The breathtaking dancing shimmer of the aurora borealis and its counterpart in the southern hemisphere, aurora australis, dazzles those lucky enough to catch a glimpse of Earth's greatest light show. We hope for that every day. Chris Samples: Try to get your brain around this one. Im your writer and host, Skip Hollandsworth. REAL COUNTY, Texas - Sheriff Nathan T. Johnson is under investigation by the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Attorney General's Office, according to a Facebook post shared by the . At the least, Penny told me, she would like to give her son a proper burial. Penny Meek: Um, I dont know. This article is the last installment of an eight-part series. Click here to read the survey answers. We were told that he would not be taking one. Because he had a few minutes left before his curfew, he drove to the parking lot of the high school football stadium, where Canadian kids occasionally gathered. Nathan Lewis now denies that this photo ever . Our hope at that time was that if we did this, maybe the truth would come out. Philip Klein: Where I want the public to see that these people had nothing to do with the disappearance of Tom. Jason Wert. Skip Hollandsworth: Do you feel like people want you to quit and leave town so people will forget, so Canadian can get past the Tom Brown episode? Thats crazy. Its crazy he can just say this stuff and people get to hear it., So, I asked Lewis, what did he believe happened on Thanksgiving eve? He said Lewis put him in the back of a police car and handed him a pair of goggles. Lewis completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. During another conversation, Klein acknowledged that his sources had told him the law enforcement officer was Lewis. There are plenty of theories about Thomass death, but few clear answers about what actually happened. The day after the meeting, everyone of course was talking about Kleins latest story. Produced and engineered by Brian Standefer, who also wrote the music. Penny Meek: And so, I guess peoplepeople are always going to think what they want to think, in every circumstance. I called a media spokesman for the attorney generals office. Chris then claimed that in the early evening hours of Thanksgiving Dayless than 24 hours after Tom had disappearedLewis came to see him again. As of today, this case remains a questionable death investigation without sufficient evidence to attribute Tom Browns death to a criminal act, an accidental death, or a suicide; therefore, this case will be suspended until such time as additional reliable evidence has been discovered.". "It is with great disappointment that the city of Merriam Woods announces the formal removal of Nathan Lewis as Chief of Police," City Attorney Joe Allen said in a statement. Tucker Brown: Every day I think we may not know anything, ever. You need to do something. There are still so many secrets, and theres no guarantee a grand jury will dislodge new information. You know, at the end of the day, I know the truth about that. And one of the questions was, Do you know the current location of his body?. That has not happened. If it was not a law enforcement officer that actually pulled the trigger, it was somebody thats connected close to law enforcement who was willing to help clean up a mess., I asked Klein why a law enforcement officer would want Tom dead. Skip Hollandsworth specializes in long-form narratives. We get out there with our water bottles, and we get our butts out there in the streets and we find out whats going on. Lewis was sheriff when Thomas Brown went missing in 2016. City Employees Are Heading for the Exits. But were gonna show you the manner of death tonight, that weand its not theory, folks. Read more from the Tom Browns Body Series: Chapter 3: Evil Has Come to Canadian, Texas. Or that he had been kidnapped and sold to a sex-trafficking ring. . We have theories, obviously. After speaking with Lewis again, the former sheriff explained he considered on-the-job duties as training, saying quote, If [theyre] doing stuff to get the hours, then I am going to give them the hours.. An online facebook community called Moms4Tom was created. Why wouldnt you let people see what you had? But now I am not sure who was involved. Rachel Kading: I think that collectively as a group, at the AGs office, we just felt that it was important to put out some facts. Our focus is Thomas Brown. Chris Jones: He pushed me in the back of his cop car. If someone had something to do with his disappearance, I could have tried to protect him. The Texas Rangers targeted vehicle and currency seizure logs late last year in connection to an investigation of Real County Sheriff Nathan Johnson, search warrants released this week by the Texas . Unsolved true crime podcast researched, written and hosted by Crime Analyst Leah Owens. At the town hall meeting in October, thats exactly what Klein speculated. Skip Hollandsworth: Tucker was asked by you to take a lie detector test. Sheriff Lewis Tatum 298 Rosemont, Sulphur Springs 75482 HOUSTON COUNTY Sheriff Randy Hargrove Sr. 700 A South 4th Street, Crockett 75835 HOWARD COUNTY Sheriff . After officials executed a warrant to search the house, they found a felony amount of methamphetamine (2.02 pounds) along with multiple firearms. There were dark, ugly stories that the county's young sheriff, Nathan Lewis, was involved in Tom's