Trial for Mineola Swingers Club Defendant 'Booger Red' Kelly Again Postponed
Staff photo by Jaime R. Carrero
Patrick Kelly, 41, left, one of the defendants in the "Mineola Swinger's Club" case, sits with his attorney Thad Davidson in a Smith County courtroom July 1.
EDITOR’S NOTE: It is the policy of the Tyler Morning Telegraph to not identify victims of sexual abuse to protect their identities and encourage reporting of such crimes.
By CASEY KNAUPP
Staff Writer
The trial for Patrick “Booger Red” Kelly, a defendant in the Mineola Swingers’ Club case, was postponed today for the third time and has been rescheduled for Aug. 4.
By CASEY KNAUPP
Staff Writer
The trial for Patrick “Booger Red” Kelly, a defendant in the Mineola Swingers’ Club case, was postponed today for the third time and has been rescheduled for Aug. 4.
Jury selection in the case had been scheduled for Monday, July 14, but during a pre-trial hearing, 241st District Judge Jack Skeen Jr. granted attorney Thad Davidson’s motion for continuance. He had already postponed the trial, initially set for June 23, twice before.
Davidson requested that the trial be halted until he could serve John Cantrell with a subpoena to appear in court as a witness. He said he has been unable to locate Cantrell, who is the foster parent of three of the child victims in the Mineola case and who was charged in June with aggravated sexual assault of a child in California for an alleged offense committed 18 years ago.
Davidson said he planned to call Cantrell as a witness and knew he was scheduled to appear in a California court on Aug. 4 so he would be able to serve him a subpoena then.
Skeen told Davidson to keep looking for Cantrell in the meantime, but said he would postpone the trial until Aug. 4, when Cantrell can be served and brought back to Smith County to be a possible witness in the trial.
The judge repeatedly said he would not be trying the California case against Cantrell in his court and any of the evidence in that case would be inadmissible before the jury in Kelly’s trial. He said they would hold a hearing outside the presence of the jurors to decide what testimony Davidson planned to elicit from Cantrell and whether it would be admissible in the trial.
Cantrell was never called as a witness in two previous trials for co-defendants found guilty for their involvement in the Mineola Swingers Club case. Cantrell’s wife, Margie Cantrell, however did testify in the earlier proceedings but prosecutors have said they would not call her as a witness in Kelly’s case.
Skeen said every time Davidson had filed a continuance in the case, he has granted it. He said he would not go past the Aug. 4 trial setting.
The judge ruled on many other pre-trial motions made by Davidson and defense attorney Tina Brumbelow, and assistant Smith County district attorneys Joe Murphy, Zach Davis and Mike West.
The judge repeatedly said he would not be trying the California case against Cantrell in his court and any of the evidence in that case would be inadmissible before the jury in Kelly’s trial. He said they would hold a hearing outside the presence of the jurors to decide what testimony Davidson planned to elicit from Cantrell and whether it would be admissible in the trial.
Cantrell was never called as a witness in two previous trials for co-defendants found guilty for their involvement in the Mineola Swingers Club case. Cantrell’s wife, Margie Cantrell, however did testify in the earlier proceedings but prosecutors have said they would not call her as a witness in Kelly’s case.
Skeen said every time Davidson had filed a continuance in the case, he has granted it. He said he would not go past the Aug. 4 trial setting.
The judge ruled on many other pre-trial motions made by Davidson and defense attorney Tina Brumbelow, and assistant Smith County district attorneys Joe Murphy, Zach Davis and Mike West.
THE CASE
Kelly, 41, if Tyler, is charged with engaging in organized criminal activity and aggravated assault of a child for allegedly forcing two young siblings to have sex with each other in 2004. He faces five years to life in prison for each charge.
The defendant is also charged with tampering with evidence for allegedly destroying evidence in the case, including costumes the children wore when they performed for the audiences and videotapes of the children performing skits and having sex with each other. Kelly faces two to 10 years in prison if convicted of the third-degree felony.
The victims in the Mineola Swingers’ Club case — three siblings who are now a 10-year-old girl, a 9-year-old boy, a 7-year-old girl and their 9-year-old aunt, all have testified that Kelly and his co-defendants taught them beginning at age 5 how to dance and perform sex acts in "kindergarten," then forced them to dance and have sex with each other in front of an audience at the Mineola Swingers’ Club. The defendants collected money for the performances but only paid the children with food. The children were also given "silly pills," or drugs, before they danced in the club.
In November 2004, Child Protective Services began investigating allegations of neglect and drug abuse. What they discovered, after the children were removed from the home in March 2005, were children suffering ongoing sexual abuse and exploitation.
Shauntel Mayo and Jamie Pittman have already been convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Dennis Boyd Pittman, Rebecca Pittman, Shelia Darlene Sones, and Jimmy Dale Sones have been indicted and await trial.
The defendant is also charged with tampering with evidence for allegedly destroying evidence in the case, including costumes the children wore when they performed for the audiences and videotapes of the children performing skits and having sex with each other. Kelly faces two to 10 years in prison if convicted of the third-degree felony.
The victims in the Mineola Swingers’ Club case — three siblings who are now a 10-year-old girl, a 9-year-old boy, a 7-year-old girl and their 9-year-old aunt, all have testified that Kelly and his co-defendants taught them beginning at age 5 how to dance and perform sex acts in "kindergarten," then forced them to dance and have sex with each other in front of an audience at the Mineola Swingers’ Club. The defendants collected money for the performances but only paid the children with food. The children were also given "silly pills," or drugs, before they danced in the club.
In November 2004, Child Protective Services began investigating allegations of neglect and drug abuse. What they discovered, after the children were removed from the home in March 2005, were children suffering ongoing sexual abuse and exploitation.
Shauntel Mayo and Jamie Pittman have already been convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Dennis Boyd Pittman, Rebecca Pittman, Shelia Darlene Sones, and Jimmy Dale Sones have been indicted and await trial.
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