CITY | STATE

INSIDE

New records show gas

aring in the oil patch
continues to grow in
the Eagle Ford Shale.
Page B3
Houston Chronicle

@HoustonChron

EDITORIAL

Texas lawmakers can

address the income
gap that divides us by
funding education.
Page B13

Houston Chronicle | Sunday, December 21, 2014 | HoustonChronicle.com and Chron.com

Section B xx

Evidence mounts that wrong man could be retried in cop killing

LISA FALKENBERG
Commentary

Lets face it. Potential innocence isnt the only thing Harris
County District Attorney Devon
Anderson is considering as she

decides whether to retry Alfred

Dewayne Brown for the slaying
of a Houston police officer.
Shes got a dead cop on her
hands, Charles R. Clark, a 20year veteran, beloved husband
and brother, who was gunned
down as he tried to stop a threeman robbery of an ACE checkcashing place in April 2003.
Somebody must pay.
Im sure Anderson would
prefer that a guilty person pay.
But in the absence of another
suspect, the district attorney

bery. No physical evidence ever

tied Brown to the crime. Nearly
every witness who ngered him
has recanted.
But what if there were
another suspect, a legitimate
suspect that mounting evidence
suggested could have committed the crime instead of Brown?
Wouldnt we expect the district
attorney to take a hard look
before pursuing another weak
case against Brown?
Of course. And records show
there is such a suspect. His

may feel pressure from the

public, from law enforcement,
from the victims family, from
political advisers to go after
Brown a second time, even
though the states case against
him has unraveled to mere
shreds.
Last month, an appellate
court threw out Browns conviction and death sentence because
the DAs office withheld key
evidence at trial that supports
Browns contention that he was
home the morning of the rob-

name is Jero Dorty. And the district attorneys office has been
aware of his potential role in
Clarks death for at least seven
years.
In 2007, Browns writ attorneys with the rm K&L Gates
named Dorty as a critical suspect and spent nearly 10 pages
of an appeal laying out the
reasons why. In 2008, Browns
attorneys led an emergency
motion to test Dortys DNA. But
prosecutors dragged their feet.

Falkenberg continues on B10

Family
ties raise
red flags
on no-bid
contracts

KATY

Political watchdogs,
lawmakers note links
in 21CT controversy
By Brian M. Rosenthal

Marie D. De Jess / Houston Chronicle

From right, Tremel Cooper, 11, Bryan Worthy, 9, Katelyn Washington, 16, and Byron Worthy, 9, play street basketball near
their homes on the corner of Roberts and Danover in Katy. Some residents call the area around Roberts Road the ghetto.

Boom puts
homes for
working
class out
of reach

As suburban market skyrockets,

low-cost options struggle to survive
By Leah Binkovitz
Families moving to
the ourishing Katy area
can scan real estate listings, walk through model
homes or visit open houses. Theyll see a $1.2 million
ve-bedroom on Brighton
Sky Lane, a four-bedroom
on Crystal Meadow Place
listed for $363,000, or
model homes from master-

MONTGOMERY COUNTY JUDGE

Sadler leaves legacy of

fiscal care amid growth
By Cindy Horswell
Montgomery County
Judge Alan Sadler, who is
stepping down after nearly
a quarter of a century in
office, never dreamed of a
career in politics.
When Sadler married
his wife, Mimi, 34 years
ago, he was working in
banking and real estate
and she would tell her
friends, Well, at least hes
not a politician.
But Sadler, now 66, got
the itch to run for county
judge after being appointed to a committee to study
the efficiency of Mont-

gomery Countys government. The county native

concluded at the end of the
two-year study that with
his nance degree from the
University of Texas and 18
years work experience, he
could run a tighter ship by
doing the job himself.
So naively, I jumped
in and ran, and damn if I
didnt win, recalled Sadler
of his rst campaign in
1990. He trounced the incumbent, Al Stahl, garnering over 60 percent of the
vote. By the time he retires
at the end of the month,
Sadler will have six terms
Sadler continues on B2

planned communities. The

soon-to-come, 2,000-home
Cane Island touts a trained
golden Retriever that will
pose for photographs and
offer its business card to
potential buyers.
Meanwhile, in a small
strip mall storefront in
downtown Katy, families
attend a different kind of
open house, reviewing
documents to see if they

might qualify for Houston

Habitat for Humanitys rst
home in the Katy area. But
rising land prices have put
that project on hold.
As the Katy area grows
and prospers, affordable
housing seems increasingly out of reach, sometimes
by design and sometimes
as a reection of a broader
problem in many communities ringing the Houston
area. Katys city government lacks any sort of housing program, the countys
Housing continues on B5

