UPDATE 12/29/2022   COLDSPRING

FATHER / SON DUO ARRESTED

Now that the arrests have been made, more info will be revealed that we were holding back such that there were two suspects from the get go of the investigation.  According to other sources, the son and the victim had been in a relationship for several years. 

   The murder was a particularly gruesome bludgeoning and evidence indicates the father tried to help the son cover up the crime, hence the tampering with evidence charges.  

      One post on social media reveals that a female friendof the victim has claimed to have 'found you'.  

   JP 2, Harris Blanchett was the JP that was called to the scene and ordered the autopsy.  

VICTIM NAMED, SUSPECTS ARRESTED

from the desk of; SHERIFF GREG CAPERS:

CLEVELAND 7/5/2017

ADVOCATE ‘JOURNALISTS’ CONTINUE TO PROPAGATE FAKE NEWS

Under the tutelage of Vanessa Brashear, The Eastex Advocate continues to propagate misinformation as fact and then reduce proven facts to what they call ‘allegations’ depending on, it seems, which sounds best in their biased narrative.  A practice that has ensued for years now back from the days when Royce Wells was a commissioner in SJC, Brashear and her staff seem to have a penchant for taking anything their preferred elected officials state as fact and print them without bothering to check the easily provable (or disprovable) statements for truth.  From a front page story, above the fold, from years ago where The Advocate (my hometown paper) stated and printed that I was a convicted felon based solely on Royce Well’s say so to the most recent instance where cub reporter, Jacob McAdams writes that it is “alleged” that SJC Judge John Lovett was driving without insurance the day of his recent wreck, The Advocate staff should be dizzy from all the spin they engage in.  Even more compelling evidence of The Advocate staff’s bias is the news they choose to ignore despite proof positive laid in their proverbial lap.  DPS gave Lovett several days, out of respect for his position, to provide proof of insurance and when he couldn’t, issued him a ticket for driving with no insurance.  That is public record.  Let us shoot down a few more of The Advocate’s spin jobs.  Commissioner’s Court did not take Judge Lovett’s office space from him, they merely backed off Lovett’s illegal grab of space that was already designated as Probation office space and returned it to the probation department.  The Advocate totally ignores the FACT that Lovett took the space without permission and illegally misappropriated county funds with no permission to remodel the space as his own.  Those are the facts pertaining to that situation yet the Advocate continues to spin the narrative to let Lovett play ‘the victim’ when it is the tax payers whom Lovett victimized.  The “half the office” narrative is so blatantly false that it would take a blind fool to fall for it or a propagandist to promote that stupid narrative.  The fact of the matter is that Lovett had maintenance personnel remove boxes of probation files that were in a probation designated office space filed in chronological order and retrievable as needed to another location without permission of the probation department.  The amount of space that the commissioners returned to the probation dept would amount to possibly one fourth of the total square footage Lovett illegally confiscated which is more than twice the amount of space the former judges required with a heavier docket load.  Brashear is willing to continue the lie that Lovett, “gets complaints on Eastex Towing on almost a daily basis” despite the fact that proof Lovett lied was obtained through open records and published months ago.  Brashear ignores the fact of record that Lovett was ordered by the attorney general to produce those complaints and he has not been able to produce a single one.  The Advocate continues to ignore the FACT that Lovett had no jurisdiction in Shepherd city limits to call in those state agencies and that the city did not request him to butt in to their business and that the city has issued a written statement (also published) that they have never received the first complaint on that private business.  Brashear ignores the fact that both state agencies closed the investigation as having, “no merit” and that Lovett has stated and even written on the record since the investigations were closed that the Marrs’ were still, “under investigation”.   The narrative that Don Franks resigned because of the reclaimed office space issue is stale and tired and a damn lie.  Franks is employed as a porter at Anderson Ford.  Please, Vanessa, go interview him and find out why he left the Judge's office and then inform the readers.  Oh wait, that might not fit into your propaganda plans.  Brashear and her cub reporter have reduced The Advocate to being a partisan political rag much like the Dam Good Times who will print anything that promotes their agenda regardless of whether there is any basis in truth or not.  It is a sad day for the misinformed readers in their circulation area.

Dear Ms. Isbell,

Honest people cannot be destroyed.  If honest people can be destroyed, then The God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel is a liar and I know He is not. 

