Wade not talking about allegations
February 2, 1988
By Rick Young
Staff Reporter
Orange County Sheriff James Wade is following his lawyer's advice and not commenting - yet - on Federal Bureau of Investigation allegations that he was involved in the manufacture of illegal drugs.
Sgt. Marshal Ferguson, public information officer for the sheriff department, said Monday a statement would be issued by the sheriff after a 9 a.m. Wednesday hearing in Beaumont concerning a restraining order requested by the FBI to enjoin Wade or his deputies from harassing two federal witnesses in the FBI's investigation of the sheriff.
Attorney John Hannah, representing Wade in this case, said he would allow his client to issue a statement after the hearing. Hannah, of Tyler, is former U. S. attorney for the Eastern District of Texas.
"Of all the cases I have handled," Hannah said Monday, "there is still a chill feeling when I'm defending someone totally innocent. It's an awsome responsibility when you have an innocent person on your hands.
"From what I have learned so far, I'm getting that feeling about James Wade."
Hannah was in the sheriff's department offices Monday interviewing deputies about the case.
The FBI, at about midnight Thursday, obtained a temporary restraining order to prevent Wade or his deputies from harassing Donnie Flowers, an accused drug dealer, and Deputy Donald Chris Duhon, former public information officer for Wade's department, with arrest warrants.
Special Agent Zechariah Shelton, in an attached petition, said that Flowers and Duhon were subject to harassment by Wade and his deputies because of their involvement in the FBI investigation. Shelton's investigation centers on Wade as being "involved in a scheme to manufacture and distribute methamphetamines."
The temporary restraining order protects Duhon and Flowers from harassment by "Sheriff James W. Wade and or persons acting directly or indirectly on his behalf, including deputies of the Orange County Sheriff's Office."
Deputies, citing the temporary restraining order, answer questions about the investigation only with a terse "no comment."
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