By Steven Jones
Tuesday, December 6, 2005 10:42 PM CST
The Selma Times-Journal
Lizzie Mae Lewis pleaded guilty to stabbing her boyfriend to death with a steak knife in January 2004.
Lewis, who killed her husband after catching him in bed with another woman, pleaded guilty to a murder charge. At minimum, she could be sentenced to 20 years for the crime.
Lewis, 43, could get life for the crime. Sentencing is scheduled for later this month.
Lewis, of Selma, found her boyfriend, Roosevelt Jackson Jr. in room 105 of the Craig Motel.
She pulled a steak knife out of her pocket and stabbed him, killing the man on Jan. 19.
Police called to the scene found Lewis and Jackson's paramour standing over his body.
Lewis told police that she attacked him.
"I found my man laid up in here with her and I stabbed him," she said, according to police reports.
Police took the bloody steak knife from her and arrested her.
Jackson was transported to Vaughan Regional Medical Center. He was pronounced dead about three hours after the attack.
Lewis was arrested on a charge of domestic violence/ assault and murder.
The DV/A charge was dropped in exchange for her guilty plea on Monday in a Dallas County Circuit Court.
District attorney Michael Jackson praised the work of his prosecutor on the case, Mickey Avery.
"Mickey did a very good job on this murder case," he said.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Family plagued by sewage problems
By Steven Jones / Times-Journal Writer
Monday, August 18, 2003
Sometimes we all have days when it feels like we're taking more than our share of "crap" from the world.
But Betty and Gregory Simpson feel like they're getting more than their share.
Betty Simpson said, "We get everybody's 'crap.' Really."
Simpson isn't exaggerating. Every time the sewage backs up, she gets a yard -- and sometimes a house -- full of human fecal material, sudsy dishwater and anything else that happens to go down the drains of her neighbors along Dallas County Road 943.
The smell is the least of their concerns. The Simpsons say the problem is causing numerous health and financial hazards.
Saturday night, it happened again.
At around 1 a.m. the Simpsons heard the telltale "blub-blub," which they say heralds the coming of raw sewage into their home.
Left unchecked, the materials flow up from their tub and toilets, onto the floor, under the walls and into almost every room.
The Simpsons estimate it's happened eight times in the last year and a half. They say they're getting kind of used to it by now. But they still haven't been able to get used to the smell.
"It's just like sitting your head in a toilet stool," Gregory Simpson said.
At approximately 1:30 a.m. Gregory Simpson removed the caps from the sewage line in his front yard. Without taking this measure, he said, his home would have been flooded in no time.
At 2 a.m. they started making phone calls.
They called James Hale and Joe Thomas, both members of the Dallas County Water and Sewage Board. They called the Selma Police Department, the fire department, a plumber and even the Dallas County Emergency Management Agency.
And why not? The Simpsons say they consider it a bona fide emergency whenever raw sewage begins to back up into their home. They say you would, too, if it happened to you.
But this time, once again, their calls seem to have fallen on deaf ears. According to the Simpsons, they have been plagued by local bureaucracy. "It's like they don't even know this street exists," Betty explained. "It's been ignored."
Thomas was out of town the night of the incident. When the Times-Journal contacted him by phone Sunday afternoon, he said, "I'm getting ready to call now and see who was having a problem."
James Hale was unavailable for comment at the time of publication.
Mary Shagat, another member of the water board, said, "I'm fixing to call a man that can fix it. If I could find her (Betty Simpson's) telephone number I would call and tell her how to contact us day or night."
The Simpsons, though, are tired of waiting. They've contacted local attorney William Faile. "I've contacted the water works. I'm hoping something can be resolved. It's a terrible situation," he said.
He's instructed the Simpsons to provide him with an estimate on the damage caused.
So far, the Simpsons estimate they've lost at least $1,100 in damaged carpet. They tried to dry it out, but it was so saturated in human waste they had to burn it.
They've also lost money on clothes and shoes. Anything left on the floor is prey to the random invasions.
Betty learned that the hard way. "One night, I hopped out of bed, my feet stuck to the floor," she said.
The Simpsons said their children suffer from respiratory ailments, and they are afraid the sewage may be part of the problem. Gregory said they're constantly using disinfectants and air fresheners to combat the odor problem. He said, "(We're) thinking we're killing the odor, but we're killing the children, really."
