Sam Houston Update

[HardcoreHeroes]

Thanks to Eddie Cheslock for passing this along...

From Nickla Roberts:

Thought I would let all of you know what happened last month to my
exhusband and the father of my two girls...
As most of you know, Sam has had an ongoing battle with drug and
alcohol abuse. It is the reason why we got divorced in 1994. During
the last 10 years he has had an average of 2 DUI arrests per year. I
know of 4 vehicles that he totalled (every accident he walked away
from). There were other vehicles but I do not have all the info...
Everytime he was arrested, his dad would pay the fine, or use his
influence and leverage with the judge or court officers to get his son
out with little or no consequences...
I know in his heart that Griz thought he was doing the right thing for
his son but it was the all wrong..
After all this time it finally caught up with him. Mother's
Against Drunk Driving got ahold of Sam's records, including everytime
he had been in trouble whether it was in the Carolina's, Texas or
Louisiana. They were going to the newspapaer and expose Sam's arrest
history and how nothing had been done time and time again. They were
ready to supply the names of the judges, lawyers, probation officers
etc...that had let Sam go on with no consequences for driving while
drunk, high or both...
It was just a matter of time before Sam would kill someone..
Thanks to the Lord that tragedy never happened.
Sam had a court date the first week of August for a drunk driving
arrest that had occured earlier this year outside New Orleans. Griz
took him to the court but Sam could not stand without weaving and he
smelled like he had been drinking a lot.. The deputies arrested him on
the spot and told him they were not going to waste the judges'
time..Griz spent the rest of the day at the courthouse begging them to
let Sam go. This time it did not work. Sam had another court
appearance two weeks later. This judge had been given the information
MADD had collected on Sam and his wreckless behavior.
The judge sentenced him to 10 years...
My Dad was an alcoholic. The last 35 years of his life he stayed
sober through the AA program. Dad helped a lot of other alcoholics
and substance abusers stay sober by following the 12 steps...
My Dad said that Sam would end up in jail, institutionalized or dead
if he kept drinking.
Dad was right.

My heart goes out to Sam... 10 years is a very long time.
Griz should have made his son face the courts and the consequences of
the laws he had broken at the time they had occured. I cannot imagine
how he feels with a 10 year sentence. We have not seen Sam since the
day after Terry Funk's retirement show in Amarillo. Jake wrestled on
the card and Griz, Jake and Sam drove to Lubbock to see Mikka and
Mikala play soccer. It was about 9 or 10 years ago.
Please keep Sam in your thoughts and prayers..
Nickla

[bobbyryates]

that is so sad. but thankfully, not tragic as so many lives had become. but still very sad.

[natureboy14]

that most definitely is some sad news, hopefully he'll be able to get straightened out but 10 years is just way too long considering murderers and drug dealers dont get that kind of jail time

[MarkNulty]

Does any of this look strange to anybody else?

I'm not stating this story isn't true. I'm not defending Sam Houston. I'm certainly not defending defending drinking and driving. I knew Sam Houston fairly well when we were both in Dallas and, while I liked him, he was an absolute personal wreck.

But in the interest of fairness can we get verification from a reliable source other than Sam's ex-wife?

There are things about Nickla's account that make very little sense to me. I find it odd when she speaks of Griz keeping Sam out of jail despite 20 DUIs by paying the fines and using his "influence." First, Griz doesn't have that kind of money. Second, what influence? It's conceivable that Grizzly Smith had a buddy or two in the police department but Griz was hardly a community power broker. He didn't have the political or community connections of someone like Fritz Von Erich or Paul Boesch. Third, if these actually were DUI convictions then Joe Kennedy himself couldn't have kept JFK out of prison.

