EP 13: Tabitha Barnes Allegations Scrutinized (Part 2)
HAVE A COMMENT, QUESTION, CONCERN OR JUST A SHOUTOUT? CALL AND LEAVE A MESSAGE ON OUR PODCAST HOTLINE. YOU MAY HAVE YOUR MESSAGE INCLUDED IN AN UPCOMING EPISODE OR SHARED VIA SOCIAL MEDIA….. (405) 466-5622
Official Police, and Private Investigator Reports/Notes (redacted) Below:
Below are the photos taken by Detective Rocky Gregory.
Photos found at this link at Realtor.com.
Bates Investigates
Episode 13 ׀Daniel Holtzclaw: Tabitha Barnes Allegations Scrutinized (Part 2)
[OPENING AUDIO COLLAGE]
Newscaster: Officer Daniel Holtzclaw, with the Police Department for three years, is accused of raping and sexually assaulting women he pulled over while on the job.
Jannie Liggons: He said, ‘Come on, come on, just a minute, just a minute’. I say, ‘Sir, I can’t do this’. I say, ‘you gonna shoot...’
Det. Kim Davis: Tell me your description of him.
Sherri Ellis: He’s black.
Det. Kim Davis: He’s b—okay, black male.
Det. Kim Davis: What did your daughter tell you?
Amanda Gates: She said, ‘I met this really hot cop’.
Shardayreon Hill: So, this is good evidence?
Det. Rocky Gregory: Well, you tell me.
[OPENING AUDIO COLLAGE ENDS]
Timestamp: The following episode contains investigative events which occurred August 14 through August 17, 2014.
00:49
Host:Welcome back to Bates Investigates, Season One: In Defense of Daniel Holtzclaw. I am your host, private investigator and original member of Daniel Holtzclaw's jury trial criminal defense team, Brian Bates. This is episode thirteen and in this episode I will be wrapping up the Tabitha Barnes allegations. In episode twelve we discussed how forty-one year old Northeast Oklahoma City resident, Tabitha Barnes, alleged that then Oklahoma City Police Officer, Daniel Holtzclaw, had been harassing her and that during the early morning hours of what was later alleged to have been February 27th of 2014, he had coerced her into exposing herself and then he allegedly lifted each of her bare breasts with his hands. You'll probably also recall that many of the details of Holtzclaw's alleged crimes changed with each telling and retelling of the story by Barnes, her children, or individuals who were allegedly at the scene at that time. At the end of episode twelve, I told you that Barnes' allegations didn't end with that early morning traffic stop on February 27th. In this episode, I'm going to detail additional encounters with Barnes that she alleges resulted in even more criminal activities by Daniel Holtzclaw. Barnes told Oklahoma City Police Sex Crimes Detective Rocky Gregory that she didn't come into contact with Officer Holtzclaw again until March 25th of 2014. That's twenty-six days later. Barnes estimated that at about 9:30pm she was driving home along Jordan Avenue. In the car with her was her eleven year old daughter and seven year old son. When they pulled up to their house, they saw a newer model Oklahoma City patrol car stopped in front of their home. The patrol car was facing east towards the corner of Northeast Fifteenth and Jordan. Barnes said she pulled over and parked on Jordan Avenue, this would have been to the east side of her property line.
03:07
At trial she testified that she couldn't see an officer but that "I already knew who it was. It was Spike." I find this statement odd because she's admittedly only encountered Holtzclaw on one other day and he was with other officers and that was almost a month ago. Barnes said as she was getting out of her car she noticed something else, a black male lying on the ground, in her yard, very near a utility pole. At about this point, she says that’s when Officer Holtzclaw made his presence known. Barnes asked if he was there about the man lying on the ground. She said Holtzclaw kicked at the man to get his attention and told him to move along. Barnes told Gregory that she next replied to Holtzclaw "what is it now?", but at trial that detail changed too. According to the trial transcript (page 1,789) Barnes stated "here you go again". Barnes said she was next directed to sit in the driver's side rear passenger seat of Holtzclaw’s patrol car. She says her eleven and seven year old children stood outside in the yard. After getting in the patrol car, Holtzclaw asked Barnes if she had taken care of her city tickets and warrants (the ones he had pointed out to her almost a month ago) to which Barnes replied no. Barnes says that's when Holtzclaw ran her through the police database for additional warrants. She said after she came back with the same city tickets, Holtzclaw next asked her if she had been selling any drugs or if she had any drugs on her. Barnes said she exclaimed "No! If I sold drugs why would I sit in a cold house waiting on DHS to pay my gas?" Barnes said she then questioned Officer Holtzclaw as to why he was always by himself whenever he came around. This too is another odd assertion by Barnes in my opinion, and one not supported by the evidence. Remember, she has only encountered Holtzclaw two times previously, and both of those were on the same day, and each time he had other police officers with him. Barnes also testified at trial that Holtzclaw's detainment of her "took longer. I mean, you know it was longer before he proceeded to do what he did". This, as with so many of Barnes' quotes at trial, seems to be nothing more than bolstering and is not supported by the facts.
05:51
I'll get to the known timeline in just a minute, but I can tell you right now, Holtzclaw was not with Barnes for any more than seven to eight minutes. Barnes next told Detective Gregory that Holtzclaw exited his patrol car and stood very near her in the open driver's side passenger door. Holtzclaw then allegedly told Barnes he needed to "check her for drugs". Barnes says she was wearing a white t-shirt, black leggings, and no underwear. As with the February 27th incident a month earlier, there is some confusion as to whether or not Barnes was wearing a bra. When she originally met with Detective Gregory she was clear she did not have a bra on.
