It was the day of her uncle’s sexual assault trial and the 15-year-old girl was wrought with emotion. She was going to have to tell a jury what he had done to her, how he had violated her and stolen her innocence.

She was timid – and terrified.

Victim Assistance Coordinator Laura Flores, who was helping the girl and her family get through the trial, handed the girl a necklace with a charm that read, “Goddess of Strength.” The necklace, Flores explained, had been worn by a girl just like her. It gave her the courage to testify against her abuser, and when it was over she left her necklace for other girls to wear during their trials.

Assistant District Attorney Rainey Webb – who was prosecuting the girl’s uncle and ultimately sent him to prison for six years – saw what a difference the necklace made that day to the terrified 15-year-old girl.

“My sweet little victim wore it in trial and had her hands on it like a worry rock,” Webb said. “You could tell it was giving her emotional relief.”

Afterward, the 15-year-old girl had a hard time parting with the necklace.

“Her parents told her to give it back for other girls to use and it made me sad because she couldn’t take it with her,” Webb said. “You could tell it was a special thing for her.”

Realizing how powerful and important the necklaces could be, Webb contacted Tracy Hanson, a jewelry designer in Colorado, who makes jewelry for fundraisers and non-profit organizations. Webb asked her if she could design a strength necklace for victims of sexual or physical abuse.

“She came up with the design and put the word “strength” on the back so it would be close to their hearts,” Webb said.

Once the design was complete, Webb contacted Julie Evans, the executive director for Alliance For Children – a child advocacy center that coordinates efforts between Child Protective Services, police, prosecutors and doctors as they investigate allegations of physical and child sexual abuse. Webb wanted to know if AFC could use the necklaces in their upcoming fundraiser.

Evans thought it was a great idea, and in February AFC sold the necklaces at the fundraiser for $100 each – raising $12,600 for the non-profit agency. What made the event even more special, Evans said, was that 62 of the necklaces purchased were donated back to AFC to give to victims of child abuse.

Evans said AFC gives the necklaces to victims who are going to court to testify against their abuser. Recently, she said, they gave necklaces to two girls who had both been abused by the same man. The necklaces gave them courage and united them, she said.

“They already felt connected, but this was an extra thing that only they had,” Evans said. “It was really something that tied them together in these circumstances. It was impactful to see these children unit in their healing.

“We definitely see the benefit. The necklaces give them something they can take on the stand and feel and touch. They know that there are people who believe them and support them and who are seeking justice on their behalf. It’s a great tool for the child to have.”

Those who are interested in purchasing a necklace – either for themselves or to donate back to AFC – can email Katy Tomlinson at ktomlinson@allianceforchildren.org

For more information about jewelry designer Tracy Hanson, click the icon below:

Melody McDonald, Public Information Officer

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Administrative Assistant Dana Parra finishes the Cowtown Marathon – with a broken foot

Age 45 was a life-changer for Dana Parra.  Newly divorced with two grown children, she had no idea where life was going to take her.

Or that she would get there on a bike.

“I was just recently divorced and I needed something to do,” said Parra, the administrative assistant in the Business Office of the District Attorney’s Office. “I had a friend who had a bike and she asked me to go cycling. She let me ride her bike – and the bug bit me. I went out and bought my first bike.”

Parra started cycling after work and on weekends. She pedaled in good weather and in bad, through city streets and country roads, alone and with friends. Before she knew it, she had pedaled through eight more birthdays and dozens of organized, endurance rides.

Parra, who has worked for Tarrant County for 25 years, is expected to be featured in an upcoming issue of Tarrant County’s Wellness Newsletter.  She was asked to write a first-person account for the newsletter about her mid-life adventures – including finishing the Cowtown Marathon in February with a broken foot.

“I didn’t have a lot of confidence in myself,” Parra said recently. “Cycling has completely changed my life.”

In 2007, after cycling for about two years, Parra said she decided to participate in her first organized ride – the Austin Charity Ride for the American Diabetes Association. The 65-mile trek, which she cycled with two friends, took eight hours to complete.

“We were the last three in,” Parra said. “It took forever. When I finished, I just started crying like a baby. It felt good to accomplish something like that.”

Over the next few years, Parra participated in a number of local sanctioned events. When she turned 50 in 2011, she stepped up her game, riding in the Katy 100 (100 miles in July) and in the Hotter ‘N Hell (100 miles in August).

Back-to-back endurance rides in the Texas heat was miserable, but the satisfaction she felt afterward was immeasurable.

“There were times when I didn’t think I was going to be able to make it but I kept going and I finished,” she said.

