- Know Your AR Criminal Defense Attorney
Editorial by: Doug Smith Updated: 1/7/2009
...."The future of the Constitution is at stake," Hall said. "McCain's already said he'd appoint Supreme Court justices who'd do away with Roe. [Roe v. Wade is the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion.]
A person with the kind of mindset to do away with Roe would limit the constitution in other ways too." The Court has an excess of such judges already, he said. "Scalia, Thomas, Alito, Roberts - I call them the Death STAR, because of their initials."
Hall's candidate won, of course. Shed of that stress, he's back to the daily grind - defending people whose lives and freedom are at risk.
Among these is the infamous Tony Alamo, an evangelist (some say "cult leader") whose ministry is headquartered in southwest Arkansas. Long known for noisy anti-Catholicism, among other things, Alamo faces multiple charges of transporting underage girls across state lines for sexual purposes.
He was arrested in Arizona and jailed in Flagstaff when another lawyer referred him to Hall. Hall flew to Arizona to confer with him, and took the case. Alamo has been returned to Texarkana, where trial in federal court is scheduled for Feb. 2.
- Buster White Sentenced To House Arrest
By CHUCK BARTELS Associated Press Writer © 2009 The Associated Press Jan. 8, 2009, 11:40AM
TEXARKANA, Texas - A federal judge on Thursday sentenced a former member of the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries to 180 days of house arrest and two years' probation for trafficking in counterfeit compact discs.( No mention of the Nikes, presumably no time just restitution)
Leslie Ray "Buster" White, 58, of Texarkana, Texas, had pleaded guilty to one trafficking count in September. U.S. District Judge David Folsom noted that it was a non-violent offense and said it would be appropriate to not sentence White to prison.
White briefly addressed the court and apologized. He was accused of selling counterfeit CDs and clothes at a flea market.
"I am very regretful that this has happened," White said, adding he's taken measures to avoid getting in trouble again. "I can assure Your Honor that it will not happen again."
Alamo is jailed, awaiting a federal trial on charges he took underage girls across state lines for sex.
White's association with Alamo did not come up in the brief hearing. Afterward, White was silent when asked if he was cooperating in the Alamo investigation.
Defense attorney David Botsford said White was "not participating with the church at all." He said the "specter" of the allegations against Alamo is disturbing. Asked if White is cooperating with prosecutors, Botsford replied, "I'm not going to answer that."
- Alamo Video Focus of Hearing Thursday
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE Posted on Tuesday, January 6, 2009
A judge has set a hearing for Thursday on the Arkansas Department of Human Service's request to have a video recording of an interview with a 16-year-old member of the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries removed from the Internet.
The recording was made at the Children's Advocacy Center in Texarkana, Texas, on Sept. 21, as part of an investigation into allegations that children in the ministry have been physically and sexually abused. In the interview, the girl, who is now in foster care, denies that she had ever been abused. Last month, the video was posted on the Google Video Web site by the operator of the Web site, FirstAmendmentRadio. com.
At the hearing, the Human Services Department will ask Miller County Circuit Judge Jim Hudson to order the girl's parents, Richard and Debra Ondrisek, to ask that the video be removed from the Internet. The department cites Arkansas Code 20-78-106, which requires that material compiled in children's advocacy centers for sexual-abuse investigations be kept confidential.
Debra Ondrisek has declined to say whether she provided the video to the Web site.
- Alamo Video Focus of Hearing Thursday
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE Posted on Tuesday, January 6, 2009
A judge has set a hearing for Thursday on the Arkansas Department of Human Service's request to have a video recording of an interview with a 16-year-old member of the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries removed from the Internet.
The recording was made at the Children's Advocacy Center in Texarkana, Texas, on Sept. 21, as part of an investigation into allegations that children in the ministry have been physically and sexually abused. In the interview, the girl, who is now in foster care, denies that she had ever been abused. Last month, the video was posted on the Google Video Web site by the operator of the Web site, FirstAmendmentRadio. com.
At the hearing, the Human Services Department will ask Miller County Circuit Judge Jim Hudson to order the girl's parents, Richard and Debra Ondrisek, to ask that the video be removed from the Internet. The department cites Arkansas Code 20-78-106, which requires that material compiled in children's advocacy centers for sexual-abuse investigations be kept confidential.
Debra Ondrisek has declined to say whether she provided the video to the Web site.
- Teen defends Alamo, says pastor will "go to hell" if guilty
A teenage follower of jailed evangelist Tony Alamo talked openly about her beliefs, the church, and her pastor.
- Teen defends Alamo in leaked video on the Internet
State officials on Wednesday asked a judge to take steps to remove from the Internet a leaked video in which a teenage follower of Tony Alamo defends the jailed evangelist and says he would never commit the sex crimes of which he is accused. In a more than two-hour interview, the girl told a child welfare official that Alamo's hands and words toward heaven worked miracles. She said he never touched her and knew of no one who had been molested by him.