[RECORDING BEGINS]
Tabitha Barnes: Which, I didn’t have a bra on at the time.
Det. Rocky Gregory: You did?
Tabitha Barnes: I didn’t.
Det. Rocky Gregory: Didn’t, okay. Okay, this time you had no bra…
Tabitha Barnes: Mm hmm.
Det. Rocky Gregory: So your breasts are exposed.
[RECORDING ENDS]
Host:However, at trial she testifies that "Yes, I did have on a bra that second time. Yes, I did." When she met with Detective Gregory, Barnes claims there was no direct command to expose herself, that she simply assumed what Holtzclaw meant and proceeded to lift her shirt and bra. But, as I'm sure you could see it coming, by the time trial rolls around, this detail too has changed and in the prosecution’s favor. Barnes testified at trial that Officer Holtzclaw stated "You got anything under your shirt? You gonna let me see?” That's when Barnes alleges that she lifted her shirt and bra, once again exposing her breasts. Holtzclaw then turned his attention towards Barnes' pants and asked if she had anything hidden in them. Barnes testified at trial that she pulled her leggings out from her waistband but that motion also exposed her vagina. When asked at trial to clarify how she was seated, the details once again changed from her original statement. You'll recall when she met with Detective Gregory she stated she was seated facing forward with her legs and feet inside the patrol car.
[RECORDING BEGINS]
Det. Rocky Gregory: Okay, was your legs faced out here?
Tabitha Barnes: No, they were still in the car.
Det. Rocky Gregory: Okay.
[RECORDING ENDS]
08:11
Host: However, at trial she claimed she was facing out of the car with legs facing Holtzclaw and her feet on the ground. Defense Attorney Scott Adams challenged this assertion at trial and played back that part of Detective Gregory's recorded interview to refresh Barnes' memory. To this Barnes reluctantly changed her story back to the original version: facing forward, feet inside the door. Making it very difficult for her to have pulled out her waistband far enough to expose her vagina to Holtzclaw, who was standing to her side and outside the car. Barnes told Detective Gregory that Holtzclaw next told her he had just been inside and checked her house for drugs and he knew that there were none inside the house. That's a little different order of events than she ended up testifying to at trial, where she claimed Holtzclaw made this admission right after he put her into his car. Whatever the order, Barnes said that Holtzclaw told her he encountered a black male who was sleeping inside her home. At this point Barnes says she was allowed to get out of the patrol car, but as she was exiting Officer Holtzclaw commented that he wanted to make sure his twenty dollar bill was still in the backseat. Barnes said she knew that she too had a twenty dollar bill. In fact, in her original interview, she claims it was crumpled up inside her bra.
[RECORDING BEGINS]
Det. Rocky Gregory: What did he say about the twenty? He said something.
Tabitha Barnes: He said, ‘Don’t touch...’ Uh, ‘Make sure my twenty dollars is back there.’ And I was, like, what, I said, ‘Nah.’ I said, ‘I had twenty dollars too.’ Cause I had it in my bra.
[RECORDING ENDS]
09:55
Host:Barnes said she was confused and wondered for a moment if the twenty dollars he was referencing was hers. When she looked back, sure enough, there was a twenty dollar bill sitting in the seat. She asked Holtzclaw what that was all about. He reportedly replied, ‘I have my reasons.’ At this point, Barnes says she went inside the house and Holtzclaw got back into his patrol car and drove away. Once inside she said she spoke to the male that had previously been sleeping and woken up by Holtzclaw when he was searching the house. That man has been identified as fifty-one year old Terry Wayne Williams and he was Barnes' boyfriend at the time. That concludes what is referred to in the investigative reports as the second incident. Though technically the third encounter Barnes has had with Holtzclaw over the course of two different dates, about a month apart. The third and final incident occurred the very next evening. Barnes estimated at about 4:30pm she was in the kitchen of her house making dinner for the kids when there was a knock at her door. Remarkably enough, just like when she saw a police car in front of her home and just somehow instinctively knew that it was Holtzclaw, Barnes told Detective Gregory that she also instinctively knew that that knock was Holtzclaw’s too. When she opened the door, Officer Holtzclaw was standing on her porch. Barnes told Detective Gregory that Holtzclaw said to her "Can I come in?" to which Barnes replied no. Holtzclaw then allegedly stated ‘So, you are not going to let me in! I need to search your house for drugs.’ However, once again, at trial Barnes testified to something never before previously mentioned. And I think it was a critical mistake on her part that she made this admission. On page 1,882 of the jury trial transcript, Barnes testified that upon opening her front door, Officer Holtzclaw stated "One of my informants told me you sold crack cocaine today". Barnes goes on to say that Holtzclaw says he encountered someone that said they had just bought a twenty dollar rock of crack cocaine from someone in her house. Barnes claims she argued with Holtzclaw and told him "You were just in my house last night, did you see any—anything considering drugs, marijuana, cocaine or anything?" Barnes once again testified she asserted the claim that if she sold drugs why would she be inside a cold house waiting for the government to pay her gas bill.
[RECORDING BEGINS]
Tabitha Barnes:Said, ‘If I sold drugs do you think I’d be in a cold house waiting on DHS to pay my rent—I mean pay my, my gas bill?!’
