Police News March 07

Transcription

POLICE NEWS
VOLUME IV, NUMBER 3
GULFCOASTPOLICENEWS.COM
March 2007
The Body In The Barrel Where Is Shelley Sikes?
I
W
by Marie Beth Jones, Feature Writer
trying to identify the victim, Randy Rhyne,
Gulf Coast Police News
a sheriff’s investigator said recently. “A lot
hat began as a routine fish- of law enforcement was involved in the
ing trip on the San Bernard case.”
When Clute Police Department officers
River on Feb. 21, 1989,
turned into an experience Mr. and Mrs. heard that an unidentified woman’s body
Joe Crouch would never be able to forget. had been found, they contacted the sherThey were in their boat when Crouch iff’s investigators.
For the past three weeks they had been
noticed a 30-gallon plastic barrel floating
near the shore on the south side of FM looking for a missing Brazosport girl, 16522. Remembering that his father had year-old Michelle Webster, whose mother,
mentioned wanting a barrel, Crouch Terri Chandler, had reported her missing.
Mrs.
snagged
it
Chandler had
and pulled it
told authorionto the riverties that no
bank.
one had seen
Although the
Michelle since
barrel
was
she
was
sealed,
he
dropped off at
noticed that it
B r a z o s wo o d
had holes cut
High School by
into it, from
her stepfather,
which
an
James Robert
unpleasant
Chandler, on
smell emanatJames Robert Chandler James Robert Chandler
Jan. 31.
ed.
When
at time of arrest
today
Crouch
Mrs. Chandler had contacted school offiremoved the lid he saw a nude body
cials, who told her that Michelle, a sophoinside.
Quickly replacing the lid, he loaded his more student who had moved to the district from Odessa about a year earlier,
boat and went to call authorities.
Investigators at the scene left the con- failed to report for any of her classes that
tents of the barrel intact and transported day, and had not returned since then.
Michelle was also absent from her partit to the Harris County Medical Examiner’s
time job at Weiner’s Department Store in
office.
A story in The Facts on Feb. 22, 1989, Lake Jackson on Jan. 31, Mrs. Chandler
quoted Captain Gene Smith of the learned.
When police talked to the girl’s stepfaBrazoria County Sheriff’s Office as saying
that the body was believed to be that of a ther James Robert Chandler, he told them
white female. He added, however, that he had dropped her off at the school a bit
authorities could not be positive until the late that morning.
He explained that the family was in the
Medical Examiner’s Office had removed
the body from the barrel and conducted process of moving from Lake Jackson to
Clute, and Michelle had wanted to stay
an autopsy.
The preliminary report of this autopsy home and help with the move, but he had
showed that Michelle probably died from a insisted that she go to school.
Both Mrs. Chandler and police contactblow to the head, but that her body had
ed the girl’s friends, all of whom said they
been stabbed numerous times.
The newspaper story quotes then Chief had not seen her that day.
They always met first thing in the mornDeputy (now Brazoria County Sheriff)
Charles Wagner as stating that the body ing to talk, the friends said, then separat“was stuffed head first into the barrel, and ed to go to their various classes. That
investigators could only see the buttocks morning, however, Michelle did not join
them.
and a hand” without removing the body.
Mrs. Chandler had described Michelle’s
The visible hand had painted fingernails,
“leading investigators to believe the body clothing and personal effects to Clute
Police, and these descriptions matched
is that of a woman,” Wagner said.
“Once the body was removed, we began
continued on page 2 (Body Barrel)
Two Who Know Want Out of Prison … Cops, DA, Say No Way
Breck Porter/Gulf Coast Police News
n these days and times it is not
unusual to see news headlines
heralding, “Girl Gone Missing,” or
“Woman Abducted and Raped,” or “Girl,
Victim of Senseless Rape, Murder.” We
see these sorts of news reports fairly regularly, especially those of us who are
exposed to big city news like that from
nearby Houston or further north to Dallas.
good little girl, minding her own business
wasn’t safe on the streets like we all presumed. We thought everything was just
hunky doorie in our area. I think it was a
rude awakening to everyone,” said Wayne
Kessler, who along with Tommy Hansen,
were the lead investigators in the case.
Kessler today is a detective with the Santa
Fe, Texas Police Department and Hansen
a Lieutenant with the Galveston County
Sheriff’s Office, Criminal Investigation
Division and Commander of the Galveston
County Auto Crimes Taskforce. Both are
still very much involved in bringing the
Shelley Sikes case to a final conclusion
with the recovery of her remains.
The window was bashed out and blood ran
down the side of Shelley Sikes Ford Pinto.
Shelley Sikes at 4’-11” and 90 lbs, was no
match for two doped up criminals bent on
terrorizing her.
But in 1986 in Galveston County it was a
major news story and a story that shocked
everyone when a couple of low-life junkies
who had been wandering around
Galveston all day and lying out on the
beaches doing their drugs of choice,
decided to abduct, terrorize and dispose
of a 19-year old Texas City girl whose only
mistake in life was crossing paths with
these two bottom feeders whose only
means of support was mooching, pulling
cons, and digging around in the dark
crevices of the universe.
Shelly Kathleen Sikes was a beautiful 19year old young lady, a University of Texas
student helping pay her own way through
school by working as a night waitress at
Gaido’s Seafood Restaurant on the
Galveston seawall.
The pair of investigators from the
Galveston County Sheriff’s Office who
continue, to this day, to try to
locate her still missing body, tell
the story of her abduction and
disappearance this way.
