Yeah right!

Yeah sure.

I'd be back .... never.

Muslim Brotherhood to Egyptian Jews: Come back

by: Al-Masry Al-Youm - The Egypt Independent

Essam al-Erian, deputy head of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, called on Egyptian Jews to leave Israel to the Palestinians and return to their own homeland.

"Their presence in Palestine contributes to the Zionist occupation of Arab lands, and every Egyptian has the right to live in his country — nobody can deny that," Erian said during an interview on the privately operated Dream TV on Thursday. ...

"Egyptian Jews should refuse to live under a brutal, bloody and racist occupation stained with war crimes against humanity," Erian said.

Puro San Antonio

Only in San Antonio; perhaps the drunk-driving capital of the world.


Suspected DWI drivers collide on South Side
By Eva Ruth Moravec - Express-News

Two men suspected of driving while intoxicated collided head-on on the South Side Sunday evening after one of the drivers rear-ended a car in a separate incident, according to San Antonio police.

About 8:30 p.m., a man driving a Nissan pickup crashed into the back of a car while driving south on New Laredo Highway at Southwest Military Drive, said Sgt. Jesse Garcia.

A woman in the car sustained minor injuries, he said, and a witness flagged down an officer nearby, who tried to catch up with the driver but wasn't successful.

The rest of the story:

Maybe made up?

I sure hope for their sake's that this is true.


Longhorn player's lawyer says claims of sex assault false
By mike Finger - Express-News

AUSTIN — An attorney representing suspended University of Texas linebacker Jordan Hicks said Sunday that any sexual assault allegations involving his client are “completely false.”

Austin lawyer Perry Minton released a statement saying Hicks is “devastated” over the incident that led to him and teammate Case McCoy being sent home from San Antonio before the Longhorns' Valero Alamo Bowl victory Saturday.

On Friday morning, UT announced the suspensions of two unnamed players for violating team rules. Two sources close to the program confirmed those players were Hicks, an injured linebacker, and McCoy, a backup quarterback.

The rest of the story:

The Mom of the Year Award goes to ...

This woman!

Yes, you Brianna Railing!!

C'mon Down!!

Woman accused of driving drunk, leaving kids at crash scene

Myfoxorlando.com -

PHOENIX - A valley mom has been accused of crashing her car while driving drunk in Scottsdale.

She fled the scene and police say she left behind her son. The accident happened at 90th St and Raintree in north Scottsdale Sunday night.

Police say the woman left her 13-year-old son behind after crashing into a median and took off with her other two kids. Brianna Railing, 35, was also allegedly driving with a drink in her car.

The rest of the story:

Adding insult to injury, can you say FatCat?

I am so glad they're all getting pay raises to help cover the loss of wages due to the fiscal cliff.

You know, because i was so worried for them .... not

Obama Orders Pay Raise for Biden, Members of Congress, Federal Workers

By DANIEL HALPER - The Weekly Standard

 

President Barack Obama issued an executive order to end the pay freeze on federal employees, in effect giving some federal workers a raise. One federal worker now to receive a pay increase is Vice President Joe Biden.

According to disclosure forms, Biden made a cool $225,521 last year. After the pay increase, he'll now make $231,900 per year.

Members of Congress, from the House and Senate, also will receive a little bump, as their annual salary will go from $174,000 to 174,900. Leadership in Congress, including the speaker of the House, will likewise get an increase.

Here's the list of new wages, as attached to President Obama's executive order:






The rest of the story:

The face of madness

Umm ... yeah .... sure ... whatever.


Woman charged in murder in NY subway shove death
By Colleen Long - Express-News


NEW YORK (AP) — A woman who told police she shoved a man to his death off a subway platform into the path of a train because she has hated Muslims since Sept. 11 and thought he was one was charged Saturday with murder as a hate crime, prosecutors said.

Erika Menendez was charged in the death of Sunando Sen, who was crushed by a 7 train in Queens on Thursday night, the second time this month a commuter has died in such a nightmarish fashion.

Menendez, 31, was awaiting arraignment on the charge Saturday evening, Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown said. She could face 25 years to life in prison if convicted. She was in custody and couldn't be reached for comment, and it was unclear if she had an attorney.


The rest of the story:

Teachers learning Guns

They're learning the three "R's" of gun owning and shooting.

Racking, Reloading, and Responsibility.


