Why the change?

I was making an effort to cast an informed vote in November when I ran across a story on the campaign  website for the incumbent District Attorney.

“This was a very strong jury, and they wanted to send a strong message. I think they wanted him to know that they wanted him off the streets where he can’t have access to others and potentially do this again. I think they wanted to send a message to the community that child abuse will not be tolerated in McLennan County.” – Beth Toben, Veteran Prosecutor

Pretty straightforward. The story had a dateline of 10-18-2007

Code of Criminal Procedure 17.151 provides for petition of a Judge to hold a show cause hearing if  a person is held in custody and the state is not ready for trial. The Judge has the opportunity to reduce the bond or release the person on a P.R. bond.  The Judge can order conditions of bail which could include electronic monitoring or that the person refrain from having contact with children if the accused was charged with offenses against children.

In a recent case, the same prosecutors who had clarity in the message sent by the public in 2007, refused charges against a man charged with sexual assault of a child. The person was released form custody and a Judge never had the opportunity to place on him the condition he refrain from contact with children.

So…Why the change?

This is what the Docket looks like when the District Attorney does not”Refuse” charges.  An Elected Judge hears the case. Click on the image to enlarge.

Lady Justice absent from McLennan County

Excessive bail shall not be required.

One man allegedly breaks into a house and picks up a knife, caught by the homeowner he surrenders and gets a bond of $999,000. Another man allegedly brings his own weapon to a home invasion and is reported to have cocked the handgun and demanded money. His bond is $62,000. Oh, and he was also found in possession of drugs.

A man is accused of murdering his grandfather in a particularly nasty bit of business and waits for the police to arrive. He gets a $5,000,000 bond while four suspects accused of the robbery of a business, same charge, have their bonds set at $500,000. These four fled the scene and had to be hunted down by police. One even has an immigration hold. One is a juvenile.

In the parlance of higher education – Compare and Contrast

Michael Guiterrez is alleged to have broken into a house around 5 a.m. and after gaining entry, retrieved a knife from the counter and was then confronted by the home owner.

JaMarcus Caufield allegedly broke into an apartment, made his way directly to a safe inside the apartment, pulled out a handgun, cocked it and demanded cash.

Guiterrez bond – $999,000.00

Guiterrez charges – Aggravated Robbery

Caufield’s bond - $62,000

Caufield’s Charges  -  possession of cocaine, possession of marijuana under two ounces and burglary of a habitation with intent to commit theft.

In two other cases, the disparity is even greater:

Aaron Firquin stands accused of murdering his 88 year old grandfather.

From the Waco Trib - Justice of the Peace Raymond Britton set bond at $5 million.

 

 

Four men stand accused of the robbery gone bad/murder of a store owner. Like the previous story, the victim was stabbed.

From the Waco Trib -

Saul Medina, 28, and Federico Davila, 26, both of Bellmead, are charged with capital murder in the slaying.
Both men are being held in the McLennan County Jail in lieu of $500,000 bond

Interestingly the same magistrate who set bond for an accused thief at almost a million dollars released a man charged with Attempted Capitol Murder on a Personal Recognizance bond.

Its the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution – From Wikipedia

The Eighth Amendment (Amendment VIII) to the United States Constitution is the part of the United States Bill of Rights which prohibits the federal government from imposing excessive bail, excessive fines or cruel and unusual punishments. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that this amendment's Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clause applies to the states. The phrases employed originated in the English Bill of Rights of 1689.

KWTX News10 – 8/17/2010 Waco Man Charged In Home-Invasion Robbery Attempt

Waco Trib – 7-21-2010 Waco man accused of brandishing knife after breaking into home

Waco Trib – 7/22/2010 Nearly $1 million bond set for Waco man in break-in

Waco Trib – 7/26/2010 Man charged with capital murder in Bruceville-Eddy slaying

Waco Trib – 7/27/2010 Man suspected of killing his grandfather, former Bruceville-Eddy mayor

CentralTexasnow.com – 7/24/2010 Central Texas man arrested for killing his grandfather

KXXV – 7/24/2010 Autopsy shows former Central Texas mayor suffered stab injuries

We don’t have no stinkin’ problem

for your consideration:

Waco Tribune Herald published an article on the FRONT PAGE of Sunday’s paper:

Immigrants deported from McLennan County Jail rarely had criminal history

The story basically says very few people deported have serious criminal histories.

Now the story from the front page on Sat.

Police name fourth suspect in Bellmead store owner stabbing

This story is about four guys who murdered the owner of a convenience store. At least one is illegal because he has an immigration detainer. Notice that little piece of information was left out of the story at the above link, but you can find it here:

Police jail 3 suspects in Bellmead stabbing

From the article: Medina also has an immigration hold that will prevent him from being released even if he raises the bail money.

They walk among us

KWTX – 8/20/2010 Man Charged After Incident Involving Child At Local Garage Sale
Waco Tribune-Herald – 8/21/2010 Indecency with a child arrest

Jose Pantaleon Rivas, 50, was in the McLennan County Jail Friday charged with indecency with a child.

 

 

KWTX – 8/18/2010 - Grand Jury Indicts Two on Sexual Assault Of A Child Charges

Court records office indicate Grey was indicted in connection with reports made in April from two female victims who reported to police they had been sexually assaulted by Grey.

 

Badger was indicted on two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child in connection with a May incident in which there was only one female victim who is younger than 14.