'He would never do such thing. That's a sin. He wouldn't be a pastor. He would be dirt,' said the girl, who is in protective state custody. 'He would be nothing if he did that. He would go to hell.'
- Plea Bargain Allows Buster to Attend Alamo Cult Services
By: Jim Williamson - Texarkana Gazette - Published: 12/27/2008
A man described as a former associate minister for the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries in Fouke, Ark., is scheduled for sentencing Jan. 8 in federal court on charges of trafficking in counterfeit musical compact discs.
Leslie Ray "Buster" White, 58, of Texarkana, Texas, is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge David Folsom in the Eastern District of Texas, Texarkana Division. White pleaded guilty Sept. 2 to one count of trafficking in counterfeit musical CDs.
The federal court's probation department has completed a background check on White which delayed the sentencing. White reached a plea bargain agreement with federal prosecutors and was released from custody so he could attend Tony Alamo Christian Ministries religious services in Fouke. That request was part of the plea bargain agreement because Alamo is a convicted felon. When a person is convicted of a felony, federal criminal guidelines restrict their association with other convicted felons, said Folsom.
White asked for the exception through his attorneys, David Botsford of Austin and Texarkana attorney Craig Henry, during the Sept. 2 court proceedings.
- Buster Waives the Right to Consult With Feloneous Pastor
By: Jim Williamson - Texarkana Gazette - Published: 12/30/2008
Leslie Ray "Buster" White, 58, who attended Tony Alamo Christian Ministries and asked in a plea bargain to continue to consult with Alamo after pleading guilty to federal charges, has now disassociated himself from Alamo.
"... Due to the allegations regarding Mr. Alamo's alleged activities, he (Mr. White) was waiving the non-binding stipulation contained in his plea bargain agreement regarding the recommendation that he be able to consult with his former minister (Tony Alamo) and attend services at the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries," according to an e-mail sent by David L. Botsford, an Austin attorney representing White.
Botsford's e-mail was sent to the Gazette Saturday after a story in that day's edition reporting White's sentencing scheduled for Jan. 8, 2009. Saturday's story also provided background about White asking on Sept. 2 to be allowed to consult with his then-minister Tony Alamo because Alamo is a convicted felon. Federal criminal guidelines restrict association with a convicted felon.
- Lawyer in Alamo case: Bible no Defense For Abuse
By JON GAMBRELL, Associated Press; 12/31/2008
Lawyer in Alamo case: Bible no defense for abuse By JON GAMBRELL - 2 days ago LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Jailed evangelist Tony Alamo's right to religious freedom doesn't allow him to beat children, a lawyer suing the preacher over alleged abuse says.
In federal court filings this week, W. David Carter wrote that protecting the public trumps constitutional protections afforded to religion. Alamo's lawyer said in a court filing last week that the Bible requires spanking unruly children, and he suggested that Alamo had permission from church parents to discipline their children.
"Alamo's religious 'belief' that he can beat, sexually abuse and otherwise mistreat children is guaranteed by the First Amendment," Carter wrote. "Acting on that belief, however, is not."
Carter's suit, filed on behalf of two former members of the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries, seeks more than $75,000 in damages for physical abuse they say they suffered as children in the ministry. The suit also claims the evangelist ordered disciplinary "coffee and water" fasts for days at a time.
- Girl's Confidential Court Docs Placed on Internet
Texarkana Gazette
By: Lynn LaRowe - Texarkana Gazette - Published: 01/01/2009
A video of a 16-year-old girl speaking with a forensic interviewer the day after she was removed from Tony Alamo's residence in Fouke, Ark., has been placed on the Internet.
Filmed at the Child Advocacy Center in Texarkana, the video was intended only for use by law enforcement, the courts and child welfare officials. The Arkansas Department of Human Services filed a motion late Wednesday afternoon to have the hosting Website, inquisitionupdate.org, remove the video and related material.
"The damage is already done," said Julie Munsell, DHS director of communications. "This is a confidentiality issue. We want to protect these children. This is also preventive."
According to the Website, the video, a letter signed with the girl's mother's name, photos and copies of court documents were handed over by the girl's own parents.
- Leaked Interview of Alamo Minor Airs on Web
BY ANDY DAVIS Posted on Wednesday, December 31, 2008
On Christmas Day, a Google Video user known as First AmendmentTV posted a copy of the recording on the free videosharing Web site. Another Web site, inquisitionupdate.org, provides a link to the video and to records in the girl's child-welfare case.
Today, the Arkansas Department of Human Services will ask a Miller County circuit judge to order whoever released the information to have it taken off the Web.
Julie Munsell, a spokesman for the department, cited Arkan- sas Code 9-27-352, which requires proceedings in juvenile court to be confidential.
"We do have some serious concerns about confidentiality, particularly when it involves a child who is entrusted to our care," Munsell said. "The law is very clear on what the limitations are in terms of disclosure."