“I think it took a lot people back. A
“She was a waitress at Gaido’s. She left
Gaido’s and was driving home to Texas
City. At some point, on 61st Street, she
got side by side with John King and Gerald
Zwarst,” said Hansen. “Based on what
they told us and what we later found out,
they were yelling at her, obscenities and
things, and at some point she had enough
of it and she flipped them off and they
started chasing her.”
“She knew the area pretty good,” continues Kessler, “because she went home
every night to Texas City. So as soon as
she came off the north end of the causeway, she took the very first exit. Zwarst,
who was driving the truck, missed the exit
so he drove off the freeway and down the
embankment to get to the feeder road. It
was wet, it had been raining, and Shelley
got off onto the shoulder and got a tire
continued on page 4 (Shelley)
ON THE SCENE with
POLICE NEWS
Breck Porter Editor/Publisher
editor@gcpolicenews.com
Writers
Anthony Jones — Marie Beth Jones
Jes Garza — Mark Timmers
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Graphics Artist
Editor/Art Director
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Mirror Publishers, Inc.
Printing
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The Police News is publishedmonthly on the first of the month
by Gulf Coast Police News LLC in
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All rights reserved.
Send tips, story ideas or comments
to:editor@gcpolicenews.com
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continued from page 1 (Body Barrel)
some of the items found in the barrel.
These included women’s garments and a
pair of men’s underwear.
In addition, the physical description she
had given “pretty much matched that of
the body,” Rhyne said, leading to the identification.
Captain Smith was quoted in a Facts
story on Feb. 23, 1989, as saying that the
girl “was positively identified by braces on
her teeth and jewelry she was wearing.”
She had been stabbed numerous times
before her nude body was dumped head
first into the barrel, he told the newspaper.
“This was a massive investigation,”
Rhyne said recently. “We took statements
from family members and friends,
attempting to locate any motive for her
death.
“A lot of forensic evidence was sent to
the FBI lab in Washington for DNA analysis. DNA was something that was still in its
very early stages for criminal analysis at
that time.”
Early in the case, investigators began to
suspect Chandler, Rhyne said.
“A search of the residence in Lake
Jackson, the family’s last-known address
before Michelle disappeared,” indicated
human blood in areas where it shouldn’t
have been,” he said.
“We found blood splatter on baseboards
and walls, and efforts to clean it up. All of
this was sent to the FBI lab in an effort to
show that this massive amount of blood
belonged to the missing girl.”
Interviews with family and friends also
made it apparent that “there absolutely
was not a good relationship” between
Michelle and her stepfather, Rhyne said a
few days ago.
Michelle was the eldest child and the
only girl among Terri Chandler’s three children.
“There appeared to have been a lot of
animosity” between her and James
Robert Chandler, Rhyne added. “There
was a strange family relationship between
them. He was overly protective of her for
some reason, but it was not a hundred
percent clear as to the exact reason why.”
Rhyne said that some of Chandler’s
statements to police “didn’t jibe” with
those from other people, leading officers
to wonder why he was lying.
“All her friends agreed that she just didn’t show up on the morning he claimed to
have dropped her at school, and she
always met with her friends every morning, without fail.”
Despite the blood found in the house,
authorities were not able to prove that it
was Michelle’s blood, Rhyne said.
“By the time the girl’s body was found in
the water inside the barrel, they couldn’t
get enough blood for a DNA test to match
with that found in the house,” he
explained.
“The barrel came from their house,
where it had been used as a trash barrel.
Little holes had been cut in the barrel, and
at the house we found some of the pieces
that had been cut out of it. That provided
more evidence that she was killed there.”
It took a combination of “a lot of very
small circumstantial things that came
together” to assure officers and prosecutors that the case was ready for a jury, he
said.
“We talked to massive numbers of people,” Rhyne added, and not all of them
were happy about it.
Some families in Lake Jackson were
upset because criminal investigators were
talking to their high school age children,
both at school and elsewhere.
“We would even catch them on the road
and talk to them,” he remembered. “But
some other parents were glad to see the
effort being put forth to find the murderer.”
A few days after Michelle’s body was
found, The Facts ran a front page story
headlined, “Students mourn lost classmate – Brazoswood holds special counseling.”
Written by Connie Kenjura, the story
begins, “The question, ‘Why her?’ echoed
from grief-stricken students as they
somberly mingled in the front corridor of
Brazoswood High School Thursday
searching their minds for some logical reason for the brutal murder of sophomore
classmate Michelle Angela Webster.”
The story quoted Efrain G. Zumga, a
counselor, as saying the counselors, psychiatrists and other school faculty “are trying to convey to the affected students
through special counseling it is okay to
show true feelings and reactions.”
J.B. Berryhill, Brazosport ISD director of
personnel services, was quoted as saying
that if the students stopped the grieving
process without going through each
phase, “then they’re in trouble. Since they
develop at different paces, we need to
keep a close eye on them.”
And while school officials dealt with the
grief among students, law enforcement
officers from all the agencies involved continued their efforts “to find a good motive
and a good suspect,” Rhyne said.
The background information they were
obtaining about the family proved essential to turning the investigators’ attention
in the right direction, he added.
They found that Terri Chandler had
moved from Odessa when she was hired
for a new job in Brazoria County. She
came here alone to start work and get a
couple of paychecks so she could get a
place for the whole family to stay.
Once she did, Chandler and the three
children moved to Brazosport.
