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MONAHANS, Dec. 12, 1996 - The chase began in Monahans when they didn't
pay for gas, it ended with a bear in the air and arrests by deputies.
It began at exactly 4:50 a.m. on Monday when the Ward County sheriff's
office received a call from the clerk at the Chevron station in
Monahans.
She said three young men had driven off in a gray automobile with
Colorado plates without paying for $18.03 in gas. They were heading west
on Interstate 20.
Before it was over, reports Ward County Sheriff Ben Keele, Department of
Public Safety troopers, including a DPS helicopter; Monahans police;
Reeves County sheriff's officers and the Border Patrol were involved in
the chase.
"I want to thank all the officers, all the departments that helped us
bring this to a quick close," the sheriff said.
He estimated that at least 15 officers were involved in the chase at one
time or another. But, as sheriff's deputy Jerry Heflin noted: "It wasn't
what you would call a high speed chase. They were driving at 55 to 60
miles an hour. They just wouldn't stop."
When they did stop with a sheriffs car only a few seconds behind them,
they abandoned the vehicle near some railroad tracks and climbed a fence
leading into a pasture.
The escapade ended in that pasture roughly five miles north of Barstow
off I-20 "near the 56 mile marker," Keele said. It ended with the arrest
of all three and the discovery the car they were driving had been
reported stolen in Arlington on Sunday night.
Two of the three were juveniles and were turned over to juvenile
authorities on Monday afternoon. One was 14 years old; the other, 15.
The third, the sheriff said, was identified as Derek Roots, 19, of
Arlington. He was held in the Ward County Jail in lieu of bonds totaling
$20,000.
Roots, the sheriff noted, faces charges of organized criminal activity,
theft, tampering with identification numbers on a .38-caliber Smith &
Wesson pistol recovered from the car, possession of marijuana,
possession of drug paraphernalia (a pot pipe), and evading arrest.
The sheriff said juvenile authorities had turned over one of the younger
boys to his grandmother on Monday afternoon and planned to remand the
other to the custody of his parents.
"They offered no resistance when they were taken," said Keele. "A DPS
helicopter was hovering.over them in a pasture and my deputies moved in
and arrested them on the ground. It was 8:30 a.m. when we walked in the
door here (at the sheriff's office in Monahans.)"
The sheriff noted it still was dark when the fleeing youths stopped the
car in which they were riding and bailed out into the pasture.
Officers at that point consolidated their forces and spread out through
the area.
With daylight, the DPS helicopter pilot spotted the trio and swooped
down, hovering while the arrests were made. It was 7:56 a m. Youth
worker & client
By Jerome P. Curry
of the News
MONAHANS, Dec. 12, 1996 - Two men have been placed on probation as part
of a district court plea bargain in which they pleaded guilty to one
charge of sexual assault each in return for dismissal of other sexual
predator charges.
District Attorney John W. Stickels proposed the plea bargain on Tuesday
morning after the trial had been in session for a day. He said he had
made a decision Monday night~ seek the agreement "because of the way I
was reading the jury and my concern for the girls. " One of those
concerns, Stickels said, was the potential for emotional trauma because
of the age of the victims. Defense attorneys readily accepted. By noon,
the deal was done.
The indictments were based on what court and investigative documents
show was the use of alcohol and hard core video porn to prey on two
Monahans girls in their early teens. All of the incidents on which the
charges were based occurred in August or September, according to court
documents. In interviews with Monahans police investigators, both signed
statements acknowledging the incidents.
One of those charged was a youth activities supervisor at the West Texas
State School of Pyote, a Texas Youth Commission facility. The other was
an inmate of the school for delinquents.
Adrian B. Niblett, 24, now a former youth activity supervisor at the
Pyote school, and Gerald A. Harris, 18; of Galveston, the school client,
Tuesday pleaded guilty to sexual assault. The plea was before Judge Bob
Parks of the 143rd Judicial District sitting in Monahans.
The incidents that led to the charges all occurred at Niblett's
apartment in Monahans.
Niblett officially was fired at the school on Sept. 15, reports Judy
Briscoe of the Texas Youth Commission in Austin. He had started at the
youth correction facility as a cook and had been promoted to youth a
activity supervisor. Briscoe said. Niblett has been a long time resident
of Monahans and was active in high school athletics.
Parks accepted the pleas and placed both Niblett and Harris on four
years probation with deferred adjudication.
Texas law provides that no conviction will be placed on the record of
the two men if they serve the four years probation without incident.
The plea was part of a bargain that allowed three other charges of
sexual misconduct, including one of indecency with a child, to be
dismissed.
Harri~s, although ~he is now legally an adult, was returned to the
custody of the Texas Youth Commission on Tuesday afternoon. Under the
provisions the probation, Niblett is free under the jurisdiction of the
court. If he violates the probation, he can be sentenced to a prison
term at the discretion or the judge for a period of two to 20 years.
