Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Attachments To Writ
Attachments To Writ
Persons known to be present are County Judge Ray West, County Attorney Shane Britton, Sheriff Bobby
Grubbs, County Auditor Nina Cox, County Clerk Margaret Woods, Commissioner Steve Adams,
Commissioner Richard Gist, Commissioner David Carroll, Commissioner Adrian Beck, and unknown
others.
Beginning of Transcript
West: Let the record reflect that uh, I moved to convene to executive session. It is seconded by
Commissioner Beck, and approved unanimously. The agenda is, uh, specific that we are in executive
session to discuss personnel matters and pending litigation, the pending litigation being the criminal
case that was filed against our tax assessor collector and the personnel matters being the status of her
um, employment. I have asked uh, County Attorney Shane Britton and Sheriff Bobby Grubbs to be
present, and they are present for executive purposes. Now I would ask that they uh, (inaudible) with
comment on their aspects of the case. Uh, first of all, uh, Sheriff Grubbs I want to ask you, I don’t mean
to ask you any specifics about the criminal investigation, but I think our concern needs to be, and the
focus of this meeting needs to be, can you explain to us what needs to, what we need to look out for
and any action we need to take with regard to the criminal investigation in the tax assessor’s office. In
other words, is there any evidence that needs to be secured, are there any, um, items that should not be
taken; you tell us.
Grubbs: Ok, without consulting with the investigators, I haven’t sat down and read their report. There
is a possibility or evidence that there can be some charges that’s related to the computers; I think
they’ve made back-ups on the computers already if I’m not mistaken. But there is a possibility that, in
my opinion, now I’d like to talk to investigators to back this up, but there is only one situation, and
they’re remaining in that office, there is a possibility that they could tamper with those files. That is a
concern.
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West: Uh, she indicated at least according to the newspaper, uh, this morning she indicated that she
wants to come back today. I believe when, uh, Ellis Johnson was here Friday, and she arrived. Ellis and,
uh, Wayne brought her in here and she indicated intentions of coming back, um, and if she does, how
are we going to prevent her from absconding with the material?
Grubbs: I don’t know about that unless you sit here and watch her all day.
West: And I believe, if I’m not mistaken, that until, uh, she is actually removed from office, she’s the tax
assessor collector and she has the right to have access until she is removed from office. And I’ll tell ya’ll,
since you weren’t present, I did this on my own the first day. I instructed the security officer, um, to, uh,
to do exactly what was done and when she showed up she was not to be given access to her office other
than to remove personal items if she wanted to and that was completely without authority because I
can’t keep her from going and doing (inaudible). I was trying to avoid distractions in that office. And,
uh, sure enough, she showed up and he did what I asked him to do. And she did agree to leave and
come back Monday.
West: Shane, I would ask that you would comment and tell this court of what actions you intend to take
and how soon you intend to take it.
Britton: Well, first of all, I’d say that, uh, that other than just general courthouse gossip, I didn’t even
know of anything that was going on until, probably… I mean officially I didn’t even know anything was
going on until, I guess, last Wednesday. I was told that she was going to go before the Grand Jury on
Thursday. Um… so Thursday, I went ahead and began preparing a petition for removal to have her
removed from office. And…I was busy all day Friday, working on it some Friday and worked this
weekend and I have that prepared. Uh, there were some details that I never found, and I never have…
I’ve been having trouble finding until they issued a second indictment. I don’t know if ya’ll realize she
was indicted for two different types. The second of which is making a false application for a certificate
of title. She bought a new pickup truck and put in a false sales amount to reduce her tax liability, which
is a third degree felony. And that just came up actually I believe last Wednesday was when they
discovered that. So, I didn’t have the details of it, based on what the details to finish the petition, but
I’ve already got the petition for removal finished. Uh, it’s rather lengthy, uh, so I would anticipate to file
that later this morning or early afternoon you know. Uh, not only it is asking for her removal
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temporarily, it’s also gonna need to include a temporary restraining order and a temporary injunction,
that’s gonna keep her from coming in the courthouse basically.
West: (inaudible)
West: A TRO?
Britton: Yeah, it’ll be a TRO, right. (Inaudible) Now, there’s kind of, uh, that there’s, uh, when you file a
removal petition there’s really an option of whether or not you (inaudible) be diplomatic about this
without saying this…that there…we actually have an option as to whether or not we want the local
district judge to hear it or we…we have an automatic right to request a visiting judge.
Britton: Right, now the problem with bumping him is, that delays the temporary suspension and so,
um….but at the same time –
Britton: But, Murray Jordan was here all week last week.
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West: Oh, okay.
Britton: And I wouldn’t, I wouldn’t, that wouldn’t concern me except for the fact that, um…our most
recent removal petition that was filed, um… we got kind of a, uh, um… a ruling from our district judge
that we, that I think was, that I disagreed with, and um… and so I’m thinking of not filing anymore
removals and let him hear it, if he’s gonna not be very cooperative, and so, I’m kind of in this catch
twenty-two. Do I let him hear it so we can get an immediate suspension? –
West: Well it kind of, it kind of takes him off the hook too, uh, Shane, for this reason. That lady is a
material witness in the case. She is also his direct employee. My guess is Steve would probably, you
know…if you file it, he would say I –
West: (inaudible)
West: Am I right?
Britton: What I thought, what I was considering is, is going ahead and filing it and not asking for the
appointment of a visiting judge in our original petition and hoping he would go ahead and order the
suspension and then we could ask for it to be assigned to a visiting judge.
(Inaudible)
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West: I wouldn’t know that.
West: Oh, you mean to keep (inaudible). I don’t even know if he would grant the TRO –
Britton: Yeah, and I don’t, and I don’t know, of course, it’s, it’s, it’s complicated, or simplified, I guess
from your perspective, by the fact that, uh, we can make a case without her.
Unidentified: (inaudible)
West: You might want to consult with, with, or I could consult with Judge Ellis and say Judge, here’s
what’s coming down the pipe, could you please call your (inaudible) the administration judge and get
him to appoint somebody to (inaudible). Then, again, I’ll tell you too, Shane is filing this petition…it’s
not that, and I agree with him doing so, it’s not that, that I believe that…you’re…I believe that you’re
innocent until you’re proven guilty. My, my agreement to sign this petition, I will, uh, swear to
(inaudible). This sworn plea can be sworn to by any citizen of the county. Anybody that has lived here
for six months can file a petition. It’s not so much that I feel she’s guilty of a criminal offense, um,
having discussed this with Bobby and his investigators, and having discussed it with, uh, District Attorney
Murray, um, Michael is, is very confident that he has got a good case. He said it’s probably his best case
since the Donahue case. But it’s, it’s that, knowing what I know after visiting with, with Nina and
Weldon Stark, the investigator on this case, twice, um, I am adamant that Linda neglected her duties to
the extent she should be removed from office. This was a scheme that went on for months and months.
It’s documented that it went on for months and months. She has admitted that it went on for months
and months. And she has even gone so far as to tell me, whether it was in your presence or not, that
yes it was her fault, she was unequivocal about it, she said “at the very least I, I’ve shirked my duties, I
should have caught on and I should have fixed it before now, - (Unidentified: I didn’t steal the money.)
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but I’m responsible for it” and that’s why she’s saying she’s putting up money to repay the County. Um,
today I feel like she’s grossly neglected her duties, and, and with or without, I shouldn’t say it that way. I
don’t have to have ya’ll move, we don’t have to have a motion at this time, or a second and a third, for
this Commissioners’ Court to support that application, because as a citizen of the county I can sign it.
Ya’ll can sign it. But, I mean, I agree with Shane, I will sign the affidavit swearing –
Britton: You.
West: negligence?
Britton: Well, it’s both ways, it’s (inaudible) alternative theories that it’s intentional illegal activity and
gross incompetence. Now, I will add to what you said, and that is that she has given a…a written
statement admitting that she’s guilty. I mean, it’s not just, this is an accounting error and she is
somehow responsible.
Britton: Well –
Grubbs: A written confession of sorts. I can’t, I haven’t read it. I haven’t read over it before.
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Britton: Huh?
