Actual Cases

• A 40-year-old Hurst hairdresser was charged with 4 felony and 1 misdemeanor drug cases based on evidence seized during an illegal search of his home. The man had called police to report an assailant broke into his home and assaulted him. Paramedics arrived first, but waited to enter the residence until police performed a “protective sweep” to ensure the intruder was not still inside. After the “sweep,” paramedics transported the man to a local hospital. Immediately after the ambulance left, two police officers entered the residence and began searching it. Two additional officers arrived and assisted in the warrantless search. Officers opened a locked safe and a toolbox in the garage, and found drugs that later became the basis for 4 felony cases against the homeowner. All of the officers’ actions and conversations were recorded on the man’s home surveillance system, including a statement by one officer who, while looking up at one of the cameras, said, “Oh sh*t, I hope they don’t work.” Officers did not get a search warrant until approximately 6 hours after they began the initial search. A Motion to Suppress the Evidence based on the illegality of the search was filed and the prosecutor was provided copies of the surveillance videos. All five cases were DISMISSED.
• An 18-year-old Gainesville man was stopped for speeding, searched, and arrested for Possession Controlled Substance (methamphetamine) with Intent to Deliver. After the stop, the trooper ordered the man to exit the vehicle. With no obvious evidence or probable cause of wrongdoing, the officer performed a “pat down” search of the man and felt a bulge in his left pocket. As instructed, the man removed the over-the-counter bottle of Ibuprofen from his pocket and handed it to the officer who, without consent or a search warrant, illegally opened the small pill bottle. He later alleged in his report that he opened the bottle because it “potentially contained a weapon such as a razor blade.” A Motion to Suppress the Evidence was filed alleging the search was illegal. The case was DISMISSED without a hearing.
• Richard Hicks, age 56, was charged with Capital Murder for the death of a Whitewright police officer. Together with Sherman attorney Mike Wynne, Jarvis took on the task of defending the rancher who was facing the death penalty. Hicks allegedly led small-town cops on a high speed chase as he had done twice before on the exact same route, pulling over in a field where he supposedly shot one of the officers in the head. The evidence against Hicks seemed overwhelming. His pickup was followed by other police officers from the field to his home about one mile away. A special response team stormed the house, arrested Hicks and seized a 30/30 rifle, the ballistics of which matched shell casings found in the field. The state had, among other things, a crime reconstruction expert, muddy tire tracks of the defendant’s pickup and mud on the pickup tying the defendant to the murder. The Fannin County district attorney called in the Attorney General’s “death team” to assist in the prosecution. After the juror questionnaires were returned and the first day of individual voir dire began, Jarvis filed a motion requesting a fair and impartial jury panel due to the high percentage of jail/prison/law enforcement relatives on the panel. The judge granted the unusual motion and moved the case on change of venue to Grayson County. When the judge moved the case, the prosecution dropped the death penalty. The actual trial lasted 2.5 weeks and was covered extensively by local and state media. After just three hours of deliberation, the jury returned a NOT GUILTY verdict. It was the first time the AG “death team” had ever lost a case. The trial was later featured as the inaugural show on MSNBC’s series, “Verdict.”
• A former Sherman city councilwoman, business owner and civic leader involved in a bitter custody battle with her ex-husband was accused of injuring their 4-year-old daughter by scrubbing the child’s bottom to make it appear that her estranged husband had sexually assaulted the child. The allegations culminated in a felony indictment against the mother for Injury to a Child. After a highly publicized four-day trial, the jury deliberated slightly more than two hours before returning a NOT GUILTY verdict.
• A 39-year-old man was accused by federal agents of possessing child pornography on his computer. He was cooperative with agents and answered their questions truthfully, telling them who he thought was responsible for the images on his computer. The agents instead considered this a confession to the crime and indicted him, forcing the case to trial. After hearing four days of testimony, including multiple government expert witnesses, the jury returned a NOT GUILTY verdict.
