Support Family of Beaumont PD Officer Sheena Yarbrough Powell Killed in Line of Duty by Drunk Driver

UPDATE: We had a small goal as a company to donate to and encourage others to bless the amazing family during this tragedy and all money is now being sent directly to Sheila Yarbrough, Sheena's Mother, so thank you for anyone who donated. This go fund me is complete and no longer active and We ask anyone who wants to also bless the family with prayers other donations be sent directly to the family and we will update with where to send it and if the family sets up any fundraisers we will post and share the heck out of it. Our hearts go out to them.

Original Post:

On Behalf of Texas Pool Guy and Discount Pool Supply in Lumberton, TX, we have donated the first $1000 and we challenge other residents and businesses in the community to donate as well to help out. Every penny donated will go the family of Sheena. Beaumont Police Officer Sheena Yarbrough Powell died in the line of duty by an alleged drunk driver going the wrong way in Beaumont, TX. She has a wonderful family and she was a very caring person and a great officer. I knew her family and her mother Sheila from when they helped me out years ago. I don't know of how else to help them during this time except to help raise money to help their family with expenses or to take time off of work etc. during this hard time. Please help this family out with a donation. Sincerely, David Bellow https://gf.me/u/yppg4w

Texas Supreme Court Rejects Pro-Life Case – Motion to Reconsider Filed

by David Bellow on January 22, 2020 at 12:04 PM

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The Supreme Court of Texas declined to take up case 19-0325, but there is a pending motion to reconsider. The Supreme Court of Texas is filled with great people who I am certain would care about the issues involved in this case, but more likely than not, the Supreme Court of Texas simply didn’t directly get told in the filings that the issue at hand involved life and access to justice as the technical legal arguments do not outright say this, and the Court gets a lot of cases and cannot take up them all. That is why a motion to reconsider the case has been filed with the SCOTX and the motion to reconsider specifically points out the importance of this case and for unborn baby life and pregnant women and access to justice.

This case has some pretty strong implications about the rights of unborn baby life and medical expenses and access to justice. Effectively, the lower court and 9th Court of Appeals has determined that unborn baby and pregnant mother medical expenses are not necessary and must be paid after court costs in a case. This ruling was a huge strike against women and babies and access to justice in general. The SCOTX not taking up the case effectively approves of and allows to stay in place the lower rulings which have wide-reaching implications.

The text of the Motion to Reconsider is here below:

MOTION TO RECONSIDER PETITION FOR REVIEW

Unborn Baby Expenses should NOT come after court costs and this Supreme Court should NOT vote AGAINST life. Access to Justice is DENIED if lower courts can simply refuse to consider expenses before determining ability to afford court costs.

Comes now Appellant and request this Honorable Supreme Court of Texas to reconsider appellant’s Petition for Review.

I request this court to reconsider their decision not to take up a petition for review of the above referenced cause. On the face of the appeal, the issues might not seem important enough for this Supreme Court to take up, even with apparent flaws or issues of the underling orders. I understand there are a lot of cases and the SCOTX can only take up a small percentage of them, however, I would like to express to this court that the underlying issues are much more important than they appear at first glance.

First, A denial of the Supreme Court’s review of this case will be a major anti-life statement. The 9th Court of Appeals decided that medical expenses of an unborn baby and pregnant mother are NOT valid expenses that should be paid before having to pay court costs of an appeal. Specifically, I had filed motion of material change in financial circumstances in regards to paying the large amount of court costs of an appeal. The change in circumstance was due to my wife becoming pregnant and there being new and vital medical expenses for the life of my unborn son and the health of my pregnant wife. The 9th Court of Appeals denied this motion and then dismissed the appeal stating that there had been NO reasonable reason for not being able to pay court costs. The 9th Court of Appeals effectively and literally determined that the life and health of an unborn baby and pregnant mother are NOT worth of consideration, and NOT reasonable or necessary to pay before having to pay appeals court costs. Appeals court costs must come first before medical expenses for the life and health of a baby is the statement and decision made by the 9th Court of Appeals. If this Supreme Court of Texas refuses to take up this petition for review, then this court is effectively agreeing with and upholding the radically wrong anti-life decision by the 9th Court of Appeals. Clearly the issues of this case are not simply about a small court costs disagreement, but rather it is about a much bigger and more important issues which will send an anti-life message across Texas if not reviewed by this Honorable Supreme Court.

