Jackson Jambalaya

Need to find this dog a home. Chrissy Cheshire is taking care of him. She was roaming the neighorhood between Meadowbrook and JA for several weeks. Didn't belong to anyone, very friendly, followed everyone everywhere. He had the mange, which they've been treating for several weeks. The scars are caused by the intense scratching. Will play with any dog as well and is trained. Email me for contact info.

Copy of Motion and exhibits

William Bell, the attorney for Karen Irby, filed a motion to withdraw guilty plea in Hinds County Circuit Court today. Mrs. Irby alleges several facts that should be considered by the court:

1. She did not have a "written attorney-client contract with Joe Holloman" or the other attorneys.
2. "Joe Holloman had numerous phone conferences with Stuart Irby's attorneys."
3. "Karen Irby was never asked to participate and did not participate in any of the telephone conferences that took place between Joe Holloman and Stuart Irby's attorneys."
4. She only learned about the conferences from billing statements or Stuart Irby.
5. Mrs. Irby told Mr. Holloman about the alleged assault but he never informed her it could be used as a defense (KF note: weak. He may not have told her but I'm sure something like that did cross her mind.).
6. Mr. Holloman yelled at Mrs. Irby when she attempted to tell him about the assault and on a later date said he did not want her to discuss it any further.
7. Exhibit attached is a billing statement sent from Holloman to Stuart and Karen Irby.
8. Mr. Holloman rarely discussed Mrs. Irby's case with her but instead told her to call private investigator Charlie Saums. Incidentally, there is no attorney-client privelige between Mr. Saums and Mrs. Irby as several attorneys have informed me.
9. Mr. Holloman provided few, if any documents concerning her case. (KF note: Sources informed me for months that Mrs. Irby had to come to this site to learn about her case and read the documents filed as they were not provided to her.).
10. Mr. Holloman (allegedly) had a conflict of interest.
11. The docket shows Mr. Holloman never filed any formal requests for pre-trial discovery (This site did publish several subpoenas however that were filed by Mr. Holloman).
12. Joe Holloman's budget estimate was over a half million dollars. See exhibit in motion. Good grub if you can get it. Now you see why I posted that little story about Holloman trying to reverse a guilty plea in federal court for $35,000 (actually a habeaus corpus motion) and keeping the money?

Page 22 of the documents posted above are Holloman's billing records. Phelps Dunbar, Watkins Ludlam, you guys need to take some notes because Holloman gives a clinic in how to bill a rich client. This guy is so good he could give even Rudy Warnock or Carl Ray Furr lessons in billing although Mr. Holloman has not quite reached a Waggonarian level as Mr. Waggoner still has Siegfried's gold. Some tidbits:

1. $25,000 for public relations. Twenty-five frickin' grand for PR? They could've paid me half of that amount and gotten a hundred times better job than what the .6 million dollar man provided. We can rebuild Joe Holloman. We can make him greedier, hungrier, but unfortunately not leaner than he was before.
2. $20,000 for "executive support"? "Witness handling"?
3. "War room" office facility: $7,350. Um, doesn't Mr. Holloman have an office ONE BLOCK FROM THE COURT? What was he going to do? Rent out the convention center or the King Edward?
4. $60,000 for mock trial. Another $60,000 for "focus group discussion." I bet Linda Harmon is VERY sorry she moved to Tennessee when she sees this amount.
5. Bill (Projected): $632,224.

For half a million bucks she got to plead guilty and get 18 years. She would've been better off just pleading guilty right off the bat and sticking the half mill in a mutual fund or something. All sarcasm aside, this motion puts a little more meat on the conflict of interest bones although its going to be tough for this motion to succeed in my opinion. Mrs. Irby also filed an affidavit. The docket begins on page 27.

Stay tuned.

U.S. Magistrate Linda Anderson issued her order yesterday keeping Charles Evans in custody. She decreed he was a "flight risk" and a "danger the safety of another person or the community".

Stupid. All he had to do was go with the deputies when they showed up to arrest him instead of grabbing a zipped up bag containing a gun while a gun was already trained on him. He would have been home already and at worst, under house arrest. Now he has a felony charge against him and no bond.

See lower sidebar on right for collection of all posts on the Evans case.

The coach of a local girl's select soccer team allegedly has problems keeping his hands and temper in check. He coached the Brilla Jrs. (U12 Girls) at the State Cup tournament for select soccer two weekends ago. The tournament was held in Clinton. The winning goal was scored against his team just before the end of the game (2-1). Mr. Dixon set a fine example for the children as he ran onto the field when the game ended, got into the face of the female referee, screamed at her, and proceeded to yell at her and call her names. Did I mention she is over fifty? I'm told she repeatedly told him to back up (standard procedure for such confrontations) but he ignored her commands. She then turned to leave when he grabbed her arm and held her in place. In soccer terms, this is called referee assault and is a HUGE no-no. He was ejected and the referees then left the field. Under the rules, Mr. Dixon should receive a one-year suspension. Complaints were filed with the state association, but it is unknown what punishment the soccer league will levy against the alleged hothead. Mr. Dixon used to be the Head Coach of the Women's Soccer team at Belhaven University.

This is the same coach who also coaches the adult Brilla PDL team. The website of the Brilla Jrs team shows Dave Dixon to be the Director of Coaching for that youth select soccer organization. Now I ask you: What kind of example is this to the 11 and 12 year old girls? Even if the guy strongly disagreed with whatever went on during the game, there are more appropriate ways to handle such disagreements. Did I mention Brilla is a Christian ministry?

