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Cash cleaned out of Cut Rate
By Pearl Cantrell
Monitor Staff Writer
GUN BARREL CITY–Burglars cleaned out the cash at the Cut Rate gas and
convenience store on W. Main Street in Gun Barrel City last Friday.
The cash register, a small safe, a second Tidel time-drop safe and the
ATM machine were emptied and the alarm box was taken and its wiring cut.
Thieves hammered out a three-by-four-foot hole through the cinderblock
wall at the back of the building, through which they entered and exited,
according to the police report.
The burglary appears to have been well-planned, Gun Barrel City Police
investigator Ryan Estes reported.
It appears they may have deliberately set off the alarm at 1:15 a.m. to
see if police would respond, before dismantling it, Estes added.
Officer J. Ramsey responded to the alarm and found the store to be
secure at the time.
When the day clerk arrived at the store around 6 a.m. she saw the ATM
machine had been pried open.
She immediately left the store and called police, fearing intruders may
be in the store.
Upon arrivial, police secured the area, finding no one inside.
The store’s owner was contacted and gave police the amount of cash
missing and value of items destroyed or damaged.
Though the store is equipped with cameras, the owner stated they were
not recording at the time of the burglary.
Estes processed the scene, along with officer Kenny Collard and Sgt.
Dennis Wehland.Drug lab closed
down
Monitor Staff Reports
SEVEN POINTS–Henderson County Sheriff’s Office discovered an active drug
lab inside a small travel trailer near Seven Points Friday.
Suspicious activity in Green Tree Acres spawned a lengthy investigation.
Henderson County Precinct 6 Justice of the Peace Milton Adams issued a
search warrant resulting in the arrest of three men
Troy Vela Springer, 35, Ronald Reagan Adair, 32, and John Michael
Lindsey, 33, were charged with manufacturing/delivery of a controlled
substance (200 to 400 grams).
The first-degree felony charge carries a five to 99- year sentence upon
conviction.
While officers were dismantling and cataloguing the contents of the
trailer, Springer attempted to run away.
A short foot-chase in a nearby wooded area resulted in his recapture.
The men were taken to the Henderson County Jail.
Adair and Lindsey’s bond is set at $150,000, while Springer’s bonds
total $400,000 with additional charges of escape and possesion of
anhydrous ammonia.
He is being held without bond on a parole violation, stemming back to a
May 21, burglary charge.
Mayor back on the job
Seven Points mayor Gerald Taylor arrested
By Pearl Cantrell
Monitor News Writer
SEVEN POINTS–Longtime Seven Points mayor Gerald Taylor is serving in all
his elected capacities following his 13-minute jail confinement on
charges he abused his official capacity last Thursday.
The city’s records have been under intense scrutiny by the FBI for the
past six months.
The “abuse of office capacity” charge stems from Taylor’s cashing
two-party checks through the municipal court, he said.
First assistant district attorney Mark Hall confirmed what Taylor said.
The third-degree felony charge includes an amount greater than $20,000,
Hall added.
“It wasn’t theft of money,” Taylor told The Monitor. “It was cash for
cash. If I asked (city judge) Monica (Corker) to cash a check for me,
she would,” Taylor explained.
“I’m not embarrassed about it or anything,” he said.
The investigation was triggered by a criminal complaint logged against
him with Precinct 6 Judge Milton Adams.
Upon conviction, the charge carries a punishment of two to 10 years in
jail.
Taylor, 41, was arraigned by Precinct 1 Justice of the Peace Henry
Ashford, who set the bond amount at $3,500.
Jail records show Taylor was confined for 13 minutes (6:07 p.m. to 6:20
p.m.) before posting bond and being released.
“They treated me decently,” Taylor said.
Taylor said through the course of multiple interviews with the Henderson
County District Attorney’s Office and the FBI, he hasn’t been asked
about the fire department, where he served as operations chief for many
years.
(He is now serving his 22nd year and is currently assistant chief.)
Nor were any questions directed to him on the use of FEMA funds, he
said.
Earlier reports indicated the FBI investigation might have something to
do with Taylor’s involvement in the fire department, or the city’s use
of FEMA funds.
The FBI has twice served warrants for the city’s computer hard drives
and financial records.
One month ago, Corker was arrested on the same charge, but no money
amount was attached to the charge.
Her bail was set at $10,000. A second charge of fraudulent
use/possession of identifying information followed, after a search of
her purse revealed a few Social Security cards belonging to children.
Supposedly, the cards had been in the pocket of the police uniform
Corker was wearing as a costume at a Halloween Party days before, and
she had put them in her purse for safekeeping.
Corker’s bond on the second charge of possession of identifying
documents was also set at $10,000.
Bond was posted, and she is currently on administrative leave. |