Betty suffers from a heart condition, and recently had surgery to clear a blocked artery. Not only is the constant nausea causing her chest pains, but she can't eat the food required to take her medication much of the time. "You just can't bring yourself to eat anything," she said.
It's so bad, in fact, that Betty said the police officer who visited early Sunday morning refused to leave his car, and suggested the Simpsons move.
"Lord knows we're stuck here until we can find someplace to move," she added.
The Simpsons aren't the only ones with a problem. Their neighbor, Bruce Fincher, remembers when the water board would relieve the sewage pipes in his front yard. "It used to bubble up under that tree. Mine came up through the tub."
According to the Simpsons, the water board told them once that lightning flipped a breaker on one of the sewage pump stations nearby, causing the back-flow. But they insist that doesn't explain the six or seven times it's happened before.
The Simpsons say that another time the water board contacted them and explained the problem was an old and obsolete pump station, installed in 1987.
The Simpsons aren't sure what the problem is. They just want it fixed. Hopefully, with the help of Faile, they'll be able to live a sewage-free life soon.
Until then, Betty said, "There's nothing else to do except go through the odors."
Monday, August 18, 2003
Sometimes we all have days when it feels like we're taking more than our share of "crap" from the world.
But Betty and Gregory Simpson feel like they're getting more than their share.
Betty Simpson said, "We get everybody's 'crap.' Really."
Simpson isn't exaggerating. Every time the sewage backs up, she gets a yard -- and sometimes a house -- full of human fecal material, sudsy dishwater and anything else that happens to go down the drains of her neighbors along Dallas County Road 943.
The smell is the least of their concerns. The Simpsons say the problem is causing numerous health and financial hazards.
Saturday night, it happened again.
At around 1 a.m. the Simpsons heard the telltale "blub-blub," which they say heralds the coming of raw sewage into their home.
Left unchecked, the materials flow up from their tub and toilets, onto the floor, under the walls and into almost every room.
The Simpsons estimate it's happened eight times in the last year and a half. They say they're getting kind of used to it by now. But they still haven't been able to get used to the smell.
"It's just like sitting your head in a toilet stool," Gregory Simpson said.
At approximately 1:30 a.m. Gregory Simpson removed the caps from the sewage line in his front yard. Without taking this measure, he said, his home would have been flooded in no time.
At 2 a.m. they started making phone calls.
They called James Hale and Joe Thomas, both members of the Dallas County Water and Sewage Board. They called the Selma Police Department, the fire department, a plumber and even the Dallas County Emergency Management Agency.
And why not? The Simpsons say they consider it a bona fide emergency whenever raw sewage begins to back up into their home. They say you would, too, if it happened to you.
But this time, once again, their calls seem to have fallen on deaf ears. According to the Simpsons, they have been plagued by local bureaucracy. "It's like they don't even know this street exists," Betty explained. "It's been ignored."
Thomas was out of town the night of the incident. When the Times-Journal contacted him by phone Sunday afternoon, he said, "I'm getting ready to call now and see who was having a problem."
James Hale was unavailable for comment at the time of publication.
Mary Shagat, another member of the water board, said, "I'm fixing to call a man that can fix it. If I could find her (Betty Simpson's) telephone number I would call and tell her how to contact us day or night."
The Simpsons, though, are tired of waiting. They've contacted local attorney William Faile. "I've contacted the water works. I'm hoping something can be resolved. It's a terrible situation," he said.
He's instructed the Simpsons to provide him with an estimate on the damage caused.
So far, the Simpsons estimate they've lost at least $1,100 in damaged carpet. They tried to dry it out, but it was so saturated in human waste they had to burn it.
They've also lost money on clothes and shoes. Anything left on the floor is prey to the random invasions.
Betty learned that the hard way. "One night, I hopped out of bed, my feet stuck to the floor," she said.
The Simpsons said their children suffer from respiratory ailments, and they are afraid the sewage may be part of the problem. Gregory said they're constantly using disinfectants and air fresheners to combat the odor problem. He said, "(We're) thinking we're killing the odor, but we're killing the children, really."