The Brilla organization should lead by example and dismiss Mr. Dixon if he is found to have assaulted the referee. Such behavior has no place in an organization claiming to be a Christian ministry (or anywhere else). I know. He's a great guy. He just gets carried away. You just have to know him. The referee has a vendetta against him. Blah blah blah. I don't care. According to the complaint filed at the tournament, he assaulted the referee. The organizations involved should investigate and back up their referees if their allegations are indeed true (and according to my sources, they are). One hopes the organization will treat him the same as everyone else under the rules. If we are going to have zero tolerance in schools for five year olds who draw guns in art class then we should have zero tolerance for coaches who assault referees.

I can't think of a video that exemplifies this blog more than does this one.

While the Gulf Coast was saturated in more oil yesterday, the White House from the top on down decided to play beer pong and have water gun fights.

See sidebar on lower right side of page for a collection of all posts on Jackson's attempt to use interest rate swaps.

Atlanta Constitution-Journal reported recently how interest rates swaps burned governments in the Atlanta area:

"At least a dozen local governments and other institutions that used derivative deals called swaps to try to lower the cost of bond issues have ended up owing as much as $394 million in fees to the Wall Street investment banks that set up the deals, an AJC analysis of public debt documents shows.

That total includes at least $100 million in fees paid to firms such as Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan and UBS AG just to cancel the deals when they went sour.

The city of Atlanta was among the hardest hit by its use of swap schemes — complex, multi-party deals involving varying interest rates, cash payments and loan guarantees. Atlanta shelled out about $86 million to cancel most of its derivative deals. The city also still owes roughly $79 million on another soured swap deal, an obligation it hopes it can reduce in time..." Article

What are swaps? Very complex financial instruments but for those of you who didn't go to Wharton, think of it as as City using borrowing money on short-term adjustable rates that can burn badly if the markets go the wrong way. Jackson tried to use these in refinancing its 2002 and 2004 bonds in 2009 but this blog led the fight in killing it while the Clarion-Ledger completely abdicated its responsibility as a newspaper in ignoring the story. Meanwhile, Rick Hill is getting creative again (Uh-oh):

"The city is looking into the possibility of refinancing its general fund debt in hopes of saving an additional $27.6 million over the next five years after a study released to city council members yesterday predicted a $48.5 million budget shortfall by 2015....

City Deputy Director of Administration and Finance Rick Hill said the city, by refinancing its general fund debt, is delaying debt payments that are currently due, to free up excess cash that the city can use toward its deficit by 2015 if the city does not make drastic cuts to its expenditures or raise revenue through tax increases.

Hill added that the move comes with two disadvantages: "You're moving the debt payments out, but paying more interest. (Also), on out in the years, you'll be paying that money back, so you'll have to have money then to make that payment so the city's millage will be going back up out into the future. We've got to plan how we're going to figure out how to cover that millage increase out into the future."

Hill said the city would be responsible for an extra $1.6 million in additional interest payments by delaying its debt payment, but hoped the city would be in a position to benefit from upcoming projects within the next five years that will generate new sales tax to counter the delayed debt.

"What this does, is it buys us some time to get the new Convention Center Hotel built, buys us some time to get the Farish Street Entertainment District development online, and gives us time to get out of this economic downturn we're all in," Hill said. "Hopefully the Capitol Green Project can also be online to get our sales tax back to where it needs to be."

Added a new feed, The Ace of Spades, to the feed column and removed Dow Jones Market Watch. Already have Mish, Zero Hedge, WSJ, Calculated Risk, Housing Wire, Market Ticker for economics and finance so I don't think it will be missed much. Enjoy.

139 Peninsula Drive in the Palisades. $489,900. Features:
approx. 3550 s/f, built in 2004, 4 br/3 ba
3 car garage, huge master suite w/ stunning master bath and closet
kitchen (stainless appliances-double ovens) w/ separate eating area
keeping room w fireplace, living room w/ fireplace, formal dining room
fenced in yard, sprinkler system, indoor/outdoor speakers
covered outdoor porch w/ ceiling fans, outdoor fireplace/kitchen
security system, large media room upstairs (big screen stays)
Call Locke Ward for showing 601-906-5577 Listing

Here is South Carolina State Senator and current Republican gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley a couple of years ago promoting a bill before a committee. What exactly would the bill do? Actually require votes to be recorded. That's right. In South Carolina, votes of legislators are not recorded so there is no actual record of who voted for what. Mrs. Haley authored a bill that would have changed that and put these good ole boys on the record. In this clip she and Knotts, yes, the same klukking Knotts who called her a raghead and said it wasn't the first time he's done so, tells her what he thinks about legislators actually having to stand for something. Want to keep up with more of this drama in SC? Red Dog Report and Palmetto State Politics are pretty interesting reads. Even the Ace of Spades has invaded the Palmetto State. Should get more interesting.