State continues on B2

Rockets host party for Goodfellows children

By Michelle Iracheta

Dave Rossman

Noah Edwards gets a pat on the head from Santa

Clutch during Saturdays event at Toyota Center.

Houstons First Baptist Chur

rch

e
v
E
s
a
m
t
is
r
Ch
CANDLELIGHT SERVICES

Memo Archundia had

never been to a basketball
game before Saturday, but
the 8-year-old said he has
always been interested in
sports.
His podiatrist
always said hed
make a great basketball player because
hes so tall, said his
mother, Sonia Archundia. We hope that he
gets excited about it today.
The 45-year-old suffers
from chronic pneumonia
and has to stay tethered to
an electric oxygen pump in
order to breathe. She said
she didnt want her illness

to stop her children, especially Memo, from enjoying

the game.
I have condence in
myself that I can play any
sport, said her son. Maybe basketball for the Rockets.
On
Saturday
night, they were in
a private suite at
Toyota Center that
was joyfully chaotic. Children were
ripping open their packages like it was Christmas
morning, tossing wrapping paper, ribbons and
bows aside to reveal stuffed
animals, Hello Kitty dolls
and Nerf guns.
Goodfellows continues on B3

The Loop Campus

at 4p & 6p

Cypress Campus
at historic Tin Hall
at 4p & 6p

Sienna Campus

Wed, Dec 24

HoustonsFirst.org/Christmas
Created on Adobe Document Server 2.0

AUSTIN When then-Texas

health official Jack Stick suggested earlier this year that a
company he had helped land $20
million in no-bid state contracts
might get another one through a
sister department, he was referring the rm to a familiar face:
Frianita Wilson, wife of Doug
Wilson, who as Sticks boss was
overseeing the rst project.
Of course, Stick then the
top lawyer at the state health
commission could also have
turned for help to his own wife,
Erica Stick, who served as chief
of staff at the mega-agency, which
runs all health and human services and has a $33 billion annual
budget.
And that wasnt his only family connection at a state agency. His brother, Jeremy Stick,
worked at the same department
as Frianita Wilson.
The web of family ties at the
Texas Health and Human Services Commission is raising new
questions in a growing contract
controversy roiling the Capitol.

at 4p & 6p

B10 | Sunday, December 21, 2014 |

Houston Chronicle | HoustonChronicle.com and chron.com x x

CITY | STATE

LIFE TRIBUTES
Perry O. Wright
1927-2014
Perry O. Wright age 87
passed away on December
17th, 2014 in Houston, Texas.
He was born in Madison,
Kansas to Francis and Eugenia Kates Wright on October
24th, 1927. He moved to
Kansas City Missouri at age
11 and graduated from MHVS
in 1945 at age 17. He enlisted
in the Navy upon graduation
in June and served in San
Diego until after the end of
WWII. He later served in the
Army with the 3rd Infantry
Division in Korea where he
received a Bronze Star. He
earned his degree in Mechanical Engineering, and wed his
red haired, green eyed Marie
Schweikert. After college
Perry worked at Pipeline
Inspection Co. in Kansas

City MO until 1969 when he

and the company moved to
Houston. He continued to
work for Pipeline, for over
40 years becoming General
Manager then advancing to
Vice President, semi-retiring
in 1991. He leaves behind,
Marie Wright (wife), Penny
Holley (daughter), Linda
Bennett (niece), Sherry Robinson (niece), Beau LeBoeuf
(grandson), Toby LeBoeuf
(grandson), Nicole LeBoeuf
(granddaughter in-law), Alex
LeBoeuf (great-grandson),
Ty LeBoeuf (great-grandson),
Trent LeBoeuf (greatgrandson). Perry will rest in
niche #14 by the window in
the Chapel at Mt. Moriah in
Kansas City MO, just a block
or so from where he and
Marie lived for five wonderful
years.