If Niblett successfully completes the probation, under deferred
adjudication, the felony to which he pleaded guilty is not placed on his
record.
The terms for Harris are essentially the same.
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MONAHANS, Dec. 12, 1996 - Steve Patterson, publisher/editor of the
Monahans News, Wednesday announced the winner of "The Great Motto
Contest."
"The winner," Patterson said in a prepared statement, "Is me. As much as
I would like to give the prizes to myself, I realize the hard work and
sincere effort of those who entered the contest should not go
unrewarded."
Winners are:
First: Van Dickson came the closest to what the Monahans News ended up
using. His "Life & Times of Monahans, an Oasis in the Sand" earns him a
certificate for $50 off any single visit to the Spotlight Restaurant.
Second: Frank Heslin wins a $25 certificate for the Spotlight Restaurant
because his "If it didn't affect Ward County, it didn't happen" was
judged to be the most humorous.
Third: Edith-Grissom wins a $10 certificate good for lunch at the
Spotlight because she showed the most enthusiasm for our contest with
her 10 entries. Patterson's winning entry can be seen in today's flag to
the right.
MONAHANS, Dec. 12, 1996 - Monahans City Council unanimously approved a
resolution Tuesday which supports hiring of a Main Street manager to
oversee revitalization of the downtown area.
The position, which will offer a salary of between $15,500 to $25,000
annually, will be considered a city job. The manager will report
directly to the city manager.
Billee Lou Harris, head of the Monahans Main Street organization, told
the council hiring of a full-time manager is a necessary step for the
city to take in order to be recognized by the Texas Main Street Project
as a "self initiated" project.
Once a city acquires the self-initiated status, it may then be
considered by the state organization for designated status." This
status, says Harris, will bring state support in the form of access to
planners, designers and architects who are experts at the revitalization
of downtown areas.
Charles Walker, Monahans Director of Economic Development, will continue
to act as interim Main Street manager until the position is filled.
Council supports hiring of Main Street manager
Monahans City Council unanimously approved a resolution Tuesday which
supports hiring of a Main Street manager to oversee revitalization of
the downtown area.
The position, which will offer a salary of between $15,500 to $25,000
annually, will be considered a city job. The manager will report
directly to the city manager.
Billee Lou Harris, head of the Monahans Main Street organization told
the council hiring of a full-time manager is a necessary step for the
city to take in order to be recognized by the Texas Main Street Project
as a selfinitiated" project.
Once a city acquires the self-initiated status, it may then be
considered by the state organization for "designated status." This
status, says Harris, will bring state support in the form of access to
planners, designers and architects who are experts at the revitalization
of downtown areas.
Charles Walker, Monahans Director of Economic Development, will continue
to act as interim Main Street manager until the position is filled.
By Steve Patterson
of the News
MONAHANS, Dec. 12, 1996 - The Ward County Commissioner's Court gave
unanimous approval to a property tax abatement proposal submitted by the
city of Monahans Economic Development Corporation at Monday morning's
regular meeting.
A tax abatement can be used as a possible incentive to lure new or
existing companies to Ward County.
Abatement guidelines, as submitted by Economic Development Director
Charles Walker, are similar in structure to ones approved recently by
the city. Walker emphasized to the commissioners that the guidelines
were by no means to be construed as guarantee that property tax
exemptions would be automatically granted to companies applying for
them. The decision whether or not to grant exemptions would be left to
the commissioners on a case-by-case basis.
Although the criteria for a company to gain consideration for exemptions
is five pages long, the main buzz-phrase promoted by Walker was "job
creation." Existing companies in Ward County may apply for the exemption
provided they can document that " ...without the abatement or incentive,
the company will either reduce or cease operations."
The Economic Development Corporation, according to the guidelines, at
its discretion may make recommendations to taxing entities for abatement
or incentives to be given to encourage the retention or expansion-of
existing businesses, or to attract new businesses. The recommendations
will be made on a case-by-case basis even if the businesses do not
exactly comply with the minimum guidelines.
The general criteria for a business or project to be considered for
abatements are:
1. The project expands the local tax base.
2. Permanent full-time employment opportunities are created.
3. Without property tax abatement, the project, in all likelihood, would
not otherwise be developed.
4. Further economic development would be enhanced by the p~roject.
5. The project has not been started and no construction has begun at the
time the application is approved or denied.
There are no objections to the project based on its effects on
government service, financial instability, possible hazards to public
safety, adverse impacts on neighboring property violations of the law
and whether the incentive gave a company an unfair business advantage.
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Copyright 1996 by Ward Newspapers, Inc.
107 W. Second St., Monahans TX 79756
Phone 915-943-4313, FAX 915-943-4314
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