Karen Irby and her attorney, William Bell, filed an appeal to the Mississippi Supreme Court yesterday. Mrs. Irby requested the Court overturn Judge Green's ruling and order her to recuse herself from the sentencing of Karn Irby. . Copy of appeal

Mrs. Irby also filed a Motion to Reconsider in Hinds County Circuit Court Thursday. The motion alleges Stuart Irby paid the fees of Karen's lawyer, Joe Holloman. It argues she was unable to use the "independent superseding act" defense due to the fact Karen was not able to select her own lawyer and the one she did have was paid by the person who is alleged to benefit from neglecting such a defense. It claims Mr. Holloman did not disclose to her the alleged "conflict of interest" and was deprived of advice of what her possible defenses and rights were under the law.

Mr. Bell even cites the "Weathersby Rule" in his motion, arguing Mrs. Irby's statements "if reasonable, must be accepted as true, unless substantially contradicted immaterial particulars by a credible witness or witnesses for the state, or by physical facts or by the facts of common knowledge." Mrs. Irby's testimony in her deposition that Mr. Irby grabbed her hair and hit her "several times" is used as a basis for acquittal under the rule according to Mr. Bell. Copy of motion (Sorry for page one missing, it only states the facts of the case through sentencing. I'll correct later.) Exhibits: Irby deposition transcript, Transcript of sentencing hearing

Will write more later today, thought I would throw this up here for now and give you guys time to digest it.

Michael Guest, the District Attorney for Madison and Rankin Counties, has been operating a collections agency since 2002. Mr. Guest owns Mississippi Court Collections. Mr. Guest is listed as the President, registered agent, and director of the company according to the Secretary of State's website.

MCC specializes in collecting unpaid fines and fees for various courts around Mississippi. JJ has determined MCC has contracts with Alcorn, Atalla, Harrison, Simpson, Winston, Webster, and Yazoo Counties. JJ obtained through public records requests the following contracts: Winston County, Simpson County, Harrison County, and Alcorn County. JJ verified the Yazoo County contract in a phone call to county officials.

The Webster Progress-Times reported two years ago the Board of Supervisors voted to "sign a contract with Mississippi Court Collections. MCC's Scooter Culpepper presented the contract for collection of past-due Justice Court fines." The Choctaw Plains-Dealer reported the Winston County Board of Supervisors "Approved a contract with Mississippi Court Collections to collect all mobile home and personal property taxes that are delinquent. "This is the last resort," said Tax Assessor Brenda Miles. "This is after our office has done everything it can to collect."

The Daily Corinthian also reported "Alcorn County Supervisors voted Tuesday to seek a renewed contract with a firm providing collection services for old justice court fines. Supervisors voted to move ahead with establishing a new contract with Mississippi Court Collections Inc. allowing the company to attempt to collect unpaid fines for justice court. The company has been providing the service to the county since August 2007 and receives a portion of the funds it collects on the old, unpaid fines while forwarding the remainder to the county. The service does not cost the county any money directly and allows the county to receive funds owed on fines that might otherwise simply languish in the files. Court officials report the company has returned more than $22,000 to the county since the service began."

The Simpson County contract is representative of the other agreements. The contract is between the county and Mississippi Court Collections, Inc. for "the collection of delinquent indebtedness to the Justice Court of Simpson County, Mississippi." Delinquency is defined in (2)(a): "any debt, whether originating from a fine, an assessment of court costs, or both, or any other assessment of money, owed by any individual to the Justice Court of Simpson County, Mississippi, that remains unpaid, either in whole or in part, more than ninety (90) days past the date by which payment was to be made under the terms of the order of the Justice Court Judge or after the date the last payment was made."

The contract was signed on January 18, 2008 and expires on December 31, 2011. All contracts were signed by Michael Guest as President of MCC. MCC collects the money and remits it to the court. The county then pays MCC each month its fee for collecting the unpaid fines. MCC receives a share of all monies collected. The Simpson County contract specifies the county will pay MCC 30% of the amount collected. This feature is included in all contracts obtained by JJ. The percentage given to MCC ranges from 25% to 35% (depending on the contract.). The other contracts were signed after Mr. Guest became District Attorney: Winston (July 21, 2008), Harrison (January 5, 2009), and Alcorn (July 26, 2007 but it is currently being renewed.). There are no contracts between MCC and Rankin and Madison counties.

Mr. Guest became District Attorney in January 2008 and was a prosecutor in the same office for several years. It is unknown how much money has been paid to Mississippi Court Collections by the counties listed or how they were obtained. Such contracts are not illegal and do not appear to violate the code of ethics. It is also unknown if MCC has contracts with other counties. The company has no website and is located at 26 Eastgate Drive in Brandon.

Efforts to contact Mr. Guest were unsuccessful.

Calling Nikki Haley a sl*t didn't work for the Republicans in South Carolina with the election only a few days away. No, now they are calling her a "raghead". Nice. Ms. Haley's parents were Sikh's who moved here from India. She became a Methodist eleven years ago. Her husband is in the military. Children are raised Methodist. Think that matters? Hell no. Check out what has been taking place in the last 48 hours:

One Republican state senator said this on an internet radio show:
"We already got one raghead in the White House, we don’t need a raghead in the governor’s mansion,” (Jake) Knotts said, according to multiple people present for the broadcast."

Naturally he has apologized but check out his explanation:
"My ‘raghead’ comments about Obama and Haley were intended in jest… I apologize. I still believe Ms. Haley is pretending to be someone she is not, much as Obama did, but I apologize to both for an unintended slur.”