• Three cases involving false allegations of Sexual Assault and Injury to a Child DISMISSED:
  1. A grandmother falsely accused the new husband of her former daughter-in-law of sexually assaulting her 3-year-old granddaughter. The accused man was arrested and bond was set so high that his family members had to pool resources to get him released. Through extensive investigation and interviews, it was discovered that the grandmother convinced a friend to say she heard the child’s outcry, which was untrue. The grandmother continued to implant false memories and “coach” the child.
  2. A man was falsely accused by his former wife’s husband of sexually assaulting the husband’s 8-year-old daughter. The allegations arose during a divorce and custody fight. The alleged victim had multiple psychological and behavioral issues, and would say whatever her dad told her to say. The accused was arrested and, as a condition of bond, not allowed to see his own children.
  3. A grandmother wanted custody of her step-granddaughters. She falsely accused her stepdaughter’s boyfriend of burning her granddaughter on the neck with a cigarette. The grandmother managed to convince the child’s doctors, therapists, and even the child herself that she had been burned. Through exhaustive research, it was discovered that the wound could not have resulted from a cigarette burn.

In all three cases, evidence was presented to the prosecutor showing the motive of the accuser for making the claims, supported by multiple witnesses’ sworn affidavits, extensive research and reports by experts. All three cases were DISMISSED.

• A Sherman man accused of aggravated sexual assault of his niece contended that he was asleep when the sexual assault occurred. After extensive questioning of the client, the Jarvis team learned he was taking Ambien, a prescription medication for insomnia. They researched medical literature and spoke with several experts, concluding that Ambien’s known side effects include unusual sexual behavior with no memory of the event. Jarvis’s expert testified before the jury that the man’s story was entirely plausible. The jury returned a verdict of NOT GUILTY.
• A Vietnam veteran who had served two terms in prison for DWI was arrested for a 13th DWI. The Jarvis team had the client evaluated and learned he was suffering from untreated PTSD. They customized a rehabilitation plan that included multiple treatment programs, including therapy offered by the local VA hospital. He followed the plan and successfully completed all of the programs. His VA doctor looked up his military record and found that he was a highly decorated veteran, a fact the man never shared with anyone. At sentencing, the VA doctor and nurses testified for him even though they had immunity to subpoena and did not have to do so. He received a PROBATED SENTENCE.
• A local man was falsely accused of sexually assaulting his girlfriend’s young daughter. The allegation was made by the child’s stepmother in an attempt to gain custody for her and the child’s biological father. The case was tried to a jury, who returned a NOT GUILTY verdict.
• Another local resident was charged by his underage stepdaughter of sexually assaulting her after he took her phone away as a punishment for misbehavior. In trial, the child was shown to be a habitual liar, and the jury returned a NOT GUILTY verdict.
• A popular, talented artist in Grayson County who was known for helping people in need, including children, was accused by four young teenage boys of touching them inappropriately. During the course of the investigation, the boys began to recant, one by one, but the district attorney’s office would not drop the case. A presentation was prepared for the grand jury with attached affidavits from witnesses who had personally heard the recantations of the alleged victims. Final outcome: After a seven-month investigation, the grand jury NO BILLED the case.
• A local physician was charged with Sexual Performance and Obscene Promotion, both requiring sex offender registration, stemming from him videotaping his oldest child and her friends during a birthday sleep-over party at his home. He recorded the 10- and 11-year-old girls dancing naked and urinating on the toilet. The case drew much publicity because of the bizarre nature of the offense and the fact that he was a prominent physician in the community. Jarvis convinced the prosecutor to allow the defendant to plead to information charging him with the nonregisterable offense of Obscenity. The judge deferred adjudication and placed the defendant on probation for a period of four years. Recently, Jarvis filed a motion for early termination of probation, which was granted.
