Take 2: Attorney Chris Gregg Falsely Refuses PIA Request in Continued Blackballin’ of LIT by Texas Gov. Entities

Top of the morn’ to you Chris,

Y’all know legally you have to provide a redacted version.

See; Travis v. Tex. Dep’t of Pub. Safety, No. 03-14-00314-CV, at *1 (Tex. App. Aug. 18, 2016) (“The Attorney General, in a letter opinion issued after Travis pleaded guilty to the DWI charge, determined that the dashboard recording, with certain portions redacted for privacy reasons, was subject to disclosure under the PIA as part of a completed investigation.”)

Let me know when it will be made available.

Cheers
Mark Burke

July 17, 2023

VIA CERTIFIED MAIL
RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
7018 1830 0001 4327 0696

Attorney General Ken Paxton
Open Records Division
P.O. Box 12548
Austin, Texas 78711

RE:      Open Records Request for Information to the City of Nassau Bay, Texas, NB1637. Dear General Paxton:

The following documents are enclosed for your review and consideration in the above-referenced matter:

(1)   The City of Nassau Bay’s (hereinafter referred to as “City”) response to said Request, objecting to all information and identifying the basis for which the City deems the data to be exempt.

(2)   City’s documents responsive to the request (Exhibit B).

(3)   Copy of Mark Burke’s open records request received by the City on July 7, 2023 (Exhibit A).

REQUEST

The City respectfully requests an open records determination as to whether the documents must be produced and\or furnished.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND EXEMPTIONS

The identity of the requestor and the documents requested shall be identified below. The below- described objections give rise to the City’s belief that the documents in its possession are exempt from public disclosure.

OPEN RECORDS REQUEST

1)                  Mark Burke’s request is dated July 7, 2023; the request was received by the City on July 7, 2023.

Mr. Burke requests that the City produce “the full report for Nassau Bay PD Case 23-00091 including: Type of records Public Information Report Arrest Record/Jail Booking Blotter Case File Incident/Offense Report Mug Shot/Booking Photo BWC (body-worn-camera).”

CITY’S OBJECTION

The City objects to the disclosure of the following information:

Pursuant to Section 552.108 of the Texas Government Code, the City believes that the documents attached hereto are exempt from public disclosure.

Section 552.108 states the following:

(a)                Information held by a law enforcement agency or prosecutor that deals with the detention, investigation, or prosecution of crime is excepted from the requirement of Section 552.021 if:

(2)   it is information that deals with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime only in relation to an investigation that did not result in conviction or deferred adjudication.

(b)               An internal record or notation of a law enforcement agency or prosecutor that is maintained for internal use in matters relating to law enforcement or prosecuting is excepted from the requirements of Section 552.001 if:

(2)    the internal record or notation relates to law enforcement only in relation to an investigation that did not result in conviction or deferred adjudication.

The fact is that the documents requested to be disclosed are confidential and exempt from disclosure pursuant to Section 552.108 of the Texas Government Code because the information requested is being held by the Nassau Bay Police Department’s law enforcement agency and deals with the detection, investigation or prosecution of a crime.

All the attached documents relate to prior criminal cases against two defendants.

One defendant was Andrew Lehman who was charged with POSS CS PG 1/1-B>=4G<200G.

Mr. Lehman accepted deferred adjudication for the criminal charge.

However, the other defendant in the same episode is Alexzandria Meaux. Ms. Meaux was charged with POSS CS PG 1/1-B>=4G<200G, and 2 theft charges.

For Ms. Meaux the investigation and prosecution did not result in a conviction or deferred adjudication for her. Rather, all three criminal cases against Ms. Meaux were dismissed by the Court.

The requested full report and the body worn camera footage are so intertwined with both defendants, Lehman and Meaux that the production of the requested full detailed report and body worn camera footage for Lehman would violate the concluded case exception as to the documents related to Ms. Meaux. As such, the documents are exempt from public disclosure.

Similarly, the documents requested to be disclosed are confidential and exempt from disclosure pursuant to Section 552.108 of the Texas Government Code because the information requested is part of an internal record or notation held by the Nassau Bay Police Department’s law enforcement agency and deals with the detection, investigation or prosecution of crime.

As shown above, all the attached documents relate to prior criminal cases against two defendants.

One defendant was Andrew Lehman who was charged with POSS CS PG 1/1-B>=4G<200G. Mr. Lehman accepted deferred adjudication for the criminal charge.

However, the other defendant in the same episode is Alexandria Meaux.

Ms. Meaux was charged with POSS CS PG 1/1-B>=4G<200G, and 2 theft charges.

For Ms. Meaux the investigation and prosecution did not result in a conviction or deferred adjudication for her.

Rather, all three criminal cases were dismissed by the Court.

The requested full report and the body worn camera footage are so intertwined with both defendants, Lehman and Meaux that the production of the requested full detailed report and body worn camera footage would violate the concluded case exception as to the documents related to Ms. Meaux. As such, the documents are exempt from public disclosure.

Sincerely,

Christopher Gregg CAG/
Gregg & Gregg, P.C. City Attorney
City of Nassau Bay, Texas Enclosures

cc:        City of Nassau Bay, Texas

Mark Burke blog@bloggerinc.org

noreply@civicplus.com

To:

Blogger Inc

Fri 7/7/2023 9:09 AM


Request for Disclosure of Public Information

Open Records Request
According to Texas Government Code Chapter 552, the City of Nassau Bay operates as a governing body and information and records are subject to the Texas Public Information Act. The purpose of the Public Information Act is to maintain the people’s control over the instruments they have created.

