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Texas
May 28, 2005 11:23:07 GMT -5
Post by Sher on May 28, 2005 11:23:07 GMT -5
SAN ANTONIO -- The Bexar County Sheriff's Office issued a warning Thursday for a serial rapist who has sexually attacked three women in northeast Bexar County.
Sheriff's officials said the man, who is usually armed with a knife and should be considered dangerous, probably lives in the area of the attacks.
The latest incident happened Wednesday at a mobile home park in the 6000 block of Walzem Road, where he raped a 15-year-old girl who was getting ready for school.
The man is believed to have entered through an unlocked door and surprised the girl and her 18-year-old sister, who was not harmed.
The man allegedly stole the family Ford Explorer, which was found late Wednesday night in a neighborhood about 1 ½ miles away from the mobile home. Detectives are dusting the vehicle for fingerprints and are collecting DNA evidence.
Bexar County Sheriff's Deputy Chief Ruben Garcia said the man is also believed to be responsible for a sexual attack April 12 in the 7100 block of Oldham and on April 17 in the 8300 block of Ballentrae.
"Some of the methods, the manners, things that he did, were similar," Garcia said. "After talking to witnesses, and the victims ... this is more than likely the same individual."
The man is believed to wear a dark-hooded sweatshirt, which he wears tightly around his head to only reveal his eyes. He also has two gold front teeth and is a heavy smoker and speaks Spanish.
Garcia said DNA evidence from the crime scenes was sent to the Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office in hopes of finding a match that will lead to the rapist.
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Texas
May 28, 2005 11:23:33 GMT -5
Post by Sher on May 28, 2005 11:23:33 GMT -5
SAN ANTONIO -- Crime Stoppers is offering a $5,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest of a man suspected of raping three women in northeast Bexar County.
The reward, which is being offered only through May 11, comes one week after a teenage girl was sexually assaulted at knife point inside a mobile home in the 6700 block of Walzem Road.
The man is also wanted for sexual attacks in mid-April in the 7100 block of Oldham Drive and in the 8300 block of Ballantrae.
Bexar County sheriff's investigators said the suspect usually gains entry through a window or door, ties up his victim and sexually assaults them at knife point and then demands money.
Sheriff's investigators said they believe the man lives in the area.
The man is described as Black or Hispanic, in his 20s and wears a hooded-type shirt to cover his face.
The teenager who was raped said the man had a gold tooth.
Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stoppers at (210) 224-STOP (7867) or 1-800-223-7867. Callers can remain anonymous.
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Texas
May 28, 2005 11:23:57 GMT -5
Post by Sher on May 28, 2005 11:23:57 GMT -5
SAN ANTONIO -- Bexar County sheriff's investigators are investigating whether a sexual attack at a home Wednesday is the work of a serial rapist.
Investigators said a man broke into a home in the 7100 block of Cork and sexually assaulted a woman at knifepoint.
The attack was the fourth sexual assault reported in northeast Bexar County in a little more than a month.
Deputies are not sure if the man is the same suspect wanted in the three other crimes, but the man did have similarities to the wanted man.
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Texas
May 28, 2005 11:24:35 GMT -5
Post by Sher on May 28, 2005 11:24:35 GMT -5
SAN ANTONIO -- A 27-year-old man was named as a "person of interest" Wednesday in connection with a series of rapes in northeast Bexar County.
Bexar County Sheriff's Office officials said they want to talk with Montre Kelly.
Sheriff's officials would not elaborate on Kelly's connection with the case.
Four women have been sexually attacked in an area known as the Glen in about a month.
Anyone who has information on Kelley is urged to call the sheriff's office at (210) 335-6000 or (210)
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Texas
Jun 3, 2005 9:43:18 GMT -5
Post by Sher on Jun 3, 2005 9:43:18 GMT -5
DALLAS - In a Shakespearean twist, matching DNA pitted two twin brothers against one another in a Houston rape trial on Thursday.
At first it seemed like a tragic case that would present the usual tough challenges for prosecutors.
A 9-year-old girl was kidnapped off the streets of Houston on her way to school in October 2001 and raped in the back seat of a car.
Two men were arrested. Police say one of the men committed the rape, while the other drove the car. DNA was recovered at the crime scene.
But there was a problem: the two men are identical twins, so that means they have the same DNA. So what good is the DNA evidence?
Identical twins The twin brothers are Aldo and Hugo Penaflor, now 23 years old. They are on trial this week in Houston. Both are charged with aggravated sexual assault and aggravated kidnapping.