• 35-year-old former United States Navy Seaman was originally indicted for Attempted Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child stemming from an Internet chat with an investigator from the Attorney General’s Cyber Crimes Unit posing as a 13-year-old girl. After a near two-hour chat, he agreed to meet “her”; later that day, he drove to the “girl’s” apartment, where officers were waiting to arrest him. His week-long jury trial in Longview, Texas, resulted in a hung jury (9-3) for acquittal. It was the first time in the history of the Attorney General’s Cyber Crimes Unit that the prosecutor did not get a guilty verdict with a sentence of prison time. The prosecutor subsequently indicted him for Attempted Sex Performance and Criminal Solicitation as a means to force him to plead guilty to a registerable offense. Jarvis negotiated a plea to one case of Obscenity, a nonregisterable offense, and the judge accepted the plea and probated the sentence.
• A psychiatrist major in the U.S. Army was accused of sexually assaulting a soldier. The Board of Inquiry is comprised of Majors and Generals assigned to Ft. Sill. Jarvis was retained as the civilian lead attorney by the Major. After an exhaustive investigation, Jarvis was able to convince the prosecutors to drop criminal charges and instead file a Board of Inquiry over the same allegation. After a one-day hearing, the court retained the major in the Army without disciplinary action.
• A Polish truck driver was indicted for killing 10 people and injuring two after losing control of his 18-wheeler. The rig careened across Highway 75, striking two vehicles and causing them to burst into flames. The dead included an infant and a young child. The district attorney’s plea offer was 20 years for each death, with the sentences to run consecutively. Final outcome: The defendant pled guilty and asked the jury to punish him. After hearing all the evidence and the impassioned plea for justice by Bob Jarvis, the jury sentenced him to only 10 years TDC in each case, non-aggravated, with all sentences to run concurrently.
• A local schoolteacher and mother of three young daughters was accused of Illegal Restraint and Injury to a Child for restraining a special needs student. Her actions were accidentally recorded on video. Although the child was not injured, the prosecutor asked the jury to send her to prison for 20 years. After a 10-day trial with multiple witnesses, Jarvis convinced the jury to give her probation.
• In two separate instances where clients were charged with sexually assaulting a child and had admitted the assaults to police, the cases were resolved by “slow pleas,” or trials before a jury for sentencing purposes only. Following a complete investigation and extensive witness testimony, both defendants were sentenced to probation.
• A 31-year-old Denison man was indicted on 9 counts of Possession Child Pornography with Intent to Distribute on a 6-year-old case originally investigated by federal agents. Numerous images and videos were captured by agents’ child porn software and traced to the IP address associated with his laptop. Federal authorities declined to prosecute the case but turned it over to the State for whatever action they chose to take. Denison police raided his home and seized his computers, phones and electronic devices along with those of his two roommates. He voluntarily went to the Denison Police Department and willingly gave a recorded statement denying knowledge of any child porn images on any device, but admitted he had seen child porn on his computer and deleted it immediately. Despite his pleas of innocence, he was arrested and charged with multiple offenses. At trial, the investigating officers admitted they had never interviewed any of the other persons living in the house. Mr. Jarvis presented a witness who confirmed that one of the housemates was a convicted sex offender who slept on the couch where the laptop was stored. The jury deliberated 40 minutes and returned a Not Guilty verdict on all counts.
• A 44-year-old Fannin County man was charged with 2 counts of Sexual Assault of a Child, for allegedly sexually assaulting his best friend’s 14-year-old daughter. He admitted being alone with her in the dad’s vehicle–with the dad’s knowledge and permission–but denied having sex with her. Her outcry was made 5 days after the alleged assault during a time when she had a motive for lying about it. Several articles of clothing were given to police to test for evidence of sexual assault. The lab concluded that Defendant’s DNA was on her panties but couldn’t say where. There was also semen and one sperm cell found on her jeans at the bottom of one leg. Mr. Jarvis presented a defense expert to explain cross contamination of DNA and semen. The prosecutor’s plea offer was 15 years in prison. The Defendant rejected the offer, and the case was tried before a jury in Lamar County. After 4 hours of deliberation, the jury returned a Not Guilty verdict on both cases.