By Edward Snook
Investigative Reporter
Nannette Carley
|
Tomball, TX - Nannette Carley's life was seemingly normal. She owned a small business, paid the bills, enjoyed her family - the kind of things most people take for granted. When she moved to the quaint, little city of Tomball, Texas, everything changed.
Within four years
of her relocation to Tomball, the Tomball Police Department had reportedly
charged her with infractions/crimes 24 separate times, arresting
her on numerous occasions, which caused her to spend many nights
in jail. Due to the arrests and incarcerations, Nannette stated that
she, "missed work, lost over $60,000 in personal property, and
spent countless, tireless hours along with her hard-earned money
defending herself." Nonetheless, she still had felony charges
and impending court dates looming. At one point, Nannette stated
she had seven cases, with 16 separate
charges, set for trial on the same day! To complicate matters, Nannette was battling a life-threatening
thyroid disease that often left her bedridden. This same disease
had killed Nannette's mother when she was Nannette's age.
The nightmare started in 2008 when Nannette called the Tomball Police Department to report a stolen credit card. After an uncomfortable encounter with police regarding the matter, Nannette regrettably remembers laughing in an attempt to ease what she described as an "awkward interaction." Thus began Nanette Carley's tumultuous relationship with the Tomball Police Department.
A few weeks later,
Nannette was pulled over just a few blocks away from her home by
Officer Kenny Yoho. Her ex-husband, who was nearby, offered to produce
Nannette's auto insurance documents, but Officer Yoho allegedly refused
acceptance. Officer Yoho then inexplicably ordered Nannette's ex
to leave. After Nannette's ex-husband obliged, Yoho wrote Nannette
a ticket for, of all things, not having current auto insurance. The
ticket was later dismissed.
It wasn't more
than a month later that Nannette had her next run-in with Tomball
police. While visiting a nearby apartment complex, Nannette was detained
and questioned for almost an hour despite the fact that no victim
came forward and no crime had been committed. When she asked the
Tomball Police Officers why she was being held against her will,
they informed her they had received a complaint that, "someone was trespassing
at the apartments and wouldn't leave." Nannette was eventually told
she could leave.
As weeks passed,
Nannette stated that she received, "one ticket after another." While she was able to prove her innocence against the unfounded accusations and citations, her health began to deteriorate, making it more difficult for her to keep up with the constant "barrage of attacks" by Tomball PD. The seemingly endless cycle of paperwork and court dates grew overwhelming, and she simply was not able to keep up. "In the beginning," Nannette said, "I
just thought they had me confused with someone else. What I later came
to find out was that Tomball Police Officer DeWayne Eickenhorst was spreading
lies about me at the department, touching off a 'get her' mentality amongst
other Tomball police officers." Ironically, it was actually other Tomball police officers who reportedly "informed" Nannette of the slander.
It was only a matter
of time before Nannette missed a court date. After suffering a demobilizing
heart attack, and surgery, Nannette
asked to reschedule one of her court dates, or, for the court to dismiss the charges on account
of her compromised state of health. According to Nannette, in spite
of her heartfelt and seemingly reasonable requests, Judge Walker, along
with Judge Korduba and Judge Covington, "declined
to help, resulting in Judge Walker issuing
warrants for Nannette's arrest."
The harassment
of Nannette Carley increased, and she soon suffered another heart
attack, again requiring surgery. While Nannette recovered at home,
Officers Chris Burns and Alfred Hernandez parked their squad car
nearby, reportedly setting up watch on a regular basis in front of
Nannette's home. On one occasion, Nannette remembered the officers, "banged
on her front door for over 45 minutes." Meanwhile, Nannette
was suffering from her chronic illness, trying to recover from a
heart attack, as she layed in bed unable to respond or get the rest
she needed.
