Breaking TX Rangers Report! DA Bob Wortham Falsely Charged David Bellow in Bribe to Obtain Political Website – Case sent to Special Prosecutor

Breaking Texas Rangers Report! Jefferson County DA Bob Wortham Falsely Charged David Bellow in Bribe to Obtain Political Website bobwortham.com – Texas Rangers Investigate and Send Official Oppression Case to Special Prosecutor - District Attorney Wortham likely to face Grand Jury

by David Bellow on July 24, 2020 at 8:51 AM

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Jefferson County District Attorney Bob Wortham has been under investigation by the Texas Rangers for, among other things, bribery and pay to prosecute, official oppression, and abuse of power for crimes committed against political rival David Bellow (read below for specific details). The Texas Rangers completed their investigation and sent the case to a Special Prosecutor, and elected San Jacinto County District Attorney, Robert Trapp. The special prosecutor has the choice to dismiss the case, or present the case to a grand jury. Given the crisis in America with abuse of power by those in office causing distrust of officers, it is vital that DA Bob Wortham is brought to justice for his crimes so that Americans see that even those in power must follow the laws. Bringing the bad guys with badges to justice will help the community trust law enforcement and will allow the many good officers out there to be respected and be able to do their jobs.

I know about all of the details of this case because I am the victim of this abuse of power and official oppression. Wortham falsely charged me to shut me up. After all the false charges against me were dismissed, I took the evidence to the Texas Rangers who then opened up a case against DA Bob Wortham and Investigator Marcelo Molfino. I have kept quiet about the specific details of this criminal case while the Texas Rangers were investigating so that evidence didn’t get interfered with, but now that the investigation by the Rangers is completed, it is time the details got revealed. Part one of this public official criminal scheme was posted earlier this month: Investigator Marcelo Molfino Committed Perjury against David Bellow – Texas Rangers Submit Report to Special Prosecutor. That story detailed the perjury of Bob Wortham’s DA investigator Marcelo Molfino. I also previously wrote an article with an overview of the situation: False Stalking and Perjury Charges against David Bellow DROPPED – Texas Rangers Investigating DA Bob Wortham for Corruption. Now it’s time to reveal the shocking details of the criminal activity of Bob Wortham that the Texas Rangers investigated and submitted a criminal case on.
So what did DA Bob Wortham do exactly? In short, he tried to falsely prosecute me and used it as leverage to then demand that I sell him a private political website in exchange for him dropping the false prosecution. 

It all started a few years ago when I was going through a divorce. My ex wife had been leaving our one year old son in cars in parking lots while she had an affair. She might not have fared too well in our child custody case, so she then hired DA Investigator Marcelo Molfino to try to dig up dirt against me. I turned in Marcelo Molfino for doing private investigation without a license. The Texas DPS determined that Molfino was in violation of a Class A misdemeanor. Molfino’s boss is Bob Wortham and Bob Wortham refused to prosecute his investigator Molfino. Next thing you know, I get arrested and charged by DA Wortham and his investigator Molfino. I knew it was done in retaliation for me blowing the whistle on Marcelo Molfino. I had not committed any crime and I knew they wanted to silence me.

I didn’t let them silence me though and I fought back. That got me digging even more into Marcelo Molfino and Bob Wortham and I uncovered even more criminal activity by Molfino that Bob Wortham knew about and was covering up. I started doing records requests for DA office public records, and I bought BobWortham.com to post the details of the criminal activity of elected official Bob Wortham and his Investigator.

After the main charges they brought against me got tossed out, there was only one misdemeanor left against me and I was going to fight to expose the truth and get that false charge tossed out too. However, this final charge was the last of the leverage Bob Wortham had against me in their quest to silence my first amendment Constitutional rights. That is when they made their move. My attorney got a message from the DA’s office telling me I could get an eventual dismissal of the final charge in return for me selling the DA my political website and agree to drop my information requests connected to their criminal activity.

I distinctly remember when I heard about this, the first thing I told my attorney was that what they wanted was illegal and a bribe. The DA was requesting something of private personal value from me in exchange for an official prosecution decision. Not only was he holding false charges over my head in exchange for him getting something of value from me, but the bribe offer proved what I knew all along and that was that the DA was attempting to prosecute me as retaliation for me speaking out against him and their end goal was to simply silence me.

I was a great plan, to put someone against the wall and offer them easy freedom if they pay the DA what the DA wanted. The problem is I was innocent and I don’t give up standing for what is right. The first thing I did was call the Rangers and tell them I was offered a bribe by DA Wortham. The ranger I talked to said that basically there is no solid evidence unless I go along with it. I would have to go along with the bribe deal in order to take this corrupt DA down once and for all. No matter what, I was never going to admit guilt for something I didn’t do, nor was I going to be found guilty. So the DA really wanted that website and offered me to NO CONTEST for deferred adjudication dismissal which means no guilty plea and no guilty final adjudication and in 6 months the case gets completely dismissed. If I didn’t take the deal I would be fighting for another year to be found not guilty and I might not get solid evidence against the DA. If I took the deal I get the charges dismissed and no admission or finding of guilt and I get the evidence I need to take down the corrupt DA. Then after I prove the illegal activity of the DA, I could then file to have everything against me tossed out, even the deal, based on the deal, and the underlying charges, having been part of a political prosecution and part of the illegal activity of DA Bob Wortham and Marcelo Molfino.

So I go along with the bribery offer in order to get the evidence I needed to bring to the Texas Rangers. Sure enough, right after the deal was done I got a request from GoDaddy telling me someone wanted to by my website for $200. I ask GoDaddy to confirm that the offer to buy the website was part of the DA prosecution deal. GoDaddy confirmed this for me. So I sold the website and went to the Texas Rangers. Also part of the deal was that I not use my first amendment right to get public records from the DA which could show possible Criminal actions by the DA’s office. So I abandoned those records requests.

