Wednesday, April 7, 2021

A well-known Louisiana lawman was haunted in retirement by images from past investigations.  Awakening from a dream one night and eating a bologna sandwich, retired DeSoto Parish Detective Robert “Robbo” Davidson realized maybe the visions of the past had come to remind him his job was not yet done.  “Maybe I need to give them a voice – for better or for worse,” he commented. “I thought if I did not, the evil I have seen might never let me sleep.”

Thus, his new book, “The Evil I Have Seen,” is a collection of true crime stories taken from the case files of this veteran homicide investigator. The accounts are intricately woven together combining his own memories with those of witnesses, the family members of victims, case files and trial transcripts.  Three men serving life sentences for murder were interviewed for the book.

The book contains two cases that involved Sabine Parish.  One was the murder of Dewayne George and his wife Suzette.  George’s body was found along Hwy. 171 near Converse and his wife’s in the Big Woods.  Herman Hanks was found guilty in the murders.  Detective John Rainer of the Sabine Parish Sheriff’s Department worked with Robbo on the case.  This was Davidson’s first murder case in which he was in charge.

The second Sabine-related case was the murder of Wade Langton, a native of Sabine Parish, son of former Registrar of Voters Elmo Langton and husband of Kristi McCormick, who later served as Registrar.  He worked at Gulf Motors in Mansfield at the time.  Cedric Burton was charged with the murder.  Sabine Sheriff Alfice Brumley assisted with the case.

District Attorney Don Burkett, who served both Sabine and DeSoto Parishes at the time, was involved in prosecuting some of the cases about which Davidson writes.  District Judges Elizabeth Pickett and Stephen Beasley also presided over some of the cases.

Davidson began his career as an undercover narcotics agent in the early 1970s.  He joined the DeSoto Sheriff’s Office in 1980, forming the drug task force and retired as Chief Detective in 2014. He continues working cold cases and for the past 25 years has served on the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement.

For more than a decade, Davidson assisted the Louisiana Sheriff’s Association every legislative session by staying in touch with legislators and testifying before committees on proposed legislation affecting law enforcement. He is currently working with two legislators to enact “Jeff’s Law,” creating a statewide database and alert system to enhance protections for adults with disabilities in honor of Jeff Rodgers, whose story is included in the book.

On this interesting memoirs project, he partnered with writer P. J. Jones.  She is an award-winning journalist and recipient of the Sunshine Award from the Society of Professional Journalists for open records investigations. She retired in 2013 after a lengthy career in journalism, starting out as a reporter for the Abilene, TX Reporter-News.  She then because a reporter for television news and was named News Director of KTXS-TV in Abilene in 1990.  She served on the Board of Directors of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas before accepting a position in television news management in Birmingham in 1994.  There she coordinated with the University of Alabama and state legislators to help create the Alabama Center for Open Government.

Ms. Jones met Robbo after her son Marshall married his daughter Allison.

White Bird Publications of Austin will print the book, and eBooks will distribute the book worldwide. All books sold in the United States are printed in America and books sold internationally are printed in London.

“The Evil I Have Seen” is available for pre-order on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other online bookstores. It will be released on April 20.

Tackett Curtis, outside linebacker for the Many High School Tigers football team, made the Rivals Top-100 list of college prospects for the 2023 class. The list was issued last week. He is a sophomore at Many High and is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Moses Curtis.  He is the grandson of John and Pam Curtis and Warren and Ann Founds.

Marcus Williams, age 22 of Many, was arrested Thursday, April 1, after trying to elude Many Police Dept. Officer Matt Cook. Williams ran red lights at two intersections at high speeds. He then ran the car he was driving off the road and fled into the woods where he was ultimately captured and arrested.

Williams was driving a rental car that was not rented to him. In the car was found approximately 29 grams of marijuana, over 150 pills of suspected Ecstasy, 23 Valium, a small bag of [as of yet unknown] powder, digital scales and a firearm. The firearm was a 40 caliber with 48 rounds.

The Many Police Dept. was aided by the Sabine Parish Sheriff’s Office in the pursuit and arrest. An investigation is ongoing. Kudos to Many Chief of Police Cheryl Wooley, the entire Department and to the SPSO for continuing the fight against local crime.