Betty suffers from a heart condition, and recently had surgery to clear a blocked artery. Not only is the constant nausea causing her chest pains, but she can't eat the food required to take her medication much of the time. "You just can't bring yourself to eat anything," she said.
It's so bad, in fact, that Betty said the police officer who visited early Sunday morning refused to leave his car, and suggested the Simpsons move.
"Lord knows we're stuck here until we can find someplace to move," she added.
The Simpsons aren't the only ones with a problem. Their neighbor, Bruce Fincher, remembers when the water board would relieve the sewage pipes in his front yard. "It used to bubble up under that tree. Mine came up through the tub."
According to the Simpsons, the water board told them once that lightning flipped a breaker on one of the sewage pump stations nearby, causing the back-flow. But they insist that doesn't explain the six or seven times it's happened before.
The Simpsons say that another time the water board contacted them and explained the problem was an old and obsolete pump station, installed in 1987.
The Simpsons aren't sure what the problem is. They just want it fixed. Hopefully, with the help of Faile, they'll be able to live a sewage-free life soon.
Until then, Betty said, "There's nothing else to do except go through the odors."
Man arrested in stabbing
By Steven Jones
Times-Journal City Editor
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
An Orrville man is in the Dallas County Jail after allegedly stabbing an acquaintance in a barroom brawl.
"I would have to assume alcohol was a contributing factor," Captain Roy Freine, of the Dallas County Sheriff's Department, said.
Freine said the stabbing happened early Sunday morning, at about 2 a.m.
Sherman Gragg, a 21-year-old Orrville man, got into an argument with Terrell "Tiki-Boo" Rayford at Jerry's Place, an Orrville bar, Freine said.
The argument ended, according to Freine, when Rayford stabbed Gragg.
"My baby boy and him got into it," Lena Gragg, Sherman's mother said.
Gragg's mother wasn't at the bar at the time of the stabbing, but rushed to the hospital as soon as she found out.
"Me and my daughter and my son-in-law was flying like a bat out of hell," she said.
Rayford was later arrested at his home on County Road 33. He was charged with first-degree assault and is in the Dallas County Jail.
His bond was set at $10,000. The case is still under investigation.
"The detective got the knife he was (allegedly) cutting with," Lena said.
She said her son and Rayford argued before.
Gragg was taken to Vaughan Regional Medical Center, where he was treated and admitted.
Vaughan officials listed Gragg's condition as fair.
His mother said he suffered from four different wounds, in both sides of his chest and the navel.
"He had a punctured lung," she said.
She said the wounds caused internal bleeding and a chest tub was inserted Sunday morning.
"They took the tube out of him today," she said. "He's sleeping off and on. He's in pain."
Lena said she didn't know when Gragg would be discharged from the hospital.
Times-Journal City Editor
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
An Orrville man is in the Dallas County Jail after allegedly stabbing an acquaintance in a barroom brawl.
"I would have to assume alcohol was a contributing factor," Captain Roy Freine, of the Dallas County Sheriff's Department, said.
Freine said the stabbing happened early Sunday morning, at about 2 a.m.
Sherman Gragg, a 21-year-old Orrville man, got into an argument with Terrell "Tiki-Boo" Rayford at Jerry's Place, an Orrville bar, Freine said.
The argument ended, according to Freine, when Rayford stabbed Gragg.
"My baby boy and him got into it," Lena Gragg, Sherman's mother said.
Gragg's mother wasn't at the bar at the time of the stabbing, but rushed to the hospital as soon as she found out.
"Me and my daughter and my son-in-law was flying like a bat out of hell," she said.
Rayford was later arrested at his home on County Road 33. He was charged with first-degree assault and is in the Dallas County Jail.
His bond was set at $10,000. The case is still under investigation.
"The detective got the knife he was (allegedly) cutting with," Lena said.
She said her son and Rayford argued before.
Gragg was taken to Vaughan Regional Medical Center, where he was treated and admitted.
Vaughan officials listed Gragg's condition as fair.
His mother said he suffered from four different wounds, in both sides of his chest and the navel.
"He had a punctured lung," she said.
She said the wounds caused internal bleeding and a chest tub was inserted Sunday morning.
"They took the tube out of him today," she said. "He's sleeping off and on. He's in pain."
Lena said she didn't know when Gragg would be discharged from the hospital.
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