More Change at Excel

[TheWho]

the deputy didn't take it upon himself. another staff was present and it was business as usual. was the other staff fired as well for his part in the sadistic act?

We don’t even know if the other staff member knew what was going on.  The article wasn’t clear about that.  But it seems they fired the deputy and not the staff member so it would seem the deputy was clearly at fault.  Sheriffs hate to fire their own people so it must have been crystal clear as to who was in charge (responsible).

Here is the article again.

http://www.click2houston.com/news/15140011/detail.html

I am not a big fan of this… the local police take kids to jails in many communities to scare them.



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[Anonymous]

Detective Monte Morast-- What a Real Slim Ball
Montgomery County Strikes Again

Recently an AC writer by the name of JD wrote an article in reference to former Montgomery County Detective Monte Morast. Since then I have had several people approach me and ask me about Monte Morast and what happened so I thought I would delve a little deeper into the case.

Detective Morast was assigned to the Warrants Division at the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office and should have had no involvement with the juvenile in the case at all except for the fact that he had some sort of unsanctioned involvement with the Excel Academy which is a private school in Montgomery County, Texas.

From what I have been able to learn a male juvenile student at Excel Academy had become a disciplinary problem at the school and the Dean of Students contacted his old buddy Detective Morast to assist him with the student. When Morast arrived at the school he threw the boy to the ground and placed the boy in handcuffs in the presence of the Dean of Students and then he and the Dean transported the juvenile to the Montgomery County Jail where Detective Morast decided this juvenile would be subjected to his own "Scared Straight" Program.

Once at the jail the boy was placed in a cell with adult inmates at which point they were instructed by Detective Morast to "show him how it would be like" should the boy be arrested and placed in jail. Under the watchful eye of Detective Morast and the Dean of Students this juvenile was "ordered" to strip by the other inmates who then proceeded to make suggestive sexual remarks about having sex with the juvenile; they even went as far as to rub petroleum jelly on the boy's buttocks.

After being allowed to leave the jail and return to school the boy contacted his parents who filed an official complaint and the matter was turned over to the Texas Department of Public Safety for investigation and charges were filed in the matter.

Detective Morast's attorney is the one and only Steve Jackson of Conroe. Steve Jackson as you will remember was Jason Burkett's attorney and a man I have great respect for. Steve Jackson was quoted in the newspaper telling the reporter that Detective Morast was "just doing his job" and was a "good officer". Steve has several problems with this case and the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office has a lot of explaining to do and I'll explain why.

First off Detective Morast as I said was assigned to the Warrants Division and his operations at the school were both unsanctioned and beyond the scope of his employment. Once at the school he assaulted the juvenile and threw him to the ground, placed him in handcuffs, and held him against his will and transported him to the county jail without arresting the juvenile which could be justified if it weren't for the fact that Detective Morast never wrote a report about the incident and never notified juvenile authorities as is "required" by Texas State Statute, and never made any attempt to justify his actions with a criminal charge against the juvenile; a police officer has no more right to assault you then the average citizen on the street.

Detective Morast then took the juvenile into the county jail facility and placed the juvenile in a cell with adult inmates in direct violation of Texas Statute 51.12(f) which states that when in the same correctional facility adults and juveniles may have "no" sight and sound contact. That's not to mention that your not even suppose to place a juvenile in a county jail without a court order from the Juvenile Court. Steve Jackson then claimed that the Detective was only giving the boy a "jail tour" and had not arrested him, but unfortunately the minute Morast threw the boy to the ground, handcuffed him, and held him against his will that juvenile for all intensive purposes was in the custody of Detective Morast and could be considered under arrest. Additionally the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office had no knowledge of any such jail tour nor had they approved any such jail tour so again Morast operated outside the scope of his employment.  boy, imagine that.

