on Nov. 16, 1981, before setting Mosley’s punishment at 50 years in prison. Like the judge, the jury also refused to go along with the 35 years recommended by both the prosecution and defense, but Mosley got off with less than the life sentence he probably would have received from Braswell.

Nowadays, defendants accused of a murder committed in the process of another felony — in this case, robbery — can be prosecuted for capital murder, conviction of which results in either the death penalty or life in prison.

But Mosley and Harmon were tried for murder. At the time, officials said Harmon’s life sentence was the equivalent of 80 years and that he would have to serve one-third of the sentence before becoming eligible for parole.

But prisoners were also allowed to earn good time by being a model prisoner, and after appearing 10 different times before a parole board, Harmon was given parole in 1998. Prison officials said Harmon served as front porter in the warden’s office.

“He was the warden’s boy, you might say,” Hubbard said. “He had the highest level of trustee job you can have in prison.”

Harmon has been a model parolee since his return to Lamar County, his parole officer told Hubbard, but will be on parole the rest of his life.

Wanda Kelley of Paris, the victim’s daughter, said she felt “sort of let down” after the district attorney’s office told her of Mosley’s impending release. It’s the same way she felt when she was told in 1998 of Harmon’s parole.

“I feel like justice wasn’t served,” she said.

Mosley was 20 and Ray Harmon was 28 when they drove around in the early hours of April 22, 1980, looking for some easy money. According to their confessions, Harmon and Mosley met up sometime after midnight “in the project” — the Casa Bonita Apartments at Northwest Seventh and Campbell streets.

Mosley had a small pistol, and the two drove around, “checking out a few places,” Harmon said. They sat for awhile in the car outside what was then called the Embers Motel at 20th Street and Lamar Avenue, intending to rob the attendant there, but drove off because there was too much traffic, Harmon said.

They ended up a few minutes later at the Fina Truck Stop (now known as Blankinship Oil) in the 1900 block of Northeast Loop 286, and both agreed it looked like a good place to rob, Harmon said. After Mosley handed him the gun, he went inside and directed McDaniel to the back of the building, Harmon said.

Meanwhile, Mosley said, “I ran in and grabbed the first cash register. There were two of them, side by side, and I just grabbed the first one and ran out the door.” Mosley said he heard shots as he was putting the cash register in the back seat of the car.

While Mosley was putting the cash register in the car, Harmon said in his confession to Paris police, “(McDaniel) started tussling with me. He grabbed my hand. I jerked loose from him and shot three or four times. He fell on the ground. I ran back to the car and we started to leave.”

But they decided they couldn’t leave their victim at the station. They weren’t sure he was dead, Harmon said.

They dragged McDaniel’s body to the car and drove out the back way. One-half mile away, they pulled onto Farm Road 195 and headed northeast. About 10 minutes later, they got to the Novice community and turned back to the west on Farm Road 2648. A few minutes later, they pulled into a pasture — the Neely place — where they saw a pool.

“Me and Joe Mosley carried him through a barbed wire fence and throwed him in the pool ... head first,” Harmon said in his confession.

They drove about six miles farther west on Farm Road 2648 until they got to U.S. 271, and turned back south at Camp Maxey and returned to Paris. They went to the house of Harmon’s brother near the intersection of Tudor and Northeast Fifth streets, where they pried open the cash register and were disappointed to find only a little more than $100 inside.

Harmon said he gave a little money to his brother and he and Mosley split the rest of the money. Mosley said he ended up with $56. They learned later that about $3,000 was in the cash register that was left behind.

Although raised in Paris, Harmon was living in Dallas at the time. He said he took off for Dallas with the cash register and said he told Mosley he would get rid of it and that Mosley should get rid of the gun. Harmon said he dropped the cash register over the side of a bridge a short distance before driving into Cooper.

Jack Malone, owner of the service station, began getting telephone calls from customers who said no one was at the station, information that let police narrow the time of the robbery-abduction to between 11 p.m. on April 21 and 4 a.m. on April 22. When Malone went to investigate, he found McDaniel’s glasses, cap and other personal items behind the station, the apparent site of a struggle.

McDaniel’s daughter said her father was retired and had moved with her mother to Paris about three or four years earlier after living most of his life in West Texas.