Asked about the relationship between
Michelle’s mother and stepfather after her
body was found, Rhyne said that even
before that time, “It appeared that there
INDEX
The Body In The Barrel
Where Is Shelley Sikes?
Crossword Puzzle
Fugitives
The Mail Box
Editorial – Phone Calls I Love To Hate
Hal’s Satellite TV
10611 FM-1764
Santa Fe
(409) 927-2570
Page 2 - Gulf Coast Police News
Pages 1, 2, 10 & 13
Pages 1, 4, 20 & 24
Page 3
Pages 6&7
Pages 8 & 9
Page 12
Sheriff’s Marine Division Search, Rescue, Crime Fighting
Pages 14, 18 & 19
Big Bow – Wow in Angleton
Pages 16 & 17
To Profile or Not to Profile
pages 25 & 28
Schedule Executions
Pages 22 & 23
Sex Offenders
Pages 26 & 27
Innocence Project to Review DNA for 354 Inmates
Page 31
Across
1. Pitcher’s miscue
5, “Lemon Tree” singer Lopez
10. Dirtbags
14. Ready for business
15. Pine exudation
16. Twistable snack
17. Marked by self-indulgence
19. Tijuana’s locale, for short
20. Means of escape
21. Place to get oysters or clams
23. Like some grins
24. Have a bug
25. Marathoner’s rate
26. Arborist’s skill
31. Satellite’s job, briefly
34. Part of an interstate
35. Old French coin
36. Cheese in a ball
37. Sunday assents
39. Gives a boost to
40. Cackleberry
41. Light bulb, in comics
42. Map close-up
43. Doctors sometimes engagein it
47. “The doctor __”
48. Offbeat
49. “That’s all __ wrote”
52. Rub elbows
55. Free from imperfections
57. Bad way to run
58. Insect domestication
60. Greedy one’s cry
61. Overthrow, maybe
62. __ Nicole Smith
63. Critic’s bestowal
64. Bit attachments
65. Oenophile’s concern
Down
1. Box office biggies
2. Boston Marathon month
3. Smelling a rat
4. “Trick” joint
5. Mrs. Ed Norton
6. Attack verbally
7. “__ any wonder?”
8. Diarist Anais
9. Fixes indelibly
10. Sign of disuse
11. Native Saudi
12. “It was __ vu all over again”
13. Eagles do it
18. Soak up
22. Wile E. Coyote’s supplier
25. Think ahead
26. Rock’s Petty
27. Traction aid
28. Horned goddess
29. Intersection point
30. Sudden burst
31. Cause of grounding
32. Upper hand
33. Tamer’s workplace
37. Off-the-cuff comic, e.g.
38. Chow __
39. Director Lee
41. __ facto
42. The movie “Wordplay” is one
44. Tricky pitch
45. Accepted, as a job
46. Thumb twiddlers
49. Perform superbly
50. Reddish brown dye
51. Award named for Poe
52. Some Easter dinners
53. Leave off
54. __ fide
55. Gilpin of “Frasier”
56. Fix, in a way
59. Poetic preposition
Solution on page 24
Gulf Coast Police News - Page 3
continued from page 1 (Shelley)
stuck in the mud.
“King got out of the truck and went down
there and bashed the driver’s door window
out with his bare hands. It cut his hand all
to pieces. There was blood all inside the
car. He had apparently beat Shelley
before dragging her out on the ground
through the broken window of her car. As
it turned out King and Shelley had the
same blood types, making it impossible at
that time, to determine exactly whose it
was,” said Kessler.
Initially Shelley’s car was found on the
side of the feeder road by her boyfriend
Mark Spurgeon and his father Jim after
they received a call from her parents
inquiring if they had heard from her.
Having not heard from her they went looking for her, back tracking the route that
she would normally drive going home.
They found her car off in the mud on the
roadside. Seeing the broken window and
the blood inside they car, they called
Sheriff’s deputies to the scene.
The arriving deputies were uneasy about
what they found, according to Kessler and
Hansen, but without witnesses or evidence
that there had been a crime committed,
they assumed that Sikes had been in an
accident and would soon show up either in
a hospital or at home. Even the driver
from Tony & Bros. Wrecker Service that
towed the car, felt that something would
probably develop involving Sikes car, so he
stored it inside the shop rather than in the
outside storage in the rain.
A couple of days later, after Shelley Sikes
had not been heard from, the investigators
and the girl’s family, sought help from the
media appealing for information as to her
whereabouts. The media blitz turned up
several witnesses who had driven by and
noticed the fray taking place on the side of
the road.
One man told the pair of detectives that
he saw a man beating a woman beside a
pickup truck at the very spot where Shelley
Sikes car became stuck in the mud and he
stopped to intervene. “Hey man, let that
girl go,” the passerby challenged the
offender. The man, who Hansen and
Kessler later determined was John King,
replied back, “Go mind your own business,
this is a family matter,” and he reached
around to his back as if to draw a pistol.
At that, the Good Samaritan withdrew
back to his car and drove away.
“At first we thought we were only after
one abductor because Zwarst had stayed
in the truck and hunkered down and
nobody could see him,” explained Kessler.
King dragged the girl into the pickup truck
and the three left, leaving Sikes car behind
on the muddy roadside.
Of course, at this point, no one knew
who John King or Gerald Zwarst were.
Their identities would not be learned until
more than a year later when King, hold up
in a flea bag El Paso motel, made a suicide attempt. But before he snuffed out
his worthless life, he felt compelled to confess his dirty deed back in Galveston, so
he called El Paso police and told them the
story of how he had kidnapped Shelly
Sikes. He also told them that he and
Gerald Zwarst had buried the girl’s body.