[RECORDING ENDS]
12:49
Host:Holtzclaw then allegedly again stated he wanted permission to search her home. Barnes said that she became frightened and called her sixty-five year old mother who lives in Texas. Barnes stated that while Officer Holtzclaw was claiming she was selling drugs and asking to look inside her home that Holtzclaw asked to speak to Barnes' mother on the phone. Barnes handed the phone to Holtzclaw, who allegedly proceeded to tell Barnes' mother that her daughter had city tickets and warrants and that she needed to come down here and get her. The conversation allegedly ended with Holtzclaw mumbling something as he was walking off and then exclaimed "You hadn't paid those fucking tickets. I'll be back!" And at that he drove away. In Detective Gregory's report, which I have posted to this episode's homepage at holtzclawtrial.com, Barnes claims that preceding this encounter she personally witnesses Officer Holtzclaw to drive by her house every day and that Holtzclaw continued to harass her, her boyfriend, Terry Williams, and even a co-worker of her boyfriends. However, this directly contradicts her trial testimony.
From page 1,890 of the jury trial transcript:
Tabitha Barnes - "Well, the day after that my sister came and picked me and my children up. I boarded my—I boarded the house up like I had moved. Went to Austin, Texas for three months thinking that, you know, maybe they catch him, it was all over."
Prosecutor - "So you left the house?"
Barnes - "Yes, I did."
Prosecutor - "Why?"
Barnes - "The fear of me and my children."
Prosecutor - "Are you telling the jury and are you telling me that you left because of what this officer kept doing?"
Barnes - "Yeah, because I have—I have a fifteen year old and a twelve year old child. What if I wasn't home one day and he did that to them?"
She repeats more than once that her sister came to town the very next day and she boarded up her house to make it look like she had moved for good and fled to Texas for three months thinking that would either fool Holtzclaw into leaving her alone or that he'd somehow be found out and caught. But that's not at all what Barnes told Detective Gregory in his original recorded interview. Initially she tells Gregory that she left May 1st and went to her mother’s for three months. That’s thirty-six days after the incident where she says she left the very next day.
15:27[RECORDING BEGINS]
Tabitha Barnes:No, I said in May. Me. In May, I left, like, May 1st.
Det. Rocky Gregory: Oh you left?
Tabitha Barnes: And I never seen him. I never seen him again. And then…
Det. Rocky Gregory: Where did yo—oh, where did you go? Down to your momma’s?
Tabitha Barnes: Yeah, I left for three months.
[RECORDING ENDS]
Host:And then later, in that same conversation, Barnes clearly says she went to take care of her mother in Texas for one month. Something she said she had to do. She never says she left town because of Holtzclaw.
[RECORDING BEGINS]
Tabitha Barnes: I mean, when I had to go to move to Texas for that month to help my mom, um, that’s probably what saved me with that man.
[RECORDING ENDS]
Host:Barnes didn't move for three months. She left for a month. And it wasn't to live with her sister to hide out from Holtzclaw. It was to take care of her ailing mother. In Detective Gregory's report he notes that "this is the last time she dealt with him". But that too is not at all what she said, and Detective Gregory knows it. In fact, he chooses to simply ignore it because he knows it's a complete lie. I don't know if you caught it when you listened to this interview the first time with Barnes back in episode eleven, but Barnes claims that Holtzclaw came back yet again. Barnes said that "a month ago he came too." Here it is in her own words.
[RECORDING BEGINS]
Tabitha Barnes: Matter of fact, I wanna say, like, a month ago, he came too. But I didn’t open the door, I was looking at him through the window.
Det. Rocky Gregory: Was he in uniform?
Tabitha Barnes: Mm hmm. And the last stop he made, I can’t quote what date it was, but he was in the old—the ne—the older car.
[RECORDING ENDS]
Host:But, once again, there's a big problem with Barnes’ assertions. Barnes was interviewed on August 17th of 2014. Daniel Holtzclaw was placed on administrative leave on June 18th. There's no way he could have gone to Barnes' home within even the previous two months, and he certainly could not have visited her home in the older style Oklahoma City patrol car, as he hasn't driven one of those in quite some time. Detective Gregory knew that Barnes’ statement was a blatant lie and it could be proven a lie. So, did you catch what he did? Or better yet, what he didn't do? He knew she gave too much detail there, so he simply chose to ignore it. As if it was never said it. You'll soon find this is a very disturbing pattern of Detective Rocky Gregory.
18:12
Barnes went on to mention that Holtzclaw continued to drive past her home and harass her. But wait a minute, I thought she moved the very next day. She even makes mention of Officer Holtzclaw harassing her boyfriend, Terry Williams, and one of Williams' co-workers while they were in front of her house. She said Holtzclaw made derogatory and homophobic comments towards Williams' friend, a Mr. Jesse Hawkins, because Holtzclaw felt that Hawkins was wearing eye liner. And of course, like so many other things she has testified to, none of this holds up under close scrutiny. Before I give you my thoughts on what actually happened, I want to go over some contradictory testimony from Barnes' own eleven year old daughter and Barnes' boyfriend, Terry Williams. When the eleven year old took the stand at trial she admitted that the very first time she ever saw Officer Holtzclaw was during this March 25th incident involving the man lying in the front yard. In fact, it was actually very unsettling to be in court and listen to this young lady as it became painfully obvious she had been coached to the point that she didn't even know which way was up. She initially denied even talking to Detective Gregory in his car. The very interview I played for you in episode eleven. Then she literally took the March 25th event and broke it up into what she thought were two distinctly different events and then tried to attribute some of those details to the February 27th traffic stop. As Detective Gregory pointed out when he first spoke to the young girl, she was simply retelling what she had been told by her mother and she had obviously been told to claim she had seen things first hand that, in fact, she had not. If I tried to go into much detail about what she testified to, it would only confuse things greatly, but these are the main points we can get from her trial testimony. The daughter refers to Barnes' boyfriend, Terry Williams, as her stepdad, but claims he has only ever stayed overnight at their house one time. This becomes unnervingly important in just a minute.
