Stand with Big Bend Times against Jeff Davis County Corruption
A second unfounded criminal investigation targeting Big Bend Times publisher David Flash has surfaced following a March 2024 release of public records. The case, filed by Deputy King Merritt under report number 231022-71, accuses Flash of evading arrest or detention after an encounter with Justice of the Peace Mary Ann Luedecke at the Jeff Davis County Courthouse on Oct. 18, 2023. Like a previous investigation filed days earlier, no charges were ever brought.
The incident in question involved Flash photographing a newly posted sign outside Luedecke’s office. The sign read: “No Audiovisual Recording, Streaming, or Projecting. Turn Off All Cell Phones. Gentlemen will remove your hat. Thank you.” Flash remained outside the office while photographing the sign and did not enter the space, citing his intent to respect the sign’s limits, even as he questioned its legality.
Luedecke reportedly reacted by telling her assistant to “press the button,” then loudly attempted to detain Flash as he began to leave. Flash captured the incident on video, which he later posted publicly, maintaining that he did nothing unlawful and had every right to document public signage without entering a restricted area.
At the time, Jeff Davis County Sheriff William Kitts informed Flash that he had done nothing illegal, acknowledged that Luedecke has no arrest powers, and said that attempting to detain someone without cause could itself raise legal concerns. Kitts also indicated he could not investigate the judge due to a conflict of interest and had considered referring the matter to the Texas Rangers.
Instead, five days later on Oct. 22, Deputy Merritt met with Luedecke after office hours and opened the evading arrest investigation. The report lists Luedecke as the complainant and the State of Texas as the alleged victim. It accuses Flash of fleeing in a vehicle after being told not to leave by Luedecke. Twelve lines of the narrative in the report were redacted in the released version.
The investigation references a similar case from Oct. 10, also filed by Merritt, that accused Flash of disorderly conduct, criminal trespassing, and evading detention in an unrelated courthouse incident. That investigation, too, resulted in no charges.
Flash called the second case “a disturbing misuse of the criminal complaint process.” He said, “A judge who lacks arrest powers claimed she could detain me. When I walked away peacefully after taking a photo outside her office, she escalated things—then a deputy who already investigated me once decided to file another case days later.”
The video of the encounter shows Flash narrating his actions and avoiding the restricted area. It also documents Luedecke raising her voice and declaring Flash was being detained as he walked away.
Despite two investigations, Flash has not been charged in connection with either case. The pattern has raised concerns about retaliation and abuse of process, particularly as both reports were initiated by officials subject to criticism or scrutiny in Flash’s reporting.
The Jeff Davis County Sheriff’s Office has not issued a statement regarding why the matter was not referred to outside investigators, despite earlier indications from the sheriff that doing so might be appropriate.
