Unfair Park from p8 caused and makes sure hemp farmers, hemp producers, people that are manufac- turing products for this industry are pro- tected and guaranteed to be protected, there’s no way I could even come close to considering that,” he said. “All I want at this point is to know first and foremost that I’m not a felon. Secondly, I want to just be able to excel in my career like I was before I started. And if and how it ever happens, I’d like them to make right what they did wrong. I just don’t know if that’s ever going to happen.” The TDA didn’t respond to the Observer’s specific questions about what it does to in- form law enforcement about the hemp pro- gram and what it can do for certified hemp businesses that find themselves in situations like Sky & Hobbs’. It’s apparently not too un- common, according to the president of Texas Hemp Growers, an industry associa- tion. Zachary Maxwell, president of the asso- ciation, said Robinson and Purcell reached out about their case a few months ago. “If what has been reported is true, then his scenario is tragic and frustrating and should light a fire under every hemp farmer in Texas and most certainly Texas Depart- ment of Agriculture,” Maxwell said. “Mr. Robinson’s scenario is definitely on the ex- treme end, but he is not alone.” Maxwell said a few members of Texas Hemp Growers have been raided by police departments across the state. “Even in my own operation, we received an unfriendly visit by the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office drug task force,” he said via email. “Armored and outfitted for a raid, their plans (and egos) quickly deflated when we produced all the relevant documentation.” There’s been a breakdown in communi- cation between the TDA, DPS and local law enforcement, he said. To Maxwell, there also seems to be a level of willful ignorance to the new laws, and the Navarro County Sheriff’s Office is a prime example. “At that point, Mr. Robinson should sue Sheriff Tanner and the Navarro County Sheriff’s Office to the maximum extent for damages,” Maxwell said. “A price must be paid by law enforcement offices that will- fully ignore state law and inflict terror on in- nocent Texans. Ignorance of the law is never a valid excuse for criminals, nor should it be an excuse for out-of-touch sheriffs.” Robinson said: “I just have fear for every person participating in this program be- cause they don’t know. You don’t know this kind of stuff can happen until it happens to you. And this is the kind of stuff that hap- pens that creates new law because this is just absurd.” Asked if he still has a thin blue line sticker on his truck, Robinson said, “I ripped that sucker off and threw it in the trash.” Today, Purcell is an office manager for a 10 10 pediatric therapy clinic that serves children for special needs. Robinson has since relo- cated to be closer to his wife’s family in case anything happens to him. His legal troubles have also made him feel as if his life is in danger. “I have a good career, but all the money that I save, it immediately goes into my sav- ings and my lawyer collects it,” he said. “I have no other options. I have no money. I took a lesser paying job and moved to a more expensive place to live because my wife’s family is here and if anything happens they’re here to take care of my wife and kids. “It’s just a shame, man, the fact that I tried to do something good and it turns into the worst thing ever. That’s not what this country is. It’s not what it’s supposed to be. If anybody is participating and allowing it to be that way, they don’t deserve to be here. They definitely don’t deserve to wear a badge.” ▼ CRIME ‘HE WILL HAVE JUSTICE’ KEALON GILMORE, 26, WAS SHOT AT A NON-PERMITTED PARTY IN SOUTHEAST OAK CLIFF. NOW, HIS FAMILY IS LOOKING FOR JUSTICE. BY JACOB VAUGHN F amily and friends trickled into The Loon Bar & Grill after a Sunday vigil for Kealon Gilmore, the 26-year-old man killed when gunfire erupted at the Epic Easter Bike Out and Field Party on April 2. People at The Loon on Sunday wore yellow and purple shirts with his name and photo on it. Gilmore would be at the restaurant just about every day, the manager said, and he al- ways loved the burgers. So, when the owner and manager heard of Gilmore’s death, they named the Kealon Burger after him. A table lit with candles was reserved for Gilmore’s mother, Shalonda Gilmore. The family was invited out to dine at his old hangout spot. “Tragic,” Shalonda Gilmore told the Ob- server. “He was a wonderful kid. Good spirit.” Kealon, along with 15 others, was shot when a fight broke out at the party in south- east Oak Cliff attended by more than 2,000 people. The event took place without a city permit, though off-duty Dallas police offi- cers were providing security. The Dallas Police Department is trying to identify the shooter while it looks into why its officers were working the non-permitted event. The city is considering increased regu- I’m suffering. His father’s suffering. Every- body’s suffering because he was a good kid.” ▼ CRIME MS-13 MELEE bers accused of