Found Deceased TX - Thomas Brown, 18, Hemphill County, 23 Nov 2016

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inmyhumbleopinion said:
In the Casefile podcast, Tom’s mom talks about the run-in he had with NL when he was still a deputy with Lipscomb County Sheriff's Office.

Case 85: Tom Brown - Casefile: True Crime Podcast
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I’m sorry for quoting one of my own posts. I just wanted to bring it forward in light of the latest turn of events.

According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, the latest investigation by the Texas Rangers involving Nathan Lewis is not related to the Tom Brown case (thanks for the heads-up, jellybean96 :)).

The following was published in The Canadian Record on July 23, 2015. The letter was written by the previous sheriff of Hemphill County, James Pearson and describes in detail the last investigation into Nathan Lewis by the Texas Rangers. While no specific details about the latest investigation involving NL have been shared with the public, I am wondering maybe additional similar allegations have been made against him. And if so, perhaps NL started harassing Tom that night once he was alone, Tom said to NL he was sick of it and that he was going to report NL’s behavior to the state law enforcement authorities, at which point, he harmed Tom to prevent that from happening:

Thursday 23 July 2015
“Sheriff Pearson responds”

“TO THE CITIZENS OF CANADIAN, TEXAS and Hemphill County, by now you are all certainly aware of a citizen’s complaint against Nathan Lewis and of my means of handling the situation. The facts from my professional perspective are the following.

I received a complaint from a citizen who was concerned because Nathan Lewis had stopped her son and two other young men in downtown Canadian. This person knew that Mr. Lewis was out of his jurisdiction, and wanted to know if I had been notified. I obviously had not been notified and knew nothing of the incident.

Furthermore, the parent was concerned over the alleged mistreatment of her son by Mr. Lewis. The mistreatment alleged would best be described by me as rude and unprofessional, based on what I was told. The young men were detained, and one was allegedly detained and placed in Mr. Lewis’s Lipscomb County Sheriff’s Office patrol unit and questioned. Nothing nefarious was discovered, and a ‘courtesy call’ was placed to one of the parents.

As sheriff of Hemphill County, I have a responsibility and requirement to make sure complaints are looked into and investigated further as the need arises. In my opinion, due to political reasons and the nature of the complaint, I felt it prudent to refer the parent to the Texas Rangers to issue the complaint to them. I provided the phone number, and the parent felt that this matter was important enough to contact Ranger Mike Smith.

Ranger Smith determined after looking into the matter that, in his opinion, no crime had been committed. At that point, my responsibility and Ranger Smith’s responsibility and requirement to look into the complaint had been fulfilled. I spoke with the parent that initiated the complaint and she was fine with the result, although very concerned about Mr. Lewis being out of his jurisdiction.

Mr. Lewis saw fit to refer you to the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure (CCP), Article 14.03, titled the Authority of Peace Officers, which sets out when and where peace officers may arrest someone without a warrant. This CCP article is accurate and lays out the specific rule nicely.

First let me say that I have no problem if Mr. Lewis or any other official looks into any potential crime as they pass through our city and county. Article 14.03 of the CCP clearly gives one that authority. After all, it appears that Mr. Lewis may have thought a burglary was about to be committed. Burglaries are a despicable crime by nature which violate an individual on a personal level. Stopping a criminal from breaking in and destroying or stealing property is the intent.

Surely Mr. Lewis feels that anyone that commits or has committed such an offense should be incarcerated. He felt something may be up and stopped the young men because all too often people get away with these types of crimes and are not prosecuted. But, there is a problem.

The contact in and of itself may be ‘lawful,’ but Mr. Lewis’s total failure to notify the Hemphill County Sheriff’s Office of his activities, whether an arrest was made or not, is completely unacceptable. There is a basic protocol that every law enforcement official I know adheres to.

Where was my ‘courtesy call?’ You will not find this in the CCP. You may not find it in document form anywhere, but it exists nonetheless. An officer simply notifies the jurisdictional agency out of nothing more than pure decency, professionalism and common courtesy, regardless of what activities are being performed.

