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October 1, 2009

Trustworthiness called to task

By Nathan Straus

nstraus@jacksonvilleprogress.com



Can she be trusted? That was the question of the day during the ongoing case brought against Texas Department of Safety Trooper Thomas Bledsoe.

Joanna Miles, secretary at the Jacksonville branch of the Texas Department of Public Safety, was the ‘she’ up for discussion.

Bledsoe was accused of indecent exposure toward Miles in an alleged incident that occurred February 3 in the DPS office.

John Haring, Bledsoe's defense attorney, called Leslie Johnson to the stand to testify as a character witness Wednesday. A Frankston Packaging Company controller from 2005 to July of 2007, Johnson once interviewed Miles because she sought a position as administrative assistant at the packaging company.

“I do not believe she is truthful,” he stated.

The jury was not allowed to hear the reasoning behind this statement.

Another witness called by the defense was a Texas DPS employee who worked in the driver's license office. This witness said Miles, known as Joanna Carpenter when she knew her, was her coworker.

“She is absolutely not a truthful person,” the witness said.

One witness, Jimmy Johnson, a DPS sgt at the Palestine branch, claimed Miles filed a complaint of retaliation against him some time ago, alleging Johnson made two comments.

He said he vaguely remembered one, but didn't remember the second at all. The comment he remembered saying stated County Attorney Caldwell seemed to be more enthusiastic about prosecuting DPS personnel than he was about going after people arrested by DPS

Johnson said the comment was not meant to have been heard by Miles, but added, “The comment was not made in regard to Bledsoe.”

The second comment, which Johnson said he couldn't remember saying, noted Johnson complained about having to do the work of two sergeants while a perfectly good sergeant sat at home. He (Johnson) didn't deny speaking the comment, he just disavowed any memory of it.

Lieutenant Webb of the DPS, a woman higher in the authority chain than Sgt Bledsoe or Joanna Miles, said she had received a few relatively minor complaints about Miles' performance from sergeants in the past.

It was confirmed during the hearings Thomas Bledsoe still held the rank of Sergeant in the Texas DPS.

Dwight Mathis, a captain in the Texas DPS system, said he believed Bledsoe has done a good job as sergeant, though he did notice reports coming from Jacksonville had some errors either he or administrative assistant Miles should have caught.

A possibility was raised by the defense Bledsoe did not expose himself to arouse any sexual feelings, but merely to be funny.

Court hearings will continue Thursday at around 8:15 a.m.

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