But prosecutors have told the jury that Aldo Penaflor actually raped the young girl, while Hugo Penaflor was at the wheel of the car.
However, Aldo Penaflor’s lawyer told jurors in his opening argument that the DNA is "inconclusive" and raises "reasonable doubt" because the two suspects are identical twins and therefore share the exact same DNA.
In turn, Hugo Penaflor’s lawyer, Ted Doebbler said he's not certain the DNA will even matter because Aldo Penaflor confessed to police that he raped the girl. His 40-minute teary confession regarding the girl’s abduction and rape was shown to the jury on Thursday.
In the confession, Aldo Penaflor repeatedly said that he knew what he was doing was wrong and that he would “probably go to hell” for the crime.
"DNA is an issue only because they are twins," said Doebbler. "There's a confession from Aldo [Penaflor] that obviously puts him as the perpetrator."
Hugo Penaflor testified against his brother on Thursday as part of a plea deal. That combined with the taped confession by Aldo Penaflor could make the dispute over DNA irrelevant.
For his cooperation in the plea deal, Hugo Penaflor will get a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.
One brother's crime leads to arrest of the other There is yet another twist in the story. The police didn't stumble onto the suspects for more than a year after the crime.
They got their break in the case when Hugo Penaflor was convicted of burglary in 2002 and his DNA was entered into the Texas statewide DNA database, revealing a match to evidence in the young girl’s rape.
So Hugo Penaflor’s DNA was used to help catch his identical twin brother, Aldo Penaflor, who now faces up to life in prison if he's convicted of raping the 9-year-old girl.
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Texas
Jun 4, 2005 9:38:08 GMT -5
Post by Sher on Jun 4, 2005 9:38:08 GMT -5
SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- A 25-year-old woman was being held Thursday in the Bexar County Jail in lieu of $1 million bond in connection with the capital murder of her live-in boyfriend's 2-year-old son.
According to an affidavit, Veronica Herrera told police that she held Andrew Joshua Fox's head under hot water in a bathtub Wednesday afternoon because the boy was repeatedly crying out for his father, who was at work.
Herrera ignored the boy's cries for forgiveness and held him underwater for 10 more minutes, the affidavit said.
Police said Herrera then tried to allegedly try to cover up the murder by saying that Fox drowned in the swimming pool at the Oaks Condominiums in the 2300 block of Nacogdoches Road.
Jose Ibargue, a maintenance worker at the condominiums, said he got suspicious when he gave the boy CPR.
"That's what I couldn't figure out, what was on his forehead," Ibarque said. "It was all red, like a burn. And I asked her what was there and she said allergies or maybe out in the sun a lot. But I didn't believe her."
Fox died on arrival at Northeast Baptist Hospital, where doctors also noticed the second-degree burns and notified police.
Ibarque said he would often see Herrera and Fox at the pool and remembered the boy because he was afraid of water.
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Texas
Jun 4, 2005 9:39:48 GMT -5
Post by Sher on Jun 4, 2005 9:39:48 GMT -5
HOUSTON -- Authorities released a new sketch Wednesday of the gunman who robbed and killed a man leaving a southwest Houston Pappadeaux's restaurant, Local 2 reported Thursday. Investigators Have No Solid Leads In Pappadeaux Killing Delearte Pittman, 29, of Fort Bend County, had just finished eating dinner and was walking out of the Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen off the South Loop near Kirby when he was robbed, shot and killed on Oct. 3, 2004. Police said Pittman, a husband and father, was celebrating a turning point in his life when he was gunned down. "The night before he was murdered, he met with his pastor, who made a proposal to him that he could not turn down. (Pittman) was offered a position to run a gospel recording studio," Crime Stoppers spokesman Ray Wathen said. "Mr. Pittman had gone to the Pappadeaux's with some friends, was having drinks, meeting different people, actually buying drinks for several people," Houston Police Department Sgt. Larry Baimbridge said. Police said when Pittman went outside the restaurant to say goodbye to some friends, the killer approached him and demanded money. "As he ran, he ran toward the front door of the Pappadeaux's but fell as he got onto the patio area. As he fell, the suspect was able to catch up to him," Baimbridge said. The gunman shot Pittman in the chest. He was pronounced dead at the scene. An off-duty officer tackled the shooter and knocked the gun out of his hand; however, he still escaped. Investigators believe the gunman escaped in a maroon four-door vehicle, possibly driven by another man. Wathen read a statement from Pittman's wife that said, "I grow a great spiritual satisfaction in knowing that there is an ultimately just God who is keeping score of everything on Earth and that some day all injustices will be wiped away." Police said they have no solid leads and hope someone will come forward with information. A $5,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in this case. Anyone with information should call Crime Stoppers at (713) 222-TIPS. www.click2houston.com/news/4560580/detail.html?subid=22100412&qs=1;bp=t
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Texas
Jun 7, 2005 15:44:37 GMT -5
Post by Sher on Jun 7, 2005 15:44:37 GMT -5
HOUSTON -- Investigators released surveillance pictures Monday of a man they believe might have gunned down a man in the parking lot of a Wal-Mart in Katy, Local 2 reported.
