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Friday, December 30, 2011

Bandera - A Great Place to Raise Your Children (Not!)

The San Antonio Express News reports that Bandera is a magnet for registered sex offenders.
BANDERA — "Sex offenders living in Bandera County are facing increased scrutiny by authorities, partly due to concerns about their apparent clustering there.
“We've got a lot of offenders who aren't from here and didn't commit their crimes here,” said Bandera County Sheriff's Sgt. Jose Barreto. “What is it that draws those people here?”
Of the 53 offenders he said are registered there, 21 committed their crimes outside Texas, and 22 outside of Bandera County.
Investigators fear that some type of coordination is occurring among offenders, possibly through social networking, that resulted in the seemingly high number of sex offenders in the rural county."

There are a couple of trashy trailer park unincorporated areas in Bandera County notorious for meth cooks and crank-heads.I wonder if a lot of the perverts live there.
Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Bandera-sex-offenders-are-being-watched-2433456.php#ixzz1i4zIYXGp

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Former Williamson Co. DA Now Judge Ken Anderson Feels Terrible

From the Wilco Watchdog:

Attorney Takes On Ken Anderson

Attorney Adam Reposa has turned up the heat another notch on Judge Ken Anderson. Reposa emailed the Wilco Watchdog stating he had hundreds of yard signs made (see above). A picture of Judge Ken Anderson, wearing a s---eating grin, has the caption: "I cost an innocent man 25 years of his life, and I feel terrible. That is why I REFUSE TO RESIGN!" Reposa said he hopes the public will apply added pressure to Anderson in resigning and post these in their yards. Reposa stated he is handing out the signs to anyone who wants them at no charge. He can be contacted at adamreposa@yahoo.com.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Rogue Military Recruiter, Bandera Sheriff Race, Another Wrongful Conviction?

It fascinates me the way people automatically trust and admire someone based on a label. Call it the halo effect. When we hear "ex-Marine"we think of the recruiting posters of Marines in their dress blues, or the tough men who fought the Japanese in WWII.I have the highest respect for the USMC and its service to our country. My wife's late father is one of my heroes - he was in the first wave of Marines to land on Guadacanal and fought in other hellholes. The Marines and Navy turned the tide against the Japanese and gave the US its first victory in WWII.

But being a member or former member of an elite organization doesn't automatically mean a given individual is a good person. Lee Harvey Oswald and Charles Whitman, the Texas Tower sniper, were both ex-Marines.

Which leads us to the following stories, one about an Air Force recruiter alleged to have raped at least ten recruits, and the election to replace disgraced Bandera County sheriff Weldon Tucker.

Former Lackland instructor accused
AF charges include sexual contact with recruits and rape.

By Sig Christenson, EXPRESS-NEWS STAFF
Updated 11:50 p.m., Tuesday, December 20, 2011

The Air Force said Tuesday that a former training instructor at Lackland AFB could face life in prison after being charged with “inappropriate sexual conduct,” including consensual sex and rape, with 10 recruits.
The Air Force said Staff Sgt. Luis A. Walker had sexual contact with the recruits through much of his time as an instructor.
Walker, whose age and hometown were not released, faced an evidentiary hearing, called an Article 32, on Monday on charges of rape, aggravated sexual assault, sodomy, obstruction of justice and violating a general regulation — being alone with a female recruit.

7 vying for sheriff in Bandera County
Six Republicans, one Democrat on primary ballot.
By Zeke MacCormack, zeke@express-news.net
Updated 11:39 p.m., Tuesday, December 20, 2011


Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/7-vying-for-sheriff-in-Bandera-County-2415558.php#ixzz1hAvBDsvX

Restoring departmental integrity is a recurring pledge among six Republicans vying to become Bandera County sheriff, a post that Weldon Tucker vacated under a plea deal that resolved a charge of abuse of official capacity.
The winner of the April 3 primary will face the lone declared Democrat, James “Bubba” Popham, next November.
The GOP field includes Scott Sharp, a former deputy who blew the whistle on Tucker's misuse of a county boat, and Richard Smith, the chief deputy who has led the agency since Tucker's May 5 ouster.
Another current deputy, investigator David McGilvray, is also seeking the Republican nomination.Law enforcement retirees James Newton, Dan Butts and Frances Kaiser round out the GOP field.


Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/7-vying-for-sheriff-in-Bandera-County-2415558.php#ixzz1hAvPjHj4

CNN Explores Warren Horinek Case
Anderson Cooper brings fresh scrutiny to alleged wrongful conviction


Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/7-vying-for-sheriff-in-Bandera-County-2415558.php#ixzz1hAvK2ULQ
CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 will air a report tonight on the controversial case of Warren Horinek—a former Fort Worth police officer convicted in 1996 of murdering his wife. Horinek is serving a 30-year sentence in state prison. There is compelling evidence that he’s innocent.

The Observer first reported on the serious flaws in the case against Horinek in August 2010. Our exposé—titled “A Bloody Injustice”—detailed the unusual circumstances that led to o Horinek’s conviction.

The people normally responsible for prosecuting a murder came to believe that Warren was telling the truth. The crime scene investigator, the homicide sergeant, the medical examiner and the assistant DA assigned to prosecute the case all became convinced that the evidence pointed to suicide.

“I always thought that it was suicide,” Mike Parrish, the prosecutor handling the case, told the Observer last year. “Still do.”

Bonnie’s parents chose to hire a private attorney, who, through a quirk in the law, obtained a grand jury indictment of Horinek. That led to a bizarre trial. Everyone trying to convict Warren was in private practice, and the agents of the state—crime scene investigator, homicide sergeant and assistant DA—all testified for the defense.


Local Cops Ready for War With Homeland Security-Funded Military Weapons

Dec 21, 2011 4:45 AM EST

miles, Fargo treasures its placid lifestyle, seldom pierced by the mayhem and violence common in other urban communities. North Dakota’s largest city has averaged fewer than two homicides a year since 2005, and there’s not been a single international terrorism prosecution in the last decade.

Like Fargo, thousands of other local police departments nationwide have been amassing stockpiles of military-style equipment in the name of homeland security, aided by more than $34 billion in federal grants since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, a Daily Beast investigation conducted by the Center for Investigative Reporting has found.

In Montgomery County, Texas, the sheriff’s department owns a $300,000 pilotless surveillance drone, like those used to hunt down al Qaeda terrorists in the remote tribal regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan. In Augusta, Maine, with fewer than 20,000 people and where an officer hasn’t died from gunfire in the line of duty in more than 125 years, police bought eight $1,500 tactical vests. Police in Des Moines, Iowa, bought two $180,000 bomb-disarming robots, while an Arizona sheriff is now the proud owner of a surplus Army tank.

Monday, December 19, 2011

Crooks at the Texas Highway Patrol Museum, Judge Ken Anderson and DA John Bradley Get a Taste of Karma

State sues Texas Highway Patrol Museum in S.A.
By John Tedesco, jtedesco@express-news.net
Updated 07:35 p.m., Monday, December 19, 2011

Attorney General Greg Abbott has sued organizations tied to the Texas Highway Patrol Museum in San Antonio, accusing them of illegally soliciting donations from the public and wasting money on trips, liquor and “exorbitant” pet care for a cat.
Contrary to its official-sounding name, the highway patrol museum at South Alamo and St. Mary's streets is not affiliated with the Texas Department of Public Safety. Actually it's a telemarketing organization that raises millions of dollars in the name of helping DPS troopers.
But Abbott's lawsuit, filed in Travis County last week, alleged that few benefits were actually paid to troopers, and donors' funds were misspent on cigars, liquor, meals, vacations and cars.
Money from donors was spent on “exorbitant vet bills” for an “office cat” that was kept at an Austin office.
Tim Tierney, executive vice president of the organizations tied to the museum, said the expenses were justified because the cat kept employees happy, according to the lawsuit.


Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/State-sues-Texas-Highway-Patrol-Museum-in-S-A-2412862.php#ixzz1h2V6UMmV


Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/State-sues-Texas-Highway-Patrol-Museum-in-S-A-2412862.php#ixzz1h2Uxlaxi




Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/State-sues-Texas-Highway-Patrol-Museum-in-S-A-2412862.php#ixzz1h2SzxY8C

Battle Of The Johns: The Morton Exoneration John Raley 22 John Bradley 1
n what was probably the most dramatic scenario that has ever played out in a Williamson County courtroom, today, Michael Morton was officially exonerated for the murder of his wife. Neither Anderson nor his attorney, Mark Dietz, was present for Monday's hearing.


The drama needle peaked at two points at the very least. The first was when Judge Harle called Morton to the bench and then said, “I'm sure you've spent far too many years having judges look down at you, so if you'll give me a minute, I'll come off the bench and stand down there with you.” He then walked up to Morton, presented him with the signed order of dismissal, and closed by shaking his hand and saying, “Merry Christmas.”

Barry Scheck provided Judge Harle with a 20-minute synopsis of the voluminous repository of evidence which has been filed with the court involving the role of District Attorney Ken Anderson in handling exculpatory evidence prior to, during, and after the trial. Scheck pulled no punches in laying out the arguments for convening a formal Court of Inquiry to determine whether or not Anderson is guilty of criminal contempt for his role in handling the evidence which was not available to Morton's defense team during the trial and in the motion for a re-trial, and in subsequent years when the verdict was appealed.