Second, a denial of the Supreme Court’s review of this case will be a major blow to Access to Justice (which this Court has pushed hard recently to reform to allow access), and it would send a statement to Texas that Supreme Court guidelines for determining ability to afford costs are irrelevant and allow for lower court to use different and contradictory and vague and unconstitutional guidelines to determine inability to pay for access to courts and therefore violates due process. Specifically, in this instant case, the lower court did not follow the set guidelines and rules regarding affidavits of inability to afford costs. The biggest flaw is that the lower court did not even consider any personal or business expenses or obligations before determining ability to afford costs. This completely contradicts the Texas Supreme Court having rewritten indigency rules to require examination of ability to afford, not just ability to pay. Income of any amount cannot alone be examined before determining ability to afford costs without having first having examined expenses to or other obligations to determine what portion of income is even available to use after necessary expenses to live. In this instant case, the lower court NEVER examined ANY expenses or obligations and therefore could never have determined my ability to afford costs at that time. The lower court did not even examine my personal bank account or current personal income. The lower court only examined the money of a small business corporation that I had an ownership interest in. The court saw a few thousand dollars in the company account at the end of each month and said hey I should just raid the company account and get that money to pay my personal court costs because I am able to access the company bank account. Had the trial court actually followed indigency and ability to afford guidelines, the trial court would have seen that any payments I had gotten from the company were a year before the indigency hearing and and had not been received in nearly a year and the company had no positive value to me and was a young company owned by financing and another business who financed the start of the company and therefore was not even a positive asset to add as current income or asset positive value on an ability to afford cost form. Me simply being able to access the company bank account does not mean that the company money is mine to take even if I had gotten payments previously when the company had the ability to pay. The other owner of the company actually has a court order from a different court which PROHIBITS me from taking company money, which he has a majority interest in and which are for paying company expenses, and using it for my personal court costs. I would actually be violating a court order if I did take company money for personal expenses. But even if the court did determine I could just raid the company account, The court was required to, but never examined any expenses or obligations because if it had it would have found that the little money left over in the business account was to pay for the next week payroll of the employees of the small business or the taxes every three months or the debt payment to the companies and financial institutions that effectively owned the company through financing agreements. The lower court and opposing attorney Scott Browne and 9th Court of Appeals would have me commit fraud or other serious crimes or unethical behavior by taking company money that belonged to employee pay or belonged to the customer who gave that money to the business to but them a new heater. Surely this honorable Supreme Court would not agree with me resorting to stealing from employee paychecks or committing fraud by taking money from the company account that is there to pay for a customer parts? And that is the massive issue with this case. The issue is that the lower court and even the appeals court have simply ignored the SCOTX guidelines for determining ability to afford costs. This lower court and the 9th Court of Appeals determination to ignore necessary expenses violates due process and the Constitution because true ability to afford costs to access the courts cannot be determined without having examined both income AND expenses. What is the point of this SCOTX creating ruled for examining ability to afford costs to allow for access to justice if the lower courts and the appeals court can simply ignore these guidelines and declare someone able to pay costs without having ever determined expenses and ability to actually use income. This is an issue that is widespread and greatly impacts other Texans and deprives many other people of the ability to access courts if there are no enforceable standards of determining indigency and examining expenses before making a determination about ability to afford costs. In fact, this Supreme Court of Texas has a different case, a habeas corpus case, before it right now involving a young father Joshua Jaros who was jailed without having a right to be represented by an attorney. That case before the SCOTX is cause 19-1101 and this court has yet to rule on that case. In that case, Joshua declared his inability to afford an attorney and the trial court denied him a court appointed attorney without having considered his expenses and ability to afford an attorney. The 9th Court of Appeals was again the appeals court in this case and the 9th Court of appeals declared that expenses and actual ability to afford costs don’t ever have to be considered. Interestingly though, the 9th Court of appeals, in their upholding that the trial court did not need to examine expenses for determining indigency for a court ordered attorney, specifically acknowledged caselaw regarding the need to examine expenses for ability to pay court costs. The 9th court of appeals has contradicted themselves by denying the need to examine expenses in my inability to afford court costs, while acknowledging in Joshua’s case that expenses do need to be considered for court costs and ability to afford them. Clearly there is a pattern of different people being denied due process and being denied constitutional rights due to Texas trial courts and specifically the 9th Court of appeals determining and upholding this flawed notion that it is ok to determine that someone can pay for court costs or for an attorney and can be denied these rights to access justice and rights to a court appointed attorney by simply declaring they can pay without ever having actually examined their ability to afford and without ever having considered expenses and obligations. The SCOTX must take up this issue and provide clarification and enforcement of guidelines for determining ability to afford and access to justice, instead of the lower courts and the appeals court having different and even contradictory guidelines to determine ability to afford which allows for ignoring expenses and violated due process.

Prayer

I pray that this honorable Supreme Court of Texas reconsider their denial to take up my petition for review of the above referenced case. I pray this court takes up my petition for review due to the important and far reaching issues and implications of the underlying case regarding life and access to justice and guidelines for inability to afford determinations

Protests/Boycotts for George Lopez show 1/10/20 after Tweet offering to Assassinate President Trump

Rallies, Boycotts and Protests are just part of the reaction waiting for George Lopez when he comes to Beaumont, TX tomorrow 1/10/2020. This is in response to George Lopez having tweeted that he would assassinate President Trump for half the bounty that Iran was offering. Also, does the Constitution protect this kind of speech? Yes and No.

Following President Trump’s military operation to take out Iranian terrorist Qasem Soleimani, who was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Americans, Comedian/Actor George Lopez responded on twitter in reference to the bounty put on United States of America President Donald J. Trump. The response from George Lopez was “We’ll do it for half.” see picture of tweet below

George Lopez promoting, agreeing and accepting an offer to kill the President of the United States is appalling and possibly criminal, and the backlash to George Lopez was swift. In fact, as fate would have it, George Lopez has a show this Friday night right here in southeast Texas. In the past couple of days, local news feeds have been flooded with local businesses and residents calling for a boycott of the show. Screenshots of all of these reactions and planned rallies and boycotts are posted below. One local businessman Rustin Guarnere posted on facebook that he is offering $2000 off any new home plus $2500 in furniture for anyone buying a new home who brings him their George Lopez ticket. Judy Nichols, the chair of the Republican Party of Jefferson County Texas, released a statement responding to the George Lopez event. She is also organizing a rally to support President Trump just outside the George Lopez event. Another local businesswoman, MrsMobile Home Magan, posted on facebook for anyone who bought a home from her and gives her their tickets then she will give them double what they paid for the ticket so she can burn the ticket. Another local resident posted screenshots of the seats available and it shows there are more seats available now than 3 days ago due to people apparently canceling of returning their tickets. Screenshots of local news coverage of the reactions and planned protests are also attached below.