“He had met Jack Malone, and so he filled in at this station, helping whenever he was needed. People came to the station at various times through the night, trying to get gas, or did get gas, filled up and left money or their credit card numbers,” Kelley said.

Sex offender in custody after two years

Staff reports
The Paris News

Published February 10, 2006

A Paris man charged with sex offenses against two children is in custody after hiding for more than two years.

Mark Lee Bolton, 22, was arrested Monday after information led officers to the home of the suspect's mother’s live-in boyfriend. Bolton was transported to Lamar County, where he was booked into the Lamar County Jail early today.

The arrest closes a lengthy investigation that involved numerous law enforcement agencies.

Under a plea agreement with the previous Lamar County attorney, Bolton was placed on deferred adjudication in 2003 for aggravated sexual assault of a child. Within three months, Bolton was charged with the same offense with another young child. Probation officials filed a motion to revoke his probation and police charged him with an additional offense of failure to register as a sex offender.

Bolton “disappeared,” said County and District Attorney Gary Young. Family members refused to assist law enforcement officers. So county attorney investigator Chris Brooks “made it his personal goal to find Mr. Bolton,” Young said.

Brooks researched family members, a divorce civil file and other legal proceedings to zero in on Abilene. Texas Ranger Brad Oliver in Lubbock got the U.S. Marshals service in Abilene to assist.

Extensive surveillance on the house by U.S. Marshal John Spalding and two officers with the Abilene Police Department led to a traffic stop of the mother’s boyfriend, a prison guard for a nearby Texas Department of Criminal Justice facility.

“The boyfriend told officers Bolton was living in the Corpus Christi area,” Brooks said.

Marshals and Abilene police officers went back to the residence, obtained consent to search, and found Bolton hiding in a closet with a rifle.

“The residence where Bolton was found is across the street from an elementary school,” Brooks said.

Bolton now faces a possible mandatory minimum of life in prison because he was a sex offender who committed a new sexual offense, Young said. A hearing to assess Bolton’s punishment will be set.

Young said Bolton was the last of many absconded sex offenders that were “on the lam” when he took office in September 2004.

“We made it a priority to get these people in custody,” Young said.

Young also attributed the apprehension of Bolton and other absconded sex offenders to efforts of Paris police investigator Shane Boatwright and Lamar County Sheriff investigator Travis Rhodes, whose primary duty is to work sex offenses and other crimes involving children in addition to sex offender registration.

February 10, 2006

For Immediate Release

Sex offender in custody after two years in hiding

A Paris man charged with sex offenses against two children is finally in custody after a lengthy investigation involving multiple agencies and hiding more than two years.

Mark Lee Bolton, 22, was arrested by U.S. Marshals in Abilene on Monday, February 6, after information led officers to the home of his mother's live-in boyfriend. Bolton was transported and booked into the Lamar County Jail early Friday, February 10.

Bolton was placed on deferred adjudication in 2003 for aggravated sexual assault of a child in a plea agreement with the prior county attorney's administration. Within three months, Bolton was charged with the same offense with another young child. Probation officials filed a motion to revoke his probation and police charged an additional offense of failure to register as a sex offender.

Bolton "disappeared" said county and district attorney Gary Young, and remained in hiding. Family members refused to assist officers' attempts to locate Bolton. So county attorney investigator Chris Brooks "made it his personal goal to find Mr. Bolton," Young said.

Brooks researched family members, a divorce civil file and other legal proceedings to "zero in" on Abilene. Texas Ranger Brad Oliver in Lubbock got the U.S. Marshals service in Abilene to assist.

Extensive surveillance on the house by U.S. Marshal John Spalding and two officers of the Abilene Police Department, Officers Pope and Jenkins, led to a traffic stop of the mother's boyfriend, a prison guard for a nearby Texas Department of Criminal Justice facility. "The boyfriend told officers Bolton was living in the Corpus Christi area," Brooks said.

The Marshals and Abilene officers went back to the residence, obtained consent to search, and found Bolton hiding in a closet with a rifle. "The residence where Bolton was found is across the street from an elementary school," Brooks said.

Bolton now faces a possible mandatory minimum of life in prison because he was a sex offender who committed a new sexual offense, Young said. A hearing to assess Bolton's punishment will be set in the near future.

Young said Bolton was the last of many absconded sex offenders that were "on the lam" when he took office in September 2004. "We made it a priority to get these people in custody," Young said.

