Craft's private eye faces charges

A private investigator for Tonya Craft who is charged with attempting to influence a witness in her case says he has proof the alleged threats never happened.

"When people see the video they're going to know the mistruth going on here," Eric Echols said.

Mr. Echols worked as an investigator in Ms. Craft's child custody and molestation cases. He was arrested in August 2009 after the father of an alleged victim in the molestation case said Mr. Echols threatened him.

The investigator claims he was arrested to stop his investigation for Ms. Craft's case before she went to trial. His own trial on three felony counts of influencing a witness is set for September.

Ms. Craft was acquitted May 11 on all 22 counts of child molestation, aggravated child molestation and aggravated sexual battery.

Catoosa County Sheriff Phil Summers says his detective made the arrest after the father swore out a complaint.

"What we have to consider is if the (family's) complaint is valid," Sheriff Summers said. "If (Mr. Echols) feels like he's right in his actions that he didn't violate the law, he has the right to present his evidence through the district attorney's office."

In July 2009, the father and another parent of an alleged molestation victim said Mr. Echols had harassed them while serving civil papers in Ms. Craft's child custody case.

But Mr. Echols says he videotaped Ms. Lamb cursing at him and using racial slurs when he subpoenaed her, and has an audio recording proving he didn't threaten the other girl's father when he subpoenaed him.

Ms. Lamb did not return calls seeking comment, and the girl's father declined to comment.

The Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney's office has a copy of a 42-page transcript of the conversation between Mr. Echols and the girl's father, court documents show. Mr. Echols said he couldn't release the transcript because it is evidence in his case.

District Attorney Herbert "Buzz" Franklin declined Thursday to comment on the case.

During Mr. Echols' investigation last summer, he was at the courthouse for a hearing on a complaint filed by parent Sandra Lamb, he said.

Ms. Lamb, who has identified herself to media as the parent of one of the molestation accusers, claimed Mr. Echols had intimidated her when he served her papers. The incident report at the sheriff's office quotes her as saying, "the black male put his hand on the door and wouldn't allow the door to shut."

But Mr. Echols said he filed a counter-complaint stating that Ms. Lamb had hit him in the face and used a racial slur when he was leaving her house. He said he was told he could bring up his charges during the hearing on Ms. Lamb's complaint.

When he arrived for the hearing on Aug. 7, Mr. Echols said Ms. Lamb dropped the charges against him and he was instead arrested.

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"To me it was all a ploy to get me down there to arrest me," he said.

The warrant was issued that day by Detective Tim Deal, who was the lead investigator in Ms. Craft's case, police reports show.

In police report, Detective Deal said the girl's father claimed Mr. Echols had threatened him and said he would be sued "if he didn't drop the incident involving molestation allegations involving his daughter."

Mr. Echols said he did talk with the man twice in July but both conversations were pleasant.

"When the conversation was over he thanked me for talking to him," Mr. Echols said.

But Sheriff Summers said the timing was just an opportunity since the investigator lived in Atlanta.

"If there are audio tapes available of this particular interview and the claims that the (family) made versus what the private investigator made, then I think that is the best and most true evidence in this case," Sheriff Summers said.

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