Feds charge drug dealer with man's death, but family alleges coverup for lynching

This undated file handout photo provided by the Wright Family shows Alfred Wright of Jasper, Texas. Officials on Friday Aug. 8, 2014, announced the indictment of Shane Dewayne Hadnot for selling drugs resulting in the death of Wright. (AP Photo/The Wright Family, File) less This undated file handout photo provided by the Wright Family shows Alfred Wright of Jasper, Texas. Officials on Friday Aug. 8, 2014, announced the indictment of Shane Dewayne Hadnot for selling drugs resulting ... more Photo: HONS Photo: HONS Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Feds charge drug dealer with man's death, but family alleges coverup for lynching 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

The family of a man whose decomposing, underwear-clad body was found in the East Texas brush last year said Friday that authorities are lying about him dying of an overdose, and that charging a drug dealer with a federal crime for his death is a cover-up to hide a lynching.

"We believe he was murdered by those who had a problem with him dating white women in Hemphill, Texas," community activist Quanell X said as he stood behind the dead man's parents during a news conference in downtown Houston.

An indictment issued by a federal grand jury contends that the last time anyone saw Alfred Wright alive was at dusk on Nov. 7, after his truck overheated outside a convenience store a few miles from Hemphill.

He finished a conversation on his cellphone, tucked it in his sock and began jogging north along Highway 87, according to witnesses.

Over the next few days, sheriff's deputies, game wardens, park rangers, volunteers and prison dogs trained to sniff out humans searched in vain for him. Texas Rangers, FBI agents and others would join the investigation.

Residents in the area called searchers' attention to a wristwatch and portions of clothing - including some bits caught in a barbedwire fence - but there was no sign of Wright's body.

Then, three weeks after Wright went missing, a team of volunteers, including his own father, found Wright's body in the brush just over a mile from where he was last seen.

Tensions soon heightened, with Wright's family and their supporters, including Quanell, saying investigators not only did an improper search and probe of the death, but were purposely hiding the truth.

U.S. Attorney Malcolm Bales, who is the top prosecutor in East Texas, said given the harsh racial history of the region, he took accusations by Wright's family especially seriously.

"History still resonates," Bales said. "They are trying to conflate what happened to Alfred Wright to what happened to James Byrd," he said, referring to the 1998 slaying in which Byrd was dragged to death while chained to the bumper of a pickup.

"I live in East Texas and the specter of racial violence is part of the history here, and you are crazy if you don't remember it or ... how wrong it was," he said.

Eaten away

Federal authorities charged Shane Hadnot with selling drugs to Wright.

They released a lengthy and detailed indictment that includes a log of dozens of phone calls and text messages between Hadnot and Wright's phones leading up to the day he died.

The indictment states that Wright had taken drugs and made his way into the thick woods, where he may have torn at his clothes to try and cool his body during a fatal cocaine-induced stupor. As his body lay hidden in the brush, the indictment continues, animals tore at his corpse.

Wright was found wearing underwear and one sock and both shoes, according to the indictment, and was in an area that was thick with brush, although he was in an area that had already been searched.

Bales said he was at a loss as to why the sheriff's department didn't do a thorough enough job to find the body, but if they had, there wouldn't be so much public anguish over Wright's death.

The indictment also states that damage to his face and neck was consistent with animal and insect savaging.

"If you are out in a field 16 or 17 days, nature does a number on you," he said. "It is gruesome."

He said that Wright's body had been ravaged by animals and insects, and his eyes, tongue and other parts eaten away, but the family is wrong with their repeated claims that his throat had been slit.

Positive drug test

Lab tests found cocaine, methamphetamine and Xanax in Wright's blood - and the cause of his death was ruled drug intoxication. Testing of his hair samples came back positive for indications of cocaine use over time, according to the indictment.

Hadnot, the accused drug dealer, allegedly admitted he sold cocaine and Xanax to Wright the day he died, but denied selling any methamphetamine, according to the indictment.

Wright's father, Douglas Wright Sr., said his son was not a drug addict and that the findings of federal authorities don't make any sense.

"You had a young man who prepared himself to be an asset to society, not a liability," Wright said of his son, who was a physical therapist.

He repeatedly said something was very wrong with law enforcement in East Texas and wants the case further probed by officials who are not from the area.

Houston Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee issued a statement Friday saying that further investigation of the case is needed by the Department of Justice.

The father said he is most concerned with the condition of his son's body.

"How did drugs cut his throat? How did drugs cut his tongue out? How did drugs cut his ears off?" he said. "If by chance drugs did get into his system, how did all of this happen to him physically?"