Handgun classes are drawing teachers
By Zeke MacCormack - Express-News

SCHERTZ — Middle school teacher Kim Williams traveled from Houston to cash in on Saturday's free concealed handgun licensing course offered to educators after the mass shootings at a Connecticut elementary.

“I feel the need to be proactive,” Williams, 38, said during a break in the 10-hour class at LoneStar Handgun.

“I'm entrusted to the care and safety of over 100 students. I want to be prepared, if and when things go that way,” said the long-time employee of the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District.

The rest of the story:

A Ranger's Ranger

Thank God for men like Joe Haralson.

Man o' Law salutes you Sir, for your service.


'Ranger's ranger' keeps on rangering
By Dane Schiller - Express-News

If the draft hadn't swept Joe Haralson from Houston to Vietnam so long ago, he still might drive a Dr Pepper truck.

But maybe not. Getting to know him, it's clear he was destined to take another road in life.

“I was one of many in those days,” he said of being drafted. “I got a draft notice, reported, and the rest was history.”

The rest of the story:

Some really stupid shit

They broke team rules and also stand accused of sexual assault.

Great moves, guys, great moves.

BTW real life isn't a game, however IMHO Case McCoy sure looks like a douche-bag in this photo.


UT suspends Case McCoy, Jordan Hicks for Alamo Bowl
By Mike Finger - Express-News

Two University of Texas football players were suspended for breaking team rules Friday, the day before the Longhorns were scheduled to play in the Valero Alamo Bowl.

Two sources close to the program confirmed that the two suspended players are quarterback Case McCoy and linebacker Jordan Hicks. UT coach Mack Brown declined to name the players at an Alamo Bowl press conference Friday morning, but said they would be sent home.

Earlier on Friday, KENS-TV reported that a 21-year-old woman accused two UT players of sexual assault early that morning at a downtown San Antonio hotel, but police declined to confirm that football players were involved.

The rest of the story:

“The medical examiner said there were signs of serious abuse, malnutrition and neglect”

The Last Christmas for that poor child.


Parents behind bars in death of 5-year-old boy
By Vianna Davila and Michele Cassidy - Express-News

In handcuffs and flanked by police, the stepmother of a 5-year-old boy who died Thursday sobbed as she was placed in the back of the patrol car, charged with felony injury to a child.

“I don't know what happened, I love my kids,” said Crystal Williams, 27, hiding her face from TV cameras.

Police also arrested her husband, Charleston Williams, 25, — Josiah Williams' biological father — on the same charge.

The rest of the story:

A fight to the legal death!

Another milestone as to why folks hate lawyers.


Personal-injury case gets personal for attorneys
Express-News

Personal-injury lawyers should never fight with each other.

After all, they're so routinely reviled in our society, they need to stick together, kinda like tobacco lobbyists and basketball referees. We want to see Carabin and Shaw, not Carabin vs. Shaw. It's just the natural order of things.

Miguel Ortiz and Edgardo Baez used to be personal-injury comrades: two old Army buddies with shared Puerto Rican roots who worked together at Ortiz's firm. But they're currently battling over the residue of a 7-year-old case involving an off-duty Bexar County jail guard who tried to pull over a swerving car and wound up firing at the car's unarmed passengers.

The rest of the story:

Good Doggie!

Good job catching the alleged juvenile perps!

Give that K-9 a doggie treat!

Canyon Middle School burglarized twice

By Dalondo Moultrie New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung
 
NEW BRAUNFELS — A pair of burglaries recently at Canyon Middle School in New Braunfels netted crooks about 10 electronic devices and netted police a couple of suspected juvenile burglars, a New Braunfels Police Department spokesman said.

NBPD Lt. John Wells said investigators are trying to determine whether the break-ins are connected and he asked for the public’s assistance.

“That’s something we’ll be looking into to see if they’re related,” Wells said. “If anybody has any information, call Crime Stoppers (of Comal County).”

The rest of the story:

Have you seen him?

Pretty damn serious stuff.

Please call the police or sheriff's department if you have any information.

New Braunfels police continue to investigate and ask that anyone with information on the alleged robber’s identity contact Det. David Schroeder at (830) 221-4100 or dschroeder@nbtexas.org.

Police ask that anyone with information about either robbery, but who wishes to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers of Comal County. Anonymous tips can be called in at (830) 620-TIPS (8477) or (800) 640-8422, sent via text message by texting the word “Comal” plus the tip to CRIMES (274637), or submitted online at comalcrimestoppers.org.

