GRAND JURY DECLINES TO FILE CHARGES IN INDUSTRY STORE INCIDENT

  

The Austin County Grand Jury has reviewed the January 15^th incident at the Lindemann Store in Industry and determined that no charges should be filed.

According to the Austin County D.A.’s Office, press reports contained only 15-20 seconds of video footage from an incident that lasted more than 30 minutes and involved at least six people.

Austin County District Attorney Travis Koehn said that rather than rush to judgment on a case with a complex set of facts, his office studied all of the evidence in detail.  

The evidence showed additional context which was not shown in the initial public reports issued by some of the parties involved.

Koehn said that the initial reports did not include the video and audio footage showing that the store employees knew the identity of the rightful owner of the $50 and told the customer this repeatedly before she tried to leave with the money.

The reports also did not include audio of the employees repeatedly stating that they have only grabbed the customer to restrain her when the customer grabbed the store manager’s throat.

Koehn further stated that after evaluating the evidence and law, he determined that justice would be best served by presenting the matter to the Grand Jury. The Grand Jury considered all potential charges in the matter, and recommended that no criminal charges be filed on any of the parties involved.

Koehn said that the reason they did not release the full store surveillance evidence to the public before the conclusion of the case was because it would have been seen as an unethical attempt to influence the outcome of the legal proceedings.

The D.A.’s Office has released the full surveillance footage in its entirety, unaltered, and in its original format to the press.  They have also released an additional, detailed breakdown of the events, and relevant law involved in the incident.

Koehn said that the parties on both sides of the conflict chose to take physical action rather than de-escalating the situation and waiting for law enforcement.

He added that although Texas law has long permitted citizens to take action to prevent theft and to defend others from harm, such action should never be taken lightly.

According to a report in the Bellville Times, Pastor J.R. Johnson said that Betty Smith, the store customer in the case, did not get a fair shake, and that they have asked the FBI and the Department of Justice to look into the matter.

Activist Quanell X was in Austin County yesterday (Tuesday), and confronted Travis Koehn.  He asked Koehn about the racial makeup of the grand jury.  Koehn responded that he would have to ask the judge, because he is the one who picks them.

Quanell X also informed Koehn that he is planning on setting up a chapter of the New Black Panther Party in Austin County.

Click here to view the full release from the Austin County District Attorney's Office.