The real kicker is that Detective Morast then stood by while adult inmates forced this boy to strip naked and continued to stand by while these inmates committed assault on this juvenile under Texas Statute 22.01(a)(3) which states "intentionally or knowingly threatens or causes physical contact with another when the person knows or should reasonably believe that the other will regard the contact as offensive or provocative." You can bet yourself that this juvenile felt being forced to strip and have petroleum jelly placed on his buttock was "offensive and provocative".

You might all remember Detective Morast from my series on Michael Perry. Detective Morast is the officer that arrested Michael Perry on Friday the 26th driving the red Camaro supposedly stolen during the homicide. Morast is the same officer that perjured his testimony at the trial of Michael Perry, and I can prove it. He is the same Detective that booked Michael Perry into the county jail under the name of James Adam Stotler who was a 16 year old juvenile at the time in direct violation of the law. He is the same Detective that supposedly got a "tip" that Jason Burkett was in possession of the White Isuzu and the Camaro the day before Michael Perry's arrest as James Adam Stotler. He is the same Detective that just happens to be good friends with the step-father of Kristin Willis who was granted immunity in the Perry and Burkett cases. This officer is real slim and it is about time that his antic finally caught up to him.

So please Steve Jackson don't insult the intelligence of the community by calling this man a "good officer", and don't demean the truly good men and women in law enforcement by associating them with this slim ball.

To the parents of this poor juvenile that was subjected to this man's twisted justice I encourage you to sue the County of Montgomery, the Excel Academy, and Detective Morast himself personally. Once Morast stepped outside the scope of his employment he lost the protections afforded to police officers from civil lawsuits and he has several nice assets that I'm sure your son would love to own like his car and house.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/articl ... _real.html

[Anonymous]

I'm glad you wrote this article TAZ. I had so much misinformation about this case that it is mind blowing. Morast is a piece of shit no doubt about it.But I bet in the end he'll get off with a pat on the back and and a "job well done" by the rouge prosecution team down there. By the way, did you send a copy of this to my little brother? I'm sure it would brighten his day.
Add a Comment
Posted on 02/12/2008 at 1:02:45 PM

I had the opportunity to be an inmate at the Montgomery County Jail while this was happening. This is not the first time this happened., Monte Morast did this same tactic numerous times with numerous different juveniles. Capt. Green gave permission for him to bring in the juvenile for a scared straight lesson. He had them wash dishes, mop floors, etc. also. We were told to talk shit and let them know what it could be like. Add a Comment
Posted on 02/12/2008 at 8:02:21 AM

TAZ: You know Steve I certainly agree with you about facts so here are some for you. The parents in their interview conducted by the Texas Department of Public Safety advised "they had no knowledge that their son would be subjected to such conduct", There is some question as to whether the parents did agree to a "jail tour" or not, but regardless of whether the parents did agree of didn't the Sheriff's Office did not sanction any such tour nor did Morast follow proper procedures to obtain permission to conduct such a tour. Not to mention a police officer has "no" authority to stand by and allow adult inmates to assault a juvenile by placing petroleum jelly on his buttocks and if you question that I suggest you refer to the Texas Criminal Statute that I cited.
Add a Comment
Posted on 02/11/2008 at 2:02:03 PM

TAZ: I suggest Regina you refer to the report issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety about the incident but feel free to inform me the area that is not true in the article. Morast was outside the scope of his employment as a Warrants Investigator as stated by the Sheriff's Office. Morast did threw the juvenile down and did handcuff the juvenile as per the indictment. Morast and the representative from the school stood by and allowed this juvenile to be assaulted by adult inmates. Regina before you show your stupidity again I suggest you read the report by the Department of Public Safety, the indictment handed down by the Grand Jury, and the statements by the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office. Morast is slim and it is about time he got justice.
Add a Comment
Posted on 02/11/2008 at 2:02:51 PM


TAZ: Only "You" the Citizens in Montgomery County, Texas Can Bring About Change
End the "Environment of Abuse"
I swear I thought I had seen it all in my years of law enforcement and beyond but these so called "authority figures" in Montgomery County, Texas take the cake. Montgomery County reminds me so much of my own county here in Florida about 20 years ago when it was transitioning from a sleepy back woods county into the populous county it is today, the "good ole boys" fought the change like hell. One thing I have learned over the years with my law enforcement involvement and especially in my workings behind the scenes in the political arena is that especially in small communities the authorities just hate to give up their power; their ability to intimidate the masses.

