Donald Malray
Found Not Guilty Of Perjury
BY SUSAN T. HERRING, Editor, The Guardian-Journal
Homer Police Captain Donald Malray was found not guilty Wednesday, March 10 in federal
court for two counts of perjury stemming from his testimony during the trial of
J. C. Curry last September. Malray was accused of
lying under oath when he said he was unaware of Curry's drug activity between
1996 and 1999. The other count of perjury was in regard to Special Agent Ray
Spoon's testimony that he had overheard Vincent McDaniel and Malray discussing the Curry case while under order of
sequestration. Both McDaniel and Malray denied they
had discussed the case.
Malray's attorney, Chris Bowman of Jonesboro,
said in his opinion all this began when Malray's
testimony in the Curry trial was contrary to some of the government's witnesses
and that he was not "riding the brand."
Police Officer David Morgan testified
that during a traffic stop in December 1998, Curry had given he
and Anthony Kelly permission to search the vehicle. They found a crack pipe
which Malray later transported to the crime lab in a
sealed envelope. Under cross examination, Morgan admitted he had never
discussed the stop with Malray and that he did not
know who the pipe belonged to.
Bowman questioned several witnesses who
testified on behalf of the government that Malray had
knowledge of Curry's drug activity, but they were unable to explain why Curry
had not been targeted and arrested during that time. One witness described
Curry as a user and "smoked out". He was not a big fish to fry.
Several prosecution witnesses also
admitted they had always found Malray to be truthful
in their dealings over the years and could think of no reason why he had to
lie. Bowman said, "If Malray is a liar, they
would have to let 300 people out of prison."
Bowman also pointed out that Malray had no reason to protect Curry, as he was
instrumental in his arrest and conviction in the early 1990s for distribution
of cocaine.
Malray, who was prepared to resign if found
guilty, now says he will continue to try to mend fences and work with those
officers who testified against him, but he has learned a valuable lesson_from now on, he will make sure any meetings he is
involved in are tape recorded.
Former Housing Director Pleads Guilty Of
Theft
Former Town Inspector Arrested By State
Police
BY SUSAN T. HERRING, Editor, The Guardian-Journal
Sonja Hamilton, 34, former executive
director of the Homer Housing Authority entered a guilty plea in US District
Court in Shreveport before Judge Maurice Hicks on Thursday, October 11. She
admitted to taking more than $30,000 between July 1999 and April 2003 from the
Homer Housing Authority. She was indicted earlier this year by a Grand Jury and
charged with one count of theft of federal program funds.
Hamilton was fired in April 2003 after serving
as executive director for about 18 months. An investigative report released in
October by the State Legislative Auditor revealed some of the misuse of funds.
The theft which was also investigated by the Department of Housing and Urban
Development and the Office of Inspector General revealed that Hamilton had
transferred HHA funds to her personal bank account, paid personal credit card
bills with housing authority funds, lived rent-free in one of the HHA
apartments, gave herself a raise without board approval, and authorized bonus
checks for herself on other HHA employees.
Hamilton had previously worked as
secretary under former director Kerry Sims who was sentenced in May, 2001 to one
year and a day in prison and three years supervised probation and ordered to
pay restitution after pleading guilty to theft of federal funds totaling
$86,488.15.
Hamilton was hired by the Housing
Authority Board as executive director to replace Sims. She will be sentenced
June 23 and could receive as much as 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
Former Town Inspector Travis Beebe was
arrested at his residence on Thursday, March 11 by the Louisiana State Police
on a warrant issued by the Claiborne Parish District Attorney's Office for one
count of felony theft involving more than $8,000 in Town of Homer funds. Beebe
had been under investigation since November 2003 when it was discovered through
an audit of the Town's financial records there were several discrepancies for
payments of services provided by the Town.
Beebe is alleged to have received
payment for services rendered by the Town but failed to turn in the proceeds to
the Town office. He also asked several people to make checks payable directly to
him. Those payments were also never submitted to the Town office.
He was booked into the Claiborne Parish
Detention Center with bond set at $10,000.
Student Arrested For Arson At Mt. Olive Christian School
BY SUSAN T. HERRING, Editor, The Guardian-Journal
A 17-year-old student at Mt. Olive
Christian School was arrested Friday, March 12 by the Claiborne Parish
Sheriff's Office for setting fire in a classroom at the private school located
in Athens. Malachi McMahon of Minden was charged with attempted simple arson
and booked into the Claiborne Detention Center. Bond was set at $15,000.
Detective Duffy Gandy and the State Fire
Marshal are investigating the incident which began when the CenturyTel
Alarm System installed at the school notified the Sheriff's Office at 4:40 PM
on Friday that the smoke detector had gone off. The Claiborne Parish Fire
District No. 5 in Athens arrived on the scene within five minutes. Firefighters
could see smoke coming out of the second floor window on the south side of the
building.
According to Homer Fire Chief Dennis
Butcher, the fire was contained quickly. It seems McMahon and his twin brother,
Mahalon, had entered the school office through a
window to use the phone while a baseball game between Mt. Olive and Grawood Academy of Keithville was underway on the field
adjacent to the school.
