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[TX] Who chopped off the fingernails of Sgt. Fennell's slain fiance'? - When Giddings Police Officer Jimmy Fennell's fiance Stacy Stites was found strangled on the side of a dirt road, her fingernails were cut to the quick, roughly and not filed - eliminating any evidence... He failed two lie detector tests when asked if he killed Stacy. Fennell, now a Georgetown Police Sgt. was arrested this past week for the rape at gunpoint of a domestic violence victim... Stacy's body was unaccounted for for over an hour after being removed from the scene, arriving at the morgue with new injuries - including burns - that were not in photographs taken before she was transported. DNA from 2 cops were found on the beer cans at the site.[TX] Police Sgt .Fennell fired for refusing to come answer questions - Georgetown Sergeant Jimmy Lewis Fennell Jr. - now eyed in the murder of his ex-girlfriend Stacy Stites - has been fired for refusing to come in to answer questions regarding allegations that he raped a woman he arrested. Meanwhile Rodney Reed sits on deathrow for the crime of killing Stacy...
[TX] Fiance' of murdered Stacy Stites - Ex-Sgt. Fennell - pleads guilty on other charges - The pickup was returned to him promptly after the murder, defense attorneys say, before forensic testing on it was finished. Mr. Fennell sold the truck a day later. And investigators never got a search warrant for the apartment Mr. Fennell – then a Giddings police officer – and Ms. Stites shared, even though it was the last place she'd been seen alive...Jimmy Fennell Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison
MyFox Austin
Friday, 26 Sep 2008
09/26/2008 -- Former Georgetown police Sgt. Jimmy Fennell was convicted and sentenced to 2 years in state jail for improper sexual activity with a person in custody and 10 years in prison for kidnapping. Fennell, who turned down a jury trial and pleaded guilty, was given the maximum punishment for those crimes. According to District Attorney John Bradley, the prosecution was complicated by "the initial failure at the supervisory level in the Georgetown Police Department to oversee a proper investigation of a victim's outcry of sexual assault leveled against a police officer." On October 26, 2007, Georgetown police responded to a domestic disturbance call between a woman and her boyfriend. Fennell, who was the ranking supervisor on duty, told the other officers that he would take the woman to find another place to stay for the evening. 911 received a call around 1am from the woman reporting that Fennell had sexually assaulted her and dropped her back at her apartment. During the subsequent response by GPD:
- FENNELL MADE ONLY ONE FAILED ATTEMPT TO CONTACT A SUPERVISOR BY PHONE; NO OTHER OFFICER OR GPD EMPLOYEE CONTACTED A SUPERVISOR;
- FENNELL NOTIFIED DISPATCH HE WOULD TAKE CARE OF THE CALL AND DIRECTED THEM NOT TO MAKE A COMPUTERIZED ENTRY FORMALLY INITIATING THE CASE;
- FENNELL RETURNED TO THE SCENE AND ACTED AS THE SUPERVISING OFFICER;
- GEORGETOWN OFFICERS DENIED SMITH’S REPEATED REQUEST FOR A SEXUAL ASSAULT EXAM OR ANY MEDICAL ATTENTION, EVEN THOUGH EMS WAS STANDING BY A BLOCK AWAY;
- NOT A SINGLE MEMBER OF THE GPD CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION DIVISION, INTERNAL AFFAIRS OR ANY OUTSIDE AGENCY WAS CONTACTED TO BEGIN AN INVESTIGATION;
- GPD PATROL OFFICER ROGGENKAMP, ACTING UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF FENNELL, COMMUNICATED WITH SMITH AND CAUSED HER TO RECANT HER ACCUSATION (RECORDED BY A PATROL CAR VIDEO);
- ROGGENKAMP, AFTER CONSULTING WITH FENNELL, ARRESTED SMITH FOR PUBLIC INTOXICATION AND THEN FAILED TO NOTIFY ANYONE THAT SMITH HAD ACCUSED FENNELL OF SEXUAL ASSAULT WHEN HE RELEASED HER TO THE JAIL; AND
- FENNELL FAILED TO WRITE ANY REPORTS OR MAKE ANY STATEMENT REGARDING THE INCIDENT.
http://www.myfoxaustin.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=7521592&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1
Woman sues police, Fennell over sex assault
ReplyDeleteEx-officer to be sentenced Friday in kidnapping, sexual assault case.
AMERICAN-STATESMAN
By Isadora Vail
Friday, September 26, 2008
A woman who accused former Georgetown police Sgt. Jimmy Lewis Fennell Jr. of kidnapping and sexually assaulting her last year is suing him and the Police Department in federal court, accusing them of violating her civil rights.