disappearance. Shelby County Sheriff Kevin W. Windham reports the arrest of David Nathan Lewis and Beverly Kay Hurst, both of Timpson. He got into fights and was eventually kicked out of high school after that 2016 season. That these two individuals found out that he may know something about it; that they basically kidnapped him, strapped him to a chair; that they shot him up with drugs and told him that if he ever told anybody, that they would kill him. And if she did have her sons phone, how exactly did she get it? I want you to see these folks not as people of. Im probably just going to keep doing what Im doing. And former deputy Pyne Gregory has a gun to Tom Browns head. (I believe) says that Brown's only interaction with police was with Sheriff Lewis back when he was a deputy. Chris went on to say that, in the light, he could see Tomstill alivesitting in front of them in a chair. Nathan Lewis has been released from his role as Hemphill County Sheriff. January 2023 Reader Quiz: What Did You Learn? And the buzz around the room is that Klein has organized this town hall meeting to deliver new bombshell information about what really happened to Tom. Skip Hollandsworth: Theres nothing you can do, right? Chip Gaines Bought Larry McMurtrys Historic Texas Bookstore. This past January,five months after the state attorney generals office suspended its investigation into Toms death because of a lack of evidence, I got a call from a source in Canadian who told me that Rachel Kading was back in town. Many in the audience were stunnedand angeredthat Klein expected them to believe such an incredible story. I began to wonder if anyone would ever learn the truth about what had happened to Tom. Tucker said he was already so distraught over Toms death that he was worried his answers would come across as evasive. A sheriff in Texas is accused of regularly ordering his deputies to seize cash and vehicles from undocumented immigrants during traffic stops, even if they were not stopped for an alleged crime. Thomass family has questioned if that happened in his case. Penny Meek on the Walking Bridge in Canadian. She had entered that profession largely because of Tom. Klein added further details, claiming there were in fact two teenage boys who had been messing with Tom in the football stadium parking lot and that one of them had accidentally pulled the trigger. But none of the physical evidence seemed to make any sense. It showed no signs of damage from rain or ice storms, which meant it had to have been planted shortly before the search began. The Seneca County Sheriff's Office reports, on August 19th, 2021 members of the Narcotics Unit arrested Nathan E. Lewis, age 30, of Waterloo, NY. Sheriff's . Incredibly, the phone was in perfect condition. Rachel Kading: I mean, I cant say with one hundred percent certainty that there would be indictments, but it was the feeling of myself, other members of the investigative team, and the district attorneys office that there would be multiple indictments. Lewis was charged with one count of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the seventh degree and one count of Criminally Using Drug Paraphernalia in the second degree. But who? But kidnapping Tom was supposed to inspire Chris to play harder and win a playoff football game? How was it amusing to dress up as the person youd accused of being involved in your sons disappearance or murder? Pulled up behind him, Penny said, and started messing with him and perhaps accidentally shot him. [surveillance videos from] Dollar General and Fronk. His response was vague. Duane Allen Christensen II, 41 of Minneapolis, MN 55412 for GM 3rd Degree DWI. Ortega also reported she did not perform or complete any Field Training Programs for Corrections. Just before midnight, he said goodbye. The door is always open at our office for anything that will bring resolution to this case.. Perhaps because the pandemic was surging at the time, Kading stayed for only a few days. Box 445, Leakey 78873 RED RIVER COUNTY Sheriff Jim Caldwell 500 N. Cedar St., Clarksville 75426 REEVES COUNTY Sheriff The Hemphill County Sheriff's Office became a Contract Training Provider on April 26, 2017. Which, impossible. Panicking, one of them made a phone call, most likely to his father or a friend of his fathers, Klein said. Hemphill County Judge George Briant said Nathan Lewis submitted his resignation shortly before five this evening. Nathan Lewis Expand search. I wasn't supposed to take over until January. Rachel Kading: Yes, we looked into every story. Its very hard for me to think about., Christian also told me something I wasnt expecting. Man: You need to get out of Canadian, Klein. After it was announced that a grand jury would be convened, I called Toms friend Christian Webb. Oct 27, 2021. #961. According to the Shelby County Sheriff's Office, investigators had been gathering intelligence, which led them to believe that a substantial amount of narcotics and firearms were located at Lewis' residence. Then, in the late summer of 2020, just as we were wrapping the podcast, there were rumors that the attorney-general investigators wanted the local district attorney to call a grand jury. Who placed his cellphone near Lake Marvin Road? Last month, the Texas Rangers and the Texas attorney general's office . CANADIAN - An investigative firm hired by the family of missing Canadian teen