Philip Klein: I see it; I hear it. Klein said that one of his top investigators, Caroline Gearwho also happened to be Kleins daughterbegan talking to Chris after he was sent to prison. That never just came out of the blue. So the district attorney and the state attorney generals office actually considered indictments of multiple people. And she did everything that she could think of doing to find him. Griffith, 35, was taken into custody in Delray Beach, Florida, just after 4:00 a.m. Officials from the state attorney generals office were so disturbed by Kleins comments that they finally agreed to allow their lead investigator in the case, Sergeant Rachel Kading, to sit down with me for an interview. Bring on the Shiplap? In the fall of 2016, Tom was still playing football for the Canadian High Wildcats. All I want is for someone to tell me what happened to my son.. Will we ever know what happened to Tom Brown? Last month, the Texas Rangers and the Texas attorney general's office . Christian graduated in May from Oklahoma State and landed a job as a forensic scientist at the Department of Public Safety in Waco. This call is hard to hear, but youll get the gist. J.K. Nickell is our editor and Paul Knight is our fact-checker. This article originally appeared in the December 2020 issue of Texas Monthlywith the headline Tom Browns Body. Subscribe today. Various citizens would be subpoenaed to testify under penalty of perjury. Chris said that Sheriff Lewis let him go, but made it clear that Chris would be shot the next time he didnt follow orders. The Deputies serve all court papers. . City Employees Are Heading for the Exits. Paxton ruled in December that Hemphill County Sheriff's Office must comply with an open records request filed in October by an attorney for Penny Meek, Brown's mother. AG Ken Paxton announced on Tuesday that a new Cold Case and Missing Persons Unit would be formed in the Office of the Attorney General to assist law enforcement agencies with the over 19,000 unsolved homicides in Texas. If a grand jury had been called, Kading possibly could have gotten more answers out of Toms family. . Hampton, GA. Marcus Hill. Im sorry if youre angry with me, if youre angry with my crew. The witness name was Chris Jones. And Im like, what you got to show me? Chris went on to say that, in the light, he could see Tomstill alivesitting in front of them in a chair. We have theories, obviously. . The Hemphill County Sheriff's Office became a Contract Training Provider on April 26, 2017. Skip Hollandsworth: Is there any evidence that Tom went up to the football parking lot? In early 2018, the states attorney generals office in Austin took over the investigation. Chris is the stepfather, and, you know, probably one of the nicest men I think Ive ever met in my life, that has been so cordial. A second deputy also discussed the Dollar General surveillance video with a TCOLE investigator: "Nathan always said there was never a video, the deputy said. CANADIAN, Texas (KFDA) - The Hemphill County Sheriff in the swirl of controversy resigned today. Click here to read the survey answers. Im just wasting my time. Man: You need to get out of Canadian, Klein. FIELD NOTES. While deputies said documents in Thomass case were mostly reconstructed long after his disappearance, there is no indication they are inaccurate and all information was given to the attorney general. We hope for that every day. Or that he had been kidnapped and sold to a sex-trafficking ring. You were certain of that? 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. Skip Hollandsworth specializes in long-form narratives. The Unit's first case was to assist the Hemphill County Sheriff's Office in the case of Thomas Brown of Canadian. 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. I then asked Kading about Kleins newest theorythat Chris Jones had seen Tom tied to a chair while a deputy sheriff held a gun to his head. Cover it up, Klein said. Youre done, thats it. His response was vague. And he pulled a gun on me. . According to the Shelby County Sheriff's Office, investigators had been gathering intelligence, which led them to believe that a substantial amount of narcotics and firearms were located at Lewis' residence. This week's best true-crime podcasts include Mob Queens, 30 For 30, Hit Man, Today in True Crime, Flatrock, Going West, Con Artists, and more. Further, the legal standard at trial of beyond a reasonable doubt, that Mr. Browns death was the result of an intentional, or unintentional, criminal act, is not supported by any evidence collected at this time. I want to say this to the public and Ive said it before and Ill say it again: This was not an intentional homicide, he said. 