20:30
She claims she has seen encounters with her mother and Holtzclaw on four or five occasions, yet we know she has only seen Holtzclaw one time face to face on the March 25th incident and she claims she overheard Holtzclaw the next day on the March 26th incident at her front door. The only thing she seems to agree with Barnes' version of events on March 25th is that Barnes was placed in the back of Holtzclaw's patrol car. The eleven year old disputes the order or even the existence of virtually everything else. She states the conversation about Holtzclaw going inside the house and encountering the man who was sleeping was one of the first things said before Barnes was placed in the patrol car. This is the opposite of what Barnes testified to. In fact, the little girl forwards a direct quote that was never even referenced by her mother. The girl stated that when her mother, Tabitha Barnes, asked why Holtzclaw was inside their home, that Holtzclaw replied "Because I'm the law and I can do that." She claims she was on the front porch almost the entire time, yet never saw anything inappropriate. The daughter testified that she never actually saw Holtzclaw drive by their home, that instead that was something her mother told her. Lastly, while under cross examination by Defense Attorney Scott Adams, the young lady admitted that she doesn't even remember Officer Holtzclaw coming back and at their door on March 26th. Barnes' mother also testified at trial. Though her testimony was brief, she did corroborate Barnes' testimony that she called her mother while Officer Holtzclaw stood at the front door. Barnes' mother stated that she told her daughter that she didn't have to let Holtzclaw inside her home to search it for drugs without a search warrant. That said, Barnes' mother did contradict her daughter when she claimed that she did not speak directly to Holtzclaw on the phone. Instead she said she simply overheard Holtzclaw talking to Tabitha and couldn't recall what she heard her daughter saying. In Detective Gregory's report he notes that the mother said Holtzclaw was bullying her daughter, but at trial she actually softened that a bit when she claimed that the conversation was "most likely unfriendly".
22:59
Lastly, Barnes’ mother also testified that she had been told by her daughter over the summer that Holtzclaw had been harassing her, accusing her of selling drugs, and had touched her inappropriately. But, keep in mind over the summer would mean after Barnes had been approached by Detective Gregory and after Holtzclaw had been arrested and the allegations and his face had been shown all over the news. Not before, when the incidents were actually allegedly occurring. Last to testify in the case was the boyfriend, Terry Wayne Williams. You'll remember he was the one sleeping inside of Barnes' home and was awakened by Holtzclaw. Williams testified that he was certain the front door to the house was shut. However, he also testified that he has no idea who all was in the house when he went to sleep and has no idea when they left, so he couldn't know if the door was indeed closed. Additionally, he testified he couldn't remember if the door had been repaired from the burglary weeks earlier. According to Williams, he was sleeping in Barnes' bedroom; however, you may recall that Barnes said he was sleeping in her seven year old’s bedroom.
[RECORDING BEGINS]
Det. Rocky Gregory:So he was in your bedroom?
Tabitha Barnes: Actually, the, uh, yeah. My son’s room. Sleep.
[RECORDING ENDS]
Host:This may seem like an insignificant contradiction, but I don't think that it is, and I don’t think you will either in just a minute. There's another key descriptor of Mr. Terry Wayne Williams that Barnes, Williams, and even Oklahoma City Sex Crimes Detective Rocky Gregory conveniently and intentionally left out of all of their initial statements and reports. Terry Wayne Williams is not only a convicted felon, he is a registered sex offender. A sex offender who admittedly has been convicted at least seven times for failure to properly register or otherwise follow the rules of sex offender registration. In fact, Williams had only recently been released from prison on one of those convictions when all of these alleged incidents occurred.
25:13
Nowhere, and I do mean nowhere, will you find a single mention of Williams being a sex offender in any police report in this case. But Barnes knows her boyfriend is a sex offender and she allows him to sleep in her seven year old son's bedroom anyway. Williams also knows that he's not supposed to be staying over at Barnes’ residence. Not only is she a convicted felon with young children in her home, but her home is located only a thousand feet from both a school and a public park. Barnes testified that Williams stayed at her home about every other day. Barnes' daughter, the one that had obviously been coached, she testified "He only stayed there one day, one time”. Williams, on the other hand, testified that he only stayed there on the weekends, but that was a lie because the day he was found sleeping in Barnes' house? Well, that was a Tuesday. And Barnes said Williams was also at the house sleeping when Holtzclaw returned the next day, a Wednesday. Regardless, Williams claims that he was woken up by Holtzclaw nudging him and standing over him with his flashlight shining in his face. Williams next testified that Officer Holtzclaw had him walk outside, where he ran him through the police database. Williams claims that Holtzclaw never even mentioned his sex offender status, which would have stood out in the police records. He also never makes mention of Officer Holtzclaw asking for or checking his ID. I personally think Williams is lying and intentionally omitting these facts. Why? Because he and Barnes constantly avoid bringing up his sex offender status. So, they simply omit anything where his registration was ever brought up. Williams did mention that Officer Holtzclaw said this was a bad crime area and insinuated Barnes' home was a dope house. Williams testified he was then allowed to go back inside the home and Holtzclaw told him that he was going to harass him every time he saw him in the area. Here are a couple of other interesting details that were brought out during cross examination.
