Changes

In 2015, Judge Craig ordered the reinstatement of a Minden municipal police officer, Timothy Martin "Tim" Morris (born June 1971), who had run against the chief, Steven Wayne Cropper (born December 1952),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://voterportal.sos.la.gov/Home/Home?uid=3398292|title=Steven Cropper, December 1952|publisher=Louisiana Secretary of State|accessdate=July 20, 2015}}</ref> in the nonpartisan blanket primary held on November 4, 2014. Cropper polled more than 80 percent of the ballots cast; both candidates ran as [[Independent voter||Independent]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://staticresults.sos.la.gov/11042014/11042014_60.html|title=Election Results|date=November 4, 2014|publisher=Louisiana Secretary of State|accessdate=July 20, 2015}}</ref> Craig said that the termination of Morris in 2013 was too stiff of a punishment for the charge leveled against him: that he had violated policy regarding a case involving missing children. The Minden City Council had upheld the termination by a 4-1 vote. Morris claimed that he was terminated without a proper investigation and that the appeals process was biased against him.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://press-herald.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/3262015paper.pdf|title=Judge reverses officer's firing|author=Bonnie Culverhouse|publisher=''[[Minden Press-Herald]]''|date=March 26, 2015|pages=1, 3|accessdate=July 20, 2015}}</ref>

In 2015, Judge Craig ordered the reinstatement of a Minden municipal police officer, Timothy Martin "Tim" Morris (born June 1971), who had run against the chief, Steven Wayne Cropper (born December 1952),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://voterportal.sos.la.gov/Home/Home?uid=3398292|title=Steven Cropper, December 1952|publisher=Louisiana Secretary of State|accessdate=July 20, 2015}}</ref> in the nonpartisan blanket primary held on November 4, 2014. Cropper polled more than 80 percent of the ballots cast; both candidates ran as [[Independent voter||Independent]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://staticresults.sos.la.gov/11042014/11042014_60.html|title=Election Results|date=November 4, 2014|publisher=Louisiana Secretary of State|accessdate=July 20, 2015}}</ref> Craig said that the termination of Morris in 2013 was too stiff of a punishment for the charge leveled against him: that he had violated policy regarding a case involving missing children. The Minden City Council had upheld the termination by a 4-1 vote. Morris claimed that he was terminated without a proper investigation and that the appeals process was biased against him.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://press-herald.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/3262015paper.pdf|title=Judge reverses officer's firing|author=Bonnie Culverhouse|publisher=''[[Minden Press-Herald]]''|date=March 26, 2015|pages=1, 3|accessdate=July 20, 2015}}</ref>

In 2015, Judge Craig heard a case stemming from the longstanding M6 artillery propellant at Camp Minden near the Bossier/Webster parish line. David Smith of Winchester, [[Kentucky]], and David Fincher of Burns, [[Tennessee]], the owners of Explo Systems, Inc., faced ten charges, including reckless use of explosives stemming from their having left behind seven thousand tons of propellant at Camp Minden. Through their attorney, Smith and Fincher petitioned Judge Craig to throw out the charges on the premise that state law does not classify the propellant as an explosive.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://press-herald.com/explo-systems-inc-owners-ask-state-judge-to-toss-charges/|title=Explo Systems Inc. owners ask state judge to toss charges|date=June 2, 2015|publisher=''Minden Press-Herald''|accessdate=May 29, 2020}}</ref>

Judge Craig heard a longstanding case stemming from the M6 artillery propellant explosion that occurred in 2012 at Camp Minden near the Bossier/Webster parish line. David Alan Smith of Winchester, [[Kentucky]], and David Fincher of Burns, [[Tennessee]], the owners of Explo Systems, Inc., faced ten charges, including reckless use of explosives stemming from their having left behind seven thousand tons of propellant at Camp Minden. Through their attorney, Smith and Fincher petitioned Judge Craig to throw out the charges on the premise that state law does not classify the propellant as an explosive.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://press-herald.com/explo-systems-inc-owners-ask-state-judge-to-toss-charges/|title=Explo Systems Inc. owners ask state judge to toss charges|date=June 2, 2015|publisher=''Minden Press-Herald''|accessdate=May 29, 2020}}</ref> As the case developed, however, Judge Craig accepted a guilty plea from two Explo officers, who admitted to failure to mark explosive material in a proper fashion. Craig gave David Smith to fifty-five months imprisonment at hard labor and a $1,500 fine plus court costs. The company vice president of operations, William Terry Wright of Bossier City, was sentenced to sixty months at hard labor and the same fine and court costs that Smith received. Smith and Wright also faced similar sentencing in federal court for participating in a criminal conspiracy regarding to circumstances leading to the explosion. The federal case held that the defendants conspired from January 2010 to November 2012 to defraud the United States by submitting false certificates to the [[United States Army]], transporting hazardous wastes to unauthorized facilities, and improperly storage of the explosives. The 2018 court ruling did not mention the other owner of Explo Systems, David Fincher.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bossierpress.com/explo-officials-plead-guilty-to-improperly-storing-explosive-materials/|title=Explo officials plead guilty to improperly storing explosive materials at Camp Minden|publisher=''The Bossier Press-Tribune''|date=December 18, 2018|author=Sean Green|accessdate=May 29, 2020}}</ref>

==References==

==References==