He later reneged on an offer to tell police
where the body was buried, and for the
past 20-years, even with offers of immunity from further prosecution, has refused to
tell where her body was disposed off.
As investigators continued to hear from
people passing the roadside ruckus that
Memorial Day weekend night, there was
some confusion about the color of the
truck. The original witness told them it
was white over blue, so that’s the way the
description was put out to area law
enforcement officer’s and to the public via
the media, and that, in fact, is what it
turned out to be.
With the media hammering away on the
case, Gerald Zwarst got cold feet. He took
the truck to the company where he had it
financed and surrendered it, explaining
that he could no longer make the payments. According to Kessler, “He was not
behind on his payments, he surrendered
that truck for no reason and when we contacted the finance company, they were
curious as to why he did that.”
According to Investigator Hansen, with
help from Texas Ranger Joe Haralson, the
ownership of the truck was tracked to East
Texas then to South Carolina. State police
in South Carolina agreed to process the
truck for evidence for the Texas investigators and recovered a hair belonging to
Shelley Sikes in the heater vent.
Remember now, this was over a year after
the abduction. Now there was evidence
that Shelley Sikes had, at one time, been
inside Gerald Zwarst’s pickup truck.
In an effort to recovered scientific evidence from the Sikes car, identification
division experts from the Sheriff’s Office
went over and through the vehicle “With a
fine tooth comb.” Kessler personally took
the driver’s side door to the DPS Crime
Lab in Austin for laser fingerprint processing, which at the time was the latest technology available. That turned up one fingerprint of a Sikes family member. There
was no other substantial evidence gleaned
from Shelley’s Ford Pinto.
A year later, during the next Memorial
Day Weekend, the investigator’s again
sought the help of the media for another
widespread campaign. “We were hoping
that maybe some of the same people who
were in the area on the night of the abduction would be back this year. Maybe someone, some family in Houston or somewhere, that’s comes to the island on holiday’s, would be coming back again this
year. Maybe they saw something last year
but just hadn’t heard about it because they
had not been within reach of our media,”
the officer’s speculated.
It worked. Over 300 leads came in.
Investigators were deluged with tips. The
FBI joined the investigation and provided a
computer program which helped categorize and narrow down the leads. The computer developed about 125 leads and 200
suspect vehicles. As soon as the leads
would come in, Kessler and Hansen, now
joined by FBI Agent Chuck Harvell would
evaluate the leads and put them into different classifications.
“We tried to track down every possible
vehicle and suspect. We had several incidents happen where we thought that we
had the individual, but it turned out not to
be him,” said Kessler. On some occasions
the investigators were joined by as many
at 30 FBI agents. At all times there were
one or two agents working along side the
local deputies. Even when agent Harvell
was transferred off the case, the FBI
assigned another agent, Flo Logan to take
over his spot.
Hansen and Kessler believe that the
heavy media blitz during the following
Memorial Day weekend is what drove John
King to flee the Galveston County area and
take refuge in El Paso. King had been stationed at Fort Bliss in El Paso while in the
Army. “He probably figured that he could
live there cheap, maybe going back and
forth across the border, or maybe he
planned to live in Juarez, Mexico, just
across the border,” said Kessler. “He didn’t have a lot of money, didn’t have a job
and didn’t have a car. We think he rode a
bus to El Paso.”
Soon after King made his confession to
El Paso Police, Hansen, Kessler and Flo
Logan flew to the border city and questioned him about the Sikes case. King did
not make a full confession in El Paso and
he signed no statement, but he did volunteer to return to Galveston with the officer’s and help conclude the investigation.
Once the officer’s returned with him to
Galveston, he implicated Zwarst, and that
was when officer’s found out for sure
about the involvement of a second person
and that the vehicle used in the abduction
had indeed belonged to Gerald Zwarst.
“Once we got a good confession from
him, we put a wire on him and sent him to
talk with Zwarst,” said Kessler. Zwarst
blew him off and immediately started
packing to leave town. That’s when we
made contact with him and asked him to
come in voluntarily, which he did.
“After about a two and a half hour interview, he finally made some small admissions and before the interview was over he
made a full confession.
“Once we had their confessions and had
them in custody, it was then up to us to
prove everything and follow up on all the
leads they had provided. The most important thing and our utmost concern for the
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The people I have interviewed that
are members or associates of the
Game Fowl Association and those individuals I have seized roosters from
have looked me in the eye and repeated the same rhetoric; “Cockfighting
represents a family and cultural tradition.” “It is our heritage and we have a
God-given right to fight our roosters.”
“These roosters are born to fight, they
love to fight, and fighting comes naturally for these roosters”. “You are taking away cultural tradition by making
cockfighting illegal and this, to us, is
discrimination.”
Cockfighting is illegal in every state
except Louisiana and New Mexico. In
Texas, cockfighting is a State Jail
Felony, punishable, if convicted, by
180 days to two years in jail, and/or a
$10,000 fine.
My experience indicates that you can
not generalize ethnic groups who fight
roosters, but due to the increase in
immigration from Mexico, Philippines,
and
Asian
countries,
the
Houston/Harris County area has seen
a dramatic increase in cockfighting
because of the immigration of individuals who come from countries where
cockfighting is legal, and considered a
tradition,
and
a
heritage.
Cockfighters compare themselves to
people who are involved in dog racing,
horse racing, rodeos, and other legal
animal sports.