Associated Content Writer J.D. and myself have been hitting Montgomery County hard recently; not because we don't like the people in Montgomery County, no. In fact, at least for me, it is the fact that I have great respect for people and the role they play or should play in government that I do this; the people deserve better.

Ask yourself as an ordinary working person in Montgomery County, and I have heard this a lot, "do you trust the police and the courts in Montgomery County?". If your answer is as I have been repeatedly hearing "no" then there is a problem, and it needs to be addressed. If it is true that the poor are abused and the wealthy can buy their way out of trouble then there is a problem.

Police Officers sitting and testifying "under oath" and flat out lying just should not and can not be tolerated. I know Monte Morast lied in the trials of Jason Burkett , who is in prison for life, and James Michael Perry, who currently sits on Texas' Death Row largely based on the testimony of Detective Monte Morast and another questionable Detective, Carey Mace. [remember Perry and Burkett- look under WWASP] These are the "gatekeepers" of society in Montgomery County and if you can't trust the gatekeepers then your society suffers.

The good men and women in law enforcement in Montgomery County, and there are many, many of them, suffer when these people are allowed to treat people as they do, to lie and manipulate the courts as they do, and to threaten and intimidate their citizenry as they do. Recently the Sheriff, who has only been in office for a few years and has made some very good changes, has asked for I believe it was about 100 new deputies for Montgomery County, and they need them.

Currently Montgomery County has I believe it was 167 law enforcement personnel in the Patrol Division; these are the actual people answering the calls for service in Montgomery County; these are the people that if you call 9-1-1 screaming for help will be the ones coming to your aid and 167 total for a county the size of Montgomery is pitiful and they need help; trust me they need help. The Sheriff also has many internal issues that he needs to address in return for these officers. Officers throwing juveniles to the ground, officers putting peoples heads through windows should never and can never be tolerated. If you assault an officer then you deserve what you get in my book, but when I hear that officers just blatantly abuse people that have never touched them then there is a problem and it needs to be addressed. I have told you all before a law enforcement officer has no more right to put his hands on you if you have not broken the law or they have not arrested you then any other citizen and you need to hold them to that. If any officer steps out of line file an internal affairs complaint immediately just to establish a paper trail if nothing else for later federal action.

If I was Sheriff Gage I would check the backgrounds of every officer; how many citizen complaints have they had? How many resisting arrests have they had? How many people have required medical treatment after their arrests? As I have said many times these are all indication of abuse and problems with an officer. Officers are all like soldiers in the military Sheriff Gage because they want to be led so you need to be that leader.

The citizens of Montgomery County also have a responsibility to start holding these people accountable for their actions, as I have said before and I will say again a Police Officer is charged with enforcing the laws and not making them; if they step out of line fight them in the courts, sue them in the courts and if your afraid of the justice you will get in Montgomery County seek federal help; file civil rights lawsuits and complaints and force the Department of Justice to investigate these complaints. I can guarantee that if they start getting enough complaints they will act, and if they refuse to act contact me and I will use my political connection to put a fire under their butts to force them to act.

As citizens you need to get involved politically; you started the process when you got rid of the former Sheriff and elected Sheriff Gage but now you have to hold him accountable. District Attorney Michael McDougall is up for re-election this year and I encourage you to throw him out of office because he has allowed for far to long the unacceptable actions of these officials in Montgomery County. I recently talked to several law school friends of the DA and I asked them one question, "would McDougall allow police to lie and cover-up if he knew he could win his case?" and I was floored to hear overwhelming "yes" from a vast majority of them, and that is scary. I guess in my heart I knew the answer to the question after looking into the Perry and Burkett cases but to actually hear it just hit home the sad state of affairs there in Montgomery County.

