Waco - Sheriff Larry Lynch told County Commissioners that he and his staff begin every working day discussing just who is eligible for bond and finding ways to get them released. Nevertheless, his office is in a jam with a depleted budget for outside care at the privately operated Jack Harwell Detention Center.
Then Commissioner Ben Perry requested that District Attorney Abelino Reyna come forward to brief the Court on the figures and tell them all about his brisk new campaign of aggressive prosecution of cases, some of which had languished for several years in the files of the DA's office when he took over on January 1, 2011.
"I'll just sit on the Sheriff's lap," Mr. Reyna quipped as Sheriff's Office Administrator Paul Wash vacated his chair at the crowded witness table.
And then, Mister District Attorney Abelino Reyna took to the microphone in McLennan County Commissioners Court on Tuesday, March 27, to explain to the Court why their jail is overflowing.
It's simple enough. His office sought and returned approximately 1,000 more indictments in the year 2011 than were prosecuted during the year 2010, in November of which he was elected the new District Attorney.
As he rattled off the figures, the impression created is that the number of criminals convicted through an onslaught of aggressive prosecution peaked some time during the first year of his administration and is going to remain at a plateau of activity.
It's all part of a three-pronged strategy he used in his campaign to unseat long-term incumbent John Segrest. First, to maintain a presence in the courtroom and let offenders know exactly who the DA is. Second, to go into the community and prosecute crime in the presence of his clients, the people. Thirdly, he intends to let the school kids and the youth of McLennan County know there is a District Attorney, that his name is Abelino Reyna, and he will definitely prosecute offenders to the full extent of the law.
The District attorneys office needed a big change, and thank goodness, we finally got one. Go get em Abel!
ReplyDeleteNow, the Sheriff's office desperately needs a huge change. The entire department is a disgrace. Let's hope voters stop burying their heads in the sand, learn the facts, and vote for change.....MCNAMARA!!!! With McNamara and Reyna working together, our county will be a much safer place to live.
Now that we have an aggressive DA who will go after criminals, we need an aggressive Sheriff to match. Since Plemons has already stated he will be maintaiing the status quo, McNamara is the man to be an aggressive Sheriff. While Plemons is content to be just an administrator, as a US Deputy Marshal, McNamara was well versed in bringing in the bad guys. The US Marshal Service, while usually cast as prison guards in movies are actually the most aggressive federal law enforcement agency. The US Marshal Service is responsible for 55.2% of all federal arrests. That's more then the FBI, DEA, ATF, ICE and the rest of the alphabat soup combined.
ReplyDeleteMcNamara is the only candidate who is aggressive on crime. He also has 15 year of experience as the Deputy in Charge of the Waco District. That is a 13 county district, including this one, he ran for the Marshal Service, while his opponent has only helped run this county.
McNamara has more administrative experience,business education, and law enforcement experience combined than Plemons will ever have. Not to mention McNamara knows how to run a budget without getting sued, and without putting our county and our taxpayers in serious debt!
ReplyDeleteAhhhhhh, but McNamara couldn't possibly have nearly the amount of ON-THE-JOB training that Plemons has benefitted from at our expense!
ReplyDeleteCheck his personnel file & you will see the countless trainings that would have been more worth our money given to someone who actually likes to DO police work - not who aspires to 'riding desk' behind bullet-proof glass! Considering the recent administrative blunders, it shouldn't surprise you to find Plemons' training list rather 'light' on administrative topics.
Just another testament to the blatant hypocrasy in Plemons & Camp's & repeated jabs toward McNamara about obtaining his TCLEOSE Cert. on the job.
BTW - Quite possibly, Plemmons personnel file may be the ONLY source which accurately states he attended the "FBI NATIONAL Academy," and not the prestigious training for federal agents (which requires college degree), the "FBI Academy."
Plemons probably doesn't know the difference between the FBI Academy and the FBI National Academy her attended. That's probably comes from the fact he doesn't come close to qualifying for the actual FBI Academy, but that doesn't stop him from lying to his supporters that he did.
ReplyDeleteMcNamara has the law enforcement experience on record. He also has the training and experience as an administrator that Plemons would so much like everyone to believe he has. But like Plemons lack of arrests, his administration experience is just as lacking. McNamara has a business management degree from Baylor's national ranked business school. He also has over 4 decades of experience as a business owner and manager. And the cherry on top, he ran the 13 county Waco District for 15 years. That only outstrips Plemons 11 years of HELPING the Sheriff run his department.
Plemons has been bragging about being the man behind the budget until the recent budget gaffes have come out. Since then, you can't find him anywhere near anything to do with the budget. He did take time out from his busy day of running his campaign from his county paid for office to chase down anyone with the camera to make a media circus over a puppy mill. Luckily his record of no felony arrests, remains untarnished since there is still not even an arrest to come out of his circus. This is not unlike his media circus surrounding the fiery death of a Baylor student he was trying to turn into a murder investigation. Instead it turned into a tradgic suicide, but it is shameful nevertheless that he would use this poor boy's death for his campaign. Reminds me of every weaselly politican in the movies.
I would hope that someone in his office would have to character and morals to stand against Plemons and Lynch.