Letter to the Editor: Sheriff Will Holt responds to recent allegations
Some times when you defend yourself against baseless and/or grossly exaggerated, twisted claims, you end up spreading the rumor/disinformation more. For my entire 4 years in office, I have chosen not to publicly acknowledge gossip, rumors, and allegations. At some point, however, one has to defend their name and profession simply out of principle. That is what I am doing today, and this will likely not be the last written defense of myself, Kevin Roach, and Michael Roach. Please, if you have questions or concerns, simply come ask me or Kevin. We will tell you outright, and you will be astounded at the cowardice and maliciousness that some people resort to.
Let me first directly address the claims printed and disseminated by “J. Marcom”on the mailer received by many people in Breckenridge and Stephens County on 10/31/20.It purports to be a paid political advertisement by “J. Marcom.” Jay Marcom is the husband and campaign treasurer for Kathy Marcom’s ill-conceived attempt to become sheriff. I will also provide as much context to the CLOSED Texas Rangers investigation as possible without becoming long-winded or unnecessarily publicizing a local business and private citizens,who were involved to varying degrees.
1st – Regarding the APPLICATION for a protective order filed against Kevin Roach and me: it was NOT and NEVER HAS BEEN submitted by a judge, a prosecutor, a law enforcement agency, not even a private practicing attorney. It was physically walked into the courthouse by Jay Marcom, who was witnessed doing so by multiple people. Anyone can draft a fancy looking document, to make it seem legitimate, like it was issued by a unit of government. All you have to do is have Microsoft Word or maybe a local attorney-ally to assist you in making it look deceptively official.Clearly the goal here was to file it, then publicize the document bearing the District Clerk’s receipt stamp, in order to smear Kevin Roach and me. As soon as it was file-stamped, a copy was given to the local Breckenridge American reporter. Do you see the intent?
Did you know that the first application was filed at 1:24PM on October 13th, and then promptly denied on its face just after 8AM, the next morning, by the 90th District Judge? Less than 4 business hours later it was DENIED. The short lifespan of this pseudo-legal nonsense should signal to all of you how meritless that application was.Yet the Marcoms printed it on a mailer so that it would look like the State of Texas was going after me. Nothing is further from the truth. Sadly and embarrassingly for them, this was not their first or last attempt at this.
2nd – On the other side of the mailer is my picture, used by Jay Marcom, without the permission of the Breckenridge Texan, who took the photo of me in early 2018 after my first year in office was complete. Mr. Marcom spent time on the Internet, deciding which photo of me to put on their mailer. That is creepy and odd to me.
3rd – Below my photo, notice the word “accused” is used. That’s because that allegation was fully investigated by the Texas Rangers and then the case was closed. It is common for elected officials, especially ones who also hold a law enforcement position, to have claims made against them when they are doing their job and/or trying to ensure that their employees or office are able to execute their duties in the safest and most efficient manner.
The investigation that the Marcoms allude to is old news. It began in October of 2018 and ended a few months after that. If it was so damning, why didn’t the Marcoms or someone else expose it while it was occurring? Why wait until it is politically advantageous? If it is the right thing to do, then do it immediately, not when you think it will help you get votes.
MOST IMPORTANTLY, that investigation had nothing to do with “involving women.” Just as Chief Deputy Roach outlined in his recent statement, the Marcoms use disinformation to smear me and others, hoping it will give them a leg up. Do you really think they are doing this to help Stephens County residents somehow? If someone who complains about how I do my job happens to be female, that doesn’t mean the complaint relates to their gender. The use of the phrase “involving women” is intentionally misleading and invites people to think the worst. A male was involved in that investigation too, a fact conveniently left out of the Marcom’s mailer.
I am sad for the female, Kathy Marcom. She is but a pawn.
In summary, regarding the now closed Texas Rangers investigation, I came home to serve this community. Many of the things that I wanted to improve and change regarding law enforcement and criminal justice services went against the grain of the embedded “good ole boy system” here in Breckenridge. I had some successes and some failures at improving things. However, in doing so, I made enemies with some local law enforcement and criminal justice officials, who did not want to see changes to their beloved status quo. These enemies are and were like wolves waiting in the dark, foaming at the mouth for any perceived misstep of mine, just so that they could protect their existing state of affairs, while ruining me. This is what spurred on this investigation.
The Texas Rangers did their job. They listened to complaints, followed the evidence and lack thereof, took into context the entire framing and timing of the complaints, then compared all of that to the law, and the case was closed. I think it was even given to the Attorney General’s Office and they declined prosecution. While that was not a fun time for me, it is unfortunately, an inherent part of being a law enforcement executive who is also an elected official.
4th – Regarding Judge Roach’s paraphrased statement on the mailer, please see his own response, posted yesterday. I can emphatically tell you that elected officials and law enforcement officers have certain legal and ethical obligations to report alleged crimes to the proper authorities, and the Texas Rangers are the ones who investigate allegations of abuse of office and official oppression. Not reporting secondhand information/allegations, in some cases can be illegal for the person failing to report, and from an ethical standpoint it can cause them to be perceived as being part of a cover up or obstructing justice. This is similar to the legal requirements for teachers, school counselors, and ER staff to report possible abuse. If someone came to me tomorrow and said that Judge Roach had committed a crime, I would have two options as the sheriff. I could investigate it myself or defer it to the Texas Rangers. Naturally, I would choose the second to be above reproach.
I urge you to consider the source and timing of this mailer. When someone publishes excerpts, snippets, short quotes, or the like; and then refuses or fails to provide context;that should be your first sign that dishonesty and deceit are rampant. After four years of letting things like this slide, I will not let this go on any longer. I hope you understand my perspective, and thank you for reading this.
Sincerely,
Sheriff Will Holt
Editor’s Note: The Breckenridge Texan does not endorse any candidate in any political race. However, we publish Letters to the Editor written by our readers on a variety of topics, including politics. The inclusion of any Letter to the Editor does not indicate an endorsement by the Breckenridge Texan. The viewpoints presented in the letters are those of the letter writer and not necessarily those of the Breckenridge Texan or its staff members. To submit a Letter to the Editor, send it to news@breckenridgetexan.com.
