Todd Rowell (2021-Present) Sheriff Todd Rowell served 20 years with the Mesa County Sheriff's Office prior to being sworn in August 2021 to complete retired Sheriff Matt Lewis's remaining elected term. You know, at the end of the day, I know the truth about that. This article is the last installment of an eight-part series. Im definitely more paranoid wherever I go. And who, if anyone, other than Tom positioned his body under the cottonwood trees? . Ill never lose that hope. We have some evidence from what some witnesses are telling us.. Hemphill County Sheriff Nathan Lewis has sent an appeal to the Texas Attorney General's Office, requesting that it take over the . Skip Hollandsworth: Tucker was asked by you to take a lie detector test. Interim Chief of Police at Atlanta Metropolitan State College (Official) Dallas, GA. Daniel Serene. Now his family's fight for answers may be leading to another dead end. Tom Browns Body is a Texas Monthly production. I asked Penny how she was doing, living in a town where everyone talks about her. January 2023 Reader Quiz: What Did You Learn? Fact. This past Thanksgiving eve, on the fifth anniversary of Toms disappearance, Penny, Chris, Tucker, and a few friends gathered outside the district attorneys office. This page was created to raise awareness of Tom's case and to spread the word throughout social media. Lewis said this to TCOLE investigators about Thomass case: "We had this missing deal come up in November, Lewis said. Is that correct? Jan 19, 2023. He said he was trying to get a confession, either from one of the boys who had allegedly killed Tom in the high school parking lot or from one of the men the boys had called to ask for help. There was a junior high school football game going on at the stadium. Philip Klein: I want you to hear what this boy says, and then compare it to what I just told you, which is fact! Former Chief Deputy Brent Clapp has been reinstated to his former position. Hampton, GA. Marcus Hill. Cause we get out on the street and were busting our ass. Heres Chris talking long-distance to Caroline Gear on a prison telephone. I think a big reason as to why we know as little as we do about Tom is because there wasnt [enough solid] forensics work done from the start., I asked Christian if she had reached any new conclusions about the case. She said that despite all the time thats passed since Tom vanished, Im definitely more paranoid wherever I go. Cant answer that? He is a very unreliable witness. . How was it amusing to dress up as the person youd accused of being involved in your sons disappearance or murder? [SBM] Sheriff Lewis did announce recently he would not seek re-election in 2020 and when former Deputy Clapp announced he would run for the office, Sheriff Lewis endorsed him. Penny insisted to me that she still has no idea how Tom died or how his body ended up off Lake Marvin Road. Furious with Klein, some members of the audience let loose. And she did everything that she could think of doing to find him. Cora Lewis / Associated Press: Student loan forgiveness gets its day in court: What to know Discussion: Los Angeles Times , New Jersey Online , Forbes , Washington Examiner , Slate , USA Today , NPR , Reason , FOX31 Denver , CBS News , abc7NY , New York Times , ABC News , Bangor Daily News , UPI , CNN , Washington Post , The Hill and RedState Caroline Gear: Hold on, hold on, okay, so Nathans the one that asked you to come and play there? Thomass mother, Penny Meek, knows she may never get all the answers to what happened to her son. Before going any further, Klein made a point of introducing them. Pictured: Nathan Lewis, former Sheriff of Hemphill County, TX. (LogOut/ Deputies also found multiple items that were . This is ridiculous., In a statement released to the public, Lewis wrote, I am very happy and humble for the great things weve accomplished in the three years as sheriff. Maybe that person wouldnt have messed with Tom in the first place if a second person was there. Its crazy he can just say this stuff and people get to hear it., So, I asked Lewis, what did he believe happened on Thanksgiving eve? Families of missing persons hope law enforcement would do all they could to locate their loved one. (I believe) says that Brown's only interaction with police was with Sheriff Lewis back when he was a deputy. Fact! How can this case go unsolved? The former reality star was charged . Nathan Lewis now denies that this photo ever . The Sheriff enforces payment of delinquent taxes. I didnt sign up for this. That weekend, the Wildcats were in the state football playoffs, and Chris said that Lewis told him the gamblers were banking on a Wildcat victory. Skip