The Bastrop Advertiser (Bastrop, Tex.), Vol. 155, No. 83, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 11, 2008 Page: 1 of 16
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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2008
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Texas' Oldest Weekly Newspaper Since March 1, 1853 Semi-Weekly Since Sept. 5, 1977
Volume 155, Number 83
Bastrop, Texas
24 pages in two sections
Keller found not guilty
By Terry Hagerty
Assistant Editor
Elgin resident Gary Keller was
found not guilty of murder on
Tuesday in the Feb. 13,2006 shoot-
ing of Jimmy Munoz on Keller's
property.
Keller, 49, had testified that
he shot Munoz because he felt
threatened after Munoz came onto
Keller's property at night and made
a move towards Keller.
"A jury of his peers found that
(Keller) was justified in using
deadly force," Bastrop County
District Attorney Bryan Goertz
said after the jury returned a unani-
mous verdict, after deliberating all
afternoon.
Greg Gilleland, who prosecuted
the case as first assistant district
attorney for the county, said, "They
were a hard-working jury who paid
close attention to everything in the
trial."
Keller faced up to 99 years or
life if he had been convicted.
The case was heard in the 335th
District Court of Judge Reva
Towslee Corbett.
Gilleland and Assistant District
Attorney Phil Hall prosecuted the
case. Keller's defense attorney was
Neal Pfeiffer.
Defendant was warned
In a chilling description of the
shooting on Monday Keller said
that as he moved down a trail to
confront Munoz on Keller's prop-
erty, his initial intent was to con-
tain Munoz until police arrived.
Munoz had previously lived in
the Kellers' home, but had been
asked to leave shortly before the
shooting after claims he was stalk-
ing Keller's daughter in previous
weeks.
Keller said sheriff's deputies
had previously cautioned him to
not touch Munoz if he showed up
on Keller's property and call law
officers, otherwise Keller could be
charged with assault.
Police later found Valentine's
Day notes near Munoz' body,
addressed to Keller's wife, Bonnie,
and daughter, from Munoz. There
See MURDER, Page 2A
li e says Aqua Smiles for Santa
report is shamJ
By Cyndi Wright
Editor
Independent investiga-
tors researching numerous
allegations made against
Aqua General Manager
John Burke have presented
their final report to the Aqua
Water Supply Board, which
commissioned the investiga-
tion.
That report has turned
the tables on Maureen
McMullen's accusations
against Burke and instead
points the finger at her hus-
band, former Aqua employee
David McMullen, for mis-
deeds.
Edmond Martin of Sage
Investigations and Fred
Ligarde of Fred Ligarde and
Associates were the main
investigators.
The report accuses David
McMullen, who was fired
from Aqua Water Supply in
August, of several ethical
and possibly criminal viola-
tions, including theft of large
amounts of company materi-
als, money from the sale of
company surplus, and using
company resources for per-
sonal gain.
The charges against David
E
Randolph«Brooks
DAVID W MCMULLEN
MAUREEN A MCMULLEN
Account Number:
Closing Date: 09/19/07
Credit Limit:
Available Credit:
Account Summary
count Inquiries
>. Customer Service: (866) 317-0355
f Lost or Stolen Card: (866) 839-3485
Please Direct Written Inquiries to:
f! CUSTOMER SERVICE
L!| P0 BOX 30495
TAMPA. FL 33630-3495
y To pay on-line:
i www.rbfcu.org
ayment Information
Total Minimum Payment Due $29.00
Payment Due Date 10/15/07
Mail Payments to: MASTERCARD PO BOX 31021
CASHBACK
CURRENT
BALANCE:
$131.25
CASHBACK
PAYOUT DATE:
10/15/2007
mportant News
CREASE YOUR SCORE WITH BACK TO SCHOOL SHOPPING! USE YOUR SCORECARD.
Account Activity Since Your Last Statement
| Minimum Payment
TAMPA FL 3363-!-3021
ans Date | Post Date | Plan Name |
Reference Number
08/20
08/26
08/25
08/25
08/29
08/31
08/30
09-01
09/07
09/07
09/07
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08/22
08/27
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55308767238547472023192
55308767238547473023191
55308767238547826012669
554203672396/0382729061
554602972420/4241010075
05416017243140003112374
55453707243666000360173
55483827245310490420266
55417347251122510791647
55547507251263250010038
55308767251547892042972
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Description
"EL BORREGO DE ORE RED ROCK TX
SHELL OIL 54275200019 RED ROCK TX
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ADVANCE AUTO PARTS 672 BASTROP TX
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SMITH SUPPLY COMPANY SMITHVILLE TX
DOM PIPE 8 STEE BASTROP TX
SHELL OIL 91002190373 SMITHVILLE TX
BEST LIL HAIRHOUSE BASTROP TX
BASTF.OP TIRE AND AUTOM BASTRCP TX
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75 78
This receipt produced by Maureen McMullen shows
that a personal credit card was used to purchase tires
around the same date that investigators allege her
husband used an Aqua card to buy tires for the cou-
ple's RV. The receipt has been altered only to eliminate
personal information.