In the suit, the woman claims that last October, Fennell responded to a domestic disturbance call at her apartment and then forced her to leave with him, dance for him and have sex with him before he returned her to her home. She called 911 after he departed and reported that she'd been raped by an officer named Fennell, according to the suit, but she said she was "shocked and terrified at seeing Fennell as one of the responding officers."
Fennell has since pleaded guilty to two felony charges of kidnapping and improper sexual activity with a person in custody and will be sentenced today in state District Judge Burt Carnes' court. He could face a maximum of 12 years behind bars.
The lawsuit claims that Fennell and several other officers tried to get her to recant her story and said she would not be arrested if she did. She unsuccessfully asked for medical attention and a rape kit test, according to the suit.
Instead of receiving help, the lawsuit states, she was arrested on a public intoxication charge. Jail records don't show that she was charged, and a search of Texas criminal records also revealed no such charges against her.
After sitting in jail for hours, she was seen by a nurse examiner, who collected physical evidence that might validate her claims, the suit says. She also picked Fennell out of a photo lineup, according to the lawsuit.
The American-Statesman is not publishing her name because she was the victim of a sex crime.
The woman claims that Fennell violated her rights under the Fourth and 14th amendments when he kidnapped and sexually assaulted her and falsely imprisoned her. The lawsuit does not specify a monetary amount in damages. Her attorney, Mark Hefter, could not be reached for comment.
The lawsuit does not name legal counsel for Fennell or the Georgetown Police Department, and officials with the department did not return phone calls Thursday seeking comment. Bob Phillips, Fennell's defense attorney, declined to comment on the case.
The lawsuit contends that the Georgetown Police Department could have prevented the incident if it had researched Fennell's background.
"Prior to Fennell kidnapping and raping plaintiff, there was a disturbing pattern known to Fennell's superiors regarding Fennell's sexually deviant behavior," the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit, which seeks a jury trial, claims that the department knew of "Fennell's deception of law enforcement officers" in the his former fiancée's murder case, prior lawsuits against him for abuse of police authority and excessive force, a previous incident in which he offered an exotic dancer to trade a lap dance for a traffic ticket, and a personal Web site that "focused on sexually explicit and violent images of women."
In 1996, Fennell was a suspect in the slaying of his fiancée, Stacey Stites, in Bastrop County while he was a Giddings police officer. Despite failing two polygraph tests, the lawsuit says, he was ruled out as a suspect. A Bastrop man, Rodney Reed, is on death row for the crime.
ivail@statesman.com; 246-0053
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/09/26/0926fennell.html
Georgetown settles suit tied to Fennell case for $100,000
ReplyDeleteWoman's lawsuit against the city will be dismissed.
American-Statesman
By M.B. Taboada
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
GEORGETOWN — The city has agreed to pay more than $100,000 to settle a case brought by a woman who said she was sexually assaulted by an on-duty police officer in 2007.
In September, former Georgetown police Sgt. Jimmy Lewis Fennell Jr. was sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to charges of kidnapping and improper sexual activity with a person in custody.
Richard South, the city's attorney, said the settlement of the federal lawsuit is "recognition by the city and (the Texas Municipal League) that this is the most cost-efficient way to settle this case."
The Texas Municipal League is basically the insurance carrier for the city, South said, and the payment will be made with league funds.
Plaintiffs attorney Mark Hefter said his client was conflicted about the settlement but said that it would allow her to avoid a trial.
"All things considered, it's a significant settlement," he said. "It doesn't come close, however, to compensate her for what she had to go through."
In the lawsuit, the woman says that in October 2007, Fennell responded to a domestic disturbance call at her apartment and forced her to leave with him, dance for him and have sex with him before he returned her to her home.
She called 911 after he departed and reported that she had been raped by an officer named Fennell, according to the lawsuit. She said in the lawsuit that she was "shocked and terrified at seeing Fennell as one of the responding officers."
The American-Statesman is not publishing the woman's name because she was the victim of a sex crime.
As part of the plea arrangement, the lawsuit against the city will be dismissed. A judgment was entered Monday.
Because Fennell was on duty when the incident occurred, Hefter said, "we felt the city had responsibility for that," given previous allegations of misconduct by Fennell.
In 2004, a woman filed a complaint against Fennell with the Travis County sheriff's department that said Fennell had offered to waive her traffic ticket if she would give him a lap dance.
However, it's difficult to hold a city accountable, Hefter said.
South said the acts against Hefter's client "cannot be excused or ignored."
However, South said Georgetown wasn't liable.
"In a civil rights case, for a city to be liable, they had to have been liable for a policy or practice that results in a deprivation of an individual's rights," South said. "Their policies are beyond reproach."
mtaboada@statesman.com; 246-0040
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/04/14/0414georgetown.html