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January 27, 2009

Fox charged with felony for his paper trail

By Kelly Young

kyoung@jacksonvilleprogress.com

Robert Fox spent the weekend in jail after Jacksonville Police Department officers arrested him Friday morning for allegedly tampering with a governmental record. The new count adds to the laundry list of crimes JPD believes Fox has committed in Cherokee County — possession of a controlled substance, possession of dangerous drugs, practicing law without a license and barratry — and is the second felony he has been charged with.

Police Chief Reece Daniel said Fox was picked up Friday morning at the county courthouse in Rusk. Fox had been attending his own indigency hearing, attempting to prove that he cannot afford to hire legal representation, when Detective Jason Price executed the arrest warrant for tampering with a governmental record.

“Jason was there to testify in the hearing, and because we also had a warrant out for him, we thought we would kill two birds with one stone. The charge stems from some paperwork he has filed in a Smith County court, but because he delivered it and made the demands in Cherokee County, we have venue,” Daniel said. “He filed an official record with the clerk’s office, which is legally considered a governmental record. Under the law, if that record contains false information, then it has been tampered with.”

And Daniel said the documents are littered with false information.

“He has filed documents all over Cherokee County claiming that we kidnapped him, committed elder abuse and other things like that, and is demanding $30 million for restitution,” Daniel said. “We had valid search and arrest warrants each time he has been arrested, so quite obviously the kidnapping accusation is false. Filled with nothing but fictitious charges, these documents basically amount to attempted extortion.”

Chapter 37.10. of the Texas Penal Code defines tampering with a governmental record as making, presenting or using any record, document or thing with knowledge of its falsity and with the intent that it be taken as a genuine governmental record.

According to Daniel, JPD filed the crime as a second-degree felony because under Section 37.01(2)(D)(2) of the penal code, it feels the intent of the offense was to defraud or harm the city of Jacksonville and its law enforcement officers.

“It is more or less a form of retaliation against the police for doing their jobs. At some point we had to stop him from cluttering up the county clerk’s office with false, frivolous documents, and I think this is the best way to do it,” he said. “We are looking very closely right now at his friends and cohorts who have been making similar filings. We intend to file the same charge on each of them that we can identify as being a false governmental record.”

Bond was set for Fox at $30,000. As of Monday evening, Fox is still in custody at the Cherokee County Jail.

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