The Rev. Daniel Lowe, pastor of Many Church of the Nazarene, once again brought home the message of Good Friday as he made his annual walk through town bearing a cross on Friday morning, April 2. His tradition is a beloved one here and most who see his tribute to Christ’s sacrifice are moved by the significance of his gesture and its deep meaning before Easter.

Good Friday is the day remembered by Christians as the day Jesus of Nazareth willingly suffered and died by crucifixion as the ultimate sacrifice for sin (humankind choosing its own way instead of honoring God’s commandments and guidelines). It is followed by Easter, which celebrates the physical and spiritual resurrection of Jesus by God, signaling victory over sin and death and pointing ahead to the future resurrection of believers united in the Christian faith.

Linda Curtis-Sparks, director of the Sabine Tourist Commission, said a lot of people turned out to spend Easter weekend on Toledo Bend Lake.  She said the crowd was very similar to what would turn out for the Fourth of July.

Congratulations to Mrs. Cindy Lewing who has been selected as a state semi-finalist for Principal of the Year. She is principal at Zwolle Elementary School. The finalist will be announced May 25.

Kristy Steele, center, was selected as High School Teacher of the Year.  She teaches at Zwolle High School.  J. J. Blake, the head man at Community Bank in Many, honored her with a new note pad. At left is Dr. Sara Ebarb, Sabine Superintendent of Schools.

Best wishes to our long-time friend Nan Arthur upon her retirement.  She was an English Language Arts and Spanish Teacher for 17 years before becoming a 4-H Club agent in Sabine Parish, where she has served for the past eight years. She took the job with the LSU AgCenter after volunteering with the 4-H Program since 2008. She was the third volunteer to become a Bronze Level Louisiana Master Volunteer in 2012. Later that year, she became the agent in Sabine Parish.

She said that being a 4-H agent has been such a wonderful job for her, as she was able to work and spend time with her children. She also loved watching students grow and becomes successful. We wish her the best in her retirement, but bet she will stay busy.

The 157^th anniversary of the Battle of Pleasant Hill will be commemorated Friday through Sunday. More than 400 re-enactors will be in town for the event. Friday will be School Day. Saturday, the big events will be the Parade at 10 a.m. in downtown Pleasant Hill and the Battle Re-Enactment at 2 p.m. The Period Ball and Court Presentation will be held at 7 p.m. On Sunday, a church service will take place at 10 a.m. with the crowning of Miss Battle of Pleasant Hill at 1 p.m.  The Battle Re-Enactment will take place at 2 p.m.

The Battle of Pleasant Hill took place April 9, 1864. It was a major battle of the Red River Campaign. An estimated 1,000 Union soldiers and 2,000 Confederates were killed in the battle. Be sure to attend and support this event.

Leesville Attorney Katie Beaird has started a Facebook page entitled “Justice 4 Sabine,” with a sub-head “Help us get justice for Sabine Parish Students.” Earlier she filed a suit in Shreveport Federal District Court about the incident at Many High School where a male basketball player was allegedly sexually assaulted by other students in the dressing room.

Last week, she and other interested persons called a meeting at El Patio Restaurant to discuss possible problems within the school system. Ms. Beaird told Observations that not only were problems in Many that were presented, but also from Zwolle and Pleasant Hill.

Their message on Facebook says that all parents should expect all children at school to be safe from violence, harm, sexual assault, harassment and such other negativity. It states, “While they are attaining their education, all children deserve to be protected from harm, especially from school teachers, workers, attendants, faculty and other students. However, the School Board in conjunction with the Sheriff’s Department and District Attorney have failed to protect our children from predators, bullies and violence. The cycle of harm and abuse must end here.”

The Facebook page asks persons who know of a child who has been a victim of violence to contact Ms. Beaird. It states, “Knowledge is power.  Help give us the power to stop this violence against our children.”

Ms. Beaird can be contacted at Katie@justice4sabine.com or calling or texting (337) 378-9055.                                     

Sales tax collections in Sabine Parish were down by $217,303.05 in March over March of last year, according to a report issued by Sales Tax Collector Nolan Rivers. Total collections for the month totaled $1,630,586.89. Police Jury taxes collected were down by $49,429.42 and  the Sheriff’s Office was down by $37,072.17. Total school taxes were down by $137,712.76. Many sales tax collections were up for $15,652.90.

