Is TEXAS really this BAD with Officer control

[steveE]

What is the name of your state? texas

What is the name of your state? Texas

Arrested and bonded out on a 1st degree felony. My wife and i both.
This is the situation and i will try to give a breif but all the facts that occured with this incident and this post could probabally get alot of opinions which i am hopeing for.
Ive kept quite until now.

1. Four months ago i was approched by the narcotics task force. They asked me questions. I did not answer anything that was incriminating. They said they had an arrest warrant for me on a charge i still do not know what it is about even today as my lawyer and state keeps putting it off,,its a MIS case. ANYWAY, they asked if they could search the vehicle. I said i didnt care.
They found nothing. (A SWORN AFIDAVID FROM A informant said there was drugs in a specific place in my vehicle) SO the informant lied.
I was asked if we could talk at my location which was around the corner.
I said no problem.
AT THAT TIME I WAS READ MY RIGHTS AND WAS TOLD NOT TO DO ANYTHING STUPID. I rode with them to my location.
Entered into the yard and to the front door.

2. As i went up to the door i told my mother in law. These are Narc officers to take the kids to her place. (There was an officer at the back door not letting them leave i was told later).
I turned around nARC officers i met face to face. They said a normal innocent person would let us in to just let us look around. I said im not normal and i has law encorcment schooling that they needed a search warrant if they wanted in my house.
I was told that a potted plant ive never seen before had 1 marawana leaf so i was arrested with possetion.
(Officer confirmed that no one ever came out thru the front door thru there surveilance over months)

3. I was held in jail for 12 hours without a call.

4. Wife gets home. She is informed ive been arrested. Law enforcment does not let mother in law leave and no cops in house til now.
They followed my wife in the house saying they had to secure the evidence.

5. wife on couch for 4 hours waiting for the warrant. She has to use the rest room. She goes to the bedroom. An officer actually (she didnt know this til she stood up) was watching her thru the mirror.

6. Narc officer follows wife back to living room. Officer notices a firearm from top of cabinet. Officer retreives firarm as well as feels around and finds another as well as contraband. These items were laided out on the counter and later pictured by CPS for the children removal from the home.
Officer takes out fire arms and contraband before search warrant issued.

6b. Wife noticed officers running from the back of the bedroom as she put it " They were searching the rooms. One of the rooms were said contrabad was located. The lock on the door was busted and the officers said it was unlocked. Search warrant still not signed.

7. Search warrant called in to the Narc officers. THE SEARCH WARRANT IS SIGNED!
WARRANT NOT PRESENTED TIL NEXT DAY AND WAS GIVEN TO MOTHER IN LAW.
They searched residence.
Found what they found.

7a. SEARCH WARANT SAID IT WAS SERVED IN 2005 and we can not locate the judge who signed it or no one is telling us. I also thought it was suppose to have the state of texas seal on it or at least noterized. Also they knew what to have put in the search warrant because they already searched the house.

8. Narc seized my cars, guns, computers.

9. Narc officer comes to my cell.
He said look.
I have your wife, your cars, your kids, and your guns WANT TO TALK.
I yelled at my wife not to talk she said she didnt.
WIFE was taken to jail with a male officer in his personal vehicle with no escort and no call in with mileage. (He was actually decent to her compaired to the other officers)

10. Wife at jail I watched as 2 female JAILERS told my wife to strip in front of 2 male JAILERS. I could see the looks on the 2 MALE JAILERS as she strippped.

THIS WAS AT THE MANSFIELD TEXAS JAIL FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO KNOW on AUGUST 13 2007 AT ABOUT 7pm if there is any officers or IA reading this!
THEY ALSO THOUGHT SHE DIED BECAUSE SHE IS DIABETIC AND WAS NOT GIVEN HER MEDICATION. AFTER 4 HOURS OF THINKING MY WIFE IS DEAD A NURSE ARRIVES AND SAYS SHE IS OK SHE JUST NEEDS TO EAT. THIS IS DAY 3 OF NOT EATING.

11. We get outta jail. We are on the news. Our lifes are never the same. We only talked with our attorneys about this matter and im only giving up the facts as well as the bull**** (IN TEXAS WE CALL IT) that occured durring our ordeal.