Young also attributed the apprehension of Bolton and other absconded sex offenders to efforts of Paris police investigator Shane Boatwright and Lamar County Sheriff investigator Travis Rhodes, whose primary duty is to work sex offenses and other crimes involving children in addition to sex offender registration.

Man gets 20 years for growing pot

By Charles Richards
The Paris News

Published February 02, 2006

A woman testified that it was hers — all the marijuana grown inside a trailer, along with all the equipment to grow it — and that her husband had nothing to do with it.

Her husband — facing a possible revocation of his January 2005 conviction for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon — agreed. He knew nothing about it, he said.

“But when pressed for details on how she was growing marijuana,” Assistant District Attorney Lloyd Whelchel said, “she was unable to provide them.”

State District Judge Jim Dick Lovett, saying he found neither the man or his wife credible, revoked probation Tuesday and sentenced Jimmy Dell Seat Jr., 30, of Deport to prison for 20 years, the maximum sentence.

Thirteen months ago, Seat had received 10 years of deferred adjudication probation and 1,000 hours of community service.

Photographs emerged of marijuana plants being grown inside a trailer on Seat’s property, and regional drug task force officers and a probation officer went to the trailer and “were given consent to search,” Whelchel said. “They found where the plants had been grown and where Seat was getting ready to do it again.”

As proceedings began Tuesday, Seat pleaded “not true” to the allegations, and Seat’s wife testified that she was responsible for the marijuana plants.

In light of the photographs and of the items detectives found, Lovett said, he concluded Seat and his wife were not being truthful.

Defense attorney Barney Sawyer represented Seat.

February 1, 2006

For Immediate Release

Judge gives man 20 years for growing marijuana

A Deport man had his probation revoked Tuesday, January 31, for growing marijuana and was given the maximum sentence.

District Judge Jim Lovett sent Jimmy Dell Seat Jr., 30, to prison for 20 years. Seat received 10 years deferred adjudication probation in January 2005 for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Prosecutors sought to have his probation revoked.

Assistant District Attorney Lloyd Whelchel said photographs emerged of marijuana plants being grown inside a trailer on Seat's property. Regional drug task force detectives and a probation officer went to Seat's home and "were given consent to search. They found where the plants had been grown and where Seat was getting ready to do it again," Whelchel said.

Seat pleaded not true to the findings at his hearing Tuesday. Seat's wife testified "that all the marijuana and the equipment to grow was hers and that Seat had nothing to do with it," Whelchel said. "But when pressed for details on how she was growing marijuana, she was unable to provide them."

Seat testified that he knew nothing about the illegal plants. Judge Lovett said he did not find the defendant or his wife to be credible. In light of the photographs and items detectives found, they were not being truthful, Lovett said.

Defense attorney Barney Sawyer represented Seat.

Two teens charged in house fire

By Charles Richards
The Paris News

Published January 27, 2006

Two teenagers were charged Thursday with arson in a Jan. 11 fire that destroyed a residence at 945 Pine Bluff Street — one of two house fires within a half-mile of each other and less than an hour apart.

Justice of the Peace Ernie Sparks set bond at $25,000 for Reginald Lyons, 17, on charges of burglary of a habitation and arson. Lyons was already being held in Lamar County Jail on other charges.

Late Thursday afternoon, County Judge Chuck Superville presided at a detention hearing for a 14-year-old boy accused in the same fire. After hearing testimony from police Sgt. Stephen Holmes, the judge ruled that the youth was a danger both to himself and the community and ordered him held pending further court appearances.

Thursday morning, Superville completed another hearing in juvenile court that took several days during a two-week period. The hearing concerned whether to sentence a 14-year-old girl to Texas Youth Commission facilities for setting a Dec. 5 fire that destroyed the house elsewhere on Pine Bluff Street in which she lived with her parents and two younger sisters.

Assistant County Attorney Sherry Whelchel argued that the girl needed help that could be provided only through the rehabilitative services of TYC, because the insurance coverage of the girl’s family would not cover the costs of private treatment.

However, the judge said he feared TYC was focused too much on punishment and not enough on rehabilitation and instead placed the girl on probation until her 18th birthday, ordering that she receive whatever treatment is available through community and state resources.