John Woolsey, Jr.

1942-2014
John Woolsey, Jr., 72,
passed away on Tuesday, December 16, 2014 in Houston,
Texas after a very happy, and
fun filled life. A memorial
service celebrating his life will
be held on Thursday, January
29, 2015 at Chapelwood
Methodist Church, 11140
Greenbay, at 11 AM in the
Sanctuary. A reception in the
fellowship hall will be held
following the service.
John was born in Houston on February 1, 1942.
He attended Lamar High
School, and graduated from
Texas A&M University with
undergraduate and graduate degrees in business and
economics. He returned home
after college in 1966 and went
to work at Continental Oil.
He also worked for Mr. Eddie
Scurlock, his mentor, at Scurlock Oil Company; for Mr.
Oscar Wyatt at Coastal States
and for other interesting
industry leaders. John later
himself became an entrepreneur in oil and environmental
businesses.
As a boy John loved to fish,
duck hunt, set out crab traps
at the bay house on Trinity
Bay. John also spent parts of
every year of his entire life in
his beloved Wimberley where
he rode fast horses, learned to
swim at Blue Hole, floated in
the Blanco; lately with a cigar
in tow, taught all his daughters (and their friends) how
to drive a jeep in the pastures,

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chased jackrabbits, occasionally sat in a deer blind to hunt

deer, mostly with binoculars,
watched birds; did you know
that the redbird is the first
and last bird at the feeder,
marveled at full moon rises
and hot pink sunsets, wished
upon many a bright star and
even a comet or two.
He is preceded in death by
his mother and father, Mavis
and John Woolsey. He is survived by his wife of 34 years
Lillie Ann Woolsey, daughters
Kate, Dolly and Dayna and
her partner Louise, brothers
Erv and David and his wife
Sheryl, sister Beth and her
husband Bill Pittman, sisterin laws Jackie Tejeda, and
Kathy Tejeda Davila, nephew
Clint and nieces Libby, Karalea, Desarae and Danielle.
In lieu of flowers and kind
considerations, take a good
friend to lunch, something so
many of Johns good friends
did with him these last few
months. Lots of laughs were
shared at these lunches which
kept that beautiful smile on
his face. All who knew him
were the luckiest.

CEMETERY LOTS

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FOREST PARK LAWNDALE, section 56,

plots 10,11,12, $4000 each, $11,000 all.
Call 281-259-4181
MEMORIAL OAKS CEMETERY 12 Lots
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trees $6,500. each. (713) 299-2075
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spc 3&4. Current $9,000 each. Sell
$5000 each. (832) 688-5354

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TRIPP CARTER

Licensed Funeral Director

Co-founder of family-owned Bradshaw Carter

How Do I Talk With My Spouse About

Planning End-of-Life Arrangements?

DR. JOYCE M. ADAMS

1943-2006
It is difficult to believe that
eight years have passed since
we last saw you and heard
your voice. I wish we could
have one more day to tell you
how much we love you. We
miss you dearly and you will
always be remembered because of the lives you touched
in so many ways.
Keeping you close in spirit,
Your Mother,
Family & Friends

