An Open Letter to all Brownwood & Brown County Residents & Visitors

Letter to the editor (submitted to The Brownwood Bulletin - Wednesday October 13, 2004)
and email to Brownwood Bulletin Editor.
( Reporter Steve Nash has had this information for over a year and failed to pursue it ! )

From: Steve Harris and Steve Puckett
Date: Wed Oct 13, 2004 08:39:39 AM US/Central
To: gene.deason@brownwoodbulletin.com
Cc: candace.fulton@brownwoodbulletin.com
Subject: letter to the editor

Letter to the editor
I just finished reading Steve Nash’s article ” Candidates for office square off at public forum ” in the Tuesday Brownwood Bulletin and wanted to offer comments directed at Brown County Attorney Shane Britton. Mr Britton stated: “ I believe in holding criminals responsible for their actions.” Mr Britton’s words do not match his actions in our case. Mr Britton has been derelict in his duty to prosecute “ Incident#01-12382: Theft”. This theft/incident # is found in a Brownwood Police Department CID letter dated December 10, 2001 that was sent to Mr Britton’s office for prosecution. Not only did Mr Britton fail to prosecute this case but he also refused to return numerous phone calls ( over a two year period ! ) or communicate in any manner. This case was substantiated by video & still images, numerous police officer statements identifying the suspect and finally the CID (Criminal Investigating Division) confident in the evidence to forward the case for prosecution to the County Attorney’s Office.

I recently spoke with Mr Britton as he was preparing his float for the “Feels Like Home” Parade. He told me he was surprised that I was not in attendance at the recent Juvenile Curfew discussion at the City Council chambers. If I had thought quick enough I would have explained to Mr Britton that I had not had a problem with juveniles ( the numerous thief's captured on film were not
juveniles ! ) to the extent that I had with elected leaders such as himself who are charged with prosecuting cases in a timely and “just” manner. United States Attorney General, John Ashcroft, describes this type of issue as a “ Compound Fracture ”.

If you have been a victim of a crime and then a victim of “ the system ” I urge you to research the issues before casting your vote for Brown County Attorney. Maybe this is the reason Brownwood/Brown county has one of the highest crime rates in the state (criminals not being prosecuted who repeatedly continue to prey on the community ! )

To be clear and to ensure that there is no room for rumors or misunderstandings the December 10, 2001 letter to County Attorney Shane Britton from Brownwood PD CID states:

“ RE: Incident # 01-12382; Theft - Dear Mr Harris-In response to your inquiry regarding the above referenced case, the case has been forwarded to the County Attorneys Office for prosecution, in which charges of theft were filed against (name of individual) on your behalf.”

It’s very clear to me where the local “compound fracture” is found in this case !


Steve Harris
Steves’ Market and Deli

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email comments in response to our letter and postings.

tweekin@earthlink.net  Add to Address Book
To: info@stevesmarketanddeli.com
Subject: Your thoughts on Shane Britton
Date: Sun, 24 Oct 2004 12:07:15 -0500

I was just reading all the information you have on your website regarding your stolen plant.  It seems to me that you are being very childish.  You are trying to have someone fired just because he did not have enough information to prosecute some thug for stealing a plant.  If you ask me, you are lucky more has not been taken from your restaurant.  Can you truly tell who the person was that stole your plant?  I sure can't.  Shane Britton is a wonderful Christian man who is very good at what he does.  He would not just let somebody get away with a crime if he knew exactly who that person was.  Do you truly think that a man who has been fired from a DA office in the past (Blagg) would be a better prosecutor than Shane?  I don't think so.  Have you looked at Shane's statistics and do you actually know all that he does?  Juvenile court, CPS court, County court, County Court at Law, JP court, and more.  I can't believe you would hold a grudge against somebody for something as small as this.  You must have a lot of time on your hands.  May God be with you.

note to tweekin@earthlink.net:

Don't let the facts get in the way and don't "play me" with your "Christian" comments. Some Folks tried that with me on this case ( http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2000-07-07/
cols_daytrips.html ) They must have thought GOD was not a preservationist ! This case is about how this County Attorney failed in his job and how he chose to " not " communicate. Seeking justice to you is
" holding a grudge " and " being very childish " ? That's cool ! Yes, you are correct, I have plenty of time on my hands to pursue justice in my hometown ( justice for everyone ). Injustice always begins with the "small" things !
...........................