I have a simple answer and an explanation to why cockfighting is wrong.
People in all states, with the exception
of two, say that people who fight roosters are engaging in a barbaric, outdat-
ed, and self-serving illegal act. Why?
What other animal sport do you physically alter the animal’s natural born
state, inject illegal drugs, strap on
razor blades, and then discard the
injured and dying animals in garbage
cans or burn piles because they could
not fight anymore and in the same
breath say “we love our animals”?
Cock fighters do not do this for the
love of their roosters; they do it for the
love of making easy money at the cost
of a rooster’s life by betting on the
fights and raising and selling the roosters.
“Born to fight”, “love to fight” and
“fighting to the death” does not come
natural to roosters. Growing up in a
rural farming community I have never
seen roosters go to the middle of the
barnyard, strap on some blades, juice
up, and fight each other to the death.
Roosters will posture themselves with
each other to gain dominance and
then only fight if this posturing does
not work, to gain their territory. This
posturing is natural to the birds and
death is rare. Many animals kill for
their food source, which is the circle of
life and natural animal survival
instincts. This does not include bloody
and cruel act of cockfighting.
The Houston Humane Society and
the deputies assigned to the
R.A.I.D.E.R. program (Rescuing
Animals In Danger Education
Resources) will continue to combat
cockfighting and its related criminal
activity consisting of gambling,
weapons, illegal narcotic activity, environmental crimes, and ask for your
help to do this. If you suspect cockfighting, or other acts of animal cruelty, please contact me at www.houstonhumane.org and click on animal cruelty or call your local law enforcement
agency and make them get involved.
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or your local Crime Stoppers organization.
Barnes, Timothy
W/M DOB: 10/17/88 5’09” 145 lbs
brn/brn
LKA: 2224 N. Downing Angleton
Wrrnt # D-043167
Forgery Financial Instrument
Esquivel, Reynaldo Ramon Martinez,
W/M, DOB: 06/08/1987, 5’-1”,
140 lbs, blk/bro
1100 Fox Meadow Dr. # 226, Alvin,
Tx.
MRP/Agg. Sexual Assault,
Wrt # 49146
Fleming, Antwyne Jarmain
B/M DOB: 05/12/72 5’07” 225 lbs
blk/brn
LKA: 2401 S. Johnson APT 107 Alvin
Wrrnt # CJ07-0066
Burglary of Habitation
Garcia, Jose Roberto
W/M DOB: 01/29/1983 5’09”
159 lbs brn/brn
LKA: 1411 W. Adoue #2 Alvin TX
Wrrnt # D-043050
Burglary of a Habitation
Ross, Clandra Danielle
AKA: Allen, Calandra
B/F DOB: 2-28-1979, bro/bro
LKA: 1400 Henderson Rd. #22,
Angleton, Tx.
Charge: Man/Del C/S,
Wrt # D-042825
SANCHEZ, CASEY BO
W/M DOB:9-17-1987 5’11” 180 lbs
BRN/BRN
LKA: 2001 N. BRAZOSPORT BLVD #
11 FREEPORT TX
CHARGE: WRRNT # 52537
SUR TO SURR/ BURGLARY OF A
HABITATION
Schneider, Kimberly Sue
W/F DOB: 03-06-1963 5’03” 165 lbs
red/blu
LKA: 2500 Fairway Dr. # 422 Alvin, TX
Charge: Wrrnt # 52414
Bond/Forf – Credit Card Abuse
Solis, Juan Gabriel
W/M DOB: 5-8-1983 5’-8” 265 lbs
blk/bro
LKA: 1727 Oleander Rosharon, Tx.
Charge: Wrt # D-042908
warrant - Agg. Robbery
Walker, Brian Jeffrey
W/M DOB: 10/05/1980 6’01” 165 lbs
blnd/blu
LKA: 307 20th ST. San Leon TX
Wrrnt # 43956 - Alias Capias - MTRP/
Poss Controlled Substance
Perry, Paul Dwight
W/M DOB: 12/28/1942, 6’-2”, 180 lbs,
bro/grey
LKA: 324 Pecan St., Sweeny, Texas
Poss of Child Pornography
Wrt # H030820
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Harris Co...............(281) 280-8042
Montgomery Co....(281) 446-6355
Clear Lake............(281) 488-6355
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If you have information on any of these wanted fugitives call the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office (409) 766-2322
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ALEXANDER, ROBERT JOHN
W M 02/18/1979 6’01” 130lbs
BRO hair BRO eyes
LKA: LEAGUE CITY BURG HABITATION
MTRP BOND 20,000
DUFF, KEVIN DEAN
W M 07/09/1978 6’01” 140lbs
BLN hair BRO eyes
TAT LEFT ARM
HOMELESS TEXAS CITY
POSS MARIJUANA
B/F BOND 2,500
BENSON, CHRISTOPHER MORGAN
W M 02/21/1986 5’07” 150lbs
BLN hair HAZ eyes
TAT UR ARM, TAT NECK, TAT
STOMACH, TAT CHEST
LKA: GALVESTON
ASSAULT BODILY INJURY FAMILY
VIOLENCE
MTRP BOND DENIED
DURATE, ALEXANDRO
W M 06/09/1979 6’01” 190 lbs
BLK hair, BRO eyes
TAT R SHOULDER
LKA: DICKINSON
DELIVERY CONT SUBSTANCE
MTRP BOND DENIED
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RICHARDS, JAY WILLIAM
W M 02/20/1986 5’08” 160 lbs
BLK hair, BRO eyes
TAT BOTH LEGS, TAT BOTH HANDS
TAT RIGHT ARM, TAT CENTER OF
BACK, TAT UPPER LEFT CHEST,
TAT LOWER STOMACH
LKA: SAN LEON BURG BUILDING
MTRP BOND 40,000
TERRELL, DALTHA RAY
B/M, 08/14/1966, 5’07”,
175 lbs, BLK hair, BRO eyes
TAT BOTH ARMS, SC NECK
SC CHIN, SC L KNEE, SC R