Hollandsworth specializes in long-form narratives. Lewis resigned from his post after being formally reprimanded by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) for falsifying training records. Investigators with the Texas Attorney Generals Office agreed to review Thomass case in 2018. Lewis resigned from his post after being formally reprimanded by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) for falsifying training records. Just going to keep teaching school and doing whatever I can to bring answers for Thomas. A previous investigation by Niccole Caan, who has been following Thomas case since he went missing, showed former Hemphill County Sheriff Nathan Lewis submitted falsified training reports for his duties to Texas Law Enforcement Commission (TCOLE), which oversees law enforcement agencies in the state. The day after the meeting, everyone of course was talking about Kleins latest story. She replied that she too now believes it might be a mystery that will never be solved. In the first months after Toms disappearance, she said, I was pretty sure that Nathan Lewis had something to do with it. According to the case report, the documents Lewis provided to support the training hours were dated September 18, 2018, but were created later. Kading also asked Toms brother Tucker if he too would take a lie detector test. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Penny Meek: Yes. I definitely watch my back more and pay attention to whats going on around me, just to make sure that what happened to Tom doesnt happen to me and doesnt happen to people around me.. Speculation is, and some of the rumor is that, yes, he was involved with saying, Take it out there., When I asked Klein what evidence he had to prove Lewiss involvement, he said, confidently but hazily, We do have some evidence that leads us to that theory. Im not going to argue with you to try to change your opinion, because I know at the end of the day, or when I have to look at myself in the mirror at the nighttime, or when I get up in the morning, I didnt do anything to my son. Jackson County Sheriff's Office 5179 Crater Lake Highway Central Point, Oregon 97502 A couple of years later, he was convicted of armed robbery and sentenced to thirty years in prison. Many expected a grand jury to be called. When I called Lewis to talk about Kleins accusations, he let out a laugh. . Read more from the Tom Browns Body Series: Chapter 3: Evil Has Come to Canadian, Texas. Last night, coach, Klein Investigations, Philip Klein, the private investigator hired by the. He was just wanting to give Tom a little scare. Vale man injured after pickup crashes through fence at West Cedar Road home. The Texas Rangers targeted vehicle and currency seizure logs late last year in connection to an investigation of Real County Sheriff Nathan Johnson, search warrants released this week by the Texas . Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. You know, I lived there about [unclear]. ABC 7 was the first to report the 31st District Attorney, who oversees Hemphill County, wrote a letter saying Sheriff Lewis was the subject of an investigation by the Texas Rangers. Texas Vista Medical Center to close May 1, Cold front brings chances of storms and gusty winds to San Antonio, Severe thunderstorms southwest of San Antonio with a chance for more Thursday | FORECAST. . SHARE. We now know why Hemphill County Sheriff Nathan Lewis was under investigation by the Texas Rangers: Its kind of hard to pick up and leave that. I dont understand where he comes up with stuff like this. Skip Hollandsworth: And you found yourself investigating to see if that story was true? . If someone had something to do with his disappearance, I could have tried to protect him. Thats why I came to school in Higgins. By Jarrett Lewis. Skip Hollandsworth: And what would they be indicted for? Additional production on this episode by Harper Carlton and Patrick Michels. When they get out to wherever they were, they remove the blindfold, and Jones testifies that he sees out in front of car, the day after Tom Brown went missing, Tom Brown tied to a chair in front of the cop car. Yes, he said: a grand jury would be convened in Hemphill County either later this year or in early 2021. Tucker Brown: Im the fifth-generation person from Canadian. Florida Sheriff Goes Nuclear on Neo-Nazi 'Motherf*ckers' Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood fumed that it was an "honor" to be included on the "hit list" of an . Skip Hollandsworth: And her answer was registered by the lie detector examiner as deceptive. Other than have reporters like me come up and show up at your dining room table? Kading was, however, spotted