Britton: And she says “I took the money”. She told how she took it, her little scheme. I know. I know.
It’s all in this petition you’re about to sign, so –
West: She has, she does not have a grip on reality, though.
Britton: Huh-uh.
West: And that’s another thing that bothers me. She carries a weapon in her car. Um, this was, uh, I’ve
got it, Faye told me this, but, uh, when Ellis and Wayne had her in here they asked her the other day,
“do you have a weapon?” and she said “yeah, I got one”.
West: No, she said that, he said “well, any other weapons?” and she said “yeah, I carry a gun in my
pickup”.
Britton: But, see, you can’t when you’re under indictment. It’s part of the concealed handgun law in
Texas.
West: That indictment that prohibits that doesn’t make me or you any more alive when she plugs us.
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Britton: Oh, I know that. I’m just saying that that gives, that that gives law enforcement the authority to
take it away from her, is what I’m saying.
Britton: Well, I don’t think you can stop her, but, but there’s certainly nothing to prevent somebody
from sitting there beside her.
West: security, if she goes in there, we may have to have a security guard assigned to that office.
Britton: The truth of the matter is, there’s probably not a whole lot in there that she could do to affect
the case, because she’s had months to do anything she wanted to and she didn’t. She apparently wasn’t
smart enough to.
Adams: Now, what do you mean she’s had months? See, I’m not aware of everything –
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Adams: that’s happened.
Grubbs: Well, we –
Britton: A normal person would have realized that they were under a microscope for two or three
months, but whether or not she understands that –
West: See –
West: back in about August, the deposits of the Tax Assessor Collector, she gets money every day –
Cox: Yeah.
Britton: Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know that ya’ll didn’t know this.
West: that the deposits started being made later and later and later. The day they were supposed to be
made (inaudible)
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Britton: All the time.
West: She made one, one as much as twenty-one days late, eighteen to twenty-one days, that’s three
weeks.
Britton: Forty.
West: Forty?
West: And see she has to write checks off that. I guess she has to pay the state or (inaudible). She had
a check bounce, because she hadn’t made a deposit.
West: The County check bounced because of her. So then I don’t know whether Nina had already seen
it or if she came to Nina. Nina did –
10
Cox: The bank called.
Britton: On December the fifteenth, the bank called and said the check bounced.
(Inaudible)
West: She came in to me in January and talked to me about it and said “would you want to meet with
Weldon?” and I said “well, let’s meet with him right now” and we did. And she said “when do you want
to meet with him again and I said “the day after the election” and we did. We met on March the 8th, for
the second time, and it became clear… Well, honestly, Weldon had not gotten to the point where he
could tell us unequivocally, we have something criminal going on. The day he did that was March 8th. I
immediately called Sheriff Grubbs to report it and Sheriff Grubbs then called the Ranger and here we
are.
Britton: See, what she was doing… I mean, she’s told now, her scheme. What she would do is, she
would take those daily…a deposit, okay, pull a bank bag of cash with a deposit slip. She would take that
out and put it in her desk drawer, okay. Then she would, she would keep it together, and she would use
cash if she needed it. Personally, okay. So she would keep the deposit slip back from the original day,
and so she would borrow…steal, or whatever you want to call it…this money, and then when, in the
future, when she would have a daily deposit that was close to that same amount then she’d take that
money and put it with that deposit slip and go put it in the bank, okay. So she just kind of carried a
balance on forward. (Inaudible)
Adams: All right. And, and…and was it ever, did she continue to do that, I mean, she –
Britton: If, if she did it, she, she, she’d take it twenty, or thirty, or sixty dollars at a time and thought
“hey, that’s pretty easy, now I’m gonna take a hundred at a time”, and then she –
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Britton: Well, no, she’s carrying a balance forward –
Britton: And so the debt grew. The debt just got a little bigger and a little bigger –
Adams: All right, is that what (inaudible). ‘Cause I’m, I’m sitting here wondering, and I’m having people
ask me all the time and I’m, you know, not going into detail what was done, we’ll find out (inaudible).
But, uh, did she borrow…when she was caught, I presume, did she go borrow money…this amount, or
something close to this amount, and come and pay? And, and, uh, is that what she was saying in the
paper? That she borrowed money, she paid it, and she don’t even know where that’s at? You know,
and uh, my dad was asking, you know, she evidently borrowed some money and gave it to the County,
and the County, you know, nobody knows where that money’s at? And I said “no, we know exactly
where it’s at”.
(Inaudible)
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Britton: We started a criminal investigation on Vance now for (inaudible)
West: I’m gonna try to protect you from it, because I’m acting on my own. If there’s collusion, then I’m
guilty –
West: But, I am not gonna sit back and have the same kind of attacks on us take place, on you four, and
me, too, as happened when we had the Mozelle…uh, crud happen.
Cox: The accounting procedure that she alluded to that I changed was to make her leave the deposit
slip in the deposit book, take the complete book to the bank, have it stamped, and bring it back. And,
therefore, she could no longer use February’s money to cover January’s deposit, so –
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Adams: And that was the balance of that? –
Cox: And in the end, we ended up with…this many deposit slips out of January that she had no avenue
to replace.
Unidentified: Right.
Adams: So, really, she didn’t do anything wrong, she was just taking money and then she would pay it
back…. (Laughter) I mean, she’d take it and put (inaudible)
Britton: There’s actually more to the, there’s kind of, uh, part of that story, that it, that they actually
keep petty cash in there.
Britton: Thirteen hundred…thirteen hundred and eighty-nine dollars. See, I don’t know what, where
that amount comes from. But they keep a specific amount of petty cash in the safe, so in the mornings
when they open up their tills they’ll have change.
Woods: Right.
Britton: Forever, probably. She’s been borrowing that and paying it back –
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Unidentified (in background): Well, whatever procedure you’ve got to do, there’s a general procedure
(inaudible).
Britton: No. Because, they would come in on Monday morning and the first thing they’d do is, is add up
the petty cash and it was always short. –
Unidentified: Yeah.
Britton: And then during the week, or in the next couple of weeks, she’d pay it back. She’s been
borrowing from the petty cash for –
Britton: I don’t even know if they asked her about that, because it balances, it, it’s balanced right now,
she got caught up, she’d get caught up on that.
Grubbs: You know, they, it seems like they typically, starts when somebody’s borrowing a little bit, pay
it back, borrow a little bit, and pay it back, and then one day (inaudible).
West: See, I do that with my personal account, and my wife has yet to catch me. ‘Cause I, I’ll catch up
and –
Grubbs: I used to (inaudible) a clothing allowance and I thought I was hiding it out, but my wife knew
about it the whole time.
15
Britton: The best, but the best piece of advice that Lee Haney ever gave me when I became an elected
official, he said “just don’t ever handle any cash, you don’t take cash in your office”, so we don’t take
cash in our office… for that very reason. (Inaudible) We don’t take, we don’t accept –
West: Richard, Richard has a question. He wants to know what’s going on.
Gist: Uh, it’s an unfortunate circumstance. Not being an attorney, and not being familiar with the, uh,
petition to remove a publicly, a public, elected official. We had some, but it’s been years ago,
(inaudible). But, uh, by what authority, well, what authority does the Commissioners Court, us five
including you, Judge, as chairman, have, uh, in this regard?
West: Notta.
West: That’s why this, this is just a report sort of a session. We’re not going to take action. You can
sign it, I, all of us can sign it. The people across the street can sign it. A public…a, a county resident has
the right to seek removal of someone from office.
(Inaudible)
Adams: If I’m indicted, I’m gonna expect a petition for removal, soon. If I’m, I mean –
Adams: Well, who knows? (Laughter) You got, uh, (inaudible) Sky Sudderth –
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Britton: You won’t ever file one against me, ‘cause if I’m indicted, I’ll quit. (Laughter)
Adams: Well, there you go. You got the last three of the, the last three elected officials we’ve had in
the county that have been indicted, and maybe further back than that, I can only remember three being
indicted –
(Inaudible)
(Inaudible)
Adams: So, is there something that needs to be done in that office other than…there’s something that
you think she might have on the computer that you’re not aware of?
Unidentified: (inaudible)
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Carroll: Back-up. Can you do back-up on all the computers?