The Texas Rangers sent an out of town ranger from the Austin public corruption unit. He did a thorough investigation. The DA had given the evidence needed to prove the corruption. Would you believe the DA’s office sent a text with the bribe details? That literally sent it in a text that I could print out! If they are that bold and feel untouchable to send their criminal activity details in a text, I hate to think of what other corruption they are involved in that they are hiding. For starters, I do know from multiple credible sources that when the Feds stopped a big time illegal gambling ringleader Larry Tillery, the first person Tillery called from his car was Bob Wortham to have him call the officers and cease the traffic stop. Tillery was convicted and sent to jail, and maybe there is a case out there the feds are working on against Wortham too with the wire tap tape recording they have of the call. 

So to wrap things up, the Rangers investigated DA Bob Wortham for the crimes committed against me. The public copy of the Texas Rangers investigation Report confirms that DA Wortham and his office are under investigation for abuse of power and official oppression against me related to the political website bribe. (see report below). Now that investigation has been turned over to the Special Prosecutor. If a grand jury sees the facts and evidence that I have seen, I have no doubt there will be an indictment of sitting Jefferson County District Attorney Bob Wortham. 

False Stalking and Perjury Charges against David Bellow DROPPED – Texas Rangers Investigating DA Bob Wortham for Corruption and Official Oppression

Jefferson County District Attorney Investigator Marcelo Molfino accepted CASH to Falsely Charge Political Activist David Bellow with Stalking and Perjury following Bellow’s Whistleblower complaint

by David Bellow on September 10, 2019 at 2:19 PM

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My name is David Bellow and I have been vindicated and am telling my story of corruption in Jefferson County, Texas. I am happy to announce that the horrible, politically motivated false charges against me of Stalking and Perjury have been completely dismissed (Click for Dismissal Orders Here: Perjury, Stalking), and now the Texas Rangers have opened an official criminal investigation against Jefferson County and Corrupt District Attorney Bob Wortham for abuse of office and official oppression against me with District Attorney Robert Trapp being appointed attorney Pro Tem as Special Prosecutor (Click Here for Texas Ranger Report of Investigation obtained through an Open Records Request).

BACKGROUND
I used to be very active in the political world, standing up for what I believe is right and fighting to expose corruption. I frequently blogged and wrote articles and got involved in the political process, even being elected as a political party official. Back in 2014, my now ex-wife started leaving my one-year old son in cars in parking lots while she had an affair. I was told of the affair and of my son being left in cars and I did what any parent would do and I went to that parking lot and got my crying and hyperventilating one year old son from that abandoned car where he was left alone. I went home with my son and then tried to set up marriage counseling as a reasonable non-violent person would do. We went to what we thought was Christian Counseling at First Baptist Church Beaumont where Texas Licensed Counselor (and pastor) Larry Walker’s not so Christian advice was to suggest divorce instead of reconciliation attempts, and he even suggested a divorce lawyer on standby in the church. That is unfortunately the sad reality of many churches who are falling away from faith and family values. This is important though because it is the first instance where the State of Texas opened an investigation into what would be a long excruciating story of corruption in Jefferson County. The state began investigating the professional counselor license of Larry Walker for such things as not reporting suspected Child abuse or neglect as required by law after hearing of my son being left in cars in parking lots. During the divorce and child custody proceedings that followed, there were no accusations against me. I was a good father involved in my son’s life and I was never accused of being threating or abusive, and in fact, my ex-wife signed multiple under oath sworn statements stating that I had never committed family violence and she was only seeking a no-fault divorce. However, she didn’t want our son to have me as a father, which is similar in many custody battles in which people allow hate and bitterness for another person to rip children from loving mothers or fathers whom the children need and deserve equally, which has created the greatest societal crisis of our time with the effects of single family homes and children without fathers being well documented and catastrophic for the children involved and for society as a whole (Click here for government statistics: https://thefatherlessgeneration.wordpress.com/statistics/). I, however, intended to fight for and protect my son and be in his life as his father. In fact, I had the upper hand in the custody case as my ex-wife had admitted in sworn testimony to being violent towards me and leaving our son in cars while she had affairs. That is when her attorney (who was also the attorney for the church where the counselor was under investigation) started to pull out some tricks against me to delay justice. For instance, If you try to sanction the other side with petty complaints such as turning over discovery items a day late, then you can wear down and drag out custody litigation cause the other side to run out of money, then you win. So that is what her attorney tried to do. They even hired a “private investigator”, Marcelo Molfino.

CORRUPTION: MARCELO MOLFINO and JEFFERSON COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY BOB WORTHAM

They hired Marcelo Molfino to download my cell phones and allege that not all the data was turned over so that they could try to get all evidence tossed out in the case on a technicality. My side hired our own, more reputable private digital forensics, Red Forensics, from out of town who determined that not only was the report and data from Molfino false and misleading, but it also apeared as though Marcelo Molfino was practicing as a private investigator without a license. So I blew the whistle on Marcelo Molfino with the State of Texas, and the Texas DPS determined that Marcelo Molfino was practicing without a license which is a Class A Misdemeanor. And that is where my real troubles began. You see, Marcelo Molfino was the lead Criminal Investigator for Jefferson County District Attorney Bob Wortham. Not only did I uncover the illegal activity of Marcelo Molfino in my case, I then discovered many other instances where Molfino was violating the law and using his position in the DA office to oppress people. Through Open Records Requests, I even discovered false contradicting statements on government documents, and uncovered many instances where he would get paid by people in the “private civil arena” and then turn around and try to get people charged criminally under his criminal prosecution hat against the people he was paid privately to oppose. The Texas DPS asked the Jefferson County DA if he would be filing charges against Molfino, and the DA said no. The DA decides who to protect and who to prosecute. After protecting his investigator Molfino from criminal charges that I blew the whistle on, the DA Bob Wortham then put Marcelo Molfino on a mission to personally bring false charges against me using the power of his prosecution office. Can anyone say clear conflict of interest? This was done for 2 reasons. This persecution against me was done in retaliation against me for my whistleblower complaint to silence me and discredit my complaints against Marcelo Molfino, and it was also done because, as would come out in criminal trial testimony, my ex wife, at the direction of her attorney, paid Marcelo Molfino at least $1500 cash shortly before Molfino brought false charges against me. She even went to the Jefferson County Courthouse government building to meet Marcelo Molfino as part of this “private exchange” of services, according to trial transcripts.

