WASHINGTON CO. CRIME STOPPERS CHAIR HELD IN CONTEMPT OF COURT FOR NOT RELEASING TIP INFO
The chairman of Brenham Washington County Crime Stoppers has been held in contempt of court for not releasing details from a tip submitted to his organization.
John Deans received a subpoena from Conroe-based defense attorney Brian Burns in early February to appear today (Thursday) in 21st District Court in Washington County. According to Crime Stoppers, Burns sought information from an anonymous tip to help his client in an upcoming criminal case.
Update @ 12:55 p.m. Friday: According to court records, Burns is representing Terry Dale Stegmann, Jr. of Brenham, who is charged with Sexual Assault of a Child, a second degree felony from May 2020. Stegmann was indicted for the alleged offense on March 23, 2021, and was arrested by Brenham police on April 14, 2021.
Deans has refused to provide any tip content and was found in contempt of court by Judge Carson Campbell, resulting in Deans’ detainment in the Washington County Jail.
Crime Stoppers offers rewards to citizens who submit tips that lead to an arrest or indictment in the investigation of a crime. Crime Stoppers says confidential tips “must be kept anonymous by state law,” and calls this “a blatant attempt to discredit and destroy the Crime Stoppers program.”
KWHI reached out to Scott Ballard, the attorney representing Deans, as well as Burns for comment. Both Ballard and Burns were unavailable to speak to directly, but a member of Ballard’s law office said there would be no comments on this pending case.