July 17, 2020 - (Constable Mandate; Article 5, Section 18 Texas Constitution) - The Shelby County Justice of the Peace Office for Precinct 3 has just recently been filled with a new candidate following the resignation of Margie Anderson, and the election of Melba Rodgers to the position.
Rodgers won't take office until July 31, 2020, and to be proactive the Shelby County Commissioners have been on the lookout for a new location for the Justice of the Peace office. Leading up to Rodgers taking over the office, it has been housed in the residence of Anderson and this will no longer be an option for the county.
During the April 1, 2020, meeting of the Shelby County Commissioners a motion carried with Charles Barr, Commissioner Precinct 3, making the motion with Tom Bellmyer, Commissioner Precinct 4, seconding the motion to enter into a contract to lease a location off Haslam Strip for the Justice of the Peace and the Constable.
Judge Allison Harbison stated during the July 15, 2020 meeting when the lease runs out on the current office location for Roy Cheatwood, Constable Precinct 3, the county would move his office into the same building as the JP.
"I think the world of Ms. Melba, I ain't got nothin but respect for Ms. Melba but it's got out over there that I'm saying I'm not going to work with her and all this here. My duty is to serve the court and that's what I'm going to do," said Constable Cheatwood. "My job here consists of serving JP court. Her business is my business, but my business ain't always her business."
Constable Cheatwood's concern over the building that's been chosen by the county is it's location, which he states is not a safe one due to crime in that vicinity.
"My concern is for her well-being, look at what we got, we've got a trailer park right down there they're coming in at night," said Constable Cheatwood. "I just run one out of a tent hooked up to the electricity, they don't even know we're coming in here."
The building itself is one large room without partitions offering no privacy for each office holder.
"My job consists of, I work my own cases most of them, I work the criminal, even though I don't have to," said Constable Cheatwood.
A complication Cheatwood explained will result from a combined office is a lack of privacy to meet with individuals to gain information on cases he's actively working. It would potentially make witnesses less forthcoming, and less likely to come forward with information.
Constable Cheatwood stated he had a conversation with Charles Barr, Commissioner Precinct 3, long before the location was leased and asked for the county not to lease that office. At another time, two commissioners have inspected the building on one occasion and at a separate occassion Judge Harbison was at the location with a sheriff's deputy; however, Constable Cheatwood says he was not contacted either time.
"If they have a problem with me, they need to be calling Roy," said Constable Cheatwood.
While Shelby County Today was at the office to meet Constable Cheatwood, he contacted Commissioner Barr and learned there are no plans to add partitions to the office, or make any changes. As a result, Constable Cheatwood stated he would just work out of his house.
Attempts were made to contact Judge Rodgers; however, she was unreachable at the time Shelby County Today and Constable Cheatwood were at the building. Judge Rodgers later contacted Shelby County Today and said, "I don't have any problem working with Roy, we're just going to have to work together and we will, I will anyway. I'm going to work with whoever and however and we'll just make the best of it."
Judge-Elect Rodgers spoke with Judge Harbison recently and she spoke with her about potential changes to the office in the future.
"She said we may want to put up some partitions, I think we'll probably have to after they're combined, and I'm not even sure that we'll stay in that same place after the offices are combined," said Judge-Elect Rodgers. "Everybody needs some privacy."
The office of the Justice of the Peace is located behind the Smith Towing Wrecker yard.
