In an e-mail to the media on May 5, 2013, State Representative Lance Gooden called the arrest of Denise Bell by the Forney Police Department a political move “to silence the media.” Bell is the owner and managing editor of the Forney Post.
The arrest of Denise Bell
On Saturday afternoon, May 5, Bell was arrested on an outstanding warrant for Theft by Check that was issued in September 2009. Before the arrest was made on the outstanding warrant, Bell was involved in an incident with two individuals, a woman and her young daughter, distributing political fliers earlier that morning. Reportedly, Bell began photographing the complainant and her young daughter and, when asked to stop, the complainant said Bell began verbally harassing them with profanity laced comments.
According to a press release from the Forney Police Department, “A Class C Misdemeanor citation was issued to Ramona Denise Bell out of Forney for Disorderly Conduct. A computer check revealed that Bell had an outstanding warrant out of Kaufman County for a Class B Misdemeanor Theft by Check. Bell was taken into custody and transported to the Forney Jail.”
Bell was transferred to the Kaufman County Jail on Sunday morning and released on a $750 personal recognizance bond. “It is almost unheard of to arrest someone at home for this, especially a Saturday in front of her 80 year old mother that she cares for. She is stuck in the Forney city jail at least until Monday since a judge is unavailable until then,” stated Gooden in the email.
Bell's and Gooden's support for the challengers
Bell has been a very outspoken supporter of the challengers in the upcoming Forney Mayoral and City Council elections. Bell criticizes the Forney City Council for corruption and "good ole' boy antics". Representative Gooden has also supported the challengers in the election by donating $1,200 each to the campaigns of John Carr, Scott Regan, and Joc Lomax. A supporter of Gooden's campaign also donated $3,000 each to challengers John Carr and Scott Regan for political mailers.
Falling out of Mayor Rozell and Rep. Gooden
“This is a Mayor going overboard to silence the media after they come after her for public corruption. Please help,” states the email from Gooden.
Forney Mayor Darren Rozell and State Representative Gooden had a “falling out” after last year's elections in which Gooden ran against challenger Stuart Spitzer. Gooden listed Rozell as an endorsement in his campaign but Rozell later endorsed Spitzer's campaign for State Representative.
Mayor Darren Rozell responded to the email saying, “I continue to be amazed at Representative Gooden's level of interest in this local campaign. I understand that our legislators are very busy in Austin. However, I believe it would have been better for Mr. Gooden to take the time to get all the facts before deciding to contact the media.”
Several attempts by inForney.com to contact Rep. Gooden for comment were unsuccessful.
Documents have been requested from the State Attorney General's Office regarding the claims of corruption and claims of official oppression made by Bell. A representative with the Texas Ranger's office said that their office was not currently investigating corruption charges against the Forney City Council or its members.