Posted 9:54 pm Friday, January 25, 2013
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Former Upshur county commissioner and son indicted on multiple felony charges
From Staff Reports
GILMER —An Upshur County grand jury on Friday indicted a former county commissioner and his son on multiple felony charges stemming from a confrontation in October in which they are alleged to have held a state game warden at gunpoint.
GILMER —An Upshur County grand jury on Friday indicted a former county commissioner and his son on multiple felony charges stemming from a confrontation in October in which they are alleged to have held a state game warden at gunpoint.
Ex-Precinct 3 Commissioner Lloyd Allen Crabtree, 51, was indicted on five felony charges while Todd Allen Crabtree, 28, was indicted on three, according to a news release from Mike Cox, spokesman for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
Upshur County District Attorney Billy Byrd confirmed Friday night that the men were indicted earlier in the day.
The charges stem from an Oct. 6 incident in which two armed men disarmed and detained Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Game Warden Shane Bailey “while the officer was making a routine check for hunting law violations on private property in Upshur County,” Cox wrote.
Bailey called for help on his cell phone, “and soon numerous local and state officers came to his assistance and ended the situation with no shots fired,” Cox added.
The elder Crabtree — who was a sitting commissioner at the time of the incident — was indicted on three counts of aggravated assault on a peace officer; one count of taking a weapon from a peace officer; and one count of unlawful restraint with a deadly weapon, Cox said.
Todd Crabtree was indicted on one count each of aggravated assault on a peace officer; taking a weapon from a peace officer; and unlawful restraint with a deadly weapon, the news release said.
The Crabtrees’ attorney, “notified them Friday afternoon that arrest warrants had been issued and they turned themselves in at the Upshur County Jail a short time later. They remained in jail Friday night in lieu of $1.5 million bond each,” Cox added.
He said he did not know the attorney’s name.
Contacted by the Tyler Paper shortly after 9 p.m. Friday to see if the Crabtrees were still confined, a jailer said, “You’ll have to get that information from the sheriff. I don't have anything up here.”
The charges stem from an Oct. 6 incident in which two armed men disarmed and detained Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Game Warden Shane Bailey “while the officer was making a routine check for hunting law violations on private property in Upshur County,” Cox wrote.
Bailey called for help on his cell phone, “and soon numerous local and state officers came to his assistance and ended the situation with no shots fired,” Cox added.
The elder Crabtree — who was a sitting commissioner at the time of the incident — was indicted on three counts of aggravated assault on a peace officer; one count of taking a weapon from a peace officer; and one count of unlawful restraint with a deadly weapon, Cox said.
Todd Crabtree was indicted on one count each of aggravated assault on a peace officer; taking a weapon from a peace officer; and unlawful restraint with a deadly weapon, the news release said.
The Crabtrees’ attorney, “notified them Friday afternoon that arrest warrants had been issued and they turned themselves in at the Upshur County Jail a short time later. They remained in jail Friday night in lieu of $1.5 million bond each,” Cox added.
He said he did not know the attorney’s name.
Contacted by the Tyler Paper shortly after 9 p.m. Friday to see if the Crabtrees were still confined, a jailer said, “You’ll have to get that information from the sheriff. I don't have anything up here.”
Crabtree, who had been defeated for re-election to a third term in the May 29 Republican primary last year, left office at year’s end. He and his son had been freed on bond Oct. 7 after they were initially charged, according to an Upshur County website.
The Parks and Wildlife Department’s Internal Affairs Unit and the Texas Rangers investigated the incident, Cox said.
“We really appreciate the hard work on the part of our Internal Affairs officers, the Texas Rangers and Upshur County District Attorney’s Office that went into this investigation,” Col. Craig Hunter, director of TPWD’s Law Enforcement Division, said in the press release. “While this case still has to make its way through the judicial process, we hope these indictments will send a strong message that incidents such as this one will not be tolerated by law-abiding Texans.”
Special Correspondent Phillip Williams contributed to this report.
The Parks and Wildlife Department’s Internal Affairs Unit and the Texas Rangers investigated the incident, Cox said.
“We really appreciate the hard work on the part of our Internal Affairs officers, the Texas Rangers and Upshur County District Attorney’s Office that went into this investigation,” Col. Craig Hunter, director of TPWD’s Law Enforcement Division, said in the press release. “While this case still has to make its way through the judicial process, we hope these indictments will send a strong message that incidents such as this one will not be tolerated by law-abiding Texans.”
Special Correspondent Phillip Williams contributed to this report.