Thank you tweekin for encouraging me to post these stories and links as they all relate to your statement " If you ask me, you are lucky more has not been taken from your restaurant.  "

Businessman catches thief -- on video
For the second consecutive weekend, a downtown eatery has been targeted for its yard art, once again by someone interested in heavy objects. Steve Harris, with Steves' Market and Deli on Chandler Street, filmed the early morning theft of a man taking...
www.brownwoodbulletin.com/articles/2003/01/14/news/news02.txt - 2.5K - Jan. 14, 2003; scored 815.0

Downtown merchants and owners have had enough of vandalism
Downtown merchants and business owners have Steve Harris, who heads up the Streetscape Committee for Downtown Brownwood Inc., spoke to members of DBI during their meeting on Wednesday. Invited guests City Manager Gary Butts, Police Chief Virgil Cowin...
www.brownwoodbulletin.com/articles/2000/01/20/693.txt - 2.0K - Jan. 20, 2000; scored 682.0

Police unresponsive to downtown burglaries, business owners say
Several downtown Brownwood business owners are frustrated that an increase in the use of video surveillance by the businesses does not appear to be helping solve recent crimes. Two property owners say police have shown little interest in viewing crim...
www.brownwoodbulletin.com/articles/2001/08/23/857.txt - 5.2K - Aug. 23, 2001; scored 635.0

Group looks at the future of Downtown
Ideas on the future of Brownwood A small group of individuals attended a reception at Steve Deli to further discuss the economic impact of the Brownwood Santa Fe Depot renovation, as well as other downtown buildings that could benefit from similar p...
www.brownwoodbulletin.com/articles/2001/03/07/232.txt - 3.9K - Mar. 7, 2001; scored 540.0

Citizen asks for ordinance
A Brownwood restaurant owner went before the Brownwood City Council again Tuesday requesting the city adopt an ordinance to save historic buildings in a designated area. Steve Harris, owner of Steve The boundaries for the designated historic district...
www.brownwoodbulletin.com/articles/2000/03/22/486.txt - 3.4K - Mar. 22, 2000; scored 516.0

Downtown merchants make push for stadium upgrades
Brownwood merchants and their customers have teamed up to help the Alumni Business Club with a final push to raise money for the renovation of Gordon Wood Stadium. About 15 downtown businesses have placed collection jars on their counters, hoping to ...
www.brownwoodbulletin.com/articles/2003/08/07/news/news02.txt - 2.6K - Aug. 7, 2003; scored 516.0

Brownwood celebrates Juneteenth
An all-denomination worship service this morning at Cecil Holman Park brought to a close an eventful three-day Juneteenth celebration themed The festivities were planned and organized by the Rufus F. Hardin Museum in an effort to raise funds for the ...
www.brownwoodbulletin.com/articles/2001/06/17/626.txt - 2.0K - Jun. 17, 2001; scored 488.0

Thieves hit three local businesses
Brownwood police received back-to-back reports Thursday morning of burglaries and a theft, all involving businesses. Someone broke into the Palace, 503 Eighth St., and pried open 36 eight-liner machines, according to a police report. The owner discov...
www.brownwoodbulletin.com/articles/2003/01/03/news/news03.txt - 1.4K - Jan. 3, 2003; scored 421.0

Downtown property owners will address city council on vandalism
Members of Downtown Brownwood Inc. plan to go before the Brownwood City Council on Tuesday to air concerns about numerous incidents of vandalism to downtown businesses. Steve Harris, who heads up DBI Last week, DBI members agreed unanimously to make ...
www.brownwoodbulletin.com/articles/2000/01/24/800.txt - 2.6K - Jan. 24, 2000; scored 421.0