7     But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the Excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

8     ¶ We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;

9     Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;

That entire passage is uplifting but the truth is, it is the dishonest who destroy themselves by trying to live a lie.   All I do is shed a little light and then write about it.  Granted there are more than a few failed careers along my wayside but I am not the one that ordained this path for me to trod or that made their wrong decisions on how to hold the public trust.  Think about it from my point of view and the point of view of those who have expressed their concerns to me about the SJSUD Corporation Ms. Isbell.  It hasn’t been that many years ago that there was a major embezzlement by a man that held the same position that your husband holds today.  How that got past the 30 year office manager, Ms. Darling, is an enduring mystery.  We have already proven the board violated its own ‘no felon’ policy and still would be today if its hand hadn’t been called on it.  We have shown that the man in your husband’s position today (him) is and has been illegally meting out bonuses for employees and his own self.  Have you ever heard of an employee deciding on his own bonus amount by judging the merit of his own work over the last year and then authorizing a payment to himself?  Me either.  Then you guys circle the wagons when anyone tries to get into a position than would allow scrutiny of management.  Truth demands scrutiny Ms. Isbell.  You and Ms. Darling are willing to resort to violating not only the law but everything this country stands for with your vetting of the candidate to see if you will allow him to run.  How arrogant is that?  On top of all that, YOU printed a lying political ad that did nothing but attempt to destroy a man’s reputation and chances at the ballot box.  You and your hubby are one flesh.  As the head of your household, I lay your lying ad and this despicable email right in his lap when it comes to responsibility for them.  My daddy always told me that anyone who will lie to you will steal from you.  Hopefully you can understand why we have questions.  I do say ‘we’ because it is not me.  SJSUD doesn’t affect my life or my pocket book in the least.  It is multiple families that are in the jurisdictional boundaries of SJSUD that want to know. The voting statistics show that two out of every five people that voted, voted for change and scrutiny.  Less than ten percent of the eligible voters bothered to cast a ballot.  As for you and your husband’s vile email, it is not going to serve the purpose you intended.  Instead, I will post it for all time on my ‘Customer Testimonial’ page.  All it did is prove that your lying paid political ad was not a fluke and that you and your husband are willing to lie to protect your empire.  It also proved that old adage of, “He (she) who hollers and points the loudest, has the most to hide”.  If the 30 year pattern holds, the object of my scrutiny will engage in character assassination with lies and innuendo, resist all of my efforts to view the documents that will answer the questions we have, lose the battle for open records at the Attorney General office and then fall by the wayside (by resignation, ballot box or indictment) when their crimes are exposed by those documents.  One other thing your email accomplished.  It has assured that The Sentinel (Mr. Town Crier) WILL NOT give up, lose interest or let it pass.  From Ms. Darling’s complete and abject failure to acknowledge receipt of the open records requests that I have submitted so far or production of the first scrap of public documents that we are seeking to view, I would say we are well on our way.  As for the closing line of you guys’ email, I will address it in the next go around.  You will then find why I was never convicted, passed two dozen polygraphs and wear the sex offender registration as a badge of honor and trust.  What others (including you two) meant for my harm has only made me stronger.  Every corrupt person who holds the public trust that I have ever sought to bring into the light has tried to destroy me much as you have.  Why then am I still kicking it and, as you note, a 30 year trail of failed careers behind me?  Easy.

8     ¶ We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;

9     Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;

Like one old grizzled vet told me last year under similar circumstances, “You only catch flak when you are right over the target”.

