Home invasion leads to death during chase

Actions have consequences.

Lesson #2.

One dead after vehicle rolls during 1604 chase

By Eva Ruth Moravec - Express-News

A car chase that began in Universal City when police arrived at a home invasion early Sunday resulted in one man's death in Live Oak, but it took officers in both cities several hours to piece the incidents together.

Michael Escovedo, 23, died after he was ejected from a gray Chevrolet Suburban that rolled about 3:50 a.m. Sunday on the entrance ramp from Loop 1604 West to Interstate 35 North.

Avelina Perez, 22, and Emily Pantoja, 24, both of San Antonio, were injured in the accident. Both women, who are sisters, remained hospitalized at Brooke Army Medical Center, where Pantoja was listed in critical condition and Perez in stable condition.

The rest of the story:

Guilty

Actions have consequences.

Lesson #1.

Officer guilty in crash that killed cop

By Craig Kapitan - Express-News

Former San Antonio Police Officer David Seaton became a convicted felon Monday after jurors in his high-profile trial found him guilty of recklessly causing a high-speed crash that killed a colleague.

Seaton, 45, who had been with the San Antonio Police Department for two years when the wreck occurred Nov. 28, 2008, stared somberly as state District Judge Sid Harle read the verdicts.

Jurors took less than two hours to find Seaton guilty of two counts of aggravated assault by a police officer, which is punishable by up to life in prison, and one count of manslaughter, for which he faces up to 20 years in prison.

The rest of the story:

Surely he's not dead. Yes, he is and don't call me Shirley.

He reinvented himself as an actor, going from handsome serious leading man roles like his role as the Captain in the ground breaking science fiction classic Forbidden Planet to a comedic talent in Airplane and The Naked Gun series.

Leslie Nielsen, you will be missed.


Leslie Nielsen of 'Naked Gun' fame dies at age 84

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Leslie Nielsen, who went from drama to inspired bumbling as a hapless doctor in "Airplane!" and the accident-prone detective Frank Drebin in "The Naked Gun" comedies, has died. He was 84.

His agent John S. Kelly says Nielsen died Sunday at a hospital near his home in Ft. Lauderdale where he was being treated for pneumonia.

The Canadian-born Nielsen came to Hollywood in the mid-1950s after performing in 150 live television dramas in New York. With a craggily handsome face, blond hair and 6-foot-2 height, he seemed ideal for a movie leading man.

He quickly became known as a serious actor, although behind the camera he was a prankster. That was an aspect of his personality never exploited, however, until "Airplane!" was released in 1980 and became a huge hit.

My condolences to her family

A moment's mistake and a life is over and someone's elses is ruined.

Please folks, don't drink and drive.  Be smarter than that.

Please.

Special night turns deadly

By Eva Ruth Moravec - Express-News

Admiring the twinkling Christmas lights downtown was one of Samantha Martin's favorite activities, her mother said, so it was no surprise her boyfriend took her to see the illuminated River Walk and watch the Holiday River Parade Friday night.

But several hours later, when Eduardo Mejorado still hadn't brought Martin home, her mother began to worry.

A San Antonio police officer who then knocked on Alma Martin's door confirmed her worst fears: Samantha, 22, was killed in a crash.

The rest of the story:

Seeming randomness

What is terribly disconcerting about this story is the seeming randomness of it all.

He may have been shot from an approaching vehicle.

Is there some nut job running around acting as the Grim Reaper?

Someone out there knows and I hope they come forward before more folks are hurt or killed.

My saddest condolences to the victim's family.

Man fatally shot in front of kids

By Michelle Mondo - Express-News

A man was shot and killed Sunday night as he drove to H-E-B with his two young children and their mother in his pickup.

No motive for the shooting was immediately known, according to authorities.

San Antonio police Sgt. Ed Wise said the man's girlfriend and mother of the children told police that as they drove west in the 8000 block of Grissom Road, she heard and felt gunfire hitting their red Ford Ranger. The shooting occurred around 9 p.m.

The rest of the story:

The last exorcism

Another witch(?) burnt to death in Ghana.

Grandma set ablaze in alleged exorcism attempt

VibeGhana.com

A 72-year-old grandmother suffered one of the most barbaric of deaths when she was burnt alive by a mob at Tema Site 15 after being accused of being a witch.


A student-nurse, who appeared on the scene, attempted to rescue the old woman from her ordeal but the woman died of her burns within 24 hours of arrival at the Tema General Hospital.

Five people who allegedly tortured and extracted the confessions of witchcraft from Ama Hemmah before drenching her in kerosene and setting her ablaze have been arrested by the Tema Police.

But the suspects, including an evangelist, denied the crime and claimed that they were rather praying to exorcise the evil spirit from the deceased, Ama, when the anointing oil they had applied to her body caught fire.

Two of the suspects are Samuel Ghunney, a 50-year-old photographer, and Pastor Samuel Fletcher Sagoe, 55, the evangelist.

