Winnsboro Police Report April 9-15, 2018
Winnsboro Police made three arrests, investigated two accidents, responded to 152 calls for service, and issued 44 citations and 26 warnings during the April 9-15, 2018 report period.
Danielle Frey, 30, of Winnsboro, was arrested on April 11th on a Wood County Warrant.
Mason Monday, 30, of Winnsboro, was arrested April 11th on a Hopkins County Warrant.
Remington Hanes, 28, of Scroggins, was arrested April 13th on a Hopkins County Warrant.
An accident at Airport Road and The Johnson Unit resulted in no injuries April 10th.
No injuries were reported in an accident on South Main at Coke Road, April 12th.
Supreme Court Denies Acker Appeal
The U. S. Supreme Court has denied an appeal made on behalf of Daniel Clate Acker, 46, of Sulphur Springs. Acker is on Death Row in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice convicted of the kidnapping and the murder of 32-year old Marquetta “Markie” George. Acker, a native of Hunt County, was 29 at the time of his conviction. A date for his execution has not been set.
Acker’s appeal was described as presenting compelling evidence of actual innocence. However, the Supreme Court upheld the ruling of the Hopkins County Eight Judicial District Court in 2001. County Judge Robert Newsom was the District Judge who presided during the trial. Local attorney Frank Long was the District Attorney.
Acker and George were living together in a trailer in Hopkins County when an argument began between the two at Bustin’ Loose, a nightclub located outside the city limits of Sulphur Springs at that time. Acker left the club but returned later and could not locate George. She arrived at their trailer the next morning in the company of a bouncer from the club. Neighbors testified that Acker forced George into his vehicle. Acker says that George jumped from his vehicle causing her death. Criminal Investigators from the Hopkins County Sheriff’s office said she was dead when pushed from the vehicle.
Acker was no stranger to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice prior to his Capital Murder Conviction. He was received in TDCJ in May, 1993 on a ten year sentence for Burglary of a Habitation in Delta County. Released on parole in October of 1995, he returned in April of 1997 without a new conviction. He was released on Mandatory Supervision in September 1999. He was accused of the murder of George in March, 2000.
SSHS Academic UIL Successful at Regional Competition and in Essay Contests
Sulphur Springs High School Academic UIL teams competed at the regional meet recently. Several will advance to the State UIL Championships, May 3-5 at the University of Texas in Austin. Three SSHS students were among 12 finalists chosen in the Barbara Jordan Historical Essay Competition and two were selected finalists in the Latino History Essay Contest.
SSHS Academic qualifiers for state competition include: Annmarie Gunn, Rachel Bramlett, Breana Wooten, Natalie Cruz, Chase Charlton, Sarah Harper, Gisselle Garcia, Brandon Hodges, Carissa Carter, Celeste Leeds-Laliberte, and Lainey Whittle. Noah Hammons and Angela Brown qualified as alternates to state.
Annmarie Gunn, Rachel Bramlett, and Breana Wooten were chosen finalists in the 2017-2018 UIL Essay competitions. 12 finalists are chosen from across the state of Texas in each of two events, The Barbara Jordan Historical Essay Competition and The Latino History Essay Competition. Annmarie, Rachel and Breana had three of the 12 finalist essays in The Barbara Jordan Essay contest. Annmarie and Rachel each had their essays selected as a finalist in the Latino History Essay Contest. Winners will be announced at State UIL meet in May. The Barbara Jordan Historical Essay Competition was Founded in 1995 as an event sponsored by The University of Texas at Austin. The competition provides students an opportunity to explore the contributions of African Americans to Texas history, as well as honoring the legacy of its namesake, Barbara Jordan. The theme of the competition is “African Americans in Texas: Past and Present.” The Latino History Essay Competition was founded in 2011 by the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement at UT-Austin. The theme of the competition is “historical and cultural legacies of Latinos in Texas history.
Region 2 UIL Academic Championships
Wildcat UIL competed at Region 2 UIL Academic Championships on April 13th and 14th. Congratulations to the following students who won awards in their events and to all who competed.