I am a big advocate of the Constitution, including the First Amendment right to freedom of speech. That only protects from government restriction of speech. That does not mean there will not be consequences for speech such as rallies or boycotts form people who have differing opinions and want to express their contrary beliefs. The First Amendment should protect anyone from criminal prosecution as well for freedom of speech. There is a limit though as the First Amendment does not protect against some kinds of threats. While studying at Texas A&M University in College Station, TX, I had a constitutional law class as part of my political science degree course load. The professor made an example for us of what is protected and what is not. It would be perfectly legal and constitutional for George Lopez to say someone should take up the bounty. It would be perfectly legal and constitutional for George Lopez to say someone should kill the president. He would not be specifically directing anyone to go kill the president and he isn’t saying he is going to go do it himself as a specific and direct threat. He is expressing a horrible opinion that he will get backlash or even civil lawsuits for, but is non the less constitutional as anyone in America has a right to express their opinions without government restriction saying they cannot. However, George Lopez seems to have gone beyond saying someone should take up the bounty against President Trump. George Lopez specifically stated he would take up the bounty and only wants half the money. That certainly on its face appears to be a specific threat and agreement to kill the president for a price. George Lopez at the very least should get questioned and investigated to ensure there is no threat from him, and he might should be charged as well. I am a big fan of criminal justice reform and a big supporter of the constitution. We have a lot or problems with unconstitutional laws and prosecutorial misconduct and over regulation. I’m not saying he should be thrown in jail and throw away the key, and I even believe that many laws restricting speech are unconstitutional as everyone has a right to say whatever opinion they want. But George Lopez might have crossed that line of opinion by stating that he was taking up a bounty to go through with an assassination of the President. At minimum, his speech does have non-governmental consequences which are now being seen right here in southeast Texas.

Texas Supreme Court to Decide if an Unborn Baby Should get Medical Care Before Paying Court Costs, and if a New Pregnancy is a Change in Circumstances re: Access to Justice

Texas Supreme Court to Decide if an Unborn Baby Should get Medical Care Before Paying Court Costs, and if a New Pregnancy is a Change in Circumstances re: Access to Justice

click here for story on Texas GOP Vote: https://www.texasgopvote.com/family/texas-supreme-court-decide-if-unborn-baby-should-get-medical-care-paying-court-0012162

by David Bellow

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The Supreme Court of Texas has a case before them right now, Case 19-0325, which if they deny the petition, the Texas Supreme Court will have effectively agreed or let stand a ruling by the Texas Ninth Court of Appeals that a pregnancy is NOT a change in financial circumstances. Even worse, if the Texas Supreme Court denies this case, then it will be agreeing or letting stand an absurd determination that the health and health expenses of an unborn baby are not important nor necessary, and that the courts should require unborn babies to be denied medical care so that court costs can first be paid in order to access the justice system and file an appeal. It would also muddy the waters regarding access to justice and standards for inability to afford costs that the SCOTX has pushed to try to clear up in recent years.

This case before the SCOTX is very important for multiple reasons. The first reason is pretty obvious. It is absolutely absurd that an appeals court in Texas has determined that a pregnancy is not a material or substantial change, and that medical expenses during a pregnancy are NOT IMPORTANT and instead the courts should get their access to justice fees paid first before the medical needs of an unborn child can be paid for or risk being denied equal access to courts and justice.

The second reason this case is important is because it involves access to Justice. The Supreme Court of Texas has spent considerable time and effort in recent years taking a stand and fighting FOR access to justice, which is a fundamental constitutional right. Particularly, the SCOTX has created rules and developed case law through rulings aimed at forcing courts to allow people the right and opportunity to access courts and access justice even if they are unable to afford court costs. This is a big shift, as previously the standard was ability to pay, not ability to afford. The SCOTX realized that just because someone has $10 in their account that doesn’t mean the $10 is available to spend on court costs if, for instance, food and housing needs to be paid first. Therefore, the standard shifted to ability to afford, which required courts to actually examine someone’s income AND expenses before determining if someone can actually afford court costs after necessary expenses. Unfortunately, many lower courts still haven’t come on board with the new rules regarding access to justice or they are simply openly defying the guidance from the SCOTX. This case is a prime example of complete disregard for access to justice and the standards for determining ability to afford that have been set forth by the SCOTX.

So, what exactly is this current case before the Supreme Court of Texas? Here is what happened. An appeal was made to the 9^th Court of Appeals in Beaumont, TX (Jefferson County). An affidavit of inability to pay court costs was included so that the appeal could move forward even though there was an inability to afford the thousands of dollars in court costs to file an appeal of the trial court ruling. The appeals court kicked the ability to afford decision to the trial court. The trial court, without ever examining or even considering necessary expenses, determined that there is an ability to afford the thousands in court costs. This determination was challenged in the appeals court because, based on the rules and caselaw and plain common sense, there cannot be a determination regarding ability to afford without having looked at expenses and making factual determinations regarding both income and expenses. Additionally, since the appeal was filed there was a new pregnancy with new unborn baby medical expenses that must be considered and paid first before court costs. The Ninth Court of Appeals then ruled that the trial court did not need to examine expenses or that the appeals court didn’t care if the trial court didn’t examine expenses before making a determination on ability to afford court costs. Additionally, the Ninth Court of Appeals rejected a motion regarding a change in financial circumstances due to a new pregnancy and went on to specifically state in their final order to pay court costs that there had not been any material change in circumstances presented that warranted review, which effectively declared a new pregnancy as not an important change to consider. Even worse, it deems unborn child medical expenses as not worth examining and the unborn child expenses should come second to paying court costs. The Ninth Court of Appeals then went on to dismiss the proceeding without ever reviewing the merits of the case due to the thousands of dollars in access to justice court fees not having been paid despite the courts never having actually reviewed ability to pay, and after having determined that court fees come first before necessary unborn baby health expenses.