The rest are Emelia Opoku, 37; Nancy Nana Ama Akrofie, 46, and Mary Sagoe, 52, all unemployed.
Briefing the Daily Graphic on the incident, the Tema Regional Police Commander, Mr Augustine Gyening,

Assistant Commissioner of Police, said about 10 a.m. on November 20, 2010, Samuel Fletcher Sagoe visited his sister (Emelia) at Site 15, a suburb of Tema Community 1, and saw Madam Hemmah sitting in Emelia’s bedroom at a time Emelia had sent her children to school.

Mr Gyening said Samuel then raised an alarm, attracting the attention of the principal suspect, Samuel Ghunney, and some people in the neighbourhood.

According to him, the suspects claimed that Madam Hemmah was a known witch in the area and subjected her to severe torture, compelling her to confess to being a witch.

He said after extracting the confession from Madam Hemmah, Ghunney asked Emelia for a gallon of kerosene and with the help of his accomplices, poured it all over the woman and set her ablaze.

Mr Gyening said a student-nurse, Deborah Pearl Adumoah, who chanced upon the barbaric act, rescued Madam Hemmah and sent her to the Community One Police Station, from where she was transferred to the Tema General Hospital, but she died the following day.

In their caution statement, the suspects denied the offence and explained that they poured anointing oil on the old woman which caught fire when they offered prayers to exorcise the demon from her.

The docket has since been sent to the Attorney-General’s Department for advice, while the body of the deceased has been deposited at the Police Hospital mortuary for autopsy.

What Again??!!

Anyone surprized??

Anyone???

Willie Nelson charged with pot possession in Texas

AP -

SIERRA BLANCA, Texas – A U.S. Border Patrol spokesman says country singer Willie Nelson was charged with marijuana possession after 6 ounces was found aboard his tour bus in Texas.

Patrol spokesman Bill Brooks says the bus pulled into the Sierra Blanca, Texas, checkpoint about 9 a.m. Friday. Brooks says an officer smelled pot when a door was opened and a search turned up marijuana.

Brooks says the Hudspeth County sheriff was contacted and Nelson was among three people arrested.


The rest of the story:

Trial to start soon but the trial tactics are beginning now

This will be an interesting trial.

Apparently in order to show contrition and remorse he may have to admit guilt if he testifies or at least his attorney will state it for him to try and stave off the enormous amount of eye-witness testimony.

Good luck with that ploy, not.  I think he'll be convicted and given the death penalty.

Hasan's attorney has limited options

By Sig Christenson - Express-News

Veteran military attorneys say they think a capital murder trial is a virtual certainty for Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the Army psychiatrist charged with killing 13 people and wounding 32 others last year in a rampage at Fort Hood.

They will also tell you that his defense team, led by one-time Army judge John Galligan, has limited options, given the weight of eyewitness testimony — all geared to saving him from being executed.

Military rules forbid Hasan from pleading guilty in a capital case. But he might admit his guilt at the start of the trial in order to show contrition and counter the prosecution's plans to put on a series of damaging witnesses.

The rest of the story:

So long and thanks for all the fish.....

Geoff it has been a pleasure to have with and for you these past 5 1/2 years.
.
Good luck to you in your new job.  Best wishes to you and your family.

Stay in touch.

Outgoing DA joining law firm specializing in local governments

By Greg Bowen The Herald-Zeitung

NEW BRAUNFELS — When his term expires at year’s end, Comal County Criminal District Attorney Geoff Barr will join a law firm that represents local governments and officials across the state.

While in the DA’s office, Barr won jury convictions in three homicide cases, earned state-wide attention fighting a fireworks dealer who wanted to sell firecrackers in a drought, and helped convict a pair who hired a hitman to kill one’s ex-spouse.

The rest of the story:

Home again, home again, jiggity jig......

So I guess Russia benefits a little from the sword rattling by North Korea huh?

North Koreans abandon Russia’s Far East

The Moscow News -

North Korean economic migrants in Russia’s Far East have dashed homewards to defend their regime after hostilities commenced between North and South Korea.

Prior to the border skirmishes hungry North Koreans had been risking their lives crossing the Russia-North Korea border. The migration has already started to affect the local economy as they take the lowest paid jobs in the region, Moskovsky Komsomolets reported.

The East Asian country suffered one of the gravest famines of the 20^th century with at least 1 million deaths. In Russia, they typically earn money in outdoor markets and construction sites, to buy food for malnourished relatives, RIA Novosti reported.

This burns me up

Liability seems to be a criminal offense in China?  No?

Shanghai approves arrest of 13 suspects in high-rise fire

(Xinhua)

SHANGHAI - A Shanghai procuratorate has approved the arrest of 13 people in connection with a fatal Shanghai high-rise fire that killed 58 people on November15, a spokesman with the second branch of Shanghai People's Procuratorate confirmed Friday.

The blaze erupted in the afternoon of November15 after welding sparks set nylon netting and scaffolding alight.

