Kick Off For Trial Of The Black Man For Playing Poker Is At 9 AM On Wednesday

Rickey Stokes

Viewed: 9525

Posted by: RStokes
Date: Oct 16 2012 8:16 PM

HOUSTON COUNTY:    The kick off time is 9:00 AM on Wednesday before Twentieth Judicial Circuit Judge Kevin Moulton. The case is Dothan Police Department Cpl. Jeremy Kendrick, in the name of the State of Alabama versus John Turner.

The offense is Section 13A-12-52

Copied from the Code of Alabama Law

Exhibiting gambling devices in barred house or where speaking tubes or electric signals are used.

No person or persons shall exhibit or expose to view in any barred or barricaded house or room, in any place built or constructed in such manner as to make it difficult of access or ingress to police officers or other officers, or protected, furnished or equipped with speaking tubes, dumbwaiters, electric wires or bells, or other apparatus for giving alarm from the outside or from the inside of such house, or room when two or more persons are present, any cards, dice, roulette wheel or any gambling implements whatever. Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a felony and shall be punished by imprisonment in the penitentiary for not less than one nor more than five years; and all persons who visit or resort to any such barred or barricaded house or room or other place that is built or protected or equipped in the manner described in this section and where any cards, dice, roulette wheel or any gaming implements whatever are kept or exhibited or exposed to view when said persons visit or resort to such place for the purpose of gaming, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not less than $50.00 nor more than $300.00 and may also be imprisoned in the county jail or sentenced to hard labor for the county for not more than six months.

The Grand Jury Indictment reads as follows:

The Grand Jury of said county charge that, before the finding of this indictment, JOHN C. TURNER, whose  is otherwise unknown to the Grand Jury, did, unlawfully exhibit or expose to view CARDS AND/OR DICE at 315 E. SPRING STREE, DOTHAN, AL, Houston County, Alabama, a barricaded house or room, in violation of Section 13A-12-52 of the Code of Alabama, against the peace and dignity of the State of Alabama.

 

The Case

 

Dothan Police Department Cpl. Jeremy Kendrick, when assigned to Vice Division, hit an old store building at 315 East Spring Street.   Kendrick arrested one person, John Turner. No one else was arrested.

 

Kendrick charged John Turner with a felony which is defined above.

 

The case is being personally prosecuted by District Attorney Doug Valeska. Representing Turner is Dothan Attorney Joey Sheffield.

 

Valeska and Kendrick claim that Turner was running a gambling house in a building where there were bars over the windows and doors of the business building.  Valeska and Kendrick claim Turner was running a “small casino” in the building. Valeska and Kendrick claim this was a “high stakes” poker game. Turner says it was a group of guys that played poker and it was a $ 35 buy in. There was money shared to cover the rent on the building, the City of Dothan utilities that had to be paid, and was a place where they gathered to play poker.

 

In the building with Turner there were all black people.  In west Dothan a poker game was robbed and Dothan Police investigated, but never solved the crime. None of the white people playing in the poker game were ever arrested for running a gambling house.

 

In a recent hearing District Attorney Doug Valeska argued there was a large screen TV with an outside TV camera to alert of people coming onto the premises. Valeska claims the bars and windows on the doors were to protect them from the entry of the police while they were playing cards.

 

The defense rejects that argument, because the business has had bars over the windows and doors for decades as does many homes in the area. The reason is, they do not feel safe and protected from crime. The defense claims the bars and windows were there and installed on the building, largely because the police do not protect the residents from crime.

 

Although former Dothan Police Chief John Powell placed a ranking Dothan Police Lieutenant in a broom closet from 11 PM to 6 AM to keep crime statistics, Dothan Police have been unable to provide crime statistics in the area.

 

In speaking with law enforcement officers about this criminal offense, they laugh.

 

In their double digit service in Houston County law enforcement, they have never seen anyone prosecuted under this offense.

 

They laugh even louder, when Doug Valeska who claims to be the Chief Law Enforcement Officer of this county has never made an arrest on Country Crossings. Valeska under disguise pretends he is  not involved in the prosecution and original botched search warrant of Country Crossings. He claims he is not involved in the search warrant of Center Stage.

 

Yet Valeska is personally prosecuting the black man for their playing poker game. In fact Valeska got the Turner case postponed because he had to be out of town today. Valeska wants to prosecute this case personally.

 

In fact, District Attorney Doug Valeska filed a motion in this case which contained deliberate and false statements to the court. The court has not held Valeska accountable for false filing to the court.

 

Turner has a federal lawsuit against the City of Dothan for actions of Dothan Police Department prior to this raid. Turner has tried now for years to get the federal lawsuit and case Dothan made against him to trial. Turner has yet to get the original case to trial. It is still continued and has been since 2009. It is continued until after August 2012.

 

However Valeska, apparently in concert with the City of Dothan, is moving this case forward, made October 15, 2010, attempting to block Turner from his federal lawsuit.

 

DOCUMENT 1 - the Federal lawsuit filed by Turner after Dothan Police Department entered his home on a 911 ringback call.

 

DOCUMENT 2 - the motion filed by District Attorney Doug Valeska that contained false information to the court claiming to be about the gambling case wheni t was not.

 

DOCUMENT 3 - the indictment of the gambling case

 

NOTE:   John Turner works with me in the bonding business.

Turner Lawsuit

MotionToSetForTrail Turner

Turner Indictment

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