Nickla says "After all this time it finally caught up with him. Mother's Against Drunk Driving got ahold of Sam's records, including everytime he had been in trouble whether it was in the Carolina's, Texas or Louisiana. They were going to the newspapaer and expose Sam's arrest history and how nothing had been done time and time again. They were ready to supply the names of the judges, lawyers, probation officers etc...that had let Sam go on with no consequences for driving while drunk, high or both..." Again, stop and think for a second. Were Grizzly Smith and Sam Houston so rich and so powerful that dozens of judges, lawyers, police officers, probation officers, and other government officials in three states would be willing to put their careers on the line to keep Sam out of jail? Does anybody else question that? Yes, there can be a case made that there is a different legal standard for the rich, powerful, and famous. I'm telling you, Grizzly Smith and Sam Houston aren't rich, powerful, and famous.

Nickla says "Sam had a court date the first week of August for a drunk driving arrest that had occured earlier this year outside New Orleans. Griz took him to the court but Sam could not stand without weaving and he smelled like he had been drinking a lot.. The deputies arrested him on the spot and told him they were not going to waste the judges' time." Since when do deputy sherrifs have the authority to cancel legal proceedings by sinply arresting the defendant so as to not waste the judges' time? Is it possible for someone to show up in no condition to appear in court and be arrested for public intoxication? Yes. But wouldn't the proceeding would still need to be rescheduled?

Can we please get a second source to verify this before we accept this at face value and comment on it?

[ssteward]

too bad Sam chose to go down this path...he was good in the 80s and appeared to have potential that he never realized.

[The Hammer]

marknulty said:

Does any of this look strange to anybody else?

I'm not stating this story isn't true. I'm not defending Sam Houston. I'm certainly not defending defending drinking and driving. I knew Sam Houston fairly well when we were both in Dallas and, while I liked him, he was an absolute personal wreck.

But in the interest of fairness can we get verification from a reliable source other than Sam's ex-wife?

There are things about Nickla's account that make very little sense to me. I find it odd when she speaks of Griz keeping Sam out of jail despite 20 DUIs by paying the fines and using his "influence." First, Griz doesn't have that kind of money. Second, what influence? It's conceivable that Grizzly Smith had a buddy or two in the police department but Griz was hardly a community power broker. He didn't have the political or community connections of someone like Fritz Von Erich or Paul Boesch. Third, if these actually were DUI convictions then Joe Kennedy himself couldn't have kept JFK out of prison.

Nickla says "After all this time it finally caught up with him. Mother's Against Drunk Driving got ahold of Sam's records, including everytime he had been in trouble whether it was in the Carolina's, Texas or Louisiana. They were going to the newspapaer and expose Sam's arrest history and how nothing had been done time and time again. They were ready to supply the names of the judges, lawyers, probation officers etc...that had let Sam go on with no consequences for driving while drunk, high or both..." Again, stop and think for a second. Were Grizzly Smith and Sam Houston so rich and so powerful that dozens of judges, lawyers, police officers, probation officers, and other government officials in three states would be willing to put their careers on the line to keep Sam out of jail? Does anybody else question that? Yes, there can be a case made that there is a different legal standard for the rich, powerful, and famous. I'm telling you, Grizzly Smith and Sam Houston aren't rich, powerful, and famous.

Nickla says "Sam had a court date the first week of August for a drunk driving arrest that had occured earlier this year outside New Orleans. Griz took him to the court but Sam could not stand without weaving and he smelled like he had been drinking a lot.. The deputies arrested him on the spot and told him they were not going to waste the judges' time." Since when do deputy sherrifs have the authority to cancel legal proceedings by sinply arresting the defendant so as to not waste the judges' time? Is it possible for someone to show up in no condition to appear in court and be arrested for public intoxication? Yes. But wouldn't the proceeding would still need to be rescheduled?

Can we please get a second source to verify this before we accept this at face value and comment on it?

20 DWI's does sound like an awful lot. Maybe someone should double check that.

[bluedevil71]

This would be public record, if found. But not knowing where he was sentenced at, it makes it a tough nut to crack.