Officials have blamed the tragedy on unlicensed welders, illegal sub-contracting and poor management.

Police previously detained 12 people in connection with the fire.

Mayhem down under

Alas.  Stabbing and general mayhem occurs everywhere.

Even in Australia.

Teen charged over stabbing

Sydney Morning Herald -

Police have charged a 16-year-old boy over a stabbing in Melbourne’s southwest.

Police said a fight broke out between two groups of men at an intersection in Sydenham shortly before 2am (AEDT) on Saturday.

A 19-year-old Hillside man suffered stab wounds to his arm, torso and leg in the fight, police said.

He was taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital in a stable condition.

About three hours after the incident police arrested a 16-year-old Taylors Lakes boy over the stabbing.

He was charged with intentionally causing serious injury, recklessly causing serious injury, conduct endangering life and other assault-related charges.

Meanwhile, police are investigating a fight in which a man suffered life-threatening injuries in Melbourne’s southeast.

A fight broke out between two groups inside a restaurant in Springvale just before 1am (AEDT) today and continued out in the street, where a man, believed to be in his 40s, was stabbed.

The Springvale South man was taken to The Alfred hospital with life-threatening injuries, police said.

Later in the day, police said the man was in a stable condition in hospital.

A 20-year-old Noble Park man and a 46-year-old Springvale South man were also injured during the brawl and were taken to the Monash hospital in a non-life-threatening condition.

They are assisting police with their inquiries.

Planning forgery?

Forgery of building and/or planning permits; now that would be an interesting sort of crime.

I don't know how you'd hide it from being discovered at some point in time however.

Police probe 'cavalier' case of planning forgery

By Ruth Williams- Sydney Morning Herald


VICTORIA Police is investigating a rare and ''cavalier'' case of planning permit forgery linked to a housing development in Melbourne's west.

Building work on three new homes in Henry Street, St Albans, has been stalled since July when the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal issued a stop order. The order was granted at the request of Brimbank City Council, which says parts of the new homes will now have to be demolished or modified.

Describing the situation as ''among the most cavalier'' she had experienced, VCAT member Dalia Cook said people involved in the development had forged a planning permit and used it to convince a surveyor to grant a building permit for the site.

In her reasons for granting the stop order, she said it was clear no planning permit had been lawfully obtained. ''The development of the land and the actions by the respondents are entirely unacceptable and show no regard whatsoever for the system of planning and building approvals in Victoria,'' she said.

The rest of the story:

The most boring day in history?

I was about 3 years old then.

It was a nice day.

April 11, 1954 was most boring day in history

Times of India -

LONDON: April 11, 1954 was the most uneventful and boring day of the 20th century.

Every day something of significance occurs, but nothing remarkable had happened on the said day in 1954, according to experts who inserted over 300 million important events of the century into a computer search programme to calculate.

According to the results of the search machine, called True Knowledge, on that day a general election was held in Belgium, a Turkish academic was born and an Oldham Athletic footballer called Jack Shufflebotham died. Apart from that nothing much happened.

The rest of the story:

Amazing stuff

Well, this is just an amazing find.

Not quite up there with discovering life, not quite that, but amazing nevertheless.

Atmosphere with oxygen found on one of Saturn's moons

By Don Finley - Express-News

A team led by San Antonio scientists has discovered a thin atmosphere of oxygen and carbon dioxide on Rhea, Saturn's second-largest moon, they reported Thursday.

Not that anything could live there. The density of oxygen in Earth's atmosphere is 5 trillion times greater than on Rhea, which essentially is a big ball of ice.

But the latest findings from the Cassini space probe, published online Thursday in the journal Science, suggest similar atmospheres could be more common in space than was thought, said the paper's lead author, Ben Teolis.

The rest of the story:

Good times, good cause

What a great way to have started Thanksgiving morning!

It was a beautiful morning and with spectators the crowd easily exceeded 1000 folks who came out to run and support the Comal Cops for kids program.

Thanks to the efforts of Jennifer Tharp, the District Attorney-elect, Shannon Francis, Tiffany Colunga, and Sgt. Tommy Ward, and many others the 2nd Anuual Turkey trot came off without a hitch.


Almost 1,000 show up for Turkey Trot in Gruene

By J. Louise Larson The Herald-Zeitung

NEW BRAUNFELS — Fine weather and good spirits got the second annual Turkey Trot underway in Gruene.

Upwards of 1,000 registrants put their money where their feet were to walk or run in the Thanksgiving Day event to raise funds for the Comal Cops For Kids Foundation, a charitable foundation designed to benefit abused, endangered, or underprivileged children and adults along with the agencies of similar goals.a ilar goals.

The rest of the story:

Wishing all of you a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!

Dear Readers;

Another year has almost gone by.  Gosh, its already Thanksgiving tomorrow.

From me and my family we wish all of you, your loved ones and friends a healthy and happy Thanksgiving.