So that is what leads us to this current case before the Supreme Court of Texas. This is a very important case that everyone should keep an eye on. If the Supreme Court of Texas does not take up this case, then the SCOTX will be effectively agreeing and allowing to stand the lower court and appeals court’s absurd and vague determinations regarding everything from pregnancy necessary expenses to access to justice rights. A denial of this petition for review would be completely contrary to the recent SCOTX push for access to justice, and would set the cause back by allowing lower courts to deny access to justice in spite of the SCOTX rules and constitutional rights. The Supreme Court of Texas has done a fabulous job of pushing for access to justice and we can only hope that the SCOTX will continue to push for access to justice by taking up this case to review the serious issues that undercut the SCOTX’s own rules and guidance on the issue.

HELP! My 4 year old son Michael Bellow is missing in Hurricane Harvey Disaster area!

The police have located my son Michael across state lines in Sulphur, LA and removed him from where he was being kept secret from me by my ex wife Courtney Hudson. The police brought my son to me Praise God! Her Attorney Scott Browne tried to tell the police not to give me my son but thank God I had the court order! It is a shame they would not let me know where my son was for a day after driving into the floods and then refuse to let me know where he was so I could get him it make sure he was safe. Thank you everyone!

Latest Update! I STILL DONT KNOW WHERE MY SON IS! she has once again missed the court order time and place to exchange my son to me this afternoon. Yes she did send me a message this afternoon finally saying my son was OK but she has refused to let me know where my son is so that the police can verify his safety and she has further refused to bring him to the court ordered drop off location today and has not even told me where my son is so that I can just go get him myself if she is unable to get him to me. I don't care what her friends and family might say there is zero justification for not at least letting me come pick up my own son during my court ordered time as joint managing conservator. Just like there was no justification to leave me worried sick instead of letting me know my son was OK the past 24 hours. Until his location and safety has been verified there is no question about it my son is still missing I am in charge of his control and possession right now during my time as joint managing conservator and quite frankly I have no idea where he is and anyone who knows where he is has refused to let the police know for me so that we can get him over to me per the court order.

HELP! My 4 year old son Michael David Bellow III is missing in Hurricane Harvey Disaster area!

Beaumont PD missing person case #2017020972

My ex Courtney Hudson this morning said she was leaving with my son this morning to leave Beaumont and all the roads out of Beaumont have water and she has not responded all day. She has missed the drop off for me to have my son and that is very abnormal. Leaving a disaster area is not abnormal of course, but at the least I would have gotten a message saying my son was ok and that ...they couldn't make the drop off or I could go get my son where he is at. She hasn't responded with anything at all since leaving into the floods this morning and I am very concerned this is very abnormal not to hear anything and there is flooding everywhere. I pray they are not in a ditch somewhere flooded out. Please help me find my son and make sure he is ok! The very last I saw my son he was screaming and wailing afraid to leave me to go to his mother and when cps last asked my son about being abused by anyone my son said that his mommy hurts him.(this info is to give you background about why I am so worried for my son because not only has he disappeared in a flood but there is a history of abuse and neglect which greatly upsets me). I am very concerned for my sons safety in general but now that she left through a flood this morning and there has been no response from her at all all day I am very concerned that they didn't make it out of the flood. Please if anyone sees my son let me know or let Beaumont PD know. I believe she drives a grey Kia small SUV.

UPDATE: it has been a few hours now and my son's mother nor anyone from my sons mothers family nor the police have contacted me at all to let me know my son is ok or where he is even at. It has been rumored that she is just hiding him so that she doesn't let me have my son during my time as joint managing conservator and if that is true it is horrible and heartless and a waste of police resources. If my son is ok for goodness sake they should let me know why in the world wouldn't they or anyone let me know? This is messed up please help me find my son I really am worried something has happened I haven't heard from them and the flood waters rose fast and they said they were leaving out this morning straight towards the floods and thee has been silence from them since this morning and they missed the court ordered drop off I am very worried.

UPDATE: it is It Sept. 1, 2017 and since yesterday I have not heard anything from the police or from my son's mother or her family letting me know where my son is and that he is safe:-( help me find my son!

Help Father Protect Son from Abuse - Uphill Battle for Men in Custody Battles

Even in situations where there is clear abuse and neglect on the part of the mother, a father, many times, has an uphill battle to protect their children and get more than just visitation.

Unfortunately, I have had to fight that battle with my own precious little boy. Below the story of what happened with me and my son. I hope that others will have the courage to fight for father's rights and push for equality within the judicial system in Texas and the rest of America. It should not have taken me a year and a half and over 50k to fight for even half time with my son who faced so much abuse and neglect.

Please donate if you can as I have a mountain of legal fees I am still facing. Thanks!



Help Father Protect Son from Abuse
https://www.gofundme.com/protectbabymichael

Baby Michael has been the victim of abuse and neglect, both physical and emotional. Michael was abandoned, crying in cars in parking lots while his mother was having an affair in a different vehicle. He has been denied medical care to the point where the police had to be called on his mother by the medical staff. Michael's mother is violent with baby Michael and his father. Michael's mother, Courtney Hudson, has admitted to much of this, including leaving Michael in cars and not thinking there is anything wrong with it. Below I have posted pictures/videos below of bruises and burns and other documents/information. 