In August 2012, at age 52, Parra began running with her dog, Grace, who seemed to prefer running over walking.  Up for a new challenge, Parra decided to sign up to run a 5K in the Cowtown Marathon.

For several months, Parra trained hard. She started going to the free Muscle Pump and Yoga classes that the County offers on her lunch break.

“They really helped a lot,” Parra said. “I was in the best shape I had been in a long time – probably since my 30’s.”  

When race day arrived, Parra was excited. She knew the 3-mile run wouldn’t be easy, but she was ready. 

The gun went off and she started to run.  About a mile into the race, the unexpected happened.

Parra, who was running in the grass to pass people, felt her right ankle turn in and heard her right foot crack. She went down.  A runner stopped to pick her up and offered to call someone to get her. 

Parra wasn’t ready to quit.

“I said, ‘You know, I’m going to finish this race. I worked too hard to give up,’” she said. “So I kept trotting along.”

At the finish line, Parra spotted her friend, Kay Massengale, who helped her to the nearby infirmary. The doctor there told her she needed to go to the emergency room

Sure enough, Parra had broken her foot.

Earlier this week, Parra turned 53 years old and – yep, you guessed it – she’s ready for a new adventure. In June, she’ll ride in the Oklahoma Freewheel – an 8-day, 500-mile trek that will take her from the Texas-Oklahoma border to Kansas. It will be the biggest ride of her life.

And she doesn’t plan to stop there.

“I’m going to keep going until I can’t go anymore,” she said matter-of-factly. “I figure when I’m 80, I’m still going to be pedaling.”

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- Melody McDonald, Public Information Officer

DA Joe Shannon gives Kathy Manning some parting gifts during her retirement party

When Kathy Manning left her 36-year law enforcement career on Friday, she walked away with great friendships, crazy stories and a snappy sense of humor.

“I plan to be a ‘kept wife,’ a trophy bride,” quipped 55-year-old Manning when asked what she’s going to do during retirement.  “I’m going to float in the pool, eat bon bons and travel while my husband works.” (Manning’s husband, by the way, is Weatherford Police Chief Mike Manning.)

Manning’s long and eventful career began at age 18 when she worked as a dispatcher – first at the Forest Hill Police Department and later for the Richland Hills Police Department.

While working in Richland Hills, she went through the Dallas County Sheriff’s Academy to become a certified peace officer.

“The Chief at Richland Hills sponsored me through the Academy but said he couldn’t hire me as a police officer because he already had two female officers and it didn’t look good to have that many females for a small department,” Manning said. “So, he helped me get hired at Fort Worth in January 1981.”

Manning worked in patrol for 1 ½ years before being assigned to “The Project” – an undercover intelligence unit made up of “narcs” from the Fort Worth and Arlington police departments and the DA’s Office.

For eight years she worked undercover, helping take down the county’s baddest robbers, burglars and drug dealers.  She has posed as a prostitute, stranded female, drug dealer  – even as a fence for stolen property.

“I have to say that was the most fun and memorable part of my career and where I made the most connections with other law enforcement officers,” she said.

Mike Adair, a former Arlington Police Officer who is now chief of the DA’s Investigation Division, worked with Manning in the undercover unit and characterized her as “one of the best.”

“In my 40-plus years of investigative assignments, she was one of the best undercover agents I have worked with,” Adair said. “She took on many dangerous undercover assignments and never hesitated to do her job. It has been a privilege to know and work with her.”

During her 12 years with the Fort Worth Police Department, Manning also worked as a detective in the personal crimes, family violence, child abuse and sexual assault units.

In 1993 she was hired as an investigator with the Tarrant County DA’s Office, where she started out in the Crimes Against Children Unit. The next year she was moved to the DA’s Special Crimes Unit, where she has remained since.

It was in this role that Manning worked her most notable cases.

Manning was the investigator in the so-called “Texas Cadet Murders” – a highly-publicized case in which military cadets David Graham and Diane Zamora killed Mansfield High School sophomore Adrianna Jones.

She was also part of the investigative team in the case against Ricky Lee Franks, who kidnapped 6-year-old Opal Jo Jennings.

Both cases resulted in true crime, paperback books.

In the book about Franks, Manning and her cohorts still get a kick about the author characterizing her as a “well-coiffed, veteran detective.”

“I was a little hurt to think that I was an old lady with a good hairdo,” Manning said.

DA Investigator Danny McCormick joked that Manning was probably behind the description.

“I think that is how she described herself to whoever wrote that book,” he said.

To be sure, Manning’s retirement has made her the target of some good-natured ribbing.

Adair recalled the time she mistook a vat of butter for butterscotch pudding at a lunchtime buffet.

