David McElyea met Madison County Sheriff Ralph Baker while staring into the barrel of the since deceased lawman's revolver. He claims the encounter quickly evolved into a long-running and lucrative partnership in the marijuana business. It's all in a forthcoming book that details a relationship of renegades bound by greed, fear and respect. Writing under the name David Macthat's how he's best known-McElyea, who served time for marijuana-related convictions dating back to 1981, had help on the 490-page tome from a respected former daily newspaper reporter in Northwest Arkansas who used the pseudonym J. Burton. "When Money Grew on Trees: The True Tale of a Marijuana Moonshiner and the Outlaw Sheriff of Madison County" is scheduled to be published later this month by 1 st Books. In the book, McElyea claims that for years he and Baker produced enormous amounts of marijuana together after McElyea moved from Michigan to the Madison County farm he purchased in 1980. "Ralph was likable most of the time" the steely-eyed McElyea, 46, said in an exclusive interview last week. "But he did have a temper and I saw it from time to time. In the book, I characterize him as an outlaw who was elected sheriff rather than a sheriff who became an outlaw. [continues 545 words]
Appearing each Saturday, "All Thumbs" is The Benton County Daily Record's take on the people, events and issues deserving a "thumbs up" for a noteworthy accomplishment or good deed or a "thumbs down" for damaging conduct or boneheaded buffoonery. Thumbs up to Rockwell Transportation in Gentry and the Benton County Sheriff's Office for teaming up on one of the biggest drug busts in Benton County history - even if none of the culprits were from the area. A truck from Rockwell had been hired to take a load of electronics from Laredo, Texas, to the Chicago area, but Rockwell's owner became suspicious when there was trouble with payments and the shipper couldn't be contacted. [continues 83 words]
Disclaimer: I do not condone the use of any illegal substance. All opinions stated in this column are based on the extreme hatred of false information. That being said, few things make me as mad as the current anti-drug campaigns, for no other reason than the fact that they are filled with false information. I have known a lot of people who have smoked pot at some point in their life, and none of them have ever shot anyone, ran over a little girl on her bicycle, or ran into a brick wall at sixtyEmiles an hour. [continues 316 words]
There's a lot of freshmen members of the General Assembly this year, and it has been a custom for a number of years that when freshman lawmakers present their first piece of legislation before the House, other members often initiate them into the legislative process with silly questions. Initial votes to reject the bill, usually are changed to yes votes before the ballots are counted. According to one news account, such was the case last week when Rep. Jay Martin, D-North Little Rock introduced a bill which would prohibit the sale or use of urine to falsify a drug-or alcohol-screening test. This brought about snickers. [continues 348 words]
Maggio Blames Missed Deadline For Dismissal With Prejudice A lawsuit filed by parents against drug testing in the Conway School District has been dismissed, but the plaintiffs' attorney plans to file a motion asking the judge to reconsider. Circuit Judge Michael Maggio dismissed the lawsuit Thursday with prejudice, which means it cannot be refiled. A motion for summary judgment was filed in November and the plaintiffs had 21 days to answer the motion. Maggio said he gave the plaintiffs more time, but their attorney, Lynn Plemmons of Conway, still missed the deadline. [continues 864 words]
Digesting some governmental publications can become a real chore for journalists. However, frequently the dry documents provide insights that directly impact Northeast Arkansas communities. The annual publication of the Arkansas National Guard for fiscal 2002 is one of those documents that paints a much broader picture. The organization -- Army National Guard and Air National Guard -- is big business for our state. The budget for the year ending Sept. 30, slightly more than $195 million, comes primarily from federal dollars. The economic impact on many communities in Northeast Arkansas is real. In some towns and counties the Guard is one of the biggest employers after school districts and local government. [continues 431 words]
The criminal trial of Jermaine Brooks, a former Rancho Cucamonga High and University of Arkansas star football player, has been delayed nearly one month so the prosecution can review the crime lab report. The trial, which was scheduled to begin today, is now set for Feb. 26. "We were waiting on the lab results," Washington County (Ark.) Deputy Prosecutor John Threet said. "We actually have them now, we just got them, but we reset [the trial] because it was so close." [continues 182 words]
Bradley Could Get 20 Years; Ark. Panel Acquits Applegate LITTLE ROCK - A former West Memphis police sergeant accused of taking money from suspected drug couriers faces a possible 20 years in prison after he was convicted Friday by a federal court jury. Former sergeant Edwin A. 'Tony' Bradley, 42, was found guilty of conspiring to violate the civil rights of motorists and of stealing FBI sting money. His co-defendant, former officer Joseph W. Applegate, was acquitted of the single conspiracy charge he faced. [continues 603 words]
Ark. Panel Acquits Applegate LITTLE ROCK - A former West Memphis police sergeant accused of taking money from suspected drug couriers faces a possible 20 years in prison after he was convicted Friday by a federal court jury. Former sergeant Edwin A. 'Tony' Bradley, 42, was found guilty of conspiring to violate the civil rights of motorists and of stealing FBI sting money. His co-defendant, former officer Joseph W. Applegate, was acquitted of the single conspiracy charge he faced. Juror Carol Gilbreath of Morrilton said the FBI case against Applegate just "wasn't air-tight. They made a lot of messups, and you have to convict beyond a reasonable doubt." [continues 571 words]
Mass confiscation has become politically fashionable. Politicians and the courts have created an overwhelming presumption in favor of the government's right to seize control over private land, private homes, boats, cars and even the cash in people's wallets. While the dispute over property rights is often portrayed as merely an economic contest, the power of government officials to seize private property directly subjugates citizens to the capricious will of those officials. Once upon a time, possession was nine-tenths of the law. Nowadays, gossip is sometimes nine-tenths of possession. [continues 137 words]