Michael's father is fighting to protect him.Michael’s father, David Bellow, is at a disadvantage though since there is still an injustice, in not only the judicial system when it comes to a father gaining custody of a child even when they are clearly the more reliable, stable, and secure parent, but in our society as well when it comes to a husband being abused by his wife. Michael’s father is hoping to overcome these inequalities in our culture to keep his son safe but he needs your help.  

Michael’s father, as any good parent, could never live with himself if, God forbid, something did happen resulting in injury or death to his son, and he had not done everything in his power to protect him.  Therefore, he is reaching out to you to bring awareness to what is going so people will not only know how to pray, but to also raise funds in order to legally secure the safety of his child in regards to custody (decision making).

Please, on behalf of baby Michael, take the time to scroll through, read the information below, see the pictures, and watch the videos so you can so you see exactly what is going on and why it is so important:

This video has a lot of the pictures and videos all put together showing the abuse and neglect and Michael crying not wanting to leave daddy to go to mommy:



Michael's mother just cannot grasp the danger she puts Michael in, nor can she understand the consequences. She readily puts her own desires above Michael's basic needs. She even refuses to put shoes on Michael at exchanges in cold weather, even though the father provides shoes for him to wear, because her desire to remain mad at the father (for no real reason) comes before her own son’s need for warmth. She admits in her own testimony to leaving one year old Michael alone in cars and she doesn't understand what is wrong with it. She needs help. She has been diagnosed with one psychological disorder that we know of, but she refuses to get help. Baby Michael needs both a mother and a father.  The father is certainly not trying to take a child away from his mother.  He still wants Michael to spend as much time with his mother as he does.  At the same time though, Michael's mother is incapable of making decisions (which is what custody would grant) that are in Michael’s best interest (and not her own). She has hurt him and will hurt him again. Michael needs to be safe from harm in a stable, non-violent home.  Baby Michael's father provides that home and environment. Please help so the father can pay the legal fees needed to protect him and of course, please pray. That almost goes without saying but prayer is the most crucial need in any circumstance so it should be emphasized.  Especially since, there is a double standard that Michael's father has to fight. If the roles here were reversed, Michael's father would be in jail and there would be no question about custody.  But because Michael's father is a guy, it is an uphill battle to protect Michael and keep him safe, sadly, from his own mother. That, unfortunately, is the hard truth, and it does no good to her or to their child to deny or hide that fact as hard as it may be to accept. 

Right now, when Michael is with his mother, Michael's grandmother drives over from Houston to help his mother with her decisions. Initially, when Michael’s mother was on her own she would forget about pick-ups and drop offs so the grandmother drives her daughter to nearly every drop off and pick up. As soon as the custody trial is over though, her mother will likely stop keeping such a close eye on her and that is when the danger to Michael significantly increases because then there will be no one there to help Michael when is mother makes rash and violent decisions regarding his well-being putting him in harm’s way as she has done several times before.

Here is a video with pics and videos put together of Baby Michael happy and loved and taken care of with Daddy:





Some things you just don't talk about. This is one of them. Embarrassment, fear of ridicule, keeping personal matters private, etc. I have kept quiet about the abuse and neglect since my wife left me and filed for divorce over a year and a half ago. Many friends and relatives do not even know everything that is going on and I probably would have never reached out like this except that now, I need help to be able to protect my son. I am fighting to protect my son from neglect and abuse we both have been going through. I have already spent and borrowed over $40,000 for attorney fees and I just have no more loan or credit options before my custody trial.  And I cannot liquidate the few assets I have left (so no selling of even things I owned before we were married) since all material possessions are still frozen over year and a half later after she filed for divorce.  This is due to the fact that my wife and her attorney refuse to settle inventory before trial even though I have already given all of the items she initially requested and have even agreed to give her everything else she decided she wanted since then which is more than half.

Baby Michael Abandoned in Cars in Parking Lot While Mother Had Affair

I'll never forget the screaming, crying and red face my little one year old baby Michael had when I found him alone in a car in Ritter Lumber Parking Lot in Beaumont, TX. He had been abandoned in the car for a good while by the time I showed up and took him out. My wife was having an affair in a different vehicle, and she didn't even know I was there until I knocked on the window of the truck she was in sitting on another man's lap and kissing him, the radio blaring which drowned out the noise of little Michael weeping in the other car. Baby Michael could have been dead, kidnapped, choking, etc., and she would have never known. Come to find out, my wife admitted in testimony that she left him in cars regularly to meet another man, not just this instance, and she doesn't seem to even grasp that it was wrong. That scares me as much as the physical violence my son and I have faced from her. What do I tell my son when he sees the scar on my back from where my wife burned me with a hot iron while I slept? How do I erase the memories from his mind of me holding him in my arms and him squealing as his mother hit me, bit me, and kicked me? How do I keep a sincere face when telling my 2 year old son that it will be ok (even though I am not sure it will be) when he is crying and begging to stay with daddy and not to go to mommy nearly every time he goes from me to her? She actually snaps at Michael and gets mad at him for not wanting to leave daddy instead of consoling him. She even denies him medical care like when he was having allergic reactions and the cops had to be called on her because I took him to get medical attention when she didn't think he needed it so she showed up and demanded that they not check him out. Because it was such a common normal procedure that could help our son, you probably wouldn't believe that she didn’t want to get him tested if there was not a 911 recording of the incident when medical supervisor called the 911 on her. I don't hate her I pray for her. Baby Michael needs both a mom and a dad, but she needs help and is not capable of making even reasonably good decisions for him. She isn’t intending to do harm, but she does because she cannot understand, or refuses to understand what is right and wrong. She has been diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder which contributes to her rash, sometimes violent decisions and she needs help. She won’t get help though and instead she filed for divorce and is trying to keep my son from me. My son is in danger from her bad decisions and violence and I need help protecting him because I have run out of resources. Even with the mountain of evidence showing she has abused and neglected me and my son, including her own admissions in testimony, I still face an uphill battle in custody simply because I am a guy. I have spent way more than I can afford in legal fees and I have nowhere else to borrow from. But I will stop at nothing (and cannot give up for Michael’s sake) to what I truly feel I need to do to keep my baby boy safe.  So I am reaching out to friends and family who might feel led to help.  At the very least, you all can keep us in your prayers.  If you can give even a small amount though, please do so, and spread the word to any friends or family who might be interested in helping. I ask though that you not post this publicly and that you prayerfully consider who you share this page with - only sharing with those you really think might help (prayerfully or financially).  I am trying to share our story to relay a need and request prayer, while still trying to be as sensitive as possible to those involved, including my wife.  I do still care about her and her family so I do not wish to humiliate her or anyone else. Thanks. 