Copies of the video recording of the 16-year-old's interview, along with other material, had been provided to the attorneys for all of the parents and children in the case, Munsell said. It's unclear who leaked the recording and the documents, she said.
The Web site that featured the links is titled Inquisition Update with Tom Friess. E-mails sent to Friess weren't answered Wednesday.
The filing in Circuit Court will ask for an order directing whoever released the information to ask for it to be taken off the Internet and will bar the release of such information in the future, Munsell said.
The video has been cited by members of the ministry and their supporters in response to what they contend is an assault on their church.
- Plaintiffs' lawyer files response in Alamo suit
By: Lynn LaRowe - Texarkana Gazette - Published: 12/31/2008
The Texarkana lawyer representing two former members of Tony Alamo Christian Ministries in a civil suit described the church leader's view of the world as "somewhat schizophrenic" in a brief filed Tuesday.
David Carter of the Texarkana firm Mercy, Carter & Tidwell filed the suit in November on behalf of Spencer Ondrisek and Seth Calagna. It alleges the 18-year-old men suffered under "Alamo's rules" when they lived on ministry properties as children.
- Alamo Cult Parents Who Should Be Arrested & Why
Please use first and last names where and whenever possible.
When you use children's ages, please provide the date (month and year at least) when the children were that age.
I am going to submit this to law enforcement, Federal and State Prosecutors BEFORE Feb 2, 2009.
Please try to be civil, accurate and mature... Thanks
- Drop Religion in Alamo Suit, Lawyer Asks
BY PEGGY HARRIS THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Posted on Friday, December 26, 2008
"This case will involve inquiring into religious doctrine in determining whether this was a 'spanking' or a 'beating' and whether the plaintiffs or their parents consented to them," the filing states. "One of the spankings came when Ondrisek threatened to punch defendant Alamo, over 70 years old at the time. Seems justified to the defendant."
Fasting also appears throughout the Bible and has physical and spiritual benefits, the filing states. In addition, the Bible refers to the marriage of 10-year-old Rebecca to 40-year-old Isaac and to allowing younger women to marry as well as requiring the spanking of unruly children, it states.
"To the extent that this court is asked to adjudicate or determine or even argue over theology or the doctrine of the Bible or Tony Alamo Christian Ministry, it is barred by the free-exercise clause of the First Amendment," Hall wrote.
- Member Of Alamo Church Faces Sentencing
A member of the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries church faces a January 8th criminal sentencing for trafficking in counterfeit musical compact discs.
- Buster White Faces Sentencing, Jan 8, 2009 in TEXAS
© 2008 The Associated Press Dec. 27, 2008, 2:11PM
TEXARKANA, Ark. - A member of the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries church faces a Jan. 8 criminal sentencing for trafficking in counterfeit musical compact discs. Leslie Ray "Buster" White, 58, of Texarkana, Texas, pleaded guilty in September to one count of trafficking the counterfeit CDs. He will be sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of Texas.
White reached a plea agreement with prosecutors and was released from custody so he could attend religious services at the Alamo compound in Fouke.
That request was part of the plea agreement because Alamo is a convicted felon. When a person is convicted of a felony, federal criminal guidelines restrict their association with other convicted felons, U.S. District Judge David Folsom said.
The agreement asks for an exception to the rule and allow White to "attend organized religious church services of Tony Alamo." The eight-page plea agreement, signed by White's attorneys and Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan Jackson, also allowed White to "consult with his minister Tony Alamo." The agreement was signed before Alamo's arrest on federal sex charges.
- Alamo Arrest At No. 6
Editor's Note: Each year, the Times Record newsroom staff votes on the Top 10 local stories of the year.
- Alamo Lawyer Seeks Changes In Fed Suit
Embattled evangelist Tony Alamo's lawyer has asked that any immaterial, impertinent or scandalous language be removed from a civil lawsuit targeting Alamo in federal court.
- Passenger in wreck dies from injuries
The passenger involved in a one-vehicle crash last week has died at a local hospital from his injuries, Miller County authorities said.
Fouke (IPA [fæʊk]) is a town in Miller County, Arkansas, United States. It is part of the Texarkana, Texas - Texarkana, Arkansas Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 814 at the 2000 census.
Fouke is located at 33°15′39″N 93°53′12″W / 33.26083, -93.88667 (33.260908, -93.886629).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 2.7 km² (1.0 mi²), all land.
As of the census of 2000, there were 814 people, 291 households, and 220 families residing in the town. The population density was 299.3/km² (777.8/mi²). There were 336 housing units at an average density of 123.6/km² (321.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 95.45% White, 0.25% Black or African American, 2.46% Native American, 0.61% from other races, and 1.23% from two or more races. 1.72% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 291 households out of which 47.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.7% were married couples living together, 13.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.1% were non-families. 21.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
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