After nearly 2 years of a custody battle, the money ran out for me to fight and I offered my ex-wife 50/50 custody of our son, which she accepted. Her acceptance was just another trick though as her acceptance was only so she could get the custody case against her out of the way so that she could transfer the proceedings to Jefferson County to do an immediate modification custody suit to change the child custody order to try to take my son from me. She brought the case to Judge Larry Thorne, who her attorney had made a rare large donation to. Judge Larry Thorne would later be found by the State of Texas as having accepted tend of thousands of illegal contributions from attorneys and fined nearly $40,000 (Click Here to see Order against Judge Larry Thorne). Not surprisingly, the local DA Bob Wortham who holds the power to prosecute, did not prosecute judge Larry Thorne for the felony violations the state found him to have violated.

So back to the custody case, only a month after accepting the final 50/50 custody agreement order which I hoped would bring stability to my son’s life, and after years of a bitter divorce case in which she swore against any allegations of family violence from me,  my ex-wife simply then went to Jefferson County Investigator Marcelo Molfino and paid him cash money. She then filed criminal complaints alleging that, three years earlier, even before the divorce started, she felt “alarmed” when I, while we were married, went to a parking lot to get my son from an abandoned car. So she filed felony “stalking family violence” charges against me as her basis of trying to change the agreed custody order with the new Judge Larry Thorne. The DA’s office of course fast tracked a prosecution against me with Marcelo Molfino at the helm. Molfino was under investigation at the time as a result of my complaint BEFORE he brought retaliatory charges against me. Even worse, Molfino was paid cash money by my ex. Literally the prosecutors office was taking money “bribes” to prosecute, and they put Molfino directly on the case to silence me and discredit my legitimate complaints against him which were validated by the state of Texas. That wasn’t enough to silence me and I kept fighting and I kept investigating, so then Molfino personally wrote out an affidavit alleging I am a liar and charged me with felony perjury. What better way to discredit your accuser than to bring false perjury charges against him so you can just say don’t believe him he is charged with perjury. At one point the DA wanting a ONE MILLION dollar bond or NO BOND. I guess the only way to keep me from talking to the Texas State investigators was to try to put me, a non violent political adversary, in permanent confinement with bond higher than an alleged murderer.

I fought and I exposed and finally one by one the charges went away. Felony Stalking case dismissed. Felony Perjury case dismissed. I have never been convicted and have never pled guilty and never been found guilty. I have been vindicated with all criminal cases now gone away. Of course you won’t find word of my cases dismissed in the news like I was in the news when the DA’s office sent word to the news stations of my initial arrests so they could parade my mugshot though the news and all but convict me before a trial.

This story I bring to light only touches the surface of the roller coaster ride I have experienced, and barely addresses all the instances of criminal activity and corruption I uncovered involving the Jefferson County District Attorney’s office. There have been many less fortunate than me who might have pled guilty just to cut a deal to get out of the false prosecution, or maybe they were found guilty based off of fabricated evidence. I will continue to fight to protect and defend the Constitution and the rights that everyone should enjoy by fighting and exposing corruption.

The big news to top off my vindication from the false prosecution by Jefferson County, is that the Texas Rangers have officially and formally opened a criminal investigation against Jefferson County for abuse of office and official oppression against me. Yes, the Jefferson County Criminal District Attorney Bob Wortham and his office are under official criminal investigation by the Texas Rangers with a special prosecutor even having been appointed from another county.

So I am back! I got to settle down for a bit and I have a beautiful wife, Denise, son and stepson, and baby boy arriving next month! I will be writing and blogging more about politics I am passionate about and about political news, with a focus on the broken family court system that needs drastic reform to save and stabilize children and society, as well as a focus on public corruption and criminal justice which need drastic reforms to prevent innocent people from going to jail due to faulty or fabricated evidence and a lack of Constitutional protections and due process,  and due to even intentional false prosecutions that are rampant and allowed to happen.

Indicted and Arrested! Former Jasper, TX Police Chief's Son, Ronnie Pearson, gets Child Rape Charges

The East Texas Corruption Stories Continue (with no end in sight). You Heard the Story Here First!

Ronnie Pearson

 
I have just confirmed with the Jasper County Jail that Former Jasper, TX Police Chief's son, Ronnie Pearson, has been indicted and Booked on charges that include sexual assault of a child and indecency with a Child. Kudos to Texas Ranger Ken Parks and Hardin County District Attorney David Sheffield for investigating and securing the indictment.

Ronnie Pearson was indicted March 26th, 2013 by a Jasper County Grand Jury. His indictment did not initially appear on the list of indictments from the Grand Jury because it was a field indictment. That means the indictment was not released to the public until Ronnie Pearson had been arrested and served the indictment and charges. After I posted this article, KBMT 12 News is the only news outlet so far that has run a story about this shocking news, Great Job KBMT!