Thomas Brown believes that he may not have left on his own, according to a press release from the private . By Jarrett Lewis. Hemphill County Sheriff Nathan Lewis resigns, Woman released from federal prison by mistake in custody at Lubbock Co. jail, Texas mother who drowned her two children sentenced to 40 years, Amarillo High gears up for third consecutive regional semifinal, Discover Switzerland, Austria and Bavaria with Doppler Dave, Hemphill County Sheriff's Office Investigation, KFDA-departmentheads@gray.tv - 806-331-9839. Sponsored Links. Thomass death certificate currently lists his cause of death as pending. The attorney general suspended the investigation pending any new, credible evidence. Chris? Read earlier chapters and learn more about the. 0:59. As for Penny, she says shes not giving up on her investigation, either. And when I went to see Penny in October, the day after Kleins meeting, she remained adamant that she, Chris, and Tucker had not moved Toms body. Christian didnt hesitate. Like the investigators Rachel Kading and Chris Smyth, Lewis didnt rule out the possibility that Penny had found Toms body after hed killed himself. Sheriff Nathan Lewis of Hemphill County could not be reached before press time. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Theres a possibility that some law enforcement may be involved in either the actual event or the cover-up, he told me. Lewis resigned from his post after being formally reprimanded by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) for falsifying training records. There have been plenty of bombshell revelations in this complicated and tragic story. ET on Friday, February 24, according to a booking report obtained by Us. Skip Hollandsworth: Well, explain the lie detector test: Showed signs of deception on the question regarding possession. We dont go down to the Poke and Run and have coffee. An improvised explosive device, or IED, exploded shortly after a school official found it at Rossiter Elementary School in Helena, the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff's Office reported. Families of missing persons hope law enforcement would do all they could to locate their loved one. HEMPHILL COUNTY, Texas (KVII) New documents obtained by ABC7 detail a Texas Commission on Law Enforcement investigation into Hemphill County Sheriff Nathan Lewis, including allegations by a deputy of document manufacture in a non-specific "missing person" case. And the sheriff told them to do what? I asked. This call is hard to hear, but youll get the gist. Suddenly, all across Canadian, everyone was asking the same question: What new evidence had Rachel Kading unearthed? Caan requested the original audio statements Hemphill County deputies interviewed made to TCOLE investigators. Lewis said this to TCOLE investigators about Thomass case: "We had this missing deal come up in November, Lewis said. According to a report produced in October, TCOLE was alerted to allegations of document fabrication against Sheriff Lewis by then . When she does, she said, she feels like she gets PTSD or something, especially when she drives around town, following the route she and her friends used to call Toms loop., I wonder what I could have done for Tom if I had stayed around a little bit longer [that night], she said. And in the meantime, weve ruined the sheriff and his familys life. Penny said theyve even been blamed for a faltering economy; it just so happened that an oil bust had begun ravaging the region the same year Tom disappeared. Due to the poor quality of the recording, Holmes recapped what Jones said. Then, in August, the case took another turn that caught me by surprise. Griffith, 35, was taken into custody in Delray Beach, Florida, just after 4:00 a.m. Tucker Brown: Im the fifth-generation person from Canadian. He was a talented running back who had just moved to Canadian from a nearby town. There were dark, ugly stories that the countys young sheriff, Nathan Lewis, was involved in Toms disappearance. So how can you accuse me of doing something to my son when I dont even know where he was? I asked her if she has ever been to the spot where Toms remains were found. OVER THE PAST nearly two months, I've filed a handful of public information requests with 31st District Attorney Franklin McDonough's office and the Texas Rangers, attempting to determinefirst, what criminal complaint had been lodged against Hemphill County Sheriff Nathan Lewis that led to his investigation by the Texas Rangers, and more recently, what the result of that . I think they would be very happy. And then it was like, Oh, shit, I got to cover this up. I then asked Kading about Kleins newest theorythat Chris Jones had seen Tom tied to a chair while a deputy sheriff held a gun to his head. And he said that after the Wildcats lost a game that the gamblers expected them to win, Lewis picked him up and took him to the Walking Bridge, a local landmark. The accident report, 911 call, radio communications and body camera footage, as well as the dispatch report, were released after the accident. . And thats, thats our focus. New York City Sheriff's Office / Kings County Sheriff's Division Anthony Miranda, Sheriff . It is the longstanding practice of the 31st Judicial District Attorney to not present suspicious deaths to a Grand Jury if evidence shows the death was the result of a suicide.". Deputies went to the Golden Springs area around 6 p.m. and found . Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. We need to heal as a community and basically get away from all this., Lewis said he and the other deputies had actually completed their training hours but that he had simply submitted the reports incorrectly. Klein said in the past there was evidence missed by the sheriff's team, including blood in Thomas's SUV and a shell casing from a . Chris was one of his teammates. Christian graduated in May from Oklahoma State and landed a job as a forensic scientist at the Department of Public Safety in Waco. Skip Hollandsworth: What were other stories Chris Jones told you or others about what happened that night? Chris had just joined the team. Current News. Mimi Swartz is a staff writer based in Houston. . Cause we get out on the street and were busting our ass. GREENVILLE, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - The civil case against former Greenville County Sheriff Will Lewis, has been settled. The exact location of the remains has not been released. West Texans Are Learning What It Means to Live in Bear Country, Jimmy Carters Peanut-and-Egg Taco Made Quite the Impression on San Antonians, The Top 50 Texas BBQ Joints: 2021 Edition, The Campaign to Sabotage Texass Public Schools. Well, what do you want to do next with your life? Here is what Clapp had to say when TCOLE investigators asked why Sheriff Lewis might fabricate the training records: "Because we've been through the Tom Brown mess on that deal he manufactured a supplement a year and a half after the fact, Clapp said. Indeed, as the meeting began, Klein teased that he was ready to reveal everything. Yet those rumors went nowhere. Skip Hollandsworth: And did you find any evidence that suggested he was not home all night? Pictured: Nathan Lewis, former Sheriff of Hemphill County, TX. The Walking Bridge, just outside of Canadian, is one of the places where Tom was last seen. At the meeting, Toms family sat in the front row. AG Ken Paxton announced on Tuesday that a new Cold Case and Missing Persons Unit would be formed in the Office of the Attorney General to assist law enforcement agencies with the over 19,000 unsolved homicides in Texas. Nathan Lewis envisioned providing training for his agency along with surrounding agencies in the upper. Leave them blank to get signed up. Notifications can be turned off anytime in the browser settings. Vale man injured after pickup crashes through fence at West Cedar Road home. Rachel Kading: He did not. January 19, 2023 - 6:10 pm. You were certain of that? And he pulled a gun on me. And let me tell yall something. But its doubtful Lewis found much time to relax. . . Chris Meek? It was a huge issue. There was a memorial service for Thomas shortly after his remains were found, but his remains have not yet been put to rest. Investigators with the Texas Attorney Generals Office agreed to review Thomass case in 2018. So in one of the batteries of questions, it was about the possibility that Tom was deceased. At the time of Tom Browns disappearance, Lewis was Sheriff of Hemphill County. With a winning margin of roughly 7,800 votes in the November election, Harmon said he was ecstatic to have been chosen by the county's residents . Rachel Kading: If they possessed Toms phone after his disappearance. According to Klein, Toms killer pushed Tom into the back seat, drove out to Lake Marvin Road, dumped Tom under the thicket of cottonwood trees, cleaned the blood from the Durangos interior, and drove back into town to find a place to stash the car. Chris said Lewis wanted to show him something that would encourage him to play better. TCOLE report stated the investigating officers reported, "Clapp said it wasn't outside the realm of Lewis fabricating a document because he had manufactured a supplement for a missing person a year and half after it happened.". Skip Hollandsworth specializes in long-form narratives. So I asked Kading, what did she think happened on Thanksgiving eve 2016? Change). The report concluded Sheriff Lewis failed to educate himself on the TCOLE rules and laws and that he violated his contract. . Was Lewis really that upset with Toms mother, Penny Meek, for the dispute they had had back in 2015 over the way he had allegedly treated Tom outside Canadians movie theater? West Texans Are Learning What It Means to Live in Bear Country, Jimmy Carters Peanut-and-Egg Taco Made Quite the Impression on San Antonians, The Top 50 Texas BBQ Joints: 2021 Edition, The Campaign to Sabotage Texass Public Schools. Rachel Kading: Whats unethical about it is that if you do not feel that the indictment is going to lead to a conviction at trial, you are really shorting the case. And his point is, You know what, I got nothing to lose. And Im like, what you got to show me? MARTINSBURG Another step taken before he officially assumes office on Jan. 1, Berkeley County Sheriff-elect Nathan Harmon took his oath of office in front of a federal judge Thursday afternoon. If Penny had indeed found and moved Toms body, that would also mean she knew her son was dead when she sent all those texts to his phone. This one isthe latest shared by Philip Klein and his team of investigators last night. Shes crazy as hell, Lewis told me. Canadian, Texas New public documents reveal the reason why Hemphill County Sheriff Nathan Lewis was investigated