Mark Krenek, 33, was leaving the store on Interstate 10 at Fry Road at about 11 p.m. Friday when he was shot and killed. Authorities think robbery was the motive for the killing; however, nothing was stolen from Krenek.
"As he was walking back to his car, witnesses said they had seen a van," Harris County Homicide Division Sgt. Bruce Williams said.
Surveillance video showed a champagne-colored Ford Aerostar van circling the parking lot shortly before Krenek was killed.
"A black male exited the passenger's side of the van, approached Krenek and witnesses heard a gunshot," Williams said.
Witnesses said the gunman got back in the van and took off.
"He fled back toward Fry Road in an unknown direction," Williams said.
Investigators said a man seen inside the store wearing a white tank top matches the witness descriptions of the shooter. They believe the man is in his late teens or early 20s and is more than 6 feet tall.
Officials said he appears to have a scar on his left shoulder and wore an earring in his left ear.
Investigators said the gunman was first seen exiting a black Cadillac STS before entering the Wal-Mart.
"We don't know the circumstances of where he got in the van. All the information we have is witness information that is one in the same (with the surveillance video)," Williams said.
Anyone with information should call the Harris County Homicide investigators at (713) 967-5810.
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Texas
Jun 9, 2005 23:14:43 GMT -5
Post by Sher on Jun 9, 2005 23:14:43 GMT -5
Arrests Made In ID Theft Ring
POSTED: 10:23 pm CDT June 8, 2005 UPDATED: 10:31 pm CDT June 8, 2005
SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- San Antonio Police Department detectives, following the arrest of four suspects, are dismantling a major identity theft operation.
It all began with the work of an alert Bexar County sheriff's deputy.
The suspects led police to a motel at 11221 Highway 281 north after a sheriff's deputy outside a Fredericksburg Road apartment complex confronted them.
They arrested two men and two women after finding stolen laptop computers, printers and other equipment used to create false checks and information police suspect was used for identity theft.
"They found a lot of credit statements and account numbers and Social Security numbers from people that, just from average citizens out there, who had been burglarized," said Sgt. Gabe Trevino of the SAPD.
The overnight arrests were just the beginning. Inside a van found at another northside motel, police found duffle bags and suitcases full of more electronic equipment that police suspect was used to alter credit cards and establish false checking accounts.
Aside from burglarizing homes and cars, police said the suspects had another way to get information for ID theft.
"They'd go into certain streets within San Antonio and the outskirts of San Antonio, look for mailboxes that had the little flags up so that tells anybody... that there's mail in there," said Trevino.
For now, all four suspects are facing fraud charges, but the feds are also part of the investigation and there could be federal charges, as well as more state charges.
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Texas
Jun 17, 2005 9:24:06 GMT -5
Post by Sher on Jun 17, 2005 9:24:06 GMT -5
HOUSTON -- thingyinson police are investigating the disappearance of a 15-year-old girl earlier this week, Local 2 reported Thursday. Relatives reported Rachel Lea Ware missing on Tuesday after she left a friend's home in the 3100 block of Lobit and never returned home. Police said Ware might be in the company of a white man, only identified as Will, in the Tomball area. Anyone with information is asked to contact thingyinson Police Department at (281) 337-4700. www.click2houston.com/news/4617515/detail.html?subid=22100412&qs=1;bp=t
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Texas
Jun 24, 2005 13:03:29 GMT -5
Post by Sher on Jun 24, 2005 13:03:29 GMT -5
AUSTIN, Texas — A pre-kindergarten student brought a handgun to school, where it was seized by a fifth-grader and turned over to the principal, school district officials said Tuesday.
The 5-year-old reportedly displayed the loaded weapon outside the Blanton Elementary School (search) cafeteria where students were gathered before class. The fifth-grader recognized it was real and took it to the principal.
Investigators were trying to determine how the child got the gun, Austin Independent School District (search) spokeswoman Carmen Luevanos said.