Send your
condolences at
chron.com/tributes

Talking about dying and death is never an easy

conversation, and its one of the least pleasant
conversations that you will have with your spouse.
However, remember that it is a necessary discussion.
By initiating this conversation now, you will not only
create understanding about what you and your spouse
want, but will also end up being in a more comfortable
position when the situation arises. Realize that preplanning takes the majority of the emotion out of the
conversation, and brash decisions and undue expenses
are less likely to occur at the time when services are
needed. Moreover, you will have the chance to effectively
verbalize plans, ensuring for a meaningful goodbye.
Here are some tips for initiating a conversation with
your spouse about funeral and memorial arrangements:
Break the ice. This part of the process is oftentimes
the hardest. There is not a cookie cutter way to
start this conversation as each couple is unique in
how sensitive topics are handled. Its recommended
that you set a time and start with a statement that
identifies why this conversation is being had and
how it is beneficial to the future. It is sometimes
recommended to start with your own preferences,
so your spouse doesnt feel as if you are putting them
on the spot.
Guide the conversation. Since you have taken the
first step, make sure you have an idea of the certain
points you would like to cover in the conversation.
Oftentimes, you can consult with a funeral home
so you know exactly what needs to be covered in
this private and personal conversation. A funeral
home can provide you with resources on end-of-life
arrangement planning.
Always do your research. Once you and your spouse
have started the conversation, begin researching
end-of-life arrangements together. Be sure to set a
budget, and think critically about what is necessary.
Forego any elements that do not appeal to either
one of you and make a commitment to each other to
uphold these desires.
Its true that having a conversation about end-of-life
arrangements might feel like an intimidating task.
However, think of this as an opportunity to have some
authentic conversations with your spouse and know the
legacy that you both wish to leave behind.

If you have a question about funerals,

please email me at:

AskTripp@BradshawCarter.com
BRADSHAW CARTER

M E M o R I A l & F u n E R A l S E RV I C E S
1734 W. Alabama Houston 713.521.0066

BradshawCarter.com

DEATH NOTICES
Flores, Maria

Parr, James

Born 04/08/1929
Houston, TX
Died 12/18/2014
Houston, TX

Born 11/10/1923
Bedias, Texas
Died 12/16/2014
Houston, Texas

Falkenberg: It
seems many
people failed
Brown, Clark

Share Memories, Photographs Online

When a loved one passes, family and friends nd comfort in sharing
remembrances. Take part at chron.com/tributes by signing an online guest
book and uploading your own photos of your loved one at no charge.
Be part of a circle of comfort at chron.com/tributes.

By late 2010, the

law firm had amassed
more evidence phone
records, witness statements and a sworn
affidavit from one of the
other men convicted in
the 2003 crime that led
them to declare Dorty
the true perpetrator in
court papers. Attorneys
sat down with Assistant
District Attorney Inger
Hampton to lay it all out
in December 2010, according to recently obtained
correspondence.
Another homicide
By then, though, Dorty
had already been charged
in another homicide, apparently resulting from
a drug deal gone bad.
Browns attorneys felt
the new charge bolstered
their case and urged prosecutors to take evidence
linking Dorty to Clarks
death seriously.
Mr. Dorty is a dangerous individual, with a
record of using firearms
to rob, harm and kill
people, Browns attorney wrote in a November
2010 letter to Hampton
and other prosecutors.
Defense counsel has
steadfastly asserted that
Mr. Dorty, and not Mr.
Brown, was responsible
for the crimes committed
on April 3, 2003.
Dortys trial for the
March 2009 drug deal
killing ended in a hung
jury. He pleaded guilty
last year to felony possession of a weapon. Now
33, he is serving a 10-year
prison sentence.
Its not clear how
closely the DAs office
investigated Dorty in the
Clark case. Hampton and
other prosecutors did
not return messages. The
DAs spokesman said the
office wouldnt comment
on a pending case.
Tyrone Moncriffe, who
defended Dorty in the
drug-related homicide,
said the DAs office contacted him at some point
about the Clark case, but
he didnt remember when,
and he wouldnt provide
details.
They did make an
effort to look into it,
Moncriffe said.
Moms love vs. evidence
Dortys mother strongly defended her son: I
can surely say that my
son wasnt involved with
that, Rita Dorty, said in a
phone interview.
Whatever it takes for
Mr. Brown to save his
neck, thats his business,
the Houston retiree said.
Mr. Brown could put
my name in it, but that
doesnt mean Im in it.
Dorty may have an
airtight alibi that Im unaware of. But the evidence
against him is certainly
more powerful than anything the state has against
Brown.
Only one month before
officer Clark was killed
trying to stop an armed
robbery, Dorty was
involved in a separate
armed robbery, a crime
for which he would be
sentenced to five years
in prison. Brown had no
record of robbery.
The other two men
convicted in the robbery
that led to Clarks death
are Elijah Joubert, on
death row for killing ACE
clerk Alfredia Jones, and
Dashan Glaspie, who
testified against Brown
and pleaded to a lesser
charge. Both were known
associates of Dortys, and
according to jailhouse
correspondence, Glaspie
was a close friend.
Phone records show
the three talked several

