Fort Worth Star-Telegram from Fort Worth, Texas • 35

Friday June 19 1998 I Star-Telegram I Section Page 5 Boating maiming spurs talk of But revising statute of limitations may add problems experts caution Texas law years Had the crime been murder or manslaughter the time to prosecute would never expire Dave Nelson (817) 685-3807 davendsonstaptelegramcom Betsy Blaney (817) 685-3821 ecblaneystar-telegramcom Fan Tobacco deal 'on the precipice Dan Morales' office says the new settlement would bring more money and resolve the attorneys' fees problem changing investigated as an aggravated assault which carries the three-year limit Had Booker been the victim of sexual assault or certain white-collar crimes such as forgery the investigation also could continue and charges filed for several more Fort Worth's Ales AP BARROW Ltgatim Supply oServin Fort Folw30 Year Light Authority fair to put people to their proof after a certain amount of time" Denton County investigators continued to check tips in the Booker case yesterday but they said the investigation is officially closed "As far as I know that's as far as I'm supposed to go" said Mike Ramon the Denton County Sheriff's Department investigator who has been on the cas'efrom the beginning 5(! For Booker now 35 yesterday was "traumatic" said her attorney Larry Rolle "She's devastated today because the person never got caught" Rolle said Booker declined to be interviewed In Texas most felonies have a three-year limit Because Booker did not die in the boating incident Denton County District Attorney Bruce Isaacks said the case was minimum for all felony crimes Victims rights groups also object to limits on prosecution Those limits are a "concept whose usefulness has been outstripped by time" said David Beatty director of public policy for the National Victim Center in Arlington Va "You're basically rewarding fugitives who successfully evade the law" But law experts call the limits necessary for many reasons including preventing prosecutors from delaying cases "Memories and witnesses begin to disappear after a certain amount of time leaving the defendant with 'I didn't do it but I can't remember where I was at the time and even if I did I doubt I could find the people who were with me' said Frederick Moss a criminal law professor at Southern Methodist University "It's just not BY DAVE NELSON AND BETSY BLANEY Star-Telegram Staff Writers Angry that the elusive boater responsible for ripping apart a Carrollton woman's face can never be punished if found some are calling for changes in the Texas law that limits how long some crimes can be prosecuted The statute of limitations expired yesterday in the 1995 hit-and-run incident on Lewisville Lake in which a speedboatLcritically injured Stephanie Booker She has undergone 17 surgeries in the past three years to have her face reconstructed "The notion that the people who hurt Stephanie can come on her doorstep on Friday afternoon ring her doorbell and say 'Ha ha We're the ones that ran you over and we got away with it' is an absolute outrage" said state Rep Will Hartnett R-Dallas Hartnett said he plans to introduce a bill in the Legislature's next session that would extend the statute of limitations to a 10-year Top jockeys llLU 1111119a illedlitilditildaffint ONO' oui 'mow 41M1 '98 STRAWS 1' IP Bs1 01 a OF Of 01 11 1 A i return to Lone Star Park DADIDESERVESITIMBESEI deliMSFIS MEN'S SHORT SLEEVE SHIRTS ARRIVED vl Snaps or Buttons Panhandle Slim Roper small $2995 Wrangler no Betta Shirts to 5XL 1-77 ins '911 FELTS HOZ ARRIVED TOO! arEoctry10 BETTII SHIRTS MENS-WRAUGlagn Long pro no PM sum etc Sleeve IO Shirt i 1st at reg price Small to 4XL OFF 2nd at PRICE HIKING 011 WORKBOOTS Sp 0 95 Wolverine Justin 11611 Cowtown As low as )- More on the money bet on the four races will Ali-Star Jockey go into a fund for injured jockeys Championship Bailey Gary Stevens Pat Day Pages 8-9C Eddie Delahoussaye Kent Desormeaux Sandy Hawley Chris McCarron Laffit Pincay Jr Shane Sellers Mike Smith Julie Krone and Marlon St Julien are the competitors Stevens won the event last year Together the jockeys have won 38 Triple Crown races including 12 Kentucky Derbies Together they've ridden 300972 horses over a combined 253 years of riding winning 56170 races Total career purse earnings are $156 billion Riding assignments were drawn at random with jockeys receiving points for their finishes Each of the four races will have a minimum purse of $20000 First place pays $25000 second $15000 third $10000 fourth $8000 fifth $7000 and sixth through 12th $5000 each The championship races will be the second fourth sixth and seventh races on the nine-race card In a change from last year Lone Star Park will allow bettors to wager on the jockeys The special wager will allow win place show exacta and trifecta wagers on the group of horses ridden by each jockey in the four races with payouts based on the jockey's final point totals Lone Star Park officials see the event as a way for their track to reach the national horse racing stage and sustain efforts to land the Breeders' Cup often called the Super Bowl of racing in the next five years BY MEDE Nix Star-Telegram Dallas Bureau GRAND PRAIRIE Last year's All-Star Jockey Championship at Lone Star Park at Grand Prairie proved so successful that other tracks are staging copycat versions But Lone Star has the franchise with the Jockey's Guild until at least 2000 and this year's second running has taken a step up with live national cable television and nationwide marketing and promotions by a new industry group the National Thotoughbred Racing Association "Lone Star Park's idea was to elevate the industry and they did a very good job of getting the people out so now three or four tracks are trying the same thing" said jockey Jerry Bailey who's best known as the rider of Cigar American horse racing's all-time leading money winner Many of the 12 jockeys are household names with racing fans but aren't as well known to casual horse racing followers who are more likely to recognize the names of horses such as Real Quiet or Silver Charm "Good horses last only