carrying out a double mur- der in a penitentiary in late January, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The seven men allegedly planned and A courtesy of the Gilmore family Kealon Gilmore was shot at an Oak Cliff party. lations for special events and the people in charge of throwing them. That includes the promoters and the owners of the land where events are taking place. Officials met Monday for the City Coun- cil’s Public Safety Committee meeting to speak about recent acts of violence in Dallas and how to prevent them in the future. A bulk of the discussion was about the party where Kealon died. Two people were also shot in Deep Ellum early on Sunday, hours before the Gilmore family arrived at The Loon to remember Kealon. Sha- londa said she isn’t sure yet how tragedies like this can be pre- vented. All she can think about is finding justice for her son. “He will have justice. I can say committed an attack on members of the Mexican Mafia and the Sureños in the U.S. Penitentiary Beaumont on Jan. 31. The defendants include Juan Carlos Ri- vas-Moreiera, Dimas Alfaro-Granado, Raul Landaverde-Giron, Larry Navarete, Jorge Parada, Hector Ramires and Sergio Sibrian. Five are from El Salvador, while one is from Honduras and another from Nicaragua. All are currently in lockup. That violence resulted in two murders, two more attempted murders and a nation- wide lockdown of everyone incarcerated by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, the DOJ in East Texas said in a press release last Thursday. “Deterring prison violence remains a pri- that,” she said. “He will have jus- tice and his name will live on. I hate that this has to be the way for it to live on, but his name will live on. I’m not going to stop. We won’t stop.” Kealon was the kind of man who would “HE WILL HAVE JUSTICE AND HIS NAME WILL LIVE ON. –SHOLANDA GILMORE keep you laughing, she said. He loved sports, especially football, and he was a good father, Shalonda said. Shalonda hardly knew any- one at the vigil, but they still came out to honor her son. Kealon didn’t go to parties frequently, but he still ended up in a field in southern Dallas with over 2,000 others expecting to see Memphis-based rapper Big Boogie. Shalonda texted Kealon before the party. “Y’all please be careful,” she said in the text. Kealon responded, “Most definitely, Momma.” Police say the performer didn’t show up, the crowd grew restless before the gunfire broke out. He went with his younger brother, who had to call Shalonda and tell her what hap- pened. “He shouldn’t have had to witness that and it’s sad,” she said, starting to cry. “He’s going to have justice. I truly believe that because the community is coming to- gether and they’re going to catch ’em. Who- ever it was, however many it was, they are going to pay for it. “I’m still numb to the fact. I’m still in dis- belief, but I know it’s real. I know it’s real. ority for the Department,” Eastern District of Texas U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston said in the statement. The attack lasted only three minutes, but according to a press release and court documents, that was all it took for the MS-13 members to fatally stab Guillermo Riojas twice in the chest as well as beat and stab Andrew Pineda some 45 times. Both Riojas and Pineda later died. Two more men allegedly be- longing to the Sureños gang, neither of whom are named in the indictment, were stabbed but survived. “Even while incarcerated, MS-13 mem- bers remain committed to the organization’s violent ideology and as alleged in this indict- ment, continue to engage in extreme acts of murder and attempted murder,” Joint Task Force Vulcan Director John J. Durham said in Thursday’s news release. MS-13 can be traced back to Los Angeles in the 1970s and 1980s, but the gang report- edly has as many as 70,000 members around the world. U.S. authorities estimate that some 10,000 MS-13 members are held in American prisons. On March 27, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele imposed a state of emergency in that country after gang violence left at least 87 people dead. Blaming the violence on MS-13, Bukele ordered Salvadoran authorities to round up some 6,000 people. Last week, The Guardian reported that men, women and children were among those rounded up and that they could be held for up to 15 days rather than the usual three days. Rights groups and some detain- ees’ relatives say the crackdown has in- cluded arrests of ordinary people who live in neighborhoods where the gangs operate. ON JAN. 31, MS-13 MEMBERS ALLEGEDLY CARRIED OUT A VIOLENT ATTACK ON RIVAL PRISON GANGS THAT LEFT TWO MEN DEAD. BY PATRICK STRICKLAND federal grand jury in East Texas has returned a 15-count indictment against seven alleged MS-13 mem- MONTH XX–MONTH XX, 2014 APRIL 14–20, 2022 DALLAS OBSERVER DALLAS OBSERVER | CLASSIFIED | MUSIC | DISH | MOVIES | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | FEATURE | SCHUTZE | UNFAIR PARK | CONTENTS | CLASSIFIED | MUSIC | DISH | CULTURE | UNFAIR PARK | CONTENTS dallasobserver.comdallasobserver.com