Superville also ordered that her parents ensure she is under adult supervision at all times when she is not in school and that she not be allowed to associate with anyone else under probation. His order also states that she not be allowed in the proximity of any incendiary devices.

The judge warned the girl that if she violates any of the conditions of her probation she will be brought back before him, at which time he would consider again the prosecution’s desire that she be sent to a lockdown facility.

At Thursday afternoon’s detention hearing for the 14-year-old boy implicated in the Jan. 11 fire, Holmes testified that both Lyons and the juvenile admitted being in the house when the fire started, but each said the other was responsible for starting it.

Holmes said witnesses reported seeing the two in the vicinity of that fire and also in the vicinity of a fire earlier in the evening. The other fire, still under investigation, destroyed a vacant house in the 1000 block of Northeast Eighth Street, within two blocks of Givens Elementary School.

“We got a break in the case from concerned citizens who had seen these subjects in the vicinity of the fire, and they came forth. Crime Stoppers also played a major role,” Holmes said Thursday afternoon.

Police Sgt. Shane Boatright, fire department training officer Vance Woodard and city arson investigator Jason Browning aided in the investigation, Holmes said.

Lyons’ address is listed by authorities as 332 Fitzhugh St., whose backyard touches the backyard of the home on Pine Bluff Street that was destroyed Jan. 11. The ravaged house was generally occupied on the weekends, but vacant during the week, Holmes said. The fire was on a Wednesday night.

Woodard said on the morning of Jan. 12 that both fires were suspicious and under investigation.

Holmes said items stolen from the house on Pine Bluff were found in Lyons’ residence. The teenagers are accused of breaking into the house, burglarizing it, then pouring gasoline on some stuffed animals and setting the fire to cover up evidence of the burglary. The youths feared their fingerprints would be discovered throughout the house, Holmes said.

There was an indication that one of the youths lit some toilet paper with a match earlier so they could see in the dark house, Holmes testified.

By the time firefighters got to the fire, the residence was fully engulfed.

At Thursday afternoon’s detention hearing, attorney Ben Massar represented the 14-year-old. He argued there was insufficient evidence to send the boy to juvenile detention center. He said the testimony against him came from Lyons, who could not be considered credible. Massar asked that the boy be released to the custody of his mother and stepfather, who were present in court.

At the time Lyons was charged Thursday with arson and burglary in connection with the Jan. 11 fire on Pine Bluff Street, he was already in custody. On Jan. 19, Superville sentenced Lyons to 60 days in county jail for a Class B misdemeanor of evading arrest.

County Judge-at-Law Deane Loughmiller on Thursday added another 60-day sentence for theft over $50 but under $500, also a Class B misdemeanor. Lyons was charged late last year with theft over $1,500 but under $20,000, a state felony offense for which a $5,000 bond was set.

Defendant turns on Young at sentencing

By Charles Richards
The Paris News

Published January 25, 2006

Asked by state District Judge Jim Dick Lovett if he had anything to say before sentencing was imposed for an aggravated robbery last June at Pat Mayse Lake, 23-year-old Shawn Kristopher Ragan unloaded on District Attorney Gary Young.

Ragan got rather colorful in regard to the district attorney’s refusal to offer anything better than 25 years in prison. Ragan remarked on Young’s “heartlessness,” but said he would pray for him and hopes the district attorney can turn his life around “before you go to hell.”

“He’s just doing his job,” the judge replied.

A prospective jury was in the process of being selected Monday, but during a break Young made his “final” offer to Ragan, who was facing up to life in prison.

Ragan held a broken bottle against an elderly man’s neck on June 29, 2005, took both his and his wife’s wallets and threw the victim's car keys into some bushes before he and a woman companion drove away. About $70 in cash and some credit cards were taken during the robbery.

Ragan is originally from Hugo, Okla. He and his girlfriend were living in Deport at the time of the incident. She was with him at the lake, as were their children, authorities said, but she did not actively participate in the robbery. Candy Renea Gilmore, 22, had never been in trouble before and pleaded guilty on Aug. 19, 2005, agreeing to testify against Ragan. She was sentenced to 10 years in prison, probated for eight years.

Ragan had no prior felonies on his record in Texas, but was arrested in March of last year on a charge of public intoxication. He was charged with aggravated robbery in the Pat Mayse Lake incident because the broken bottle was considered a deadly weapon. He must serve at least half of his sentence before he is eligible for parole.