All information requests by the public for official documents from the City of Nassau Bay should be directed through the City Secretary’s Office. Every effort is made to expedite all requests for disclosure of public information; however, due personnel demands and schedules, there are incidents when the disclosure of records may take the time allowed by law (10 business days). If the information cannot be produced for inspection or duplication within 10 business days after the request is made, the City of Nassau Bay will certify in writing a reasonable time when the information will be made available.

If you do not receive a response to your request or some other form of communication about your request from the City within 10 business days of your request, please call the Office of the City Secretary at 281-336-6281.
First and Last Name
Mark Burke
Phone Number
3467632074
Date of Request
7/7/2023
Address
46 Kingwood Greens Dr
City
Kingwood
State
TX
Zip
77339
DATE, NAME & DESCRIPTION OF REQUESTED RECORD
I refer to Incident 2300091 which was filed as an open records request on 4/18/2023.

This would ultimately be referred to your attorney’s and they would submit a request to TXAG seeking to withhold information as the case was active in Harris County criminal court, “See criminal case; The State of Texas vs. LEHMAN, ANDREW (SPN: 01469689) (DOB: 11/22/1977) Case No. 180764001010- 3 Active – CRIMINAL(A)”.

The TXAG responded with the letter found here; https://lawsintexas.com/pr/2my.

The city attorneys responded by email on Jul 6, 2023 enclosing the basic report as found here; https://lawsintexas.com/pr/2mz.

In the interim, the criminal case has been disposed of (DEFERRED ADJUDICATION OF GUILT, Case Completion Date; 5/25/2023) and so makes the opinion from TXAG moot.

As such, I now submit a new request for the full report for Nassau PD Case 23-00091 including; Type of Records: Public Information Report Arrest Record / Jail Booking Blotter Case File Incident/Offense Report Mug Shot / Booking Photo BWC (Body-Worn Camera)

To properly request body worn camera video, a member of the public is required to provide all of the following information:

1. The date and approximate time of the recording;

02/17/2023 at approximately 1240 hours

The specific location where the recording occurred;

3000 block of Nasa Pkwy

and 3.

The name of one or more involved parties known to be a subject of the recording.

ANDREW PETER LEHMAN

Requested by:
Mark Burke
Production of Records
Emailed
Email Address
blog@bloggerinc.org
Exception to Open Records Act
Under the Texas Public Information Act, there are a number of exceptions to the requirement that the public be granted access to any information by a governmental body. The City Secretary’s Office will notify you should your request meet any exceptions. Please contact the City Secretary’s Office for more information at (281) 336-6281.

Blogger Inc

To:

Chris Gregg <cagregg@gregg-gregg.com>
Cc:

Dick Gregg Jr. <dgreggjr@gregg-gregg.com>

Mon 7/3/2023 9:35 AM

Just to confirm Chris,

For the record, are you refusing despite the fact the AG response is overdue, and secondly, as the case is now effectively dismissed, with Andrew Lehman admitting to being a felon with an adjudicated finding of 3 years supervision per Order from Harris County criminal case, thus your request is moot?

Cheers
Mark

Request for Disclosure of Public Information

Open Records Request

According to Texas Government Code Chapter 552, the City of Nassau Bay operates as a governing body and information and records are subject to the Texas Public Information Act. The purpose of the Public Information Act is to maintain the people’s control over the instruments they have created.

All information requests by the public for official documents from the City of Nassau Bay should be directed through the City Secretary’s Office. Every effort is made to expedite all requests for disclosure of public information; however, due personnel demands and schedules, there are incidents when the disclosure of records may take the time allowed by law (10 business days). If the information cannot be produced for inspection or duplication within 10 business days after the request is made, the City of Nassau Bay will certify in writing a reasonable time when the information will be made available.

If you do not receive a response to your request or some other form of communication about your request from the City within 10 business days of your request, please call the Office of the City Secretary at 281-336-6281.
First and Last Name
Mark Burke
Phone Number
13467632074
Date of Request
4/18/2023
Address
46 Kingwood Greens Dr
City
Kingwood
State
TX
Zip
77339
DATE, NAME & DESCRIPTION OF REQUESTED RECORD
I filed a request at HPD and they referred me here with case reference no. below;

Please forward your request to Nassau Bay PD Case 2200091.

===================

RE: PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST of April 18, 2023, Reference # P047307-041823

Dear Mark Burke,

The Houston Police Department received a public information request from you on April 18, 2023. Your request mentioned:

“See criminal case; The State of Texas vs. LEHMAN, ANDREW (SPN: 01469689) (DOB: 11/22/1977)
Case No. 180764001010- 3 Active – CRIMINAL(A)”

The Houston Police Department has reviewed its files and has determined there are no responsive documents to your request. Please forward your request to Nassau Bay PD Case 2200091. We are closing our file on this matter.

If you have any questions, or wish to discuss this further, you may contact Open Records at 713-308-9173.

Sincerely,

Claudia German
Administrative Assistant
Houston Police Department (HPD)
Production of Records
Emailed
Email Address
blog@bloggerinc.org
Exception to Open Records Act
Under the Texas Public Information Act, there are a number of exceptions to the requirement that the public be granted access to any information by a governmental body. The City Secretary’s Office will notify you should your request meet any exceptions. Please contact the City Secretary’s Office for more information at (281) 336-6281.

Compare the public record released record made available to Burke with the actual list of available documents and body worn camera videos per the criminal case.

This evidence is scheduled for destruction in the near future.