times throughout the day

Clark was killed, before
and after the robbery,
but not during it, perhaps because they were
together.
Later that night, Dorty
exchanged calls with a
phone number in Galveston, where one witness
said the perpetrators traveled to drop the weapon
used in the robbery off a
bridge.
Browns lawyers also
obtained three sworn
statements from witnesses, including two who
said they had mistakenly
identified Brown, rather
than Dorty, in connection
with the officers death
because the two looked
alike.
Joubert himself implicated Dorty as the third
perpetrator, Browns attorneys wrote.
Alfred Dewayne
Brown was not involved
in any way with the incident on April 3, 2003, nor
present at the ACE check
cashing store, Joubert
wrote in an affidavit.
Browns lawyers said
Joubert told them he and
Glaspie had covered for
Dorty because they had a
strong friendship. Brown
just knew them from an
apartment complex where
he hung out and once
lived.
Responsibility to truth
The most chilling evidence against Dorty came
early on, in May of 2003,
when Brown received a
letter while in custody
from someone nicknamed
Smooth, identified by
Browns attorneys as Jesse
Coleman.
Coleman claimed to
have been to Dortys
house recently to buy
weed, and relayed explicit
details he claimed Dorty
shared with him about
Clarks death things
that only someone
involved would know.
Dorty, according to
Coleman, knew that one
witness, a furniture store
employee, was smoking a
cigarette. He knew whose
homes the perpetrators had visited after the
crime as well as the exact
sequence of events that
day, as corroborated later
by witnesses.
In the letter, Coleman
quotes Dorty as saying during their visit, I
thought them boys was
going to give me up.
Coleman ends by telling Brown: That wasnt
nothing but one big setup
for you.
Coleman himself was
slain on a Houston street
corner last year.
It seems that many
people failed Brown in
this case from defense
attorneys to prosecutors
to savvy criminal acquaintances who sought
to save their own skins.
And many people failed
Clark, whose friends and
family believed the DAs
office brought the right
man to justice in 2005 for
the veteran police officers
death.
Prosecutors old
mistakes may have sent
an innocent man to death
row and left the real killer
free to kill again.
Anderson wasnt
responsible for those mistakes. But as the current
district attorney, she has
a responsibility to correct
rather than perpetuate
them.
Subjecting Brown to
another trial would be a
waste of time, precious
time that could be spent
pursuing the real killer
and seeking overdue justice for a fallen hero that
is long overdue.
lisa.falkenberg@chron.com

INSIDE

New records show gas

aring in the oil patch
continues to grow in
the Eagle Ford Shale.
Page B3
Houston Chronicle

@HoustonChron

CITY | STATE

EDITORIAL

Texas lawmakers can

address the income
gap that divides us by
funding education.
Page B13

Houston Chronicle | Sunday, December 21, 2014 | HoustonChronicle.com and Chron.com

Section B xx

Sunday, December 21, 2014

Evidence mounts that wrong man could be retried in cop killing

LISA FALKENBERG
Commentary

decides whether to retry Alfred

Dewayne Brown for the slaying
of a Houston police officer.
Shes got a dead cop on her
hands, Charles R. Clark, a 20year veteran, beloved husband
and brother, who was gunned
down as he tried to stop a threeman robbery of an ACE checkcashing place in April 2003.
Somebody must pay.
Im sure Anderson would
prefer that a guilty person pay.
But in the absence of another
suspect, the district attorney