Friday, December 16, 2011

John Bradley Draws Another Opponent; Harris County Assistant DA in Hot Water Over HPD Portable BAT's

Dee Hobbs to run for Williamson County Attorney

Assistant DA refuses to testify in grand jury
By BRIAN ROGERS, HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Updated 03:05 p.m., Thursday, December 15, 2011

to force a high-ranking assistant Harris County district attorney to testify before a grand jury regarding evidence gathered from the Houston Police Department's mobile alcohol-testing vehicles.

A grand jury in recent months has been investigating issues surrounding the troubled testing vehicles and possibly the DA's office's involvement.

Special prosecutors filed a motion to compel Rachel Palmer to testify after she was subpoenaed and invoked her constitutional right to not incriminate herself Thursday morning.Because grand jury proceedings are secret, their intentions are unclear, but the startling development may mean grand jurors or the special prosecutors guiding them believe assistant Harris County district attorneys prosecuting DWI's knew there were technical problems with evidence from the breath alcohol-testing vehicles known as BAT vans.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Williamson County DA Draws Challenger

From Wilco Watchdog
Jana Duty Set to Challenge John Bradley for District Attorney
GEORGETOWN, TX – Williamson County Attorney Jana Duty announced her intentions today to challenge District Attorney John Bradley in the March 6, 2012 Republican Primary election. Duty said she is challenging Bradley because she believes the citizens deserve a D.A. who understands that his/her job is to seek justice.
“Unfortunately there is a cloud hanging over the District Attorney’s office,” Duty said. “John Bradley represents all that is wrong with our criminal justice system today. Instead of seeking justice, Bradley aggressively fought against DNA testing for a man who was wrongfully imprisoned for over two decades for murder. The whole time the real killer remained on the loose committing additional crimes. Bradley has also repeatedly refused to prosecute his buddies at the courthouse for their blatant violations of the law. Worse still, he reduces roughly 25% of his felony cases to misdemeanors annually, and passes them off to my office. Some of those cases involve child predator offenders which I find reprehensible. These are not the actions of a tough prosecutor, but instead are the actions of a self-serving politician who cares more about his statistics than seeking justice. That’s why I am running for District Attorney.”

Duty has served as the Williamson County Attorney since 2005 where she prosecutes misdemeanor and felony crimes. During her tenure in office, she has more than doubled the amount of protective orders obtained for victims of family violence, saved millions of tax dollars through innovations and efficiencies, and has implemented checks and balances to insure government transparency. Duty has also earned a reputation for taking on the “good old boy” system at the courthouse, a reputation she embraces.

Duty continued, “I make no apologies for being an advocate for the people of this county. If that makes me unpopular with the courthouse insiders, so be it. My pledge to the people of Williamson County is to bring honesty and integrity back to the D.A.’s office, to see that everyone is treated evenly and fairly under the law and to continue fighting to protect our families as I have done as County Attorney. We need a D.A. who will put the public interest above his own political career and that of his friends.”

Duty’s public service continues a family tradition that goes back nearly two centuries. Jana Duty is a direct descendant of Joseph Duty, one of Stephen F. Austin’s “Old Three Hundred” settlers, who received a title to a league of land in Texas from the Mexican government in 1824. Eventually he settled with his family at Webberville in Travis County. Duty also had four ancestors who fought in the Texas Revolution, including two who participated in the final victorious battle at San Jacinto. In fact, the Duty family has had at least one family member fight in every conflict that Texas has ever been a part of.

Duty is a graduate of the University of Texas at San Antonio and the St. Mary’s University School of Law. Prior to becoming a prosecutor, she was a high school English teacher. She and her husband, Daniel, are the proud parents of three children and three grandchildren. They make their home in Georgetown.

“The implications of this campaign go well beyond me and my family,” Duty concluded. “I hope the entire community will rally around our cause and send a strong signal on March 6 that business-as-usual will no longer be tolerated. It’s time to start a new era in the District Attorney’s office, and that fight starts today.”

To find out more or to join the campaign, please visit www.JanaDuty.com.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

New Wilco Watchdog Article on Williamson County DA John Bradley

The Wilco Watchdog has a devastating expose detailing Williamson County DA John Bradley's dishonesty and viciousness in the Michael Morton case. Bradley flips on its head the principle that the duty of a prosecutor is, not to convict, but to see that justice is done.

Morton spent 25 years in prison for a murder he didn't commit, while the real killer was free to kill again. Braley fought tooth and nail to keep him there. No one knows how many more women lost their lives.

..........
Before bungled heist, robber was a missionary
Man who robbed movie theater gets 10-year sentence.
By Craig Kapitan, ckapitan@express-news.net
Updated 10:47 p.m., Monday, December 12, 2011
Known for his adventurous streak and his Christian faith, Steven Paul Mathis loved the thrill of missionary trips to Africa and South America, his family said Monday.
Unable to find direction when he got home from his months-long journeys, he eventually found another thrill: armed robbery.
Mathis, 34, wept as he apologized to state District Judge Sid Harle for a bungled heist — albeit successful to the tune of more than $30,000 — in May 2009 at the Palladium movie theater on Interstate 10 where he once worked as an usher.


Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Before-bungled-heist-robber-was-a-missionary-2398358.php#ixzz1gQ5MSQcs

Thursday, December 1, 2011

A Good Example of a Lawman and Judge: Kerrville's David Billeiter

When I was in law school at the University of Texas, among the usual graffiti I saw something that expressed a nice thought: "I couldn't think of anything nasty to say so I just drew a flower." In that spirit -

As I've written many times, most judges, prosecutors and law enforcement officers are honest, diligent public servants. I've decided to blog occasionally about them instead of my usual rogue's gallery. Our first example is a former lawman and now a justice of the peace in Kerr County, who saved a little girl from a predator. From People.com:
Getaway Girl
By Patrick Rogers
In a Season of Kidnappings, the Abduction and Bold Escape of Houston's Leah Henry Is a Lesson in Hope
In May 2001 a stranger snatched Leah Henry off the street near her home in Houston and held her bound and gagged for four days. Despite her frightening situation, the 11-year-old kept her wits about her. When her abductor—convicted sex offender Gary Dale Cox, 48—left her unattended in a remote cabin near Kerrville, Texas, she managed to free a hand and scribble notes describing her situation and to photograph the cabin's interior with a camera from her knapsack. On May 4 Cox was bundling her into his car, when Kerr County Sheriff's Department Sgt. David Billeiter pulled up to investigate a report of suspicious activity. As Cox walked toward Leah's side of the car with his gun drawn, she bolted out of the driver's side and into the cop's arms. "Leah knew the danger, and she seized the opportunity," says Billeiter, 56, who drove Leah away to safety—moments before Cox fatally shot himself.

You only have to pick up a newspaper or turn on the TV to know that not all child abductions end quite so well. During this summer of what seems like continuous kidnappings, millions of parents are deeply troubled by the story of Samantha Runnion, the 5-year-old California girl abducted while playing in her front yard, then sexually assaulted and murdered. But for every Samantha, child safety experts tell us, there are actually many more victims who survive, like Henry, or Philadelphia's Erica Pratt, the plucky 7-year-old who gnawed through the duct tape used to bind her and escaped to safety.

According to Department of Justice figures, only about 100 U.S. children will be kidnapped for sex or ransom this year; of those close to two-thirds will be returned to their families. So while the problem of kidnapping is real, it is also relatively rare. "I don't want to minimize [the risk]," says Ernie Allen, president of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, "but our message to families is: Don't live in fear—just be prepared."

The best way to start, Allen suggests, is to discuss the problem calmly with your children (for more ideas on keeping kids safe, see box at left). As for Leah Henry, she has faced her recovery from the kidnapping and assault with the same resilience she displayed during her captivity. "She will not talk about it, ever," says her mom, Linda Henry, 50. Although Leah still sees a therapist, the emotional impact of her ordeal is receding.

In the end, says Linda Henry, even the most resourceful child can only do so much; nothing but highly effective law enforcement will halt a determined abductor. "The focus has to be on the criminals," she says, "because you can't make your child kidnap-proof."

Sgt. Billeiter is now Judge Billeiter, continuing to ably serve the people of Kerr County as the Justice of the Peace for Precinct 1.

....
And to answer the cynics, I have no cases in his court and rarely appear in any of the justice courts.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

A Hero Stands Up to the Zetas

Mexican Marines Reconstruct the Death of Don Alejo Garza
"When Mexican Marines arrived at the San Jose Ranch, 15 kilometers from Victoria, Tamaulipas, the scene was bleak: The austere main house was practically destroyed by grenades and heavy gunfire.

Outside of the home, they found four bodies. Cautiously, and with their weapons drawn, the troops continued inspecting the exterior and found two more gunmen, wounded and unconscious, but alive.

Inside the house only one body was found, riddled with bullets and with two weapons by it's side. The body was identified as Don Alejo Garza Tamez, the owner of the ranch and a highly respected businessman in Nuevo Leon.

Upon further inspection of the interior, marines found weapons and ammunition at every window and door. This allowed them to reconstruct how, just hours prior, the battle had played out."