According to multiple sources, Officers Burns and Hernandez would hide around the corner in the church parking lot or behind another car at the end of her street and monitor Nannette's friends, family, and visitors - never wasting an opportunity to pull them over and write a ticket as they came and went. With seemingly
unbreakable focus and patience, they waited to "pounce on me
(Nannette) whenever I left the house," Nannette stated, "which
wasn't often, due to my compromised health." While her caretakers
did most
of her
errands,
the few times she did leave the safety of her home, Tomball police
were usually there to meet her.
According to Nannette, Officer Virginia Gorman went as far as knocking on Nannette's door, demanding her identification so she could write her more tickets. When she refused to oblige Officer Gorman, which she undeniably had the right to do; she was cited five times. Two weeks later, the US Postal Service delivered the citations - two for a dog at large, two for an unvaccinated dog, and one for failure to supply Officer Gorman with identification. Nannette stated that, "these charges were absolutely false."
Documents obtained through the Texas Public Information Act (TPIA) subsequently revealed that Officer Gorman had lied on sworn statements in order to file charges and issue warrants against Nannette.
Fast Forward to February 25, 2012.
Nannette was driving home after running errands when a Tomball PD vehicle began following her just a few blocks away from her house. She pulled into her driveway and removed her keys from the ignition only to be met by two TPD officers with their guns drawn ordering her to step away from her vehicle. While in her own driveway, having committed no crime, Tomball PD Officers arrested her for felony evasion. Unbeknownst to the two officers, Former Sheriff Richard Mack, whose car they had passed in pursuit of Nannette, witnessed the entire wrongful arrest and has provided a signed affidavit regarding this information.
Nannette was then taken to police headquarters. A little less than an hour later, her purse, which had been locked in the car she was ordered to exit at gunpoint, arrived at the police station, allegedly missing $4,000.00. Officer Burns was responsible for the chain of custody of the purse, and he claimed to have no knowledge of the money or of what may have happened to it.
Sheriff Richard Mack
|
Having witnessed
the arrest, Sheriff Mack went to the police department to offer his
assistance. He tried to reason with Tomball police officers, pointing
out that the arrest he had just witnessed had no legal grounds. Nonetheless,
they refused to give in, continuing their pursuit against Nannette.
Unfortunately for Tomball PD, the Harris County District Attorney's
Office refused
to charge Nannette for felony evasion. Once again, Nannette was released
without any formal charges filed, but only after spending the entire
day in jail before being released after midnight to walk home alone
in the dark.
"...these
cops were going to do
something really stupid." --Sheriff
Richard Mack
Sheriff Richard
Mack later signed
an affidavit,
attesting to the abuse he witnessed (we
strongly recommend reading this).
Tomball Police
continued to, "Harass Nannette's family, friends, and co-workers, constantly stopping and ticketing them for no apparent reason." Nannette almost got used to the, "site of guns pointed her direction" every time Tomball police officers "unfoundedly pulled her over." According to Nannette, eventually, "the
gun-wielding cops began to point their pieces at anyone riding along
with her."
In spite of the fact that the charges against Nannette Carley were consistently dismissed due to insufficient evidence for prosecution, the harassment escalated.
While Nannette
was on her way home from the pharmacy, Tomball Police Officer Chris
Burns pulled her over. Knowing she had been unsuccessfully cited
four or five times in the past for diving with a suspended license,
Officer Burns allegedly tried a new tactic. Since each of the previous
citations had been dismissed on account of the fact that Nannette
did not have a suspended driver's license, he charged her with "Failure
to Display Driver's License on Demand." Well aware that a conviction
for this charge could not be obtained without bending the truth; Officer
Burns, "committed felony perjury," by reportedly lying on the
witness stand to convict Nannette.
Four witnesses
subsequently came forward, attesting to the fact that Officer Burns
had committed felony perjury to get Nannette convicted of a simple
citation. They even sent affidavits
of probable cause for Officer
Burns' arrest to Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia, but Sheriff
Garcia allegedly, "did
nothing, ignoring the affidavits and refused Nannette's requests
for a meeting."