Britton: Well –
Britton: But see, that’s the crazy thing about it is, she has known that Nina has known since December.
That’s what I’m saying, if she was going to go, go in there and do something, she would have already
done it and she, she’s waited too long now. Nina’s got all she needs.
West: I will give y’all this (inaudible), you will need to talk to Babs, because Friday afternoon late, Babs
and I and a Ray Bertrand employee went into her office. And the purpose of that was to break her
secret password into that computer, that’s not hooked to our system. Bertrand’s guy (Britton:
Mitchell?) said that…Ray had said that that contains information that’s essential for them to open their
office up every morning, (Britton: But they know it.) that’s why I instructed him to do it.
West: She knows it….she didn’t know it then, she knows it now.
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Britton: Because, it’s the name….her password is the name of the guy that she bought the truck for
where she lied about her……her boyfriend.
West: Anyway, I’m assuming that the tax assessor’s office was open for business this morning, they got
into the computer, because they had to, to reconcile with the state…
Cox: I think we had some concerns, too, that Linda had access to online banking.
(Inaudible)
Cox: which, uh, (inaudible). We kind of, in a round about way, had that turned off a couple of months
ago. Yeah, we (inaudible), because when Ann requested… The one way we could get it turned off was
to have Ann request that online access (inaudible) that, then she could give the password to anybody
that needed access. So we cut everybody off.
West: I, that’s, that’s the reason I had (inaudible) call him Saturday night, to find out about that, ‘cause
I…park my cars in my garage. If she torched my cars, she’ll burn my house down.
Unidentified: (Inaudible)
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Britton: She is, I mean, she –
Cox: (inaudible) She wanted to come in and change all of her (inaudible), she wanted to change the
amount of (inaudible), she wanted to change this… I said “Linda, you cannot change anything right now”
and she got quite irate with me. And I’m thinking “okay, you’re mad at me?” –
Unidentified: But the passwords have been changed since she got indicted?
West: Well, just for the computer that, that the tax assessor has to have.
Grubbs: (Inaudible)
West: I’ll put it this way, she will (inaudible) an effort to exclude her office staff from some of the
essential elements of that office. And we’ve taken steps, I have, to see that that no longer happens.
Nina (inaudible)
Adams: So the girls that are in there, you’ve got to have a couple of girls in there that are loyal to Linda.
Several: No.
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Grubbs: I don’t think you do at this point except the one that’s got the password. (Inaudible)
West: Their – none of ‘em. I’ve had a conversation with all four of them last week, none of them.
(Inaudible)
Adams: And we’ve got people in there that can run the show?
Unidentified: (Inaudible)
West: Steve, you have people in there that’s known more about that office than Linda has for years.
Grubbs: Linda came to my office about two weeks ago. We told the Texas Ranger about this.
(Inaudible)
Gist: Well, it sounds like that, uh, talking with you and hearing this, that she had been more
forthcoming with her information on her, uh, discussion of this or admitting that there is a problem
than, uh, she has to the media, to the general public, after my reading…scanning newspaper articles
yesterday, that she doesn’t know –
West (in background): Well, the, The Eleven Faces of Eve is a book that I would recommend for you to
read -
Gist: what is –
Britton: And Richard…but Richard, I’ll tell, I’ll tell you this, uh, that –
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West (in background): (inaudible) wakes up that day to where she’s cooperative or surrealistic –
Britton: But Richard, in the, in the removal petition they’ll be, you’ll set forth certain factual allegations
on this day, this is what happened, on this day, this is what happened. The minute that gets filed in the
clerk’s office, that’s public information, so, I would imagine in tomorrow’s paper it’ll be the other side,
not Linda’s side, that will be in the paper. So, by tomorrow morning the Brownwood public’s going to
know that she admitted she stole the money.
Britton: Oh, he is. He’s like a, yeah, he’s like a kid (inaudible).
Unidentified: Are you sure your okay with releasing this (inaudible).
22
Britton: We’re not releasing anything –
(Inaudible)
Britton: We can’t.
West: All you’ve got to do to file a petition, a removal petition is file a sworn plea, pay the court costs,
and maybe get a bond.
(Inaudible)
West: I thought there was some monetary guarantee that if her salary is interrupted and she’s later
exonerated of this crime, the County’s got to pay her –
23
Britton: No, no, the person who takes her place (inaudible).
Gist: Even though you may be indicted, is that grounds for removal? Again, we’re not doing this, this –
Britton: It’s, it’s not in and of itself grounds, but that’s probable cause that she committed a crime.
West: And, and the crime is of a nature that even if she didn’t physically take the money that she
admitted to, she was way past (inaudible) by not going to Nina or coming to us the first time a deposit
was…what was it?
Cox: Outstanding.
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Britton: But you can’t get past the point that her and Nina talked about this on December the 15th, and
she kept doing it. And December the 15th when Nina told her about it, she could’ve borrowed the
money and said “oh, I just happened to find this bank bag with a deposit that hasn’t been made”, but
she’s –
Grubbs: She had written a letter to the editor. I hope it don’t get put in the paper. I saw it –
Grubbs: There, there’s a letter on their desk over at the Bulletin. Like I say, I don’t know whether it’s
today’s or… just a letter to the editor had been typed. Whether it had been in the paper or not, I don’t
know.
25
West: George Day wrote the one in there this morning.
Unidentified: He did?
(Inaudible)
Britton: And I’ll, just, my last, my last parting comment will be, she, in her written statement, she just
kind of makes this real vague, (inaudible). She makes this real vague statement about, there’s a lot of
screwed up things in the Brown County courthouse. And, basically says this all happened because of
poor accounting procedures. That, that she had been caught…not…I shouldn’t say that (inaudible) that
she should’ve been caught earlier. Uh, but there’s, there’s been no indication that this was a lapse, a
lapse in accounting procedures. In fact, I think that our accounting procedures is what caught it. Uh,
but –
Unidentified: (Inaudible)
West: Well, the, the accounting procedure that you have to have enough money in your account to
cover your checks –
Britton: Yeah, before the bounced check, Nina had caught it. (Pause) First of December, end of
November –
26
Britton: Yeah.
West: Well, that’s why I said I couldn’t remember if she came to you first or if you went to her because
you had seen some outstanding deposits.
Cox: the end of…I’m gonna say maybe January (inaudible). Because, you know she had turned in
October’s report and it was all messed up. She didn’t turn in November’s report at all in December.
(Inaudible)
West: Do you know if you had Weldon hired before she came to see you?
Cox: I hired Weldon January the 24th, as soon as I got her November and December reports and they
(inaudible).
Britton: And she didn’t file a November report in December, because her mom was sick.
Cox: Right.
Gist: So, -
27
(Two separate conversations begin simultaneously)
Conversation #1
Britton: Now, now all the daily ledgers are also gone. That may be the only piece of evidence that she
destroyed.
Cox: She could of destroyed them, but we have ‘em all, because the girls (inaudible)
Britton: Oh, okay, I seen, I seen in the petition that (inaudible) missing for November and December.
Cox: (Inaudible) is December and November. We never had a November one, we only have a December
one. (Inaudible)
Cox: These are not originals. These are copies that the girls printed out.
(Inaudible)
Britton: She kept saying that over and over. “I didn’t spend it on clothes.”
28
(Inaudible)
Britton: Well, she bought a fifty thousand dollar pickup. No, two, two of them.
Woods: Two?
Woods: Oh.
Britton: Oh no, I’m sorry, not her boyfriend, just some guy. She gets mad when you call him her
boyfriend.
(Inaudible)
Britton: There was just three or four thousand down payment. (Inaudible) I mean, she didn’t like pay
fifty thousand cash, but she made the down payment on two different trucks.
Britton: No, no, no, no. It was, it was thousands, petty cash is only got seventeen hundred.