| Ready Writing | Annmarie Gunn | 3rd Place (State Qualifier) |
| (Gail Herman – Coach) | ||
| LD Debate | Noah Hammons | 4th Place (State Alternate) |
| (Kayla Weir – Coach) | ||
| Spelling and Vocabulary | Natalie Cruz | 3rd Place (State Qualifier) |
| (Gail Herman – Coach) | Chase Charlton | 4th Place (State Alternate) |
| Spelling and Vocabulary Team (Natalie Cruz, Chase Charlton, Sarah Harper, Gisselle Garcia) | 1st Place Team (State Qualifier) | |
| Prose Interpretation | Rachel Bramlett | 4th Place (State Alternate) |
| (Lesha Woodard – Coach) | Sarah Harper | 6th Place |
| Poetry Interpretation | Jaci Reed | 6th Place |
| (Lesha Woodard – Coach) | ||
| Editorial Writing | Natalie Cruz | 3rd Place (State Qualifier) |
| (Brandon Nelson – Coach) | Angela Brown | 4th Place (State Alternate) |
| Social Studies | Brandon Hodges | 2nd Place (State Qualifier) |
| (Madison Millsap – Coach) | ||
| Literary Criticism | Carissa Carter | 1st Place (State Qualifier) |
| (Gail Herman – Coach) | Natalie Cruz | 2nd Place (State Qualifier) |
| Lainey Whittle | 3rd Place (State Qualifier) | |
| Literary Criticism Team – (Carissa Carter, Natalie Cruz, Lainey Whittle, Celeste Leeds-Laliberte) | 1st Place Team (State Qualifier) |
K-9 Alerts on Vehicle; Meth Found
Hopkins County K-9, Maly, is certified in detecting Methamphetamine, Marijuana, Heroin, Cocaine, and MDMA/Ecstacy. Maly assisted in the arrest of Joshua Logan Martin, 28, of Pittsburg when the Hopkins County Deputy made a traffic stop on a Dodge Pickup with a defective driver’s side head lamp. The stop was made at State Highway 11E and FM 69.
Martin, who said he was nervous around police and said he had previous drug convictions for methamphetamine and was a former member of Cossack Motorcycle Gang, remained in his vehicle while Maly did a free air sniff around the pickup. Maly alerted on a partially opened window on the passenger side of the pickup. That alert led to the officer finding a grey jewelry box. Inside the box was a clear plastic bag containing a crystal-like substance suspected of being Methamphetamine. A field test of the substance confirmed it to be 3.6 grams of meth.
Martin was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance Penalty Group 1 more than 1-gram but less than 4-grams. He is in Hopkins County Jail held on a $20,000 bond.
Winnsboro Man Arrested for Possession of 9.8-grams of Suspected Meth
Special Crimes Unit initiated a traffic stop in the 300 block of Oak Avenue and the driver of the 2004 Saab was visibly nervous. A pat down of the driver located a zipper pouch containing 9.8-grams of suspected methamphetamine.
Justin Blaine Sicard, 28, of Winnsboro, was arrested and charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance Penalty Group 1, more than 4-grams but less than 200-grams and for a warrant for driving the wrong way on a one-way roadway. Sicard confessed to the possession and to selling meth.
Probable Cause Search Leads to Arrest
When a traffic stop was initiated on Main Street, the driver of the vehicle pulled into the Valero Convenience Store located less than 1,000 feet from the Buford Park skate park, a Drug Free Zone. With the smell of marijuana emitting from the vehicle, a probable cause search was conducted and a cloth bag was found in the left rear floorboard.
Inside the bag was located a sealed bag of K1 and two small baggies containing a crystal like substance believed to be methamphetamine. No occupant of the vehicle claimed ownership.
Lafayette Trey Crosby, 21, of Sulphur Springs was arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance Penalty Group 1, more than 1-gram but less than 4-grams in a Drug Free Zone and for Possession of a Controlled Substance Penalty Group 1-A less than 2 oz. Crosby is in Hopkins County Jail held on bonds totaling $16,000.
Part(y)ing is Such Sweet Sorrow: Party Gear Plus Closing Soon
By Savannah Owens
After faithfully serving our community for almost 6 years, Party Gear Plus has announced they are going out of business. Owner, Thad Gregory, sat down with KSST to talk about the good times they’ve had and share about why they are closing their doors.
“Up until 2015 everything was fine.” Gregory explained. Then there was a combination of bad luck. First the rent increased by 33%. Then Bill Bradford road was under construction for 13 months, which made it increasingly difficult for customers to get to the shop. Then Amazon, and online shopping took off, coupled with dollar stores, Walmart and Hobby Lobby in Greenville, which caused people to “go out of their way, literally, to shop here.” He explained how millennials do not like the term traditional, and are changing so much of how traditional shopping is done. “Time’s changing…That’s it. I’m not looking for a pity party: it’s just business.”
Thad Gregory reminisced over some of the interesting and funny stories that had happened at the store. One time the store’s identity was stolen, “but Alliance Bank helped [them] through that.” Another time, their website “domain expired and [Gregory] missed [the renewal] by maybe two days and someone else purchased it and held it for ransom.” The scammers wanted $1,000 for the website, but Gregory was unfazed, and simply changed the stores website to a new domain.
