by Ron Bartels, Ph.D.
Pamela Fay Felkins Case Plays Center Stage
The County Fair is now over in Faulkner County. The attendance was high. People were concerned about a lot of what has been happening in politics since 2006, when the last sea change in politics began to occur. That sea change peeked in 2008 with the election of Barack Obama.
Unknowingly, voters have been increasingly frustrated with the politicos they’ve elected. Bush frustrated the voters also. Meanwhile, while rapt attention has been paid on politics at the national level, government has been breaking down at the local level also. Such a breakdown got worse in November 2006 in the Faulkner County Sheriff’s race, when both candidates promised to send the evidence in the Pamela Faye Felkins case to the crime lab should they win. However, the winner in the 2006 sheriff’s race, Karl Byrd, failed to keep his word.
In January of 2007, when the winner in the Faulkner County sheriff’s race, Karl Byrd, took office, the former head of the multi-agency task force walked in to congratulate newly elected sheriff Karl Byrd, asked when the evidence was going to be sent to the crime lab now that he was elected sheriff, he, Justice Jerry L. Roberts, was told, “that’s right, I’m sheriff now and I’ll do what I dam well please. You are just a citizen now.”
4 years after the campaign promise, the evidence has yet to be sent to the crime lab.
Since Karl Byrd was elected sheriff, here is what he has done about the Pamela Faye Felkins Case:
- Pulled the FBI off the case.
- Pulled the Arkansas State Police off the case
- Refused to send the evidence to the Arkansas Crime to permit forensic scientists to examine the evidence
- Refused to show an ASP investigator the criminal abode that the perpetrators used to commit the brutal rape and 3 hours of continuous torture
- Lie about who did commit the crime by saying at various times and places that a certain well know Greenbrier businessman and the husband of the deceased victim of being the perpetrators.
- Refused to be cooperative in this investigation – his excuse is that I told a bunch of lies when I was interviewed on the Dave Elswick Show. Of course, it has not yet crossed his mind to actually ask Dave Elswick if he ever interviewed me. If he was a good investigator, he would know that I never was one of Dave Elswick’s guests, although it would be a great honor to be on his show some time in the future.
- Lied about working on the case. How do I know that? I have been with former and present officers who have been investigating the case on their own time and their own dime. Together, we have interviewed witnesses who have as of this writing, not been contacted by anyone in the sheriff’s office. I have been outside the State of Arkansas on these investigations with these same officers. I’ll expose the content of these investigations in future writings about this matter.
- Told several people in Greenbrier, Arkansas to quit worrying about the Pamela Faye Felkins case because it was 20 years ago.
- Told many folks I’ve talked to that Justice Jerry L. Roberts was “crazy.” I have invested over 1000 hours with Justice Roberts going over evidence, touring the crime scenes and can testify to this…the man is not crazy…but he is passionate. I am sure of this, Justice Roberts, like many fine officers before him, will not give up on this case until it has been presented before the bar of justice.
- He has also called Justice Roberts just plain stupid. Well let’s see about who is stupid. It seems that Corporal Byrd tried to pass the Sergeant’s examination 6 times and failed. He never made it. Meanwhile, Justice Roberts, who was a Sergeant in the Arkansas State Police was awarded Trooper of the Year in 1987. The award was presented by Governor Bill Clinton in Little Rock, Arkansas. Not only that, Justice Roberts was awarded National Law Enforcement Officer of the Year in 1997. That award was presented in the Rose Garden by then President Bill Clinton.
When the candidates for sheriff’s resumes are compared side by side, even if one of them wasn’t corrupt, you would have to hire Roberts. Let’s see. The choice might be like this. The price is exactly the same for the services of either man. That would be like choosing between two cars priced exactly the same but one was a smooth running Mercedes and the other a old broken down Yugo.
Sheriff Byrd has told many folks that Justice Roberts is “just lying.” Guess I must feel honored because he says I’m lying also. Criminals are like that when confronted by the evidence and the truth. They call investigative reporters as well as public and private investigators liars.
The actual truth about the matter is that it was ready to be brought before the bar of justice many many years ago when there were 38 reasons and 24 witnesses. Now, after 20 years, there is only 12 of those witnesses left alive.
The best way to bring the Pamela Faye Felkins Case to a closure is to put it before a jury of 12 Faulkner County Citizens. They’ll be able to decide in public, who is telling the truth and sort fact from fiction. However, that is the last thing sheriff Byrd really wants. Here are some relevant facts to consider:
- He has never called the FBI back in to assist on the case. (Just the opposite, he asked them to leave and they have to leave because a sheriff is a Constitutional officer and the FBI only has jurisdiction if it crosses State line or if they are asked to assist.) The only task the FBI was permitted to do was to recover, photograph and transport the evidence from the crime scene to the Faulkner County Evidence room. Standard procedure calls for it to be transported from there to the Arkansas Crime Lab. The fact is that the Task Force called the FBI in because they didn’t trust a few of the officers at the time, primarily Bobby Brown, whom Sheriff Montgomery suddenly put in charge of the crime lab in place of the officer the honest officers trusted.
- He has not called the Arkansas State Police back in to assist on the case. (Just the opposite, he asked them to leave and they have to leave because a sheriff is a Constitutional officer and the ASP only has jurisdiction if it crosses State line or if they are asked to assist.)
- He refuses to let forensic scientists at the Arkansas Crime Lab have the evidence.
“As of this date, not one forensic scientist has been permitted to examine the evidence the sheriff has claimed he still has in his evidence room.”
1997 National Law Enforcement Officer of the Year
The 20th Judicial Prosecutor, Marcus Vaden, so far, has also stayed out of the efforts to seek justice for Pamela Faye Felkins. She has been denied justice for 20 years even though the case was solved over 10 years ago and presented to the 20th judicial prosecutor’s office. The choice is simple. It is between Justice for Pam or protection for the son of a prominent local businessman with friends in high places.
Below, are two polls for you to take on the sheriff’s race and the 20th judicial prosecutor’s race. Please make a selection. You can even let us know that you are not voting or voting but not making a selection in one or both races when you do vote.
1987 Arkansas Trooper of the Year
There is plenty of distinction in the sheriff’s race and very little, except for the experience issue, in the prosecutor’s race so far. So please advise your friends, family, neighbors, associates and contacts that this poll is now available and will be posted until November 1st, 2010. You will be able to see the results after you vote. Only one vote will be permitted per computer or smart phone to more accurately measure the opinion of the voters. Please feel free to register your opinions and feedback.
All replies will be held in the strictest confidence, including those we receive from certain law enforcement officers who though fearful of being terminated by the current sheriff, have never the less, provided confidential information. Many have said they will tell the truth but only under oath but for now do not want to risk being terminated for telling the truth right now. Only the voters can force a change. The FBI and the ASP can’t because they are assisting agencies and while the 20th judicial prosecutor could make a difference, he has as of this date, failed to do so.
The polls are below:
http://www.proprofs.com/polls/poll/?title=who-do-you-prefer-for-sheriff-for-faulkner-county-sheriff
http://www.proprofs.com/polls/poll/?title=who-do-you-prefer-for-20th-judicial-district-prosecutor