27:26
For one, Williams testified under oath that he somehow had no idea his girlfriend, Tabitha Barnes, the one he apparently stayed the night with on a regular basis, did any drugs whatsoever. This is odd considering Tabitha Barnes admits to doing drugs, admits to selling drugs, admits to allowing people to come over to her house to do drugs, and literally seems to be high every single time she makes an appearance in this investigation, even including when she testified at trial. Williams also testified, and I think this is very important, that he had never heard anything about Officer Holtzclaw bothering or harassing or being inappropriate with Barnes prior to that date and claims he first learned of any issues or concerns only after Barnes returned home and encountered Holtzclaw in the front yard on that day. And even then, his story is vastly different than Barnes'. Williams testified that he had been told that Barnes was made to "lift her dress" and expose herself. Not once has a dress been mentioned by anyone other than Williams. Like I said previously, Williams mentions Barnes boarding up her house, but he testified it was only one or two windows and he thought she did it because they were broken. He also says she only left for about a month, not three months and he mentions nothing about Barnes and her children going into hiding. The last thing Williams testified to was this supposed harassment after he first met Holtzclaw and when Holtzclaw woke him up sleeping in a young boy's bed. Williams testified that on April 8th he was sitting in a truck, not in front of but a couple of houses down from Barnes' home. In the truck with him was Mr. Jesse Hawkins. A man Williams described as a friend, co-worker, and previously registered sex offender. The two were parked in the street and drinking when Officer Holtzclaw pulled up on them and ran them both through the police database. Williams claims he thought Holtzclaw was making good on his threat to harass him. Williams claims that he called his friend a derogatory word that he “couldn't say in open court”. I'm going to assume he is referring to when Barnes claimed that Holtzclaw called Mr. Hawkins “a faggot”. Under cross examination, Williams admitted that the stop was quick, their names were run and Holtzclaw left. Williams also indicated at trial that another officer may have actually been with Holtzclaw during this encounter.
30:10
When Jessie Hawkins was interviewed, he seemed to corroborate some of Williams’ testimony. He said they were indeed in the truck, and they were stopped and ran by Officer Holtzclaw. As for the 'faggot' comment Barnes and Williams claimed Holtzclaw made, Hawkins didn't recall that at all. Instead, he said Holtzclaw was "rude, but nothing out of the ordinary". Specifically, he said that nothing inappropriate was said to him. Hawkins did confirm that Officer Holtzclaw mentioned that this was a high crime area for drugs and prostitution. Hawkins stated that Williams told him that Officer Holtzclaw had been at the house before and had been harassing people in the area, but gave no specific details. The overall theme of the prosecution is that twenty-seven year old Officer Daniel Holtzclaw for some reason targeted Barnes, forty-one, after encountering her, along with Officer Venegas, back on February 27, 2014. And that after Venegas pulled away from the scene Holtzclaw decided to have Barnes expose her breasts in public and then fondled her exposed breasts. This with his patrol car strobe lights on, and in front of a house full of potential witnesses, and within full view of anyone else that happened out to be outside, driving by, or looking out their windows. And I'll remind you, there has never been a single independent eyewitness ever produced by the prosecution. Regardless, the prosecution's theory is that after that first contact, Officer Holtzclaw was one of several officers that responded to Barnes' home, only hours later, due to a burglary. However, as Detective Gregory noted in his official report, "There was no incident due to other officers and family there". The inference is clear. Detective Gregory is saying that had other officers and family not been there at that burglary call, that Holtzclaw would have sexually assaulted Barnes again for a second time. Yet, there is absolutely no evidence to back that up. The prosecution also alleges that on the March 25th incident that Holtzclaw was only on the scene to sexually assault Barnes' again, he had no legal cause to enter her home without permission, and that even though Williams was allegedly still on the property, Holtzclaw decided to have Barnes once again publicly expose herself to an untold number of potential witnesses. Prosecutor Gayland Gieger even argued that Holtzclaw didn't arrest Williams or report Williams being in Barnes' home because Holtzclaw didn't want investigators talking to Williams and running the risk he would tell them about Holtzclaw's illegal behavior. The prosecution even used the fact Officer Holtzclaw approached Williams and Hawkins thirteen days later as proof Holtzclaw was making good on his promise to harass Williams and keep him quiet about the fact Holtzclaw was sexually assaulting his girlfriend.