I live in Florida in the land of sun and surf and I really don't have a dog in this fight with Montgomery County, but it just gulls me to no end when people are abused. The responsibility to change Montgomery County has to belong to its own citizens; YOU NEED TO GET OFF YOUR BUTTS AND VOTE; you need to start attending County Commission and City Council Meetings and start demanding they take action. You need to start video taping these abuses by the authorities and contact the media at "several" different outlets. The citizens of Montgomery County can change the "environment of abuse" if they want and J.D. and I will always be here holding their feet to the fire.

REMEMBER KNOWLEDGE IS POWER SO GAIN THE KNOWLEDGE

[Anonymous]

ummm a republican
http://publicintegrity.org/partylines/c ... nkid=F7000

More about Associated Repubs of Tx
http://www.artexas.org/

[TheWho]

Careful of what you read from the above author.  The guy goes by the name of “TAZ”  ,lost his job as a police officer and then lost his job as a prison guard.  He has a lot of hatred towards the state and others police officers.  He doesn’t always base his blog writings on fact, if the truth doesn’t fit his agenda.

[Anonymous]

Careful of what you read from the above author.  The guy goes by the name of “TAZ”  ,lost his job as a police officer and then lost his job as a prison guard.  He has a lot of hatred towards the state and others police officers.  He doesn’t always base his blog writings on fact, if the truth doesn’t fit his agenda.

not to distract from the 'official oppression/ handcuffs/ vasoline on a kid's ass', but i'd be very interested to read why he was fired. links? insubordination? refusing to gease up someone's ass, or palm, as it were? any charges against him?
can you prove anything he wrote is lie? would like to see that too.
hatred toward the state? why?
from what i've read, he seems to support ethical police officers. are you on the unethical side?
his advocacy for mike perry's rights alone, wins him a gold star.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/articl ... texas.html

have you read the tdps report?
and why aren't the hooligans at excel under the watchful eye of tx dept of family and protective services? they could be facing a shut-down about now had they been licensed.

[Anonymous]

I know that many people hate it when a person actually supports a TBS.  I have read so many negative comments that I am compelled to respond.  My daughter, at age 15, was failing school, was verbally abusive to our family, cutting herself, using drugs such as marijuana, ecstasy, and cocaine, and running away (the last time with a cocaine dealer).  We spent several months in family/individual therapy.  We attended family camps.  Nothing worked.  I realized, after several months, that spending one hour a week in therapy, or one week in family camp could never compete with her peer group that she spent countless hours with weekly.  As a parent, I knew that she was headed for disaster and chose to take action.  I researched many programs, and settled on sending her to SUWS Idaho for a wilderness program.  She stayed 6 weeks there and to this day says, "I absolutely loved it."  I then, with the assistance of therapists and educational consultants, sent her to Excel Academy in Conroe, TX.  It was strange in the beginning to see her in an orange jumpsuit.  It was strange that they were monitored so intensely.  No, I didn't agree with every procedure, nor did she.  But in the end, it saved her life!  She is now 17 and has been home for 6 months.  She is drug and alcohol free.  She doesn't cut herself anymore.  She doesn't run away.  She is making wonderful grades.  In fact, yesterday, she commented that we need to set up her SAT test date, which we did today.  She is looking forward to college.  I'm not naive enough to think that she will never struggle again.  We're all human and have our crosses to bear.  I do, however, know that she has the tools and resources to make better choices.  I also know that if she gets off track, she knows how to get back on track.

I feel so strongly positive about the need for these types of programs that I have returned to college for a Psychology/Counseling degree.  I am currently looking at land to purchase for a TBS.  I am attending the NATSAP conference in January, and guess what....my daughter is going with me because she feels as strongly about this as I do.  I guess I will soon be someone else for the nay-sayers to criticize. The truth is that not every program is going to help every child, which is really unfortunate.   However, I feel that if I can help just one child/family to have the outcome that we have had then it will be worth the criticism.