Someone - Clint Eastwood maybe - should make a movie about Don Alejo. He stood up to the Zeta drug cartel when they tried to take over his ranch. He knew they were coming, and stockpiled his house with rifles and ammo, and when they came he ran from window to window, and shot so many of them they thought they were fighting several men, and they retreated, leaving at least four dead. I hope it never comes to this in the US, but our government won't enforce the laws.
Rest in Peace, Don Alejo.

From Grits for Breakfast

Grievances filed against Bradley, Anderson and Davis
A group I'd not heard of, the Texas Coalition on Lawyer Accountabilty announced that it has filed grievances aganst current Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley, former Williamson County District Attorney (and current District Judge) Ken Anderson, and former Williamson County Assistant District Attorney Mike Davis. Go here to download copies.

The grievance against Bradley includes allegations related to the Forensic Science Commission's investigation into flawed forensics underlying Todd Willingham's conviction, in addition to alleged misconduct related to the Morton case. Via Wilco Watchdog.

MORE: See additional analysis from Wilco Watchdog.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Child Beating Judge Suspended, State District Judge Guilty of Bribery, Organized Crime

Judge who beat child suspended
The Texas Supreme Court has suspended a judge whose beating of his then-teenage daughter in 2004 was viewed millions of times on the Internet.
According to an order signed Tuesday, Aransas County Court-at-Law Judge William Adams is suspended immediately with pay pending the outcome of the inquiry started by the State Commission on Judicial Ethics this month.


Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/article/Judge-who-beat-child-suspended-2283651.php#ixzz1eX4tQyxM

Collin County District Judge Suzanne Wooten found guilty of bribery
A state district judge was convicted Tuesday after a two-week trial that spelled out how she accepted money to finance her 2008 campaign in exchange for future favorable rulings in court.
Suzanne Wooten, 43, was convicted of six counts of bribery, along with one count each of money laundering, tampering with a government record and engaging in organized criminal activity. Jurors chose the lesser charges on engaging in organized criminal activity and money laundering, meaning Wooten faces up to 20 years in prison instead of a life sentence. She is also eligible for probation. The punishment phase of the trial is scheduled to begin Monday.

Dallas County deputies’ holiday DWI campaign cut back as probe leaves funding frozen
The Dallas County sheriff’s drunken-driving enforcement campaign this holiday weekend is being scaled back because of an investigation into whether some traffic deputies falsified overtime records, officials said.
Since at least October, the department has been investigating whether deputies had been making it look as if tickets they wrote during regular shifts were written during overtime shifts paid for with federal grant money. At least seven deputies are under scrutiny, including one who is the subject of a criminal probe.
As a result, grant money has been frozen until the investigation has concluded, Chief Deputy Joe Costa said Tuesday. That means the Sheriff’s Department will not have that money to pay deputies to work extra shifts over the Thanksgiving holiday, Costa said.


Charles Bowden on Mexico, drug wars and illegal immigration

Posted by Don Henry Ford Jr. - November 11, 2011 at 9:07 am
You should watch this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DIrvg8RuMA

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Reining in Rogue Prosecutors; Good Ol' Boys Protecting Each Other

Excerpts from Dallas Morning News Editorial: How to curb rogue prosecutors
One thread running through many criminal exoneration cases in Texas involves prosecutors who failed their legal and moral duty to justice and fair play.

Too many of them appear to have been more interested in winning a conviction than airing the whole truth, even at the expense of someone’s liberties.
The vast majority of prosecutors are honorable public servants and should not have to look over their shoulders in fear of nuisance suits. That could drive them out of the profession.

But there are outliers in any occupation, and they should not be immune from accountability.

Recent cases with charges of prosecutorial misconduct

Dale Lincoln Duke, 60, was released in Dallas County on Nov. 4 after 14 years in prison, his conviction on child abuse charges declared “unjust” by a judge. The DA’s office said a prosecutor withheld evidence that the child’s grandmother thought the girl was lying.

Chelsea Richardson, 27, won an appeal Nov. 1 that got her off death row and will mean life in prison. She was convicted of masterminding the murder of her boyfriend’s parents in Mansfield, but notes withheld from the defense show a different defendant may have played the key role.

Michael Morton, 57, was freed in Williamson County on Oct. 4 after nearly 25 years in prison for the murder of his wife. DNA tests implicated another man, who was arrested last week. Defense lawyers charge that the DA withheld information that Morton’s son saw a “monster” do the killing. Now a judge, the district attorney is under investigation by the State Bar of Texas.

Anthony Graves collected $1.4 million in compensation July 1 for a bogus conviction in the murder of six people and 18 years in prison, including death row. Graves, 45, was freed in October 2010. Prosecutors proclaimed him innocent and said the former Burleson County DA manipulated witnesses to gain a conviction.
Improved training is another step the state should take. There now is no mandatory course or refresher that the state requires of prosecutors to ensure that everyone is clear on obligations to share evidence. Considering the authority that prosecutors wield, there is compelling public interest in making sure they understand their roles in ensuring constitutional rights.

Finally, though a prosecutor can be criminally charged for misusing his position, an individual who is railroaded by a crooked DA has no access to state courts to pursue civil claims.

John Bradley - Arrogant, Dishonest?
Speaking of nasty prosecutors, check out today's Wilco Watchdog's story about a child molester charged with possession of child porn that Bradley allowed to plead to a misdemeanor. Donald Leroy Morrison went on to get nailed by To Catch a Predator.

Profiles in Courage
Bad Medicine
Before two West Texas nurses brought him down, Dr. Rolando Arafiles peddled dangerous treatments in towns across Texas.

by Saul Elbein, Texas Observer

The case of Dr. Rolando Arafiles could well be the oddest in the history of Texas medicine. In 2008, Arafiles was hired as a doctor at Winkler Memorial Hospital in Kermit, a small West Texas town between Odessa and the New Mexico border. Within months of starting his job, Arafiles began selling supplements out of the clinic where he worked. He put patients on bizarre and potentially life- threatening treatments for conditions they didn't have. He performed botched surgeries in unsterile rooms. When two nurses—Anne Mitchell and Vickilyn Galle—complained anonymously to the Texas Medical Board about him, Arafiles went after the nurses. He allegedly brought Stan Wiley, hospital administrator; Robert Roberts, the county sheriff; and Scott Tidwell, the county attorney into a conspiracy to find, fire, arrest, and indict Mitchell and Galle.

Arafiles, Roberts, Tidwell, and Wiley had all been indicted on charges of retaliation and official oppression. Since then, Roberts and Tidwell have been tried and convicted on all counts. (The trials have been marked by a sort of dark comedy—the October 5 punishment phase of Tidwell's trial saw a number of prostitutes he had patronized—at $2,000 to $4,000 per visit—while his wife was in a coma, take the stand.)

And on Nov. 7, Arafiles himselfpled guilty to charges of retaliation and misuse of official information. He will spend two months in the Andrews County jail and five years on probation. He will have to pay a $5,000 fine and relinquish his medical license.

Arafiles had a long history of misconduct in other Texas towns, including Victoria and Crane. If anyone tried to stop him, he used the good old boy system to retaliate.
In his short time in Crane, Arafiles had become close with the county judge, Donny Henderson. The two played golf together. Officially, Henderson served as the tie-breaker on the hospital board; unofficially, he ran it, Barnes says. During a dispute with the previous administrator, Stan Wiley, Henderson fired half the board and restacked it with three friends—enough for him to fire Wiley. (In one of the strange coincidences that seems to be a hallmark of this story, Wiley ended up as hospital administrator in Kermit).

“Henderson took Arafiles' side in any dispute,” Barnes says. “They tried to fire me.”
.....
Kudos to Nurses Anne Mitchell and Vickilyn Galle and Administrator Bill Barnes.
And shame on County Attorney Scott Tidwell and County Judge Donny Henderson.


Profiles in Cowardice
Who Covered for Penn State Pervert?
CBS reports that San Antonio Police are investigating possible child rapes by Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky while he was in SA for the Alamo Bowl.
More on the subject of good ol' boys protecting their own - how did Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky get away with raping little boys for over a decade? Here's a link to the grand jury report, that shows how officials at Penn State looked the other way knowing they had a serial child rapist using the reputation of Penn State football to lure 10 year old boys into his lair at the athletic center? I hope they all burn in hell after they rot in prison.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Update in Christine Morton Murder Case - Real Murderer Arrested

The Austin American Statesman is reporting that the real murderer that then Williamson County District Attorney now Judge Ken Anderson allowed to remain free while an innocent man spent 25 years in prison has been identified:

The suspect arrested in the Christine Morton’s 1986 murder has been identified as Mark Alan Norwood, 57, who public records show lived near the scene of a related Austin murder in 1988.

I don't know how Anderson can look in the mirror without puking.

Ruthless, corrupt prosecutors: More Revelations in the Craig Morton Case

Former Williamson County DA (now District Judge) Ken Anderson Hid Evidence and Sent
Innocent Man to Prison


Today's Austin American Statesman headlines"
Depositions shed light on Morton prosecution
Then DA Anderson is pictured posing in front of the courthouse, his arms folded and his face stern in self righteousness, above a picture of a young Michael Morton being hustled off to prison.Anderson is now a state district judge.

From the article:
Mike Davis, a Round Rock lawyer who helped Anderson prosecute Morton for the murder of his wife, Christine, described his former boss as a "control guy" — a detail-oriented district attorney who took part in every facet of a major case, from the investigation by law enforcement to the strategy used at trial.
Any murder case was Ken Anderson's baby," Davis said in his Oct. 29 deposition under questioning by Morton lawyer Gerry Goldstein.