Physical Abuse - Domestic Violence

Here are some of the pictures of things she has done to me and baby Michael. She even burned me on the back with an iron while I was sleeping:



My wife, Courtney, would leave my precious one year old alone in cars in parking lots in Beaumont, TX while she was having an affair with another man, Lamar, in a different vehicle. She is physically abusive with me and my son. She not only scratches and bruises me, but she even burned me on the back while I slept. She has been diagnosed with a psychological disorder which was apparent to the counselor in the couple of times I have been able to get her to go talk to a professional. I do not believe she intentionally wants to hurt Michael, but she just cannot grasp the consequences of her actions and how it hurts her son. She puts her desires over his own safety and doesn't believe it is wrong. If you passed her on the street in public you would never know that she was even capable of the things she has done and has admitted in testimony to doing. She needs help. She has denied him medical care and even had the cops called on her when she tried to keep me from taking him to a potential life-saving medical exam. He cries for daddy and says no mommy nearly every time he leaves me to go to her. Unfortunately, the list goes on. 

I do not believe in divorce and I begged her to get help for Michael's sake and as a Christian to keep the marriage together. She refused to get help and filed for divorce and tries to keep Michael from me. Now, I am fighting for literally my son's life in a custody battle. That is just a quick overview of what is going on. Below is more detailed information. Please, if you can help out do it and discreetly share this with others who might could help. My son needs to be protected and even with a mountain of proof showing abuse and neglect done to me and my son, and even with state law that is supposed to prohibit those who have a history of child neglect and domestic violence (like Courtney) from getting custody, it is still an uphill, expensive battle for me because I am a guy. Most people settle and don't fight because of the cost and toll it takes. I don't care if I have nothing in the end as long as I keep my son safe. Material things of this world are not important.

Psychological Disorders

In the limited times I have been able to get her to seek professional help, she was diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder and I know it is much more than that. I don't hate her and I want Michael to equally see his mother and father, she just needs help and is a danger to her own son and has a hard time comprehending right from wrong, like her not thinking it is wrong to leave a one year old baby in a car in a parking lot. There have been two occasions where Courtney got upset and got in her car with Michael. The first time, she crashed into the garage, and on another occasion, into my brother's car. She was so worried about me seeing her iPad (which had messages to/from Lamar) when I got home that as soon as I pulled up she ran inside to get her iPad and left one year old Michael alone in the street!

Baby Michael denied Medical Care - Medical Staff called Police on Mother

Baby Michael would get an allergic reaction that seemed to get progressively worse. His stomach would hurt and he would get painful looking red rash around his mouth, congestion, and puffy eyes. I recognized the signs of an allergic reaction from my army training as a combat medic and EMT so I told his mother on numerous occasions that I wanted to take Michael to go get an allergy test before it gets worse. She refused to agree with me and said nothing was wrong and he didn’t need medical attention. I took him anyways knowing that he could die from a severe reaction. She showed up and demanded that they not give Michael the allergy test. They had to call 911 on her and have the police come over because she was causing a scene and was telling the staff that she was not going to let them give Michael a quick and simple blood draw to test for allergies. I had a Doctor’s order and I am the father so I got him allergy tested. Come to find out, he is highly allergic to cow's milk. We would have kept giving him milk had we not found out and he might have had a really bad reaction one day.

Below are the notes from Police regarding the police being called because mother did not father to get Michael medical attention with a Doctor's order:




Physical Abuse - Domestic ViolenceUnfortunately, that is all just a small glimpse of what has been going on all of these years. Not long after we got married, my wife started getting physically violent. The violence got worse over time and it wasn’t long before I was having to wear long sleeve shirts to cover the bloody scrapes and bruises. One night I woke up to her burning me on the back with a hot iron. Can you realize the pain and embarrassment I felt when I had to, for instance, joke at work that my wife gave me a hickey on my neck to cover for the fact that she had hit me and scratched me on my head and neck the night before? She was starting to hurt Michael too because her blows would sometimes hit little Michael too as I held him to protect him from her. Her frustration started to be directed towards him too. When Michael wasn’t even one year old she would spank him for not eating with a fork and yank down his arm to pick up a ball when he didn't even understand what she wanted him to do. At only six months old, she would get on to him and tell him “No” very harshly just for whimpering – something every baby does.