COMMENTARY

may feel pressure from the

public, from law enforcement,
from the victims family, from
political advisers to go after
Brown a second time, even
though the states case against
him has unraveled to mere
shreds.
Last month, an appellate
court threw out Browns conviction and death sentence because
the DAs office withheld key
evidence at trial that supports
Browns contention that he was
home the morning of the rob-

bery. No physical evidence ever

tied Brown to the crime. Nearly
every witness who ngered him
has recanted.
But what if there were
another suspect, a legitimate
suspect that mounting evidence
suggested could have committed the crime instead of Brown?
Wouldnt we expect the district
attorney to take a hard look
before pursuing another weak
case against Brown?
Of course. And records show
there is such a suspect. His

name is Jero Dorty. And the district attorneys office has been
aware of his potential role in
Clarks death for at least seven
years.
In 2007, Browns writ attorneys with the rm K&L Gates
named Dorty as a critical suspect and spent nearly 10 pages
of an appeal laying out the
reasons why. In 2008, Browns
attorneys led an emergency
motion to test Dortys DNA. But
prosecutors dragged their feet.

Evidence mounts that wrong man

could be retried in cop killing
Lets face it. Potential innocence isnt the only thing Harris
County District Attorney Devon
Anderson is considering as she

Falkenberg continues on B10

Family
ties raise
Lets face it. Potential innocence isnt the only thing Harris County District Attorney
Devon
Anderson is considering as she decides whether to retry Alfred Dewayne Brown
for
the
slaying of a
red
flags
Houston police officer.
Shes got a dead cop on her hands, Charles R. Clark, a 20-year veteran, beloved
on husband
no-bidand
brother, who was gunned down as he tried to stop a three-man robbery of an ACE check-cashing place
contracts
in April 2003.
By Lisa Falkenberg

KATY

Somebody must pay.

Political watchdogs,
note links
Im sure Anderson would prefer that a guilty person pay. But in the absence lawmakers
of another
suspect, the
in 21CT controversy
district attorney may feel pressure - from the public, from law enforcement, from
the victims family,
By Brian M. Rosenthal
from political advisers - to go after Brown a second time, even though the statesAUSTIN
case
against
When
then-Texashim has
health official Jack Stick sugunraveled to mere shreds.
gested earlier this year that a
company he had helped land $20
Last month, an appellate court threw out Browns conviction and death sentence
because
the DAs
million in no-bid
state contracts
might get another one through a
sister department,
was referoffice withheld key evidence at trial that supports Browns contention that he was
homehethe
morning of
ring the rm to a familiar face:
Frianita Wilson,
wife offingered
Doug
the robbery. No physical evidence ever tied Brown to the crime. Nearly every witness
who
him
Wilson, who as Sticks boss was
overseeing the rst project.
From right, Tremel Cooper, 11, Bryan Worthy, 9, Katelyn Washington, 16, and Byron Worthy, 9, play street basketball near
has recanted.
Of course, Stick then the
their homes on the corner of Roberts and Danover in Katy. Some residents call the area around Roberts Road the ghetto.
top lawyer at the state health
But what if there were anotherAs
suspect,
a
legitimate
suspect
that
mounting
evidence
suggested
could
might
qualify
for Houston
commission could
also have
suburban market skyrockets,
Habitat for Humanitys rst
turned for help to his own wife,
have committed the crime instead
of Brown?
we expect
district
attorney
take
a hard
low-cost
optionsWouldnt
struggle to survive
Erica Stick, whoto
served
as chief
home inthe
the Katy
area. But
rising land prices have put
of staff at the mega-agency, which
look before pursuing another weak
case
againstplanned
Brown?
By Leah
Binkovitz
runs all health and human sercommunities. The that project on hold.
soon-to-come, 2,000-home
As the Katy area grows
vices and has a $33 billion annual
and prospers,
affordable
Families
Cane Island toutsHis
a trained
Of course. And records show there
is moving
such toa suspect.
name
is Jero
Dorty.budget.
And
the district
And that wasnt his only famthe ourishing Katy area golden Retriever that will housing seems increasingcan his
scan real
estate list- pose
for photographs
and lydeath
out of reach,
sometimes
ily seven
connection years.
at a state agenattorneys office has been aware of
potential
role
in
Clarks
for
at
least
ings, walk through model offer its business card to by design and sometimes
cy. His brother, Jeremy Stick,
homes or visit open hous- potential buyers.
as a reection of a broader
worked at the same department
In 2007, Browns writ attorneys
with the firm K&L
Gates named Dorty as a critical
suspect and
es. Theyll see a $1.2 million
Meanwhile, in a small problem in many commuas Frianita Wilson.
ve-bedroom on Brighton strip mall storefront in nities ringing the Houston
The web of family ties at the
spent nearly 10 pages of an appeal
laying
out
the
reasons
why.
In
2008,
Browns
attorneys
filed
Sky Lane, a four-bedroom downtown Katy, families area. Katys city governTexas Health and Human
Ser- an
on Crystal Meadow Place attend a different kind of ment lacks any sort of housvices Commission is raising new
emergency motion to test Dortyslisted
DNA.
But prosecutors
dragged
their
feet. questions in a growing contract
for $363,000,
or open house, reviewing
ing program,
the countys
model homes from master- documents to see if they
Housing continues on B5
controversy roiling the Capitol.
By late 2010, the law firm had amassed more evidence - phone records, witness statements
State continues on B2and a
sworn affidavit
from one of the other men convicted in the 2003 crime - that led them to declare Dorty
MONTGOMERY COUNTY JUDGE
the true Sadler
perpetrator
in legacy
court papers.
Attorneyshost
sat down
with
Districtchildren
Attorney Inger
party
forAssistant
Goodfellows
leaves
of Rockets
Hamptonfiscal
to lay care
it all out
in December
correspondence.
By Michelle Iracheta
to stop her children, espeamid
growth 2010, according to recently obtained
Marie D. De Jess / Houston Chronicle