I first broke a story last year revealing that there was an investigation into Fired Jasper Chief Rodney Pearson Covering-up of Child Rape Charges Against his Son Ronnie Pearson. This story was double shocking because, not only did you have allegations of a child getting raped and then allegedly forced by the rapist to get an abortion at Planned Parenthood, but you also had allegations that controversial Jasper Police Chief Rodney Pearson had tried to cover up the rape and not investigate. Unfortunately, I was not able to get any local media to cover this shocking story because the investigation was secret and so the media could not really verify the allegations like I was able to with my sources. I even had some people who probably thought I made the whole story up, haha. Well, I certainly do not make things up and this indictment is finally the proof that should get the media to cover this shocking story.

This indictment against Rodney Pearson's son is also more proof to show that Rodney Pearson was fired from being Police Chief for good cause. The left wing national media circled the town of Jasper last year with outrageous claims that Rodney Pearson was being fired only because he is black.

After being fired, Rodney Pearson played the race card, alleging that he was fired because he is black. Those who opposed Rodney Pearson as Police Chief included both black and white Jasper Residents. Those who opposed Pearson as Police Chief have always presented evidence showing that their opposition to Pearson was not about race and instead was due to him lying about his criminal record, lack of qualifications compared to other applicants, accusations that Pearson discriminated against White police officers and fired/demoted them, and other problems with his performance as Police Chief, including allegations of him committing sexual assault. Furthermore, the same Jasper residents who opposed Pearson have overwhelmingly just elected a black conservative State Representative James White over his white opponent. 

Fired Jasper Chief Rodney Pearson Cover-up of Child Rape Charges Against Son Ronnie Pearson Investigated by TX Rangers

The Texas Department of Public Safety has confirmed this Texas Ranger’s investigation against Ronnie Pearson, the son of Fired Jasper Police Chief Rodney Pearson. This Cover-up is more fuel for the fire to show that former Jasper Police Chief Rodney Pearson was fired for good cause and not because he is black, as Rodney Pearson alleges.

Several months ago, I received information that Rodney Pearson, before he was fired from being the Jasper Police Chief, had covered up a complaint from a 14/15 year old girl’s parents alleging that 25 year old Ronnie Pearson (Rodney Pearson’s son) had been having sex with their teen daughter (her name will not be revealed), got her pregnant, and took her to Planned Parenthood in Lufkin, TX to get an abortion without the parent’s knowledge or consent. The parents wanted rape charges filed against Pearson so they went to the Jasper Police Department to file a complaint. The father of the man they were filing a complaint against was Jasper Police Chief Rodney Pearson so, needless to say, the complaint went nowhere.

The parents were not happy so they called the Texas Rangers. Texas Ranger Ken Parks went to Jasper to investigate. According to a source in the Police Department, Police Chief Rodney Pearson and Captain Curtis Frame told Ken Parks that they received the complaint against Ronnie and they told Ronnie to stop partying so much, but they did not do anything further with the complaint, to which Ranger Parks replied that they were stupid for doing that because now it is a State investigation.

These allegations were shocking, but I knew I could not write an article about this unless I had some kind of proof to back up what was said.

I went to the Jasper Police Department to request information about the complaint against Ronnie Pearson but the Jasper Police Department said they had no record of the complaint.

I then contacted the Texas Department of Public Safety to request information about the Texas Ranger Complaint/Investigation into the rape/police cover-up allegations against Ronnie Pearson and Rodney Pearson (see my email request to TX DPS below). The Texas DPS replied back to me saying that they have identified the investigation files against Ronnie Pearson, but that they could not release them to me because the documents involved allegations of child abuse/sexual abuse/sexual assault. The Texas DPS said in their response that they were exempt from releasing the documents because of protections for the child victim (see response from TX DOS below).

The Texas DPS might not have been able to release any documents about the case to me, but what their response did do is confirm to me that there are allegations and an investigation of child sexual assault against Rodney Pearson’s son, Ronnie Pearson. Furthermore, the fact that this is a Texas Ranger case and not being handled by the local police department is evidence to support the allegation that there was a cover-up by Pearson’s police Department which prompted the Texas Rangers to get involved and investigate.

Over the last couple of months, I have had the opportunity to talk to Ronnie Pearson’s mother, Julie Ann Trolinger Fish, about the allegations against her son. Julie says she divorced Rodney Pearson years ago, but not before having to suffer through him beating her and cheating on her. She said that she has been very distraught because of the allegations against her son Ronnie and that it is too much for her to bear so she has given it to God. She said that she loves her son and taught Ronnie the right values as a child, but that things changed when Ronnie went to live with her ex-husband Rodney Pearson. She said Rodney was a bad influence on her son and let Ronnie run wild with no rules. She said Ronnie had no structure under Rodney and that Rodney taught him that a title gives you empowerment and lets you be above the law.

Rodney Pearson has recently played the race card, alleging that he was fired because he is black. Those who opposed Rodney Pearson as Police Chief included both black and white Jasper Residents. Those who opposed Pearson as Police Chief have always presented evidence showing that their opposition to Pearson was not about race and instead was due to him lying about his criminal record, lack of qualifications compared to other applicants, accusations that Pearson discriminated against White police officers and fired/demoted them, and other problems with his performance as Police Chief, including allegations of him committing sexual assault. Furthermore, the same Jasper residents who opposed Pearson have overwhelmingly just elected a black conservative State Representative James White over his white opponent. 

This is even more evidence to show that opposition to black Rodney Pearson is not due to racism.

This new allegation against Pearson, (that in his official Police Chief capacity he covered up a child rape complaint against his son), is the most shocking evidence against Pearson so far and will likely be used against Pearson to combat Pearson’s lawsuit alleging that he was fired for no other reason than because he is black.