We all have much to be thankful for.  Except if you are a turkey.

I am thankful for my friends, my family, and for the good graces that the Lord above has seen fit to give us, and also thankful to you, my readers, as well.

Be safe and enjoy the holiday!

Regards;

Man o' Law

The answer is blowin' in the wind

Now, why do this?

Mass. pizza parlor stiffed by fake Dylan rep.

My way.com -

AMHERST, Mass. (AP) - A man wearing a Bob Dylan backstage pass who ordered 178 pizzas from a Massachusetts pizza parlor has left the restaurant blowin' in the wind.

The man walked into Antonio's in the college town of Amherst early Saturday morning shortly after Dylan performed at the University of Massachusetts and ordered $3,900 worth of pies.

He said he would return in several hours and deliver them to Dylan's crew. But he never returned and the manager called police.

Restaurant employees stayed until 5:30 a.m. making the pizzas.

Antonio's owner Walter Pacheco tells The Daily Hampshire Gazette his workers had no reason to doubt the man worked with Dylan but "got taken."
Pacheco said he gave some of the pizzas away, but had to throw out most of them.

1 down 2 to go

While 40 years may seem like a little amount of time it could be because he was a party to the murder rather than the persons who actually committed the murder.

Quiznos murder nets 40-year prison term

By Craig Kapitan - Express-News

A San Antonio man was sentenced to 40 years in prison Tuesday for the fatal shooting of a Quiznos employee three years ago outside the sandwich shop on the North Side.

John McBurnett, 22, was also ordered by state District Judge Ron Rangel to pay a $2,000 fine and restitution to the family of Nathan Ramirez, who was killed June 9, 2007, after a fight with the defendant's friends.

McBurnett was found guilty by a jury in September, after two days of deliberation. Co-defendants James Clayton Kelly and John “Bubba” Rodriguez are still awaiting trial.

The rest of the story:

Child support scammers won't have a Happy Thanksgiving and I don't care. So there!

OMG!

How reprehensible is this?  Literally stealing food from the mouths of babies.

Okay that last statement may be a little over the top, but so was their behavior.  It's cases and circumstances like this that make me concerned about the Government running big things like Healthcare, Medicare and the like with the opportunity for folks to go to the dark side and commit theft and fraud with our money.

What about the defendant's family members and friends that received the cash and cards?

More guilty pleas in child support scam

By Guillermo Contreras - Express-News


Three suspects pleaded guilty Tuesday in a case in which former employees of a company that processes child-support payments for Texas are alleged to have diverted thousands of those dollars to themselves.

Irene Gomez White, 35; Clarita Hernandez, 58; and Maria Guadalupe Sandoval, 36; are among 13 defendants in the case. The three pleaded guilty to mail fraud and aggravated identity theft and each faces up to 20 years in prison.

White is the last of six who worked for Affiliated Computer Services, or ACS, to plead guilty. Two defendants — Carla Garcia Cervera, 41, and Crystal Vigil Cervera, 29 — are awaiting trial, set for March.

The rest of the story:

Hey teacher!! Leave them kids alone!

Spare the rod spoil save the child?

Ummmm.....well-behaved class of students you have now.

Schoolgirl dies after being slapped by teacher

The Times of India -

LUCKNOW: A nine-year-old class IV girl student died allegedly after she was beaten up by a shiksha mitra at Phullaur primary school in the same village under Malihabad police station area. The girl was identified as Suman, daughter of Harikaran.

Harikaran alleged that Suman died after the shiksha mitra beat her up. However, senior education officials said that the shiksha mitra just gave her one slap, which could not be the reason for her death. The education officials, however, said that action would be taken against the staff members of the school as they failed to inform the senior officials about the incident. The district magistrate will be requested to terminate the services of the shiksha mitra if found guilty, the officials added.

The police, however, have not lodged any case on the complaint of Harikaran.

Awaiting the verdict

The wait begins.

DeLay case with jury

By R.G. Ratcliffe - Express-News

AUSTIN —The fate of former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay is now in the hands of a Travis County jury — more than five years after a political money laundering indictment drove him from the heights of power.

Prosecutors and the defense made closing statements to the jury about whether a $190,000 corporate money swap between DeLay's Texas committee and the Republican National Committee actually amounted to money laundering and whether DeLay had command control over two political aides.

DeLay faces a possible sentence of up to 20 years in prison on a charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering and up to 99 years in prison on the money laundering charge, with fines of up to $10,000 on each, though probation is possible on both charges. The sentence will be determined by the judge if DeLay is convicted.

The rest of the story:

Padre sans conscience?

Okay then, its bad enough that you, as a trusted Priest, sexually molested a teenage boy.

Now you are trying to find someone to murder him?  WTF?

Have you been possessed by a demon or something or is this you normally?

I am sure Dante has a special place for you in Hell. 