33:16
Now, admittedly that's a lot to take in, but I still need to share what I think the evidence actually supports in this case. I think it's been well established by everyone's testimony that Officer Daniel Holtzclaw fully believed that Tabitha Barnes was selling crack cocaine out of her home and allowing drug addicts in the area to use her home as some sort of a shooting gallery. Literally every person questioned by law enforcement or the prosecution has admitted Holtzclaw repeatedly made these allegations. Allegations that are supported by Barnes' own testimony that she does crack cocaine, marijuana and PCP; that she allows others to do those drugs on her property; and she even admitted to selling drugs in her past, and has gone to prison for that very crime. Additionally, Holtzclaw has encountered friends who are not really friends of Barnes (i.e. Mathis, Cooper, Summers and others) that come and go from Barnes’ home and have criminal histories that often include drug use, prostitution and/or drug dealing. These so-called friends, by their own testimony, appear at Barnes' home, often stay the night, but then allegedly never talk to Barnes again. With these suspicions and all this traffic coming and going from Barnes' home, Holtzclaw does exactly what we would expect any pro-active patrol officer to do. He initiates as much contact as possible on the suspects. That first opportunity came in the early morning hours of February 27, 2014, and I gave you my thoughts on what I actually think happened on that date. I won't go over that incident again, but feel free to review my thoughts from episode twelve. Fast forward from February 27, 2014 to March 25th of that same year, some twenty-six days later. Now, before I get to Holtzclaw's encounter with Barnes and Williams, there are a couple of other encounters we know Holtzclaw had on that same day while on patrol.
35:26
Notably, at 4:50pm, he encounters Florene Mathis, but she gives him her alias, Lynn Gibson. We know this because he calls her in to have her information verified. And we know, because of his patrol car GPS that he stopped Mathis, right by Barnes' suspected drug house at Northeast Fifteenth and Jordan. By Mathis' own testimony, Holtzclaw stopped her, asked her about her drug activities, ran her name, and then let her go. Mathis doesn't allege anything inappropriate happened during that stop. But, as we know, she will eventually claim she was assaulted at a later date. Then, a few hours later, at 9:04pm, Holtzclaw stopped a woman by the name of Carla Johnson at Northeast Fifteenth and Kelham. That's just a block away from the suspected drug house of Tabitha Barnes at Northeast Fifteenth and Jordan. Again, she claims nothing happened during that stop, but as with Mathis, she eventually claims she was sexually assaulted during a stop two months later. Based on these two stops and Holtzclaw's GPS records, we know he was heavily patrolling this area and questioning individuals near Barnes' home that he thought were engaging in drugs and/or prostitution. Just a few minutes after he finished up the Carla Johnson stop, Holtzclaw's patrol car is recorded via GPS in front of Barnes' home at Northeast Fifteenth and Jordan. It's 9:39pm. He calls in to dispatch that he's at a drug house. Holtzclaw, not only suspect Barnes' home is responsible for drug activities, but he knows from the burglary just a few weeks prior that Barnes' home is also the target of brazen thieves. As he pulls up in front of her home, he notices Barnes' green Saturn is not present in the drive way, none of the house's lights are on, and the front door? It’s wide open. You'll recall, in the burglary, the suspect targeted Barnes' home while she was gone and kicked in the front door to gain entry. Holtzclaw radios in at 9:42pm that there is a "open door" on a suspected crack house and he would advise on the need for backup. Holtzclaw exits his patrol car, approaches the house, and notices the door is open and damaged. Officer Holtzclaw knocks and announces himself, ‘Police Officer, is anyone inside?’ Getting no response he takes out his flashlight and looks about the house for signs of a burglary. You'll recall, it's a very small home and it only takes Holtzclaw just a minute to search its three or four rooms.
38:14
When he looks into what is obviously a child's bedroom, he sees an adult back male sleeping on the bed. He nudges the man to waken him. Holtzclaw asks who the man is, and most likely for some ID. The man identifies himself as Terry Wayne Williams, the boyfriend of Tabitha Barnes. If Williams provided Officer Holtzclaw with his ID then it would have been stamped Sex Offender across the front. But, even if he didn't have his ID, we know Holtzclaw had him step outside and ran him through the police database. That database had Williams highlighted as a registered sex offender. Records show that Holtzclaw ran Williams at 9:46pm. That’s seven minutes after arriving on scene or just four minutes after he entered the home. Allowing time to confront Williams and get his basic story that would have left very little time for Holtzclaw to have searched the residence, which in my mind shows his intent was exactly what he said it was. He was there to make sure that a burglary wasn’t happening again. Williams claims Holtzclaw never mentioned his sex offender status, a claim I highly doubt, but it does follow Williams’ basic MO to not mention his offender status when discussing the case to anyone, because he knows he's in violation and has already been convicted of not following the rules several times. Williams testified that Holtzclaw let him go back inside, where he retreated to a bedroom and went back to sleep. To me, this only makes sense if indeed Holtzclaw confronted him about his sex offender status and Williams explained to him that his probationary requirements did not prohibit him from being around kids. It was also evident in Williams' testimony at trial that he is very savvy as to the nuances of registration requirements. I believe he not only told Holtzclaw that he could be around kids, but that he could also be at Barnes' residence, but just couldn't stay for more than two days at a time without reporting that address to authorities. Despite what many people think, there are many different requirements that are applied in different ways to registered sex offenders. It's not just one set of rules for everyone. Holtzclaw knows that reality too and knew he may not be protected by the law if he forced Williams to leave the residence.