Anderson, now a state district judge in Georgetown, would have determined what information had to be turned over to Morton's lawyers before trial, Davis said, adding that he was "shocked" to discover this year that certain evidence had not been provided.

Davis said he was particularly troubled to learn that Morton's lawyers did not receive evidence indicating that there was a witness to Christine Morton's murder — her 3-year-old son, Eric, who described the attacker as a monster who was not his father.
Davis also said Morton's trial lawyers should have been given other information that was recently discovered in files kept by the sheriff's or district attorney's offices. That included a police report about suspicious activity in the Mortons' neighborhood and indications that Christine Morton's credit card was used — and a check made out to her was cashed using an apparently forged signature — in the days after her death.

Anderson's deposition resumes today. Gerry Goldstein is relentless and fearless. He represented a Lubbock detective named Bill Hubbard who exposed the incestuous corruption of then DA Travis Ware and medical examiner Ralph Erdman when they teamed up to try to frame Hubbard. Hubbard wrote a book about the ordeal, Substantial Evidence, still in print and available from Amazon.

The best coverage of the Craig Morton travesty is at the Wilco Watchdog.

Prosecutors begin presenting case in trial of state district judge in Collin County
Dallas Morning News
By VALERIE WIGGLESWORTH
McKINNEY — Prosecutors began laying out evidence Tuesday on events that led up to Suzanne Wooten’s run for judge in the 380th District Court in Collin County.
Wooten, 43, faces felony charges of engaging in organized criminal activity, money laundering, bribery and tampering with a government record in connection with her 2008 campaign.
The prosecution accuses a woman whose husband was involved in a contentious custody battle of paying $150,000 to Wooten’s campaign manager to finance Wooten’s run for office.

Former Austin cop pleads guilty in window peeping case
By Steven Kreytak
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Published: 7:33 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2011
A former Austin police officer has pleaded guilty to official oppression and was sentenced to two years' deferred adjudication, a form of probation, related to allegations that he peeped into a woman's apartment window while on duty last year.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

When Lawyers Jump the Shark

I'm glad I'm not convicted murderer Hector Rolando Medina or his victim or his former habeas lawyer Robin Norris. Norris took the idea of being a maverick a little too far when he waited until the last day to file a habeas proceeding and failed to plead any factual basis for relief.The Court of Criminal Appeals, in a scathing opinion, ex parte Hector Rolando Medina, No. WR-75,835-01 held him in contempt, writing:

"Because counsel waited until the last possible day to file this document, a dismissal, even though not on the merits, would foreclose the opportunity to file a new pleading, bringing those same claims. Similarly, a denial on the merits of the conclusory allegations would foreclose any opportunity to raise those same claims again. By all appearances, counsel has thrown his client under the bus. Therefore, we issued an order to counsel to appear before the Court on Wednesday, June 15, 2011, to explain his conduct....

"Mr. Norris duly appeared and began his explanation: "Since I did file a pleading designated as a writ of habeas corpus on time-I think perhaps that the Court regarded it as not being a writ of habeas corpus." Indeed, that is so. However, Mr. Norris maintained that he had a "good faith" belief that his document "sufficiently pleads cognizable grounds for habeas corpus relief" even though he did not set out specific facts to support his legal allegations. He agreed that "[t]he suggestion that I want to change the law is close to being right, at least in my view. But not exactly right. I'm not trying to change the law. I'm trying to get some law." He admitted that he had "frequently" discussed the situation with his client "[a]nd he's not happy about it. But he's a lay person." Mr. Norris maintained that it is "in the best interests of [his] client, Mr. Medina, and similarly situated death-row inmates not to plead evidence in briefing in the initial application because it promotes disposition without evidentiary hearings." He largely agreed that he did not want to plead facts that might support his allegations because he did not want the State to know what his evidence was.

"Mr. Norris stated that he had been a practicing lawyer in Texas for some thirty-five years, had worked for a number of years at this Court, and had represented somewhere between ten and twenty death-row inmates on their post-conviction habeas-corpus applications. He admitted that, prior to this case, he had always included exhibits and stated facts that would support his legal contentions, but he did not do so in this case because he did not think the law was settled that a habeas application must contain facts. He stated that he had thoroughly investigated the facts underlying his claims, but that he intentionally did not include them in his client's pleading, and that he intentionally filed his pleading on the last possible day and refused the State's offer to give him more time to replead and add those crucial facts. It is abundantly clear that counsel's actions were not the result of mistake, inadvertence, negligence, or a lack of legal expertise. It is also abundantly clear that counsel is intentionally jeopardizing applicant's "one very well represented run at a habeas corpus proceeding."

In ex parte Kerr, (29) we held that a death-penalty "writ application" that did not "challenge the validity of the underlying judgment" was no writ application at all. The rule in Kerr is as follows: "To constitute a document worthy of the title 'writ application' filed pursuant to article 11.071, the writ must seek 'relief from a judgment imposing a penalty of death.' A death penalty 'writ' that does not challenge the validity of the underlying judgment and which, even if meritorious, would not result in immediate relief from his capital-murder conviction or death sentence, is not an 'initial application' for purposes of art. 11.071, § 5 . . . ." (31) As Judge Overstreet stated in his dissent to the dismissal of a stay of execution for Ricky Kerr, such a "non-application" is a farce and travesty of applicant's legal right to apply for habeas relief. It appears that this Court, in approving such a charade, is punishing applicant, rewarding the State, and perhaps even encouraging other attorneys to file perfunctory "non-applications." Such a "non-application" certainly makes it easier on everyone--no need for the attorney, the State, or this Court to consider any potential challenges to anything that happened at trial. Nevertheless, the Legislature has provided convicted capital defendants with the right to make such challenges by habeas corpus application."

Wow - to be charged by the top criminal court in the state of perpetrating a farce and travesty and charade when a person's life is at stake is brutal, but it's accurate. Norris was playing Russian roulette with his client's life. You have to wonder if the lawyer has dementia, traumatic brain damage, or is addled from drug abuse.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Philosophy of Criminal Defense

Pat Riley's Philosphy
Just remember, somewhere, sompleplace, sometime, you're going to have to plant your feet, make a stand, and kick some ass. When that time comes, do it.
Pat Riley, Coach, Los Angeles Lakers

I found a great article by David Redfearn entitled Philosophy of Criminal Defense on the website of The Tate Firm, PLLC, a leading Florida law firm. If you have been charged with a crime I encourage you to read the whole article, which makes several succinct, accurate observations about the criminal justice system, such as:
- the client's innocence is not a guarantee of a favorable outcome, and as the wheels of justice grind on, innocence becomes progressively less relevant.
- a criminal defendant's only friend in the courtroom is his lawyer.
- you have to decide - do you want to be defended by someone who will "go along to get along" and not rock the boat, or one who sees the role of trial lawyer as a gladiatorial combatant who will fight for you?

I like the section captioned "why the defense lawyer has to be a maverick" so much I will reproduce it in full here:

"The defense lawyer recognizes the criminal justice system at its worst resembles a confidence game set up by the Establishment (the state prosecutor, the police, the courts, probation officers, the private bail bondsmen, the pre-trial services programs run by county governments, the county jail, the private prison industry, the psychologists, the social workers, the security guards, etc.) for the purpose of justifying their existence to the taxpayers, while controlling individuals, extracting fees and fines, ushering the accused towards conviction, punishing non-conformists, and crushing in its path all who dare to challenge the government – the innocent and guilty alike.

The system rarely concedes error and the State plays to win. The defense lawyer is a maverick because he is usually the only one in the courtroom that is willing to stand up and tell the truth about the shortcomings of system. We like to build our courtrooms so they look powerful and dignified – so they appear authoritative and worthy of handing down justice, like the Greek Gods on Mount Olympus, or like Moses coming down from Mt. Sinai with the 10 Commandments. The promise of our nation’s ideals is that all men are created equal and we are therefore all equal in the eyes of the law. We even engrave “Equal Justice Under the Law” into the marble and granite in our courthouses. That’s why you often see depictions of Lady Justice blindfolded. Lady Justice is a personification of the moral force of the court system. The idea is that the courts dispense justice objectively and without prejudice, regardless of how much money a person has, the color of their skin, or who their daddy knows. That’s the ideal, at least. But the courts do not work like the ideal, and everyone who works in the court system knows it.

"There can be no equal justice where the kind of trial a man gets depends on the amount of money he has." - Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black, Griffin v. Illinois, 351 U.S. 12 (1956).

In 1923, a time when it was not uncommon for black defendants to be convicted by racist juries without hard evidence, the American poet Langston Hughes wrote:

That Justice is a blind goddess
Is a thing to which we blacks are wise.
Her bandage hides two festering sores
That once perhaps were eyes.

When the defense lawyer tells the truth about the gap between the ideal of “equal justice under the law” and how the system really works, he’s branded a renegade.

The proper role of the defense lawyer.