Below you can see the information request that I sent to the Texas Department of Transportation and their response to my request:

Email I send to TX DPS Requesting Info:

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: David Bellow 
Date: Mon, Jun 25, 2012 at 10:31 AM
Subject: TX Rangers Open Records Information Request 6/25/2012
To: ogc.webmaster@dps.texas.gov
Cc: David Bellow

Howdy,

I would like whatever information can be released regarding a case that that the Texas Rangers are working on.

I believe that the case is being handled by Ken Parks of the Beaumont Division.

The complaint/investigation is against Ronnie Pearson.

Pearson (about 25 y/o) is being investigated for allegedly having sex with a 15 year old girl (girl’s name withheld from article) and then taking the girl to have an abortion.

The parents of (girl’s name withheld from article) I believe are the ones who had called the Rangers asking them to investigate because the Jasper, TX Police Department was not investigating the allegations because the police chief at the time was Ronnie Pearson's father.

I believe that should be enough information for you to be able to look up the complaint/investigation.

I would like to get any information that can be released at this time (at least for sure I should be able to get confirmation and basic details of the complaint/investigation)

Thanks!

Sincerely,

David Bellow

409 656 5128

mdbellow@gmail.com

Reply I got from TX DPS about Ronnie Pearson Investigation info Request:

TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY 5805 N LAMAR BLVD  BOX 4087  AUSTIN, TEXAS 78773-0001 512/424-2000 www.dps.texas.gov STEVEN C. McCRAW COMMISSION DIRECTOR A. CYNTHIA LEON, CHAIR DAVID G. BAKER CARIN MARCY BARTH CHERYL MacBRIDE ADA BROWN DEPUTY DIRECTORS ALLAN B. POLUNSKY JOHN STEEN

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER COURTESY  SERVICE  PROTECTION

 July 10, 2012

Via Email

David Bellow

mdbellow@gmail.com

RE: Public Information Request for investigation involving Ronnie Pearson in Jasper, Texas (PIR # 12-2091)

Mr. Bellow:

The Department received your above-referenced request on June 25, 2012. The Department has located records responsive to your request; however, we believe some or all of the records may be excepted from required public disclosure at this time. We are seeking a ruling from the attorney general’s office with respect to disclosure of these records, and a copy of our request letter is enclosed. You will be notified directly by the attorney general’s office when a ruling is issued.

If you have any questions regarding this request, please submit them in writing via facsimile to (512) 424-5716, via email to OGC.Webmaster@dps.texas.gov, via mail to the address in the letterhead, or in person at our offices at 5805 N. Lamar Blvd. in Austin. Thank you.

Cordially,

Michele Freeland

Legal Assistant

cc: The Honorable Greg Abbott

Attorney General of Texas

Open Records Division

209 West 14th Street, 6th Floor

Austin, Texas 78701

fax: (512) 463-2092

TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY 5805 N LAMAR BLVD  BOX 4087  AUSTIN, TEXAS 78773-0001 512/424-2000 www.dps.texas.gov STEVEN C. McCRAW COMMISSION DIRECTOR A. CYNTHIA LEON, CHAIR DAVID G. BAKER CARIN MARCY BARTH CHERYL MacBRIDE ADA BROWN DEPUTY DIRECTORS ALLAN B. POLUNSKY JOHN STEEN

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER COURTESY  SERVICE  PROTECTION

July 10, 2012

Via Hand Delivery

The Honorable Greg Abbott

Attorney General of Texas

Open Records Division

209 West 14th Street, 6th Floor

Austin, Texas 78701

RE: Public Information Request for investigation involving Ronnie Pearson in Jasper, Texas (PIR # 12-2091)

DATE REQUEST FOR INFORMATION RECEIVED: 6/25/2012

DATE REQUEST FOR RULING SUBMITTED TO ATTORNEY GENERAL: 7/10/2012

Dear Attorney General Abbott:

The Department of Public Safety received the above-referenced request for information from David Bellow on June 25, 2012. Due to Independence Day on July 4, 2012, our offices were closed; therefore, we believe this request for a ruling on disclosure is timely made in accordance with section 552.301 of the Government Code. We believe some or all of the requested information is excepted from required public disclosure pursuant to sections 552.101 and 552.108 of the Government Code. Accordingly, we are requesting a ruling regarding the release of these records.

Section 552.101 of the Government Code states that “[i]nformation is excepted from the requirements of Section 552.021 if it is information considered to be confidential by law, either constitutional, statutory, or by judicial decision.” This section encompasses section 261.201 of the Family Code, which states:

(a) Except as provided by Section 261.203, the following information is confidential, is not subject to public release under Chapter 552, Government Code, and may be disclosed only for purposes consistent with this code and applicable federal or state law or under rules adopted by an investigating agency:

(1) a report of alleged or suspected abuse or neglect made under this chapter and the identity of the person making the report; and

(2) except as otherwise provided in this section, the files, reports, records, communications, audiotapes, videotapes, and working papers used or developed in an investigation under this chapter or in providing services as a result of an investigation.

…

(d) The adoptive parents of a child who was the subject of an investigation and an adult who was the subject of an investigation as a child are entitled to examine and make copies of any report, record, working paper, or other information in the possession, custody, or control of the state that pertains to the history of the child. The department may edit the documents to protect the identity of the biological parents and any other person whose identity is confidential, unless this information is already known to the adoptive parents or is readily available through other sources, including the court records of a suit to terminate the parent-child relationship under Chapter 161.

...

(k) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), an investigating agency, other than the department or the Texas Youth Commission, on request, shall provide to the parent, managing conservator, or other legal representative of a child who is the subject of reported abuse or neglect, or to the child if the child is at least 18 years of age, information concerning the reported abuse or neglect that would otherwise be confidential under this section. The investigating agency shall withhold information under this subsection if the parent, managing conservator, or other legal representative of the child requesting the information is alleged to have committed the abuse or neglect.