Priest accused in murder-for-hire plot

By Eva Ruth Moravec - Express-News

A Catholic priest charged with sexually assaulting a teenage boy in 2008 in the rural parish where he worked west of San Antonio was rearrested last week in Dallas and charged with trying to hire someone to kill his accuser.

Father John M. Fiala, 52, was in Dallas County Jail on one count of solicitation to commit murder and two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child, officials said. A judge set bail at $700,000.

The sexual assault charges were part of indictments handed up last week in Howard County, which brought to six the number of such charges Fiala faces that involve the boy, who was 16 at the time of the alleged offenses.

The rest of the story:

Stop the madness on the highways

No refusing the fact this is an idea whose time has come.

Particularly after the death of the girl in an automobile accident over the weekend in San Antonio which appears to be alcohol related.

No one cares if you drink, but get drunk and get behind the wheel yhat's another story.

Please have a safe and sober Happy Thanksgiving, folks!

Police chief wants 'no refusal' policy made permanent

By J. Louise Larson The Herald-Zeitung

NEW BRAUNFELS — If you’re suspected of drinking and driving, the police may soon be able to make you an offer you can’t refuse.

The “no refusal” holiday weekend is back in time for Thanksgiving, but mandatory blood testing by warrant could become a year-round approach to discouraging those who imbibe and drive, said New Braunfels Police Chief Tom Wibert.

The rest of the story:

Domino's Pizza opens in Ho Chi Minh City

I could take the cheap shot.

You know, Pizzas, napalm baked, that sort of thing.

But I won't.  How many of you ever thought there'd be a Domino's Pizza in Vietnam, like ever?

Not me.  Does this mean, kinda, that we won after all?

Domino's Pizza opens first store in Vietnam

Saigon Today -


HANOI,  (AsiaPulse via COMTEX) --
Domino's Pizza

, the second-largest pizza chain in the United States, has announced the opening of its first store in Vietnam, in the country's largest city, Ho Chi Minh City.

In an annoucement on Nov. 19, the company's Finance Chief Michael Lawton recognised Vietnam as a growing economy. He said Domino's had made forays into four new countries this year with the others being Germany, Romania and Ukraine.

"Opening our first store in the largest city in Vietnam gives us an excellent entryway into this growing economy," said Lawton.

"We are very excited that Domino's Pizza, the global leader in pizza delivery, is now in Vietnam and we look forward to providing that same level of service that our customers expect from this global brand.", said Tony Cricenti, Chief Executive Officer of Domino's Pizza in Vietnam.

Founded in 1960, Domino's Pizza operates a network of 9,169 franchised and company-owned stores in the United States and 66 markets worldwide. The Domino's Pizza brand had global retail sales of over US$5.6 billion in 2009, comprised of nearly US$3.1 billion domestically and over US$2.5 billion internationally.

During the third quarter of 2010, the company had global retail sales of nearly US$1.4 billion, comprised of over US$747 million domestically and nearly US$650 million internationally.

Rocky Mountain High

Drugs in the sleepy little town of Cortez, Colorado.

Officers nab 7 for alleged drug deals

Police department, sheriff’s office act on confidential informant’s tips
Reid Wright -Journal Staff Writer

Two Cortez Police Department cruisers rolled down South Washington Street on a sunny fall day, stirring fallen leaves in their wake. With a flash of brake lights, they lurched to a stop and two officers emerged, knocking on the door of a house, where a man in a hat and glasses was arrested.

A block away, a man in a sleeveless T-shirt and a sobbing woman in a white hooded sweatshirt were loaded into a police sport utility vehicle. Their home reportedly smelled of marijuana and a search warrant was issued, recovering marijuana plants and paraphernalia.

On North Washington, a 51-year-old man with short cropped hair was handcuffed and lowered into a cruiser. He expressed frustration at being arrested during a romantic moment.

The rest of the story:

Not too safe area?

Not a safe place to be around apparently.

Another person killed near apartments

By Michelle Mondo - Express-News

A man was shot and killed Sunday night while walking near a public housing complex that was the site of another slaying earlier this month.

San Antonio police Sgt. Steve Herries said that just before 10 p.m. a man in his 20s was walking in the 4800 block of Ray Bon Drive toward Eisenhauer Road when a vehicle pulled up beside him and someone inside began firing.

The man was hit once in the right hip and was pronounced dead shortly after being taken to Brooke Army Medical Center, Herries said. A woman who was walking with the man was not hit.

The rest of the story:

To young to die

A mile and a half from my house.  A car accident possibly involving intoxication by someone underage.

One woman loses her life, too young.  My condolences to her family and may she Rest in Peace.

One man whose life is potentially ruined as he faces Intoxication manslaughter charges of two to twenty years in the penitentiary.

Hardly makes the drinks worth while, hmm?

Woman killed in North Side crash

By Eva Ruth Moravec - Express-News

A woman was killed early Sunday morning in a fiery one-car crash on the city's North Side that San Antonio police blame on an alleged intoxicated driver and excessive speed.