CURRENT SITUATION:
Both out on $100,000 bonds
Criminal Attorneys $50,000
Family Law $2,000
Civil Attorney $10,000 (Job took away signed contracts and sent letters to clients saying that i was charged with a crime) Loss of $50,000 confirmed bookings.

AS OF NOV 2007 NO FORMAL CHARGES HAVE BEEN FILED.
WHY?
ALSO
I KNOW I CAN SUE THE STATE BUT NO ONE EVER WINS I WAS TOLD.
IS THAT TRUE?
CAN I SUE CPS?
CAN MY WIFE SUE THE CITY OF MANSFIELD FOR IMPROPER CONDUCT?

GET THIS!
THE ONLY DRAWERS THEY LOOKED THRU AND LEFT THINGS HANGING OUT WAS MY WIFES UNDERWAIR DRAWER AND THEY ALSO LEFT SEX BOOKS WHICH WERE HIDDEN. THEY LAID THEM ALL OVER THE BED.

AM I PISSED.
YES
BUT THERE THE STATE. WHAT CAN YOU DO RIGHT?



OK NOW FOR MY JOKE:
THERE ARE 3 FENCES:

NARCOTICS OFFICERS
CPS
US

NARC well they have all the bulls and its a drought so there is no water.
CPS well they have all the trofs on there side of the fence.
Then there is US well on our side of the fence is a whorehouse.

THE RIDDLE IS:
NARC is fedding cps bull of crap and they are eating it up and the reason we are the whorehouse is we are the only ones getting screwed.

HONESTLY, if you can give some insite on this it would help. Im tired of hearing my attorney say do not talk do not talk. AND it is bad and you will be charged and you prob will not see your property. Im paying THEM!
Ive not talked about this case. Even to reporters and i need advice or at least get ready for bad news, good news, any news.

I FEEL LIKE IM ALREADY IN JAIL!

 

[moburkes]

What is the name of your state? texas

What is the name of your state? Texas

Arrested and bonded out on a 1st degree felony. My wife and i both.
This is the situation and i will try to give a breif but all the facts that occured with this incident and this post could probabally get alot of opinions which i am hopeing for.
Ive kept quite until now.

1. Four months ago i was approched by the narcotics task force. They asked me questions. I did not answer anything that was incriminating. They said they had an arrest warrant for me on a charge i still do not know what it is about even today as my lawyer and state keeps putting it off,,its a MIS case. ANYWAY, they asked if they could search the vehicle. I said i didnt care.
They found nothing. (A SWORN AFIDAVID FROM A informant said there was drugs in a specific place in my vehicle) SO the informant lied.
I was asked if we could talk at my location which was around the corner.
I said no problem.
AT THAT TIME I WAS READ MY RIGHTS AND WAS TOLD NOT TO DO ANYTHING STUPID. I rode with them to my location.
Entered into the yard and to the front door.

2. As i went up to the door i told my mother in law. These are Narc officers to take the kids to her place. (There was an officer at the back door not letting them leave i was told later).
I turned around nARC officers i met face to face. They said a normal innocent person would let us in to just let us look around. I said im not normal and i has law encorcment schooling that they needed a search warrant if they wanted in my house.
I was told that a potted plant ive never seen before had 1 marawana leaf so i was arrested with possetion.
(Officer confirmed that no one ever came out thru the front door thru there surveilance over months)

3. I was held in jail for 12 hours without a call.

4. Wife gets home. She is informed ive been arrested. Law enforcment does not let mother in law leave and no cops in house til now.
They followed my wife in the house saying they had to secure the evidence.

5. wife on couch for 4 hours waiting for the warrant. She has to use the rest room. She goes to the bedroom. An officer actually (she didnt know this til she stood up) was watching her thru the mirror.

6. Narc officer follows wife back to living room. Officer notices a firearm from top of cabinet. Officer retreives firarm as well as feels around and finds another as well as contraband. These items were laided out on the counter and later pictured by CPS for the children removal from the home.
Officer takes out fire arms and contraband before search warrant issued.

6b. Wife noticed officers running from the back of the bedroom as she put it " They were searching the rooms. One of the rooms were said contrabad was located. The lock on the door was busted and the officers said it was unlocked. Search warrant still not signed.