“She had a priceless reaction when she gulped down a big spoonful of “dessert,” he said.

And there are stories abound about her bad driving.

“She’ll never have to clear out a space on her mantle for a safe driving award,” Adair said. 

Co-workers said Manning is also known for her “go bags” of goodies – which consisted of cookies, pork rinds and other snacks.

“No one went hungry around Kathy,” said Investigator Celeste Rogers.

Rogers said Manning also will “do anything” for a free t-shirt, including giving blood and gymnastic tricks.

“The ultimate occurred just recently at the Homicide Investigator’s Annual Meeting,” Rogers said. “She did the splits for a free t-shirt!”

Rogers pointed out that, in addition to being a great cop, Manning is also a great person.

“I always knew she would back me up when we were out there looking for people,” Rogers said. “We went through a lot together – the death of my mother, the death of her mother, and the death of my son. She was always there for me and I’ll never forget that.”

Rogers said Manning is also an actress in community theater and active in her church.

“There are a couple of other things I could tell you, but I don’t think the statute of limitations is up,” she joked.

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- Melody McDonald, Public Information Officer

It’s no secret that domestic violence is a huge problem in the United States.

Apparently it’s also a serious issue in Sweden.

Earlier this week a delegation from the Swedish government stopped by the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office to learn more about the prosecution of domestic violence cases.

Prosecutor Sean Colston with Swedish Domestic Violence Coordinator Carin Gotblad. (Prosecutor Rhett Parham pictured on right.)

The delegation – which was led by Swedish Domestic Violence Coordinator Carin Gotblad – is preparing a report for the Swedish government in an effort to help prevent domestic violence in their country. The group recently contacted the DA’s Office after conducting an international search for good practice in this field.  (Tarrant County prosecutors handle 3,000 to 3,500 family violence cases each year).

Assistant District Attorney Sean Colston, who is chief of the DA’s Family Violence Unit, and felony prosecutor Rhett Parham talked to the delegation about how Tarrant County works to help victims of domestic violence and holds abusers accountable for their actions. Among other things, they discussed the DA’s “no-drop policy,” the diversion programs for offenders, and the implementation of County Criminal Court No. 5 – which was created in 1997 and is dedicated exclusively to hearing family violence cases.

Blanca Burciaga, director of the DA’s Victim Assistance Unit, and Victim Assistance Coordinator Linda Bigham were also on hand to answer their questions. Burciaga and Bigham were accompanied by Cecilia Jones, who was enjoying her first day on the job as the new One Safe Place Victim Assistance Coordinator.

Prosecutors are given tokens of appreciation

The delegation took notes, asked detailed questions and afterward, gave tokens of appreciation from the Swedish Government.

While in town, the delegation also paid a visit to One Safe Place and attended the 13^th Annual International Family Justice Conference at the Worthington Renaissance Hotel.

Their next stop? San Francisco.

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- Melody McDonald, Public Information Officer

The Northeast Sub-Courthouse, located at 645 Grapevine Highway in Hurst, is currently closed for demolition and reconstruction. County offices inside the sub-courthouse have been temporarily relocated to either Southlake Town Hall or to an interim location at Parkwood Village, located off Harwood Road in Bedford. 

Offices of the Precinct 3 Commissioner, Constable and Justice of the Peace will be at Southlake Town Hall. The County Clerk, Tax Assessor and Credit Union will be at the Parkwood Village location.

A new and improved Northeast Courthouse is expected to reopen in about 18 months at the Hurst location.

Click here for more information about the temporary locations for the various departments.

For the 11th year in a row the DA’s Office took home the award for the “largest team” during the annual Victory Over Violence Walk/Run, which benefits The Women’s Center of Tarrant County.

The Women’s Center is dedicated to empowering women and families who have been stricken by violence, crisis or poverty. The organization helps survivors of sexual and physical abuse and other violent crimes heal emotionally and resume productive lives.

The DA’s Team – “Above Average Joes” which was lead by prosecutors Sean Colston and Betty Arvin – is proud to be one of the organization’s strongest supporters.

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DA Financial Analyst Andrea Stone (left) is recognized by Blue Cross Blue Shield representatives Mark Smith (center) and Sharon Green (right)

Financial analysts often work behind the scenes, scrutinizing documents and crunching numbers.  Rarely do they attract fanfare or receive public recognition.

But recently, one of our own – Andrea Stone of the Economic Crimes Unit – was honored by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX) for her work on a healthcare fraud case that helped bring down the owners of JS&H Orthopedic, a durable medical equipment supplier in Fort Worth.