29
Conversation #2
West: The procedure is, he files a restraining order with the Judge. This is what’s called a temporary
restraining order that the…Judge signs and order (inaudible) office temporarily (inaudible) injunction
hearing -
West: (Inaudible) temporary, just temporary. And there’s going to be an injunction hearing where
there’s evidence put on. See we’re requesting that on my sworn petition. We’re requesting her
removal temporarily. And there’ll be a hearing (inaudible) appear, everybody testifies, and probably the
Judge is going to say the temporary restraining order is continued and until this lawsuit (inaudible),
you’re out of office. And in the lawsuit, because the lawsuit is the removal, and then the lawsuit will be
set for trial, an evidentiary trial, and the jury decides whether or not she should be removed from office.
(Inaudible)
West: We have made you forty minutes late for your hearing. I appreciate your involvement –
(Inaudible)
30
West: We will be in a position, if she is removed or if she resigns from office –
(Inaudible)
Adams: Okay, here, here’s a question. Is the restraining, is it the restraining order that will keep her
from coming in the courthouse?
Gist: What is the earliest that can be done? If he signs the removal today –
Britton: ‘Cause they’ll fax it to whoever the judge is and he can read over it and sign it.
West: If there’s a judge available today, a TRO is called ex parté, you don’t present evidence or
anything, you just present the petition and he signs it.
West: Uh-huh.
31
Adams: Okay.
Britton: And that prohibits her from going to the courthouse, contacting anybody in her office, the
auditor’s office, or the treasurer’s office. (Inaudible) But those are important.
(Inaudible)
Unidentified: Yeah…idiots.
32
Unidentified: (Inaudible)
(Inaudible)
West: Okay, uh, is there any other questions or discussion? Obviously, there is no action to be taken in
this executive meeting, but there will certainly be no motions. I can make a statement to the press
about what this was about. Basically, it was just to bring you guys up to speed on something that Nina
and I have kept from you for some weeks. Because –
(Inaudible)
(Inaudible)
West: You probably could ask Valerie about that. That’s a personal question.
Gist: What is your feeling about, uh, this, I guess legal too, anyway, or political, that’s just the nature of
the business. But, uh, that is a very busy office in there from time to time, and a lot of responsible
things go, with a direct tie in to the State of Texas and all that. Uh, I wonder what the feelings are to be,
maybe it’s been this way for some time and they may have just each individually done their job knowing
that there’s some (inaudible). What is your feeling about some responsible person, we’re not in a
position because (inaudible) nature yet, to appoint, I don’t guess, a temporary Tax Assessor Collector or
would it be, uh…considering, maybe, uh, the appointment of an acting, uh, I’m wondering, we’re not
there yet.
West: I’ll have to look into that. I’ll have to look in to see what the status of the appointments would
be. I’m pretty sure, though, that until there is actually a final removal, the temporary restraining order
33
does not advocate for us to appoint someone. But, the chief deputy or deputies have been acting in
that capacity. And I have talked to all four of those girls. They’re all (inaudible), they want to stay. The
only thing I see is a slight, it’s not an animosity, it’s just sort of an ambivalence between the one with the
curly long red hair, Christine, and the one with black hair, Tammy. They kind of, it’s not that they don’t
gee-haw, they’re just not cut from the same material. But, they both said they could tolerate each other
(inaudible). Otherwise, everybody’s pretty happy.
(Inaudible)
West: But, the feeling that they expressed to me was one of relief, when I talked to them last week.
They asked to come, I didn’t ask to see them, they asked to see me. And there was, each one of them
later thanked me for even talking to them. They had been in the dark. They have been each scared for
fear of Linda firing them or, when Linda’s gone, the chief deputy firing them. I mean, Linda has been
playing head games with these girls, each one of them, just pitting them against the other one.
(Inaudible)
West: Well, see that’s the way she, Linda’s been accusing all of them, basically, saying, you know,
“someone else in this office stole, and I’m going to find out who it is”.
(Inaudible)
(Inaudible)
End of Transcript
34
1
1 REPORTER'S RECORD
VOLUME 1 OF 2 VOLUMES
2
TRIAL COURT CAUSE NO. CR-18107
3
10
11
12 ------------------------------
14 ------------------------------
15
16
17
22 County, Texas;
23 Proceedings reported by machine shorthand.
24
25
1 A-P-P-E-A-R-A-N-C-E-S
2
FOR THE STATE:
3
MR. TOMMY ADAMS
4 Assistant District Attorney
State Bar No. 00885200
5 200 S. Broadway
Brownwood, Texas 76801
6
7 And
11
Attorneys for the State of Texas;
12
13 MELVIN GRAY
Attorney at Law
14 State Bar No. 08328000
206 West College Avenue
15 San Angelo, Texas 76903
16
And
17
JUSTIN MOCK
18 Attorney at Law
State Bar No. 24064155
19 206 West College Avenue
San Angelo, Texas
20
21 JENNIFER RIGGS
Attorney at Law
22 State Bar No. 16922300
700 Lavaca Street
23 Suite 920
Austin, Texas
24
Attorneys for the Defendant.
25
...........................................
5 probation.
19 correct?
13 in Brown County.
23 No. 551.146.
8 actual offense.
15 551.146 violation.
19 that in the October 21st MTR. They could have put that
24 ministerial."
5 violations.
13 they knew what the violation was, and they knew what
the
14 facts were underneath it.
8 County.
13 governmental body.
22 governmental body.
8
1 statute itself. Now, what they did just on Tuesday,
5 closed.
12 session.
15 public.
19 lawfully closed.
6 while she was down there, she found a tape. And did
10
2 respect to --
10 (Witness sworn)
12 DIRECT EXAMINATION
13 BY MR. ADAMS:
16 Department.
24 Donnie Barnum?
25 A. I did, sir.
11
1 Q. And do you recognize Donnie Barnum here in the
2 courtroom today?
3 A. Yes, sir.
5 wearing.
23 Mr. Barnum.
12
10 arrival.
15 of that investigation.
21 A. Yes, sir.
24 A. Yes, sir.
13
17 is that correct?
18 A. Yes, sir.
20 A. Yes, sir.
22 A. Yes, sir.
14
6 Q. May I approach?
18 protocol?
25 on probation.
5 A. I did, sir.
10 CROSS-EXAMINATION
11 BY MR. MOCK:
13 had advised Mr. Joyner, the victim that you spoke of,
to
20 Mr. Barnum --
25 recall.
16
5 briefly.
6 REDIRECT EXAMINATION
7 BY MR. ADAMS:
11 A. Yes, sir.
12 Q. Without a warrant?
20 A. Yes, sir.
17
3 A. Yes, sir.
5 the house?
9 A. Yes, sir.
10 Q. Throwed it outside?
11 A. That's correct.
18 (Witness sworn)
21 follows:
22 DIRECT EXAMINATION.
23 BY MR. ADAMS:
18
1 Texas.
3 A. Most of my life.
4 Q. At one time prior to the end of 2005, did you
6 A. Yes, sir.
8 to my right?
9 A. Yes, sir.
14 half.
18 A. Yes, sir.
20 A. Yes, sir.
7 he is a convicted felon.
12 altercation with --
14 We're done.
17 question.
18 A. Yes, sir.
21 A. Yes, sir.
22 Q. Is that pretty much what happened?
23 A. Yes, sir.
20
3 Crawford.
4 (Witness sworn)
5 DIRECT EXAMINATION
6 BY MR. ADAMS:
9 station is.
14 Brownwood.
20 was?
21
10 ammunition.
12 it short.
14 ultimately reveal?
24 conviction.
22
1 Your Honor.
2 THE COURT: You may.
11 reports?
12 A. Yes, sir.
15 report?
21 be admitted.
23 . CROSS-EXAMINATION
24 BY MS. RIGGS:
23
10 of the offense?
14 provision --
22 Cooksey.
24
1 Friday?
3 calendar.
5 investigation?
7 office.
11 mean --
12 Q. No idea?
13 A. No, I mean, I --
14 Q. Do --
15 A. Go ahead.
18 A. Not to my knowledge.
25
5 A. Not to my knowledge.
7 the county?
8 A. Not to my knowledge.
10 county?
11 A. Not to my knowledge.
19 idea.
24 what occurred.
26
1 the issue?
13 have one for Mr. Adams. Just if you could refresh your
27
8 meeting?
14 person.
21 argumentative.
25 recording?