"[O]ur so-called adversary system is not adversary at all; nor should it be. But defense counsel has no comparable obligation to ascertain or present the truth. Our system assigns him a different mission. He must be and is interested in preventing the conviction of the innocent, but, absent a voluntary plea of guilty, we also insist that he defend his client whether he is innocent or guilty. ... [A]s part of our modified adversary system and as part of the duty imposed on the most honorable defense counsel, we countenance or require conduct which in many instances has little, if any, relation to the search for truth."
—Justice White concurring and dissenting in U.S. v. Wade, 388 U.S. 218, 256-58 (1967)

Upon recognizing that the courts do not administer justice blindly and objectively by punishing only the guilty and freeing the innocent, the defense lawyer is now ready to embrace his proper role in the courtroom. The objective comes into focus: the defense lawyer exists to fight and his objective is to win, period. The concept of what a "win" is depends on the facts and circumstance of each unique case - it could be a dismissal of charges, a jury verdict of Not Guilty, a verdict of a lesser included offense, a successful motion to suppress evidence illegally obtained by the government, or a better plea offer from the government. No matter what the end result, when the defense lawyer fully embraces his role as his client's champion, the client will have been served with dignity either in victory or in defeat. There can be no dignity to the process if the defense lawyer is unwilling or unable to fight to protect his client.

When you hire a criminal defense lawyer, you are hiring not just a maverick (hopefully for you) but a prize fighter, a paid gladiator to walk into the theater of conflict – the courtroom - and do battle against the government prosecutor. The prosecutor will be trying to take away your liberty in some form, be it imprisonment, supervision, or a permanent branding of "convicted." Set against that grim backdrop, the defense lawyer’s sole duty is to protect his client, whether he is innocent or guilty and prevent the government from imposing its will and harming the client.

Now in our gladiatorial role in civilized society we’ve traded in our swords and clubs for more refined weapons like our intelligence, our wit, our passion, empathy, creativity, our knowledge of the law and reverence for the Constitution, our ability to communicate, and perhaps most importantly our courage to stand up for unpopular clients or unpopular causes even when everyone else thinks we’re wrong."

....

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Bandera County Drug Cartel Deputy?

From the San Antonio Express News -
A Bandera County deputy is accused of providing sensitive law enforcement information to the Texas Syndicate prison gang, whose members in Uvalde and Hondo were swept up last week in a federal racketeering investigation.
U.S. Attorney Robert Pitman announced the new details Tuesday, after his prosecutors in Del Rio obtained two indictments against more than 20 members or associates of the gang.
One alleges 11 members participated in a racketeering and drug-trafficking conspiracy that included four murders. The second indictment alleges 15 other people were involved in trafficking drugs — including Thomas Cuellar, a deputy with the Bandera County Sheriff's Office for about five years.
Besides conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, Cuellar, 41, of Hondo, was also charged with unlawful use of a government computer for allegedly giving criminal background information and other sensitive law enforcement intelligence to the gang.

Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Bandera-deputy-indicted-in-federal-drug-sweep-2202400.php#ixzz1ZrycNQ3K

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

More Drug War Follies and Corrupt Cop Stories

It's amazing how you can find a fascinating website while surfing the internet.I stumbled onto a column called "This Week's Corrupt Cop Stories" on Hawaii News Daily'w website, which led me to StopTheDrugWar.org, and the following is reprinted with permission.The true stories involve drug task force cops stealing narcotics from the evidence locker and selling them, cops ripping off drug dealers, and jail prisoners and trustees having cocaine parties:

A dirty Chicago cop goes to prison, a crooked small-town New York officer faces the same fate, a Florida cop facing trial for peddling meth has gone on the lam, and four suburban Chicago cops are being sued. Let's get to it:

In Chicago, a former Chicago police officer was sentenced September 7 to 12 years in prison for being part of a group of cops in the department's elite Special Operations Section who carried out armed robberies, home invasions, and other crimes across the city. Jerome Finnigan, 48, has already served four years in prison, so he should be a free man again in six or seven years. Finnigan was considered the ringleader in a group of officers who targeted mostly drug dealers for robberies to seize drugs and cash, which the cops then pocketed. The SOS scandal, as it is known in Chicago, has already cost the city more than $2 million in settlements of civil rights lawsuits from people victimized by the rogue cops, and many cases are still pending. Seven other SOS members have already pleaded guilty to state charges, but Finnigan and three others were indicted on federal charges in April. He pleaded guilty to conspiring to murder another officer prepared to testify against him and to tax charges related to the money he stole.

In Poughkeepsie, New York, a former Poughkeepsie police officer pleaded guilty last Friday to providing information about drug investigations to drug dealers in exchange for cocaine for his personal use. David Palazzolo, 47, a 20-year-veteran, pleaded guilty to three felony counts and is looking at between three and 10 years in prison when he is sentenced in December. Palazzolo admitted using the town police computer system on at least four occasions to keep a drug dealer apprised of investigations and to warn him about the times and locations of drug surveillance operations carried out by town narcotics officers. He is free on $100,000 pending sentencing.

In Joliet, Illinois, four Joliet police officers were named as defendants in a civil rights lawsuit filed by a local man who alleges they falsely arrested and imprisoned him in a drug arrest last year. Patrick Moore's lawsuit claims that Officer Tom Banas made a crack cocaine deal with another man whom Moore accompanied. The videotaped drug deal went down inside a vehicle, while Moore remained standing outside the car, but officers arrested and charged him with delivering crack cocaine anyway, and he spent five months in jail awaiting trial before prosecutors dropped the charges. In addition to Officer Banas, the suit names Sgt. Patrick Cardwell, and Officers Alan Vertin and John Wilson, and alleges they falsified written police reports to bolster their false account of the arrest and hide their misconduct. The suit asks for $5 million in compensation.

In Miami, a Boynton Beach police officer has gone on the lam days before he was scheduled to go on trial for selling more than 500 grams of methamphetamine. Officer David Brito boarded a flight from Miami to Brazil on August 24, the same day he removed his ankle monitor and broke his 11:00pm curfew. Britto was Boynton Beach's "Officer of the Year" in 2010, but faced life in prison if convicted on the meth charges. He was scheduled to go to trial this week.
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Saturday, September 3, 2011

U.S./Mexico/Sinaloa Cartel Alliance?

US-Trained Assassin Teams Now Deployed in Drug War
Former CIA Asset Who Revealed Presence of US Special Forces in Mexico Says Hit Squads Targeting Narco Splinter Groups


Bill Conroy reports in NarcoSphere.com:
"A small but growing proxy war is underway in Mexico pitting US-assisted assassin teams composed of elite Mexican special operations soldiers against the leadership of an emerging cadre of independent drug organizations that are far more ruthless than the old-guard Mexican “cartels” that gave birth to them.
These Mexican assassin teams now in the field for at least half a year, sources tell Narco News, are supported by a sophisticated US intelligence network composed of CIA and civilian US military operatives as well as covert special-forces soldiers under Pentagon command — which are helping to identify targets for the Mexican hit teams."
......
This is how Pablo Escobar was hunted down and killed.Mark Bowden's Killing Pablo: The Hunt for the World's Greatest Outlaw tells how U.S. military intelligence officers tracked Escobar by his cell phone calls. Some people think that Delta Force or Seals were with the team that killed him, one shot to the head, with him running no less. Good work.

The ironic thing is that to fight the worst of the worst, our government has to make deals with the lesser evil. In Mexico's case, that appears to be the Sinaloa Cartel.


Misbehaving Cops Roundup


A Harris County deputy constable is facing a criminal investigation for allegedly fondling a woman he stopped for a traffic violation earlier this month, department officials confirmed. Pct. 3 Constable deputy Christopher Kerr, 32, was allowed to resign on Aug. 26 in lieu of firing after his superiors received a complaint from the female motorist, said Chief Deputy David Franklin.

From TheEagle.com in Bryan College Station:
A deputy constable was arrested by College Station police Wednesday night on a charge of kidnapping, officials said.

Agustin Rubio, who is one of seven deputies assigned to Precinct 2, was seen by several witnesses when he approached a woman just before 2 a.m. Sunday near the intersection of Fraternity Row and Deacon Drive.

Friends of the woman saw the interaction and called her parents after Rubio placed her in handcuffs and into the back of his patrol cruiser.

According to police, the father called local jails attempting to locate his daughter after speaking to her friends, but had no luck.

She called her parents at 5:53 a.m., telling them she woke up in a parking lot in the 1200 block of Wellborn Drive.

College Station detectives met with the woman that same morning and began an investigation.

They were able to locate surveillance footage that shows the 41-year-old Rubio in his patrol cruiser leaving the parking lot that morning.

Kidnapping is a third-degree felony punishable by up to 10 years in jail.

....

Monday, August 29, 2011

Hell is a Place Called Mexico

Mexico continues to descend into hell. Last week the Zetas doused a casino in Monterrey with gasoline, burning over 60 people to death. In Acapulco, officials are closing schools because of extortion threats from criminals demanding protection payment from teachers. Borderlandbeat.com and Blogdelnarco.com both have excellent coverage. Acapulco used to be a playground for the rich and famous. Now the narco's hang butcher corpses from bridges on the main roads and dump bodies on the beaches.

The Sinaloa cartel is moving into meth production on an industrial scale. A security expert says the cartels control half of Mexico's territory. Carlos Fuentes says "They should decriminalize drugs and get help from the Israeli, French or German police forces who have proven effective in combating crime," he said.