Boom puts
homes for
working
class out
of reach

By Cindy Horswell

gomery Countys government. The county native

concluded at the end of the
two-year study that with
his nance degree from the
University of Texas and 18
years work experience, he
could run a tighter ship by
doing the job himself.
So naively, I jumped
in and ran, and damn if I
didnt win, recalled Sadler
of his rst campaign in
1990. He trounced the incumbent, Al Stahl, garnering over 60 percent of the
vote. By the time he retires
at the end of the month,
Sadler will have six terms

Memo Archundia had

never been to a basketball
game before Saturday, but
the 8-year-old said he has
always been interested in
sports.
His podiatrist
always said hed
make a great basketball player because
hes so tall, said his
mother, Sonia Archundia. We hope that he
gets excited about it today.
The 45-year-old suffers
from chronic pneumonia
and has to stay tethered to
an electric oxygen pump in
order to breathe. She said
she didnt want her illness

cially Memo, from enjoying

the game.
I have condence in
myself that I can play any
sport, said her son. Maybe basketball for the Rockets.
On
Saturday
night, they were in
a private suite at
Toyota Center that
was joyfully chaotic. Children were
ripping open their packages like it was Christmas
morning, tossing wrapping paper, ribbons and
bows aside to reveal stuffed
animals, Hello Kitty dolls
and Nerf guns.

Another homicide
Montgomery County
Judge
Alan Sadler, who
is
By then,
though,
Dorty
had already been charged in another homicide, apparently resulting from a
stepping down after nearly
a quarter of a century in
drug dealoffice,
gone
attorneys felt the new charge bolstered their case and urged prosecutors
never bad.
dreamed Browns
of a
career in politics.
to take evidence
linking
Dorty
to Clarks death seriously.
When Sadler married
his wife, Mimi, 34 years
Mr. Dorty
dangerous
individual, with a record of using firearms to rob, harm and kill people,
ago, he is
wasaworking
in
banking and real estate
and she would wrote
tell her
Browns attorney
in a November 2010 letter to Hampton and other prosecutors. Defense counsel
friends, Well, at least hes
not a politician.
has steadfastly
asserted that Mr. Dorty, and not Mr. Brown, was responsible for the crimes committed
But Sadler, now 66, got
the itch
to run for county
on April 3,
2003.
judge after being appointto a committee to study
Noah Edwards gets a pat on the head from Santa
Dortysed
trial
for the March
2009 drug
deal killing ended in a hung jury. He pleaded
guilty last year to
the efficiency of MontSadler continues on B2 Clutch during Saturdays event at Toyota Center.
Goodfellows continues on B3
felony possession of a weapon. Now 33, he is serving a 10-year prison sentence.
Its not clear
how closely
theBaptist
DAs office
investigated Dorty in the Clark case. Hampton and other
Houstons
First
Chur
rch
The Loop Campus
prosecutors did not return messages. The DAs spokesman said the office
comment on a
at 4p wouldnt
& 6p
pending case.
Cypress Campus
Tyrone Moncriffe, who defended Dorty in the drug-related homicide,
said
DAs office contacted
at historic
Tinthe
Hall
him at some point about the Clark case, but he didnt remember when,
and
he wouldnt provide
at 4p
& 6p
details.
CANDLELIGHT SERVICES
Sienna Campus
They did make an effort to look into
it,