[bobbyryates]

well, i have to admit, i wondered some of the same things nulty said. but i didn't question it aloud.

[GarvinStomp]

well, if a guy got nailed for DUI even twice in North Carolina he wouldn't have his driver's license anymore I don't think. I don't know how it is in Texas, but states don't fool around with that stuff anymore. I can't see anyone getting 2 DUI's a year and still have a license. It just doesn't make sense. An average of 2 DUI arrests per year would lose anyone their license I would think. The penalties are stiff anymore on that stuff. I think Nulty is on to something with what he said. Something about that article/post just doesn't add up.

[sittingstill]

And ten years in jail for DUI? Is that right? He would have to have either killed somebody or been a fugitive for those 20 offences, surely? Wouldn't you lose your drivers licence before it got that far? I guess if he HAD already lost his licence before the last offence, combined with showing up in court drunk, it sounds about right for Louisiana. Just can't help thinking that when you're arrested for offense number 10 or whatever and the police see you've done this 10 times before, action would surely be taken regardless of if your dad was 'matchmaker' for a local wrestling promoter 20 years ago....good work Nulty....

[kyle]

Sometimes the "good old boy network" has a lot of pull. I've seen local judges let things go that didn't make any sense and throw the book at the next person. I was in court waiting for a case where my business had been broken into. The case before it was on a guy that had wrecked his car, wrapped it around a telephone pole. He was drunk and driving on a revoked license. We had towed the car twice that night. The first time he jumped a ditch and run thru a barbed wire fence. He paid the bill on the spot and drove away since it was minor damage. The police weren't involved this time. Two hours later and completely drunk, he wrapped it around the pole. This time the police ticketed him but let some friends take him home rather take him to jail. In court the judge heard the case, fined him and revoked his license for an additonal 6 months without ever looking up. My case was next as I stepped up in front of the judge, I made the comment that somebody should arrest him since he was heading out the door to get in his new car and drive away. The judge asked me how I knew this, I said he had parked in front of me across the street. The judge told one of the town police to look outside and verify this. The policeman watched him get in the car and drive off, no one did a thing about it.

This was a young black kid (early 20's), no one special just an average guy, with an all white police force, a white judge in a small town in the south about 15 years ago before they had to be politically correct. Just imagine how some "good ole boys" in the south could let a guy slide on several DUI's as long as no one was hurt and it never made the papers.

The original story sounds like it might be exagerated a lot, but I'm sure it's probably based on some of facts. Possible the police called someone to pick him up rather than arrest and charge him. You read about habitual offenders all the time.

[GarvinStomp]

Kyle, it is quite possible that the good 'ol boy network may have let Houston slip or looked the other way a time or two. But how likely is it they he would keep getting in front of the same judge every time out? I mean I could see the police "taking care" of a ticket once or twice, but after that you've got a real problem on your hands. Something just isn't adding up on this one. I think the number of incidents/accidents may be grossly exaggerated.

[kyle]

I agree totally. Usually when the news finally gets one of these stories it's after someone has been killed and the old convictions or lack of come out.

[flairfanwes]

I don't know if the story is true or not, but without going into details I know someone with as bad or worse history dating back to early 80's and spent 2 weekends in jail on his last conviction. (Notice I said conviction, not arrest) He does not have much money but is friends with the best dui lawyer in town. Sometimes the cop quits and sometimes your defense lawyer knows which judge he can win with. MADD is in court sometimes but that is when you immediately have the case put off. I have seen cases where a ticket is put off 8 to 12 times. I have personally never been ticketed for dui, but am a part time bartender and I know there is a system. The story may be 100% TRUE!!!!!

[bluedevil71]

I know of people, too, who've been pulled over for DUI, had their license suspended for various amounts of time, but avoid lengthy jail time for one reason or another. Eventually, though, I have to think it will catch up with them.

Thus, if true, this may be the case with Sam Houston.