Tom Clancy wrote a novel a few years back about the U.S. fighting a secret war in Columbia against the cartels. Harrison Ford starred in the movie. The venture ended in disaster with the troops abandoned by the politicians (sound familiar?).

General Sherman advised Lincoln that the only way to end the Civil War was to kill an entire generation of Southern males. As a Southerner, I hate Sherman almost as my grandmother did, and her father was shot by a Yankee musket (he survived). But the old psycho (Sherman that is) was right about one thing: when you go to war it has to be total war. Otherwise we get into disasters like the Black Hawk Down tragedy. It may take some power with the ruthlessness to go into Mexico and do what the Chinese would do - round up the criminals, try them and shoot them the same day.

It will never happen. The truth is that the drug trade provides the cash that keeps the world economy limping along. If the flow of money into Mexico was shut off, Mexico would collapse, dragging down the U.S. banks with it. Mexico gets more money from illegal drugs than it does oil and tourism combined.

Frisco drug dealer sentenced to 10 years in teen’s fatal cheese heroin overdose
From Dallas Morning News -
A 21-year-old Frisco man was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for supplying drugs to a 16-year-old who died from an overdose of cheese heroin in October 2009.
Jaime Cesar Navarro Jr. appeared in federal court Wednesday for sentencing after pleading guilty last year to selling drugs to Andrew Dillon Young.
According to a Frisco police affidavit, Dillon went with a friend to Navarro’s house to buy Xanax but instead paid $20 for cheese heroin. He went home and returned later with two friends to trade an Xbox 360 and a digital camera for more drugs, according to the affidavit. The affidavit stated that Dillon bought heroin mixed with Tylenol and Xanax.
Dillon’s mother found him unresponsive the next morning at the family’s home in Frisco.
Navarro pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin, resulting in death. His sentence includes enrolling in a residential drug abuse treatment program and obtaining his GED while in prison. Once out of prison, he will have five years of supervised release.
Defense attorney Robert Arrambide told the judge that Navarro was not a drug kingpin but an addict who sold drugs to others to maintain his own habit.
“I was very lost in drugs,” Navarro told the court, adding that he was remorseful about what happened.

The teen's father, Fernando Cortez Sr., says: "All I can do is try to help people now."
A cheap, highly addictive drug known as "cheese heroin" has killed 21 teenagers in the Dallas area over the past two years, and authorities say they are hoping they can stop the fad before it spreads across the nation.

"Cheese heroin" is a blend of so-called black tar Mexican heroin and crushed over-the-counter medications that contain the antihistamine diphenhydramine, found in products such as Tylenol PM, police say. The sedative effects of the heroin and the nighttime sleep aids make for a deadly brew.

Ex-Chief Pleads Guilty
Sunday, August 28, 2011 | Borderland Beat Reporter Chamuko213
By Rene Romo / Journal South Reporter
LAS CRUCES — Former Columbus Police Chief Angelo Vega, handcuffed and dressed in a red prisoner jumpsuit, pleaded guilty Thursday to conspiracy, smuggling and public corruption charges.

The charges are in connection with a federal gun-smuggling case that also snared the border town’s mayor and a trustee.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Roundup of Texas Crooked Lawyers, Judges and Bail Bondsmen

Former prosecutor pleads to crack cocaine charge
Former judicial candidate receives deferred adjudication probation.
By Craig Kapitan
ckapitan@express-news.net
Former Bexar County prosecutor and two-time judicial candidate Gammon Guinn, 56 who was arrested five years ago for purchasing crack cocaine with the help of a client pleaded no contest Monday to the felony drug charge.... On two occasions, Guinn drove the client to the East Side and gave him $900 to make crack purchases, police reports state. While using the drugs together in Guinn's Ford Mustang, they also picked up two women the client knew and shared the drugs in exchange for sexual favors, the client alleged.

Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Former-prosecutor-pleads-to-crack-cocaine-charge-1778899.php#ixzz1UX0xKO6f

By Lynn Brezosky
lbrezosky@express-news.net
BROWNSVILLE — A Brownsville bail bondsman admitted Monday to paying a middleman to bribe a state district judge to loosen bond terms for a drug defendant.
Francisco “Pancho” Cisneros, 46, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting extortion by paying $2,000 to the middleman, who bribed then-state District Judge Abel Corral Limas $700 to change the terms of a $25,000 bond from cash or surety to personal recognizance.
Cisneros faces a maximum prison term of 20 years plus up to a $250,000 fine at his Nov. 14 sentencing.
Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/article/Bondsman-admits-judge-bribery-role-1780113.php#ixzz1UUgZoU55

From Grits for Breakfast
Isolated incidents: Corruption snares cop, judge, ATF agent, bail bondsman, jail guard, etc.
Several notable criminal-justice related corruption cases in Texas grabbed Grits' attention recently. First, via the Drug War Chronicle:
In Houston, a Houston police sergeant was arrested July 27 on charges he took a bribe to provide protection for a vehicle carrying several kilograms of cocaine. Sgt. Leslie Atkins, 46, faces federal charges of aiding and abetting the possession with the intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine and with accepting a $2,000 bribe to provide protection for a vehicle transporting seven kilograms of cocaine. He was arrested after a June 22 indictment was unsealed. The 19-year veteran has been suspended without pay. He faces a mandatory minimum 10-year sentence on the cocaine charge and could get life, and he faces up to 20 years for the bribery count. He is out on $50,000 bail.
and -
A former Lubbock-based federal ATF agent, Brandon McFadden spent most of Thursday testifying in a federal corruption trial that he stole drugs and money from crime scenes with several Tulsa (OK) police officers."

This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories


Bondsman admits judge bribery role
By Lynn Brezosky
lbrezosky@express-news.net
BROWNSVILLE — A Brownsville bail bondsman admitted Monday to paying a middleman to bribe a state district judge to loosen bond terms for a drug defendant.
Francisco “Pancho” Cisneros, 46, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting extortion by paying $2,000 to the middleman, who bribed then-state District Judge Abel Corral Limas $700 to change the terms of a $25,000 bond from cash or surety to personal recognizance.
Cisneros faces a maximum prison term of 20 years plus up to a $250,000 fine at his Nov. 14 sentencing.
Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/article/Bondsman-admits-judge-bribery-role-1780113.php#ixzz1UUgZoU55

From Grits for Breakfast
Isolated incidents: Corruption snares cop, judge, ATF agent, bail bondsman, jail guard, etc.
Several notable criminal-justice related corruption cases in Texas grabbed Grits' attention recently. First, via the Drug War Chronicle:
In Houston, a Houston police sergeant was arrested July 27 on charges he took a bribe to provide protection for a vehicle carrying several kilograms of cocaine. Sgt. Leslie Atkins, 46, faces federal charges of aiding and abetting the possession with the intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine and with accepting a $2,000 bribe to provide protection for a vehicle transporting seven kilograms of cocaine. He was arrested after a June 22 indictment was unsealed. The 19-year veteran has been suspended without pay. He faces a mandatory minimum 10-year sentence on the cocaine charge and could get life, and he faces up to 20 years for the bribery count. He is out on $50,000 bail.
and -
A former Lubbock-based federal ATF agent, Brandon McFadden spent most of Thursday testifying in a federal corruption trial that he stole drugs and money from crime scenes with several Tulsa (OK) police officers."

This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories

Thursday, August 4, 2011

How Close Should Law Enforcement be to Criminal Informants?

It should not surprise anyone that law enforcement agencies have to deal with some pretty unsavory criminals to get information on the drug cartels. But it is surprising that they would allow serious criminals to continue committing new crimes while acting as informants. From the Houston Chronicle:

Trafficking defendant: I was a DEA informer
Defense wants charges dropped, claims immunity
By DANE SCHILLER
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Aug. 3, 2011, 11:14PM


Read more: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/chronicle/7682687.html#ixzz1U40eu2Fr

"Lawyers for the drug- trafficking son of one of Mexico's most powerful kingpins contend he helped run the Sinaloa Cartel — and was a fugitive from charges in the United States — while at the same time acting as an informant for U.S. agents.
Jesus Vicente Zambada Niebla's legal team is launching the bombshell contention as part of an effort to convince a U.S. judge that charges should be dropped. They claim agents allegedly told Zambada he could keep breaking the law, and be immune from prosecution, in return for tips on rival cartels....
A motion by Zambada's lawyers states that as recently as 2008, he and a top cartel lawyer met at a Mexico City hotel with two DEA agents, and were again assured they were immune from charges.
His allegations are being raised as U.S. agents are taking a beating for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' bungled sting to catch weapons traffickers by letting a load of illegally purchased guns slip into Mexico. The load was lost. Dozens of guns reportedly turned up at crime scenes, including two where a Border Patrol agent was murdered.
Congressional investigators are looking into whether weapons smugglers were FBI informants.
Perhaps the most infamous dealing with a trafficker turned government informant came to light in 2004, when an Immigration and Customs Enforcement snitch known as "Lalo" provided U.S. authorities with information on the Juarez Cartel, while at the same time overseeing the murders of cartel enemies."
That was the infamous "House of Death" case, which the mainstream media ignored.

......