What if Mr. Lewis violated someone’s constitutional rights? Who is liable? Hemphill County? Lipscomb County? Mr. Lewis? Sheriff Pearson? What if it was a hardened criminal that Mr. Lewis made contact with and he was assaulted or, heaven forbid, shot? Who will help Mr. Lewis? Hemphill County dispatch is unaware of his ‘investigation’ and could not send a Deputy or an ambulance if they needed to.

His failure to notify also potentially placed my deputies in harm’s way as well, since nobody has been informed of anything. We as law enforcement officials deal with the ‘what if’s’ and the unexpected every day. Why put yourself in that situation? I could go on and on.

I am also sure that the citizens of Canadian and Hemphill County would prefer that crimes be prevented by an out-of-jurisdiction officer, or off-duty officer. as opposed to those officers ‘turning their heads and continuing on with their business.’ I agree.

But I’d bet a year’s salary that these same fine folks would prefer that these out- of-jurisdiction officials notify their Sheriff’s Office and act in a manner that breeds courtesy, professionalism and safety to all involved.
JAMES PEARSON, Sheriff”
https://findingthomas.weebly.com/up.../pearson_letter_to_editor_re_deputy_lewis.pdf

1B447CAF-CD27-4695-ADCD-80BB3B0B47DF.jpeg
 
FWIW, yesterday I looked through all the media coverage of NL and only found one reference to the investigation NOT being about Thomas. This makes me raise an eyebrow as to if it is correct information or not.

I haven't looked today so maybe more are reporting it now, but I would take it with a grain of salt until someone confirms it publicly.
 
calo44 said:
Have Tom’s autopsy results ever been released?
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Klein Investigations is on Instagram and over the weekend they had a 'q &a' session in their stories. I asked if they had forensics back and they said no but were expecting them hopefully soon.

(no link to this as I didn't think about needing it later and the stories disappear after 24 hours).
 
I am hearing reports from people in Canadian and the surrounding area that county court proceedings have been canceled by the Texas Rangers and some transferred to surrounding counties due to the ongoing investigation. I have also heard there are grand jury indictments pertaining to HCSD. Can anyone confirm with any official source?
 
Sunny Texas said:
I am hearing reports from people in Canadian and the surrounding area that county court proceedings have been canceled by the Texas Rangers and some transferred to surrounding counties due to the ongoing investigation. I have also heard there are grand jury indictments pertaining to HCSD. Can anyone confirm with any official source?
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If true, that would make sense, IMO.

“Hemphill County Attorney Kyle Miller also sent a letter to the defense bar in Hemphill County stating that his office will no longer take cases recommended by Deputy Pyne Gregory. Miller added that he has refused several cases from Deputy Gregory because of ‘lack of sufficient probable cause and/or misapplication of the law.’” (BBM)

At this point, PG is a liability to the sheriff’s department, IMO. If I were the county attorney or the district attorney, I would be concerned that the past cases that were recommended by PG or those in which he was a witness being appealed. Plus, civil lawsuits against the prosecutors, the sheriff’s office, (as well as Pyne himself) for false arrest, wrongful imprisonment, conviction, etc.

In terms of grand jury indictments, the timing makes perfect sense, IMO. Department of Public Safety spokeswoman confirmed this past Monday that “(t)he Texas Rangers have completed their investigation and have submitted their findings to the district attorney’s office for consideration.” We don’t know exactly when the information was given back to the DA. I have an inkling that by the time the DA sent the letter to the defense bar last week, he was about to present his case to the grand jury, or maybe the GJ had already returned indictments. I really don’t know.

As I understand, the latest investigation involving NL is not related to the Brown case. Nonetheless, we are getting closer to the truth of what really happened to Thomas, IMO.

31st DA, Hemphill County Attorney letters confirm investigation into Hemphill Sheriff
Texas Rangers investigating Hemphill County sheriff
 
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inmyhumbleopinion said:
I believe so. Very sad :(.
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I am so shocked by the interview. I have always held onto the notion that it might have been a prank or “hazing” of sorts gone bad. This definitely changes my thoughts of having any young kids involved and someone covering for them. It is downright evil all the way around. And for the life of me can’t remember one case where a body is found this way at the hands of a juvenile. I am so sad for Thomas and his family. Praying for closure.
 
n_6CC said:
I am so shocked by the interview. I have always held onto the notion that it might have been a prank or “hazing” of sorts gone bad. This definitely changes my thoughts of having any young kids involved and someone covering for them. It is downright evil all the way around. And for the life of me can’t remember one case where a body is found this way at the hands of a juvenile. I am so sad for Thomas and his family. Praying for closure.
Click to expand...