(l) Before a child or a parent, managing conservator, or other legal representative of a child may inspect or copy a record or file concerning the child under Subsection (k), the custodian of the record or file must redact:

(1) any personally identifiable information about a victim or witness under 18 years of age unless that victim or witness is:

(A) the child who is the subject of the report; or

(B) another child of the parent, managing conservator, or other legal representative requesting the information;

(2) any information that is excepted from required disclosure under Chapter 552, Government Code, or other law; and

(3) the identity of the person who made the report.

The requested information relates to an investigation into alleged child abuse under chapter 261 of the Family Code. See Family Code § 261.001(1)(E) (definition of child abuse includes continuous sexual abuse of young child or children under Penal Code § 21.02, indecency with a child under Penal Code § 21.11, sexual assault under Penal Code § 22.011, or aggravated sexual assault under Penal Code § 22.021). In addition, the requested information consists of files, reports, records, communications, or working papers used or developed in the course of the investigation into child abuse; therefore, this information is within the scope of section 261.201. Additionally, the Department has not adopted a rule governing the release of this type of information. Further, the requestor has not stated that he is an adoptive parent, parent, managing conservator, or other legal representative of the child who is the subject of the reported abuse or neglect. Accordingly, the Department believes these records are confidential by law, as set forth in section 261.201(a) of the Family Code, and should therefore be excepted from required public disclosure pursuant to section 552.101. See Open Records Decision No. 440 at 2 (1986) (predecessor statute).

An investigation into the above-referenced incident is ongoing. Thus, the Department believes the requested information is excepted from required public disclosure pursuant to section 552.108(a)(1) of the Government Code, which states:

(a) Information held by a law enforcement agency or prosecutor that deals with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime is excepted from the requirements of Section 552.021 if:

(1) release of the information would interfere with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime.

Because this is an ongoing investigation, the release of potential evidence would interfere with the investigation and prosecution of this case. See Houston Chronicle Publ’g Co. v. City of Houston, 531 S.W.2d 177, 184-85 (Tex. Civ. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1975), writ ref’d n.r.e., 536 S.W.2d 559 (Tex. 1976) (per curiam). Consequently, the Department believes these responsive records are excepted from required public disclosure at least until the investigation is complete.

Please find enclosed the request from David Bellow, the notice of our request for a ruling sent to the requestor, and the responsive records we wish to except from required disclosure. Please feel free to contact me at (512) 424-2890 if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Molly Cost

Assistant General Counsel

MC/mf

Enclosure(s)

cc: David Bellow

mdbellow@gmail.com

Complaint & Charges Filed Against Jasper, TX Police Chief Rodney Pearson - Woman Says He Groped Her Breast

Update: After this article went up, the local media picked up on the story. KBTV Fox 4 was the first tv station to do a story on it. click here to see it

Also, after this article came out, Stephanie Davis has come forward and testified that Beverly came to her the day of the incident and was very upset and distraught about Pearson touching her.

More East Texas Corruption….

This article is the first media outlet/news agency/blogger to report on these “groping” charges being filed against the Jasper, TX Police Chief

Beverly Rauscher has filed a Criminal Complaint and Charges against Jasper, TX Police Chief Rodney Pearson. Rauscher claims that in October 2011, Pearson came up behind her back and put his hands around her from behind and squeezed her breasts very aggressively.

Rauscher said that the incident happened at Complete Healthcare Services in Jasper where she was employed as a Physician Assistant to Dr. Martin Gilliland. Pearson would frequently visit the facility because Dr. Gilliland was friends with Pearson and Pearson’s wife, Sandy Pearson, worked at this facility as the administrator. Rauscher was very upset after Pearson groped her, and she told Pearson to leave her alone and go into the other room with his wife.

Rauscher then complained to her boss, Dr. Gilliland, about what had happened. Rauscher says that she was afraid to go to the police because Pearson was the Police Chief and she says that Pearson had already harassed her because she signed the Jasper Recall Petition. She was also afraid to lose her job because the Dr. Gilliland is friends with Pearson and Pearson’s wife is the Administrator.

Rauscher could not forget what happened and she has stayed very upset over the incident. Rauscher recently got a new job and was about to move out of Jasper when she realized that, because she was moving, she would be able to come out of hiding and file her complaint without fear of being harassed. On December 13^th, 2011 at about 11:30AM, Rauscher and a friend went to the Jasper County Sheriff’s Department. She met with Investigator Bob Walker and filed charges against Rodney Pearson. Captain James Carter was also in the room and he was used as the prop so that Rauscher could show the investigator what Pearson did to her.

Rauscher told Investigator Walker that, although he was in plain clothes, Pearson was on duty as the Police Chief when the incident happened. Walker said that he would need to get that information verified because the charges are different depending if he was on duty or off duty. Captain Carter also told Rauscher that he would get the Texas Rangers involved. Hopefully they do not get the Texas Ranger that is friends with Pearson or the Texas Ranger that is the brother of Pearson because that would certainly defeat the purpose of having an “outside agency” investigate. It was not that long ago that a Texas Ranger Ken Parks tried to get killer Captain Robert Arnold (Orange TX Police Department) off the hook for killing an unarmed war veteran, James Whitehead, even though Ken Parks did not even investigate of speak to any witnesses.

Jasper Police Department Withholding a Recording of Chief Pearson Talking Inappropriately on Police Radio – Wanted to Show Someone his “Big, Black Flashlight”

Jodi Ellis has filed a Texas Open Records Request with the Jasper Police Department. What does Ellis want? Ellis wants the police department to hand over a recording of Police Chief Rodney Pearson speaking inappropriately over the police radio. Allegedly, while Pearson was driving in a police vehicle that he does not normally use, Pearson’s knee was resting on the Police Radio and the Mic was keyed. This means that everyone can hear what Pearson was saying and Pearson had no idea that they could hear him. While the radio was keyed, Pearson could be heard talking to someone. One of the things that Pearson allegedly said was “I would like to show you my big, black flashlight.”