28
5 A. No, Ma'am.
9 A. No, Ma'am.
11 REDIRECT EXAMINATION
12 BY MR. ADAMS:
13 Q. Just to clear something up, Ranger, as far as
18 correct?
19 A. Yes, sir.
29
2 A. Yes, sir.
8 A. Yes, sir.
10 A. Yes, sir.
17 A. That's my understanding.
19 A. Yes, sir.
30
1 A. Yes, sir.
7 today?
12 tie.
18 Q. Yes, sir.
31
4 A. Yes, sir.
7 A. Yes, sir.
9 A. Yes, sir.
11 CROSS-EXAMINATION
12 BY MS. RIGGS:
32
1 violation of probation.
5 A. No, Ma'am.
13 A. No, Ma'am.
19 REDIRECT EXAMINATION
20 BY MR. ADAMS:
23 Cooksey's trial?
24 A. Yes, sir.
33
1 A. Yes, sir.
6 and be sworn.
8 CAROL WILCOX,
11 DIRECT EXAMINATION
12 BY MR. ADAMS:
19 A. Yes, sir.
21 A. Yes, sir.
7 table.
9 witness identified.
11 what he is wearing.
18 Q. Do you remember?
25 A. Yes, sir.
35
7 least.
10 A. Yes, sir.
13 Clerk's office.
18 A. Somewhat.
22 A. No, sir.
24 A. Yes, sir.
36
5 those?
8 listen to them?
9 A. Yes, sir.
10 Q. Was there anything special you were looking
for
15 parts of the law and what have you acted or what was
19 to?
20 A. No, sir.
24 County, Texas?
37
11 Margaret Woods?
12 A. Not always.
14 A. Once.
18 A. No, sir.
19 Q. He didn't?
38
10 A. No, sir.
11 Q. He didn't?
12 A. No, sir.
15 A. No, sir.
17 A. I don't understand.
19 Donnie Barnum?
20 A. Yes, sir.
39
5 recording to Donnie?
8 court.
12 A. No, sir.
18 A. Yes, sir.
22 tapes.
23 Q. Keep reading.
40
3 upstairs"?
13 okay?
22 you said, you based it on, you are thinking that the
24 that you thought they were just -- it was okay for them
41
1 THE REPORTER: I'm sorry. I can not
6 33, I want you to read page, page 34, and all the way
8 seven.
23 A. Yes, sir.
42
6 obtained.
7 Q. From where?
8 A. Donnie.
10 A. No, sir.
23 Q. Right?
43
3 Q. Okay. Right.
9 A. Yes.
10 Q. Okay?
11 A. Okay.
16 from downstairs.
17 Q. All right.
19 upstairs.
21 transcript?
22 A. Yes, sir.
23 Q. He did?
24 A. Yes, sir.
25 Q. Of an executive session?
44
1 A. Yes, sir.
3 Cooksey?
4 A. He said he did.
9 Wilcox.
15 he wishes to tender.
19 CROSS-EXAMINATION
20 BY MS. RIGGS:
22 A. No, ma'am.
25 A. No, Ma'am.
45
1 Q. You're not the custodian of the county's
2 records?
7 Q. Okay.
11 A. No, Ma'am.
14 A. No, Ma'am.
16 gave the tape to Mr. Barnum. Did you give the tape to
18 Barnum.
19 A. I don't remember.
23 A. I don't remember.
46
1 Collector?
2 A. I don't remember.
10 A. Yes.
20 A. Thank you.
22 Ma'am?
23 A. Yes, ma'am.
24 Q. Okay.
47
1 not restricted.
7 records?
8 A. Yes, ma'am.
13 A. I don't remember.
17 filing cabinet.
19 stamped on them?
20 A. No.
23 A. No.
25 of the meetings?
48
1 A. Yes, ma'am.
3 Your Honor?
4 THE COURT: Yes.
10 notices of meetings?
12 Q. Okay.
13 A. I don't remember.
16 microphone, please?
22 admitted)
24 REDIRECT EXAMINATION
25 BY MR. ADAMS:
5 talking about?
12 run out.
15 RECROSS EXAMINATION.
16 BY MS.RIGGS:
19 before?
50
1 recordings?
10 excused.
51
2 ourselves.
4 (Witness sworn)
5 JAY CURTIS,
8 DIRECT EXAMINATION
9 BY MR. ADAMS:
12 description is.
15 years.
18 A. Yes.
21 A. Yes.
23 evidence?
24 A. Yes, sir.
52
1 A. I do not.
2 Q. (By Mr. Adams:) Okay. However, based upon
7 correct?
11 Probation.
15 A. Yes, sir.
20 A. I believe so.
25 A. Yes, sir.
CRISTI L. ESCOBAR OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER
325-646-4057
53
4 A. I did.
7 A. It was.
9 A. Yes, we did.
10 Q. Was he there?
13 A. I did.
17 Abilene.
24 A. I believe it does.
54
1 located?
5 city limits.
55
15 tell Judge Chapman just the caliber and the gun one by
56
1 pistol.
13 lived there.
15 Do you recall?
16 A. I do not know.
18 the safe. She said she did not have the combination,
19 she would call the daughter which she did. She called
57
4 guns?
5 A. She did.
12 lived there?
13 A. That's correct.
15 daughter is?
16 A. I would guess 25.
18 that?
23 A. Yes.
25 A. Some of them.
58
5 yeah.
8 daughter's home.
9 A. Yes, she does not reside in that house. She
12 Q. Okay.
14 Mr. Barnum.
21 were located?
22 A. That's correct.
24 CROSS-EXAMINATION
25 BY MR. MOCK:
59
4 A. That's correct.
6 on probation?
7 A. Gordon Bearden.
9 A. Yes, he is.
12 compliance search?
13 A. Correct.
16 correct?
17 A. Yes, sir.
22 A. Right.
60
1 Honor --
4 same time.
11 D.A.'s office.
15 search?"
17 firearms.
19 A. Um, just.
22 generally.
25 was suspected?
61
6 A. Correct.
8 A. On Wednesday.
11 A. General compliance.
12 Q. As a general compliance?
13 A. Yes, sir.
14 Q. Did he say anything about suspecting guns
being
15 in the house?
16 A. No.
24 A. Correct.
62
5 A. I don't know.
13 time.
15 now, after nothing being wrong for this long, after him
17 led to that?
63
1 MR. ADAMS: I will object to him being to
a
6 direction.
11 specific.
15 firearms?
16 A. I don't know.
18 A. No.
20 A. Yes, sir.
22 memory as far as --
23 A. No.
64
2 me.
3 Q. Now, let's talk about the day that you did the
5 do?
14 A. Every time.
19 correct?
20 A. Yes, sir.
23 Barnum?
24 A. I don't recall.
65
1 the house?
6 A. "No."
9 A. She did.
21 A. Probably.
66
1 A. Yes, sir.
7 whose room that was, did she tell you it was her
8 daughter's?
9 A. Yes, sir.
11 open.
13 over there.
16 A. She did.
22 safe.
24 A. Hers.
67
1 were hers?
2 A. She did.
5 A. I did.
8 A. Yes.
10 hers?
11 A. No.
15 A. That's my testimony.
20 is it a big safe?
68
4 A. Yes.
6 A. Yes.
9 bedroom?
10 A. I have no idea.
16 Q. Okay.
19 BY MR. ADAMS:
23 A. Possibly, yeah.
25 A. From Donnie.
69
4 I had with her, she was asked, you know, how much these
9 that. Her mother had to answer for her, and say, "From
10 her dad."
14 A. Some of them.
16 A. Yeah.
18 without a problem?
19 A. Yeah.
23 A. I thought it was.
70
1 A. I believe so.
3 RECROSS EXAMINATION
4 BY MR. MOCK:
7 A. Correct.
10 A. No.
15 A. What's pointless?
19 didn't know the cost of these guns, did that mean the
21 A. No.
24 A. No.
1 A. Why is it.
3 A. I don't know.
5 did you get the money to buy the safe. Y'all asked
her
6 that question?
7 A. I didn't.
13 Is that correct?
14 A. Yes, sir.
17 the safe was brought from John Deere in her name with,
19 the safe.