Think that ended it? Hell no, because the Bauer (the Lieutenant Governor) campaign picked up where Knottbutt left off in this email last night by Greg Rogers:
"Greg Rogers June 4 at 6:16am Reply
Now that she’s running for Governor of the state, mentions of her Sikh faith are virtually non-existent. A legitimate question must be asked: After seeing how the faith issue hurt Mitt Romney and damaged Barack Obama to some extent as well, is Haley making a political decision by playing up her Christian faith (just like Obama did) and LOSING the Sikh emphasis?

Please click on the link below and ask yourself if this person is truly what we want representing South Carolina?? She looks more and more like a bad mixture of Mark Sanford and Barack Obama??? We deserve better in the opinion of Greg Rogers and solely my opinion."

Nice. Haley B, you're the head of the RGA. Tell 'em to knock it off. And some grapevine from SC that is very well-placed is telling me its the Bauer campaign behind this crap. By the way, if you are interested, here is what you can do: DONATE!

Kingfish note: This is the first post for Shoegirl who will be writing from time to time on JJ.

I am an avid reader, and my reading interests vary from Stephen King and Dean Koontz, to James Patterson and non fiction books. I started to read when I was 2, and I have not put a book down since. I usually stay clear of “Self Help” books and all the insightful books telling you how to improve your looks, diet, and sex life. A friend of mine was going through a terrible break up and I stumbled across the book He’s Just Not That Into You. After reading this book I thought it would be GREAT for her to read it and literally learn from it. Since I was in such a “perfect” relationship I did not need any of the advice listed in the book, but I surely pushed the book on to her. I even signed the inside and wrote a line or two telling her I was there for her through the bad times and one day she would be just as happy as I was. And then my relationship ended and this book took on a new meaning for me.

Like I said, I do not like self help books. But this one was extremely different. This one used humor (literally calling some of the women in the book idiots...and let's face it- alot of them are) to get a point across. We have all been in a bad relationship at times, so we all have advice to shell out right? And usually our advice calls on deaf ears- no one wants to take advice from someone in a “perfect” relationship. What do they know, right? I always thought I knew it all and liked to pretend my advice was the best. I am a woman after all and we are always right. Correct?

It was a lot easier when my friend was the one going through the troubled times. It was a lot easier when it was my friend calling me crying because he did not call or come by when he said he would. It was easier when it was my friend who was waiting by the phone and waiting for maybe even an email from her beloved “significant other”. It was easier to screen my caller id when she called because I knew the conversation would quickly stem to her misery over some guy who has once again broken her heart. But all of a sudden it was me. ME! ME? I was all of a sudden the friend crying over my life and trying to figure out why he hasn’t called me back. He hasn’t called me back because He’s just not that into me!

See, I thought that the drama of a relationship all ended when you “grew up”. All the tears and the pity parties were over once you reached a certain age, right? I was so far from the truth. But I guess it’s easier to fake the truth than to face it. I went from being the Advisor to being the Advisee! The words and cute catch phrases in this book all seemed to be about my life. Boy doesn’t call. Girl makes up excuse. Maybe he is busy. Maybe my phone didn’t work at that time. Maybe he was working. Maybe his mom was sick. Maybe he called me and couldn’t get through. Maybe I misunderstood him when he said he would call. Maybe I should call him? Suddenly my life has become a rerun of Sex in the City, but without all the glamour of New York and all the cute outfits. Instead of sitting at some hip Manhattan night club sipping cosmopolitans with my glamorous girlfriends, I was sitting at home with my dog and reading a self help book. Awesome!

We all want to be happy, and sometimes will jeopardize our beliefs to do so. I have always been the type of female who does what she wants to do and when she wants to do it. If you don’t call me, fine! On with the next. But this guy, this highly complicated, yet deliriously irresistible guy completely turned my world around. I had become the girl sitting by the phone waiting for it to ring. I have call waiting, but still didn’t want to tie up the phone. Suddenly I had turned into Miss Pathetic…overnight it seemed. I was suddenly the girl who was NOT going to call him, and then ended up doing so- only to get no answer and have to start all over again.

The book is a wonderful book to give to a girlfriend (or use it for your own use like I ended up doing). It gives witty and sarcastic advice, mostly ending with “BECAUSE HE IS JUST NOT INTO YOU”. If a guy doesn’t call when he says he will He’s just not that into you. If a guy stands you up for a date or “forgets” to pick you up- he isn’t forgetful. He doesn’t have too much of a workload. He isn’t busy with work- He’s just not that into you. If you end up going too far too soon and it’s been weeks since you have heard from him, he isn’t waiting for you to call him- He’s just not that into you. Women need to realize that there are times when we need to put our foot down and stop being a doormat. He doesn’t call us? MOVE ON. There are far too many more out there and plenty more who will call us when we want them to (and of course, those are the ones we don’t want).

This book was, by far, a huge break in my life. Or maybe I should call it a wake up call. No, I think it was more like a huge hammer that hit me over the head and said “WAKE UP! HE DOESN’T LIKE YOU SO MOVE ON YOU BIG LOSER”. There is nothing wrong with having expectations of that certain someone. Everyone has expectations of someone else. Some times those expectations are met; sometimes they fall way shy of being fulfilled. But for some reason we never give up hope in finding that special person to be in our lives. We never truly give up the hope of finding our “soul mate”.