Bank robber strikes New Braunfels again at Wells Fargo

By Dalondo Moultrie New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung
 
NEW BRAUNFELS — Police said a man dressed in drag that is suspected of robbing several financial institutions across the state in recent weeks held up a bank Thursday morning in New Braunfels.

The wig-wearing robber used a gun to steal money Thursday from the Wells Fargo Bank branch at 877 Loop 337 and last month from the Security Service Federal Credit Union, 1692 W. Texas Hwy. 46, said Capt. John McDonald of the New Braunfels Police Department.

“Nobody was hurt,” he said. “It’s the same person as from Security Service.”

The rest of the story:

We however, are NOT amused

Nice!

Thank you for allowing me to be your entertainment.

Ex-TSA Screener: Officers “Laughing” At Your Naked Image

Whistleblower launches blog to expose federal agency’s ridiculous policies
Paul Joseph Watson -Infowars.com

A former TSA screener turned blogger who is now causing embarrassment for the federal agency has revealed that TSA officers routinely laugh at and make fun of passengers’ nude body scanner images in back rooms.

In a blog entitled Taking Sense Away, the anonymous ex-TSA worker reveals how he, “Witnessed light sexual play among officers, a lot of e-cigarette vaping, and a whole lot of officers laughing and clowning in regard to some of your nude images, dear passengers.”

The revelation was in response to a reader who asked, “Tell us, please, what really happens in that private room and why the TSA does not want it seen in public nor recorded.”

The rest of the story:

Merry effing Christmas

 That's the spirit


Judge:  La. woman can flip finger in holiday lights
Associated Press -

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A Louisiana woman ran afoul of police when she gave her neighbors an unusual holiday greeting, hanging Christmas lights in the shape of a middle finger.

Sarah Childs was in a dispute with some of her neighbors in Denham Springs, just east of Baton Rouge, so she decided to send a message with her decorations. Neighbors complained and police threatened to arrest her, so she and the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana sued the city.

A judge ruled in her favor Thursday.

The rest of the story:

Fly by

It wasn't Santa Claus dropping by either.

Thank God no one was hurt!


2 unexpected guests drop in
By Colin McDonald - Express-News

The three boys, ages 4, 5 and 6, were looking over the backyard fence Monday morning at the neighbor's dog, one of their favorite pastimes.

Thomas Severyns, the father of two of them and the uncle of the third, saw them as he was getting the house in the 13000 block of Possum Way ready for a family dinner.

Less than 10 minutes later, about 10:20 a.m., a small two-seater airplane crashed through the trees of their North Side neighborhood, smashed a neighbor's shed, took out the fence where the boys had been climbing and slid across their lawn.


The rest of the story:

Its not what you think so get your mind outta the gutter

It just sounds nasty.


Dallas police detain 20 in cockfighting operation
Associated Press

DALLAS (AP) — Dallas police have detained 20 people after breaking up a cockfighting operation where they found 200 live birds, some badly injured, and at least 15 dead animals.

Police say in an emailed statement they responded early Sunday to an animal cruelty call. They say when they arrived at the residence they found dozens of vehicles parked in a field and a large crowd participating in the cockfighting.

Police say officers detained 20 people, but many others fled. They say they issued 23 citations to those who attended the fight. All were released.

Investigators found instruments used to harm the birds during the fights, bet cards and a fight ring. They say the property is large and they may find more animals after a full search is conducted.

Have a Merry Christmas

Every year they say it, or pray it , but the weather nays it.

Not this year it sayeth.


White Christmas likely in parts of Texas, but not in S.A.
By Mary Luisa Cesar - Express-News

Many travelers already are cozy at their holiday destinations, but those leaving San Antonio for Christmas are encouraged to arrive early at the airport and check on road conditions as a blast of wintry weather heads toward the state.

Getting around San Antonio and South Texas on Christmas Eve should be easy, but snow is in the forecast for a large swath of North Texas, and most of the state will feel cooler on Christmas Day.

In San Antonio, springlike temperatures will return today before tumbling at midday Tuesday, when cooler air arrives. A low of 29 is expected in the city on the morning after Christmas, but no white stuff is predicted this far south.

The rest of the story:

My gun is shiny!

I guess this falls under the saying "Do unto others before they do unto you!"