22 A. I don't.
23 Q. Do you own any guns?
24 A. Sure.
72
5 A. Absolutely I do.
8 family members?
9 A. Sure.
22 A. No.
73
1 it?
5 possible?
6 A. Absolutely.
7 Q. What is that?
9 Q. Okay.
12 BY MR. ADAMS:
16 A. Yes.
18 life?
25 here is. Would you tell the Court what that is?
74
3 A. Yes, sir.
4 MR. MOCK: Objection, that is
inconsistent
7 up. Go ahead.
11 A. Brass knuckles.
14 A. No.
17 A. No.
19 A. Yeah.
21 A. Yes.
25 A. Yeah.
2 RECROSS-EXAMINATION
3 BY MR. MOCK:
10 A. Correct.
14 (Witness sworn)
15 CARLYLE GOVER,
18 DIRECT EXAMINATION
19 BY MR. ADAMS)
22 County S.O.
23 A. Carlyle Gover. I'm an investigator with the
76
3 A. Yes, I was.
5 A. Yes, I was.
7 A. Yes.
9 A. Yes.
12 Barnum how much she paid for the gun. And she didn't
19 the bedroom where the safe was and also Mr. Barnum's
20 bedroom.
22 where?
77
4 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, and 19,
7 the search?
13 Honor.
14 A. No objections.
17 admitted)
20 8, 9, 10, 11.
78
4 photograph.
20 style magazine for the AKA that was found, the top
23 ammunition.
79
3 of the safe from the -- where the left side once again
6 well.
10 gun safe. The gun safe was divided, had a shelf on top
19 weapon.
20 State's Exhibit 15 is a scoped lever
action
80
3 the gun safe the subject we're talking about right now;
4 is that correct?
5 A. Yes, sir.
14 signature.
21 for.
81
9 not.
15 A. That's correct.
17 those guns?
18 A. We did not.
22 daughter said that she owned the guns. There was some
82
1 Q. Okay. So your understanding those serial
5 correct?
8 correct?
11 CROSS-EXAMINATION
12 BY MR. GRAY:
14 A. Yes, I do.
19 A. No.
21 A. Pocketknife.
25 A. No, sir.
83
2 father, she didn't have to pay for them, that would not
4 A. No.
7 is that correct?
10 father had given her the guns, you would have no reason
12 A. Yes.
18 of that?
19 A. Sir?
25 reasonable to you?
84
5 understanding?
16 his home.
23 A. Yes, I do.
85
86
1 what she told you and the fact that the guns were in a
10 ask -- answer the question for her that they were given
11 to her.
14 have them?
15 A. No.
17 given to her?
20 her daughter?
87
4 A. No.
6 lives out his probation and five years passed that she
17 A. No, sir.
19 says.
21 Judge, argumentative.
88
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. From who?
10 A. Investigator Hill.
13 that --
22 years?
23 A. No.
89
1 real task, wouldn't it?
3 sofa.
20 in his home.
23 A. Yes, sir.
24 Q. Do you have access to their safe because you
25 can go in there?
90
7 she had been using and had only been gone a little
12 A. Yeah.
91
3 Q. Nothing further.
5 minutes to play.
9 1:30. Won't take very long. Civil case, so, I'll tell
17 of it.
23 copy of it.
92
11 proceeding.
13 that.
18 stand.
21 By MR. ADAMS:
23 A. Carlyle Gover.
25 searched the room where the gun safe was and what other
CRISTI L. ESCOBAR OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER
325-646-4057
93
6 A. Yes, sir.
8 A. Yes, sir.
12 A. Yes, sir.
14 dresser.
16 Constable's badge.
18 dresser?
19 A. No.
22 A. Yes, sir.
25 A. Yes, sir.
94
3 safe?
4 A. Yes, I did.
6 A. Three, I believe.
9 A. That's correct.
12 A. Yes.
16 RECROSS EXAMINATION
17 BY MR. MOCK:
21 Q. In his bedroom?
22 A. Yes, sir.
24 A. No.
95
1 Correct?
5 A. No.
7 A. Yes, sir.
8 Q. Is that a violation of the condition of his
9 probation?
10 A. No.
12 constable badge?
13 A. No.
16 Q. Why not?
24 proceed?
96
6 DIRECT EXAMINATION
7 BY MR. MOCK:
10 A. I'm sorry?
12 correct?
13 A. Yes, sir.
17 A. I do.
20 A. Yes.
23 earlier.
97
1 A. No.
5 Is that correct?
6 A. I did.
10 correct?
11 A. I don't recall.
16 that.
19 that time?
20 MR. ADAMS: State will stipulate that's
the
21 audio made.
25 evidence?
98
4 search.
6 this down?
12 this?
13 MR. ADAMS: That's correct, Your Honor.
23 froze up.
99
9 hear yourself say, "If these are your guns and they are
13 A. Yes, sir.
21 A. Yes.
24 Yes or no?
25 A. She did.
2 A. She did.
9 A. I was.
10 Q. Okay. Why?
13 A. Well --
101
3 A. Yeah.
5 A. Correct.
7 CROSS-EXAMINATION
8 BY MR. ADAMS:
11 A. Yes, sir.
13 A. Yes.
20 approach.
24 Donnie Barnum?
25 A. No doubt.
102
13 A. No.
15 Redirect Examination
16 BY MR. MOCK:
19 in gun safes.
20 A. That's correct.
22 Probation Department?
24 personally, never.
103
3 A. Correct.
6 A. Correct.
16 nothing.
18 RECROSS EXAMINATION
19 BY MR. ADAMS:
23 probationer's home?
24 A. No.
104
1 A. Correct. No.
6 REDIRECT EXAMINATION
7 BY MR. MOCK:
17 A. Yes.
23 Joe Shaw.
105
9 19:01.
11 please, sir.
13 (Witness sworn)
14 JOE SHAW,
15 Called as a witness, having been duly sworn, was
17 DIRECT EXAMINATION
18 BY MR. MOCK:
106
1 ever did the intake with Donnie Barnum when he was put
2 on probation?
3 A. Yes, sir.
16 A. No.
23 firearms?
24 A. No, I don't.
107
108
1 A. Specifics?
3 haven't we?
4 A. Yes.
6 A. Referring to weapons?
7 Q. Yes, sir.
20 them.
21 Q. So, your standard answer and more than likely
22 what you told Mr. Barnum was that he had to remove them
109
11 us?
12 A. Yes.
22 to everybody I in-process.
110
2 his office?
4 yes, sir.
9 (Witness sworn)
10 JOE COOKSEY,
13 DIRECT EXAMINATION
14 BY MR. MOCK:
16 A. Joe Cooksey.
18 misdemeanor?
19 A. I was.
24 County?
25 A. I was.
111
4 A. Joe Shaw.
6 A. Yes, it was.
8 A. No.
10 A. Yes, I do.
11 Q. Who is that?
14 A. I would.
15 Q. Okay.
20 years.
24 A. Two weapons.
112
2 both revolvers.
4 probation?
5 A. Yes.
9 A. I do recall that.
12 A. I do recall that.
15 A. Yes, sir.
113
1 "Well, she has got to lock them up where you can't have
2 access to them."
7 them.
9 objection, non-responsive.
11 please, sir.
14 to them?
15 A. That's correct.
17 probation?
20 A. Yes.
22 CROSS-EXAMINATION
23 BY MR. ADAMS:
114
6 correct.
7 Q. You were found guilty of it by a jury over
20 Q. Okay. Now --
23 living with?
24 A. Cathy Coplen.
115
1 A. She does.
5 A. No.
8 Q. A Glock nine-millimeter?
10 husband's children.
12 Ruger .22?
19 A. No.
23 A. No.
25 A. No gun safe.
CRISTI L. ESCOBAR OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER
325-646-4057
116
8 Barnum is under.
12 doesn't differentiate.
14 is convicted.
21 Bearden.
23 (Witness sworn)
24 GORDON BEARDEN,
117
2 DIRECT EXAMINATION
8 A. Gordon Bearden.
13 A. Yes.
14 Q. And how long have you been his probation
15 officer?
22 A. No.
118
3 A. No.
5 A. No.
12 probationer?