INSIDE
I Tree of Angels remembers crime victims .... 3A
I "Travesty" - Shipley not All-District 1C
I Ellen's birthday wishes 5C
WEATHER
INDEX
O
■ Thursday's forecast:
Sunny
High:' 59°
Low: 32°
Rain: 0%
■ Last week:
High Low Prec.
Friday 63° 40° 0%
Saturday 71° 55° 0%
Sunday 77° 57° 30%
Monday 77° 48° 30%
Tuesday 68° 45° 60%
V\fednesday 70° 46° 40%
65668 78602 3
Looking Ahead
2A
Community
3A
Religion
2B
Classified ads
4B
Sports
1C
AUSTIN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS
This newspaper
is recyclable
McMullen are similar to the
accusations McMullen made
against Burke in a letter she
read to the board of directors
on Sept. 8.
Although Ligarde and
Aqua General Manager John
Burke defended the report
as unbiased and accurate,
Maureen McMullen lam-
basted it as untrue.
"I sat back and let them
do their investigation, know-
ing it was a sham, and it is,"
she said after she and her
husband reviewed the report
over the weekend. David
McMullen is now working
for another water company.
According to Maureen
McMullen, the investigators
never asked for documenta-
tion from the couple that
would clear up many of the
accusations contained in the
report.
However, Ligarde said
the investigative team gave
the McMullens at least three
opportunities to talk to them
and the couple did not.
"We asked them to pro-
duce anything that would
support the allegations
against Aqua and John
Burke," Ligarde said.
He said the McMullens
See AQUA, Page 7A
:
m
f
_
Phil Alley/Times photo
Visiting with Santa during Smithville's Festival of Lights were, from the left,
Aizik, Aiden and Deana Hernandez.
Help others during season of giving
By Cyndi Wright
Editor
Bastrop County is fortu-
nate to have many caring
and charitable residents who
give freely of their time and
resources for those who are
experiencing hard times.
The area may be even
more fortunate in the women
who are the force behind
four of these area charities.
Lately, with tough econom-
ic times staring everyone in
the face, charitable organi-
zations are having to find
ways to help more families
with less money coming in
from established funding
spots.
Tresha Silva of the
Bastrop County Emergency
Food Pantry, Sherry Murphy
of the Family Crisis Center,
Cheryl (Koch) Gartner of the
Children's Advocacy Center
and Joan Martin-Thurman
of Court Appointed Special
Advocates (CASA) all work
tirelessly to raise funds to
keep their organizations up
and running. All four of
them are also very hands-
on in the direct day-to-day
giving that each agency pro-
vides.
In the last issue of the
Advertiser, readers learned
about the CAC and the food
pantry. In this edition, the
focus will be on the FCC
and CASA.
A secret shame
Unfortunately not every-
one in local communities
shares in the joy and antici-
pation of the holiday sea-
son.
For many, the holidays
are entwined in trauma as a
result of domestic or sexual
violence. These individuals
live day to day in fear that
their lives, dreams and pos-
sibly bones might be shat-
tered by acts of abuse.
This fear is not only for
themselves, but also for
their children. Their exis-
tence is filled not only with
fear, but with hopeless-
ness, shame and isolation.
Statistics show that these
forms of violence and abuse
are far more reaching than
is known.
"More than likely, we all
have a friend, family mem-
ber, co-worker or someone
very close to us that, at some
point in their life, has been
in an abusive relationship
or the victim of sexual vio-
lence," Murphy said.
Family Crisis Center
The Bastrop County
Women's Shelter, also
known as the Family Crisis
Center, started in 1981 from
a coalition of rural Texas
women with a shared vision
of offering hope, support and
assistance to women victim-
ized by domestic violence.
Since becoming an incor-
See GIVING, Page 6A
Please help here
• Children's Advocacy
Center provides interven-
tion and therapeutic services
to child abuse victims and
their non-offending family
members.
1002 Chestnut St.,
Bastrop, TX 78602
512-321-6161
httpjfwww.childrensad-
vocacycenter.org
• Bastrop Emergency
Food Pantry & Support
Center provides food and
many other services.
1201 Pine Street • P.O.
Box 953 • Bastrop, TX
78602
512-303-0033
httpBwww. bastropfood-
pantry.org
• The Family Crisis
Center offers comprehen-
sive victim assistance and
support to residents of
Bastrop, Colorado, Fayette
and Lee counties in Central
Texas.
512-303-7755 or 1-888-
311-7755 http://www.fam-
ily-crisis-center.org
• CASA of Bastrop,
Inc., P. O. Box 623,
Bastrop, TX 78602 or email
casaofbastrop@yahoo.com;
www. casaofbastrop. com
CASA provides a vol-
unteer for children in four
counties who need an advo-
cate in court.
Upcoming CASA train-
ing dates for new volun-
teers: Jan. 13 & 15, 20, 22;
Feb. 2, 5, 9, and 12; March
10 & 12, 17 19.
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Wright, Cyndi. The Bastrop Advertiser (Bastrop, Tex.), Vol. 155, No. 83, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 11, 2008, newspaper, December 11, 2008; Bastrop, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth252537/m1/1/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Bastrop Public Library.