Group asks city for MLK designation
In the not-too-distant future a major thoroughfare in Brownwood could have a memorial designation. Last week, a group of citizens asked the city to consider a memorial street designation for portions of Austin Avenue in recognition of the late Martin...
www.brownwoodbulletin.com/articles/2000/02/14/392.txt - 2.4K - Feb. 14, 2000; scored 421.0

Photo contributed
Those attending the meeting on the MLK designation included from left to right, Steve Harris, Michael Belvin, Jolyn Knight, Carol Spratt, Gary Butts and Aaron Blake....
www.brownwoodbulletin.com/articles/2000/02/14/393.txt - 0.2K - Feb. 14, 2000; scored 327.0

Council hears complaints on downtown vandalism: Downtown Brownwood Inc. announces $1,000 cash reward for information leading to arrests
Members of Downtown Brownwood Inc. business owners and residents gathered at City Hall on Tuesday morning for a discussion about the rampant vandalism in the downtown area. The DBI board announced that they will offer a $1,000 cash reward for informa...
www.brownwoodbulletin.com/articles/2000/01/26/881.txt - 4.3K - Jan. 26, 2000; scored 421.0

Steve Harris, chairman of the Streetscape Committee of Downtown Brownwood Inc., spoke to the Brownwood City Council on Tuesday.
CELINDA EMISON / Brownwood Bulletin...
www.brownwoodbulletin.com/articles/2000/01/26/912.txt - 0.2K - Jan. 26, 2000; scored 327.0

Taking steps to prevent vandalism
When is enough, enough? Business owners and residents of downtown Brownwood have given the word Since before Christmas, damage has been reported on almost a daily basis. Windows have been broken out by pellet guns, rocks and beer bottles. Graffiti ha...
www.brownwoodbulletin.com/articles/2000/01/26/885.txt - 4.6K - Jan. 26, 2000; scored 327.0

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Shane Britton was on KXYL this morning ( Friday Oct 29,2004 ) speaking of his record of service as was State Rep. Jim Keffer (R). I enjoyed both of their comments. Shane spoke of how busy his office was on a daily basis and I thought to myself, maybe this is the explanation of why he was unable to communicate with me regarding the our case. I stated this on the air and hoped that whoever was elected to the Brown County Attorneys office that they would implement a more efficient and reliable system of taking and returning phone calls (maybe even a email address that works) from crime victims. Shane recently visited me (Friday Oct 15, 2004 10:45am) and apologized for the way he handled my phone calls. He said he had made a mistake and gave me his email address of shanebritton@hotmail.com on the back of a meza airlines card so I could send him a copy of the CID letter. Shane also stated that the police department has been known to send out letters to victims just to appease them. I found this to be a very odd statment and this very well could be the bigger story than Shanes refusal to communicate with me by returning my phone calls for the status of our case. If he had returned my calls he could have seen my document from the police department and we could have gone from there ! The copy of the letter from Brownwood PD CID that I sent to shane's email address came back undeliverable.
( From: Steve Harris and Steve Puckett
Date: Fri Oct 15, 2004 05:55:32 PM US/Central
To: shanebritton@hotmail.com
Subject: Brownwood PD CID letter )

I also spoke of Jim Keffers Independent thinking and thanked him for his bipartisan work on legislation such as the James Byrd Hate Crime Bill. I had spoken with him last week regarding Randy Naugebauer's attack ads against Charlie Stenholm (which paralleld those who targeted Mr Keffer in his last race ). Hate crimes legislation is constantly talked about as a one way street by KXYL-James Williamson as well as James' "best students" (see below) !

The only response to my call this morning came from Jimmy as he stated "on air" his opposition to Hate Crimes Legislation !

According to listener Dave's email to us this morning, on James Williamsons show yesterday:
" Jimmy called in yesterday stating how dangerous homosexuals are.
He said, some of the local restaurants should be bugged to find out what is being said behind closed doors, so that they could be arrested and held accountable for their hate speech, intolerance, and their insensitivity towards the rights of Christians and their freedom of speech.
To my expected surprise there was a "hee-hee-heeee, you did good Jimmy, you did good"  "
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