40:43
Detective Gregory and Prosecutor Gayland Gieger made a big deal at trial out of the fact Holtzclaw didn't report Williams to anyone for possible sex offender registration violations. However, Detective Gregory and Prosecutor Gieger also had to admit they themselves never reported Williams' possible violations and Detective Gregory, who intentionally left any mention of Williams' sex offender status out of all of his reports, he testified that he knew Williams was lying about where he lived and therefore was in violation, but he simply chose to ignore it. I think based on his conversation, Holtzclaw reluctantly allowed Williams to go back inside the residence, but let him know he'd be keeping an eye out for him and he would take every opportunity to make him feel unwelcome. That said, I don't believe that Williams went back inside and went right back to sleep. Why? Because Barnes was run through the police database at 9:53pm. That's just seven minutes after Williams was run. That means Williams couldn't have been inside the house for more than one or two minutes before Barnes arrived at her house with the kids and they were sent inside. Williams would have known Barnes was home and I find it hard to believe he wouldn't have at the very least been watching out the window to see what was going on. I'm guessing Barnes pulled up either as Williams was still outside or had literally just stepped back inside the house. This leaves the question of the black male allegedly lying in the front yard. Are we to believe that Holtzclaw pulled up, called in a drug house, called in an open door, searched that drug house, ran into Williams, brought Williams outside, ran him through the database, but never mentions or checks or runs the black male allegedly lying in the front yard? I have no idea if that man actually even exists, but there's certainly no evidence he does and it doesn't fit with the events we do know occurred.
42:53
Regardless, Barnes arrives and Williams never comes back outside. Holtzclaw most likely did what you would expect. He let Barnes know that he came by, saw that her car wasn’t there, saw that the lights weren’t on, saw that her front door was wide open, noticed the front door was damaged, and so he did a simple walk through to see if her home had been burglarized. That's when he probably told her he encountered Williams and asked if he was indeed her boyfriend, and also let her know he knew Williams was a sex offender. Holtzclaw probably didn't have anything nice to say about the fact that Williams, the sex offender, was sleeping in her seven year old son’s bed. I can reasonably see Barnes taking offense to this and words being exchanged. Holtzclaw most likely shut things down by asking her if she had taken care of her tickets and letting her know he stopped other individuals earlier that day that he suspects may have been engaging in drug activity at her home (i.e. Mathis, Johnson and possibly others). Holtzclaw then ran Barnes for any new, more serious warrants that would have necessitated him taking her to jail. We know he did this at 9:53pm. With no new warrants and no reason to remain on scene, Holtzclaw released Barnes to go inside her home. He then called back in to dispatch at 10:00pm, just seven minutes after running Barnes, and said he had done a protective sweep (thus, admitting he had gone inside the home) and that everything was fine. It makes no sense that Officer Holtzclaw would have Barnes lift up her shirt and expose herself and then open her pants and expose herself again knowing that Williams was most likely pissed off, only feet away inside the house, and that the eleven year old and the seven year old and anyone on the street could be witnessing exactly what he was doing. What I’m guessing he probably actually did do, is what many other officers do on the Northeast side on a daily basis. He suspects that Tabitha Barnes is doing and selling drugs. He has her perform the Clasp and Shake maneuver. A maneuver I discussed in the last episode. He probably also had Barnes roll down the waistband of her pants to show that she wasn't hiding any drugs or contraband. Holtzclaw admits to doing these things during his original interrogation.
45:21
All Barnes has to do is exaggerate those claims and now, all of the sudden, you have her exposing herself while under coercion, and you have an officer that has absolutely no way to defend themselves. Now, that's just my speculation, but it has no more or less evidence or credibility than the criminal allegations. As for the twenty dollar bill in the backseat of Holtzclaw's patrol car, that did happen. And it happens again with another accuser. In fact, it happened many times with many people Holtzclaw pulled over in the Springlake District. The twenty dollars is an odd 'trick' or 'test', for lack of a better term, that Holtzclaw learned while he was working in the gang unit. The idea, it’s simple enough, you place a twenty dollar bill in your backseat and see if a suspect that you put back there ignores the twenty dollar bills, points it out and hands it to you, or steals and conceals it. It's supposed to be an honesty test. Regardless, patrol car GPS records show Officer Holtzclaw pulled away from the house at 10:06pm, or just thirteen minutes after coming into contact with Barnes or twenty-seven minutes after arriving on scene. Looking over the discovery evidence, there is one additional action taken by Holtzclaw that bears mentioning on this date. At 1:00am records show that Holtzclaw ran the name of his then girlfriend though the police database. He had been in an exclusive dating relationship for a couple of months at this point and he did what many other police officers with access to such a database do… He ran a history check on her. To be very clear though, this is a blatant policy violation, but one that is routinely made by other police officers. I only mention it out of complete transparency and because the prosecution makes an issue of the fact Holtzclaw runs some of his accusers through the database at times when they are not in his presence, as if there is something nefarious in his actions. The reality is, he runs people through the data base both out of curiosity and to aid him in his attempts to curb crime.
47:33
The very next day Holtzclaw is back on duty again and patrolling the Springlake District, which includes making passes by Northeast Fifteenth and Jordan where he suspects Barnes is dealing drugs. At 7:10pm Holtzclaw calls into dispatch that he's “on a crack house". Radio traffic has him on an attempt to locate at 1504 or 1505 North Jordan Avenue.
[RECORDING BEGINS]
Off. Daniel Holtzclaw:Forty-Five, dispatch, bill me a call at 1505 North Jordan Ave on an attempt to locate, please.
