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May
02, 2005
Concern of sexual offender in neighborhood draws large group of neighbors
to meeting
by Linda Baker
About 50 people attended a neighborhood meeting at the
home of David and Kami Lee in Colleyville. Colleyville Detective Kevin Walling and
Police Chief Tommy Ingram were there to speak. The meeting had
been the encouraged by the Detective.
The neighbors who harbored and employed Doug Bachstein live across the
street from David and Kami Lee, Mark and Melinda Stokes were invited
to the meeting. The Stokes brought a letter of apology
and spoke to the crowd. LETTER from the
Stokes
Click on
photos to enlarge.
The Stokes said they had employed Bachstein prior to his first
offense. That offense the sexual contact with a minor. They said Bachstein lived with his sister back
and it was her 8 year old daughter, but that he claimed that
he never touched her; only exposed himself while doing drugs.
Detective Kevin Walling was introduced by David Lee. Walling said that he
had talked with different families in the neighborhood in the past
week. Walling said that he suggested the meeting because of the "great concern" everyone had over Bachstein.
Bachstein was living with the Stokes, unbeknownst to his parole officer, the Colleyville Police Department and neighbors.
Walling said he was attending to discuss what the laws are on Sexual Offender registration, and what
neighbors can do to look out for each other. He then had a
question and answer session.
In the case of Bachstein, he did not show up in El Paso on 2/25/05 to the halfway house,
in violation of his parole. (Huntsville prison gives parolees a bus ticket.) El Paso called his Parole Officer, who should have called Southlake,
because he previously listed address was on Our Lane in that
city prior to going to prison the first time.
However, Southlake Police thought Bachstein was in prison and Colleyville had no information
that Bachstein was living in the city. Bachstein had told the Stokes he was free and clear and needed a job. Stokes says he didn't know Bachstein was wanted or that the arrest warrant had been issued, or that he was AWOL from the El Paso halfway house.
Stokes now says he didn't know Bachstein had their Suburban the night of
his arrest. Colleyville Officer Raymon Cannon spotted him looking for open garage doors, and suspected him of possibly planning a burglary. Bachstein is charged from Colleyville on the 3 charges of
Aggravated Sexual Assault on an Office, Evading Arrest/Detention, and Parole Violation.
Detective Walling prepared the case and it was filed and accepted,
by the Tarrant County District Attorney's office, in 45 minutes. Click
Here for the original LNO article and video of the police
chase through residential streets of Colleyville.
Detective Walling was asked if the Stokes knew Bachstein was a sexual offender,
and Walling responded that it was his understanding the Stokes
were aware of his background. Neighbors were anxious how they could find out about sexual offenders in
Colleyville and Walling informed them about the Texas
Sexual Offender Registration Website.
Many of the neighbors felt uneasy about Bachstein prior to this incident. One person (David Lee) said he saw Bachstein deliberately turn two of the Stokes dogs loose from their leash once, and use that an excuse to come into the yard. Bachstein had claimed the loose dog trick once or twice before David Lee witnessed him doing it.
Kevin Walling said, "....a lot of you had problems with this man in your backyards and you never called us. What we need is just a phone call about a 'suspicious person'. We could have stopped this from happening a long time ago-the man was loose in the neighborhood for two months."
The
only possible, but not certain, new charge is "harboring a fugitive" regarding the Stokes.
Walling said to call Detective Hillary Wray at (817) 503-1266 or to call him at (817) 503-1264 if they wanted to talk about it privately.
Chief Tommy Ingram spoke and said, "We also depend on you to be our eyes and ears. You call us, no matter how minor it may seem. You'd be surprised what we do go out on calls on. I can't emphasize enough to give us a call. Communities that are involved with each other as neighbors have a greater perception of safety."
Walling said if they had been called on Bachstein, they would have "run" his information and he would have been arrested on the spot for the warrant on the parole violation.
Walling explained that Sexual Offenders must notify the Police
seven days PRIOR to coming to live in a new area. The
Offender must come in and have their picture taken as part of registration, bring in a utility, water or electric bill to prove residency, and have their vehicle photographed.