After spending
a number of nights in jail for another false arrest, Nannette was
released in late 2012, just in time to travel to Las Vegas to receive
a "Citizen of the Year" award
from the Constitutional Sheriff's and Peace Officers Association.
Sheriff Jeff Christopher of Sussex County, Delaware bestowed on her
the title of "Honorary Deputy Sheriff." These
don't sound like the kind of accolades given to criminals; nevertheless,
Nannette would be locked up by TPD again within 24 hours of returning
home.
In June of 2013,
Nannette had another encounter with Tomball PD. Nannette had allowed
one of her staff members to stay free-of-charge in a fully-furnished
home she owned a few doors down from where she lived herself. Unfortunately,
Nannette learned that this staff member was "stealing from her." During a confrontation with the alleged thief/employee, the police were called, and they threw Nanette off of her own property where she had been graciously allowing the "thief" to
stay. TPD allegedly threatened to charge Nannette with trespass if
she didn't vacate the premises.
Witnesses recall
that the woman who was staying in Nannette's home, Summer Marie Presswood,
and her boyfriend, Ryan Roch, were, "discovered with over $2000.00
in stolen company products previously destined for Nannette's customers." Additionally, "$400
worth of stolen office supplies were found in the custody of Presswood
and Roch." Rather than arrest the "thieves", TPD threatened
to arrest Nannette if she insisted on pressing charges. A search
of the home also allegedly revealed drugs and drug-use paraphernalia,
but, "TPD ignored the drugs." Presswood and Roch were reportedly
allowed to illegally squat in Nannette's newly furnished home.
Witnesses continued, "TPD promised Nannette that if she submitted a 3-day-vacate notice to the residents of her property, they would force Presswood and Roch to vacate once the three days were up." In
the meantime, Nannette spent $7000 to have private security officers
ensure that none of her possessions or business products left the
property. Three days passed, and TPD told Nannette that she still
needed to file a formal eviction notice if she wanted Presswood and
Roch gone. Why?
Former Police Chief Robert Hauck
|
Over the next 45
days, Nannette worked tirelessly to legally evict Presswood and Roch.
Several encounters between Nannette, the "two thieves," and TPD took place. Former Police Chief Robert Hauck, well aware of Nannette's situation as well as the alleged thievery and drug use going on in the house, promised Nannette that he would, "arrest
Presswood and Roch if any of Nannette's property was missing."
In the meantime,
Nannette was given no way to enter the property she so graciously
allowed her employee and boyfriend to live in, and she had no legal
method by which to remove her possessions. When Nannette tried to
ensure her property was not damaged or stolen by hiring private investigators
and security to follow Presswood, "TPD again threatened to charge
her with harassment."
According to Nannette,
once she was finally allowed to enter the home she owned, she discovered
that all of her new solid-wood and leather furniture and new appliances
had been stolen along with office equipment, sinks, faucets, shower-heads,
the garbage disposal, cabinet-knobs, curtains, curtain-rods, a trampoline,
and about $6000.00 worth of religious books, and other stored items
and appliances. Nannette explained, "The house was basically
trashed and gutted!"
Nannette immediately
called TPD. They first informed her that it was a civil issue, not
theft, but upon her insistence they hesitantly filed a report and
promised to, "arrest Presswood."
Detective Albert
Chambers was assigned to the case. After a brief investigation, he
informed Nannette that there was no way to prove that Presswood had
stolen the items. This, he insisted in spite of the fact that Presswood
had, "returned Nanette's stolen cell phone and stolen car title" to
Chambers himself. Nannette recalled, "a flat screen television
the same size and description of the one stolen (from Nannette's
house) eventually turned up at the local pawn shop, pawned by Presswood,
and at Presswood's new home, a nearly-new trampoline identical to
the one missing (from Nannette's rental property) was proudly displayed," but
Chambers and his fellow officers at TPD did nothing.
