Note: In the podcast is part of a conversation from September 26, 2022, between an attorney and a Collin County Assistant District Attorney named Doug Millican about Jandy Rowell’s case.
Since last I wrote about Jandy Rowell, her case has taken an unexpected and troubling turn.
I wrote about Rowell in late September- published on September 23- and her case seemed to have everything: corrupt cops, corrupt prosecutors, abuse covered up, and a wild interstate criminal chase with corruption all around.
Jandy was arrested in Tennessee in August on two charges which originated in Collin County, Texas: custodial interference and kidnapping: of her son.
Immediately, what stood out was that Jandy’s purported crimes came directly from interpretations of Louisiana family court orders.
That court order gave her ex, Brad Pullins, sole custody of their young son, despite Pullins being accused of sexually molesting him.
Here is part of what a therapist wrote about the boy’s disclosures.
Hey Kristina,
Thank you for our conversation today. I just wanted to summarize what we talked about.
In your investigations you have not found any evidence to prove that {their son} had been sexually abused by dad and you feel that mom may be coaching him. I shared my note from {their son’s} presenting information regarding dad touching him. I also shared that {their son} reported that he did not want to talk to dad anymore, although you shared that {their son} reported in the interview that dad touched mom just like him and mom doesn't like dad, so he does not want to like dad. You feel a concern for {their son} and how this is going to affect him. I will continue using play therapy with {their son} to ensure that he works through anything that he is going through. I will also use play therapy to ask probing questions regarding where the allegations are coming from. It is my understanding that you feel that mom is not a good influence for {their son} and a report has been filed in Louisiana, and you have asked dad to get mom to undergo a psych eval. Ultimately, {their son} is the main concern and we do want him safe. Thank you so much for your time, Please let me know if you need anything from me.
Thanks
Here’s where the corrupt cop enters: Plano, TX Detective Kristina McClain. Kristina had spent more than a year covering up for this molestation.
“These reports became more pointed,” McClain wrote in 2021, “over time to where Jandy sexually allegations to {name redacted} by Brad. The reports were investigated and {their son} was forensically interviewed in Louisiana on May 17, 2021. He made no outcry of sexual abuse during this interview but did state that he was upset he could not see his dad.”
Detective McClain was not satisfied simply covering this abuse; she then investigated and secured an arrest warrant for Jandy for the above-mentioned crimes in the summer 2022. Below is part of her probable cause affidavit from July 2022.
Detective McClain appears to have committed perjury by claiming that Jandy was previously arrested.
Jandy had not yet been arrested for anything. I reached out to Detective McClain by email but received no response. The public information officer at the Plano Police Department also did not respond to an email for comment.
A lot of information which flowed from the government was blocked as I and others gathered evidence. Here is from the original story.
Even more of a problem is that when I asked the court for a copy of all publicly available information related to this arrest warrant, the open records department told me they had no information.
CJ was told the same thing. I was given the email to Gayle Leyko, an attorney who works for the Plano government, but she did not respond.
Meanwhile, the child custody case in Louisiana has also been sealed. Here is the response I got when I asked Pullins Louisiana attorney, Jessica Fitts, about the case.
Brad’s Louisiana attorney, Jessica Fitts, claimed for the previous article that she could not comment because the case was sealed, but the case was not sealed in Louisiana. Even worse: the custody order which was in question was reversed. Here is part of a September 2022 custody order.
In other words, the purported orders which Detective McClain breathlessly referred to in order to get the arrest no longer applied: Jandy’s parents had secured custody while she was in jail.
I reached out to Fitts, but she did not respond.
While a crime still could have been committed, prosecutors also have discretion and it’s hard to believe they would go forward over an order which no longer applies anyway- unless there’s corruption involved.
When I wrote the article, Jandy was still in Tennessee and the extradition was being challenged.