in Salem Abrahams downtown office interviewing one of his employees, who happened to be the woman whod found Toms cellphone. HEMPHILL COUNTY, Texas (KVII) New documents obtained by ABC7 detail a Texas Commission on Law Enforcement investigation into Hemphill County Sheriff Nathan Lewis, including allegations by a deputy of document manufacture in a non-specific "missing person" case. LEWIS, SHAQUILLE JORVOUSA : Booking #: WPJAIL0000029329: Booking Date: 09-07-2022 - 12:46 am: Charges: POSSESSION OF STOLEN PROPERTY - FELONY CONVICTED FELON IN POSSESSION OF FIREARM Possession Of A Firearm Or Carrying Of A Concealed Weapon By A Person Convicted Of Domestic Abuse Ba: Bond: $50000.00: View Profile >>> Leave them blank to get signed up. Thats like a movie, he said. In the fall of 2016, Tom was still playing football for the Canadian High Wildcats. Oh, thats theory; Oh no, its fact. Fact! Well, what do you want to do next with your life? Chip Gaines Bought Larry McMurtrys Historic Texas Bookstore. . When I talked to Penny about all this a year ago, she told me it was the sheriffs department that had asked her to find the passcode. He had told a few close friends he was afraid that people in Canadian would hear that he sometimes liked wearing adult diapers. Jones identified then-Sheriff Nathan Lewis as the enforcer for a high-dollar gambling ring in Canadian that was betting on the outcome of Wildcat football games. I asked her to read some of them. (Klein still wouldnt identify either teenager.) (LogOut/ Rachel Kading: Yes. We dont go down to the Poke and Run and have coffee. Is that correct? And he pulled a gun on me. Penny Meek: I mean, our hands are tied. ET on Friday, February 24, according to a booking report obtained by Us. Because you think theres still a killer in town? I asked. During one of our conversations, Penny told me she had continued texting Tom for more than a year after hed disappeared, hoping that he was still alive and that he would someday turn on his phone, see all of her messages, and respond. Chris said that next to Tom he saw Pyne Gregory, the sheriffs deputy, with a hat on his head and a gun in his hand. Unsolved true crime podcast researched, written and hosted by Crime Analyst Leah Owens. Chris Jones: Yeah, when he took the goggles off me. By the train tracks. But as Klein told the crowd all he had done to find out what had happened to Tom, he insisted, over and over, that he had found nothingnot a single piece of evidenceimplicating Penny, Chris, or Tucker. The bullets shell casing landed on the trucks floorboard. There were dark, ugly stories that the countys young sheriff, Nathan Lewis, was involved in Toms disappearance. Nevertheless, he decided to quit anyway. At the time of Tom Browns disappearance, Lewis was Sheriff of Hemphill County. . Thomass death certificate currently lists his cause of death as pending. The attorney general suspended the investigation pending any new, credible evidence. According do a statement from Sheriff Lewis . Philip Klein: All rightgood evening, ladies and gentlemen; my name is Philip Klein. And he wasnt even close to Chris in any way. Its our fault people dont want to come here. Over at the Walking Bridge, I watched a freight train hurtle down the tracks. You might remember that only weeks after that fateful Thanksgiving eve, Penny had asked a couple of Toms friends if they knew the password to Toms phone, which was then still believed to be missing. 0:59. Chris? I dont know the truth about what happened to Thomas, but I know the truth about where I was. Skip Hollandsworth: And did you find any evidence that suggested he was not home all night? In early 2018, the states attorney generals office in Austin took over the investigation. Chris Jones: And he was like, Im gonna show you something. That somebodys going to talk? Duane Allen Christensen II, 41 of Minneapolis, MN 55412 for GM 3rd Degree DWI. She would have done anything for Tom, said Mary Alice Hughes, who first met Penny when she was a freshman and Penny was in eighth grade. In the months that followed, every time I called my sources, I was told that the grand jury had been delayed. Lewis was charged with one count of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the seventh degree and one count of Criminally Using Drug Paraphernalia in the second degree. Almost a year later, Toms skull and a few of his bones were found at the end of Lake Marvin Road. First months after Toms disappearance, she said that despite all the time thats passed since Tom vanished Im! My sources, I know the truth about what happened to her son on Law Enforcement ( ). 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