Equal justice?

Out of 18 felony “impeding airway” or similarly classified family violence cases that were presented to the grand jury in a year’s time, only one defendant was no-billed: the man who was, or soon became, Sheriff Roger Deeds’ campaign manager.

That man, Nathan Criswell, is now a candidate for Precinct 3 county commissioner.

The others with similar cases, all men, were arrested, jailed and charged. Nine are still in the Hood County Jail, apparently unable to bond out. Most saw their charges enhanced to higher-level felonies because they allegedly committed other family violence-related offenses as well.

Criswell not only escaped a felony charge for placing his then-wife in a chokehold, he also paid no consequences for an alleged second offense: leaving the couple’s home with his injured wife’s cell phone, rendering her unable to call 9-1-1.

Criswell resigned as the Hood County Republican Party chair in May after District Judge Ralph Walton issued an emergency protective order against him.

Deeds’ office investigated the May 6 incident between Criswell and his then-wife, Jeannylee Figueroa Morales. One of Deeds’ investigators, Toby Fries, presented the case to the grand jury five days after Walton replaced the temporary protective order with a formal one at the end of a two-hour hearing in the 355th district courtroom. The protective order is valid for one year.

Grand jury proceedings are secret, and only those who were in the room know exactly what Fries said about the strength of the case.

However, he testified at the protective order hearing that Criswell claimed Morales had threatened him with a knife, and that Morales told him she didn’t “remember” having a knife.

Morales denied several times on the witness stand threatening Criswell with a knife that night. She did acknowledge slapping him and said she did so after he called her a foul name and began acting aggressively.

The grand jury book is unavailable to the public in order to protect the privacy of those who are no-billed. The HCN was told by District Clerk Tonna Hitt that Criswell was the only defendant among the 18 cases to escape criminal charges.

The longtime district clerk said she has never seen anyone “walk” in a case that involves impeding someone’s breathing and that she was “shocked” at the no-bill in Criswell’s case.

The HCN reported on the emergency protective order issued against Criswell because of the public position he held as Republican Party chair. The newspaper also reported when a decision was made that he would not be charged.

Photos that are part of the case file show bruises on Morales’ neck, as well as a bruise on the right side of her chest, a large abrasion on her right cheek, and an abrasion above her right eye. Morales’ attorney, Melinda Owens, provided copies of the photos to the HCN.

Morales and Criswell have since divorced, and Morales has moved with the couple’s two toddler daughters to another county. At the time of the incident, she was a teacher for the Granbury school district.

Morales fled the family’s home that night with the little girls and flagged down a deputy for help. She and her children lived for several weeks in Mission Granbury’s Ada Carey shelter.

Morales testified at the hearing that she almost lost consciousness during the choking incident. She said that the abrasions on her face were rug burns that she sustained after Criswell released her from the chokehold then threw her across the living room.

Morales also stated from the witness stand that some of the red dots on her face were because blood vessels broke when pressure was applied to her neck.

Fries testified that he viewed the photos of Morales’ injuries but saw no evidence of petechiae, which he explained is when blood vessels break in the whites of the eyes due to pressure, such as choking.

Petechiae occurs in the skin as well as the eyes.

When asked by Criswell’s attorney, former District Attorney Rob Christian, whether he had noticed any marks on Morales’ neck while studying the photos, Fries stated, “Nothing really stands out.”

Of the 17 other impeding breathing or similarly classified cases that were presented to the grand jury between October of last year and October of this year, 16 defendants are awaiting trial or a plea deal. One man’s case has been adjudicated. He was placed on 10 years’ probation.

Two of the nine men still incarcerated in the Hood County Jail have been there since October of last year.

One of the men, Stephen Michael Martin, appeared in district court Tuesday afternoon to ask that Walton reduce his bonds, which were $35,000 each for two family violence charges.

Dressed in black-and-white jail garb, Martin requested that his bail total be reduced to $20,000. He testified that he could find the resources to pay that amount, and that he had a job waiting for him if he could get out of jail.