Steve 'Mr. Town Crier' Watson

TheCOLDSPRING 9/12/2015

COMMUNITY STUNNED BY LOSS

A great lady has passed from among us.  Many of us wonder what God had in mind when taking a woman of such youthful exuberance home at only 44 years old but there is peace in knowing His ways and His thoughts are so far above ours.  In a sanctuary packed to the rafters and with standing room only outside the doors, our community gathered together yesterday to say so long for now to Jennifer ‘Jenny’ Vaughn.  A mother, a daughter, a sister and a wife, Jenny Vaughn impacted way more lives than those of her family.  Known for her servant’s heart and unshakable joy, she lived every day to the fullest.  Even a blind man could tell that she was one of the most beautiful and Grace Full creatures to ever call San Jacinto County home.  Walking in her unshakable faith, Jenny Vaughn stepped up boldly when God called her to stand on the truth and seek justice for our county and its people.  Even knowing that she would suffer great persecution and personal loss, Jenny Vaughn was resolute in her determination to do the right thing.  Despite all the hoopla, Jenny Vaughn was vindicated in her actions when the dust settled and all the evidence was finally in.  We the people loved her for having enough love left over in her heart to love our children too.  We admired her for being consistent in her walk.  We will cherish her memory for the examples she set she set for us.   We thank you Lord for sharing Jenny Vaughn with our community as long as You did.  In the midst of our loss, we cannot help but recognize that she did more in a short time than many will even reaching old age.   We agree together Father in beseeching you to keep a hedge of protection around her children as they come of age, in Jesus’ Name.  Amen.  There is no picture of Jenny with this story because from daughter to blushing bride and on to being a public servant, friend and companion, no single photo could ever capture what she is and was to all of us. 

UPDATE 4/9/2015

HAGLUND LAW FIRM CONTACTS THE SENTINEL

Wayne D. Haglund of Haglund Law Firm called The Sentinel Thursday in response to the recent open records request regarding billing.  He assured The Sentinel that his firm does not charge a retainer fee for any of the School Districts that he represents but bills on a per case basis.  On that premise, Mr. Haglund is sure the COCISD was billed for the case involving the prior, 'missing coach', open records request.  As a peer awarded, top notch lawyer who specializes in school law, Mr. Haglund expressed a great deal of the support for the open records laws in this state.  He went on to express that in the future, he would contact the requestor up front in the hopes of "short circuiting" the process required in this case.  In summation, he agreed with The Sentinel that a simple, "He is on a medical leave" would have been the correct response to The Sentinel's initial inquiry. 

COLDSPRING 4/3/2015

COCISD LAWFIRM MISLEADS SCHOOL SYSTEM

The 'Haglund Law Firm, P.C.', Lufkin, Texas, purposely  led the COCISD on a wild goose chase pursing something other than the truth.  Information is being sought by Sentinel Alert to determine if the law firm billed the COCISD above and beyond regular retainer in this case.  Haglund's counsel to the CISD that information being sought thru open records could be withheld or should be withheld went against long standing case law and precedents set many times.  In the OAG opinion letter, the portion of the information that the OAG does permit the COCISD to with hold is information that was never requested in the first place, despite being represented to the OAG by Haglund Law Firm, PC that it was.  Once again, the precedent has been set in Texas that if you hold the public trust, you are accountable to the public, despite Halund's best effort to the contrary.

HOMETOWN CAFE CLOSES

COLDSPRING  SHARON'S CAFE has closed it's doors after providing 2o years of hometown, homefolks and homecookin for our community.  Known for more than just good food, Sharon's offered a relaxed atmosphere and excellent service.  If you were a regular, your drink of preference would be on the table by the time you made it to the table and you better get your salad quick because the vittles were on the way.  Thank you Ms. Sharon for your consistant quality, good nature, good food and a genuine appreciation of your customers.  You will be missed.

COLDSPRING 11/21/2014

ARREST    NO CHARGES  

No formal charges have been filed on Terry Holcomb for his disruption of the Commissioner's Court meeting.  Neither did Holcomb actualize the threats he made in his Raging Radio interview to act out of order again at the next meeting.  Although Holcomb spoke, he still failed to convince our elected representatives to adopt 'his' resolution.  

UPDATE 12/4/2014

According to asst District Attorney, the DA's office has NOT received any charges from the Sheriff's office on Holcomb's arrest and therefore is not taking any action at this time.

FINAL UPDATE 1/25/2015

The Conclusion of the Sentinel Alert investigation is that the incoming Sheriff had no part of the failure to charge as he was told not to bother because it would not be prosecuted.  Asst DA Boem's assertions that were the basis of the last update, did not pan out as rock solid and were an apparent attempt to throw the incoming sheriff under the bus.  In the effort of conclusion of this story, suffice it to say that my persistant questioning resutled in an admission from someone in the know, that the whole thing WAS an orchestrated political stunt, planned and executed to a Tee.  In the spirit of anonmymity for my sources, I will conclude the matter here unless any wish to dispute those findings.  Comments welcome.