EYE
LKA: TEXAS CITY
INDICTMENT, DELIVERY
CONTROLED SUBSTANCE
PORTER, DAMON DEWAYNE
AKA DARNELL, ALLEN
B M 06/02/1974 5’11” 225 lbs
BLK hair, HAZ eyes
SC R HAND, SC R SHOULDER,
TAT UR ARM, SC L EYE, TAT
CHEST, SC BACK
LKA: GALVESTON
ASSAULT BODILY INJURY, FAMILY VIOLENCE INDICTMENT
BOND 20,000
Insured & Licensed •TACLB024601E
SOILEAU, FLOYD
W/M 07/25/1951, 5’08”, 50 lbs,
GRY hair, GRN eyes
TAT BOTH HAND, STAT BOTH LEGS
LKA: GALVESTON / PASADENA
INTOXICATED – ASSAULT
REVOKE PAROLE
WINSTON,SHAUNN KEITH
B/M, 08/27/1978, 5’11”, 350 lbs
BLK hair, BRO eyes
TAT UPPER LEFT ARM
LKA: WEST TEXAS CITY
MTRP POSS MARIJUANA
✃
MARTINEZ, LORENZO GARZA
W M 03/07/1959 5’09” 220 lbs
BLK hair, BRO eyes
TAT BOTH HANDS, TAT BOTH
ARMS
LKA: SAN LEON
FAIL TO STOP AND RENDER AID
WARR BOND 10,000
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Dear Editor;
Thank you for the article on the death of
the Needville ISD Chief of Police Ernie
Mendoza. He is a loss to the community
of Needville and the school system.
He was always around and the area kids
and parents all knew that if they had a
problem they could go to him. He exemplified neighborhood oriented policing.
When I last spoke to him he was talking
about retiring in the next year or so.
Ernie was going home from a school
function when a driver crossed the highway and hit him head on. That man has
four prior DWI convicions. The suspect
fled the scene on foot but was capured
nearby.
Brian Foster
Houston
Dear Editor;
I really enjoyed reading the story of the
Lake Jackson hi-jacking.
I was in high school and remember the
people sitting by the fence in their lawn
chairs watching the action.
Oh and my then ‘hero’ Jessica Savitch
being hauled off to jail.
I also worked under Marie Beth Jones at
the Angleton Times as a high school
reporter a year later.
I’ll be saving this edition for my son to
read in the future.
Karen Peterson
Friendswood
Dear Editor;
I really enjoy reading The Police News.
I especially enjoyed the airplane hijacking
story.
I was stationed in Houston with the
Texas Rangrs then and we made the scene
but did not take an active part.
It brought back a lot of memories of
Gladney.
He loved to go to Houston and get with
some of the Homicide guys and party.
Jerry T. Clements
Fort Bend County
Following our story that League City,
Webster and Houston will be having a warrant sweep beginning March 3rd, a reader
wrote:
Dear Editor;
I have a real problem with the news
being released that a roundup will occur
beginning in about a month.
Let’s give the criminals a month to prepare to disappear for about a week. I
would if I knew they were coming after me.
continued on next page (Letters)
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The Galveston Housing Authority is accepting applications for the Public Housing Program, Applications can
be picked up at our main office located at 4700
Broadway, or printed on-line by visiting our Web site at
www.Galvestonhousingauthority.org
Public Housing offers many amenities for qualified
applicants such as computer learning centers, on site
laundry facilities, and Flat rents for qualified families.
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6409 Memorial Drive — Texas City, TX 77591
(409) 935-5926
continued from previous page (Letters)
Then I can return and resume business as
usual as I suspect many will.
And we are supposed to be fighting
crime? We give them every opportunity
to get off, get out on bail and serve the
lightest possible sentences once arrested. Plus we even warn them we are coming after them. Actually, if they get
caught they belong in the Stupid Crooks
books after so much warning.
Ray Marie Bennett
To The Editor:
Just stopping in to let our community
know that one of our Deputy Sheriff’s is
not only here to Protect and Serve.
You see, May 13, 2006, as I was traveling down Hwy 517 at midnight, my car
caught fire and my best friend and I
were momentarily trapped in the vehicle.
On February 3, 2007, a benefit was
held for a member of the F.O.E., and a
1991 GEO Traker was raffled off. After
buying 5 tickets and not winning, I had
the surprise of my life. The ticket drawn
was one that was held by Deputy Sheriff
Avery Aanderud. One of the Auxiliary
Ladies notified him immediately and he
told her to donate the car to someone
who really needed it.
Well, because of Deputy Aanderud, I
am the one who is now driving the 1991
GEO Traker. So, Deputy Aanderud, I
thank you and God bless you for not only
protecting our community but also for
the generous gift.
Thank You
Faye Barras
Bacliff, Texas
Such small businesses as Grocery
stores and Gas stations along with
some Automatic Car Washes have
become breeding grounds for such Illicit
activity! Whether it be in Galveston,
Dickinson, La Marque, etc., one sees
such activity on a daily basis.