Walton did lower the bonds, but to $17,500 for each count, for a total of $35,000. Martin returned to his seat amidst other inmates, shaking his head and looking down.

Impeding the breath of someone who is a family member, a member of the household, or a person with whom the defendant has a dating relationship is a third-degree felony punishable by 2-10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.

Eleven of the family violence defendants saw their charges enhanced due to other alleged offenses. Ten were elevated to a second-degree felony, and one to a first-degree felony.

In Texas, a second-degree felony conviction carries a punishment of not less than two years in prison and not more than 20 years. Those found guilty of a first-degree felony can receive a life sentence or a prison term between 5-99 years.

First- and second-degree felonies also carry fines of up to $10,000.

One family violence case in particular appeared similar to Criswell’s. Damien Colby Collins was charged with continuous family violence for placing a woman in a chokehold and pushing her, causing her to strike her head against the door of a vehicle.

As of this week, Collins was still in the Hood County Jail for the alleged incidents.

As for Criswell, who runs a lawn-mowing service in between helping Deeds and other candidates with their campaigns, the only thing he’s facing is competition for the $77,000-per-year-plus-benefits position he is hoping to win through the ballot box.

Although Criswell thus far has three other competitors for the Republican nomination for the Precinct 3 seat, he might have an advantage in the March 2020 primary.

As someone who has made himself useful on the campaigns of elected officials and others who are running for office, he has supporters willing to overlook what happened on the night of May 6.

DAY IN COURT?

Deeds’ sensitivity to his connection to Criswell resulted in him cutting off all contact with the HCN last October and ordering his staff to have no dealings with the newspaper as well.

He took the action after the newspaper questioned his decision to endorse a candidate currently under a family violence protective order whose wife and children had lived in the local shelter just a few months earlier.

After being contacted by the HCN, Deeds un-endorsed Criswell. However, within 24 hours of that decision, he reversed it, and again endorsed the commissioner candidate.

That decision was followed by yet another reversal, with Deeds posting on his candidate Facebook page that he would not endorse any candidate for public office. That announcement has remained in place since it was posted on Oct. 17.

At the time that Deeds’ initial endorsement of Criswell was announced, Criswell was shown to be the administrator of Deeds’ campaign Face-book page.

Text message exchanges between Criswell and Deeds that Criswell posted to his own campaign Facebook page seem to indicate that Criswell is, or was, Deeds’ campaign manager. Criswell referred to Deeds as his “client.”

Deeds credited Criswell on his own Facebook page for the Second Amendment sanctuary county resolution that the Commissioners Court adopted at Deeds’ request in October. The sanctuary county resolution garnered publicity for Deeds in the weeks before the filing period opened for the 2020 primary election.

The filing period will close Monday. At the time the HCN went to press Friday morning, Deeds had two Republican challengers.

Before pulling his endorsement for the second time, Deeds justified his support for Criswell by posting on social media that the commissioner candidate “had his day in court.”

That sentiment was echoed by Cari Davis Conwell, who teaches Law & Public Safety at Granbury High School and has announced her intention to run for constable, Precinct

3.

“In America we are all innocent until proven guilty,” Conwell wrote in an email to the HCN. “Nate was never arrested, charged, indicted, or convicted of any crime. Furthermore, Protective Orders are granted nearly every time they are requested in a divorce. I knew of all this before endorsing Nate. I read in your newspaper where the Grand Jury No-Billed him. He has my full confidence and support, and will make a fine commissioner.”

In actuality, though, Criswell’s only “day in court” was the protective order hearing. He did not testify during those proceedings, likely because doing so would have subjected him to questioning under oath at a time when the grand jury had not yet determined whether he would be indicted.

Criswell never had his “day in court” as it pertained to the assault of Morales and his alleged taking of her cell phone.

For that to happen, he would have to be charged.

kcruz@hcnews.com | 817-573-7066, ext. 258