A former leader with the Jefferson Police Department has been charged with drug possession and stalking his wife.
Dennis Thomas, who was a captain with the Jefferson Police Department, was charged with possession of crack cocaine with intent to distribute, possession of crack cocaine, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, possession of drug-related objects and aggravated stalking.
The charges came after he went to the home of his wife, who had filed for divorce and had a temporary restraining order against him.
After a search of his residence, the hand grenades were found. The hand grenade possession was turned over to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF).
On a related matter, a search warrant was issued by the ATF at the home of another Jefferson man. Guns, a rocket launcher, powder and other items were seized from his home.
Thomas was one of two Jefferson police officers who was put on administrative leave after a notice was filed to indict him in November 2006. The allegations against Thomas were for “hindering the apprehension or punishment of a criminal.” Four of the counts state that Thomas told officers Lee New and Anthony Kelley not to speak about the allegations that another officer, Mario Johnson, had stolen gas from the city.
The final two allegations against Thomas allege that he falsified the time card of an officer, who had been denied time off.
Thomas was never indicted on any of these charges.
The right to bear arms is one thing but hand granades are another. also the other person who had a search warrant served on him was one of dennis thomas aquaintances. He had a rocket launcher....is the part of the right to bear arms? Now I will agree that it doesn't make for terroristic operatives either(although the second person is very anti government). as for hand grenades they could have been handed down from a ww2 vet to his son or found when ww2 vet died....you dont know the story so please wait for the investigation.
With that said:
the crack...hang him high.
the stalking....don't let him out of jail he didn't get the message with the restraining order.
I really doubt that 700 is who you think it is. lets face it 700 is not his number it is the police station. Don't fall for that stuff you're smarter than that.
Everyone should be assumed to be not-guilty until proven otherwise by a jury of his peers. This is a United States constitutional requirement. Of course it's obvious that our government no longer feels this document means very much.
Don't assume, by reading the newspaper that we know any of the "facts." I would not feel comfortable making any judgements about this man without him going through the criminal justice system as prescribed by law. And you people in the lynch mob should consider these words.
I have no doubt that most TPO's are issued honestly. There are a few that contain false allegations. If the accused is in fact guilty, then of course he should be ordered to stay away from the victim. As far as the ones that are taken out based on lies, as I mentioned earlier they have a court date. Yes, it's another one of those unfair hassles that life is full of when an innocent person has to go through this process; but don't worry, they will get over it. The bright side of this for the falsely accused is the simple fact that when something didn't really happen, it's kind of hard for someone to prove that it did. Lies don't usually produce a whole lot of evidence. Then there are some instances in which TPO's are taken out for ridiculous and petty reasons. If this happens to someone, just stay away from the 'crazy' who took the TPO out on you. This also applies to the falsely accused who have to stay away from their self made 'victims'; just stay away from them now and forever. Why would you want to go around someone who either told vicious lies about you, or who plainly just doesn't want you around no matter how silly the complaints they made against you are?
Personally I believe that it doesn't matter why a person doesn't want to be near you. However, they should not resort to making false accusations to make that happen and should be punished for doing so. That's a lot of the problem right there. This is against the law. The ones who use falsehoods in order to obtain TPO's are usually found out pretty quickly. Unfortunetly those with proper authority to make these liars pay the consequences of their crime don't push it and press charges on them. Therefore, those guilty get the message that what they did was no big deal; and that leads into their thinking of, 'I know I will get away with it so why can't I do it again'?
I also have a question for you. When did we lose sight of personal responsibility? If a TPO is issued, it cannot be enforced until the affected party is served. Then the served party understands the restrictions set in place by the Superior Court. Is it not incumbent on the served party to abide by the guidelines set by the court? After all, they have the right to a hearing after being served.
Just a thought.
Just a thought.
By today's standards, a man who raises his voice in his own home is subject to these TPO's. And I can tell you that a hearing to get a TPO before the judge only requires a preponderance of the evidence to be issued, not beyond a reasonable doubt. So TPO's are indeed issued all the time WITH a reasonable doubt. And this can affect the divorce case pending in a negative way. It's no wonder some guys go crazy over this stuff.
And being arrested, possibly with no bond, is no assurance that one will still have a job the next day or that their house will not be foreclosed on during this time, all before a jury ever sits for the case. And you can't sign your own bond even though you're a property owner. You have to find someone willing to do this. How would you like your friends to get a call from the Jackson County jail from you? Do you think they might think differently of you in the future? We need reform and not the kind we've been getting.
I know a lot more that has gone on that the general public doesnt. Take the blinders off and get the whole story. The grenade found was DRILLED OUT meaning there was no fuse or explosive element. JPD or JCSD had they taken the time to examine what they found would have realized that everything was perfectly legal. And again, I made no excuse for Dennis Thomas actions. He made his own choice to violate a TPO. The problem that I have is that an innocent man who eas excercising his right to bear arms was arrested in the process. And by the way....... JPD and JCSD have a lot of officers jumping from dept to dept from the sheriffs dept to the police dept and so on. They all are aware of what goes on the general RESIDENTS dont and they take sides as well. I do not condone breaking the law in any means. I have aproblem with the Law Enforcers being so ill educated and biast that they only enforce simple laws or enforce personal opions of themselves or thier other friends in blue. They all just need to stick to what they do best and play trafic nazis.