If these allegations were not true then you would expect the Police Department to comply with the open records request and hand over the recording right? This recording is not something that is sensitive or top secret because anyone with a police scanner can hear what is said over the police radio. Well, the Jasper Police is not handing over the recording. They want to try to keep from having to release the recording and they have asked the Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott to allow them to keep the recording secret. I cannot imagine that the Attorney General will allow the Jasper Police Department to keep the recording secret so it is only a matter of time until that recording comes out.

Click Here to Read My Previous Article About Jasper, TX Corruption – Council Hired Criminal Police Chief – Discrimination Lawsuits Filed – Recall Election Ousted 2 Council Members

Here is a summary: Several Discrimination lawsuits have been filed this year against the Jasper, TX City Council after the council allegedly hired Police Chief Rodney Pearson in a backroom deal based on his race and not his qualifications. Pearson was the least qualified candidate and he had a criminal history. After being hired, Pearson went on to fire and demote some of the white officers. There was a recall petition to oust 3 of the council members (Terrya Norsworthy, Willie Land and Tommy Adams). The council tried to keep the election from happening but a Federal Judge told the City they had to do the recall election. These council members gave Pearson a $5000 pay raise only after 6 months even though no city employee is allowed a pay raise until after one year. The recall election resulted in the people of Jasper ousting 2 of the 3 council members involved in this scandal.

Just when you though this could not get more interesting….

 Jasper, TX Officials Say Convict Activist “Bishop Guillory” Posed as a Department of Justice Agent While defending Chief Pearson and the Council in this Jasper Recall Election – Click Here to read this story
Of course, Bishop Guillory defends Police Chief Rodney Pearson and says on his website that I am a racist because I think Pearson is a bad guy. Maybe Bishop Guillory likes people who harass and grope women? I sure don't! Race is not even a factor in this situation. I support several black politicians, including Conservative, East Texas State Representative James White. I don't care what color you are. I only care what you believe. Regardless of color, I don't like liberals. I like Conservatives.

And of course, much of the liberal media has tried to make it seem as though Jasper is just full of racists who only ousted these council members because of racism and not because the council members are incompetent and the police chief is a criminal.... just plain silly. The residents of Jasper have had MANY black leaders over the years and they never tried to recall them! That is because it is not about race, it is about irresponsible actions by these city officials.

Police Officers Say Orange, TX Cop Wrongfully Killed Unarmed War Hero over Racial Slur. Now Killer Wants Back on the Force

email the Orange County DA and ask him to do the right thing and get this killer brought to Justice jkimbrough@co.orange.tx.us

By, David Bellow 


7/9/2011

A Hearing later this month, July 2011, will Determine whether or not Former Officer Robert Arnold will get his job back. Arnold wants back on the force after he was suspended last year for several reasons including breaking another cop’s leg, punching teenage girl in face and killing unarmed war hero

Fellow Officers want Arnold charged for killing the unarmed war hero after the vet called him a racial slur. These police officers say the killing was completely unjustified and they believe the Texas Ranger who investigated the killing falsified his report to protect Arnold.

A former Orange, Texas cop is currently trying to force the Orange Police Department to give him his job back, while at the same time, a Police Officer who worked with him wants him charged in killing the unarmed man. Plus, other officers say the investigation was rigged and falsified which led to the first grand jury handing down a no-bill. This police officer in question is Robert Arnold. Arnold (who is black) shot and killed James Whitehead (who is white). Whitehead was unarmed and sitting in his truck when he was shot. Witnesses say that Whitehead was shot in Cold Blood by Arnold after Whitehead used a racial slur.

Robert Arnold was suspended indefinitely after the killing. According to the Arnold’s Suspension Report written by the Former Orange, TX Police Chief Sam Kittrell, Arnold was suspended from the police department not only for his actions in killing the unarmed man, but also for his past acts of aggression as a police officer. For instance, Arnold once punched a young teenage girl in the face and tried to hit a man with a metal pipe but missed and instead broke his fellow police officer’s leg. The Police Chief went on to say that Arnold should have let the man get in his truck and leave and the Police Chief even said that Arnold could not have possibly felt physically threatened by Whitehead. 

Furthermore, Police Chief Sam Kittrell was surprised that Texas Ranger Ken Parks, who did the investigation, said it was clean shoot the day after shooting, even though there had been no investigation. Kittrell told Parks to slow down.

Who Was this War Hero and What Happened?

The man killed was James Whitehead. An Iraq Military Veteran who was a hero to those he served with. Whitehead wanted to return a part to an auto store because the part did not work. He got upset because he was told he could not return the part. He started cursing about wanted to get a refund. The store manager called the police. The store manager said that he did not even want to press charges against Whitehead and the store manager just wanted Whitehead to leave the store. Officer Arnold was in plain clothes and never showed a police ID or a badge. Officer Arnold went outside to get cuffs to arrest Whitehead. Whitehead went outside shortly after Arnold left because Whitehead had decided to just leave and not try to argue anymore about returning the part. Officer Arnold went to Whitehead’s truck and tried to keep him from leaving, including Arnold placing his hands on Whitehead and pulling him out of the truck, according to witnesses. Whitehead cursed and said racial slurs to Arnold and told him he was not a cop and tried to get in his truck to leave. Officer Arnold then shot and killed Whitehead while whitehead was sitting in the seat of his truck. Dr. Tommy Brown, the Jefferson County forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy on Whitehead, said that Whitehead probably was sitting in his truck when he was shot.