7. Search warrant called in to the Narc officers. THE SEARCH WARRANT IS SIGNED!
WARRANT NOT PRESENTED TIL NEXT DAY AND WAS GIVEN TO MOTHER IN LAW.
They searched residence.
Found what they found.

7a. SEARCH WARANT SAID IT WAS SERVED IN 2005 and we can not locate the judge who signed it or no one is telling us. I also thought it was suppose to have the state of texas seal on it or at least noterized. Also they knew what to have put in the search warrant because they already searched the house.

8. Narc seized my cars, guns, computers.

9. Narc officer comes to my cell.
He said look.
I have your wife, your cars, your kids, and your guns WANT TO TALK.
I yelled at my wife not to talk she said she didnt.
WIFE was taken to jail with a male officer in his personal vehicle with no escort and no call in with mileage. (He was actually decent to her compaired to the other officers)

10. Wife at jail I watched as 2 female JAILERS told my wife to strip in front of 2 male JAILERS. I could see the looks on the 2 MALE JAILERS as she strippped.

THIS WAS AT THE MANSFIELD TEXAS JAIL FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO KNOW on AUGUST 13 2007 AT ABOUT 7pm if there is any officers or IA reading this!
THEY ALSO THOUGHT SHE DIED BECAUSE SHE IS DIABETIC AND WAS NOT GIVEN HER MEDICATION. AFTER 4 HOURS OF THINKING MY WIFE IS DEAD A NURSE ARRIVES AND SAYS SHE IS OK SHE JUST NEEDS TO EAT. THIS IS DAY 3 OF NOT EATING.

11. We get outta jail. We are on the news. Our lifes are never the same. We only talked with our attorneys about this matter and im only giving up the facts as well as the bull**** (IN TEXAS WE CALL IT) that occured durring our ordeal.

CURRENT SITUATION:
Both out on $100,000 bonds
Criminal Attorneys $50,000
Family Law $2,000
Civil Attorney $10,000 (Job took away signed contracts and sent letters to clients saying that i was charged with a crime) Loss of $50,000 confirmed bookings.

AS OF NOV 2007 NO FORMAL CHARGES HAVE BEEN FILED.
WHY?
ALSO
I KNOW I CAN SUE THE STATE BUT NO ONE EVER WINS I WAS TOLD.
IS THAT TRUE?
CAN I SUE CPS?
CAN MY WIFE SUE THE CITY OF MANSFIELD FOR IMPROPER CONDUCT?

GET THIS!
THE ONLY DRAWERS THEY LOOKED THRU AND LEFT THINGS HANGING OUT WAS MY WIFES UNDERWAIR DRAWER AND THEY ALSO LEFT SEX BOOKS WHICH WERE HIDDEN. THEY LAID THEM ALL OVER THE BED.

AM I PISSED.
YES
BUT THERE THE STATE. WHAT CAN YOU DO RIGHT?



OK NOW FOR MY JOKE:
THERE ARE 3 FENCES:

NARCOTICS OFFICERS
CPS
US

NARC well they have all the bulls and its a drought so there is no water.
CPS well they have all the trofs on there side of the fence.
Then there is US well on our side of the fence is a whorehouse.

THE RIDDLE IS:
NARC is fedding cps bull of crap and they are eating it up and the reason we are the whorehouse is we are the only ones getting screwed.

HONESTLY, if you can give some insite on this it would help. Im tired of hearing my attorney say do not talk do not talk. AND it is bad and you will be charged and you prob will not see your property. Im paying THEM!
Ive not talked about this case. Even to reporters and i need advice or at least get ready for bad news, good news, any news.

I FEEL LIKE IM ALREADY IN JAIL!

Again what is your question?
1. What is MIS? The informant didn't necessarily lie. It just means that the drugs were moved prior to the police searching your vehicle. What the heck is a "location"?

2. If they were there to take your kids to your MILs house, why didn't they do that? What does "I turned around the NARC officers I met face to face mean"? What does the front door have anything to do with this?

5. What type of mirrors do you have in your house, that an officer can watch your wife on the couch through a mirror?

10. If your wife is diabetic, why wouldn't she eat?

 

[JETX]

Way, WAY too long for you to expect a VOLUNTEER attorney or qualified member to dig through....
Cut all the crap... and try again.