Police should enforce the loitering laws
of their cities. County Sheriffs for the
county! I feel that certain cities should
have police sub-stations within neighborhoods, such as, Galveston and
Texas City, having a sub-station in what
is commonly known as West Texas City.
Dear Editor;
Can you tell me what constitutes an
emergency vehicle for purposes of the
“move-over” law? In the past, it seemed
only police and fire vehicles and ambulances used flashing lights, so it was
pretty easy to determine. Now TxDOT
maintenance trucks, wreckers, etc. use
them. Do we have to move over or slow
down for them, too?
P. Sutton, Kerrvile
Editors Reply;
Not legally, but it’d be nice if you did.
No one wants to put you out or anything,
but if I were a wrecker driver trying to
work on the side of the highway, I’d
appreciate it if you could brake a bit or
move into the next lane. Over the years,
I have grown very attached to my legs
and arms and head, you know.
But legally, the vehicles for which you
have to move into the next lane or slow
to 20 mph under the speed limit are
emergency vehicles: ambulances, police
cars, firetrucks. That’s according to
Texas Transportation Code 545.157,
otherwise known as the “move-over
law.”
This law also pertains to Texas police
officers who’ve pulled someone over.
Unfortunately for the police, the law is
often difficult to enforce, since most
cops on traffic duty ride solo and they
can’t stop what they are doing to chase
you down for not moving over.
We did hear about one police department that set up a simulated traffic stop
with motorcycle officers stationed down
the road to stop drivers who failed to
move over at the set-up. There were so
many violators the motor guys couldn’t
keep up.
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Dear Editor,
I just would like to see Galveston
County alone with all county cities
step up their attacks on illegal drugs &
possible gang activity. I’d like to see
more enforcement of loitering laws
around businesses by people that
attempt to sell illegal drugs, crack, prostitution, etc., and beg motorist for spare
change, and even are consuming alcohol beverages on same!
It’s called community policing! It helps
to take a bite out of criminal activity!
And it allows officers the ability to communicate more with local citizens.
And lastly, I am for new city and county ordinances against Pit Bulls! I personally feel that such dogs should have
a license, and the owner should be identified, etc., on record with animal control, etc. and that the dogs should have
to be behind a fenced yard!
Thanks and keep up the good work.
Kenneth R. Douglas
Dickinson, Texas
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was an understanding between them that
Terri Chandler would take the house into
which they were moving, and she and her
husband would then go their separate
ways,” Rhyne said recently.
“When Michelle came up missing,
though, Chandler hung around,” he
added.
In questioning Michelle’s younger brothers, investigators learned that while playing in their Odessa residence, they had
accidentally found some places that had
holes, such as peepholes, drilled in them.
They indicated that these holes could
have been used by, “someone peeking
into the bathroom from the attic, and into
Michelle’s bedroom from the hallway” of
that house.
To check this out, sheriff’s investigators
went to Odessa, located the house, and
found evidence that an attempt had been
made to cover up holes in the hall and the
attic.
“Mainly, we were still looking to get all
the statements, and we were talking to
anyone who could give us more information while we waited for evidence from the
FBI lab,” Rhyne said.
“DNA was new as a criminal tool then.
The FBI conducted DNA analysis free,
while private laboratories charged as much
as $300 per sample, so if you had fifty
pieces of evidence, you could break the
law enforcement budget pretty quickly.”
In addition, the process was much slower than it is today.
Although it required patience that no one
involved with the case really wanted to
practice, investigators and representatives
of the district attorney’s office “waited till
we had it all,” Rhyne said.
Dale Summa, was the assistant district
attorney who had been assigned to evaluate evidence and prosecute the case.
Summa “talked to my partner at the
sheriff’s office and to other investigators
to make sure he had everything he needed before he took the case to the Grand
Jury, Rhyne said.
Eventually he reached that point, and
the Brazoria County Grand Jury handed
E. R. Johnson Family Mortuary
down a sealed indictment accusing James
Robert Chandler of the murder of Michelle
Webster.
The indictment was sealed so that
Chandler would not have an opportunity to
flee or go into hiding.
The indictment was filed Feb. 5, 1992,
two years and eleven months after Joe
Crouch found the floating barrel containing the body of Michelle Webster.
The autopsy indicated that she died
“about the time she was reported missing
by her mother,” according to a story in
The Facts.
District Court minutes for the case show
entries that began with the filing of the
indictment on Feb. 5, 1992, and continued through a series of motions and the
trial, concluding on Dec. 14 of that year.
Sometime between 1989 and 1992,
Michelle’s mother and stepfather apparently separated, and he moved to
Midland.
Indictment in hand, Sheriff’s office investigators made the 11-hour trip there to
arrest him as he left his apartment at
about 8 a.m., and brought him back to the
jail in Angleton. Court minutes show that
his bond was set on Feb. 5 at $200,000.
He was apparently unable to make bond,
and on Feb. 28, Chandler’s defense team,
L.H. (Stu) Stewart and Dennis V. Yates of
Houston, filed an application for a writ of
habeas corpus, for which a hearing was
set on March 6, 1992. A write of habeas
corpus is an effort to obtain a court
ordered release, usually claiming that the
arrestee is being held illegally or without
having been convicted.
At that time the writ was denied, the
defendant was arraigned and pled not
guilty. A pre-trial hearing was set for 10
a.m. May 29, 1992.