Both men were arrested earlier this year and both are free on bond, according to Coryell County Jail records.

KWTX – 8/18/2010 Central Texas Prosecutor Arrested On Child Porn Charges

Assistant Limestone County prosecutor Donald V. Phillips, 53, was free on $5,000 bond Wednesday after his arrest Tuesday night at his home in Navarro County on a possession of child pornography charge.

 

 

 

 

Waco Tribune-Herald 8/20/2010 Man charged with indecency with child

Keith Allen Jones is out of jail on $150,000 bond for allegedly inappropriately touching a girl younger than age 17.

In the news II

Initial reports said a high school student was being escorted to the office by a security guard when he took a bush bond and ran to his truck and did some damage to a couple of other vehicles while leaving. Crazy kids making stupid decisions….

Here, thanks to some pretty good reporting by Erin Quinn, we learn a little more about this troubled high school student.

This little scumbag was 19 years old. What was he still doing in high school?

He had a blood alcohol level of more than three times the legal limit. Please use the comments section below to share your take on that part.

This part kind of tops it off:

Galeno is expected to plead guilty June 21 in Judge Ralph Strother’s 19th State District Court to a felony burglary of a habitation charge, stemming from a January incident.

The little scumbag had a pending felony charge and was in school with our children? If that does not deserve a WTF, I don’t know what does. Which Judge set his bond on the Burglary charge? What other criminal history is there for this man? How does someone get into the school with a blood alcohol level more than three times the legal limit?

His family will now probably sue Waco ISD for excessive force and get a huge settlement. Insanity run amok.

Now think about the preceding when you read this story.

Waco Tribune Herald 5/22/2010 Tommy Witherspoon

Waco teen sentenced to 40 years for slaying a father of 7 a week after he kidnapped and robbed woman and her toddler

Quan Devel Prince more than a year ago had kidnapped a woman and her son, stolen their car, then fatally shot a man during a robbery a week later.

He was charged with Capitol Murder and is now eligible for parole in 20 years when he is 36 years old.

Was he out on bond for the earlier kidnapping when he murdered the father of 7? If so, why?

So it wasn’t my father who was murdered or my wife and child terrorized by Prince. I do not have compassion and think the kid should be locked away with no possibility of parole.  Notice the article says after shooting and robbing the victim, Prince returned to his buddies and bragged about the murder.

In the news

Just a quick update because I found some news reports I found interesting.

On 5/22 Cindy Culp of the Waco Trib reports “immigrants” have a hard time finding legal representation. Seems the new Arizona law has increased interest in complying with immigration law. Story link here.

So the same day, Tommy Witherspoon reports on “illegal immigrants” Seems the guy was deported after he broke the law and is now facing a 10 month prison term for sneaking back in the country. Story link here. 

Then there is this story: More Americans killed by illegal aliens than Iraq war, study says So the story is more than three years old and while I don’t know how the numbers compare as far as deaths but the point of the borders still being open is pretty accurate more than three years later.

By the way, calling an illegal alien and undocumented worker is like calling a drug dealer an undocumented pharmacist. Just so you are clear where I stand.

Laws don’t apply in McLennan County

Texas Local Government Code Sec. 111.062 makes it illegal for the County Judge to serve as the Chief Budget Officer in a county with a population of more than 225.000.

Some time in 2006, McLennan County exceeded that threshold. County Judge Jim Lewis ignored the law saying the law was not relevant until the census had been performed.

McLennan County Judge Lewis told News Channel 25 they will prepare to appoint a separate budget officer after the next official 2010 census.

Several statutes specifically use the term census when establishing a population baseline. Sec. 111.062 does not. Without a specific reference to the census, the law is applicable when the population exceeded 225,000.

Statutes containing census language.
Sec. 251.74.  AIRPORT AND STADIUM AS WET AREAS.  (a)  This section applies to any county:  (1)  that has a population of more than 240,000, according to the most recent federal census;

Population shall be according to the last preceding federal census.

Art. 102.014. COURT COSTS FOR CHILD SAFETY FUND IN MUNICIPALITIES.  (a) The governing body of a municipality with a population greater than 850,000 according to the most recent federal decennial census

From the Waco Trib 3/31/10 - “I always laugh and say that if I knew what I was getting into, I would have never run for the office,” Lewis said.

For taxpayers, ignoring the law is not a laughing matter. County Judge Jim Lewis did not have to face any questions when either Natasha Chen of News 25 or Regina Dennis of the Trib interviewed him on the subject. Lewis is counting on no one looking into the law.

The only reason Ray Meadows and Jim Lewis are suddenly worried about appointing  a Chief Budget Officer is because both have opponents and it is an election year.

If this daunting task, preparation of the annual budget, is being taken off the plate of the County Judge, why not reduce his salary and staff to fund the new position of Chief Budget Officer? If you already read the statute, the other option available to the Court is to appoint the County Auditor as CBO. You may not remember last year just before one newly elected member took office, the court voted to eliminate post retirement health insurance benefits for new hires. The argument at the time was new regulations made the calculations overwhelming for the Auditor. Since the Court relieved the Auditor of significant responsibilities, his salary should be reduced if he doesn’t want to do the job of CBO.  Only in Government can a persons job responsibilities be reduced and they suffer no reduction in pay but also continue to get annual cost of living increases. The newest member of the Court would do well to honor his campaign platform to run things more like a business.