Once again I will stress that I do not like Self help books, but this one hit home. This hit the nail on the hammer and all of the other clichés that mean this book ROCKED. I literally found myself saying “Oh my gosh, me too” or “I have done that!” Both authors give excellent point of views and both are extremely sarcastic and witty in that artistic fashion that makes you wish you had said it first. Even if you are in a “perfect” relationship the book is still a delight. There are women that have written to both authors and they included some of their stories in the book. Let’s face it women, we have all been there, and this book makes you realize that.

Relationships do not get easier with age. I think quite the opposite actually. As we get older, our expectations grow. We need more. We expect more. But we still manage to just settle for something just to have someone on Valentines Day, Christmas, and birthdays. Why? Why do we do that? Why do we take so much off someone who doesn’t even deserve to be written about? Why do we always chase Mr. Wrong when Mr. Right could be underneath our nose? Why do we insist on trying to change the rebel when we know, deep down inside, that he is never going to be the father of our 2.5 children and own a four wheeler? Is it because of the feeling inside when he does manage to call 3 weeks later? Is it the adrenaline rush we get when we see him for the first time after a month of no contact? Are we all in search of that special high we get when he speaks our name? Is one moment with him enough to make up for the lifetime of nothing special? And of so, does it ever change? Do we ever truly get what we want? And if we do, does it really make us happy? Do we ever stop searching for something else? Are we ever truly happy with just what we have now?

Mississippi Supreme Court Order

A little ole local securities, investments, playing with money or whatever you call it firm got a surprise visit from FINRA a few months ago. FINRA just showed up unannounced and said "We want to look at your books right now."

Republican sleazebags in South Carolina try to paint Nikki Haley as a slut when she takes the lead in the polls in the race for the Republican Gubernatorial nomination. Watch Bauer, will not even look her in the eye. Notice how no liberals or feminists are defending Mrs. Haley against this crap just as they wouldn't defend Palin when her church was burned down or the Daily Kos tried to say her baby was not really her own.

Meanwhile, remember the aid the so-called humanitarians attempted to deliver to Gaza? Well, the Israelis attempted to carry out their mission for them:



Turns out Hamas blocked delivery of the supplies:
"Hamas is blocking the delivery of the humanitarian aid that arrived on the Gaza flotilla, defense establishment sources said on Wednesday. Hamas has yet to respond to the claims. ....." Article

"Hamas refused on Wednesday to allow the aid equipment that was captured by the IDF aboard the flotilla ships earlier this week to enter the Gaza Strip.

"We refuse to receive the humanitarian aid until all those who were detained aboard the ships are released," said Ahmed Kurd, Minister for Social Welfare in the Hamas government said. "We also insist that the equipment be delivered in its entirety."

Kurd said that Israel's decision to allow a number of wheelchairs to be delivered to the Gaza Strip was a "deception," claiming that the batteries that operate them had been removed, making them useless...." Article

See table 9. Drops slightly for over 80% LTV mortgages, unchanged for those that are less than 80% LTV. What is funny is last month the report worsened and Fannie Mae didn't publish it until several weeks past its expected release and on a Friday night. This one is released at the beginning of the month and on a Wednesday.

Jackson crime stats for week ending May 23, 2010.

Jackson major crimes overview for week ending May 23, 2010.

JPD internal affairs report for April.

City of Madison crime reports through May 30, 2010.

Chateau Le Pooch is back as a sponsor of JJ. Need to board your pets or need high-quality pet food, Chateau Le Pooch is the place to go. Get off at Madison exit, go down Hwy 463 towards downtown Madison, then take the last left before the railroad tracks. Get $3 off all Wellness pet food if you mention "Kingfish". Wellness is good stuff. I've given it to my dogs before and its excellent if you have pets prone to allergies. Dog scratches all the time? Eyes constantly draining? Constant sneezing? Dog probably has an allergy. Most dog food in the grocery store has corn, wheat, barley, grain, or meals as their main ingredients. The Wellness line uses oat, rice, meats or fish, or other vegetables instead of all that filler. Cost a little more but your dog won't eat as much. Over a six month period of time, you will spend the same amount of money and your pet will be happier. 601-898-8587 So all you folks in Madison that comment here about how much you like this blog and my discussions of Madison County, um, dogfights, support this site by trying out Chateau Le Pooch and Wellness.

If you are in Jackson, then just go try Olga's one time for lunch.

Heard the lightning struck and set off a fire so me and Monica
H hauled butt immediately over to the scene. I took these pics
on my Blackberry Bold 9700 tonight. Sorry for the blurriness.

For a collection of all posts on the Evans case, see sidebar on right.

Update: Full docket text from PACER:
"Minute Entry for proceedings held before Magistrate Judge Linda R. Anderson:Detention Hearing and Preliminary Hearing as to Charles Evans held on 6/1/2010. Appearances: Michael Hurst, Jr., AUSA; John Colette and Sherwood Colette, counsel for defendant; and Robert Wilder, Jr., USPO. The Government presented evidence through the testimony of Shermaine Sullivan and proffered the order of the Bankruptcy Court entered 5/28/2010 and the Pretrial Services Report on probable cause. The Government presented evidence through the testimony of Daniel W. Champney on the issue of detention. Oral argument was heard. At the conclusion thereof the Court found probable cause to bind defendant over to await the action of the Grand Jury and found defendant should be detained. Defendant was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshal. Order of Detention to be entered herein."