If not complied and the local police discover the
individual is required to register, an arrest will be
made. The Offender has regular dates worked out to make personal visits to the
Police Department and if they plan on being gone longer than
two weeks, the Department must be made aware of their plans. Neighbors
are supposed to be notified if a Sexual Offender moves in their neighborhood.
Mark Stokes stood and spoke, "CPS (Child Protective Services) has cleared
us ".(they have multiple children, neighbor thinks
six or seven, including children from their marriage and
others they are providing a home.)
"We want to be good neighbors. We are sorry we don't measure
up. Doug had a very desperate life. He was 18, living at his sister's house, a dozen years ago. He never had any physical contact with the girl. He did not lust after the child. He was found naked in her presence, and who knows what drugs do to people. There was never any touching. Only exposure. Doug was a model citizen. His prison time was extended-compounded- by parole misdemeanor violations. He lost his own children."
"We took too much for granted, at face value. We should have informed authorities where he was. He lost his own
children," the Stokes said.
There were some murmurs of disbelief in through the crowd in
response to the Stokes' explanation. One neighbor, Amy Ellison, held up a State Sexual Offender document she pulled up from the Internet and pointed out it stated there was physical contact and touching with the
child, an 8 year old girl. Click
Here for a copy of the charges against Bachstein listed by the
State of Texas.
Mark Stokes was repeatedly asked by neighbors, "knowing what you know now, would you continue to bring in people on parole or probation into our neighborhood?"
Stokes kept skirting the issue, saying "I hope that situation would not come up...I can't say. Our house is not a halfway house. We would not invite trouble. But if someone comes to
me; I don't know if I could turn them away. They could be angels or they could be burglars. I don't think we will but I can't
say. Who knows what the future holds,?" continued
Stokes.
Another neighbor, Glen Adams stated, "Mark, you have 185 employees. Have you done background checks on all of your employees-because they are all in our backyards with your landscaping business that you run out of your house? Have you checked all the undocumented workers? The trucks are around your house all the time and the workers are in and out of there getting paychecks. Are you aware of your civil liabilities?"
Stokes, "Yes, that got explained to me by the Officer. The business is not like that! I rent someplace else to park the trucks and equipment. Other people visit. If you see a truck, they are working on my yard. I am meeting city codes for a home business"
Melinda Stokes stood up and stated, "those cars and trucks are just friends and family! Do you know anyone who has ever been innocent but convicted and sent to prison? We know his (Bachstein') parents and his sister. We knew them and that's why. We observed his actions around children."
Neighbor Sarah Phillips said, "Child offenders are the most deceptive people."
David Lee said, "I understand your ministry. Even in the Biblical responsibility story, the good Samaritan put the stranger up in another place, you go put him up in a hotel, with unlimited credit. You have to look at neighborhood scripture. Hospitality has to begin and end. For our sake. This guy stood at the fence rail and talked to my 3 year old son. It's on the record
that he touched the little girl. Safety is all we desire."
David Lee said "Mark, you made that decision for your land, when Bachstein
came, but you also made the decision for the rest of the neighbors."
Mark Stokes replied, "I regret that. People will not be as understanding. I am glad no one was hurt-we were hurt the worst. This has cost me hundreds, thousands of dollars. We'd be fools to venture there again."
Neighbor George Villalobos stated, "If this guy did what the guy in Florida did, they never even knew what time of night the little girl was pulled from her bed by (a convicted sexual offender)
him. If his sister had only told someone; this could have happened right here in this neighborhood. He may have been watching us from our own yards."
Another neighbor, Jim Burson said, "The thing I find repugnant is the way the Stokes' try to use the Bible to justify their activities. They were very deceptive." His wife, Betsy Burson, added, "the family lied about the severity of the offense. They took the choice away from us. I heard them clearly that if the opportunity presented itself, they would do it again."
David Lee said "The Star-Telegram is here and the reporter from
Local News Only.Com to cover our meeting." Lee looked around, "I don't see
the Star-Telegram reporter now; they must have left. The Star-Telegram
probably read about the meeting in LNO. Local News Only.Com has been
wonderful in covering this case!"
The meeting lasted about two hours, and the Lee's are planning an early August meeting with interested residents to talk about the possibilities of forming a chartered neighborhood, similar to a
HOA.
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