District police said they will pursue charges against the adult who allowed the student to bring the weapon to school. The adult was not identified.
A charge of making a firearm accessible to a child is a Class C misdemeanor (search) punishable by a fine of up to $500.
Luevanos said investigators do not believe the 5-year-old intended to harm any students.
"He just took it out to show other students," she said. "Their conclusion is the child was not really aware how serious his actions were."
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Texas
Jul 11, 2005 14:43:20 GMT -5
Post by Sher on Jul 11, 2005 14:43:20 GMT -5
Police: Woman Fatally Shoots Roommate At Food Store Cause Of Shooting Remains Under Investigation
POSTED: 8:51 am CDT July 11, 2005 UPDATED: 9:01 am CDT July 11, 2005
HOUSTON -- A man was fatally shot by his roommate outside a north Houston food store Monday morning, police told Local 2.
Sinco Food Store, Northborough at Rushcreek, north Houston
Investigators with the Houston Police Department said the man and his roommate became involved in an argument at the Sinco Food Store on Northborough at Rushcreek at about 11:30 p.m. Sunday.
"They got into a verbal dispute out here in the parking lot. The dispute escalated to a shooting. After we got here, information at the scene led us back to the apartment where we took the female into custody," HPD Sgt. C.W. Howard said.
Police said the woman shot the man several times and then kicked and beat him in the head.
The shooting remains under investigation.
Authorities have not said what charges the woman could face.
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Texas
Aug 9, 2005 17:12:56 GMT -5
Post by Sher on Aug 9, 2005 17:12:56 GMT -5
SAN ANTONIO -- San Antonio police said a woman turned herself into authorities after stabbing her husband outside a strip club.
According to police, the woman flew into a rage when she caught her estranged husband and future son-in-law coming out of Sugar's Strip Club on Northwest Loop 410 around 10 p.m. Monday night.
Police said the man suffered stab wounds to the chest and back.
He was listed in stable condition Tuesday at University Hospital.
Charges are pending against the woman, according to police.
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Texas
Aug 30, 2005 9:22:10 GMT -5
Post by Sher on Aug 30, 2005 9:22:10 GMT -5
SASH, Texas (AP) -- A gunman killed four people near a small-town church, then killed himself early Monday after a nine-hour standoff with police, authorities said.
Police said witnesses told them that Freddie L. Cranshaw, who lived across the street from the Sash Assembly of God, exchanged words in the church parking lot Sunday night with church member Wes Brown, who asked Cranshaw to leave.
Cranshaw, 54, who authorities said had only a partial right arm, returned a short time later and shot Brown, 61, at close range, and then shot the pastor, James Armstrong, 42, witnesses said.
Deputies found both men dead in a grassy area next to the parking lot, Fannin County Sheriff Kenneth Moore said.
Cranshaw then drove to an intersection, where he shot at a truck towing a horse trailer and then killed the two women in the truck after they tried to flee and hide. Witnesses told police they could hear the women screaming, authorities said.
Police identified the women as Ceri Litterio, 46, and Holly Love Brown, 50.
"We believe it was just random," Moore said of the women's slayings. "They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Police said they believe Cranshaw then returned home, pausing along the way to shoot at a house near the church but not hitting anyone.
A 10-member SWAT team made two attempts to enter Cranshaw's house but retreated when he shot at them, Moore said.
Police finally entered the house about 6 a.m. after firing tear gas inside. Cranshaw was found in a bedroom with a gunshot wound to the head, Moore said. Police said they believe Cranshaw had shot himself up to an hour earlier.
The guns apparently used in the shootings -- a 9 mm semiautomatic pistol and a .38-caliber revolver -- were found in the house, along with a shotgun, rifle and ammunition, Moore said.
Grady Pior, who lives across from Cranshaw and next door to the church, said he and his wife had called police a couple of times about Cranshaw's disruptive behavior. He said Cranshaw would shout obscenities at them and fire a gun, but authorities never arrested him because he stayed within the bounds of his property.
Pior said he learned from church members that Cranshaw had left rambling, nonsensical notes on their cars and cursed and yelled at them as they left services. Pior said he had started carrying a gun when he mowed his yard in case of a confrontation with Cranshaw.
"I feel guilty about not being home to help somebody," Pior said. "He's the only person in my life that I've had a strange feeling about."
Moore said the shootings had shaken Sash, a community of 300 people about 120 miles north of Dallas, near the Oklahoma state line.
"It's a tragic situation," he said.
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