Original Post:
U.S. Magistrate Linda Anderson ruled Charles Evans must stay in jail pending resolution of a federal charge of resisting arrest, after conducting a hearing today in Jackson. Mr. Evans was arrested last week after U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Neal Olack issued a warrant for his arrest after he failed to appear at several proceedings in his court. Judge Olack ruled Friday Evans could be released under a house arrest program contingent upon the outcome of today's hearing.

The hearing was held at the federal courthouse in downtown Jackson. Charles Evans, Jr., accused of bilking Mississippi Valley Title and over thirty banks of tens of millions of dollars, looked like a worn-down old man as he shuffled to the courtroom from the elevator in his orange jumper and penal jewelry. He sat alone in the courtroom as his attorney, John Collette, loudly joked with everyone present: reporters, attorneys, even the deputies. It was a small courtroom as only a few lawyers were present.

The proceedings today consisted of two hearings, preliminary and detention. The prosecution led off in the preliminary hearing, placing Deputy Shermaine Sullivan on the stand. The thirty-something Mr. Sullivan was professional in his demeanor, precise in his testimony, and immaculate in his attire, as he looked more like a doctor than a marshal chasing criminals. He calmly explained how he had been searching for Charles Evans for over a week. He said Mr. Evans lived at an unknown location and constantly moved around and used rental cars. Mr. Sullivan explained he had spoken to Chris Evans that week on a daily basis and the brother said he would try to get Charles to turn himself in to authorities.

Chris Evans instead rented a blue Toyota Corolla and attempted to deliver it to Charles Evans at Metrocenter. Mr. Sullivan testified they followed Chris Evans and saw him park near the white Cadillac of Charles Evans. Charles was standing next to the driver's side of the Corolla while Chris stood on the passenger's side. Mr. Sullivan pulled up, jumped out and said "POLICE! SHOW ME YOUR HANDS!" Charles Evans responded by jumping in the Corolla and attempted to close the door. Mr. Sullivan prevented him from doing so by wedging himself between the door and the body. Charles went for a "gun bag" on the floorboard, while Mr. Sullivan had his .40 sidearm drawn and pointed at him. Mr. Sullivan stated he holstered his weapon and struggled with Charles as they both grabbed the bag. He said Chris Evans told Charles, "They are marshals, what are you doing?". Meanwhile, Mr. Sullivan's partner, Deputy Hershey (sp?) pulled up next to the passenger side of the car, jumped out, drew his weapon, holstered it, then used a taser to subdue Charles Evans. The understatement of the day was when Deputy Sullivan stated Charles Evans became "compliant" after the use of the taser. (It is not known if Mr. Evans yelled "don't tase me, bro!").

Mr. Collette attempted to use the fact the deputies did not shoot Charles Evans as proof they were never in any real fear deadly force would be used against them, after of course, he gave thanks that no one was injured. Mr. Collette tried to argue his client had a reasonable fear of the deputies: unmarked car, deputies dressed in plainclothes, no clothes or badges identifying them as law enforcement, guns drawn, the inference that it was Metrocenter (Collette didn't dare try to use the fact the agent was Black in front of a Black Judge), and thus was merely protecting himself. The well-known defense attorney tried to get Mr. Sullivan to admit it was not a deadly force situation but the deputy would have none of it as he kept stating it was indeed a deadly force situation. Mr. Sullivan later stated the gun belonged to the wife of Charles Evans.

Mr. Collette argued Mr. Evans "never assaulted a marshal" and argued even under the Mississippi Code his conduct didn't even arise to the level of a simple assault (a misdemeanor) and that there was thus no reason to even prosecute Mr. Evans for resisting arrest. While Mr. Collette engaged in colorful arguments and made his points in a vivid and jocular manner, Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst firmly responded with the law in a no-nonsense manner. He cited 18 U.S. Code 111:
"Whoever— (1) forcibly assaults, resists, opposes, impedes, intimidates, or interferes with any person designated in section 1114 of this title while engaged in or on account of the performance of official duties" Code

and repeatedly pointed out the words "resists", "opposes", "impedes", and "interferes" as grounds for prosecuting Mr. Evans for a federal offense. There is even an enhanced section for use of a firearm:
"(b) Enhanced Penalty.— Whoever, in the commission of any acts described in subsection (a), uses a deadly or dangerous weapon (including a weapon intended to cause death or danger but that fails to do so by reason of a defective component) or inflicts bodily injury, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both"

It was at this point, Mr. Collette mentioned there was an "ongoing federal grand jury investigation" into the alleged mortgage fraud. He passionately argued to Judge Anderson his client had never had a "run-in with the law", was "not a danger", and that house arrest was the preferable outcome. Through it all, Charles Evans sat on the edge of his chair, focused on the proceedings while at the same time looking as if he didn't quite understand why he was there while he fumbled his chains from time to time. Mr. Hurst replied he had stolen millions, he was a flight risk as he had never appeared at a single proceeding and constantly moved, and that he needed to be in jail.

Judge Anderson ruled Mr. Evans should stay in jail. The government must indict Mr. Evans within thirty days for resisting arrest or release him. While Mr. Collette will disagree, its easy to see why the Judge detained Mr. Evans. Millions of dollars at stake, rental cars, a brother helping him avoid the law and others for nearly a year, grabbing a firearm when confronted, trying to flee the deputies, none of it is good. Mr. Evans has no one to blame but himself for his confinement. If he had just shown up for Judge Olack or let the deputies arrest him quietly, he probably would be home right now.