 

[quincy]

Steve -

The letters sent to your clients saying you were charged with a crime as opposed to being arrested for a crime could be considered libelous if you have not, in fact, been charged. Usually, for instance, a newspaper will not print the names of people arrested by the police until the prosecutor files charges, as a libel suit could result if charges are never filed, or the charges filed are different than what the police arrested the person for.

Generally charges must be filed within 24 hours or so after an arrest, to prevent unreasonable detention. You are brought before a judge, informed of the charges, and bail is set. But you were released without charges being filed? Why did you have to post bond? You have not been brought before a judge? Curious.

 

[CdwJava]

Steve -

The letters sent to your clients saying you were charged with a crime as opposed to being arrested for a crime could be considered libelous if you have not, in fact, been charged. Usually, for instance, a newspaper will not print the names of people arrested by the police until the prosecutor files charges, as a libel suit could result if charges are never filed, or the charges filed are different than what the police arrested the person for.

Generally charges must be filed within 24 hours or so after an arrest, to prevent unreasonable detention. You are brought before a judge, informed of the charges, and bail is set. But you were released without charges being filed? Why did you have to post bond? You have not been brought before a judge? Curious.

I'm not sure how it works in TX, but out here the name, age, address, and charges of any person arrested are public record - even if charges are not filed. The "arrest" is factual when they are taken into custody and printing such would not be libelous.

Also, in my state, if you want to get out before arraignment (within 2 court days) you can post bail. Within a few hours of the arrest, a judge must approve of the probable cause for the arrest, but that is often done by fax or phone by jail staff.

Since procedures vary to some degree by state, I doubt this is an issue here.

And the post was just too long to follow ... nothing leapt out at me as being bad or wrong, but if it has been nearly two years and he is represented by counsel then he already has someone to bounce these questions off of who has full knowledge of his case and situation.

- Carl

 

[CavemanLawyer]

In Texas, all felonies must be true billed by a grand jury before formal charges can be filed, and this process can take several months. I don't see anything abnormal or sinister about you getting arrested in August and still not having the felony charges brought yet. You will eventually get something in the mail telling you if charges were filed and when your court date is. You can also call the district clerk's office and inquire as to whether your case has been presented to a grand jury yet.

Charges do not have to be filed to keep someone in jail in Texas. A judge had to make a probable cause finding within 24 hours that there is PC for a crime, and with that an individual can be held until they make bail. And As CdwJava said, arrests made and the reason they were made (what the police agency charged them with, regardless of whether the DA's office ever charges them with anything) are public record and are freely reported in the news.

As for everything else about your ordeal, its difficult to really make heads or tails of it. But if the search warrant was actually incorrectly dated as 2005 than that actually could make it invalid, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the contraband seized will be suppressed, as long as the officers were acting in good faith.

As long as your story was I still feel like you are leaving out some important pieces. Cops don't just raid a house for no reason. I'm not saying you are guilty of anything but there's got to be more to this.

 

[steveE]

In Texas, all felonies must be true billed by a grand jury before formal charges can be filed, and this process can take several months. I don't see anything abnormal or sinister about you getting arrested in August and still not having the felony charges brought yet. You will eventually get something in the mail telling you if charges were filed and when your court date is. You can also call the district clerk's office and inquire as to whether your case has been presented to a grand jury yet.

Charges do not have to be filed to keep someone in jail in Texas. A judge had to make a probable cause finding within 24 hours that there is PC for a crime, and with that an individual can be held until they make bail. And As CdwJava said, arrests made and the reason they were made (what the police agency charged them with, regardless of whether the DA's office ever charges them with anything) are public record and are freely reported in the news.

As for everything else about your ordeal, its difficult to really make heads or tails of it. But if the search warrant was actually incorrectly dated as 2005 than that actually could make it invalid, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the contraband seized will be suppressed, as long as the officers were acting in good faith.

As long as your story was I still feel like you are leaving out some important pieces. Cops don't just raid a house for no reason. I'm not saying you are guilty of anything but there's got to be more to this.