Former Police
Chief Robert Hauk was directly involved with this investigation,
and he too failed to serve justice. Chief Hauk, a Tomball transplant
from Los Angeles, CA. has a history
of "covering up crimes" leveled by his department,
and, internal investigations all too often lead nowhwere. One witness
stated, "Police, policing other
police usually ends with
nothing being accomplished for the real victims."
Presswood and Roch were never arrested or charged with any crimes associated with the theft of Nannette's property.
Continuing with
their harassment of Nannette, TPD finally got the Harris County DA's
office to bite on the bogus charge of felony evasion. Reportedly,
Nannette's attorney Andrea Kolsky stated that charge should never
have been filed in the first place. Chief Hauck allegedly insisted
that the District Attorney's office, "get her for something." Succumbing
to pressure from TPD and Chief Hauck, the DA's office refused to
do the right thing and began prosecuting Nannette.
On the day of her
hearing, Nannette stated that she, "fell ill, vomiting and defecating
blood." Showing up late due to her physical condition, Judge
Susan Brown sentenced her to 5 days in jail to, "teach her a lesson
about tardiness." In no condition health-wise to spend time in jail,
combined
with fear of the lewd victimization she'd been subjected to by fellow
prisoners during previous stints in jail, she took a plea bargain
for "failure to stop," avoiding jail time.
During
this period of time, Tomball Police Officers Chris Burns and Alfred
Hernandez
were spotted by neighbors on at least, "two occasions" performing
illegal searches of Nannette's two properties while she was away.
These same officers also allegedly sought entry to her home on four
separate
occasions, claiming 911 calls were received from the residence. Nannette
and her employees confirmed that all phone lines in the house had
been previously disconnected, cut, and capped. With no phone lines
connected in Nannette's residence, there is absolutely no possibility
that any 911 calls were made, begging a number of questions. Why
were there claims of calls being made? If there were calls made,
who made them and where did they come from? Is it possible that no
calls were made and TPD chose to act in accordance with its own set
of abusive rules?
Tomball,
Texas, a small town (I've been there) of barely 11,000 people has
a police force that embraces the "police state" mentality. Does a
town this small really need a police force like this?
Not one public
official or employee has been arrested for their alleged crimes against
Nannette Carley. According to Nannette, Gary Hammond, the Tomball
PD Internal Affairs officer, "investigated" a number of these issues
and, "failed to find any crimes committed by TPD." Go figure...
In a desperate
act to protect their own interests, "TPD refused to release video-taped footage of many incidents involving Nannette," stating that they, "lack
the proper equipment to redact (edit out private information such
as addresses, ID#'s, etc.) the footage."
During all of the
arrests, searches, citations, and investigations, Nannette was never
found in possession of anything illegal. Furthermore, aside from
the "failure to display" charge,
which is currently in the appeals process, TPD only had two charges
stick, both of which are highly suspicious. After over 24 arrests
or citations, years of harassment, and numerous dropped charges,
only one citation and one misdemeanor remain today.
The cost of all
of this is astonishing. Nannette, "closed her previously successful
business, moved, attended dozens of court dates, lost $4000 cash
in the purse incident, suffered $60K in damage to her house, spent
several nights in jail, spent thousands on jail bonds, paid $25K
in security and investigative fees to protect her property, and over
$25K in legal fees."
How much money has the city of Tomball spent to get one citation and one misdemeanor conviction of an ill lady described by many as a generous, successful, "Citizen
of the Year?" Furthermore, how much more is it going to cost Tomball to undue this mess?
The US~Observer will be moving forward with further investigations until the issues and questions raised in this article are addressed, and Nannette is both vindicated and compensated for the unjust events that have taken place. We are confident that we will obtain evidence that forces the filing of charges against those who violated Nannette's rights.
If you have any information regarding anyone in this article, please contact the US-Observer immediately at (541)-474-7885 or editor@usobserver.com.
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