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Last month was best month ever on JJ: 73,657 hits, impressions, page views, thingamajigs, or whatever they call them. Way behind everyone else, I know, but still the best month ever for this site. Thanks to you, the readers, and don't think you aren't appreciated, even Casey and Justin.

The Clarion-Ledger reported the Canton Zoning Board "is holding a public hearing at 3 p.m. today at City Hall on First Choice Development's request to rezone the site east of the interstate at Old Jackson and Sowell Roads from C-3 commercial to a planned urban development designation. The urban development designation is needed because the project covers residential and commercial uses.

Ridgeland-based First Choice also is asking the city for a variance that would allow it to go beyond the number of apartment units permissible and skirt the setback requirements in the city's zoning ordinances." Article

More than a few residents are opposed to this project because it will include apartments. Naturally the developers claim they will be nice. However, lets examine same facts about this project and the developers. The TIF Bonds resolution as passed by the Madison County Board of Supervisors (3-2 vote, you can figure out who voted how.) provides some details.

First Choice Development (mentioned in the CL story), JJ International LLC, and Blackhawk Development are listed as the developers. $3 million in TIF bonds are to be issued with terms of up to twenty years. The resolution states "a portion of the proceeds which will be used to pay the cost of constructing improvements necessary for the Developer's project. The County has pledged all of such portion as may be needed, of the increased ad valorem real and personal property tax revenues as security for payment of the Bonds. The City has previously agreed to pledge one-half of the increased ad valorem real and personal property tax revenues of the City and up to twenty-five percent of the increased sales tax revenues of the City for such purpose."

Time for some due diligence. Who exactly are these developers? First Choice Development is owned by Patrick Sartain, Kenny Simmons, and Carl Clack according to the Secretary of State's website. JJ International is owned by Aakash Chandan. Blackhawk is owned by David Turner and Terry Hawkins. However, Sartain and First Choice are mentioned as the main developer in the bond resolution and most news articles.

An examination of Madison County land records shows a multitude of property transfers between Sartain, his various companies, and other entities as well as numerous deeds of trusts issued by lenders. However, there are two substitute of trustee notices filed against Mr. Sartain and his wife, Jennifer. Bankplus filed one on March 16, 2010 for a loan issued April 15, 2008 for $100,319. Deed of Trust The other one was also filed on March 16, 2010 for a loan issued by Bankplus to the Sartains on June 2, 2009 for a loan of $277,262. Deed of Trust. Filing a Substitute of Trustee notice is usually the first step a lender usually takes before it initiates foreclosure proceedings against a debtor although it is not a foreclosure action itself (Translation: The lender has chambered a round but hasn't taken off the safety yet.). However, several loans held by Sartain-owned companies have been paid off this year as well (Community Bank and First South Farm Credit) and several tax sales were redeemed. One curious transaction took place in June 2009 when Mr. Sartain issued a loan of $230,833 to First Choice Development, his own company on a one-year note.

Blackhawk has borrowed quite a bit of money in the last year. It borrowed $2,709,026 from Bankplus on April 10, 2009 on a one year note for land in Section15 Township 08N Range:02E. Mr. Hawkins borrowed another another $1,455,535 on April 10, 2010 on a five-year note through another company he partly owned: Turnhawk.

What does all this mean? I don't know. However, when substitute of trustee notices are filed on a developer, its never a good sign and is an indication he is behind on his payments. Before the Zoning Board goes one step further it should start asking questions about the financial solvency of some of these developers. They should also ask Bankplus how much it is on the hook for with these guys.

It is no secret several high-end developers are in trouble in Madison County right now as they have appeared before the Board of Supervisors begging for permission to reduce the size of the homes they wish to build as the market for large, expensive homes crashed. Longleaf. Livingston Township. Lost Rabbit. Mandalay. Harborwalk. The names just roll of of the tongue after awhile as the list grows longer. Then there is the Parkway South TIF's. Madison County found out it was on the hook for those bonds when the Parkway South PID suddenly informed the County in April it might miss its May bond payment of $89,000.

While John Bower (the son of the founder of Kidneycare, Dr. Bower) promises a high-end development, the fact is, the market for such projects is pretty weak in Madison County and several developers are trying to avoid going bankrupt after betting heavily on upscale developments. The City of Canton should make sure it is not falling for another pie in the sky scheme by some developers that it will regret in a few years, if not sooner. It should also let the Superintendent of Madison County Schools speak. However, good government is not something the City of Canton is known for these days.

Karl Denninger had never heard of Jerry Clower before and I just introduced him to the Coon Huntin' Story.

Today is going to be a fun day. hehehe.

Nice little story in the Wall Street Journal this weekend comparing a charter school and regular public school in the same area.

"At Santa Fe South, the school day is 45 minutes longer; graduation requirements are more rigorous (four years of math, science and social studies compared with three at public schools); and there is a tough attendance policy.

This year, the majority of Santa Fe South's graduates will attend a vocational, two- or four-year college. About one-third of the graduates from Capitol Hill plan to get a higher education.

While neither school is allowed to select students, Santa Fe South can turn them down if it's full. Capitol Hill must welcome anyone who wishes to enroll. Santa Fe South, whose teachers are on a one-year renewable contract, can remove incompetent instructors more easily than Capitol Hill, where teachers are unionized...