In the recording in the podcast, the Assistant DA tries to convince the lawyer to waive extradition, “Once she gets here, she’s gonna make bond. Either she’s going to make bond because she can make bond, or we’re gonna have a quick bond where her bond gets reduced without much objection from me.”
He continued, “If she had been here three weeks ago, she’d be out on bond already.”
In early September, Jandy retained a law firm run by Paul Davis, with CJ Grisham taking the lead.
I interviewed CJ Grisham, who was the lead attorney, on September 23, and the plan was for the firm to challenge jurisdiction while preparing a civil suit against Collin County DA’s Office to force their hands and release Jandy.
CJ’s main argument was that Collin County had no standing to make an arrest.
I was provided with a copy of the civil demand letter. Part of it is below.
As this played out, in stepped an activist named Michelle French.
French does not appear to be well known but her mother is.
Her mother is Fay Yager, and she was recently the subject of a docuseries which aired on FX entitled, “Children of the Underground.” Fay ran an underground network for children to escape abusive parents- mostly men- who had been ordered to get sole custody or other significant custody time.
Michelle had been communicating with Jandy since at least August 2022.
The law firm were working in parallel with Michelle, it seemed, until there was a break-up.
Shortly after my article got published, Michelle began making accusations of incompetence, unfair pricing, and of misleading Jandy.
She claimed that CJ was not licensed, that he screwed up the case, that the cost was too much, and that Amy Coello, who worked in operations in the firm, was creating friction with everyone involved.
“Cj at that time was not a TX state barred attorney. I have more information on how CJ and Amy Coello the firm he was associated with fleeced close to $3k from Jandy's go fund me account while she was in jail,” Michelle wrote to me in an initial message through Facebook Messenger.
My initial response was combative, “I know all about you, Michelle. You’re lucky I don’t investigate you.”
Our conversation continued even after that initial dustup.
The final fee was $12,000.
Here’s part of an email she sent me from her on November 12.
Oh, I agree $12k for an experienced defense lawyer is the average cost to handle two warrants, but that is not what they told Jandy in the beginning. Jandy was told in the beginning there would be no fees.
The fixation is on Amy's actions. At one point when I was shipped the title to Jandy's one and only car. Amy said she was driving to TN to get it, for "their" fees from me. At every point, I visited with Jandy in Jail and would have conversations with her about what she was comfortable with at every event.
CJ had not yet been sworn for the bar, but he was a licensed attorney: who required and received supervision from the head of the firm, Paul Davis. Amy told me at no time was anyone told it would be free.
The original $2,500 was paid through a GoFundMe.
As the case grew more complex so did the bill. The client agreement allowed for an increase in the bill if the case became more complex, “The Firm will send Client an itemized invoice reflecting the time spent and fees incurred on this Matter by each of the Firm’s professionals and any expenses incurred on a monthly basis. The invoice will reflect the balance of the Retainer. Any unused portion of the Retainer will be refunded to Client along with the invoice. If the Matter turns out to cost over $2,500 because it turns out to be more complex than the Firm anticipated because of unforeseen issues, the Firm will promptly notify Client of the issue with an updated estimate of the additional cost to get Client’s approval. Client will not be billed in excess of the Retainer amount unless Client agrees to the additional work. If the additional work is substantial, the Firm may, in its discretion, request an additional retainer amount be paid prior to completing additional work.”
CJ told me that while he did submit his motion several times, it related to cursory issues and his final submission was accepted.
No one complained about the bill until Michelle did after my article came out.
Amy Coello defender herself and the law firm in an email also from November 11, 2022.
It’s narcissistic for Michelle to believe that she alone cared about Dax and Jandy. As a law firm our clients MUST be our #1 priority. period. Suing Plano was absolutely discussed as a CHOICE with our client. 1) we could fight extradition and let it play out. 2) we could extradite and handle it better in Texas as well as bond her out quickly 3) we can fight extradition and bring to light the fact that we believed Texas was unlawful in their procurement of both warrants under the UCCJEA and filing a civil demand because Plano acted unlawfully. Jandy CHOSE #3. Our preference at the law firm was #2. We even stated it on recorded lines. However, we understood our clients fears and seeing what is happening now, she was right.
