33rd / 424th District Courts

It is with pleasure that I appoint Stephanie Larsen as Poet Laureate of the 33rd Judicial District. The final decision is based on the following poem written by her on the spur of the moment with what some may consider to be divine inspiration:

This man hatched a devious plot,
But didn't know how to tie a square knot...
That crazy snot Placker
Thought himself a yacht-jacker,
But now all he gets is a mugshot.

In case you missed the news article that inspired this, it appeared (among other places) in the Highlander at http://www.highlandernews.com/articles/2005/08/15/news/01yacht.txt (accessed 8/16/05  and is repeated as follows:

Trail of yacht thieves leads to Highland Lakes

BY CHRIS CREWS, HIGHLAND LAKES NEWSPAPERS

The old saw "crime does not pay" is ringing true for two Highland Lakes residents.

With a little luck, William Placker of Granite Shoals and Daryl Dean Oustad of Kingsland could have pulled off their caper without a hitch. But luck was decidedly not on their side.

In a convoluted case involving a beached yacht in the Gulf of Mexico, a stolen identity and a series of break-ins at local storage, Placker, 44, and Oustad, 43, were arrested last month.

According to police reports, Placker had allegedly stolen a yacht on June 28 from its dock in Port O'Connor on the Texas Gulf Coast and was fleeing prosecution on numerous pending charges in Burnet County. Placker had secured the boat and was 20 or more miles out into the Gulf waters when he decided to drop anchor and rest.

That's when he was first abandoned by Lady Luck. By the time he awoke, the yacht was beached on Matagorda Island. Stories differ as to whether the anchor rope broke or the mechanism was mishandled by Placker, but in any case Texas Parks and Wildlife officers were soon on board and asking questions.

When asked to identify himself, he proudly announced himself to be Tommy Headrick and produced documentation to support his claim. That would prove to be piece of bad luck number two.

Mike Kovarek, an investigator with the Calhoun County Sheriff's Office, got the case two days later. By then two things were apparent: the yacht belonged to Rick Hartley, owner of Lake LBJ Marineland in Kingsland and "Headrick" had disappeared.

Witnesses gave Kovarek confirmation that the man pictured on the drivers license of William Placker was the man found on the now-abandoned boat. The questions where is William Placker and who is Tommy Headrick remained.

Since Placker's identification listed him as a Granite Shoals resident, Kovarek began his search there. A short time later, he found out exactly who Tommy Headrick was -- an investigator for the Narcotics Enforcement Team of the 33rd Judicial District.

A few months earlier, a storage unit belonging to Headrick had been broken into and several items, including a portable safe, were stolen. The portable safe had contained birth certificates and other personal documents -- the kind of documents needed to establish a false identity.

Placker's last bit of luck had run out. He had assumed the identity of a law enforcement officer.

Kovarek and Headrick worked together on the final details of the case. Placker was found and arrested in July and was booked into the Burnet County jail on a charge of theft of more than $200,000, a first degree felony.

Placker is still in jail in Burnet County. Bail has been set at $620,000. Firearms were also found on the boat, so Placker also faces possible federal firearms charges.

Oustad was arrested on July 14 and charged with conspiracy to commit theft of more than $200,000. a second degree felony. He was released on July 15, on a $50,000 bond.

Neither Placker or Oustad have been convicted and neither case has been set for trial.

Headrick said Oustad was the former son-in-law of Rick Hartley. The investigation determined Oustad provided information to on how to operate the yacht, including procedures that would be known only to those with first-hand knowledge of how to operate the ship.

Investigators said Placker's goal was to flee the country and possibly set up a charter service somewhere in Mexico. If not for a little bad luck, such as beaching the yacht and unfortunate appropriation of a cop's identity, he could well have reached his destination.

"Being on the Gulf side, he probably could have made it to Mexico or Florida -- he was pretty much home free," Kovarek said.

1  All of Mr. Placker's business before the Court has been resolved.