Was Whitehead out of line for getting so upset about not being able to return the part? Yes. Was it wrong for him to curse and use racial slurs? Yes. But you give someone a ticket for disorderly conduct for that, you don’t kill them! Whitehead, although very upset, did not once threaten to hurt anyone. He never took a swing at anyone. Even the police chief said the problem was resolved when Whitehead tried to get in his truck and leave. This guy could have easily been found and given a citation if the manager wanted to press charges. But that did not happen and, instead of diffusing the situation as a professional who is trained to do that, Officer Arnold chose to escalate the situation by using physical contact and then shot an unarmed man for no reason except that the Whitehead called him a racial slur. The most that would have come from Whitehead’s actions would have been a simple citation, and the store manager was not even going to request a citation anyways and just wanted Whitehead to leave, according to the Examiner Newspaper from Friday, April 22^nd, 2011.

Arnold will claim that he felt like Whitehead was going to kill him and so he had to shoot Whitehead, but that is simply not the case says fellow officers. Arnold put his hands on Whitehead. If someone was that aggressive they would have immediately reacted when someone touches them but Whitehead did not react physically when Arnold touched him. Not to mention Arnold left his teenage daughter in the store with Whitehead when Arnold went to his vehicle to get cuffs. James Whitehead was guilty of getting upset and going on profanity laced tirade. He did not threaten anyone with physical harm or even attempt to. 

Fellow Police Officers Say Arnold was Wrong and Should be Charged in Killing the Unarmed War Hero

Harold Hass, former Orange, TX cop who worked with Arnold has sent a letter to a New Grand Jury requesting charges against Arnold. Hass says Arnold was no-billed by the Grand Jury in November 2010 and that it was because evidence available to the prior Grand Jury was not submitted in its entirety and was incomplete due to the limited witness testimony and other facts.  Hass also says that a study of Texas Penal Code, chapter nine, does, without any doubt, reveal that James Whitehead did nothing unlawfully that day that affords Captain Arnold any type of legal justification to kill James Whitehead. 

Hass is not the only police officer who says Arnold unjustly shot Whitehead. 

Orange Police Chief Lane Martin said he does not know if Whitehead knew Arnold was a police officer and he didn’t believe that Whitehead made any furtive movements that

would have necessitated Arnold pulling his firearm and opening fire

Margo Frazier, police monitor for the city of Austin and former Travis County sheriff says, “Robert Arnold was off duty, not in uniform and didn’t have a badge,” Frazier said. “I feel he should have waited for other police officers to get there and if concerned, he should have called dispatch himself and said I need you to step it up. “Whitehead acted like a jerk, but that is not something that the penal code allows you to take his life for. Arnold pushes the issue and won’t disengage and he winds up shooting an unarmed man. I think Whitehead was trying to leave. And if he leaves, then you get the license number and everybody lives to fight another day.”

Frazier was also critical of the report done by Texas Ranger Ken Parks, saying that Parks appeared to have already made up his mind about the shooting before talking to all of the witnesses. “The investigation appears to have been conducted as if the Ranger had already come to a foregone conclusion,” Frazier said. “One of the things that bothered me was in listening to the witnesses and how they said that it wasn’t their wording in the statements. It appears the Ranger had dawn a conclusion and went forward to try and confirm that conclusion. The words the Ranger used were the ones I saw in the report as opposed to what the witnesses said. He asked leading questions and asked for agreement.”

Several Witnesses Say Arnold Shot Whitehead in Cold Blood because of Racial Slur, and they Say Arnold even Taunted Whitehead After Shooting Him.

These actual statements from these witnesses are completely different from what Texas Ranger Ken Parks wrote in his report…

Store Manager Ray Hebert says that Whitehead told Arnold to shoot him and used a racial slur, Hebert said. He saw Whitehead lean forward, then he heard a gunshot, he testified.

Randy Edwards, a man who lived down the street from the victim who was also on the scene, says that Whitehead was sitting in the passenger seat of the truck when Arnold moved toward him. Edwards said Arnold jerked the door open, stuck the gun in the truck and said, “I’m gonna kill you.” Edwards said he didn’t hear Whitehead say anything, then heard the gun go off. He said he then heard Whitehead say, “You just shot me,” and Arnold replied, “I sure did.”

Charles Bosarge, a random guy from Louisiana who happened to be in the parking lot that day, says that Arnold initiated physical contact when Whitehead was trying to leave by picking Whitehead up by the shoulders and standing him up outside the truck. Bosarge says Whitehead again told Arnold to shoot him and yelled a racial slur and that’s when Arnold shot him.

Family of James Whitehead Suing Orange Police Department Because Department Knew Arnold had Anger Problems When He Was Hired

The family of James Whitehead has filed a lawsuit against the city of Orange for knowingly hiring and keeping a violent and dangerous man on the police force. The Orange police chief even admitted that, when Officer Arnold was hired, there was a concern about an issue of anger or aggression. The police department knew he was an unstable guy and they still hired him.

To make matters worse, the family of James Whitehead will not even be able to get the Veteran Benefits owed to Whitehead because of his heroic military service. 

Conclusion:

-          I completely support law enforcement. I am a law enforcement officer. But one thing that is detrimental to good law enforcement is a bad officer. I would much rather call out the random bad officers than have them put other law enforcement officers in harm’s way.

-          The DA determines what evidence is presented to Grand Jury and how it is presented. The Grand Jury System in Texas Needs major reform to keep DA’s from being the Judge and Jury of who gets prosecuted and who gets a free pass. DA’s should be required to present all facts and evidence to a Grand Jury instead of just selected information.

-          The Orange County District Attorney needs to re-submit the evidence to a new grand jury like he said he would now that new information has come to light, or a special prosecutor needs to be brought in.

-          Robert Arnold should not get his job back later this month and the only thing he should be getting is an indictment