In the only other case that was scheduled to go to trial on Monday, Scott Fredrick Jackson, 35, of Paris also decided to accept a plea bargain instead. Jackson pleaded to 10 years in prison for driving while intoxicated. He had two prior convictions for DWI, making this one a felony.

With no work to do, the courtroom full of prospective jurors was sent home.

Man gets 20 years for selling crack

Staff reports
The Paris News

Published January 11, 2006

A Paris man has accepted a 20-year plea bargain deal for selling crack cocaine to undercover narcotics agents.

Rodaniel Brushae Sims, 33, of 1165 Northwest 16th St. entered the plea Tuesday before state District Judge Scott McDowell. He pleaded guilty to manufacture or delivery of a controlled substance and to possession of a controlled substance stemming from a sting operation on two different occasions last January and February.

According to police reports, Sims sold crack to an undercover agent in January 2005.

A month later, Feb. 4, 2005, a confidential informant provided regional drug task force officers with real-time information about Sims possessing “a large amount” of crack cocaine and driving a silver Chevrolet rental car in the Paris area.

Paris police narcotics detective Jeff Springer testified during a Dec. 21 hearing at Lamar County Jail that he and drug task force agents Tommy Moore, J.D. Clark, and Brian Perry went out looking for Sims and spotted him and two other men in a silver Impala at a convenience store on Main Street, three blocks north of the downtown Plaza.

One of the passengers was wanted on a parole violation and was placed under arrest immediately, Springer said. The detective said he told Sims that officers had information he had drugs with him. Sims denied having any drugs and said his girlfriend had rented the car and his name was not on the rental agreement, Springer said.

Springer said there was a paper sack in the driver's seat that contained clear plastic bags with crack cocaine weighing just more than 6 grams. Other drugs also were found.

Reports state that at the police station, Sims was told how much the drugs weighed, to which Sims replied, “No way, it only weighed a little over a gram when I weighed it.”

During a Dec. 21 hearing at Lamar County Jail during a hearing before state District Judge Jim Dick Lovett, defense attorney Will Biard sought unsuccessfully to prevent the prosecution from using drugs seized during the raid. Springer said officers didn't need Sims' permission for a search because his passenger was already under arrest on the parole violation.

“This is a great example of good policework,” District Attorney Gary Young said Tuesday. “As a prosecutor, this is what you want to see in a case; knowledge of the law to enable thorough investigation, solid evidence, and timely reactions.”

Sims has previous convictions for similar drug offenses in Dallas and Rockwall counties, Young said.

January 10, 2006

For Immediate Release

20 years for selling crack

A Paris man accepted a 20-year plea bargain deal Tuesday for selling crack cocaine to undercover narcotics agents.

Rodaniel Sims, 33, appeared before 62nd District Judge Scott McDowell and pleaded guilty to manufacturing or delivering a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance stemming from a sting operation on two different occasions in January and February of 2005.

According to police reports, Sims sold crack to an undercover agent in January 2005. A month later, a confidential informant provided regional drug task force officers with real-time information as to Sims possessing "a large amount" of crack cocaine and driving a rental car in the Paris area. Task force agents Tommy Moore, J.D. Clark, and Brian Perry, along with Paris police narcotics detective Jeff Springer, located Sims at a convenience store on North Main Street with two other men.

One of the men was wanted on a parole violation and as officers approached the rented vehicle, Sims stepped out and told officers he was not listed on the rental agreement. Sims denied being in possession of illegal drugs. "Since Sims was not on the vehicle lease agreement, he did not have the authority to give or refuse consent to search the vehicle," Springer wrote in his report. A search of the vehicle turned up clear plastic baggies containing crack cocaine weighing just over 6 grams.

Reports state that, at the police station, Sims was told how much the drugs weighed, to which Sims replied, "No way, it only weighed a little over a gram when I weighed it."

"This is a great example of good policework," county and district attorney Gary Young said. "As a prosecutor, this is what you want to see in a case; knowledge of the law to enable thorough investigation, solid evidence, and timely reactions."

Sims has previous convictions for similar drug offenses in Dallas and Rockwall counties, Young said.

Sims was represented by defense attorney Will Biard.
(c) 2005 Lamar County Attorney
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