17 A. Yes.
23 A. Yes.
25 CROSS-EXAMINATION
119
1 BY MR. ADAMS:
7 early discharge?
8 A. No, no.
13 an issue.
18 to an early discharge?
19 A. No.
21 altering his life for him having those guns out there?
120
10 residence.
12 residence?
13 A. Yes, sir.
15 you and said, Look, Mr. Bearden, I have these guns that
19 to say that you would have told him, "Take the guns out
20 of the safe, move them out of the home, and move the
121
2 his home.
6 opinion.
10 REDIRECT EXAMINATION
11 BY MR. MOCK:
12 Q. Mr. Bearden, when did you advise -- Or let me
15 A. No.
16 Q. So you --
20 it"?
21 A. No.
25 A. Yes.
122
7 constitutes possession?
22 is Mangleberger
23 (Witness sworn)
24 KIMBERLY MANGLEBERGER
123
1 questioned and testified as follows:
2 DIRECT EXAMINATION
3 BY MR. MOCK:
5 A. Kimberly Mangleberger.
7 correct?
8 A. Yes, sir.
11 A. Yes, I do.
14 A. Yes, I do.
17 A. Yes, he did.
20 A. Yes, I have.
22 that he possessed?
23 A. Yes, I have.
124
4 A. Yes.
8 the effect of, "I can't have these anymore, they are
12 them."
14 living?
20 A. Tarleton State.
23 A. Yes, sir.
125
2 Q. Why?
10 A. Yes, sir.
14 that correct?
15 A. Yes, sir.
21 be pictures.
23 A. Yes, sir.
126
2 the safe.
5 A. Yes, sir.
6 Q. Where did you purchase the safe from?
20 parents' house and I took the guns and put them in the
21 safe.
25 A. Yes, sir.
3 A. Yes, sir.
5 A. Yes, sir.
9 A. Yes, sir.
11 A. Yes, sir.
13 A. Yes, sir.
19 time?
21 had --
25 around $1,200.
128
2 credit?
4 Q. How much?
10 A. Yes, sir.
12 A. Yes, sir.
14 A. Yes, sir.
16 time that you were at your parents' house, the guns had
19 Q. Is that correct?
20 A. Yes, sir.
22 A. 2006.
23 Q. 2006?
24 A. Uh-huh.
129
1 after that?
2 A. Yes, sir.
3 Q. When?
6 A. Yes, sir.
9 A. Yes, sir.
11 A. No, sir.
12 Q. You took them with you. Why?
15 me.
19 A. Exactly.
21 A. Yes, sir.
23 A. Yes, sir.
25 with school?
130
1 A. Yes.
5 A. Yes, sir.
9 A. Yes, I did.
11 summer of '08?
12 A. Yes, sir.
14 A. May of 2010.
15 Q. What for?
20 Q. Why not?
22 time.
25 Stephenville?
131
1 A. I was pretty much home every weekend or back
in
11 mess with.
14 A. Yes.
16 Stephenville?
18 year.
19 Q. Of 2011?
20 A. Uh-huh.
23 A. Yes, sir.
24 Q. Did you move in with your parents?
25 A. Yes, I did.
132
2 A. Yes.
4 correct?
5 A. Yes, sir.
10 A. Uh-huh.
11 Q. Is that correct?
12 A. Yes, sir.
13 Q. Okay.
14 A. Uh-huh.
19 got married?
133
1 A. Yes, sir.
3 A. Yes, sir.
6 trailer?
7 A. Yes, sir.
9 A. No, sir.
11 A. Yes, sir.
14 A. Yes, sir.
16 A. Yes, sir.
19 Q. Is it big?
20 A. It's huge.
21 Q. Is it a task to move?
22 A. Yes, sir.
24 yet?
25 A. Yes, sir.
134
8 A. Yes, sir.
14 A. Yes, sir.
20 A. Yes, sir.
22 the combination?
23 A. Yes, sir.
135
1 A. Well, if he had it, yeah.
10 A. Yes, sir.
12 A. Uh-huh.
14 A. No.
17 A. No.
21 a picture of?
25 A. Yes, sir.
136
4 A. Yes, sir.
6 located?
7 A. Yes, sir.
10 A. Yes, sir.
12 A. Yes, sir.
14 A. Yes, sir.
18 A. Yes, sir.
19 Q. Is the papers, would they be your personal
20 papers?
23 A. Yes, sir.
25 A. Yes.
137
2 not yours?
3 A. No, sir.
5 A. Yes, sir.
7 A. Yes, sir.
9 A. Yes, sir.
11 A. Yes, sir.
14 A. Yes, sir.
15 Q. Is that correct?
16 A. Yes, sir.
19 A. Yes, sir.
21 that correct?
22 A. Yes, sir.
25 A. Yes, sir.
138
3 A. Yes, sir.
6 A. Yes, sir.
7 Q. Have you ever given your dad the combination
to
8 the safe?
9 A. No, sir.
11 the safe?
12 A. No, sir.
14 weapons?
15 A. No, sir.
17 A. No, sir.
20 A. No, sir.
23 A. Yes, sir.
25 not in evidence.
139
1 THE COURT: Sustained.
13 Kim regarding her not knowing the cost of the guns, not
16 show she has not been impeached. I don't see why it's
17 not admissible.
140
5 A. No, sir.
7 A. No, sir.
9 that safe?
14 talking about?
15 A. Yes, sir.
21 A. Yes, sir.
23 A. No.
25 A. Yes, sir.
141
1 Q. Was it yours?
2 A. Yes, sir.
5 A. Yes, sir.
10 A. Yes, sir.
15 A. Yes, sir.
18 A. Yes, sir.
24 A. No, sir.
142
2 A. No, sir.
3 Q. Is that correct?
4 A. Yes, sir.
7 BY MR. ADAMS:
9 A. How old am I?
10 Q. Yes, ma'am?
11 A. 25.
13 A. Yes, sir.
19 work.
22 work?
23 A. Yes, sir.
24 Q. Hauling aggregate?
143
1 grubbed mesquite trees, basically.
3 A. Yes, sir.
5 A. Yes, sir.
7 with him?
8 A. Contracted.
12 A. Yes, sir.
15 A. Yes, sir.
19 them.
22 A. Yes, sir.
144
1 A. No, sir.
3 A. In a closet.
5 about the timeline, had you bought the gun safe at that
7 A. Yes.
10 A. Yes, sir.
12 A. In my closet.
14 A. House.
18 Q. Living by yourself?
19 A. Yes, sir.
20 Q. You brought them back to the house again, I
22 summer of '08?
23 A. Yes, sir.
25 of 2010?
145
1 A. Yes, sir.
3 A. In Stephenville.
5 A. No, sir.
8 A. Yes, sir.
11 A. Yes, sir.
13 across the street over there from your Mama and Daddy?
14 A. I would say sometime around the first part of
15 September.
19 A. Yes, sir.
22 what, 19 then?
25 A. Yes, sir.
146
3 A. Yes, sir.
5 A. Yes, sir.
7 A. Yes, sir.
8 Q. All ammunition?
9 A. Yes, sir.
12 A. Yes, sir.
14 A. No, sir.
17 A. No, sir.
22 don't mind.
23 RECROSS EXAMINATION
24 BY MR. ADAMS:
147
1 receipts where you made the three payments and you went
2 over the exhibit that showed where you made the
7 A. Yes, sir.
9 A. Yes, sir.
11 A. No, sir.
21 A. Yes, sir.
23 A. Yes, sir.
148
2 Darla Barnum.
4 (Witness sworn)
5 DARLA BARNUM,
8 DIRECT EXAMINATION
9 BY MR. MOCK:
11 A. Darla Barnum.
13 correct?
16 A. Yes, sir.
19 A. Yes, sir.
22 A. Yes, sir.
24 A. Yes, sir.
149
1 A. Yes, sir.
5 him.
7 guns to Kim?
8 A. Yes.
10 place?
11 A. Yes.
25 A. Yes.
150
3 A. No.
5 that safe?
6 A. No.
8 A. No.
9 Q. Have you ever had conversations with Donnie
11 A. No.
13 that safe and used the guns while Donnie has been
14 present?
