John Willoughby: Greene Publishing, Inc.
Rayne Cooks, City of Madison Commissioner District 1.
Bennie Thomas, Live Oak City Councilman District 2.
After being issued a notice to appear following a series of events at the scene of a single-vehicle accident, a Madison City Commissioner and Live Oak City Councilman pled not guilty before Judge Browning on Monday, June 18.
According to a report by the FHP, on Friday, April 20, FHP Trooper Llanes was dispatched to the scene of a crash around the area of Gooseberry St., and Gladioli Dr., in Lee. When he arrived, he observed a white Ford F-250 on the right shoulder of the roadway, facing west. The trooper made contact with Rayne Cooks, a Madison City Commissioner, who was sitting in the driver's side of the pickup truck and talking with an insurance company, on the phone.
A male subject was also nearby, later identified as Bennie Lee Thomas, who is a Live Oak City Councilman. Trooper Llanes began to ask Cooks what led to the crash when Thomas abruptly began to explain what happened. According to the report, after Trooper Llanes and Trooper Wright found out Cooks position within the City of Madison, Cooks later made a statement to Thomas, such as: "I told you we shouldn't have called," and another comment, stating "This is why people don't call y'all."
At the scene, only a small plastic part of the truck mirror was located. Cooks advised that she was only going 15 mph. According to the report, Trooper Llanes noted the amount of damage on the vehicle was not consistent with the speed she stated she was traveling. During the investigation, a person who lived close by came to the scene to ask Thomas if he was okay. The neighbor informed Troopers Llanes and Wright that he observed the incident and when he went to check on any possible occupants, of the vehicle, he saw Thomas exiting the truck and no other occupants.
Cooks asked the troopers how long the investigation would take as she had a business to tend to. According to the report, Cooks answered in the affirmative after Trooper Llanes asked if she was sure she was driving and, at approximately 1:22 p.m., Trooper Llanes read Cooks her Miranda warnings. While he was reading the warnings, Cooks stated: "I know my rights." The trooper proceeded to read the warnings and Cooks acknowledged that she understood her rights. The trooper then asked what led to the occurrence of the crash. According to the report, Cooks stated that she was traveling westbound and the "truck cut off." She was unable to steer the truck and it ran in the ditch, hit the pole and tore the mirror off.
At approximately 1:28 p.m., Trooper Llanes then read Thomas his Miranda warnings. The trooper asked Thomas if he could state what led to him being on the scene. Thomas began to state that he was there because of the crash. Trooper Llanes then asked Thomas who notified him of the crash. As he was beginning to explain, he stated "Well, I called her when it – " Thomas stopped mid-sentence and then stated, "Well, she called me." The trooper asked who called who and Cooks stated that she called him and then he called her. Thomas stated that he was at the house when Cooks called him, then he went to the crash site. He also informed Trooper Llanes he lived six miles east of where the incident occurred.
According to the report, while Trooper Llanes interviewed Thomas, Cooks began making remarks such as, "Be careful, he might shoot you." After sworn statements were obtained, Trooper Llanes asked Cooks and Thomas if they were married, to which Cooks replied, "Does it matter?" The trooper inquired again because of the different last names and addresses on their licenses, to which she stated, "We are common law married." Later, Trooper Llanes was waved over by a witness who stated he found a mirror with damage consistent to the damage on the truck. The witness pointed to a power pole just east of where the incident scene was. Trooper Llanes then observed clear signs that a truck ran off the road into the ditch.
Due to the totality of the circumstances and statements provided by witnesses, Trooper Llanes issued Cooks and Thomas notices to appear in court for resisting without violence. Trooper Llanes requested Cooks to sign the notice. She then stated she was not going to sign it. Trooper Llanes informed Cooks that if she refused to sign the document, she was going to be placed under arrest. Cooks was then asked to put her fingerprint on the notice and she stated she wasn't going to do so. When the fingerprint pad was presented to her, she stated: "I don't want to put that s*** on my hand." Trooper Llanes then stated Cooks purposefully touched the paper in a rapid manner and smudged the fingerprints. After multiple times of instructing her to correctly stamp her fingerprint, she finally did. Thomas fingerprinted the notice without an issue.
Both Cooks and Thomas appeared before Judge Bailey Browning on Monday, June 18, and pled not guilty to obstruction of an officer without violence. Cooks and Thomas are scheduled to appear in court for pre-trial events on Tuesday, July 31, at 9 a.m., at the Madison County Courthouse, with Judge Browning presiding.