I still haven't listened to the interview but I really interested in what you and other's think about the specifics of it.
 
n_6CC said:
I am so shocked by the interview. I have always held onto the notion that it might have been a prank or “hazing” of sorts gone bad. This definitely changes my thoughts of having any young kids involved and someone covering for them. It is downright evil all the way around. And for the life of me can’t remember one case where a body is found this way at the hands of a juvenile. I am so sad for Thomas and his family. Praying for closure.
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Yes, as if the this could have gotten any worse. I feel terrible for Thomas and Penny. I feel as though they have been punished for doing the right thing, and they’ve paid the ultimate price.

No wonder the residents of Canadian are said to be too afraid to speak up.

Based on the facts released so far, there are three individuals involved, IMO:

Individual 1: Murders Tom. Sets everything in motion. Drops the Durango off where it was found. Assists in disposal of his remains;

Individual 2: 1. puts this person in charge of making sure no one (such as Tom’s older brother) runs into the Durango while everyone looks for Tom overnight;

Individual 3: 1. tells this person to meet him at the murder scene (somewhere near the middle school -maybe the school parking lot-, IMO, where Tom’s phone pinged for the last time around midnight).

1. and 3. load Tom’s lifeless body into 3.’s personal vehicle.

3. waits in his vehicle next to 1.’s while 1. drives around, looking for a spot to dump the Durango.

1. calls 3. and tells him to pick him up.

1. and 3. urinate on the Durango.

3. drives 1. back to his vehicle.

Some time later, either 3. by himself or 3. and 1. together dismember the body. They place the remains where they were found, e.g., the area NL kept telling Klein HCSO had searched very throughly when Thomas first went missing and thus didn’t have to be searched again.
 
perfectingpink said:
I still haven't listened to the interview but I really interested in what you and other's think about the specifics of it.
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perfectingpink said:
Could someone transcribe or give a good synopsis of the interview? That might help get the conversation going. If no one is available to do it, I can after Monday.
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geevee said:
I'd love to hear it but I don't do Facebook so can't see the page or listen to the interview. I'd be grateful if some kind soul did give a synopsis though.
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The host of the show says Thomas was dismembered.

Based on the fact that the recording has been posted on the Moms4Tom leads me to believe the information is accurate.

Also, many of the comments under the post address the dismemberment, too, and they haven’t been removed.
 
inmyhumbleopinion said:
Yes, as if the this could have gotten any worse. I feel terrible for Thomas and Penny. I feel as though they have been punished for doing the right thing, and they’ve paid the ultimate price.

No wonder the residents of Canadian are said to be too afraid to speak up.

Based on the facts released so far, there are three individuals involved, IMO:

Individual 1: Murders Tom. Sets everything in motion. Drops the Durango off where it was found. Assists in disposal of his remains;

Individual 2: 1. puts this person in charge of making sure no one (such as Tom’s older brother) runs into the Durango while everyone looks for Tom overnight;

Individual 3: 1. tells this person to meet him at the murder scene (somewhere near the middle school -maybe the school parking lot-, IMO, where Tom’s phone pinged for the last time around midnight).

1. and 3. load Tom’s lifeless body into 3.’s personal vehicle.

3. waits in his vehicle next to 1.’s while 1. drives around, looking for a spot to dump the Durango.

1. calls 3. and tells him to pick him up.

1. and 3. urinate on the Durango.

3. drives 1. back to his vehicle.

Some time later, either 3. by himself or 3. and 1. together dismember the body. They place the remains where they were found, e.g., the area NL kept telling Klein HCSO had searched very throughly when Thomas first went missing and thus didn’t have to be searched again.
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My goodness, I am so glad Klein was brought in! Never in a million years did I think this poor boy would be treated so poorly in death. I also thought he was murdered, but never would I have thought this. Never. His poor family!!! Thank you for doing this!
 
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