Matches were found in a drawer in the
office and some evidence of a
second fire, but most of the damage was to an upstairs classroom near an air
conditioning unit in the corner.
Len Gantt with Mt. Olive School said the
McMahons had started school there last September
after moving from New York. They had no major problems during the school year,
but since this incident they had come to a mutual agreement the two would not
return to school. Gantt said they do not believe the fire was intentionally
set, but that Malachi was just playing with matches and it got out of hand.
Mt. Olive School was closed on Monday to
allow the Fire Marshal to inspect the scene and to clean up the area. Students
were back at school on Tuesday.
Sheriff's Office, Wade Teams Respond To
Suicide Threat
Sheriff Kenneth Volentine
reported that on March 15 at 8:30 AM, his office received a call from a
concerned citizen who had found a suicide note in a vehicle that was parked
near the water tank off U.S. Hwy. 79 across from the Claiborne Manor Nursing
Home between Homer and Haynesville. Deputies were dispatched to the scene. When
they arrived they saw a man in the woods south of the water tank and called out
to him. The man disappeared into the woods.
Due to the type of note discovered, the
deputies were unsure if the man was armed and also unsure of his intentions.
Claiborne Academy was notified of the situation and the school exercised a
lock-down procedure for the entire campus. Deputies were posted at Claiborne
Academy, Claiborne Manor and surrounding areas. Area residents were also
notified of the situation.
Approximately 45 minutes later, the
Chase Team from David Wade Correctional Center was notified and came to the
scene with their dogs who immediately picked up the
scent of the individual and trailed him approximately over two hours. The DWCC
Swat Team was also on the scene and trailed the individual north of the
Standpipe Road, west of U.S. Hwy. 79.
At about 11:50 AM, the Chase Team and
their dogs arrived in the immediate area of the individual and heard a gunshot.
The Swat Team then advanced and found the individual lying on the ground with a
self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was transported to Homer Memorial Hospital and
later transported to the LSU Trauma Center in Shreveport. At press time, he was
still listed in critical condition. Due to pending notification of family
members, the identity of the individual is not being released.
Sheriff-Elect, Civil Deputy Completes
Executive Training
Sheriff-Elect Ken Bailey and Chief Civil
Deputy Charles Etta Johnson were among those who recently completed the
Louisiana Sheriffs' Institute (LSI) according to R.B. "Bucky"
Rives, Jr., executive director of the Louisiana Sheriffs' Association (LSA).
The one-week, comprehensive executive development training program, conducted
at the business offices of the LSA in Baton Rouge was completed by one newly
elected sheriff, fourteen sheriffs-elect and executive personnel. It is
designed to enhance the administrative capabilities of the sheriff, enabling
him to efficiently discharge the duties of the office of sheriff. It is
conducted every four years prior to the time the sheriffs take office.
Rives indicated, "The sheriff, as
chief law enforcement officer of the parish, leads with the most visible of
public services in the parish. He's involved in all areas of criminal justice,
policing, prosecution, the courts, corrections, probation and civil
proceedings. The LSI is a means of giving the new sheriffs a
"heads-up" on all of these areas by some of the best authorities on
the subjects."
During the training session, the sheriff
and sheriffs-elect met with Governor Kathleen Blanco at the State Capitol for a
meeting and photographs.
All Sheriff-elects, including Ken
Bailey, will take office July 1, 2004.
Homer Native Honored With National
Conservation Award
Homer native Catherine O. Sale of
Clayton, Georgia was honored Saturday, March 13 by being presented the
Conservation Award of the National Society of the Daughters of the American
Revolution. The award ceremony was hosted by the Claiborne Parish Chapter of
the DAR in the Police Jury Conference Room.
Catherine Sale is highly deserving of
this award. She first became interested in conservation and the environment
during her formative years in Claiborne Parish. Through the years, she actively
pursued environmental awareness in North Carolina, Georgia, and Louisiana and
recently donated 653.5 acres of land in Claiborne Parish to the Nature Conservancy
of Louisiana known as the Summerfield Springs Nature Preserve.
Coca-Cola Donates $5,000 To Museum
On behalf of the Coca-Cola Bottlers Foundation, the Coca-Cola
Company and the Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Minden presented a check for
$5,000 to the Ford Museum to continue its tireless efforts in helping to
sustain the work of promoting the life, history and culture of the North
Louisiana Hill Country.
Youth Rally 180° Set For April 24
S.T.A.Y._Seeking a Turn in All Youth
Last year, a group of students at
Haynesville High School while participating in a bible study began dreaming of
a community-wide youth rally. Through their vision and by the grace of God and
through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, such an event became a reality. On
Saturday, April 26, 2003 a community-wide youth rally was held at Haynesville
High School Memorial Football Stadium. At a venue rich in football tradition
and victories, many youth came to know Christ for the first time and many
others experienced our risen Lord in a powerful way. What a victory for the
Kingdom of God!
Based on the evidence of the powerful
work of the Holy Spirit in the vision and planning of last year's rally, the
rally has been made an annual event. The theme of this year's rally is "S.T.A.Y._Seeking a Turn in All Youth". The goal of the
rally is to turn the hearts of area youth 180* from the youth culture of today
towards a life in Christ.
