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Evidence tampering trial begins in Bastrop

Monday, March 1st, 2010

Bastrop, Tx–A jury was seated today to consider a three-year-old felony evidence tampering charge. Testimony is expected to begin March 3 before 335th District Judge Reva Towslee Corbett.

Corbett said she will not hold court during party primary elections in Texas on March 2, which is also Texas Independence Day.

Daniel Lee Holmes is accused of altering or destroying a quantity of methamphetamine to prevent its use as evidence in a drug possession investigation. The alleged offense took place March 16, 2007.

Holmes is being defended by Bastrop lawyer Van Presley, who is also a candidate in Tuesday’s GOP party primary. Presley is seeking the party’s nomination for the Pct. 1 Justice of the Peace slot. He has three primary opponents. Two other candidates are seeking the Democratic nomination for the post.

The Holmes trial is expected to conclude later this week.

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Child sex abuse suspect freed on bail Friday

Monday, March 1st, 2010

Bastrop, Tx–Bastrop County Sheriff Terry Pickering had barely finished briefing the media Friday on the arrest of a top-ranking department officer when the suspect, charged with a series of sexual offenses involving a nine-year-old girl, posted bail and was released from jail.

Lt. Eddie L. Matthews, 45, was taken into custody about 8:45 a.m. Friday and ordered held under $100,000 bail. Jail records show that Matthews was released at 3:21 p.m. after a local bail bond company posted a bond the same day.

Pickering scheduled a media briefing on the case for 2 p.m. Friday, but the session did not begin until almost 2:30 p.m. It lasted about 30 minutes.

Matthews, a 16-year veteran of the sheriff’s department, was in charge of the patrol division prior to his arrest. He was immediately suspended from duty pending an internal departmental probe, said Pickering. Matthews is accused of repeated assaults on the girl beginning last year.

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Sheriff’s Dept. Lt. jailed on child sex charge

Friday, February 26th, 2010

Bastrop, Tx–A veteran Bastrop County Sheriff’s Department supervisor was jailed today on charges he sexually molested a nine-year-old girl repeatedly since October 2009.

Lt. Eddie L. Matthews, 45, was arrested at 8:45 a.m. Friday and ordered held in the Bastrop County Jail under $100,000 bail, according to public records and a statement by Sheriff Terry Pickering. A 16-year veteran of the sheriff’s department, Matthews was also suspended with pay pending an internal sheriff’s department investigation, said Pickering. Matthews had been in charge of the sheriff’s department uniformed services sections, including the patrol division, according to the sheriff.

The investigation began Feb. 25 when an Elgin police detective contacted Texas Ranger Brent Barina about child sexual assault allegations against Matthews, according to a court document. Barina subsequently met with state Child Protective Services officials, interviewed the girl’s mother and arranged for the child to be interviewed at the Children’s Advocacy Center in Bastrop. Matthews was also interviewed and denied any inappropriate conduct, according to Barina.

The child said she had been repeatedly molested and assaulted by Matthews since October 2009, according to a sworn statement by Barina.

In a press statement Friday, Sheriff Pickering said the alleged offenses did not arise from the officer’s law enforcement duties, and the alleged victim “was not a stranger” to Matthews.

The formal charge against Matthews is “Continuing Sexual Abuse of a Child,” an offense which carries a penalty, upon conviction, of 25 years to life in prison without parole.

Bastrop County employment records show that Matthews worked for the sheriff’s department from January 1993 to July 2004, then was rehired in January 2005. Pickering said Matthews had received a number of commendations for his job performance during his time with the department.

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Mistrial declared in murder case

Wednesday, February 10th, 2010

Bastrop, Tx–A juror fell ill and was unable to continue after lunch on Tuesday, forcing 423rd District Judge Chris Duggan to declare a mistrial in the murder trial of Bryan Teague for the 2008 beating death of a Cedar Creek man, Larry Jones.

The 12-member jury was selected Jan. 8, and prosecution testimony in the case began the next morning.

A mistrial ruling means that a new trial must be scheduled and a new jury seated to hear the case. Duggan did not immediately set a new trial date.

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Murder trial in 2008 death begins in Bastrop

Monday, February 8th, 2010

Bastrop, Tx–Jury selection began today in the August 2008 beating death of a Cedar Creek man. The accused, homeless 39-year-old Bryan Teague, faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted of murder.

State District Judge Chris Duggan is presiding over the trial in 423rd District Court. Larry Jones died from injuries sustained following a drug-related confrontation, including wounds inflicted by a pick ax, according to sheriff’s department investigators. The dispute began in a rural wooded area west of Bastrop frequented by transients and other homeless persons, officials believe.

Among the panel of potential jurors was Pct. 4 County Commissioner Lee Dildy, who did not attend a meeting of county commissioners Monday as a result of his jury service.

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Early Bastrop County environmental activist dead 26 years, murder still remains unsolved

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

Bastrop, Tx–This week marks the 26th anniversary of the unsolved murder of Bastrop County environmental activist Vicky Wharton, 31. Her body, with two dozen or so stab wounds, was found beside a rural road off FM 1704 south of Elgin on Feb. 6, 1984. Investigators at the time believed she died sometime the previous night.