[RECORDING ENDS]
Host: Detective Gregory testified that he went to those locations are that they are vacant lots. That is simply not true. Now, neither 1504 or 1505 North Jordan actually exists as an address--you can verify this by doing either a Google street view search or typing the address into the Oklahoma County Assessor’s website database—but those locations are also not "vacant lots." There are no homes facing Jordan Avenue in this area. However, if you map those locations, you'll see they line up with the backyards of homes that do face Northeast Fourteenth Street. More than likely, that was just Holtzclaw's best guess at his location in case something happened. I drove to this location. My guess would be that from that position he was most likely looking straight into Barnes' backyard, which is only a few feet away. Patrol car GPS almost immediately has Holtzclaw parked in front of Barnes' home. Officer Holtzclaw exits his patrol car and walks up to Barnes' door and knocks. Barnes answers and opens the door part way, just enough to have a face to face conversation. Holtzclaw tells her that he recently received information that she sold a twenty dollar rock of crack cocaine to an individual he has spoken to. A CI, or confidential informant.
49:34
Now, to be honest, I have no idea if Holtzclaw really had someone tell him that they bought crack from Barnes (like Florene Mathis, whom he stopped just the day before) or if he is simply making it up as an excuse to do what is called a knock and talk. These knock and talks happen routinely and are perfectly legal and within police policy. You'd actually be surprised how many criminals with something to hide agree to allow a police officer to walk in and search their home, their motel room, their car or personal belongings, when all they have to say is ‘no, thank you, not without a warrant.’ In this case, Barnes calls her mother while talking to Officer Holtzclaw and phone records verify this. At 7:11pm Barnes calls her mother in Texas and keeps her on the phone until 7:29pm. Barnes testified she called her mom because she was scared. What doesn't make sense though, is that if Barnes was truly scared then why did she not simply get the attention of her brother or her boyfriend, Terry Williams? Both of whom she claimed were in the house at the time of Holtzclaw's visit. I personally believe Barnes' mother when she said that Holtzclaw was probably not being very friendly and that she never actually talked to Holtzclaw on the phone. She simply heard him talking to her daughter. When Barnes wouldn't allow Holtzclaw to search her home (a request that was perfectly legal and a denial of that request which was also perfectly legal), Holtzclaw didn't try and use Barnes' warrants to gain entry, didn't arrest her for her warrants, and didn't say or do anything inappropriate. He did exactly what he was legally obligated to do. He turned around and walked away. At 7:15pm, Holtzclaw puts himself out at "vehicle in driveway" and notes the tag number of the green Saturn that belongs to Barnes. GPS records show he pulled away from Barnes' residence at about that same time.
51:46
You'll recall Barnes claims she was so upset that she called her sister and that her sister came the next day, they boarded up her home and she went into hiding for three months. I think it's pretty obvious by now that that is a lie. Her own boyfriend and mother contradict that assertion and Barnes herself told Detective Gregory she only left for a month and she did so to take care of her mother. Then there's the reality that Barnes' sex offender boyfriend, Terry Williams, was stopped parked near Barnes' house on April 8th, some thirteen days later. Barnes may very well have gone to her mother's home for a few weeks, most likely to take care of her as she was not in great health. But, there's also a very real possibility Barnes was feeling the heat from Holtzclaw's recent attention to her, her alleged criminal activities, and her registered sex offender boyfriend. She's been to prison before, and she didn't want to go back. So, she very well may have left town for fear police were watching her home 24/7 and a raid or search warrant was imminent. Boarding up some windows would most likely simply have been to keep other people from breaking into her house while she was gone. Or, as her boyfriend testified, maybe she just had a window or two that somebody had already knocked out. Regardless, Barnes' claims are not backed up with a single piece of evidence that a single crime was committed. Even though in each instance, the opportunities for at least witnesses was abundant. As I've clearly shown in these last three episodes, much of what Barnes originally stated she later changed, embellished, or claimed she can't remember, and her own family members and friends wouldn't corroborate any of the crucial details. In fact, they most often contradicted her. Yet, once again, detectives ignored all of that.
[RECORDING BEGINS]
Det. Kim Davis:We’ll take our time and we’ll verify everything the girls say, or we’ll verify everything he said. And the—and, and that’s the way the chips are gonna fall. And everything the girls said verified, and nothing he said did. [laugh]
[RECORDING ENDS]
54:01
Host:On this episode’s homepage I've included copies of all of the relevant police reports, photos, audio files, maps and more. I've even outlined and summarized the allegations and any supporting evidence either for or against Barnes' claims. When I get to the trial portion of this season, I'll be providing additional behind the scenes details of Barnes testifying while high on PCP and what exactly occurred to make her hours late for her court appearance. That's it for this episode. In the next episode, I will dive into the allegations of fifty-one year old Carla Johnson. That name should sound familiar. You'll recall I mentioned that Officer Daniel Holtzclaw encountered her on March 25th, and just a block from Barnes' alleged crack house. Johnson too is a crack addict and like Barnes, she claims she was inappropriately touched. And conveniently enough, as she was once again in the area of Barnes' alleged crack house. Like Florene Mathis, is Carla Johnson also an acquaintance of Tabitha Barnes? You'll have to wait until next episode to find out. This serialized podcast of Oklahoma vs. Daniel Holtzclaw follows the timeline and perspective of the investigation, but with the scrutiny of the defense. If you’ve enjoyed this podcast, please take a moment to subscribe and give us a five star review. If you would like to know more and see many of the files used to compile this episode, please visit this season’s homepage at holtzclawtrial.com. You can also follow updates on our Facebook page at In Defense of Daniel Holtzclaw, or on Twitter @HoltzclawTrial. Bates Investigates - Season One: In Defense of Daniel Holtzclaw case is researched, produced, and edited by me, Brian Bates. This has been a bug stomper production.
[child singing] Huh? [squishing sound] [laughter] Bugs!
- END -