a short amount of time but good jockeys can be on top for 10 or 12 years so why not market the jockeys?" Bailey said Santa Anita Park tried it this year with a USA vs Europe jockey event And Prairie Meadows in Iowa staged an East vs West jockey event earlier this week But the jockey event is at Lone Star Park with participants chosen by a panel of industry experts headed by Hall of Fame jockey Bill Shoemaker The 12 jockeys will compete in the four-race competition for $100000 in prize money One percent of the HILL EMILL EN SALE! 19915 SMOOTH OSIMEII 199" I 9 995 1 EXOTIC BOOTS LAYAWAY GIFT CERTIFICATES MonSat 94 SPECIAL ORDERS ARE AVAILABLE Sun 124 The Associated Press AUSTIN Attorney General Dan Morales' office said yesterday that Texas is "on the precipice" of a new tobacco deal that would bring the state more money than the $153 billion it has already won Although no details are being made public Morales' office said the new deal would resolve complaints about fees for private lawyers who handled the case and would bring additional restrictions on tobacco marketing and advertising practices are on the edge of having an agreement with the governor's office over attorneys' fees and we are also about to finalize a new agreement with the tobacco industry for additional moneY" said Ron Dusek spokesman for Morales Texas and the tobacco industry agreed this year to billion settlement of the 'state's lawsuit against the tobacco companies Part of that settlement included $23 billion in fees foi five private lawyers and tlik1 brought objections from Gov George Bush and seven state legislators Since that initial agreement however Minnesota readied its settlement with the tobacco industry and Texas has been seeking to add elements of that deal to its own Morales estimated recently that Texas could reap about $17 billion from a revised settlement incorporating aspects of the Minnesota deal Debbi Head a Bush spokeswoman said "talks are continuing" but wouldn't comment on when a resolution might be reached Judge defends Grand Prairie suspect's bail was lowered from $150000 to $90000 BY CD GIDDENS AND ROBERT THARP Star-Telegram Staff Writers DALLAS A Dallas County criminal court judge said Wednesday that he followed established legal guidelines when he lowered a convicted child sex offender's bail- Criminal District Judge Robert Francis reduced Billy Dwayne Geer's bail from $150000 to $90000 on June 12 Geer was released Monday evening after a bonding agency secured his bail Geer is accused of luring a 10- year-old girl into his parents' Grand Prairie home May 7 and sexually assaulting her Police say he used Beanie Babies toys that he was selling on the front lawn of his'parents' home to lure the child Grand Prairie police arrested 't Geer on June 1 on a warrant accusing him of aggravated sexual assault of a child He was held in that city's jail with bail set at $250000 until June 6 when he was transferred to the Lew Sterrett Justice Center in Dallas Geer's attorney Don Scoggins said his client's bail was reduced to $150000 after Geer was transferredto the Dallas County Jail 7640 JACKSBORO HWY 237-7111 2 Miles West of 820 on Jacksboro Hwy Just Over Lake Worth Bridge 11 Mede Nix (972) 263-4448 mnixstaptelegramcom FEW MINN 7' a 0 42 1 61 an9e Lobs cl it 2 hoe ort Worth a 1:11 r4 tide iticwi: Sr $29958 up WE ALSO KATE I AVAILABLE ihr Echo Honda Stens Rotary Stihl Toro Snapper ECHO 04' From 1 5 9 Garden Fqpipment ZSYOGITJ) 1 COMFOR TEAA tryint orio rCA alkiltvgt Itt bail reduction for sex offender TORO Father's Day Gift Ideas As low as $269 22 2369'2 )) ECHO 00r "3071 Morn' 4 1 I 4- 41 4 e' 4 0 As low as $329 22 As low as S32922 Value" 5 A la Sales and Service MR in 440s I 5117 McCart Avenue Fort Worth Texas 76115 Financing 924-2909 Available For more information see our ad under po your Southwestern Bell Yellow Pages Ank-kii said that under suggested bail guidelines the starting point for first-degree felonies is a minimum of $20000 "They do consider prior convictions and whether the defendant may be a flight risk" he said "But they also typically go beyond those guidelines in setting bond on certain offenses such as sexual assault of a child" CD Ciddens (817) 548-5412 Robert Tharp (817) 548-5420 tharpstar-telegramcom 8 WAN 0 re WIZ elu (11i j1IwI) 8 Z-ZACER) I fir mera 0:4111 Pg-cati 2 0 SOL WiTi1J) 1 1 a 8 0 Fi COND 'RHINO I NC an 1 00 El lawn and ffl a a 00 and further reduced to $90000 by Francis last week Scoggins said the reduction was in accordance with published judicial guidelines Francis said he based his decision to lower the bail on an independent report made by a probafion officer in his court as well as arguments from prosecutors and Geer's defense attorney He declined to discuss details Francis said bail amounts for similar offenses range from $15000 to $100000 and are usually less than $50000 "You balance what the interest is in protecting society and what the law requires in setting reasonable bond" he said Scoggins said his client who faces up to life in prison if convicted will plead not guilty to the accusation He also said Geer has been ordered to wear an electronic monitor to report weekly to a bond supervision office and to stay away from his parents' Grand Prairie home which is directly across the street from an elementary school Scoggins said Geer has moved to an undisclosed location and will not return to either his parents' Grand Prairie home or the Arlington house he shared with a girlfriend John Beatty vice president of the Tarrant County Criminal Defense Lawyers Association 01511 aifl a Rill 6 Months No Payments-No Interest Financing for less than perfect credit 10 year parts labor warranties Satisfaction Guaranteed Rebates up to $150000 Free Opinion 44 Scratch dent models EPA POLLUTION PREVENTER Overstock and special buys Overstock and special buys Surveys show homeowners prefer to shop for more than one brand of heating and air conditioning equipment to compare features such as quality efficiency cost and warranties At HOBSON AIR CONDITIONING INC we don't just sell 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