Kimberly Villasenor, 20, was a passenger in a sedan that veered into the grassy median and then flew off an overpass on eastbound Loop 1604 around 5 a.m.

Police Sgt. Jim Perdue said the car landed about 17 feet below, on Stone Oak Parkway, ejecting both occupants. The car then burst into flames, bounced up a concrete embankment and then landed on top of the female passenger, according to police.

The rest of the story:

Rest in Peace Officers

I hope they figure this out and catch the folks involved.

Bring them to justice.

Dead couple were police officers

By Jia Xu (China Daily)

A couple found dead in their home have been confirmed as serving police officers in Hongtong county, North China's Shanxi province, Qlwb.com.cn reported today.

Police confirmed the man and woman, who were discovered on Nov 12, both served at Hongtong county public security bureau.

The cause of death is still under investigations by the police.

A reward of 50,000 yuan ($7,521) has been offered for important clues and 100,000 yuan to solve the case.

Police named the dead;man as "Wang Jianxiong" which differs from "Wang Jianxun" which was cited in initial reports. No clarification was offered.

It is believed the dead couple's children have returned from overseas to make funeral arrangements.

An inside job

Mrs. Man o' Law knows the jewelry store as she has taken watches and other things there for repair.

She was surprised.

As management was as well, no doubt.

Missing jewelry tied to former employee

By Gulliermo X. Garcia - Express-News

A former worker at a North Side jewelry store has been arrested in connection with the loss of more than $20,000 worth of items.

Ricardo Gutierrez Dorantes, 39, was taken into custody following a months-long investigation tracing jewelry pieces missing from the J. Green Jewelers at the Vineyard Shopping Center, police said.

The jewelry store where Dorantes formerly worked notes on its website that it offers pieces ranging in price “from the budget-conscious bridegrooms to billionaire sultans.”

The rest of the story:

Don't try this at home

Never a good idea to take the law into your own hands.

Never.

Leave it to the professionals.

Man accused of killing in retaliation for alleged sex assault

By Peter J. Holley - Express-News

Authorities have accused a Bexar County man of killing another man in retaliation for an alleged sexual assault of one of his family members.

Declining to call police, Shawn Phillips, 32, told his wife he was “going to take care of it his way” after a family member accused Mark A. Gabler, 33, of sexually assaulting a relative, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.

Police found Gabler's decomposed body May 20 in a hayfield in Southeast Bexar County after they responded to a service call at 13400 Donop Road near the intersection with Old Corpus Christi Road. He was identified through his fingerprints, the affidavit states.

The rest of the story:

Patrolling the DMZ

Why is his bulletproof vest in the trunk of his car? 

Man, I'd be wearing mine.

Be safe out there Troopers.


DPS pursuits skyrocketing on border
Texas Tribune and Express-News Staff reporters

McALLEN — On a quiet November morning, trooper Johnny Hernandez patrols the dusty back roads along the Rio Grande in Hidalgo County. In the back seat, his M4 rifle sits within arm's reach. In the trunk, he stores a bulletproof vest.

The 15-year Department of Public Safety veteran has been in so many high-speed pursuits that he can't remember the first one, and, to be honest, he says he doesn't even think of them in terms of which one is scariest.

“There's just so much” going on, he says. “Your thoughts are going 100 miles per hour.”

The rest of the story:

The lawnmower man

How fast was he going as he escaped?

2-3 mph?

Stick-up suspect flees on mower

aikenstandard.com -

An Aiken man is in custody after a morning incident in which a clerk was beaten with a stick and the suspect tried to flee the scene on a riding lawn mower.

Ricky New is charged with assault and battery, first degree, and armed robbery.

Capt. Troy Elwell of the Aiken County Sheriff's office said the suspect entered the Kent's Corner convenience store this morning at 1925 Edgefield Highway.

"The suspect entered the store armed with a stick and demanded money from the clerk before assaulting her. He received an undisclosed amount of money and fled the scene on his getaway vehicle, a Craftsman riding lawn mower," Elwell said.

Deputies located and detained the suspect a short distance away. The condition of the clerk was not released.

He is currently being held at the Aiken County Detention Center.

Gimme the doughnut or ...or..I'll stab myself!

The hapless robber of the year award goes to:

Would-be doughnut shop robber drunkenly stabs himself

Police think he fell on a butcher knife

By Dave White
 

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - He must have really needed a doughnut fix.

Police have arrested a man who stabbed himself while apparently trying to rob a Duffins Donuts store.

Officers were called around 2 a.m., when they found a man so drunk, he was slumped over on the floor. So, even if he had robbed the place, he probably wouldn't have made it far.

When the cops were putting him in cuffs, they discovered a big butcher knife and a stab wound on the guy's gut. Police think he fell on it at some point during his drunken stupor.

They took him to the hospital, then quickly hauled him over to the VPD cells. He's now facing a robbery charge.

Dang! That's crazy

Yeah and they all seemed to be driving on I-35 at rush hour!