A former police officer in West Memphis, E. Anthony Bradley, was convicted in Federal District Court in Little Rock of conspiracy to violate the civil rights of drivers stopped on Interstate 40 by illegally confiscating their money and of skimming from cash seized from drug suspects. Mr. Bradley faces up to 10 years in prison. A second former West Memphis officer, Joseph Applegate, was acquitted of similar charges. The F.B.I. began investigating after complaints that officers were unfairly profiling Hispanic drivers for traffic stops in eastern Arkansas. Two other former officers are to be tried later. Steve Barnes (NYT) [end]
Officers Kept Money, Say Prosecutors LITTLE ROCK - Jurors in the federal conspiracy trial of two former West Memphis police officers accused of keeping money taken from motorists showed more than mild interest Tuesday when they were handed six bundles of cash totaling $34,916. The money was trial evidence of cash seized from the homes and cars of former Sgt. Edwin A. 'Tony' Bradley and Officer Joseph W. Applegate by FBI and IRS agents in July 2001. On the trial's sixth day, federal prosecutors called 10 witnesses, including several who conducted the searches, before resting its case late Tuesday afternoon. [continues 405 words]
Is it me, or is the war on drugs just silly? There are only advantages to legalizing drugs (and not just marijuana, but things like speed, MDMA, cocaine, heroin etc.). And there are only disadvantages to keeping illicit narcotics illicit. I call this "The Prohibition Effect" which comes from the amendment to ban the sale of alcohol. When alcohol was illegal crime ran rampant and criminals became extremely wealthy. And wealth, in turn, influences government. So we would have criminals moving our legislation in directions that would most benefit them. [continues 538 words]
FBI Sting Grew Into Cash-Skimming Case West Memphis Police Sgt. Edwin A. 'Tony' Bradley pulled over a car with a broken taillight in March of 2001 and seized $45,000. Afterward, Bradley, 42, sent a sample of marijuana to the Arkansas State Crime Lab along with an affidavit saying he had found it with the cash. That was a big mistake, according to federal authorities, who had set up Bradley in a sting operation. There had been no marijuana in the car when he stopped it, and the car's occupants were undercover FBI agents. The money, too, belonged to the FBI. [continues 486 words]
A city worker fired Tuesday morning by West Helena Mayor Johnny Weaver fired back at last night's city council meeting, claiming he had been "done wrong" by the mayor. During the public forum at the meeting, Larry Smith, a 15-year veteran of the city street department claimed the mayor went back on his word when Smith was fired for violating the city's drug policy. Smith, who was under investigation by police on suspected possession of drugs, said that the mayor had agreed to give him a warning instead of terminating his services. [continues 766 words]
Asa Hutchinson's appointment to a high post in the new Department of Homeland Security won't scare any terrorists, but it's got a bunch of us homelanders spooked. Even more of a chicken hawk than his commander-in-chief, Asa has never been one to go in harm's way to engage the enemies of his country. He carefully avoided military service when he was of age, enlisting instead in the ranks of the Christian soldiers at Bob Jones University, where interracial daters were the most dangerous enemy. His BJU training doubtless sharpened a distaste for people with dark skins and peculiar creeds, but not to the point of taking up arms. A person could get hurt. [continues 158 words]
Football: Rancho Cucamonga High Grad Jermaine Brooks Pleads Not Guilty At Arraignment In Arkansas. Jermaine Brooks, a former standout football player at Rancho Cucamonga High and the University of Arkansas, pleaded not guilty Monday to seven felony charges during his arraignment in Fayetteville, Ark. His trial was set for Jan. 29. Brooks was arrested Oct. 22 after police raided his apartment and found 7.5 pounds of marijuana, six guns, a bayonet and $16,841 in cash. Earlier that day, police had traced an additional three pounds of marijuana to Brooks, bringing the total to 10.5 pounds. [continues 173 words]
Randomly Selected Subjects 'Cooperative,' Official Says The first 40 students in the Conway School District were randomly tested for drugs Wednesday, and all the students were "cooperative," said Gerald Harrison, director of secondary education. Twenty students each at Conway High School-West and Conway High School-East were tested. Marti Jones of Counseling Associates in Morrilton conducted the testing. "We got the list when she walked through the door," said Harrison, who oversees the drug-testing program. The testing started at 8:30 a.m. at Conway High School-West, which includes students in 11th and 12th grades. Students were called out of class with a phone call to each classroom, not by intercom. [continues 410 words]
Before both houses of Congress rests the rave act. Although, the proposed bill's intentions are honorable, banning an individual's right to assemble at a rave or events, as specified in Senate Bill 2633, is clearly a violation of the First Amendment. Many citizens may think this issue is of no concern to them. However, the key word in the rave act is the one which will allow our government the ability to choose which venues, be it for a concert at Alltel Arena, night club such as Discovery or eatery such as Juanita's, are acceptable for the public. [continues 120 words]
Attorney Asks for Summary Judgment, Includes Affidavits on Illegal Substances The Conway School District's attorney has responded to a lawsuit concerning drug-testing of students saying the policy does not violate any laws and cannot be shown to cause irreparable harm to the students. To illustrate the drug problem in Conway schools, the answer includes affidavits from police and school officials about drug use by students. The answer and motion for summary judgment were filed Tuesday in Faulkner County Circuit Court by attorney Bill Brazil in response to a lawsuit brought by four parents to stop drug testing. [continues 575 words]
Inside Arkansas