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. Leave them blank to get signed up. . My word to you is this: spend time with your family and enjoy everything God is giving you.. According to the Canadian Record, the Hemphill Sheriff's Office determined the evidence in the Canadian missing teen case proved it was a voluntary runaway.The Canadian Record tells ABC 7 the Sheriff's Office said this is based on forensic evidence, eviden. That these two individuals found out that he may know something about it; that they basically kidnapped him, strapped him to a chair; that they shot him up with drugs and told him that if he ever told anybody, that they would kill him. Leave them blank to get signed up. Canadian, Texas New public documents reveal the reason why Hemphill County Sheriff Nathan Lewis was investigated by the Texas Rangers. The county attorney said, Hey, Nathan, we have way too much heat on us [over the Tom Brown case], Lewis recalled. Last night, coach, Klein Investigations, Philip Klein, the private investigator hired by the. And his point is, You know what, I got nothing to lose. Find agency contact information, phone numbers, addresses and more. Lewis resigned from his post after being formally reprimanded by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) for falsifying training records. Rachel Kading: So, I dont know if the general public is really familiar with how polygraphs work, but theres usually a battery of questions. Philip Klein: Penny, would you please stand up? In the months before his death, he unexpectedly had quit the football team and broken up with his girlfriend. 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 . Klein told me he had been talking to a couple of the towns residentshe wouldnt identify them or tell me their ageswho were feeding him an entirely new story about what had happened on Thanksgiving eve 2016. Tucker said he was already so distraught over Toms death that he was worried his answers would come across as evasive. Skip Hollandsworth: Youve agreed to sit down. OVER THE PAST nearly two months, I've filed a handful of public information requests with 31st District Attorney Franklin McDonough's office and the Texas Rangers, attempting to determinefirst, what criminal complaint had been lodged against Hemphill County Sheriff Nathan Lewis that led to his investigation by the Texas Rangers, and more recently, what the result of that . Then, in the late summer of 2020, just as we were wrapping the podcast, there were rumors that the attorney-general investigators wanted the local district attorney to call a grand jury. There were dark, ugly stories that the countys young sheriff, Nathan Lewis, was involved in Toms disappearance. There have been plenty of bombshell revelations in this complicated and tragic story. Philip Klein: Where I want the public to see that these people had nothing to do with the disappearance of Tom. Everyone in the small Texas town knows about Thomas Brown. . Will we ever know who parked Toms Durango by the water treatment plant? Pulled up behind him, Penny said, and started messing with him and perhaps accidentally shot him. And hes like, Im gonna kill you. You know, hecocked the gun back. Produced and engineered by Brian Standefer, who also wrote the music. Kading said nothing. Choosing her words carefully, she explained to me why there had been so much uncertainty around calling a grand jury. Lewis resigned as Hemphill County sheriff in November 2019. The attorney generals came in and they wanted to know about a video that did or did not exist. PICKENS COUNTY, Ga. - A homicide suspect was taken into custody Thursday evening, the Pickens County Sheriff's Office announced. Chris said Lewis wanted to show him something that would encourage him to play better. (LogOut/ It was said he had been murdered, stuffed into a wood chipper by a notorious methamphetamine dealer. Then on the night of Nov. 24, 2016, Thomas Brown suddenly vanished. And hes like, Here, put on this pair of goggles, and I put them on. Skip Hollandsworth: And did you find any evidence that suggested he was not home all night? I believe only on Pennys, not on Chriss. Episode Nine: Another Day in Canadian.. . Deputies also found multiple items that were . It could be the ten-year anniversary. So the door is always open at our office for any information, for anything that will bring resolution to this case. Let me tell you this. The report concluded Sheriff Lewis failed to educate himself on the TCOLE rules and laws and that he violated his contract. Current Sports. She had entered that profession largely because of