At Santa Fe South, 95% of the students are poor enough to qualify for a free or discounted lunch. Ms. Pankhurst has students who work eight-hour shifts into the night and students whose parents have had to return to Mexico.

If Ivan missed school, Ms. Pankhurst called home. If he was disruptive in class, she ordered him to do pushups....

In ninth grade, Laura—who some friends nicknamed "Pocahontas" because of her long, black hair, tan skin and large brown eyes—enrolled at Capitol Hill High School. About 96% of the students are eligible for a free or reduced lunch. Two police officers are assigned to the school, which was once featured on the History Channel series "Gangland."

Mr. Souza, a seasoned public-school administrator, is the seventh principal to head the school in the last decade....

He feels it is unfair to compare Capitol Hill to a charter school like Santa Fe South. For one, Mr. Souza says that he doesn't have the flexibility to discipline employees or teachers like a charter school. Capitol Hill must also enroll "anyone who walks in," he says.

Budget constraints and bureaucratic, political and legal hurdles are another reality, while charter schools operate free of many of the regulations that apply to traditional public schools. "In a perfect world, education would be directed by educators," he says. "When the law, budget and everything else is designed by legislators, this increases the challenges."

On Friday, Oklahoma City's teachers' union, the American Federation of Teachers Local 2309, said no one was available for comment...." Article

Of course, Derek Johnson and Willie Perkins will ignore stories such as these as in their feeble minds, charter schools are a brainchild of the Klan.

Ouch!!!

As someone who grew up learning French in elementary school, its rather disheartening to see French culture decline in South Louisiana. The Wall Street Journal reported this week on how the state is using African teachers to reverse this trend:

"This talented teacher and dozens more from West Africa form a veritable French Foreign Legion of imported educators here. They join staff from Canada, Haiti, Belgium and France itself, as Louisiana's present-day Acadians—the "Cajuns"—struggle to preserve a language languishing on the Bayou.....

For decades, it was forbidden to use French in Louisiana's public schools. Many a Cajun family remembers a grandparent who came home from school in tears after being punished for not speaking English, a language few spoke at home.

But in the 1960s, Cajuns successfully adapted African-Americans' civil-rights efforts to gain minority status. Benefits included a mandate to teach French in all public schools. Foreign governments—particularly France and Belgium—pitched in, subsidizing their teachers' passage to Louisiana.

Initially, there was resistance by some Cajuns to African educators, who were often the first blacks to teach in rural schools. Today's parents take a broader view. "It's expanded his horizons, having an African teacher," says Mrs. Comeaux.

Her son is glad to have Mr. Hounnou, too. "He's pretty interesting," 12-year-old Phillip says enthusiastically. "He told us about African culture, like the masks and stuff." Mr. Hounnou also encouraged his students to watch French broadcasts of this year's Winter Olympics, the seventh-grader says.

Native teachers are scarce in the immersion programs. Of the 11 working in the schools of St. Martin Parish—considered Cajun country's epicenter—only one was born in Louisiana. The others are from France, Canada and Belgium. Both Belgians were born in Africa—one in Cameroon, the other in Senegal...."Article

Take a look at the face of a scumbag: Charles Evans, Jr. He was apprehended at Metrocenter yesterday. Way to be incognito Charles. A white guy at Metrocenter or even worse, the only customer at Metrocenter. Didn't anyone ever tell you that if you want to avoid being arrested, you have to blend in with the crowd? Not be the crowd or the token minority? Of course, this is the guy that got over $70 million in fraudulent real estate loans (Sure Collette, go ahead and sue me.) and didn't have the sense to stick a few million away somewhere so he could hit the road if he ever got caught. Evans intake report


Update: Evans did not appear before Judge Olack in the 1:00 PM hearing. He was held on a criminal complaint of resisting arrest and went before Magistrate Judge Anderson at 2:00 PM. Evans reached for a bag that marshals later found had a gun when apprehended. Evans filed two documents with the court this morning: statement to the court and Emergency motion for release from custody.

The complaint provides more details about the arrest:
The deputies "attempted to arrest Charles Evans for an outstanding warrant issued by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. We encountered Charles Evans and I identified myself as a law enforcement officer, at which time Charles Evans ran and jumped into his vehicle. Charles Evans then forcibly resisted this officer's arresting and pulling him from the vehicle. Charles Evans than began to reach for a blue/gray, softcase firearm bag on the floor of the vehicle which contained a loaded firearm. Your affiant then forcible struggled with Chaarles Evans to keep control of the bag. Despite repeated warnings from Deputy Sanford, Evans continued to resist arrest and was subsequently subdued by a less0than-lethal device and arrested." Copy of complaint

Update II: Judge Olack released Evans to house arrest pending resolution of the criminal complaint filed against him in U.S. District Court. The defendant must wear an ankle bracelet and is confined to an address in Ridgeland. Copy of order

Update III: Amy McCullough provides some more details in the Mississippi Business Journal:
"After the judge’s ruling, Evans could be heard complaining to his attorney about the conditions at the Madison County Jail. “It’s 62 degrees in there,” Evans said.

Collete then told the judge that Evans was sleeping on the floor at the jail with a garment similar to a hospital gown and requested that the judge ask that he be given a bed.

Anderson said she would ask the Marshals to investigate the situation."Article