Patton Village Mayor and Polticians Charged With Stealing; Another Wrongfully Convicted Man Exonerated; The Fur Flies in 198th DA Race

Patton Village mayor, 6 others indicted in corruption case
Mike Glen, Houston Chronicle
By Mike Glenn
on Village Mayor Pamela Munoz and other city officials were indicted Friday in a public corruption case accusing them of using police cars, bought with federal grant money, as collateral to get bank loans that they then dipped into for personal use.

A six-month "In Montgomery County, public officials will be expected to act both lawfully and responsibly when dealing with public funds and property," said Tyler Dunman, an assistant district attorney in the public integrity division. The investigation led to the indictments of Munoz, two otPatton Village is a speed trap on H.W. 59 north of Houston.
her city officials and four city police officers, prosecutors with the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office said. A grand jury indicted Munoz on 10 corruption-related charges, ranging from abuse of official capacity to theft by a public servant.
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Patton Village is a speed trap on H.W. 59 north of Houston.


Another Exoneration of Wrongly Convicted May
The Dallas Morning News reports yet another story of an innocent man who spent years in prison for a murder he didn't commit, because the police withheld evidence that would have caught the real killer.

"State District Judge Andy Chatham formally declares Richard Miles' innocence in a Dallas courtroom. Miles, who was convicted and imprisoned in 1995 for murder and attempted murder, was released in 2009 but waited more than two years for a formal declaration of innoncence.

Chatham ordered Miles’ release in October 2009 after problems were discovered with the evidence used to convict Miles. The Dallas County district attorney’s office agreed that Miles had been wrongly convicted in 1995 for the May 1994 murder of Deandre Williams and the attempted murder of another man.

Miles served nearly 15 years of his 40-year sentence for the murder and 20-year sentence for the attempted murder.

Prosecutors said they are close to filing charges against a person they believe is responsible for the crimes.

While investigating the case, Dallas County prosecutors and Centurion Ministries, a prisoner advocacy group, found that Dallas police withheld evidence not only from the defense but also the prosecution about other suspects. That evidence included a woman calling police to say her boyfriend was the killer.

The investigation also determined that the small amount of gunshot residue found on Miles’ hands was not enough to be considered reliable evidence. The amount present could have come from batteries, matches or even dirt."
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Scott Monroe and Brad McCullough Spar in Forum

The campaign for 198th District Attorney between Brad McCullough and Scott Monroe is getting nasty. Today's Kerrville Daily Times lead story is about Thursday night's candidate forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters. The candidates took written questions submitted by audience members. McCullough was questioned about promising jobs to people if he was elected. I wasn't there, and I suspect there was some lack of clarity in the question and/or answer. I don't think he has promised a job to anyone in exchange for their vote or support. His explanation, which I take at face value, is that he doesn't want to get sworn in on January 2 and scramble to staff the office. The work won't stop, and whoever wins will hit the ground running, covering six counties. Managing hudreds of cases in different stages requires a competent, conscientious team. I imagine Monroe has some ideas about whom he would hire.

I am bemused that there was a skirmish over how the candidates' religious beliefs would influence their handling of the work of the DA's office. I say bemused, because if the article is accurate, Monroe crticized McCullough for being too religious. I didn't think I'd ever hear that in a Kerrville political race. Someone asked Monroe about past problems with alcoholism.
The Monroe camp is passing out pamphlets about a Mississippi Supreme Court case that rode McCullough pretty hard for prosectorial misconduct in a gang shooting case. This is the kind of thing that makes me glad I'm not running.
A comment by the author of a biography of Marine Corp General Brute Krulak is fitting:
"Some aspects of Brute Krulak's early years are disturbing. I elected to take an explanatory stance toward those years. Some will say I should have replaced the frail reed of sympathy with the righteous sword of judgement. But my sins as a young man were scarlet, and they were many. I do not consider those green actions the defining moments of my life and if I am to be measured, let it be by the deeds of my later years. Here I afforded Brute Krulak what I would ask for myself."