by the Texas Rangers. The economy here is bad because we gave Canadian a black eye. Man, there is something scary about her., Penny knew that many Canadian residents treated her and her family as pariahs. What Chris is saying is that Lewis had told the teenager hed be killed if he didnt move to town and play for the Canadian Wildcats. Did you ever find out where Chris was? Rachel Kading: Yes. I stared at one of the signs that had been put up there soon after Tom disappeared. Klein said that one of his top investigators, Caroline Gearwho also happened to be Kleins daughterbegan talking to Chris after he was sent to prison. The Dollar General is next door to Fronks gas station, the last place Thomas was known to have gone to get gas before disappearing. January 2023 Reader Quiz: What Did You Learn? A continuously updated summary of the news stories that US political commentators are discussing online right now. Klein, of course, had floated certain motives in the past. Yes, he said: a grand jury would be convened in Hemphill County either later this year or in early 2021. All this damn conjecture I get all the time. And that process is, you bring in all witnesses; they testify under oath. We had the peer reviews with the Rangers. To absolutely everyones surprise, Klein didnt say a word about the theory of the parking-lot killing. In August 2019, Hemphill County Sheriff Nathan Lewis received a visit from a couple of officers from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, the regulatory agency for all peace officers in the state. Hes been interviewed how many times? Sheriff. Search warrants show that Real County Sheriff Nathan Johnson is under scrutiny by state investigators . Copyright 2019 KFDA. He declared that he and his team of investigators had been talking to another witness who had a whole new story to tell about Toms death. Third is my friend Tucker Brown; thats Toms brother. Skip Hollandsworth: So, you have a theory. Texas Lege Watch: A House Republican Fights for Chicken Freedom, Texas Monthly Recognized by ASME in the 2023 National Magazine Awards. The Unit's first case was to assist the Hemphill County Sheriff's Office in the case of Thomas Brown of Canadian. Fact. 32,537. Two written reprimands from the commission are subject to suspension. . A couple of years later, he was convicted of armed robbery and sentenced to thirty years in prison. Even if it didnt lead to a conviction in a trial? The TCOLE investigators were told there was documentation to support Sheriff Lewis claim that officers in his department received credit for numerous field training hours. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Kading was, however, spotted in Salem Abrahams downtown office interviewing one of his employees, who happened to be the woman whod found Toms cellphone. Part of the town thinks he committed suicide. This past fall, word spread through Canadian that Klein would be calling a town hall meeting. Chris was at work. . This is ridiculous., In a statement released to the public, Lewis wrote, I am very happy and humble for the great things weve accomplished in the three years as sheriff. Over the past 29 years, Klein said his company has investigated around 1,000 missing person cases with an 85 percent . Skip Hollandsworth: Is there any evidence that Tom went up to the football parking lot? Skip Hollandsworth: So up in Canadian, as we speak, right now, half that town thinks he was murdered. If you liked the show, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. For those of you that do not know Penny, Penny is the mother of Thomas Brown. He gave me a one-word answer: Penny. [SBM] Sheriff Lewis did announce recently he would not seek re-election in 2020 and when former Deputy Clapp announced he would run for the office, Sheriff Lewis endorsed him. Telephone: (718) 488-2300 Fax: (718) 488-3501 Lewis County Sheriff's Department Mike Carpinelli, Sheriff Outter Stowe Street P.O. In August 2019, Hemphill County Sheriff Nathan Lewis received a visit from a couple of officers from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, the regulatory agency for all peace officers in the . Im sorry I have to show you corruption in your city. CANADIAN, Texas (KFDA) - The Hemphill County Sheriff in the swirl of controversy resigned today. If you fill out the first name, last name, or agree to terms fields, you will NOT be added to the newsletter list. Klein said he will open the book on the case and lay out the timeline of events plus answer questions. Investigators said they could not determine whether Thomas Brown's death was homicide, suicide or due to natural causes because so few of his remains were found. Investigators with TCOLE later traveled to Canadian to follow up on the case and interviewed Lewis, Clapp and Ortega. Why? Skip Hollandsworth: Has he said, You know what, Im tired of the public scrutiny, lets get out of Canadian?. So, lets just say, a hypothetical. Its really funny. I dont know where it is. Pictured: Nathan Lewis, former Sheriff of Hemphill County, TX. The Lewis County Sheriff's Office identified the victim as Dean C. Cole, 54, of Lewis Road in Cameron Mills. So the district attorney and the state attorney generals office actually considered indictments of multiple people. You might remember him from an earlier episode of the podcast.
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