His favorite memories? “The good people, kind people. Not only the customers but also the employees.” He smiled as he remembered some of the young employees who have now “grown up and moved on” to get business degrees and become successful adults.
The store, which was known for 20 years as the Paper Factory, became a family owned business when Thad and his wife, Stacie, took over in 2012. “This is ours…That was a good thing, we were able to run the shop while my kids were in high school.” Thad further elaborated to say: “I couldn’t have done anything successful without the support of my family. My wife worked at her job Monday-Friday, and would come here on the weekend and do the books for me.” He also greatly appreciated all the help his daughter, Constance, and son, Gideon, put in working and helping out around the store. He sighed looking around the store.
Many people have been wondering what’s next for Gregory. “I’ve been praying about it. There’s a lot of nice people saying they’re praying too. We’ll see.” Right now, he’s “concentrating on getting this done, then he’ll focus on what’s next.”
Currently Party Gear Plus is having a 75% off sale, including fixtures, and peg boards. Gregory explained he also will be having “lots of giveaways.” Make sure to stop in at 614 Bill Bradford rd, suite #9 while you can! There is not a specific set date for the store to close, but Gregory expects it to be near the end of the month of April.
KSST and many members of the community are sad to see this valuable community store close it’s doors for the final time, but know that sometimes the best things in life are only temporary. We look forward to seeing what the Gregory Family does next, and will be rooting for them as they begin the next chapter in their lives.
Wildcats lose at Texas High
The Wildcats’ baseball team struggled against Texas High in a 10-3 loss in Texarkana Saturday, The game was played in cold and blustery weather Saturday after a postponement Friday due to rain.
Wildcats Baseball Coach Jerrod Hammack said Texas High played like a team fighting for its’ playoff life. The Wildcats could not match the Tigers intensity. The Wildcats were outhit 11 to 6. The Tigers played error free ball while the Wildcats made three miscues. Wildcats’ pitchers issued six walks.
Trouble started early for the Wildcats. After they went three up and three down in the top of the first, Texas High scored two unearned runs in the bottom of the first. After a dropped fly ball, the Tigers got three straight two out hits to score twice. The Wildcats cut the deficit in half with a run in the top of the second. With one out, Jaxon Chaney doubled and then scored on a Kamren Harrison RBI double. Harrison was stranded at second. Texas High then blew open the game with five runs in a nightmarish bottom of the third for the Wildcats. The inning started with a Tiger single and a walk. A Texas High triple plated two runs. Then on a ground ball, the Wildcats threw home trying to get the Tiger runner coming to the plate but the throw went awry. Later a throw to first on a grounder bounced away and another run scored. The fifth run scored on an RBI single. The Tigers were up 7-1 after three innings. The Tigers added another run in the bottom of the fifth inning. A Tiger walked, stole second and went to third when the throw to second ended up in center field. An RBI single drove in the Texas High runner from third and the Tigers were up 8-1 after five innings. Texas High scored their final two runs in the bottom of the sixth. They drew a walk and then used back to back doubles to score the two runs. The Tigers were up 10-1 after six innings.
The Wildcats managed a couple of runs in the top of the seventh. Harrison and Jase Thompson began the inning with walks. Gavin Millsap’s single loaded the bases with no one out. Austin Dodd drove in Harrison with a ground ball that resulted in a force out at second. Kaden Argenbright hit a single that scored Thompson. The rally was then snuffed out on an unusual double play. The Tigers’ right fielder made a nice catch on a fly ball and then the ball was thrown to second to double off a Wildcat who was running after the ball was hit. The loss was costly for the Wildcats as they apparently fell out of a first place tie with Hallsville.
The Wildcats are now 7-2 in district play and 14-9 for the season. Coach Hammack noted that the Wildcats will have to go almost a week before they have a chance to get rid of the bad taste of defeat. Next the Wildcats play Mount Pleasant at home on Friday. The Wildcats’ final three district games are all at home.
Saltillo ISD 7th Annual Scholarship Dinner and Auction
With about $8,000 dollars raised for the Kerry Garmon Memorial Scholarship Fund, Saltillo ISD will now be able to assist up to eight graduating students next year as the students go forward with college studies. The main method of fundraising for this successful Scholarship Fund is the Dinner and Auction staged each Spring prior to graduation. The 2018 event was held on Saturday April 14 in the Kerry Garmon Gymnasium, with robust attendance and participation. Several current Scholarship recipients were present to speak to the audience and relate their college plans. Superintendent David Stickles was emcee, Saltillo alumnus Travis Mitchell served as auctioneer and the community brought in homemade cakes and pies for the auction as well as quality items from local merchants and craftsmen.