Emotional TraumaNeedless to say, Michael is traumatized from all of this. He wants both a mommy and daddy and doesn’t understand what is going on. He is terrified anytime I even leave the room. Not that he doesn’t love his mommy and not that he doesn’t have fun with her, but when it is time to exchange Michael, Michael knowns who is safe and more loving and wants to stay with me. He has never once cried leaving his mother to go to me. Little Michael cries for daddy nearly every time he has to leave me and he even cries and says no mommy right to her face. Instead of consoling him, she chastises him for saying no mommy. When I have him for extended times, I let him call his mommy if he wants or if she wants. When she has him she refuses to let him talk to me even though it would soothe and comfort him.  I let her talk to Michael though when I have him anytime she asks and I have even offered it to her myself, but yet, she doesn't let Michael call me or me call Michael. She even admitted in her testimony that when she has him, she ignores my phone calls when I am just trying to call and talk to my son because I know it would help him since he misses me and is too young to understand what is going on. But she doesn’t think he needs to talk to his daddy so for the past year and a half, I have not been able to talk to my son on the phone when she has him to tell him goodnight or that I miss him or anything else a father should be able to say to his son.  Even during the marriage she would do everything she could to keep him away from me. I still have the messages that I would have to send to her and her best friend, Mary, begging them to stop taking Michael and running around and asking with them to let me be with my son and that I would even come to them. Who has to plead to their wife's best friend to please tell them where they are eating lunch with his son after church so he can join them after working an overnight shift? It was actually Mary who introduced Courtney to the Lamar and even invited them to her house together (without me) after it was clear they were having an affair. Courtney would not just run around to keep me from my son. Even in my own home, she would get violent even if I just wanted to pick up my son and hold him. She didn’t want me to be able to have anything to do with him. She locked him in the bedroom at night with her for over a year never letting me have the joy of snuggling with my son while putting him to bed. My wife and I might be separate, but Michael isn't separate from his mother and father and he needs both to be able to help him through this difficult transition.  He should be able to rest assured and feel secure that he still has a mother and father no matter who has “possession” of him that day. It should be Michael's needs above our desires, but Courtney refuses to do that.

Reached out for two years to our Pastor, Counselor and her parents for helpFor two straight years during the end of our marriage (which was also practically the beginning since we had only been married for a relatively short time before then), I reached out to her parents, our pastor, counselors, and begged for help, telling them specifically that she was beating me up, sending some of them pictures of my bruises and scratches and pleading for help. Could I have easily hit her back? Sure. But I didn't because I don't think it is ever right for a man to hit a woman.  Also, I still wanted it to work out because I believe in marriage.  I believe in “for better or for worse” and I really believed that if we went to pastors and counseling and to her parents that they would persuade her to get help and things would get better. I was wrong. She didn't want help and a few of the people I reached out to didn’t seem to want to help.  They seemed to just want to make excuses for her behavior with some in her family even going as far as telling my family that I didn’t try hard enough or didn’t love her enough.  I am sorry but there is no excuse for leaving your child in a car to have affairs, for burning someone with a hot iron while they sleep, and for trying to keep a son away from his loving and caring father.

There were some who I believe wanted to help like our Pastor at First Baptist Beaumont, Chris Moody, who did meet with us several times.  But I don’t think he was even sure how to help because he said that she has hate in her eyes more than he has seen in anyone else and he doesn’t understand it.  Many others don’t understand it as well, because there is no reasonable explanation.  It is an irrational unprovoked hatred.  A hatred that has put her own son at risk and will continue to unless she receives the help she needs.  Our pastor also said if she doesn’t get help the violence will just continue onto her next man. Even the psychologist we went and saw made the same comment to me that Michael could get hurt, even with my wife not beating up on me anymore, because little Michael will still be in the middle if his mother gets violent with future boyfriends or with him; especially since my wife didn’t just start getting violent with me. She has a history of getting upset and lashing out at her family, friends, and previous boyfriends.


Even though our pastor wanted to help, I feel like everywhere I turned (even to good people I still respect like my pastor), it did not seem like Michael and I got the support that we needed – the help that I feel a woman who was in an abusive relationship would have gotten.  This may have been partly due to the fact that I am a man in a domestic violence situation which is less common, and partly because many I reached out to were her own friends and family (hoping they could intervene) so they just didn’t want to believe that their loved one would do such horrible things.  Courtney is very sweet to others and appears innocent to the outside world (which is one reason I fell in love with her myself) so I can see how it would be unbelievable.  I was even in denial myself when it first started happening. Now though, we have her own testimony admitting to many of these acts of abuse and neglect. Otherwise, it is hard to believe.

Suspected child neglect and domestic violence should always be taken seriously though especially by the church where Courtney worked (and still works) in childcare.  And it was my understanding that Mark Adams, the Executive Pastor, was going to look into it since he is the one who deals with employees. But I do not know if it was ever fully investigated because I was never approached about the situation. Whatever the reason, the extent of everything is now known and there obviously was not an adequate and appropriate response to suspected child neglect and spousal abuse by one of the church’s childcare workers. Please know that I do not think my church leaders are bad and I love my church so I am not trying to paint them or anyone else in a bad light.  It happened the way it happened though and I am simply trying to share my story in its entirety. This is in order for you to fully understand the situation and how it brought me to where I am now – a father who is now reaching out to you because over the several years, he has exhausted all of his resources for help (even from those in position to really make a difference).  

