Commissioner Michael Hooks
District 3
(901) 545-4301
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Warrant for son leads to drug charge against elder Hooks
By Mickie Anderson and Louis Graham
manderson@gomemphis.com
graham@gomemphis.com
Shelby County deputies charged County Commissioner Michael Hooks with possession of drug paraphernalia early Tuesday after trying to arrest his son.
Deputies went to 993 S. Cooper about 12:30 a.m. with a warrant for city school board member Michael Hooks Jr., Chief Deputy Don Wright said.
Whether deputies should have even been there is up for debate, however.
Madison County, Tenn., authorities say they withdrew the warrant by teletype on Thursday; Shelby County deputies say they got notice of the cancellation Tuesday morning, more than nine hours after they tried to serve it.
The warrant was for failing to appear on a charge of driving with a suspended license, a charge that defense attorney A C Wharton says stems from unpaid tickets and a forgotten court date.
But the elder Hooks, a former City Council member and county property assessor, met deputies at the door, telling them his son wasn't there.
Two officers went into the building, an office with an attached apartment, looking for the younger Hooks, Wright said.
They didn't find him, but did find "numerous crack pipes, some homemade pipes and steel wool," the misdemeanor citation given to Hooks states.
In the kitchen, the citation says, the officers found two pots of boiling water on the stove.
White powder found on a plate proved to be cocaine, the citation says.
Crack cocaine is made by boiling powdered cocaine and baking soda. The mixture then crystallizes and forms rocks of cocaine, which can be smoked, Wright said.
Wright emphasized that officers found nothing more than traces of cocaine.
If found guilty of the misdemeanor drug charge, Hooks, 50, could face up to 11 months and 29 days in jail or a fine up to $2,500, or both.
Neither Michael Hooks nor his 26-year-old son responded to messages Tuesday.
But Wharton, who represents both men, said the canceled arrest warrant will be key in Hooks's defense.
"Let's put it this way: That's certainly something the defense will raise, whether they knew or should have known about it," he said.
He also noted that the misdemeanor citation given to Hooks says the younger Hooks was to be arrested on a bad-check charge, which was also incorrect.
"It's regrettable, both the charge and the fact that there was erroneous information that occasioned the officers to be there," he said.
Wharton wouldn't say whether Hooks or his son lives in the apartment attached to the elder Hooks's real estate appraisal business.
"I would not like to comment on the ownership (of the paraphernalia) or who is the resident, for obvious reasons," he said.
Colleagues of both politicians were hesitant to say whether any of the charges could affect either man's career.
Michael Hooks Jr. is the city school board's vice president. If tradition holds, he will become board president in January 2002.
Current board president Barbara Prescott said she doesn't think Hooks's legal troubles will affect his role on the school board unless he's convicted.
"I just regret if there are any personal problems or issues going on with him," she said. "I sure hate that."
County Commission chairman James Ford said he didn't want to say anything negative about another commissioner.
And he said an accusation is just that. "Being charged with a crime doesn't necessarily mean you're guilty of that crime," Ford said. "People can make all kinds of accusations."
The brush with the law isn't the elder Hooks's first, but apparently it's his first drug charge. In 1999, a 19-year-old woman told police that Hooks hit her in the face with a golf club following a traffic incident.
Hooks told police that he, not the woman, was the victim. He said his car was rammed from behind by another car. When he got out, he said, one of the passengers struck him in the mouth with a baseball bat.
Last July 27, Hooks was stopped about 5 a.m. at Lamar and Barksdale and charged with running a stop sign, not wearing a seatbelt and driving with a suspended, canceled or revoked license. The disposition of those charges was not immediately available.
-Mickie Anderson: 529-6510 -Louis Graham: 529-2333
If it were you or I we would be in prison.
I dont get it. If they did not have a search warrent that specified they were looking for drug paraphanalia, then they cannot use this as evidence, nor can they charge him with possession since this had nothing to do with the original charge.
Yeah, I thought that the cops could only prosecute you for what was on the search warrant, but they could take illegal items out
I dont get it. If they did not have a search warrent that specified they were looking for drug paraphanalia, then they cannot use this as evidence,
Unfortunately, plain site applies here. The man should have never let the cops in or hid the stuff before he opened the door. Common sense.
Since the alleged perp's party and ethnicity is not mentioned in the story, can we assume he is a CoreDemocrat(tm)?
The man should have never let the cops in or hid the stuff before he opened the door. Common sense.
The man was not even home, how could he have hidden it? The police had no business being in there looking, they were only allowed to look for the man they came to arrest. I stil think a good lawyer can get this thrown out.
I know this is not what people want to hear...the rest of us in the public work arenea are subject to random drug tests. Perhaps we should consider it for our public officials too?
Commissioner Michael Hooks
District 3
(901) 545-4301
Mr. Hooks was elected to the Shelby County Board of Commissioners in August, 1994 and reelected in 1998. He is president of Michael A. Hooks and Associates, a real estate appraising/property tax consultant firm.
He was elected to the State Constitutional Convention in 1977 and selected as one of 50 Outstanding Leaders of the Future by Ebony Magazine in 1978. Mr. Hooks was elected to the Memphis City Council in 1979 and served as chairman for two consecutive years.
Mr. Hooks was elected as the Shelby County Property Assessor in August of 1988. During his four year term, he was voted by his peers in the International Association of Assessing Officers as Assessor of the Year.
He served on the State Board of Equalization. That appointment by Governor Ned McWherter makes him the only Shelby Countian to have served in that capacity.
He is married to City Councilwoman Janet Hooks.
http://www.co.shelby.tn.us/county_gov/commissioners/mhooks.htm
Funny... used to be piss tests for White House employees. x42 dispensed with that almost as soon as he took the office.
Excellent. Thanks!
Not quite right, according to a lawyer friend of mine. If an officer has served a legal warrant, and sees evidence of another crime, he is required to act.
For example, if an officer serves a legal warrant to search a private residence for a meth lab, and finds a bullet-riddled dead body, he can not overlook the evidence of a potential homocide, even if that is not the reason he came there.
I think the key in this case will be the legality of the warrent. Was the warrant baseless? Did the officers serving the warrant properly, and did they conduct their search in good faith? And beyond that, were they invited into the residence by the owner? - if so, they don't even need a warrant!
Demon-rat...minority.
I stil think a good lawyer can get this thrown out.
And there, in a nutshell, is the whole problem with our society.
Madison County, Tenn., authorities say they withdrew the warrant by teletype on Thursday; Shelby County deputies say they got notice of the cancellation Tuesday morning, more than nine hours after they tried to serve it.
THis is the key Shelby Co did NOT get the notice until TUESDAY and more than NINE hours AFTER they tried to serve it.
The deputies were invited in it looks like. And this crap was in plain sight and apparently in the process of being cooked into crack.
Hooks Sr. being a former City Counsil man KNOWS it is ILLEGAL to have this stuff. He aided and abetted his son it looks like. Question was was this for personal consumption or for sale? Or since there were MORE than ONE crack pipe were both Hooks jr and sr using them to smoke crack?
AC Wharton their lawyer is hired by all the elite crooks in Shelby Co.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
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