Nearly 1 in 5 Americans had mental illness in 2009

cnbc.com -

CHICAGO - More than 45 million Americans, or 20 percent of U.S. adults, had some form of mental illness last year, and 11 million had a serious illness, U.S. government researchers reported on Thursday.

Young adults aged 18 to 25 had the highest level of mental illness at 30 percent, while those aged 50 and older had the lowest, with 13.7 percent, said the report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration or SAMHSA.

The rate, slightly higher than last year's 19.5 percent figure, reflected increasing depression, especially among the unemployed, SAMHSA, part of the National Institutes of Health, said.

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Jesus, Dude, get a life!

The radio said he'd call up to a thousand (1000) times a day!  A thousand!!

Dude, let it go.

Police: Man called ex so often, she got fired

By Eva Ruth Moravec - Express-News

San Antonio police on Wednesday arrested a man accused of calling his ex-girlfriend at work so many times she lost her job, officials said.

Sam Salazar, 45, was set to be booked in Bexar County Jail on one count of telephone harassment. A judge set bail at $10,000.

Officials said Salazar and a woman dated for two years before breaking up earlier this year, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. After their relationship ended, Salazar called his ex-girlfriend at work incessantly, more than 1,000 times a day, the affidavit states. She was terminated because of the harassing phone calls at work, police said.

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Gentlemen, start your engines

Yeah, its great until one of the idiots driving at 100 mph hits folks coming out of their subdivisions.


I'm not knocking the work done, its great.  I'm just saying now we need some law enforcement out there to tamp down the folks with itchy gas pedal disease who think they are driving in the Indy 500.

Stretch of Blanco a paved 'paradise'

By Jeorge Zarazua - Express-News

Cindy Griffin remembers the painful days when she would spend more than an hour on Blanco Road trying to get home to Timberwood Park from Loop 1604.

“The traffic was just so bad it took forever to get just from 1604 to Huebner,” she said. “If you came down this way on Huebner you would be stuck here for the same period of time.

“There are days that I literally sat here for more than an hour before I could actually turn to go home.”

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Brothers indicted

My hat's off to the Bexar County DA's office for the investigation and indictments.

It takes a ton of work to sort through the records and make sense of it all in a white-collar crime case.

Ex-Windcrest official, brother indicted

By Guillermo X. Garcia and Craig Kapitan - Express-News

A former longtime Windcrest city manager and his developer brother were indicted on three felony counts Thursday, accused of embezzling more than $4 million from the city and Internet hosting company Rackspace Hosting Inc.

If convicted of the first-degree felonies, the brothers could land in prison for life.

Ronnie Cain, 60, who was the suburb's chief administrative officer for 28 years before suddenly resigning in March, and his brother Gary, 53, were arrested at their homes by Texas Rangers and Bexar County sheriff's deputies Thursday evening.

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Eff off!! No, you can't get it your way!

Sheesh!  Okay I'm sorry I asked.

Burger King's F#*# You leads to firings

A profanity laced receipt leads to a firing at a NorCal Burger King.
By LORI PREUITT- nbcbayarea.com

Burger King corporate stepped in and fired two of its employees after a drive through receipt with some choice words made it on national television.

Sacramento resident Francisco Perez told KCRA TV after ordering food at the Sacramento restaurant, he noticed his receipt read "f--- you" in the area that would normally say "thank you."  The four-letter profanity was spelled out not once, but twice.

One day after that story aired, a Burger King manager and an employee have been let go according to a company statement released Wednesday.

"Burger King Corp. (BKC) and the franchisee that owns and operates this restaurant deeply regret that this incident occurred," Burger King's Denise T. Wilson wrote. "The franchisee has taken immediate corrective action and both the manager and employee are being terminated. The franchisee will be reaching out to the guest directly."

Perez told KCRA, as of Wednesday afternoon, if was still waiting for that phone call.

Enough pot seized to keep Austin wierd for two or three hours

Over eleven tons!!

That is a whole bunch of weed taken out of circulation.

But, unfortunately its probably only a small fraction of what gets through.

Valley pot seizures net 23,000 pounds over four days

By Lynn Brezosky - Express-News

BROWNSVILLE — Rio Grande Valley Border Patrol agents over a four-day period seized nearly 23,000 pounds of marijuana with a total estimated street value of about $18 million, Customs and Border Protection said Wednesday.

The seizures occurred from stations from Brownsville west to Rio Grande City and north to the Falfurrias and Sarita highway checkpoints, with Falfurrias accounting for close to six tons of the more than 11 tons seized.

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Politics of personal religious destruction is reprehensible

Sorry but this is just reprehensible and beyond the pale.

There is NO place in Texas and American politics for this type of behavior and the pursuit of these tatics by some Christian right-wing conservatives is just plain wrong.

It tends to corroborate all of the fears that folks have about such groups.