Last week, officials with BCBSTX came to the District Attorney’s Office and personally presented Stone with a Challenge Coin – a medallion that is most commonly given to military, police or fire officials for their outstanding contributions.

“Blue Cross Blue Shield is pleased to present you with a Challenge Coin in appreciation of your efforts to fight healthcare fraud,” said Sharon Green, senior manager for the Special Investigations Department of the insurance giant. “Thank you so much.”

In January 2011, Stone was working as an investigative auditor for the Texas Attorney General’s Office, where she was assigned to a multi-agency strike force devoted to combating Medicare fraud. While in that capacity, she analyzed a case involving the owners of JS&H Orthopedic, who conspired to defraud Medicare by submitting at least $1.8 million in claims to Medicare for durable medical equipment that they never provided. In the course of her investigation, Stone realized that private pay insurance companies, including Blue Cross Blue Shield, were also being defrauded. She reached out to them and included them in the case.

In September 2011, Stone accepted a position at the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office, but continued to help work on the case. In recent months, the owners of JS&H Orthopedic – Hugh Willett and his wife, Sylvia – were each convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and six counts of healthcare fraud.  Syliva Willett was sentenced to 50 months in federal prison.  Hugh Willett is scheduled to be sentenced on April 18.

During the ceremony last week, Mark Smith, an investigator with Blue Cross Blue Shield, had high praise for Stone.

“Andrea had our back,” Smith said. “…We’re here to congratulate her for her good work. It takes a lot of passion to work these kinds of cases.”

Stone called the successful outcome of the case a “group effort.”

“It’s very nice to be recognized,” she said.

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- Melody McDonald, Public Information Officer

Belinda Barrow

The pressure proved to be too much for fugitive Belinda Barrow.

On Tuesday morning – less than two weeks after she took off during the middle of her aggravated robbery trial – Barrow found herself behind bars.

“After many hours of surveillance and interviews with her associates, we stepped up the pressure on her and her family,” said District Attorney Investigator Mark Thornhill, who is also a deputy with the U.S. Marshal’s Task Force. “She finally called me and decided to turn herself in.”

On March 20, Barrow was on trial in state district Judge Everett Young’s court, accused of entering the apartment of an 82-year-old woman and robbing her at gunpoint, including taking her wedding rings off her fingers. While the jury was deliberating her guilt or innocence, Barrow – who was free on bond- walked away from the courthouse and never returned.

A warrant was issued for her arrest and Thornhill and his 6-member “Charlie” team quickly went to work, developing leads and putting pressure on Barrow’s partner and members of her family. Meanwhile, the jury convicted Barrow in absentia of aggravated robbery and sentenced her to 20 years in prison. Assistant District Attorneys Allenna Bangs and Lisa Callaghan prosecuted the case.

After nearly two weeks on the lam, Barrow finally agreed to surrender to Thornhill on Tuesday morning. Thornhill was waiting for her outside the Tim Curry Criminal Justice Center when Sheriff’s Deputy Ben Barnett, who is assigned to Judge Young’s courtroom, spotted her at the corner of Taylor and Belknap Streets.

“I turned and looked at her and said, ‘You ready to go to jail now? A lot of people have been looking for you,’” Barnett said. “I cuffed her. She was cooperative. She was there to turn herself in.”

Barrow’s time on the run could get her additional prison time. She has now been indicted on a charge of bail jumping – a third-degree felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

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Melody McDonald, Public Information Officer

After 40 years in law enforcement, DA Investigator Jerry Beall has some fascinating stories to tell.

There was the time he worked as a Fort Worth K-9 officer with a dog named “Lucky” – an off-colored German Shepherd he plucked from the pound one day before the dog was to be put down.

 “He was lucky that I came and got him,” Beall said with a chuckle. “He was a great dog. The dog trained me. He was smarter than I was. He was a great partner.”

And then there was the day, on his first undercover assignment, Beall lost contact with his backup officers while being held at gunpoint by some unsavory fellows. His body microphone had shorted out.

“The bad guy put a pistol in my face and said, “Lay down mother—-,” Beall said. “They made me lay down in a mud hole. He told me to roll over, he was going to shoot me. I rolled over and shot him.”

Sitting in his office at the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office on Thursday, Beall reflected back on his four decades in law enforcement – first as a Fort Worth police officer, and later, as an investigator with the DA’s Office.

Today, Beall officially says goodbye to a career that gave him great satisfaction, forged everlasting friendships, and helped take thousands of bad guys off the streets.

“I put in a lot of hours, but it was great,” said Beall, 69. “It’s been a good job.”