Despite a flurry of publicity and investigation over the following weeks, no one has ever been charged, arrested or tried for the crime. Wharton was a leading organizer in efforts to stymie lignite strip mining plans first at Camp Swift, in Fayette County and later at the Steiner Ranch north of Bastrop. She was a founding member of the Central Texas Lignite Watch, the mother or grandmother of subsequent environmental organizations in Bastrop and neighboring counties. She was also a founding member of the Sayersville Historical Association focused on the rural community where she lived between Bastrop and Elgin on the banks of Big Sandy Creek.

The initial investigation into the murder was hampered by inter-agency rivalries during the 1984 primary election race for Bastrop County sheriff. In the late 1980s former sheriff Con Kiersey occasionally talked about reviving the investigation, but nothing occurred as a result. Still later Chief Deputy Sheriff Ronnie Duncan did reopen the case, but the only result was to clear a few possible suspects who had been the subject of early interest.

When Chief Deputy Charlie Littleton replaced Duncan in the sheriff’s department last year, he promised to look into the Wharton murder again. Littleton said recently that the only ongoing effort to solve the case is a regular check of DNA evidence preserved at the time against a growing data base of similar evidence gathered by law enforcement agencies in the years since. A Texas Ranger remains assigned to follow any new information, said Littleton.

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Posted in Bastrop County, Crime, Environmental Movements | 1 Comment »

Two jailed in suspected Paige murder

Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010

Bastrop, Tx–Bastrop County Sheriff’s Department criminal investigators spent part of today seeking a search warrant for a site in Hays County which they believe may reveal the remains of a Paige cook who has not been seen since mid December last year and who may be a murder victim.

However two other men are already in jail for the death of 23-year-old Michael Van Dyke. Investigators believe Van Dyke was beaten to death at his Paige home late last year. Charged in the case are Dustin Dickman, 24, and Dennis Leetch, 25. Apparently Van Dyke has not been seen since about Dec. 15. On Dec. 27 relatives alerted authorities that he was missing.

At first investigators suspected that the victim’s body had been dumped in a stock pond or some similar body of water. However they now believe his body may have been burned at a site in Hays County, according to sources who asked not to be identified. Investigators spent Tuesday morning drafting an application for a warrant to search the suspected site for evidence.
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Jury takes on drunk driving death case

Tuesday, January 26th, 2010

Bastrop, Tx–A jury of nine women and three men heard opening arguments Jan. 26 in the intoxication manslaugher and intoxication assault case against a 59-year-old Cedar Creek waitress in 423rd District Court before District Judge Chris Duggan.

Susan Moore faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted on the manslaughter charge. She is also eligible for probation because she has no prior felony convictions. She pleaded not guilty to the charges in court Tuesday.

Evidence will show that Moore had more than twice the legal blood alcohol level in her system when her vehicle slammed into an auto headed in the opposite direction shortly before 5 p.m. on Texas 71 just west of Bastrop on Sept. 20, 2007, killing an Irish tourist and severely maiming another passenger, said Assistant District Attorney Greg Gilleland in his opening statement to the jury Tuesday afternoon. The accident victims “didn’t have a chance,” he said. Moore “wasn’t driving friendly,” Gilleland added.

In his own opening statement, defense attorney Neal Pfeiffer told the jury that other evidence will show reasonable doubt that Moore’s blood alcohol level at the time of the accident was more than the legal limit for intoxication. “Alcohol did not cause or contribute to this accident,” he said. “(Moore) is not guilty.”

According to investigators, Moore had left her job at Hill’s Cafe in Austin about 4 p.m. on the fatal day and was driving home when the accident occurred.

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Posted in Bastrop County, Crime, Traffic Fatalities | No Comments »

Juvenile murder suspect back in Bastrop court

Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009

Bastrop, Tx–Haley Bellard, 15, was in state district court here Dec. 22 when her lawyers and prosecutors agreed on who will administer psychological exams to help the judge decide whether she will be tried under adult or juvenile rules on murder charges linked to the August death of her mother, Tracy Bellard of McDade.

When exam report results will be completed and when the court will hear evidence and arguments on the prosecution’s motion to proceed under adult criminal law is not yet certain, said 423rd District Judge Chris Duggan, who is handling the case.

Joseph Douglas, 18, is also charged with murder in the death of Tracy Bellard. He is being held in the Bastrop County Jail under $500,000 bail. Haley Bellard is being held in a juvenile detention facility in Seguin.

Investigators allege that Haley Bellard and Douglas were romantically involved and that Tracy Bellard sought to interfere in the relationship before she was shot to death in mid August at her McDade home. The body was subsequently taken to a site and burned in a brush pile near where Douglas was living close to Smithville, according to investigators.

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Convicted ex-cop free on bail pending appeal

Thursday, December 3rd, 2009

Bastrop, Tx–Former Elgin police officer Orville Roger Miller Jr., 48, was released from Bastrop County jail Dec. 2 after posting $5,000 bail. Miller was sentenced to three years in prison and a $15,000 fine Nov. 13 for possession of child pornography by a jury in Bastrop.

Miller pleaded guilty to the charge but asked the jury to assess punishment. He was eligible to be released on bail pending the outcome of an appeal because his sentence was for less than 10 years in prison.

Miller fell under suspicion and was fired from the Elgin Police Department after he was linked to a portable digital storage device, or “thumb drive,” found by another officer in the department’s squad room.

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