15 A. No.
18 A. Yes, sir.
20 is that correct?
21 A. Yes, sir.
24 A. Yes, sir.
151
10 it.
12 Department?
13 A. Oh, yes.
15 A. Immediately.
17 A. Yes, sir.
19 house?
22 A. No.
24 A. No.
152
1 A. Yes.
3 is in Brownwood?
4 A. Yes.
6 Curtis that day about him being satisfied with who the
8 A. Yes, I do.
11 just present.
13 played?
14 A. Yes.
17 A. Yes, sir.
18 Q. Is that correct?
19 A. Yes, sir.
25 A. Yes, sir.
153
2 A. Yes, sir.
5 A. No.
11 A. Two.
16 A. Yes, sir.
18 answered it?
19 A. Yes, sir.
22 convicted.
154
1 A. No.
3 A. No.
5 is that correct?
6 A. Yes, sir.
8 CROSS-EXAMINATION
9 BY MR. ADAMS:
10 Q. Mrs. Barnum, I believe your testimony was that
13 A. Yes, sir.
16 A. Yes, sir.
23 statement?
155
2 husband?
20 issue here that y'all didn't get those guns out of the
25 explain that?
CRISTI L. ESCOBAR OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER
325-646-4057
156
5 Kim.
7 KIMBERLY MANGLEBERGER,
10 DIRECT EXAMINATION
11 BY MR. MOCK:
13 gave?
14 A. Yes, sir.
18 A. Yes, sir.
21 A. Yes, sir.
22 Q. Then he asked your mom why were they not moved
24 A. Yes, sir.
157
1 correct?
2 A. Yes, sir.
6 A. Yes, sir.
8 A. Yes, sir.
10 A. Two.
13 two-year-old?
14 A. No.
17 A. Yes, sir.
20 Is that correct?
21 A. Yes, sir.
23 reason is, yes, while it may have been easy to move the
158
2 re-enforced.
4 A. Yes, sir.
8 A. No, sir.
11 A. Yes, sir.
13 A. Yes, sir.
15 A. Yes, sir.
17 A. Yes, sir.
19 sound, is it?
20 A. No, sir.
159
6 (Witness sworn)
7 STORMY BARNUM,
10 DIRECT EXAMINATION
11 BY MR. MOCK:
13 A. Stormy Barnum.
15 A. Yes, sir.
18 is?
20 Q. Put on probation?
24 A. Absolutely.
160
1 lot?
4 sure. But we took them inside the house and put them
in
9 closet.
22 believe.
24 around?
161
2 A. Yeah.
4 A. Kim.
8 A. Huh-huh.
13 A. Yep.
20 he is asking.
24 Q. Yes.
162
5 September?
6 A. Right.
7 Q. Of this year?
8 A. Right.
9 Q. Are you currently participating with the A.G.
17 A. Yes.
19 that correct?
20 A. Yes, sir.
24 Q. September of 2011?
25 A. Uh-huh.
163
3 investigation?
4 A. I believe that is what the problem is.
6 timeline?
15 acquaintances?
16 A. Oh, yeah.
24 seen them.
164
1 and non-responsiveness.
11 (Witness sworn)
12 DONNIE BARNUM,
15 DIRECT EXAMINATION
16 BY MR. MOCK:
18 A. Donnie Barnum.
23 A. Yes, I have.
25 attorneys, correct?
165
1 A. Absolutely.
6 this proceeding?
7 A. Yes, I do.
11 years?
15 Q. Is it a family gun?
18 A. Absolutely.
20 A. Oh, yeah.
166
3 A. Yes, sir.
5 A. My dad or father-in-law.
11 A. I remember.
15 A. Oh, yeah.
18 any ammunition.
20 house?
21 A. Absolutely.
25 Q. Is that Kim?
167
1 A. That's Kim.
4 over.
5 Q. So you gave them to Kim?
9 firearms.
19 A. Right.
23 And --
2 A. The guns?
3 Q. Yeah.
4 A. Absolutely.
6 is that correct?
7 A. That's correct.
10 A. None.
13 A. Absolutely.
15 at your house?
16 A. Yes, sir.
21 said that the guns had to move back in because she was
22 staying there?
169
1 A. Absolutely not.
2 Q. Okay.
7 A. She did.
12 A. I sure have.
15 A. No, never.
21 A. No.
170
3 is that correct?
7 A. I understand.
8 Q. You're --
9 A. I do.
11 you?
12 A. No, sir. Not a bit.
16 have access?
17 A. That is correct.
19 system.
20 A. Absolutely not.
22 you not?
23 A. Absolutely. I do.
24 Q. And --
25 A. 100 percent.
171
4 A. Absolutely. Yeah.
14 A. That is a fact.
17 firearms.
21 off?
25 going to put the guns in her bedroom and you were going
172
1 to be residing there, that it be in a locked safe that
4 A. That is correct.
9 possession of it.
18 A. Years before.
20 gone hunting?
23 touch a firearm?
24 A. No.
173
1 that correct?
6 A. Yes, I did.
8 years?
9 A. Absolutely, I did.
23 over?
174
5 A. Absolutely not.
11 CROSS-EXAMINATION
12 BY MR. ADAMS:
16 A. Yes, sir.
18 A. That's correct.
21 punishment?
22 A. Yes.
25 that correct?
175
1 A. Yes.
8 A. It appears.
17 A. That is correct.
19 where it says what your sentence is, does that say ten
1 correct?
4 you and your wife live in, you got that extra room for
7 less is it?
8 A. Semi.
21 A. Yes.
23 A. Yes.
24 Q. What about State's 21? Take your time.
25 A. Yes.
177
4 A. I had no choice.
6 or no.
19 that correct?
178
7 A. Yes.
14 A. That's correct.
17 A. A year.
19 badge?
20 A. Yes.
23 A. Absolutely.
179
1 A. Absolutely.
3 A. Um, guessing?
4 Q. Yeah.
5 A. Five times.
8 Q. Okay.
9 A. On official duties.
18 Brown County.
19 Q. Okay.
24 A. Yes.
180
1 stated that guns had been moved out of that gun safe at
3 probation?
13 years in the pen for having those guns around the house
17 A. Yes, sir.
20 probation?
21 A. 10 years.
22 Q. In the penitentiary?
23 A. That's correct.
24 Q. Just for the record's sake, did you transcribe
181
1 A. Absolutely not.
6 Q. Yeah.
9 testify about.
11 was granted.
182
12 A. No.
19 relevance.
183
2 on.
4 RECROSS EXAMINATION
5 BY MR. MOCK:
14 correct?
23 that correct?
24 A. Absolutely.
10 minutes.
17 recess be --
19 Your Honor.
22 altogether.
23 (Short recess in proceedings)
185
4 for rebuttal.
8 That's plenty.
10 CLOSING ARGUMENT
11 BY MR. GRAY:
186
13 from the time this happened until this case came up.
187
1 trailer house, all of these events that occurred
weren't
5 compliance.
8 rumors. Nobody has said they heard him shoot a gun, saw
25 were gone.
188
25 consent.
189
20 here and she is trying to make her life and she has got
21 a room with her folks to move back in, the guns are
190
2 should be dismissed.
3 Thank you.
4 CLOSING ARGUMENT
5 BY MR. ADAMS:
25 you to decide.
CRISTI L. ESCOBAR OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER
325-646-4057
191
20 Criminal Justice.
21 THE COURT: Okay. All right. Defendant,
192
18 like that.
24 house and get, you know, whether they move the safe or
25 not, get the guns out. They can do that. I know you
193
1 can do that.
4 should have been out of your house, they had been out
of
6 times.
7 While you're in jail, they will get the
8 guns out and then this will be over and settled and you
12 for?
16 already served.
24 can remove those guns out of your house and you can be
7 years --
12 term?
18
20
21
22
23
24
25
195
1 REPORTER'S CERTIFICATE
20 ____________________, 2012.
21
22 ___________________________
Cristi L. Escobar, Texas CSR 759
23 Expiration Date: 12-31-12
Official Court Reporter
24 35th District Court
Brown County, Texas
25 Brownwood, Texas 76801