Beall began his career in the Fort Worth Police Department in 1973, where he worked as a K-9 officer, a patrol officer and as a sniper in the department’s first Tactical Unit. The bulk of his career, however, was spent as an undercover officer, targeting the county’s biggest money couriers, burglars, car thieves and drug dealers.

“I was in narcotics for 15 or 18 years, in different roles,” Beall said. “Some investigations were comical and some pretty intense.”

 Beall recalled the time he bought $200,000 worth of methamphetamine from a dope dealer named “Smithers.”

“When we took him down, we took three guns off of him and one off of his buddy,”  Beall recalled.

 And then, he said, there was the time he bought $680 worth of “Turkey Dope” – or fake drugs.
  
“It was my first undercover buy,” Beall said. “They showed up with a Ziplock bag full of a white powdered substance. I took it back to the office. I was feeling pretty good. They did presumptive tests and it was baby laxative.”

Beall said another undercover officer, Mike De La Flor, sat down with him and explained how to recognize cocaine.

“Mike De La Flor was the best narcotics officer I ever met, bar none,” Beall said. “He gave me the De La Flor 101 School of Narcotics. I never made that mistake again.” (De La Flor also went to work as a DA Investigator after leaving the police department. He retired in December.)

 Probably one of Beall’s most humbling moments was the time he got “arrested” during a drug raid in Cleburne.  He was working undercover and was told by his supervisors not to blow his cover under any circumstances.

“All hell broke loose,” Beall recalled, laughing.  “They handcuffed me, slammed me onto a pickup and put me in a squad car – and then I got strip searched in the jail. That night I was mad enough to eat nails.”

Beall worked for the Fort Worth Police Department for 26 years before retiring in 1998. He took two days off and then started his second career as an investigator with the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office.

Beall was initially assigned to a misdemeanor court but quickly got transferred to Criminal District Court No. 1, a felony court where he worked with veteran prosecutors Christy Jack, Lloyd Whelchel, and Kelly Loftus.

“It is difficult to put into words all of the fond memories we have of working with him,” Jack and Whelchel said in a joint statement. “We toured untold crime scenes together, wore the wheels off of his car in search of witnesses and tried countless cases together. When Jerry was your investigator, he was just as much a part of the trial team as any attorney. He was the unspoken third chair. And no matter how trying the situation became, Jerry could always see the humor in the moment. 

“It was a blessing to have someone who had such a gift of gab, was a great judge of character, and someone who had such a huge heart. Not only was Jerry an integral part of our team, he is also our good friend and will be missed. A legend is leaving.”

Assistant District Attorney Amy Collum, who is chief of Criminal District Court No. 2, where Beall is currently assigned, echoed those sentiments.

“Jerry is one of the finest investigators that I have had the pleasure of working with,” Collum said.  “He is always willing to go above and beyond to assure a successful prosecution. He leaves a void in this office that will not be easily filled.”

In 2007, Beall was named Investigator of the Year by the Texas County and District Attorney’s Association – an accolade his colleagues said he richly deserved.

Beall said he will miss chasing bad guys and witnesses, but it’s time to take it easy. He plans to spend some time on his farm, relaxing and enjoying his family. 

“I’ve got a son, a daughter, four grandsons, and I’m now a great-grandfather,” Beall said. “I have the prettiest, auburn-haired, blue-eyed great-granddaughter. She’ll be four years old in August. I intend to get her on a tractor and ride her around.”

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- Melody McDonald, Public Information Officer

Gov. Rick Perry has appointed veteran prosecutor Riley Shaw to the Texas Violent Gang Task Force.

Shaw, who has been with the DA’s Office more than 13 years and is chief of the Juvenile Unit, was among four members named to the Task Force – which is devoted to suppressing gang activity through the collection and dissemination of gang intelligence. Their terms expire at the pleasure of the governor.

“I’m honored to have been appointed by Governor Perry and look forward to serving on behalf of the citizens of the State of Texas,” Shaw said. “I hope that, in cooperation with local, state, and federal partners on the Task Force, our efforts result in safer, empowered communities with decreased gang membership and a reduction in gang-related crime and violence – not just in Tarrant County but throughout the State of Texas.”

Lawmakers created the Texas Violent Gang Task Force more than a decade ago to establish partnerships between various agencies to provide timely access to gang activity information. In addition to sharing information, the Task Force is also devoted to training law enforcement officials in the prevention, intervention, and prosecution of gangs.

In addition to Shaw, the governor also appointed:
• Albert “AJ” Bonner Jr., a lieutenant jail administrator for the Hale County Sheriff’s Department
• Tim Flores, a gang intelligence officer in Harlingen
• Patrick Natividad, a sergeant in the El Paso Police Department  

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- Melody McDonald, Public Information Officer