You don't like Speaker Joe Straus' politics? Fine.  Proceed away but don't send out flyers and e-mails and calls to elect Christian Republicans and then disingenuously claim that it is just a word describing a right wing Republican and has nothing to do with Joe Straus' religion.

What if you said elect the white guy or black guy or brown guy?  Get real.


Straus, foes decry religious references
By Gary Scharrer and Peggy Fikac - Express-News


AUSTIN — The three members vying for the speaker's post in the Texas House denounced the injection of religion into the contest, criticizing outside activists calling for the selection of a conservative Christian over current Speaker Joe Straus, who is Jewish.

Straus' declared opponents are rejecting what they consider “deplorable personal attacks,” although it wasn't clear what influence they have over outside groups agitating for Republicans to dump Straus, R-San Antonio.

The calls to replace Straus, who is known as a moderate Republican and fiscal conservative, with a conservative Christian ricocheted around the Internet this week, and could spark an investigation into accusations of intimidation of House members.

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Rolling towards court martial

As I predicted on Tuesday the recommendation is that Major Hasan stand for court-martial on capital murder charges.

We now await the commanding officer's acceptance of the findings and the go ahead.

I predict it will be a go.

Court martial urged for Hasan

By Sig Christenson - Express-News

An Army judge has recommended Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, a Fort Hood psychiatrist charged in a shooting spree at the post last year, should face a court martial and possibly the death penalty.

Just two days after Col. James Pohl closed an Article 32 evidentiary hearing in the case, the Army said Wednesday that Pohl recommended the case be tried as a capital offense due to an unspecified “aggravating factor.”

His report now goes to Col. Morgan Lamb, a brigade commander at Fort Hood.

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Ethically challenged

And yet I am sure there will be nothing but a slap on the wrist for the Congressman.

House ethics panel convicts Rep. Rangel on 11 of 13 counts of rule violations

By Susan Crabtree and Jordan Fabian - The Hill

Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), once one of the most powerful members of the House, was convicted Tuesday on 11 counts of violating ethics rules and now faces punishment.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), the chairwoman of the adjudicatory subcommittee and the full House ethics committee, announced the decision late Tuesday morning following an abbreviated public trial and nearly six hours of deliberations.

"We have tried to act with fairness, led only by the facts and the law," Lofgren said. "We believe we have accomplished that mission."

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Tragic accident

This will not be a lay-down slam-dunk trial by any means.

Its compounded by the fact that yes, the defendant was speeding without his emergency lights, yet someone turned in front of him.  There will be sympathy for the defendant  as well as sympathy for the officer he killed.

The defense lay the foundation of casting some reasonable doubt into the matter.

Will it work?  I predict guilty but probably a light sentence of 10 years or less making the defendant officer eligible for probation.

Confusion of fatal police crash cited

By Craig Kapitan - Express-News

Police Officer Andrew Montemayor was kicking flares to the side of Potranco Road, joking with fellow rookie Robert Davis about how crazy their day had been, when he heard the revving of an engine outside his line of vision.

Instinctually, he knew something was wrong and began to run, Montemayor told jurors as testimony began Tuesday in the manslaughter and aggravated assault trial of former colleague David Seaton.

“I don't have time to yell out at Davis,” Montemayor recalled. “There's not time to look, to judge. I just ran as fast as I could.”

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True dat

On a related note to the post below.

Building a new jail.


Sheriff: It's time for a new jail

By J. Louise Larson The Herald-Zeitung

NEW BRAUNFELS — Comal County officials are studying the idea of a new jail. A number of county justice officials have been visiting area facilities and talking with potential architects in recent weeks.

With crowding issues prompting jail officials to turn away inmates sentenced to night and weekend stays, it’s time to look at a new county jail, Sheriff Bob Holder said Tuesday.

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No vacancies?

An idea whose time has come to Comal County?

I know its in use in many other counties.

Pre-trial release program expected to reduce inmate population at Comal County Jail

By J. Louise Larson The Herald-Zeitung

NEW BRAUNFELS — A pre-trial release program expected to help officially triage inmate threat level and reduce the jail’s population of lower-risk offenders was approved by the Comal County commissioners for the current year budget.

Organizers say the new pre-trial release bond supervision program and expansion of the electronic monitoring work release sentence program in lieu of incarceration will reduce or slow the jail population, improving efficiency and reducing incarceration costs for the county. 

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A Florida Special?

Wow!

Do you also get a free gun-rack too?


Dealership: Buy truck; get free AK-47
clickorlando.com -

SANFORD, Fla -- A Sanford truck dealership is running a special promotion, offering a free AK-47 with the purchase of a used truck.

VIDEO: Free AK-47

Nations Trucks, located at 3700 S. Orlando Drive in Sanford, kicked off the promotion on Veterans Day.General sales manager Nick Ginetta said the promotion will run until the end of the month. He said anyone who purchases a truck will receive a $400 voucher to a local gun store. He said customers will have to go through the application process and qualify under state and federal laws.

Ginetta said any buyers who don't want a gun will be given cash.

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