Man dies after alleged beatings by parolees

April 6, 2016

Arrested men lived in home south of town contracted by parole board, owner says

BY CARLA NOAH STUTSMAN

A 68-year-old, wheelchair-bound man who was allegedly beaten repeatedly by two men he lived with died March 31 at a skilled nursing facility in Lake Worth.

The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office has not yet ruled whether Alan Abraham Meisel’s death was a result of injuries resulting from those beatings.

Two men – Jack Russell Ryder, 63 and James Glendon Duke, 55 – accused in the beatings were arrested.

Authorities will wait for the medical examiner to rule on the cause of Meisel’s death before deciding whether to pursue additional charges against the two men.

According to probable cause warrants obtained by The Azle News, Parker County Sheriff’s deputies were called to a residence in the 1200 block of Highland Road after the property owner, Steven Douglas Henry, reported an assault.

The location is south of Hwy. 199 between Azle and Springtown.

Henry told deputies he is under contract with the Texas Board of Pardon and Paroles to house parolees.

The home where the assault took place has five bedrooms; parolees pay $600 each per month to rent a room, Henry told the deputies.

Two of the residents informed Henry on March 9 that two other residents, Ryder and Duke had continuously assaulted Meisel.

Meisel was not on parole, but Henry allowed him to move into the house because Meisel was dismissed from a retirement home and had nowhere else to go, according to Henry.

Meisel had lived in the house for about six months, during which time his weight had dropped from about 200 pounds to about 140 pounds, Henry said.

One man reported seeing Duke push Meisel out of his wheelchair onto the floor, kick him in the head causing a cut above eye, hit him in the back with wooden stick, and strike him in the head, back, face and ribs.

Another man said Ryder allegedly hit Meisel with a wooden stick on the back and head. He also reported seeing Duke hit Meisel in the head with a wooden brush and with a wooden stick.
Ryder also took Meisel’s food away from him, that man said.

Meisel himself told deputies that Ryder and Duke hit him after he ate.

Henry also told deputies he took Meisel to Texas Health Azle for laceration above his eye that required eight stitches.

According to the warrant, deputies observed Meisel to have two black eyes, bruising on his back and shoulders and swelling in both knees.

A deputy noted he had trouble understanding Meisel when he spoke, as well.

Both Duke and Ryder were arrested March 10 and charged with injury to a child/elderly or disabled person with intent to cause bodily injury.

Bond has been assessed at $20,000 for each of the men for that charge; both remain in the Parker County jail, where they are also held without bond for parole warrants.

Henry and another man also own another home where parolees are housed in the 200 block of Countryside Court, just down the street from the house on Highland Road, records show.

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Man dies after alleged beatings by parolees