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A newly released sheriff’s report reveals that Jeff Davis County officials investigated Big Bend Times publisher David Flash for disorderly conduct, criminal trespassing, and evading arrest and detention in a motor vehicle in October 2023—an investigation that resulted in no charges and is now drawing scrutiny for its basis.
The report, dated Oct. 10, 2023, was filed by Deputy King Merritt under case number 231010-69. County Attorney Glen Eisen is listed as the complainant, and the State of Texas as the alleged victim. Flash is identified as the suspect.
According to the narrative, Merritt was dispatched to the courthouse after allegedly overhearing Flash use profanity on speakerphone during a call initiated by Eisen to discuss misconduct by his assistant. Merritt claims Flash then approached him in an orange 2019 Honda, failed to stop when ordered, and left the area without permission—actions he labeled as evading detention and trespassing.
Flash says the report is fiction. “I was there to request public records about an incident involving Eisen’s assistant screaming at me in public,” he said. “Eisen got angry when I pushed back on his threats to file charges. I left the courthouse calmly—because he was threatening me for no reason.”
Flash said Eisen accused him of “making a mountain out of a molehill” for objecting to potential misdemeanor charges being held over him. “I told him misdemeanor charges are no molehill—they mess with people’s lives,” Flash said. “When I stood my ground, he threatened to charge me with disorderly conduct for speaking passionately.”
Flash was never detained or issued any citation related to the incident. No charges were ever filed.
The report from Merritt followed a complaint Flash had made the day before, after Eisen’s assistant, Lisa Dennison, publicly confronted and yelled at him at two Alpine businesses. Flash later filed a criminal complaint alleging Dennison improperly accessed confidential information, a potential violation of Texas Government Code Section 552.352. Eisen later acknowledged the misconduct but took no action against Dennison.
Flash said Merritt’s presence on the courthouse lawn was likely prearranged, noting that no audible commands to stop were given. “He never told me I couldn’t leave. I didn’t evade anything—I walked away from a county attorney who was trying to intimidate me.”
The release of the report in March 2024 adds to a pattern of investigations into Flash by Jeff Davis County officials. He has previously reported that after filing a formal complaint about a state park police officer’s traffic stop, county officials tried and failed to build a case against him for interference.