Tom. The TCOLE investigators were told there was documentation to support Sheriff Lewis claim that officers in his department received credit for numerous field training hours. For those of you that do not know Penny, Penny is the mother of Thomas Brown. So you can go get indictments, which are very easy to get, but to not have the trial evidence, its unethical and it doesnt serve the victim. Someone else claimed they saw her driving down Main Street, past the Justice for Tom signs. This button displays the currently selected search type. But were not here, like I said earlier, to make you feel good. Lewis told me he later met with Hemphill County officials, who asked for his resignation. Personal Facebook. Investigators with the Texas Attorney Generals Office agreed to review Thomass case in 2018. Sheriff. If you go through a grand jury and you have an indictment, but you dont have enough to convict somebody at trial, its just not ethical to do that. Chris then claimed that in the early evening hours of Thanksgiving Dayless than 24 hours after Tom had disappearedLewis came to see him again. Perhaps because the pandemic was surging at the time, Kading stayed for only a few days. For more news from the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles and Eastern New Mexico, visit www.ConnectAmarillo.com. According to 31st District Attorney, Franklin McDonough, the case was rejected for lack . The duties and responsibilities of the Sheriff's Office include: Inmate Custody; The Sheriff is the Treasurer of the County; The Sheriff collects taxes from citizens and disburses them (state, county, municipal and school.) During our interview, she did confirm rumors that she had spoken with the countys district attorney, Franklin McDonough, about the possibility of convening a grand jury to look into Toms death. Thats crazy. Stand by just a minute. Ortega also reported she did not perform or complete any Field Training Programs for Corrections. We believe that there was a period of a bad relationship between families up there.. "So what he said was, number one, he would get paid to play football for Canadian," she said. 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. He was just wanting to give Tom a little scare. When you write reports a year and after because why? Nathan Lewis 401 Purcell Ave Canadian, Texas 79014 (806)323-5324 Visit Department's Homepage County: Hemphill. Im probably just going to keep doing what Im doing. At the end of the report, it states Lewis was very apologetic for all the mistakes and trouble the training issue caused. "As of today, this case remains a questionable death investigation without sufficient evidence to conclude that Tom Browns death was attributed to a criminal act, an accidental death, or a suicide. Because he had a few minutes left before his curfew, he drove to the parking lot of the high school football stadium, where Canadian kids occasionally gathered. In a curious move, Sheriff Nathan Lewis asked Penny for Tom's phone passcode, even though his phone had not yet been recovered. The Seneca County Sheriff's Office reports, on August 19th, 2021 members of the Narcotics Unit arrested Nathan E. Lewis, age 30, of Waterloo, NY. 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. Skip Hollandsworth: Tucker was asked by you to take a lie detector test. Chris Meek? Chris Jones: And he was like, Im gonna show you something. Families of missing persons hope law enforcement would do all they could to locate their loved one. The crash occurred shortly before 5:30 p.m. Saturday on Trail C5A (Flat Rock Road) in the town of Martinsburg . Klein added further details, claiming there were in fact two teenage boys who had been messing with Tom in the football stadium parking lot and that one of them had accidentally pulled the trigger. Tucker Brown: Every day I think we may not know anything, ever. Philip Klein: Five times! Interim Chief of Police at Atlanta Metropolitan State College (Official) Dallas, GA. Daniel Serene. Before I left Canadian, I drove by some of the towns landmarks. When I called Lewis to talk about Kleins accusations, he let out a laugh. Search warrants show that Real County Sheriff Nathan Johnson is under scrutiny by state investigators . So I asked Kading, what did she think happened on Thanksgiving eve 2016? Lewis has also been accused-both formally and informally-of numerous other breaches of the law and his ethical duty as a law . Shes not. He said Lewis put him in the back of a police car and handed him a pair of goggles. Lewis resigned as Hemphill County sheriff in November 2019. Philip Klein: . 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