Another parole success story ...


Ex-con charged with trying to bomb clinic

Unclear why he put bomb outside women's health center that performs abortions

AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Saturday, April 28, 2007

A soft-sided cooler bought at the Ben White Boulevard Wal-Mart in South Austin led authorities to a 27-year-old man, who was arrested and charged Friday with leaving a homemade bomb in the parking lot of an Austin women's clinic that performs abortions.

The bomb, defused by Austin police Wednesday after it was spotted by an employee at the Austin Women's Health Center on South Interstate 35 near Oltorf Street, was built around a footlong pipe and packed with a propane cylinder and two pounds of nails, an FBI affidavit said.

"The device could have caused serious injury or death within a hundred-foot radius," Assistant Austin Police Chief David Carter said at a news conference.

Charged in the crime was Paul Ross Evans, who lives in northeastern Travis County and has been to prison on burglary and robbery charges.

* * *

Evans has been charged with three federal crimes that accuse him of using weapons of mass destruction, attempting to damage a building used in interstate commerce and attempting to damage a facility because it provides reproductive health services.

The first charge is the most serious, punishable by up to life in prison.

* * *

Evans has previously lived in Lufkin, in East Texas, according to records.

In 2002, he was arrested after a crime spree that took him about 100 miles from Lufkin, in Angelina County, south to Humble, in Harris County.

News reports published soon after in The Lufkin Daily News quoted police as saying Evans stole a pickup, burglarized two other vehicles and robbed a convenience store and a Whataburger drive-through by flashing a pellet gun.

He was arrested by police in Humble after a chase and in 2003 pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery and one count of burglary.

He was sentenced to 15 years in prison, said Michelle Lyons, a spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. She said he was released on parole Aug. 18, 2005.


The Story

So, assuming we wait until he has been convicted of this new violent crime, the Leg would be OK with only then revoking his parole and running that old sentence concurrent with his new sentence, right?

That must be very frightening to those parolees who now know that

(1) they will serve only 10% of their sentence; and
(2) they won't get revoked for those mean old "technical" violations like drug use, buying bomb parts or never going to see your parole officer.

The sick thing is it takes cases like this to remind the Leg of the terrible results of such an irrational policy.

He didn't really MEAN to hurt anyone though...He is just another misunderstood parolee...

Yeah, right. We're just lucky no one was hurt or killed.

[This message was edited by GG on 04-30-07 at .]

You fellows are so one-dimensional. All you consider is protecting the public from a deranged armed robber. The legislature has to look at the Big Picture, which, frankly, is why they get tired of listening to people like you.

And the Big Picture is this: think of all the money the State saved by letting this guy out of the pen after 2 years of a 15 year sentence.

And before you start your usual cant about, "well, gee whiz, Breen, protecting the public from criminals is the first and primary purpose of state government, bla, bla, bla," remember this. The state already makes imprisoning criminals a top priority. TDCJ's budget consumes a whopping 1.8 per cent of the state's operational budget. And of the money TDCJ gets, about 79% is spent incarcerating convicts.

Let's have a little perspective here.

Terry finally gets it. That's a sure sign he's spent too much time with us down at the Capitol.

You have all missed the point. The parole board did a fantastic job. The guy was quickly and neatly enabled to graduate to the federal pen where the State of Texas will have to pay nothing for his continued rehabilitation. What more could we ask for?

Martin:

When the lege. shifts the burden of a state responsibility to the federal govt., it has hit a home run.

But even if all they do is shift the economic burden to the counties, they have gotten to at least 3rd base.

If the consequence of shirking their responsibilities falls on innocent Texans, who are the victims of criminals who otherwise would be incarcerated, well, that's too bad. The victims can certainly count on their sympathy. And they might even do something to show they care. How about an unworkable draconian sex offender statute? While it may not solve any problem, at least it doesn't cost the state anything. And that's the main thing.

A condition of Barton's parole from prison in 2009 was that he not drive a vehicle unless it was equipped with an interlock device that requires him to breathe into an analyzer before the engine can be started. If the device registers alcohol, the car won't start.

The car Barton was driving belonged to a relative and had no interlock device, Capt. Jay Powell, a Lewisville police spokesman, said Tuesday. "If he's out, he has rules he is supposed to follow," Powell said. "And when he didn't follow them, you see the consequences.

"All these things, like laws, are for the people who follow them. But he was in trouble in the first place for not obeying them. So why are we surprised he's driving a car without an interlock on it?"

Details.