Trio gets shot after showing off weapon
By Eva Ruth Moravec - Express-News

Three people were shot after reportedly showing off a new revolver on the West Side late Saturday.

According to San Antonio police, the trio had bought a firearm hours earlier, and “had gone around the area threatening people with it,” a police spokeswoman said.

Around 10 p.m., one of the men they'd threatened armed himself and went to Cortez Avenue and Jewett Street to wait for them, police said.

The rest of the story:

Hunt oil not deer

Its much more exciting and rewarding!

Why, jest ask ol' Jed Clampett; it got him all the way to Californy!


Locking horns over oil field deer season 
By Jennifer Hiller - Express-News

LIVE OAK COUNTY — The last light of day slips from the gray sky as Terry Retzloff spots a deer he's been searching for all season.

The 11-point buck is about seven years old. He's tough, having survived a nasty fight last year in which he got hooked and lost an eye. And he's smart. The one-eyed buck rarely shows himself, but today emerges from the brush at a favorite spot of Retzloff's, one with a bit of roll to the terrain and a view of live oaks.

In the background, accompanying Retzloff's reverent regard for the animal, is the mechanical hum of a hydraulic fracturing crew that's working 24 hours a day on a neighboring property, breaking open the Eagle Ford Shale to release trapped hydrocarbons. Drilling rigs and natural gas flares are visible on the horizon.

The rest of the story:

Santa's Homies!

True Christmas spirit!


Ex-gang members spread Christmas cheer in old neighborhood
By Vincent T. Davis - Express-News


With a rap on the door, Christmas came early for Rebecca Carrillo and her two babies Thursday morning.

Her gifts came courtesy of former West Side gang members who turned their lives around and came together to give back to three families in need in the old neighborhood where they were raised, called Ghost Town.

Leonardo “Lalo” Mendez, 66; Luz “Louie” H. Gallegos, 66; Juan Guajardo, 65; Hector “Pro” Caldera, 65; and Alfred “Curly” Palacio, 59, are members of a group called the Ghost Town Survivors.

The rest of the story:

Its just a game parents

Aww, isn't that sweet?

Just like a big time football riot.

Merry Xmas!!


Huge brawl among youth football parents east of LA
Associated Press -

CHINO, Calif. (AP) — Police in riot gear flooded the field of a youth football game in Southern California to stop a brawl that involved dozens and possibly hundreds of adult spectators.

Chino police told the San Bernardino Sun (http://bit.ly/VXaSJu) they received several calls saying a melee had broken out amid a crowd of hundreds of parents who were watching a Pop Warner playoff game at the city's Ayala Park on Saturday.

Sgt. Frank Mena said most of the brawlers ran from the field as police with helmets and clubs poured into the park. No one was seriously injured and no one was arrested.

Mena says one of the teams was from Alhambra, but did not know the hometown of the other.
Chino is in San Bernardino County 35 meals east of Los Angeles.

More defendants to hang out to dry in Maverick County

An ever-expanding pool of defendants.


Contractor indicted in Maverick County graft
By Guillermo Contreras - Express-News

A contractor in Eagle Pass is the latest to fall in an ever-expanding federal corruption investigation in Maverick County.

Eduardo De La Garza, 44, owner of Rio Bravo Construction, turned himself in after being indicted Thursday on three counts of paying bribes to get contract work involving federal funds from Operation Stonegarden, which earmarked hundreds of thousands of dollars for securing the border.

Investigation records show the FBI and Texas Department of Public Safety have their sights on many others, including county commissioners, people in the county auditor's office and other public servants.

The rest of the story:

Well, this will be an interesting case to follow

Staying in jail for a while.

Of course finding nude photos of the girl on his devices didn't help him none; did it?


Man denied bond in child-porn case
By Guillermo Contreras - Express-News

A judge Friday refused to grant bond to a 48-year-old man charged with transporting sexually explicit images of a 13-year-old girl across state lines.

Thomas Lee Fritz and his wife, Sophie, claim the girl has a history of lying.

Fritz was arrested in San Antonio in November by the FBI as part of an investigation that began in San Jose, Calif.


The rest of the story:

Pendejo students

WTF were they thinking?

Oh wait .... they weren't.


4 students accused in gun, threat incidents
By Michelle Casady - Express-News

Four local students faced serious charges Thursday after being accused of either threatening to bring guns to school or, in once case, bringing a firearm to campus.