Jandy CHOSE #3. I informed Jandy #3 was going to be the more expensive route. $5000 for two warrants on extradition in two different courts and $7000.00 retainer + contingency for civil suit against Plano PD and Detective McClain. Secondly, we are not licensed in Tennessee so suing them is not in our jurisdiction. As well, Tennessee was only acting as a holding tank for Texas. Tennessee also knew something was wrong with jurisdiction anyway according to the text we got from Jandy regarding another inmate overhearing such. We always felt TN Judge and DA was a great judge and TN representative and truly wanted to do what was right. I had a bit of a concern after 2nd hearing between TN and TX DA because of what Michelle was saying that was happening in court in TN. But always felt the TN judge was for Jandy and for doing what was right. Every conversation was NOT on lawsuit because I spoke to Jandy twice a day and let her know daily what was happening. As well as ran it by her POA. Madison is a witness.
The firms #1 priority must be our client’s freedom and by that it includes her child. As a trafficking investigator, children have been my main concern for well over 15 years. My record proves that. All calls were recorded and the documentary in each conversation will prove otherwise in court.
Meanwhile, in the podcast, the Assistant DA made a tacit admission that CJ’s jurisdiction argument has merit when he stated, “Mr. Grisham wants to test the state’s exercise of jurisdiction over his client. I kind of see where he’s going. I kind of see where he’s thinking about it.”
No matter, Michelle convinced Jandy that the firm did not have her best interest at heart.
They were relieved and Paul Belew, a prominent Texas criminal defense attorney, took over.
He declined comment, stating, “I can't give out information at this time since the case is pending.”
Currently, Jandy is back in Collin County; she got there on October 20, 2022, according to on-line records. She faces a $15,000 bond which requires her to pay $1,500.
It’s not clear why that bond hasn’t been paid, but Michelle blamed Amy, “Due to the amount of threats from Amy and Cj to the jail and DA, we have had to make changes to bond conditions that were placed when she arrived, and she is an out of state resident. We are at the final stage.”
I reached out to the Collin County DA’s Office but received no response.
The Collin County District Attorney is Greg Willis.
As you can hear in the podcast, the DA’s office seemed to suggest in late September that merely getting Jandy to Texas guaranteed an easy bond and her release.
They said that while CJ and his firm were still on the case.
Furthermore, Jandy was afraid of coming back to Collin County, because of the corruption involved.
She has reason to be: Collin County has a history of this kind of shenanigans.
Michael Long has a case which similar to Jandy’s. Here is part of a news story.
An 11-year-old from Texas who was reported missing earlier this year was found this weekend in a foreign county.
According to the Collin County Sheriff’s Office, Sophie Long is in protective custody while arrangements are being made for her to return safely to her family in the United States.
Authorities say Michael Long, Sophie’s father, who is accused of kidnapping her, is in custody on a felony warrant for interference with child custody and is awaiting extradition.
“Many months of determined work by my deputies, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Marshals paid off this morning. We are so happy that Sophie is safe,” Collin County Sheriff Jim Skinner said.
He remains in Collin County Jail, and there seems to be more to this story.
Finally, Brad ignored the updated court order before that court order was changed back and gave him custody.
That means Jandy is sitting in jail in the county she feared while her son is with her ex, who she believed was molesting him.
Michelle told me Jandy and her son were her top priority.
I thank you for your time and as I said. I don’t trust you at this point. I will send updates when I feel it’s best suited for Jandy and {her son}.
{Jandy’s son} and Jandy should be the first priority, period.
I responded curtly, “Jandy is in jail and {their son} is with his father so well done.”
The law firm run by Davis is considering suing Michelle for tortious interference and defamation: they told me.
Jandy Rowell's story takes an unexpected turn