The Collin County Observer

This is a very disturbing story.

It involves a DWI case that appears to have been "fixed" by a senior prosecutor in the Collin County District Attorney's office.

DA John Roach's response six months later?

1. 'Reassign' the prosecutor accused of the 'fix' and her boss.
2. Fire the original prosecutor who had the case taken away from him by his superior and then complained about it, in what sure looks like 'firing the whistle blower'.
3. Complain about the laws that allow people found innocent to have their arrest records expunged.
4. Order an investigation.

The DWI arrest in question was last November. The 'fix' was in June. How much time does Mr. Roach need to ask his own employees what happened?

Collin County and its District Attorney have a well justified reputation for being tough on law breakers. Unless he wants to be seen as just another good ol boy politician protecting his own, Roach needs to take swift, public and decisive action to bring anyone guilty of a breach of the public trust to justice. Roach says he has zero tolerance for drunk drivers. He needs to reassure the citizens that he has exactly that same amount of tolerance for those who abuses the public trust in the justice system.

DA Roach is retiring at the end of 2010. His actions and that of 2 of his prosecutors should provide grist for an interesting discussion between the candidates who want our votes to become the next district attorney.

Bill

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DWI case disappears in Collin County courts

Friday, October 23, 2009
By BRETT SHIPP / WFAA-TV

PLANO — Two North Texas men who tried to get a drunk driver off the streets and into a courtroom are confused and upset.

The seemingly iron-clad DWI case against the driver somehow vanished in the Collin County court system until News 8 became involved.

Adam Bennett and Steven Tibbles were scheduled to tell their story to a jury this past summer, but never got the chance. So they are telling it to News 8.

Last November in Plano, Bennett and Tibbles say they witnessed an apparent drunk driver.

"He swerved over and almost hit us," Bennett said. "Another car passed him and he almost hit him as well. He almost hit several cars."

Tibbles said the driver “obviously was not suitable for driving."

Bennett and Tibbles called 911 and followed the driver to a convenience store, where he was intercepted by Plano police. The incident report spells out what happened next.

The investigating officer said he smelled the "odor of an intoxicating beverage on his breath."

Police said the driver failed the eye test, observing "a lack of smooth pursuit in both of his eyes," which were described as "watery."

On the field sobriety, walk-and-turn test, the officer said the driver "stepped off the line" several times and "raised his arms and swayed."

But the most incriminating evidence in any DWI case is the Intoxilyzer test. In this case, the driver "blew" a 0.14, nearly twice the legal limit.

Despite the evidence, the driver and his attorney insisted on a jury trial.

Bennett and Tibbles were subpoenaed by the Collin County District Attorney's office and were eager to testify. The Collin County prosecutor assigned to the case amassed seven witnesses, gathered all the evidence, and set the trial for June 22.

But ten days before trial, something happened.

The court's chief prosecutor, Kerrie Walker, took the case away from the original prosecutor. Walker dismissed all the witnesses and filed paperwork waiving the jury trial.

She reset the case for July 23, a day the regular judge would be gone. In his place was a visiting judge who had no previous knowledge of the case.

On the day of the hearing, Walker apparently presented no evidence or witnesses.

The driver, who allegedly posed such a threat to the public, was quickly found "not guilty."

No probation. No community service. No fines.

And — according to the witnesses to the crime — there was no justice.

"Where's our justice system?" asked Tibbles. "Why do we have laws if that kind of thing is just going to happen? If people are just going to be able to walk from an open-and-shut case?"

Bennett and Tibbles say they have several questions for Court Chief Kerrie Walker, who abruptly took over the case.

Walker declined to discuss the case with News 8 and referred us to her supervisor, Curtis Howard, who also has declined to comment. Howard was allegedly notified of the disappearing DWI case this summer.

Howard failed to pass along the concerns to District Attorney John Roach, who says he has a zero tolerance attitude toward drunk drivers.

"If we can prove that you committed a DWI, then we are going to prosecute that case," Roach said. "It's just that simple."

Now that the case of the disappearing DWI has come to his attention, Roach said he has concerns of his own. He said both Walker and Howard have been reassigned pending a full investigation.

"Nobody should be making any mistake about what my attitude is and what my policies are here, and people who deviate from those policies without some excuse or justification are going to be investigated," Roach said.

As for the identity of the alleged drunk driver in question, that information will never be made public because the case was legally expunged from the files — all records are purged as if it never happened.

District Attorney Roach said he is frustrated by the Texas expungement laws. He said he has been fighting to have them changed, but he still feels he knows enough about this case to hold his prosecutors accountable.

read full story and watch News 8 Investigates video....