Press release
Henderson County District Attorney Scott McKee and First Assistant Mark Hall spent last week in Anderson County as special prosecutors representing the citizens of Anderson County in prosecuting an Elkhart man charged with three counts of retaliation.
Rock Allen Conner, 35, of Elkhart was found guilty by an Anderson County jury on all three counts and sentenced to five years in prison Friday after the week-long trial in the 87th District Court with Judge Debra Oakes Evans presiding. Conner faced a punishment range of two to 10 years for the offenses. Conner had never been convicted of a felony prior to the sentencing.
The jury found Conner guilty of all three counts of retaliation on two peace officers and an EMS worker. On the first charge, Conner was convicted of threatening to kill Deputy Donnie Myers Sr. by threatening to slit his throat. On count two, the defendant was convicted of threatening DPS Trooper Leonard Sandifer. Conner’s threats to Sandifer included numerous racial slurs which were captured by videotape from the officers’ in-car videos and a jail video. Conner was also found guilty of threatening Palestine Regional Medical Center EMT Paramedic Matthew Corbin after Corbin tried to provide a medical evaluation of him after being tased.
Conner was allegedly involved in a hit-and-run on the evening of Jan. 1, 2014. Immediately after the hit-and-run, a witness was able to get the license plate number of Conner’s truck and report it to police. After receiving information that the truck was registered to Conner, two DPS troopers and Deputy Myers went to Conner’s Elkhart residence to check on him and investigate the hit-and-run.
After waiting several minutes for Conner to answer the door, the officers testified he became irate and started threatening them. Concerned he may have been injured in the hit-and-run, officers called EMS to the residence. Before exiting the residence, he threatened to shoot the officers in the head. Trooper Jack Hallock testified that Conner reached for a firearm contained in a safe near the door of the house as he exited his residence. The officers and EMS personnel were forced to run and take cover. After several minutes behind their vehicles, Hallock deployed his taser on Conner to stop him from approaching the officers in an aggressive manner. After Conner’s arrest, numerous firearms and ammunition were found in the safe.
First Assistant Mark Hall, who was prosecuting the case with McKee due to a previous conflict between the Anderson County District Attorney and the defendant, told the jurors in opening statements that the officers called EMS because Conner was acting in a bizarre fashion and had apparent injuries from the alleged hit-and-run accident.
There was also testimony during the trial that Anderson County Sheriff Greg Taylor and Conner had a close relationship because Conner’s mother had worked for the Sheriff for many years as his administrative assistant. Jurors watched and heard video and audio from Deputy Meyers’s patrol car and jail video where Conner told Deputy Meyers that the Sheriff would have them fired, and even recited Sheriff Taylor’s cell phone number while ordering them to call Taylor. Meyers also testified that he felt pressure from Taylor to reduce the charges and that Taylor ordered him not to participate in providing information to the DA’s office in order to procure a search warrant for Conner’s home to search for a firearm. Sheriff Taylor adamantly denied the allegations during questioning from McKee. Meyers now works for the Smith County Sheriff’s Office.
Defense attorney Dan Scarbrough told the jury in his closing arguments that Conner’s Fourth Amendment rights were violated when the officers went through the open garage to knock on the back door of the house to make contact with Conner, and by going into his house after his arrest to check for a firearm. The defense attorney continued with explaining that the officers were wrong and violated Conner’s Fourth Amendment rights in claiming they were at the house to check on Conner after the accident. He also stated that the officers violated Conner’s personal sanctity and it caused the defendant to become upset and “run his mouth” at the officers.
Scarbrough also stated that while he couldn’t forgive his client, he did not believe his client was guilty. The attorney also stated that his client was drunk when the incident with the officers occurred.
In closing arguments, McKee told the jury that the officers had a legal right to knock on Conner’s door and reminded the jury that he has the utmost respect for the constitution and has spent his life dedicated to defending it both on the battlefield as an infantry officer and in the courtroom. McKee also told the jury that officers place their lives on the line every night, and that each of the officers and the paramedic involved were personally affected by Conner’s actions.
During an interview after the trial, McKee stated that “a prosecutor’s duty is to seek the truth from each witness, no matter who that witness is.” McKee also stated that “this trial had conflicting testimony. It is clear to me by their verdict and in speaking with many of the jurors after the trial, that the citizens of Anderson County resolved that conflict and decided what testimony was credible and what wasn’t.”