Thank you for your post. I pretty much stated in the post all the details of that day only.
There is more to the story but this is the first time i was offically approched by law enforcement over this matter. I knew i was under serveilance for months.


Also for the other poster:
Again what is your question?
1. What is MIS? The informant didn't necessarily lie. It just means that the drugs were moved prior to the police searching your vehicle. What the heck is a "location"?

A. Mistomenor/less than a felony (however you spell it)
B. I delt with no one local and never transported narcotics in my vehicle and the narcotics that were stated in the affidavid was something i just did not deal with.
C. Location/my home


2. If they were there to take your kids to your MILs house, why didn't they do that? What does "I turned around the NARC officers I met face to face mean"? What does the front door have anything to do with this?
A. I dont know
B. The narcotics officers were trying to come into my house.
C. No one ever come thru the front door because the front gate is always secure

5. What type of mirrors do you have in your house, that an officer can watch your wife on the couch through a mirror?
A. As in post, wife was followed to the bedroom where bathroom was located

10. If your wife is diabetic, why wouldn't she eat?
Lactos intolerant,
She is someone that knew nothing about anything so i guess with kids taken away and just everything all together she was just in shock.

I KNOW THERE IS POLICE OFFICERS ON THIS BOARD SO I WILL NOT POST ANYMORE INFORMATION. i WILL READ INFO IF SUBMITTED.
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE.

 

[las365]

I delt with no one local and never transported narcotics in my vehicle and the narcotics that were stated in the affidavid was something i just did not deal with... I KNOW THERE IS POLICE OFFICERS ON THIS BOARD SO I WILL NOT POST ANYMORE INFORMATION.

Whoops, a little too late to avoid posting incriminating information.

 

[quincy]

Carl and Caveman -

As for reporting arrests, yes, we can do that - anything on the police report is fair game for journalists. What we can't (or shouldn't) do, however, is report that someone was charged with a crime if they were only arrested, because that could be libelous if no charges are brought, or if the charges that are brought are different. Police officers can arrest a person, but they cannot charge a person. Only the prosecutor can bring charges. That is why the letters mailed out to Steve's clients could potentially be libelous if they stated he was charged with a crime when he hasn't been.

As for the procedural stuff in Texas, thanks for explaining that. It works a little differently here in Michigan. I am pretty sure journalism works the same way there, though, and the reporting of charges needs to be handled carefully to avoid libeling someone.

 

[CavemanLawyer]

We do everything differently in Texas quincy

After an arrest a person is brought before a magistrate and told what they are charged with and the magistrate must determine that there is probable cause for the arrest. Once this is done the person has been "charged." This is before the DA's office has filed anything, though for felony offenses the police will have already consulted the DA's office and done an intake call where they ask the DA's office if they will accept charges. Essentially the police are asking whether there is enough evidence to make the arrest. After the arrest and magistration, the officer files a sworn affidavit and a complaint and forwards it to the DA's office along with his/her offense report and from there the DA's office decides whether or not to file formal charges. But for purposes of charges, you are charged when an officer arrests you for A, B, and C offenses even if the DA's office later declines to prosecute.

 

[CdwJava]

As for reporting arrests, yes, we can do that - anything on the police report is fair game for journalists. What we can't (or shouldn't) do, however, is report that someone was charged with a crime if they were only arrested, because that could be libelous if no charges are brought, or if the charges that are brought are different. Police officers can arrest a person, but they cannot charge a person. Only the prosecutor can bring charges. That is why the letters mailed out to Steve's clients could potentially be libelous if they stated he was charged with a crime when he hasn't been.

I suppose it depends on the state. Very often the terms here are something akin to: "... arrested on a charge of residential burglary ..."

I don't think they are quite that anal about the terms in CA.

- Carl

 

[quincy]

Geez. Texas really is different.

So SteveE has been brought before a magistrate and charged with this felony, even though he has not been formally charged? So, saying he was charged instead of just arrested is not "jumping the gun", huh? He has actually been charged. Well then, for his agent to say to his clients that he was charged with a crime is not libelous at all, but true.

Sorry SteveE, no libel action possible here.

(and Carl, editors HAVE to be anal - one false word and we're looking at a libel suit.)