The complaints came a day after Chief William McManus met with the law enforcement heads of local schools to dispel fears and discuss how to respond to a school shooting. The talks were prompted by the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn. Twenty children and six adults were killed in the Dec. 14 attack.

This week, two San Antonio students, both enrolled at North East Independent School District schools, were accused of making threats online or in conversations with friends to bring guns to school today. It's suspected the plans were made because of a popular belief that an ancient Mayan calendar might indicate the end of the world would come today.

The rest of the story:

Justice, justice shalt thou do

My apologies to my faithful readers. What with having had another carpal tunnel surgery, this time on my left hand, finishing briefs for the appellate courts and arguing at the Third Court of Appeals in Austin it has been quite busy.

It's now time to stop and smell the roses get festive and merry for the holidays!

This new proposal is intriguing on many levels not the least of which is to try to provide assurances that counsel appointed to represent indigent defendants in Comal County receive the best legal representation possible.


County to seek grant to help fund legal counsel for the poor
By Greg Bowen New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung
 
NEW BRAUNFELS — Comal County will seek a grant to establish a groundbreaking program designed to improve the courtroom defense provided to accused persons too poor to afford their own attorneys.

“Here we go again, with Comal County being the leader in the state,” said County Judge Sherman Krause.

Edwin Colfax of the Texas Indigent Defense Commission (TDIC) said the program would not only be the first in the state but in the entire United States.

The rest of the story:

Spare me your denials

There you go.

Read it and weep for the fallen innocents.

And spare me the claptrap "but that doesn't mean it would have prevented this"

Tell it to the dead children, tell it to the dead teachers and administrators, tell it to their families and friends.

Before Connecticut tragedy, administration eliminated emergency preparedness program, let school violence prevention programs lapse
By By John Solomon and Kimberly Dvorak- The Washington Guardian

Beneath the expressions of grief, sorrow and disbelief over the Connecticut school massacre lies an uneasy truth in Washington: over the last few years the Obama administration and Congress quietly let federal funding for several key school security programs lapse in the name of budget savings.

Government officials told the Washington Guardian on Friday night that two Justice Department programs that had provided more than $200 million to schools for training, security equipment and police resources over the last decade weren't renewed in 2011 and 2012, and that a separate program that provided $800 million to put police officers inside the schools was ended a few years earlier.

Meanwhile, the administration eliminated funding in 2011-12 for a separate Education Department program that gave money to schools to prepare for mass tragedies, the officials said.

The rest of the story:

Making more merry

More Merry Christmas.


Soldier killed at Fort Hood after firing at officers
Associated Press -

FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) — Fort Hood police have shot and killed a soldier who fired a gun while sitting in his car on the Central Texas Army post.

Fort Hood officials say officers responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle parked near a lake about a mile from the main gate about 3:20 a.m. Friday. Then, the officers returned fire after the soldier shot his weapon at them as they approached the car. The officers were not injured.

Officials say the officers tried life-saving measures before emergency medical personnel arrived, but the soldier died.

The rest of the story:

Evil Santa

Continuing with the theme of tragiedy and sorrow for our Christmas pleasures.


Man dies after vehicle flips in Comal County
By Hollie O'Connor - Express-News

A man was killed when his car flipped in Comal County on Saturday morning.

Tanner Wagner, 21, was driving his pickup west on FM 1102 about 7 a.m. when he skidded off the road at a curve near Hoffman Lane, lost control and the truck overturned, said Department of Public Safety officials.

He was taken to Christus Santa Rosa Hospital in New Braunfels, but died of his injuries about 8:30 a.m., DPS said.

No joy this Christmas

Murder of Innocents

For some reason entering into this Christmas season I was already having sufficient enough problems trying to feel joyous.

I've lost several friends and colleagues in just the past few months.

And now this; the horror of Newtown, Connecticut. There is no understanding, there is only the unfathomable.

No Merry Christmas, no happy new year, only existence.

May the victims in this matter rest in peace and may their families somehow come to find solace and comfort.

Youth no more

Not so innocent and nice.


Teenager will be tried as an adult in slaying
By Craig Kapitan - Express-News

A 16-year-old accused of kicking in a bathroom door and using a baseball bat to bludgeon to death a woman who helped raise him will stand trial on a murder charge as an adult, a juvenile court judge decided Friday.