[Anonymous]

I know that many people hate it when a person actually supports a TBS.  I have read so many negative comments that I am compelled to respond.  My daughter, at age 15, was failing school, was verbally abusive to our family, cutting herself, using drugs such as marijuana, ecstasy, and cocaine, and running away (the last time with a cocaine dealer).  We spent several months in family/individual therapy.  We attended family camps.  Nothing worked.  I realized, after several months, that spending one hour a week in therapy, or one week in family camp could never compete with her peer group that she spent countless hours with weekly.  As a parent, I knew that she was headed for disaster and chose to take action.  I researched many programs, and settled on sending her to SUWS Idaho for a wilderness program.  She stayed 6 weeks there and to this day says, "I absolutely loved it."  I then, with the assistance of therapists and educational consultants, sent her to Excel Academy in Conroe, TX.  It was strange in the beginning to see her in an orange jumpsuit.  It was strange that they were monitored so intensely.  No, I didn't agree with every procedure, nor did she.  But in the end, it saved her life!  She is now 17 and has been home for 6 months.  She is drug and alcohol free.  She doesn't cut herself anymore.  She doesn't run away.  She is making wonderful grades.  In fact, yesterday, she commented that we need to set up her SAT test date, which we did today.  She is looking forward to college.  I'm not naive enough to think that she will never struggle again.  We're all human and have our crosses to bear.  I do, however, know that she has the tools and resources to make better choices.  I also know that if she gets off track, she knows how to get back on track.

I feel so strongly positive about the need for these types of programs that I have returned to college for a Psychology/Counseling degree.  I am currently looking at land to purchase for a TBS.  I am attending the NATSAP conference in January, and guess what....my daughter is going with me because she feels as strongly about this as I do.  I guess I will soon be someone else for the nay-sayers to criticize. The truth is that not every program is going to help every child, which is really unfortunate.   However, I feel that if I can help just one child/family to have the outcome that we have had then it will be worth the criticism.

First of all I think that Excel Academy have improved. When your daugther was there they had a program that claimed to solve all problems. Now they have targeted the program against substance abuse only. No program in the world can fix everything!

Second of all I dont see why there should be a need to humiliate the kids by forcing them to wear jumpsuits and force them to visit the prisons (Whether it was normal for the kids to be forced to undress we dont know, but we know that the prison visit was normal under the old sheriff. Excel was a huge employer in his county and was given some space.)

When you daugther left SUWS she was ready for a change. Else SUWS hadn't released her or done their job good enough. So all this intense watching and use of level system wasn't needed. She could have done both cheaper and better in a normal sober living community.

As for creating her abuse, I think that you should keep an eye on your local community. It had cost you a lot of money and her a year lost from her life. Your wallet will remain empty and she will remain a person without a period of adolsence. Many people in their 20's act like teenagers. Maybe it is because they didn't had that period in their life. Why not work to change it so other parents shouldn't take costs like you did?

In Denmark we believe in keeping things open. If our police arrest youth when drinking alcohol they will try to hide it and approach criminals who also would introduce them to drugs. Here is an article from my town, which you can put into google translate (Danish->English) and see how we have created a society where youth drink with less deaths, teenage pregnancies and people in jail: Youth drinking. You will discover that the neighbors was disturbed and the police asked the youth to move their partying on school property down to another public school where the distance the neighbors are greater. You will also learn that the police brought sausages to the teenagers and let them take photos where the youth did pose in front of the policecar. Why? Because all the police wanted to do was to report this group to the Night Owls, which is a group of parents walking around the city all night to observe the teenagers and inform parents if a kid gets ill. They didn't want to stop the party itself. They know that the process of socializing will benefit the teenagers in the end.

So while you are busy working on improvement of TBS's, I think the most important issue most be to improve society so it becomes accepted to acknowledge that you have a problem and to give help without locking people up.