 

[CdwJava]

Out here the probable cause is reviewed by a judge within a few hours of the booking, and the formal charges are presented at arraignment.
But, officially, the subject is not "charged" until arraignment (within 48 hours/2 court days of the arrest ... slightly longer if over a holiday or weekend).

I honestly haven't looked recently if our papers use "arrested" or charged. They generally print what our logs state, so if WE use the terminology, they probably do.

But, I'm not in the media business so those distinctions don't concern me as much as they might the media outlets.

- Carl

 

[mike_lee]

The post is long because I reposed a story of Texas jail abuse which you don't have to read.

The reason I'm on this board is because I was arrested in Texas. I won't hijack the thread except to say the Texas system is like a third world, know of no other state where you are routinely jailed for not having your driver's license on you (applies to blacks and Hispanics only and varies by county). It takes something huge like Williamson County judges systematically denying people access to Public defenders before anything gets done.

Hundreds of people die needlessly in Texas jails every year, (county jails not prisons) I was held for 27 hours on a misdemeanor charge because in part, I was told, the jail gets federal money for every uneatable meal served. During this time I was denied my blood pressure medicine which includes a black box warning that sudden discontinuation can cause a stroke or heart event. (I'm 53 Y.O.) this was done because the name on the Walgreens bottle was faded. The phone number was clearly visible, the prescription number was clearly visible in fact the name is readable and the tablets easy to identify with any pillbook, of which I'm sure the county jail has several. But once you are in the system you become of less value then the time it would take to make a phone call on your behalf. I pleaded with them until I became catatonic and suffered a very mild stroke, and thank god I fully recovered after a few days of near blindness. In Texas you have no rights except what you can buy with a lawyer.

----------------------------------

Here's a story for you from 'The Texas Jail Project' http://www.texasjailproject.org/

Ms. Williams was picked up on a warrant even though her file stated that Ms. Williams should not be picked up because she was 6-7 months pregnant and she had a very rare uterine condition. However, Ms. Williams was thrown in jail while pregnant, and her condition worsened. She began bleeding, and the nurse was reluctant to believe her and said, “show me your bloody pad.” So Ms. Williams was subjected to the humiliation of proving that she was really in pain and bleeding.

Eventually, Ms. Williams was put in isolation where she was removed from contact with people, which Ms. Williams hated. This was her first child and she was very afraid since no medical staff was around. Eventually, to keep her from complaining, Ms. Williams was given Benadryl.

When Ms. Williams was finally returned to the cell, her water broke. She was told that she was hallucinating, that her water hadn’t broken. Then the nurse told her that she shouldn’t worry, she wouldn’t have a baby until a month later. Then they proceeded to put Ms. Williams back into isolation, even though she was frantic not to go where there was no contact with people. Ms. Williams was alarmed about the baby coming early, especially since the nurse had expressed great disdain for even performing a sonogram to determine the baby’s condition.

When Ms. Williams became agitated about going into isolation, the sergeant told her that she was going into isolation “the easy way or the hard way,” and the hard way was being shocked with a taser gun. A female guard was so alarmed that she grabbed Ms. Williams’ stuff and coaxed her to the isolation room.

Sure enough, Ms. Williams proceeded to go into labor without anyone present and the baby was coming out breach! Worse still, the baby was arriving while Ms. Williams was on the toilet; so to get help Ms. Williams had to crawl approximately 60 feet to reach a button on the wall. After three attempts to call and saying that she was in labor, a female guard arrived. The baby was hanging with its feet first down around Ms. Williams’ knees.

There was pandemonium followed by a rushed ride in the ambulance to the hospital. The baby was dead and Ms. Williams was handed the dead child in a blanket. She was not told that the baby was dead, and she only realized the fact when she saw on her own that the child was not moving or breathing. No attempt was made to call her husband. When, much later, he got word, he rushed to see his new baby. He was handed the dead baby in a blanket. Ms. Williams was not even allowed to attend the baby’s funeral. Later, Ms. Williams said that you, Sheriff O’Connor, called her into your office and told her that the unfortunate incident was not your fault, but the fault of the jail administration under the previous sheriff, Michael Ratcliff.

 

[quincy]

I don't know what to say, Mike, other than that is one of the saddest and most disturbing stories I have ever heard.