Isaac Nathaniel Rodriguez refused to give an official statement to investigators after he was taken into custody Sept. 12 — minutes after the body of Adriana Carrillo Terry, 63, was found inside her Northeast Side home, where he also lived.

But Rodriguez twice told officers, “I did it,” during “unemotional” conversations that were not recorded, homicide Detective Rich Richardson told state District Judge Carmen Kelsey during the hearing.

The rest of the story:

Stupid teacher

Due to the severe nature of the consequences; I truly do not understand why they give into the temptation.


Reagan H.S. teacher resigns amid investigation
By Lindsay Kastner - Express-News

Police are investigating allegations of an inappropriate relationship between a male teacher and a female student at North East Independent School District's Reagan High School.

District spokeswoman Aubrey Chancellor said the teacher, 33, has resigned. The student was 16, she said. School officials were made aware of the allegations Friday, Principal Bill Boyd wrote in a letter to parents.

“We immediately contacted the North East Police Department ... and an investigation is now underway with the San Antonio Police Department,” Boyd wrote.

Go Daddy; go away for life

Aaaand you're out!

Outta here that is.


Violent gang war nets life sentence for  'Gat Daddy'
By Craig Kapitan - Express-News

Still recovering from gunshot wounds incurred during a months-long gang war on the East Side, Charles Dwayne Williams had only been out of the hospital about two weeks in April 2011 when he returned to the streets to exact revenge, prosecutors said Friday as he was sentenced to life in prison.

Williams, 43, who was known on the streets as “Gat Daddy,” was convicted by a jury last month of using an assault rifle to ambush Michael Whitley — described as a rival gang member — at a gas station. He opted to have state District Judge Maria Teresa Herr decide his sentence instead of jurors.

VAlthough investigators found about 30 bullet casings at the scene, Whitley survived the shooting and — in a move that attorneys acknowledged is very rare — agreed to testify against his gang rival during the aggravated assault with a deadly weapon trial.

The rest of the story:

WTH?

She didn't know?

Really?

Woman kills her abusive husband only to discover he was actually a woman
Mamaslatinas -

When I heard about Elizabeth Rudavsky--a Canadian woman who murdered her husband, Angelo Heddington, after enduring his horrible abuse, only to find out after his death that he was actually a woman--I honestly couldn't believe it. I had never ever heard something so bizarre. I mean, Heddington had not only hidden his true identity for months, he created a true hell for Rudavsky, by mentally and physically abusing her, even before they were even married.

Honestly, when I found out more about this couple and saw the images that documented their destructive relationship, I couldn't help but wonder HOW IN THE WORLD Rudavsky never realized that her husband was actually a woman? Not just during their intimate moments, but because of her very obvious femenine traits? How could she marry someone who mistreated her and abused her from the onset of their relationship? How could she smile in a picture that clearly shows a black eye, while her husband is embracing her? So many questions, I know, but I just honestly can't understand how someone can agree to enter in to and stay in such aterrible relationship...

According to Rudavsky, she never realized that her then-husband was a woman because Heddington had told her in the very beginning of the relationship that an old girlfriend had burned his (her?) genitals, which is why they always had sex in complete darkness and she never saw her husband naked. Worst of all, she would have probably never known the truth if paramedics hadn't found the prosthetic penis that Heddington used, while they were taking him to the hospital the night in 2003 after he was stabbed in self-defense by his wife.

The rest of the story:

And on....and on ....and on....

The beat goes on.


2 death row inmates in court as one seeks new trial
By Craig Kapitan - Express-News

A death row inmate and a murder convict serving a life sentence each have testified this week in the same Bexar County courtroom as appellate attorneys for condemned killer Noah Espada continue their effort to get him a new trial.

Espada, 28, has been awaiting execution since 2005 for the slayings a year earlier of a nightclub manager who had fired him and a neighbor of the manager whose apartment Espada mistakenly broke into.

But when jurors ordered the death penalty for Espada — based in part on the determination that he would be a future danger to society even if left in prison — they had a false impression of the defendant due to perjured testimony by a former jailer, his appellate attorneys and witnesses have suggested.

The rest of the story:

He chose poorly

The result of bad choices and decisions.


Cop gets boot in wake of shooting
By Michelle Casady - Express-News

Michael Garza was drinking on the job the night of July 26 when he later shot and killed the ex-boyfriend of his girlfriend, according to a letter outlining the reasons for the undercover police officer's indefinite suspension.

