Major Discrepancies

We will never give up in our effort to obtain justice for our son, Roy Adams, Jr.  We believe he was wrongly convicted of intoxication manslaughter in the June 12, 2004 death of Grapevine, Texas police officer Darren Medlin.  Officer Medlin was working a traffic stop on an exit off State HWY 121 when our son's car hit him.

Without diminishing our condolences to the Medlin family in any way, our son was not drunk.  One of the most sought after and highly respected epilepsy experts in Dallas/Fort Worth, Dr. Robert F. Leroy testified.  He was asked the question “is it reasonably medically probable that Roy Alvin Adams, Jr. had a seizure on June the 12th, 2004 at approximately 2:30 a.m. here in Tarrant County, TX?”

Dr. Leroy responded, “Yes.”

Along with Dr. Leroy’s testimony, numerous discrepancies confirm our belief in our son’s innocence: 

SUMMARY OF MAJOR DISCREPANCIES IN MY SON’S CASE:

1.      Blood Alcohol Test Redirected

A police officer took our son’s blood draw and placed it in a packet which had a preprinted mailing label affixed to it that would have sent the blood sample to the certified TX Department of Public Safety lab in Garland, Texas.  Tarrant Co. Prosecutor Richard Alpert directed that our son’s blood sample be sent to the Tarrant Co. Medical Examiner’s office. Roy Jr.’s blood alcohol level shows up as .11.

Why was the blood sample diverted from the state lab to one that was under the control of Tarrant County?  The sample could have been tested at the hospital when it was drawn if expediency was required.

2.       Accident Scene Video Tampered With

When Officer Deana Ramsour arrived at the accident scene, she claims she turned off her car video recorder.   So, there is no video on how our son was acting at his initial contact with the police.  She claims she always turns off her camera when she gets out of the car.  However, the video shows her walking in front of her police unit.  We did not find out until after the trial that on the same day there is video of another traffic stop that Officer Deana Ramsour made where she kept the camera rolling and did not turn off the camera when she got out of the police unit.

In 2011, Herbert Joe, Board Certified Forensic Audio/Video Examiner, declared “I have previewed the video segment at issue. Officer Deana MeRae Ramsour states that when her in-car video recording system is turned off (by her), there is a "...delay of a couple of seconds from when you turn the video off." (l.13-14, p.113, pre-trial hearing transcript) However, this is materially inconsistent with the video evidence reviewed.

Did our son’s actions not match Officer Ramsour’s testimony of him appearing drunk?

3.      No observed evidence of our son being drunk:

a.      Nurse testimony: Did not smell alcohol

The nurse who took his blood alcohol test testified that Roy Jr. did not smell of alcohol and she didn’t think he was drunk.

b.      Officer Medlin’s partner testimony: Adams did not sound drunk on 911 call

Officer Shimmick says he did not hear a thick tongue, or incoherent speech in Roy’s 911 call following the accident. 

4.      Neurologist testifies of “absence” seizures

Dallas Neurologist Dr. Robert Leroy testified at the trial, “I feel that there’s a reasonable probability that this horrible tragedy occurred because this was a seizure.”    This was based on Dr. Leroy looking at the video tape of Roy Jr. in the police station, listening to Roy’s voice when he made a 911 call and reviewing police reports of the accident reconstruction from two police investigators assigned to the case. 

Dr. Leroy treated Roy Jr. after he suffered an epilepsy seizure two weeks after the accident.  Roy Jr.  had been in another doctor’s office being treated for allergies when the doctor witnessed a seizure.  Dr. Leroy tested Roy Jr. and confirmed that he was susceptible to seizures.  Roy Jr.’s seizures were diagnosed as absence seizures, which are mild and many times sufferers think they have just fallen asleep.

5.      Police station video:  Shown to Dr. Leroy but not shown in court

Our attorney, Michael Heiskell, showed the video tape to Dr. Leroy but did not show this video in court.  According to Randy Schaffer, the attorney we hired to file a writ of habeas corpus, “Roy looked good on the videotape made at the police station; and he was convicted because of the blood test results.  ...the jury saw how good Roy looked at the station but his blood test result was well over the legal limit.”