County OKs cold case team

By Christi Laney The Huntsville Item

HUNTSVILLE — With old cases hanging over his shoulder and the burden of unsolved crimes plaguing his mind, Walker County Sheriff Clint McRae requested and received approval from the Walker County Commissioners Court on Monday to form a “cold case” team, which will be recruited to solve old crimes from as far back as the 1980s.

The department already oversees a group of volunteers, mostly retirees from the Houston Police Department, who willingly give their time and effort to collect evidence, conduct interviews and review files in pursuit of closure on unsolved cases.

During a special session of commissioners court on Monday, McRae requested permission to use existing funds from the budget to help finance the team, including travel expenses and reimbursement for expenses related to investigative work.

While the team members volunteer their time, McRae said, the need to visit other cities or locales during the investigations could require funding from the county as volunteers use their own vehicles and money to pay for expenses.

“During these investigations, from time to time, there is a possibility that there may have to be some travel, possibly reimbursed for mileage, things of that nature,” McRae said. “Time is volunteered. The only thing we would be looking at is possibly mileage, maybe per diem for meals if they have to travel to San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, whatever the case may be to follow up on a case.”

Intent on solving as many cold cases as possible, McRae assembled the team and began plans to utilize their expertise with hopes that their combined knowledge and skills in law enforcement and investigative work may help close out cases that have been dormant for years.

With more than a century of experience between them, the team of five volunteers could be the missing link the department needs to solve crimes that may otherwise have become just another dusty file folder in a back closet.

“We’ve already put the board together and we have met twice now,” McRae Said. “They have in excess of about 150 years of experience investigating homicides, kidnappings, high-profile type cases.

“Their responsibility is to actually go through and investigate and do some leg-work on these cold cases.”

For McRae, the opportunity to have a team dedicated specifically to solving cold cases is an invaluable tool.

By closing out old cases, he hopes the volunteers efforts help him and the community rest more at ease with the knowledge that no crime goes unpunished while providing closure for the victims’ families, who may have been in limbo for years.

“As sheriff, I don’t like having these cold cases sitting out there idle,” McRae said. “We’ve got family members, victims families that have loved ones that are unidentified, cases that are not solved.

“It’s the only way for us to go back and look at some of these cold cases.”

After approving the request, Walker County judge Danny Pierce echoed the sentiments shown by McRae and expressed his support for the cold case team as a necessary component of the sheriff’s department.

“I think this is a great idea and you’ve got some good folks on there,” Pierce said. “It is going to be very effective. I think it’s very admirable to put this group together.”

In other action on Monday, the court also approved eGov Strategies, LLC as the web design company for the Walker County website in the amount of $35,501.65, which was the lowest bid the county received for the project.

According to county purchasing agent, the company also designed the website for the City of Deer Park, Texas. Walker County will be the first county to utilize the company’s services in the state of Texas.

McKenzie also said the format of the website will remain the same with each county department choosing what information to post, including court dockets, calendars and agendas.

“What will be on the web will be what each department chooses to put on the web,” McKenzie said. “It will still be each department’s decision what will be on there.”

Department heads will receive training from the company to learn how to post information onto the website using a web-based tool that will not require the purchase of any additional software.

The funding for the web design services was budgeted in the amount of $25,000 with the remaining money coming from a budget adjustment presented to the court during their last meeting.

In other action on Monday, the court also:

• Approved minutes for June 14, 2010.

• Approved request from the City of Huntsville to utilize fiber connections at Courthouse and DA building.

• Approved one-time expense to purchase hardware Cisco phone system devices for spares in lieu of purchasing ongoing yearly maintenance support.

• Approved request for matching grant for the Gibbs Powell House in the amount of $4,000.

• Acknowledged receipt of agreement for the provision of fire and emergency services between the New Waverly Volunteer Fire Department and Emergency Service District #2.

• Acknowledged receipt of the canvassing of the returns and declaring results of the May 8, 2010 local ad valorem tax election.

• Approved Emergency Management Performance Grant in the amount of $17,006.00.

• Approved bill paying in the amount of $1,121,972.36.

• Approved purchase of non-V.O.C. Asphalt Emulsions from P2 Emulsion Plants LLC under LGC §262.024 Discretionary Exemptions (a) A contract for the purchase of any of the following items is exempt from the requirement established by section 262.023 if the commissioners court by order grants the exemption: (7) an item that can be obtained from only one source, including: (A) items for which competition is precluded because of the existence of patents, copyrights, secret processes, or monopolies.

• Approved contract with DPS to obtain driving records in accordance with Walker County Policy #2.27.

• Approved additional and items for Bid #C2360-10-009 – Food for the Jail to Labatt Food Service LLC.

• Approved purchase of Records Management System Software with MCCi for EMS in the amount of $2,645.

• Approved Annual Software Support for MCCi for Laserfiche in the amount of $18,407.40 for the period September 10, 2010 through September 9, 2011.

• Approved Schedule of Values for Bid #C2360-9-003 – Complete construction of the Walker County HEARTS Veterans Museum of Texas pavilion.

• Approved claims/invoices submitted for payment in the amount of $121.738.52

• Approved verbal agreement with Lone Star Legal Aid for outreach in Walker County.

• Approved reappointment of Richard Robins and James Groves to the Walker County Housing Authority Board.

• Approved sponsorship of Riverside Water Supply Corporation to proceed with 2011/2012 Texas Community Development Block Grant application.

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