Several Many streets have been freshly overlaid and others are in progress. As has been the policy since Mayor Ken Freeman took office 32 years ago, each Alderman on the Town Council is allowed to select one street from his or her district to be rebuilt and improved from the yearly fiscal budget. The Alderman at Large is also allowed to select a street.

For this fiscal year, the following Many streets were chosen by the Town Council members to be improved:  Louisiana, Trace, Lincoln, Sorelle and Dillon.

Apeck Construction of Leesville is doing the work, which is being paid for by monies from the Town of Many’s Capital Outlay Budget for street improvements for the 2021 fiscal year.

“Major purchases such as this are always let out for bids to be sure we’re getting the most work done for the least cost,” Mayor Freeman shared. “This year’s work totals about $400,000 for these streets improvements.”

“Thirty-two years ago when I took office as Many Mayor, there were numerous complaints that all street monies were being spent in one area. In an effort to make sure that all four districts receive their fair share of the street monies, I established the policy whereby each year the City Council member of each district would provide me with a list of a street in their district that needed to be rebuilt and overlaid to ensure that all four districts get their fair share of work done. We are fortunate in that our sales tax revenues have increased substantially over this year due to COVID keeping people from going to Alexandria or Shreveport to shop; they’re shopping at home instead. So, that has provided more money to spend on streets and sidewalks,” Freeman explained.  

The body of 85-year-old Arthur Wright Jr. who went missing Wednesday evening, March 31, was found the next day just off Mallard Road, near Belmont, about one-half mile from his home. Foul play is not suspected. Sheriff Aaron Mitchell said the Sheriff’s Department made a thorough search, including the use of search dogs, before the body was found.

The sheriff said he is saddened because it is not the outcome he was expecting or for which he had hoped. Wright’s wife and son left for a doctor’s appointment at 5 a.m. and returned home to find him missing. The family said he had dementia and was in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease.

A Political Forum featuring the two candidates in the run-off for Sabine Police Juror from District 3 will be broadcast over KWLV and KTEZ Radio on Wednesday, April 21, at 7 p.m. The broadcast will also be livestreamed on the BDC Radio Facebook page. The candidates in the runoff are Joseph H. Hendon and Stephen Steinke. Laurie Gentry is to be moderator for the program. Be sure and make plans to listen and be informed.

The Sabine Parish Sheriff’s Department is currently looking for Ladonta Deshannon Carter, 23, who might be armed and dangerous. He is a black male, 5’10” tall, 190 lbs. and has tattoos on his arms and chest. Officials said he has ties to Many, Zwolle and Shreveport.

Carter is wanted on two counts of attempted second degree murder by the Zwolle Police Department, two counts of aggravated battery and aggravated assault with a firearm by the Many Police Department and probation violation and failure to appear for a child support hearing by the Sabine Sheriff’s Office.  In addition, Sabine Parish authorities say he is also wanted on several recent felony crimes.

Anyone having information should call (318) 256-9241 or Crime Stoppers at (318) 256-4511. Persons may also submit a tip through the Sheriff’s Department app.

Last week Joseph E. Malmay, 30, was arrested by the Sabine Sheriff’s Department on 17 different charges. He was stopped for driving a vehicle with switched license plates by deputies on Carters Ferry Rd. on March 28. He left on foot and deputies could not find him. Two days later, on March 30, he was riding a bicycle on Carters Ferry Rd. again and tried to flee from deputies. The long arm of the law was about to get him, so he jumped off his bike and started running, but was caught. He had meth and a pipe on him.

Here are the charges:  Possession of meth, two counts of Possession of drug paraphernalia, three counts of Resisting an officer, Speeding 66 in a 45 zone, Switched license plates, warrants for Failure to appear for child support court, Simple criminal trespass, Resisting an officer, Simple criminal damage to property under $1,000, Aggravated assault, Failure to appear for pretrial for Possession of a schedule II, Failure to appear for pre-trial for Possession of schedule I controlled dangerous substance, Failure to appear for pretrial on Simple assault under domestic violence and abuse (DVA) and Failure to appear for pretrial for Domestic abuse battery DVA strangulation.

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