Soul food & crackers

He unsuccessfully sued a DART contractor in 1993; a towing company in 1994; and this past April, a mere week before his arrest, he filed a case against a Dallas streets contractor. Crear alleges in that latest trip to the courthouse that he stepped on a manhole cover near Children's Medical Center in 1995. It "slipped off and caused him to fall into the manhole," causing him "severe bodily injuries" and "great physical and mental pain," his suit for an unspecified amount of compensation alleges.

Baccus too has litigation pending. In September 1996 he sued a Dallas couple, alleging they caused an auto accident that left him with injuries to his back, neck, head, and shoulder and caused "nervousness, tiredness, dizziness, and nausea." Opposing counsel labeled the suit an attempt to "extort a settlement."

"Oh," says Crear when asked about his pending civil claim. "I was gonna have that transferred to the Washitaw too. I haven't had time...I'm a little tied up now with this thing in federal court.