The letter, signed by Chief William McManus, details the infractions — not being truthful, not fulfilling a responsibility to serve the public, drinking on duty, misuse of city cellphone and vehicle — that led to Garza's suspension, which is tantamount to being fired.

Related Link: Michael Garza suspension letter

Garza, 33, a 10-year SAPD veteran, is appealing the suspension, which was effective Nov. 20. A message left at the office of his attorney, Bob Leonard, wasn't returned Thursday.

The rest of the story:

Making Looney Tunes look sane

You know if you think its a holy day and decide to 'celebrate' it by carving pentagrams into the living skin of your children its really a bad idea and you should probably not do it.

Umm ... Do you understand? ... Okay?

That's all folks!


Texas man accused of carving pentagram into son
By Angela K. Davis - Associated Press

RICHLAND HILLS, Texas (AP) — A North Texas man carved a large pentagram into his 6-year-old son's back Wednesday, telling a 911 dispatcher that he did it because "it's a holy day," police said.

In a matter-of-fact tone, Brent Troy Bartel told a dispatcher, "I shed some innocent blood," according to a copy of the recording of his early Wednesday morning 911 call released by Richland Hills police. After the dispatcher said, "I'm sorry?" he repeated those words, then said he inscribed a pentagram on his son. When the dispatcher asked why, Bartel said, "because it's a holy day" before hanging up.

At the family's modest one-story home in the Fort Worth suburb, some neighbors said they were shocked that Bartel was accused of injuring his son but that they didn't know the private family well. Smeared blood could be seen on the front door frame, put there by Bartel, Richland Hills police said.

The rest of the story:

OMG More Shocking News!

Corruption along the Mexican Border??!!

I'm shocked!  SHOCKED!!  0.o


Tenth person charged in Maverick corruption
By John MacCormack - Express-News

A tenth person has been charged in an ongoing federal and state probe of public corruption in Maverick County that has already claimed seven county employees.\

Javier Gonzalez, a county probation officer and general contractor, was arrested Wednesday after a federal grand jury in Del Rio indicted him for his role in a bribery, kickback and bid-rigging scheme, according to federal officials.

The indictment accuses the 42-year-old Eagle Pass resident of bribing an employee in the county auditor's office to ensure payment of $35,100 that Gonzalez had bid for sidewalk construction. The project — on Lago Vista Street in Eagle Pass — however was never done.

The rest of the story:

Rejected and dejected

Don't be messing with the kids.

BTW she's not accused she's been convicted.


Early release denied for woman accused of molesting 3 teens
By Craig Kapitan - Express-News

A Von Ormy woman who has spent the past six months in prison over allegations she seduced three underage brothers who lived next door returned to court Wednesday to ask for a second chance.

But state District Judge Lori Valenzuela denied Rosalinda Davison's request for shock probation that might have cut short her five-year sentence.

The details of the case remain disturbing, the judge said.

The rest of the story:

Buy the 'effing cookies and change the 'effing street name too while you're at it!!

Man, don't be 'effing with the Girl Scouts, dude!

They'll mess you up!


Girl Scouts want to change street named for San Jacinto hero
By Scott Huddleston - Express-News

A proposed street name change on the North Side may pit the Girl Scouts against a part of Texas history.

The Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas, which moved into its Sally Cheever Girl Scout Leadership Center at 811 N. Coker Loop in 2007, wants to change the name of the street to Trefoil Lane, in honor of the 100th anniversary of the Girl Scouts. But the proposal, set for a public hearing today of the city's Planning Commission, is drawing concern from preservationists.

“You can go on and on about the history that happened there,” said Carl Coker, whose great-great-great grandfather, Joseph Coker, helped settle the area.

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An electrifying offense

I'm positive that nothing negative will happen if they are apprehended.


More than 700 vehicle batteries stolen in Texas
Associated Press -

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Apparent power-hungry thieves have stolen more than 700 vehicle batteries from a South Texas business.

San Antonio police say the batteries were taken from Exide Technologies.

Investigators said Tuesday that the batteries were stolen Dec. 1 after someone broke into the rear of the company complex located in an isolated business park. The batteries were on 18 pallets.

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Public Service Message

And the hits keep on coming.

Too bad, so sad.


