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Investigation takes a new turn
By Bill Hankins
The Paris News
Published May 1, 2009
Investigation into the death of Brandon McClelland this week took a dramatic turn with a deposition taken from a gravel hauler who said the truck he was driving may have hit something on the road the night McClelland’s body was discovered.
The truck driver was on Farm Road 2648 shortly before McClelland’s body was found by passers-by shortly after 4 a.m. on Sept. 16, 2008.
Two other men, Shannon Finley and Ryan Crostley, have been charged with murder in McClelland’s death.
Finley’s trial is scheduled to begin Monday, July 20, in Sulphur Springs on a change of venue.
Crostley’s trial is scheduled to begin Monday, Sept. 21, also in Sulphur Springs.
Defense attorney Ben Massar said the driver of the truck told investigators he thought he had hit something, looked back and saw nothing, stopped at one point to inspect his truck then went on.
The two witnesses who found McClelland’s body told authorities they passed a gravel truck going the opposite direction shortly before finding the body.
Finley and Crostley were charged with McClelland’s death in part because of acquaintances who told police the two men talked about his death and were the last people to be with McClelland on the night he died.
Since McClelland’s death, theories have swirled about how he died, who struck him and whether it was a hate crime or not.
The New Black Panthers came to Paris pushing for convictions of Finley and Crostley and demanding the crime be categorized as a hate crime. When McClelland’s body was found, first responders first believed it was a hit-run death, but investigators soon developed a different theory when they learned McClelland had been seen with Finley and Crostley in the evening before the body was discovered. U.S. Marshals, Texas Rangers and Texas Department of Public Safety troopers handled the investigation and determined McClelland’s death was “likely intentional.” Investigators seized Finley’s truck and put it through a series of tests. “I truly believe in this case,” Massar said Thursday. “If it goes through to trial, I believe Finley will be fund not guilty. The burden of proof will be on the prosecution, but there is a significant amount of information indicating the two defendants are not guilty in McClelland’s death.” Massar said: “Speaking with the gravel truck driver, I believe it was an accident, and I don’t think it was his intent to injure or kill anybody.” Special prosecutor Toby Shook of Dallas said: “We are trying to follow up with the new information on the gravel truck driver. Testing on the truck is beginning today (Thursday), and I don’t know when the results will be in. I know he has given a deposition and in it said he though he hit something, but I have not had a chance to speak with him as yet.” Massar said his team of investigators have determined the road where McClelland’s body was found is a common route for gravel trucks, and McClelland’s partially dismembered body was consistent with having been struck by a gravel truck. Early in the investigation, Finley’s truck was tested and came up negative for DNA evidence. It was later retested with the same results. “I don’t know what they will find on the gravel truck,” Massar said. “It has rained several times since McClelland’s death seven months ago, and the truck has had maintenance done on it.” “Obviously, at this point we are getting close to finding all the particulars about this case,” he said. After McClelland’s body was found, Finley fled to Wichita, Kan., where he was arrested. Both Finley and Crostley have denied they had anything to do with McClelland’s death, but said the three had been out drinking on the night of the death and an argument ensued over who was sober enough to drive. At that point, the defendants said McClelland got out of the truck and began walking along the farm road.
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