District clerk bailing on court fees, critics say
Bondsmen should be paying $230, but are billed only $8, judge asserts
By BRIAN ROGERS

HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Aug. 4, 2011, 7:09AM

Harris County District Clerk Chris Daniel has not collected hundreds of thousands of dollars in court costs since taking office in January because, critics say, it would hurt business for bail bondsmen who contributed to his campaign.
"He's nervous about doing it because bondsmen supported him a great deal during his election so he wants cover," said Judge Mike Fields, chairman of the county board that licenses bail bondsmen. "No individual or group of individuals should come before your obligation to the citizens of this county when you're an elected official — no matter how tough it is."
The court costs are generated by lawsuits filed against bail jumpers and bondsmen to have bail money forfeited after a defendant fails to appear for court.
Fields said not collecting the money during tight economic times was "baffling." He said the court costs, now set at $8, are supposed to be about $230, a move that would raise more than $1.5 million a year for Harris County.


Read more: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7682683.html#ixzz1U42XT7pp

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Meth Dealing Sheriff

Winn Parish sheriff indicted on federal methamphetamine charges
Published: Tuesday, August 02, 2011, 6:05 PM
By The Associated Press
The top law officer in Winn Parish faces a possible life prison sentence following his indictment on federal charges tied to the distribution of methamphetamine in northwestern Louisiana.
Sheriff Albert Little and four other people were arrested Tuesday and taken to Shreveport for initial court appearances after an indictment was unsealed, U.S. Attorney Stephanie Finley said.
Finley said three other people were arrested in late June, one person is in custody on unrelated state charges and two defendants are being sought by authorities.
The charges stem from the organized distribution of methamphetamine in Winn Parish and the Shreveport area, Finley said.
In the most serious charge, Little is accused of conspiring to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. That charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison, a maximum sentence of life, plus as much as a $10 million fine.
.....
I've been watching the old t.v. series The Shieldabout a special unit of Los Angeles police called The Strike Force. The show is so well written and produced and the actors are so good you root for cops who do whatever it takes to get criminals off the street, and as a sideline take bribes from drug dealers and even do a little dealing themselves. The show is based on a real life unit that operated in the Ramparts section of L.A. Denzel Washington got an Oscar for his role in Training Day, which was based on the same gang unit.

I firmly believe that 95% of law enforcement officers are honest. Some cities and precincts and counties have disproportionate number of the bad element. Texas is so big, with so many counties, and there is no central state authority to police them, that there is a lot of opportunity for corruption. Having Mexico, which has turned into a hell on earth because of the drug gangs, on our border, makes it that much worse.

Friday, July 29, 2011

Mexican Cartel Cell Busted in Comal County, Texas

Comal meth ring is busted
By Guillermo Contreras
gcontreras@express-news.net


Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Comal-meth-ring-is-busted-1624392.php#ixzz1TUkCFvd2
At a news conference here Thursday, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the multiagency Comal County Metro Narcotics Task Force announced they broke up a trafficking cell linked to La Familia Michoacana.
The yearlong investigation identified lower, midlevel traffickers and sources of supply in the San Antonio area and surrounding counties directly tied to La Familia, authorities said.... The cell moved 25 pounds of nearly 100-percent pure crystal meth per month that could retail for as much as $200,000 a pound, said Mauricio Fernandez, assistant special agent in charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in San Antonio. With a wholesale price of about $20,000 per pound, he estimated the cell made at least $4.5 million a month.... La Familia is one of Mexico's newest and most bizarre drug cartels, according to published reports, a violent but Christian fundamentalist narco gang based in western Michoacan state.
The group is infamous for methamphetamine smuggling, lopping off enemies' heads and limbs, and massacres of police and soldiers. Its founder, Nazario Moreno — aka “El Mas Loco,” or The Craziest One — was killed in a shootout with Mexican security forces in December....
tion were 10 pounds of meth, high-caliber weapons, cars and assets totaling $500,000, which included more than $140,000 in cash and $31,000 in jewelry. Additionally, a popular Guadalupe River campground valued at $1 million was raided June 8, and the government has gone to court in an attempt to confiscate it.
In mid June, a federal grand jury indicted six people on charges of conspiring to traffic meth, among them John Stanley Holly and his common-law wife, Elaine Meckel, who operated the Goodtime Campground on River Road between New Braunfels and Canyon Lake.
“For years, the Goodtime Campground ... has been a (haven) for illegal narcotic traffickers and narcotic users alike,” a DEA agent wrote in a court-filed report.
The report said informants told area investigators that Holly, also known as “Stan the Man,” was trafficking high-purity meth from his home and business at the campground.

The men and women who work as DEA agents and their counter-parts in local government do a dangerous, dirty job, putting their lives at risk every time they go out. Without them, the drug cancer would be even worse than it is, because people who are tempted but don't buy illegal drugs would not have the fear of arrest and disgrace. That said, the agents may be like the little Dutch boy with his finger in the dike. The money made by the cartels is staggering. In 12007, Mexican authorities, working with DEA, seized over $200MM from a mansion in Mexico City. The money was from the sale of meth. The head of the ring, or at least an important member, was Chinese, which raises all sorts of other issues. Snopes.com has pictures of the money, stacked to the ceiling.

Investigative journalist Daniel Hopsicker has a fascinating website with stories of planes filled with tons of cocaine landing in the U.S. This isn't speculation - they planes occasionally crash. The most interesting idea he raises is, who are the Americans who are running the U.S. side of the business? Is there an American cartel of drug lords?

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

The Cartels in America

The Los Angeles Times is running a four part series about how the Mexican cartels distribute drugs in the United States. Today's installment is about an American pilot who moved cocaine from Southern California to Pennsylvania. It's titled 'Flying high for the Sinaloa drug cartel.' John Charles Ward used small airports across the country and flew below an altitude where he would be required to file a flight plan. He was assisted by Tom George Kontos, a former federal prosecutor from Los Angeles, who was skilled at cutting good deals and laundering money. Gee, I wonder if any of the airports in Texas are used for drug smuggling.

Tuesday edition profiled an operation based in Los Angeles:
'The Sinaloa cartel, Mexico's most powerful organized crime group, has its version of a corporate headquarters in gaudy mansions and hilly estates that dot the state of Sinaloa. But its U.S. distribution hub sits 1,000 miles northwest, in the immigrant neighborhoods that line the trucking corridors of Southern California.

Drugs move from Colombia to Mexico, then across the Imperial Valley to stash houses and staging areas around Los Angeles. There, scores of distribution cells take over, packaging the cocaine and concealing it in tractor-trailers headed across the United States.

As one of dozens of transportation coordinators for the cartel, Roman bought tractor-trailers, hired drivers and arranged for loads of frozen chickens as cover. He received the drugs from Eligio "Pescado" Rios, who operated a string of stash houses.

Together they formed part of a pipeline that extended across the country to a distributor living near Yankee Stadium in New York.'
....
Some of sicarios working for the cartels are U.S. citizens. The Juarez cartel uses the Barrios Aztecas, a vicious El Paso gang. And here's a really chilling story, about a 15 year old who tortured and slit the throats of enemies of another cartel:
'A Mexican judge on Tuesday sentenced a 15-year-old U.S. citizen to three years in prison for organized crime, homicide, kidnapping, and drug and weapons possession.'
In the U.S. he could have been certified as a adult and sent off for life. Mexico really is a cesspool.

Friday, July 22, 2011

Good Job: DEA and FBI Bust Cartel Ring in Austin

This is a frightening story, reported in today's Austin American Statesman.

Authorities arrested 25 suspected members of the violent Mexican drug cartel La Familia in Central Texas on Wednesday, officials said, capping a 20-month series of investigations across the country. In the second nationwide attack on La Familia, dubbed Project Delirium, 1,985 people were arrested, and officials seized $62 million in cash, 2,773 pounds of methamphetamine, 2,722 kilograms of cocaine , 1,005 pounds of heroin, 14,818 pounds of marijuana and $3.8 million in other assets over 20 months, the DEA said. Wednesday's operation in Central Texas targeted 11 homes and involved hundreds of officers from 21 local, state and federal agencies. They seized about $150,000, several pounds of methamphetamine and several pounds of cocaine, Thrash said.

La Familia started - along with the Zetas - the terror tactic of rolling severed heads into bars and dance clubs.

Also of note, the San Antonio Express News reports:
Mexican authorities Thursday handed over to U.S. marshals in Laredo an American accused of being a Zeta hit man who took part in a brazen 2005 killing in that city.
Wenceslao Tovar Jr., a 26-year-old from Laredo, is charged with murder and aggravated kidnapping in the June 8, 2005 killing of Bruno Alberto Juarez Orozco, a warehouse security guard. He also faces federal racketeering charges.
A group of hit men using a fake police light pulled over Juarez Orozco at about 2 p.m. in front of an industrial park on Laredo's northwest side, according to court documents. One of the killers tried to handcuff him, and when he struggled, another shot him with an AR-15 rifle, according to the documents.
Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Hit-mansuspecthanded-to-U-S-1527913.php#ixzz1SpotTsUo

I admire the law enforcement agents who put their lives on the line to fight the cartels.Mexico is as dangerous for Americans as Afghanistan or Somalia, and it takes a lot of courage for an American agent to go there.

.Congratulations to the DEA, FBI and all other LE agencies in busting up this ring.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Crooked DA's, Probation Officers, FBI?

Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins was a darling of the media - first African-American district attorney in Dallas, pioneer in cooperating with defense lawyers using DNA to prove defendants were wrongly convicted, friend of Barack Obama, featured on 60 Minutes, and so on. The Dallas Morning News reports:

"But his standing has taken a number of hits lately, marked by critics sniping about his management style, a rocky relationship with county commissioners and an unexplained visit last week to his office by members of the FBI public corruption unit.
Watkins’ handling of several high-profile incidents — including a troubled investigation against two constables — has caused some county officials to question his judgment and whether he’s damaged the office’s reputation. A growing number of experienced prosecutors have left or been fired, and some working in the courthouse are barred from giving out routine information about trials, or even their names, to reporters."

The luster is off. The Dallas Morning News reports that special agents from the FBI public integrity unit served a search warrant on Watkins' office last week. It may have something to do with $35MM in bail bonds that he has done nothing to collect for bail jumpers. Or it may be something else. Very interesting.

I have a theory: there are a lot more district attorneys who should be investigated, but not even the FBI has the resources to investigate them all. Texas has 250+ counties, and each district attorney and sheriff is like a feudal lord.

.....

Another interesting puzzle - Tanna Hurt Mozell Brown, the ex-198th Judicial District probation officer, was indicted by a 216th District grand jury on about 35 different felonies including theft, forgery, tampering with government documents, etc.
The San Antonio Express News reported:
"A former community supervision officer, Tanna Mozel Tyler Hurt, also known as Tanna Brown, was indicted Monday on dozens of felony charges of embezzlement of fees and restitution paid to her by probationers.
“It's a shame a public servant did what she did,” Kerr County Sheriff Rusty Hierholzer said of Hurt, 45, who resigned in September after six years with the 198th Judicial District Community Supervision and Corrections Department. She was the director of the county's juvenile detention center before moving to the adult probation job.
Hurt didn't cooperate with the investigation, which Hierholzer said showed that since 2007 she'd pocketed at least $24,000 in cash and money orders from probationers who reported to her."
Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Former-Kerr-County-probation-officer-indicted-961623.php#ixzz1SbvNN9HC
The indictments were handed down in January. Since then, almost nothing has happened in her case. The Kerr County District Clerk website shows no motions filed by her attorney, and other than the arraignment, no hearings. She was indicted in Kerrville, lives in Kerrville, but was allowed to self-report to the Kimble County sheriff in Junction, and was almost immediately released on bond.

Tanna Mozel Tyler Hurt, a/k/a Tanna Brown was part of the Sutton/Prohl crew. I wonder if the FBI has talked to her? Sutton and Prohl were a start, but the cancer wasn't excised.

Texas Economy - Boom From Drug Money?

The 'War on Drugs' is a sham. No one in the US government really wants to stop the flow of drugs into this country. Law enforcement agencies depend on drug proceeds seized from criminals to augment their budgets. And it may be that drug money is responsible for Texas' robust economy.
Today's Grits for Breakfast website has an excellent piece, which
quotes Tina Rosenberg in New York magazine:
Jack Schumacher, a recently retired Texas-based DEA agent, says that at least half the drug shipments coming from Mexico stop and offload in Texas. The product is repackaged in small units and resold at a considerable markup, with a share of the gross staying in the state. Even some of the money that gets expatriated to Mexico winds up back in Texas, laundered through Mexican currency exchanges. The state's relative security is the draw. "If you have a few million," says Schumacher, "would you invest in a war zone or a bank in San Antonio?" The DEA warns that traffickers are cleaning up their proceeds by buying businesses in South Texas. They also spend on guns, warehouses, security guards--and on luxury cars and houses. "In San Antonio, a high-dollar trafficker can buy a $2 million or $3 million place and exist for a long time," he adds.
Further, adds Rosenberg:
Mexicans in Texas are hardly new, but in recent years it’s middle- and ­upper-class families in Mexico’s north who have also made the exodus, bringing their savings and businesses with them. While most seem to be fleeing the kidnapping and extortion back home, one observer has a different take: “Some people, including me, suspect that some of these people come with funds from the drug trade,” says Michael Lauderdale, a professor of criminal justice at the ­University of Texas.

Sunday, July 17, 2011

The Arrogance of Power

myFOXdetroit.com - It's already extremely hard for rape victims to come to court and testify. This alleged rape victim says the only reason she came back was to make sure this doesn't happen to anyone else.

This woman found the courage to come back to court and testify against one of the men who she says beat her with everything from a chair, to a two-by-four and raped her repeatedly before she found a way to escape from this Strasberg Street in Detroit.

That nightmare only continued at a Wednesday hearing , when she claims defense attorney Gabi Silver kept badgering her on the stand insinuating that she brought this attack on herself, causing this victim to snap in court.

"I said just get to the point bitch, it slipped out, it was inappropriate... all the bottled anger" says the alleged victim.

Without a warning, she says 36th District Judge Vanessa Bradley held her in contempt and ordered her to spend three days in jail.

After our story aired Wednesday, exposing what happened - the judge seemed to have a change of heart and released her a day early.

But to make matters even worse, she says her time in a holding cell was spent right next door to her alleged attacker who she says threatened her life, claiming the suspect who is still on the loose will come back and kill her. An investigation into this matter is underway.

In the end, the judge bound suspect Curtis King over for trial. The alleged victim says she's one step closer to justice, but she hopes no other rape victim will have to go through what she did to get it.



A jury in federal court returned a $3.2 million verdict Friday against a former Brazoria County judge who had been accused by three female co-workers of sexual harassment, reports the Houston Chronicle.
James Blackstock, a former county court-at-law judge and the former head of its Juvenile Probation Board, was found by the Houston jury to have created a hostile work environment and to have physically accosted the probation department employees, one of whom no longer works for the county.
Two of the plaintiffs, Mikki Kalina and Becky Sirmans, were awarded $50,000 each in actual damages, and Christy Strawn received $100,000. The jury also gave them $1 million each in punitive damages.
The three complained that Blackstock, 64, had hugged, groped, kissed and fondled them and had emailed them sexually explicit photographs. Their lawsuit alleged that Blackstock had "for many years preyed upon women in a sexually inappropriate manner" and that local officials had done nothing to curb or punish his alleged conduct despite being aware of it.


Read more: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7655717.html#ixzz1SGlkq3BH

KHOU: Jolanda Jones ethics report sent to DA, sources say
Sources from City Hall say findings of ethics violations by Houston City Councilwoman Jolanda Jones have been sent to the Harris County district attorney’s office, according to KHOU-Channel 11:

Jones could face criminal charges stemming from last month’s (Office of Inspector General) report that concluded she used city resources to help run her private law firm.

… A spokesperson for Jones, Kelly Cripe, declined to comment Friday, calling the matter “rumor and speculation.” Jones has said before that she “acted within the acceptable standards of conduct.”

Underage Sex Ring Run By Florida School Bus Monitor: On Duty Cop is Customer
Huffington Post
A Florida cop and a school bus monitor were arrested Thursday in connection with a child prostitution ring, Polk County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.

Police arrested 27-year-old school bus attendant Paul Rosoan Aaron for allegedly forcing two young teens into prostitution, at least one of whom he solicited while on the job, according to a sworn affidavit obtained by The Huffington Post.

Both Aaron and his accused partner were arrested Thursday in connection with the ring, which police say Aaron ran out of a Haines City home under the name “Genuine Quality Entertainment."

A second affidavit identifies 25-year-old Haines City police officer Demetrius Lamar Condry as one of Aaron's clients. He, too, is now facing charges.

Condry allegedly frequented the brothel while still in uniform, his police radio buzzing while he received oral sex from the then-15-year-old victim, the teen reported in her statement to investigators. Aaron typically charged between $60 and $100 for similar encounters, though Condry appears to have been given a free pass in exchange for protection from the law.

"It's disappointing," Haines City Police Chief Richard Sloan told HuffPost. "We do great background and go to a lot of trouble to try to hire the best people, but every now and again you still get a bad egg."

The girl told police she "felt like a sex slave" throughout the seven-month ordeal.

After Jail Time for Contempt, Alleged Rape Victim Returns to Testify
Updated: Friday, 15 Jul 2011, 10:47 PM EDT
Published : Friday, 15 Jul 2011, 10:37 PM EDT

myFOXdetroit.com - It's already extremely hard for rape victims to come to court and testify. This alleged rape victim says the only reason she came back was to make sure this doesn't happen to anyone else.

This woman found the courage to come back to court and testify against one of the men who she says beat her with everything from a chair, to a two-by-four and raped her repeatedly before she found a way to escape from this Strasberg Street in Detroit.

That nightmare only continued at a Wednesday hearing , when she claims defense attorney Gabi Silver kept badgering her on the stand insinuating that she brought this attack on herself, causing this victim to snap in court.

"I said just get to the point bitch, it slipped out, it was inappropriate... all the bottled anger" says the alleged victim.

Without a warning, she says 36th District Judge Vanessa Bradley held her in contempt and ordered her to spend three days in jail.

After our story aired Wednesday, exposing what happened - the judge seemed to have a change of heart and released her a day early.

But to make matters even worse, she says her time in a holding cell was spent right next door to her alleged attacker who she says threatened her life, claiming the suspect who is still on the loose will come back and kill her. An investigation into this matter is underway.

In the end, the judge bound suspect Curtis King over for trial. The alleged victim says she's one step closer to justice, but she hopes no other rape victim will have to go through what she did to get it.