Offenders arrested at record pace
From Herald-Zeitung


AUSTIN — The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Texas 10 Most Wanted Program set new records in 2012 in total apprehensions, gang member apprehensions, sex offender apprehensions and total rewards paid by the Texas Crime Stoppers Program. So far this year, DPS and other agencies have arrested 30 Texas 10 Most Wanted Fugitives and Sex Offenders, including 20 gang members, and $93,000 in rewards have been paid for tips that resulted in arrests.

The program was revamped in 2010 and a Top 10 Sex Offender list was added.  In 2010 alone, there were more arrests and awards paid than in the three prior years combined.

Anyone with information can provide anonymous tips in four different ways:

    • Call the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-252-TIPS (8477).

    • Text the letters DPS—followed by your tip—to 274637 (CRIMES) from your cell phone.

    • Submit a web tip through the DPS website by selecting the fugitive you have information about, and then clicking on the link under their picture.

  
• Submit a Facebook tip atfacebook.com/texas10mostwanted.

Bye, see you later

A good plea bargain methinks.


Man gets 20 years for pimping girl
By Craig Kapitan - Express-News

A San Antonio pimp accused of recruiting an underage McDonald's employee to instead turn tricks for him — then carving his initial into her arm after she tried to leave — has agreed to a 20-year prison sentence.

Fernando Gonzales, 36, also raped and impregnated the 16-year-old, prompting her to get an abortion, and threatened to kill her and her other child, she told authorities in October 2010.

Gonzales was to go to trial this week in the 379th state District Court for child sex-trafficking. He instead took a plea agreement Friday in which he received two concurrent 20-year sentences in exchange for no contest pleas to sexual performance of a child and human trafficking.

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It is cold this morning

Maybe he was just cold?


Detectives: Nude man set own apartment on fire
By Eva Ruth Moravec - Express-News

A man was charged with setting fire to his own apartment just north of downtown last month.

Carlos Rene Tomasi, 38, was set to be booked in Bexar County Jail on one count of arson Monday evening. A judge set bail at $25,000.

A witness told San Antonio Fire Department arson detectives he saw a naked Tomasi empty a refrigerator in the community room in the apartment complex in the 400 block of Warren on Nov. 27.

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We've only just begun to fight!

More legal maneuverings.

And you thought the case was over?  Heck, its just beginning.


Lawyers: Man wrongfully convicted of killing baby
By Lynn Brezosky - Express-News

BROWNSVILLE — New lawyers for a man sent to death row after being convicted of murdering his girlfriend's infant son are set to argue today that evidence that wasn't presented would exonerate him.

“The technical claim is ineffective assistance of counsel,” said Neil Burger, one of a team of attorneys working pro bono on the case. “At the first trial, the medical evidence went undisputed by defense trial counsel. We're going to show that it is highly disputed and was readily available.”

A Cameron County jury in 2008 convicted Manuel Velez of inflicting the wounds that killed Angel Gabriel Moreno on Oct. 31, 2005, the day before the child's first birthday.

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Dallas Cowboy player, drinks, drives drunk and kills teammate/friend

Just another example of the sheer stupidity of some of the players for the Dallas Cowboys.

RIP Jerry Brown.


Ex-Talon Brown killed in crash; Brent charged
By Tom Osborn - Express-News


CINCINNATI — A pall fell over the Dallas Cowboys and some in San Antonio after nose tackle Josh Brent was arrested early Saturday morning for intoxication manslaughter following a one-car accident in Irving that killed practice-squad linebacker Jerry Brown, a former member of the San Antonio Talons.

“Life is a precious thing,” stunned Talons owner David Lynd said. “It's a real tragedy.”

Brent's car was speeding on a State Highway 114 service road when it hit a curb at approximately 2:30 a.m., police said. The car flipped at least once, skidding an estimated 900 feet before stopping.

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A Night in Old San Antonio

WTH??

Just another teenage birthday party in San Antonio.


One dead, two injured in shooting at South Side party
By Michelle Casady - Express-News

A party Nick Salinas, 17, and his parents were hosting in south Bexar County for a long-time friend's 20th birthday ended fatally when a guest opened fire early Saturday.

Bexar County Sheriff's Sgt. Raymond Pollard said it was just after 3 a.m. when Anthony Stevens Terrell, 22, was shot and killed in front of the home in the 4400 block of Countess, located west of Highway 16 and south of Loop 1604.

Salinas' 14-year-old cousin was shot in the head and might not be able to walk or talk again if she survives, he said.

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