The following messages show that nearly 2 years before Courtney filed for divorce, I started reaching out for help because Courtney was getting violent and abusive:

Before my wife left me, I finally convinced her to go to Larry Walker, a board certified counselor, believing he would know how to help me and Michael with the violence and child neglect because he has a Christian Counseling center at the church. I was wrong again. He diagnosed my wife with an anxiety disorder, according to his notes, and he told her that CPS could have taken Michael if they would have found him in the car alone. But then this Christian marriage and family counselor referred her the name of Scott Browne, a divorce lawyer, and even gave her his number! That advice from a trusted source was all she needed to completely quit trying.  After that, she retained that attorney and there has been no hope for reconciliation ever since.  My family and I have tried to reach out to Courtney telling her that while we don’t agree with her behavior, we still love her and are here for her.  But Scott, who is also a Christian and a member of the church as well, has threatened harassment against us for simply trying to reconcile to some degree for Michael’s sake. So now, we cannot contact her regarding anything but logistic about Michael.  How can there be reconciliation though without communication? I do not understand why both of these Christian men have not promoted the gospel of reconciliation (even to some degree) in their professions and have actually encouraged division.  Separating us doesn’t help Courtney with her ongoing problems and it certainly does not help little Michael.  It only puts him in more danger because I have always been there to protect him. And not to mention, that if they truly cared about Michael’s well-being, they would at least be trying to help her with the issues.  Come to find out, as a board certified counselor Larry was actually supposed to report the abuse and neglect (clearly documented in his notes) in order to protect Michael but he didn’t. He did however accurately diagnose Courtney and even tried to bill insurance for “treatment” of the disorder. So long story short, counseling did not help for the many apparent reasons even though the problems (her disorder, abuse, and child neglect) were clearly seen. It is difficult though for counselors who are good friends with their clients to report child abuse. But this is exactly why laws against dual relationships exist...to protect the innocent and especially the children involved. Larry should have reported the abuse, and although I am not angry because I know God has a plan for everything, I am very disappointed and hurt because he seemingly looking the other way which has resulted in pain for my child this last year and a half that could have been prevented. Had Larry reported the abuse like the law said he was supposed to then Michael would have been spared the last year and a half of physical and emotional abuse because Courtney would have been forced by Child Protective Services to get help instead of encouraged by a counselor to get an attorney who probably just sees her as a paying client. 

As far as trying to get help from her parents, that was a dead end. And it wasn't because they didn't believe me. They did believe that Courtney was being physically abusive and they acknowledged that she had been violent in the past. She even disappeared one day and couldn't be reached when she was 20 and they had to call the police and put out a missing person alert. When she came back home she refused to cooperate with police. So the parents know what her issues are, but for whatever reason, were not any help to me or Michael. To be fair, for a while, the parent's (and everyone else) were lied to by Courtney. Her parent and Mary found out about Lamar and Courtney before I did but instead of telling me they blindly believed their daughter and friend when she told them that she was not running around with another guy anymore and that she never kissed him or anything like that. But she had and now they know from Courtney’s own admission in her deposition that that she not only kissed Lamar, she left their grandbaby alone in another car to sit in his a lap in another car. Not only was she meeting him but when she wasn’t physically with him, she was still with him since she was spending almost every minute of the day on the phone with this other guy. The phone records show literally thousands of calls and texts between Courtney and Lamar. My first thought as a parent, and I would think for anyone who cares about a child in their life, was “who was watching our baby when she distracted by and wrapped up in making/receiving all these calls and text messages?” 


As you can see, seeking help with a pastor, parents and counselor didn’t get my anywhere for whatever reasons, so now I am now having to fight for my son in a very expensive custody battle.

Hind sight is 20/20, so I do realize now that calling the police would have been the best thing to do but it is hard to call the cops on a loved one when you still want to save your still fairly new marriage. I did seek help though in places that I believed I would get help like pastors and counselors (and it is documented thankfully), but I should have just called the police myself. I guess when you love someone you just want it to work out, don’t realize the severity of it, don’t want to embarrass the spouse you still love by calling the authorities, think maybe their actions are somehow your fault, and ultimately, hope they will get better. Before I was married I never understood why battered spouses did not just call the police. Well I understand it now. In some ways, it may be harder for guys to seek help because, well, we are guys and are tough and can handle the abuse, right? Male or female, it doesn't matter, abuse against either gender is wrong and is very damaging, mentally and physically, to not only the spouse but their children as well.

The truth is, according to the facts presented and her own admissions, that she has left Michael in cars, denied him medical treatment, and has gotten physically violent. She needs help and I have to win custody (decision making) of my son in order to protect him. Not that I want to keep my son away from his mother because I don’t. Michael needs both a mother and a father and needs to see them both equally. His mother just cannot make good decisions for him and Michael is in very real danger of getting abused or neglected again. She needs help especially because of her disorder but since she refuses it then, I have no choice but to now let a jury decide custody. That is why I have to fight for custody (decision making rights) in court because it is what is best for Michael.

I do not want to go to trial as I know it will be very embarrassing for not only Courtney but many others involved as well.  I wish she and her attorney would have accepted my many fair and reasonable offers to settle (giving Courtney equal time with our son, supervised while she gets treatment for Michaels safety, and offering Courtney more than 50/50 of the community property) but they still refuse to accept anything that allows Michael to be with his father half of the time, so it goes to a Jury of 12 in the middle of November to decide the fate of my son. Please be in prayer because I know God can do anything between now and then. I am absolutely the best provider for Michael and there is more than enough evidence proving that Michael and I are and have been hurt by my wife, but I am still at a disadvantage because I am a guy and she is a girl.  Even though the Supreme Court has said that a judge cannot include gender in their reasons for granting custody, everyone knows that it still happens all too often even when the father is the best provider for their child.  I didn't want this and I do not even believe in divorce. But it is happening whether I like it or not and I have to protect my son. I need help to do that though. Please help, pray, and spread the word to others who might support me (discreetly though, as it is not my intent to “smear” anyone involved). Thanks and God Bless.