Moncriffe
said.
at 4p & 6p
Wed, Dec 24
Dave Rossman

Christmas Eve

Moms love vs. evidence

HoustonsFirst.org/Christmas
Dortys mother strongly defended her son: I can surely say that my son wasnt involved with that,
Created on Adobe Document Server 2.0

Rita Dorty, said in a phone interview.

Whatever it takes for Mr. Brown to save his neck, thats his business, the Houston retiree said.
Mr. Brown could put my name in it, but that doesnt mean Im in it.
Dorty may have an airtight alibi that Im unaware of. But the evidence against him is certainly more
powerful than anything the state has against Brown.
Only one month before officer Clark was killed trying to stop an armed robbery, Dorty was involved
in a separate armed robbery, a crime for which he would be sentenced to five years in prison. Brown
had no record of robbery.
The other two men convicted in the robbery that led to Clarks death are Elijah Joubert, on death row
for killing ACE clerk Alfredia Jones, and Dashan Glaspie, who testified against Brown and pleaded
to a lesser charge. Both were known associates of Dortys, and according to jailhouse correspondence,
Glaspie was a close friend.
Phone records show the three talked several times throughout the day Clark was killed, before and
after the robbery, but not during it, perhaps because they were together.
Later that night, Dorty exchanged calls with a phone number in Galveston, where one witness said
the perpetrators traveled to drop the weapon used in the robbery off a bridge.
Browns lawyers also obtained three sworn statements from witnesses, including two who said they
had mistakenly identified Brown, rather than Dorty, in connection with the officers death because the
two looked alike.
Joubert himself implicated Dorty as the third perpetrator, Browns attorneys wrote.
Alfred Dewayne Brown was not involved in any way with the incident on April 3, 2003, nor present
at the ACE check cashing store, Joubert wrote in an affidavit. Browns lawyers said Joubert told them
he and Glaspie had covered for Dorty because they had a strong friendship. Brown just knew them
from an apartment complex where he hung out and once lived.
Responsibility to truth
The most chilling evidence against Dorty came early on, in May of 2003, when Brown received a
letter while in custody from someone nicknamed Smooth, identified by Browns attorneys as Jesse
Coleman.
Coleman claimed to have been to Dortys house recently to buy weed, and relayed explicit details
he claimed Dorty shared with him about Clarks death - things that only someone involved would
know. Dorty, according to Coleman, knew that one witness, a furniture store employee, was smoking
a cigarette. He knew whose homes the perpetrators had visited after the crime as well as the exact
sequence of events that day, as corroborated later by witnesses.
In the letter, Coleman quotes Dorty as saying during their visit, I thought them boys was going to
give me up.
Coleman ends by telling Brown: That wasnt nothing but one big setup for you.
Coleman himself was slain on a Houston street corner last year.
It seems that many people failed Brown in this case - from defense attorneys to prosecutors to savvy
criminal acquaintances who sought to save their own skins. And many people failed Clark, whose
friends and family believed the DAs office brought the right man to justice in 2005 for the veteran
police officers death.
Prosecutors old mistakes may have sent an innocent man to death row and left the real killer free to
kill again.
Anderson wasnt responsible for those mistakes. But as the current district attorney, she has a
responsibility to correct rather than perpetuate them.
Subjecting Brown to another trial would be a waste of time, precious time that could be spent
pursuing the real killer and seeking overdue justice for a fallen hero that is long overdue.
lisa.falkenberg@chron.com