Chandler’s defense attorneys filed a written notice of appeal concerning denial of
the writ of habeas corpus, and on March
20 the appeal was assigned to the 14th
Court of Appeals, with a transcript of the
case mailed there three days later.
The pre-trial hearing was reset several
times, various motions were heard and
documents entered. During all this legal
skirmishing, District Judge Ogden Bass
ordered a two-page evidentiary document
sealed, and various other motions were
presented, including one on Nov. 6, 1992,
asking that the indictment be dismissed.
“Quality, Distinctive, Professional Service”
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Owner/Funeral Director
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Galveston, Tx.77550-6626
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about air conditioning ducting? Do
you walk into a restaurant and stare
at the ceiling when walking to your
table because they have exposed
ducting? Do you wonder which
way the air is flowing or how fast it
is moving? Only air conditioning
contractors think of these mundane
concepts.
Ducts are “air pipes” that carry
warm or cool air to each room of
your house. Warming or cooling
these rooms to about 75 degrees
makes us comfortable.
We all
know that air comes out of the
vents but not everyone knows
where the air comes from. Some
where in the house or attic is a furnace or air handler that moves air
through the ducting. Most often
this room air is pulled through a filtered grille and up to the furnace.
Air passes through the furnace
picking up heat (in the heating
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cooling cycle) and is pushed into
the supply air ducting. The supply
air ducts carry air to each room of
the house for our comfort.
There are two areas of concern
with ducting: (1.) The first is leaks
in the “Supply Air” ducts. In the
past ducting was not sealed with a
latex sealer because it was not
required by the building codes.
The contractors sealed the duct
joints with a tape. Research found
this tape “Out Gassed” or lost its
adhesive ability after a hot summer
and peeled away from the ducting,
which permitted your cool air to
leak into the attic or under the
house. In either event, the cool air
was escaping outside of the living
area. (2.) The second problem is
duct leakage in the “Return Air”
ducting. Return air ducting brings
the “room air” up to the furnace
and is normally in the attic or under
the house. In either case, leaky
ducting will pull the hot air from
the attic and try to cool it before
sending it to the rooms. Do you
have any idea how hot an attic is
here in Galveston during the summer? An attic will reach 120 to 160
degrees F. and if a small amount of
this hot air is mixed with the room
air, it will greatly increase the room
temperature of the house. In some
cases attic heat will over power the
ability of the evaporator to cool the
house. An A/C system will normally reduce the temperature of the
returning air by 18 degrees. If the
room air is 75 degrees and the attic
air is 140 degrees and there is a
40% return air leak, air entering the
rooms at the vents would be 83
degrees providing the equipment is
working at its best. It is obvious
this house would not be able to
maintain 75 degrees.
Talk to your A/C contractor about
what measures he takes to insure
your duct work is tight and not
leaking. If you have any questions
about what the building codes
require of the A/C contractor in
Galveston, call Berry Smith, 409797-3623. Berry is the City of
Galveston’s Certified Energy Code
Inspector and is a valuable
resource in project planning to prevent code violations from occurring. Berry Smith sees work done
by all of the A/C contractors performing work on Galveston Island
and can tell you how the work
should be done and what the common mistakes are. Mr. Smith’s job
requirements and personal goals
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all A/C & Heating work is done
correctly and not life threatening.
The next time your A/C contractor tells you that your ducting is old
and leaking and it should be
replaced, he is not just trying to
make a sale, he is trying to save
you money in energy costs. Duct
systems can be tested to determine
the percentage of leakage before it
is replaced by a method known in
the A/C industry as “Duct
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Patrick Clayton
Clayton Air
409-765-7011
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Phone Calls I Love To Hate
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Chandara & Eric are not responsible for any COP jokes told in this
donut house.
The local sheriff was looking for a deputy, so Gomer – who
was not exactly the sharpest nail in the bucket went in to try
out for the job.
”Okay,” the sheriff drawled, “Gomer, what is 1 and 1?”
”11” he replied.The sheriff thought to himself, “That’s not
what I meant, but he’s right.”
”What two days of the week start with the letter ‘T’?”
”Today and tomorrow.”He was again surprised that Gomer
supplied a correct answer that he had never thought of himself.
”Now Gomer, listen carefully: Who killed Abraham
Lincoln?”
Gomer looked a little surprised himself, then thought really hard for a minute and finally admitted, “I don’t know.”
”Well, why don’t you go home and work on that one for a
while?”
So, Gomer wandered over to the pool hall where his pals
were waiting to hear the results of the interview. Gomer was
exultant.”It went great! First day on the job and I’m already
working on a murder case!”
In Hot Pursuit
Two girlfriends were speeding down the highway at well
over a 100 miles per hour.
”Hey,” asked the brunette at the wheel, “see any cops following us?”
The blonde turned around for a long look. “As a matter of
fact, I do.”
”Oh, NOOOO!” yelled the brunette. “Are his flashers on?”
The
blonde
turned
around
again.
“Yup...nope...yup...nope...yup...”
on’t you just
love
being
interrupted by a
phone call from
someone you don’t
even know who wants
something from you,
especially your money?
I thought that I
Breck Porter
was safe from
these attacks when I signed onto the Texas
Do Not Call Registry. Unfortunately there
are exceptions for certain groups such as
non-profit organizations, political pollsters
and pre-recorded ads. At the rate my
phone rings you’d think my number was
written on the bathroom walls of these
organizations.
Two so called non-profit organizations
called me twice on the same day within
five minutes of each other. The first one
was something for the Texas State troopers and their families and whatever else
the guy threw into the pitch. He even
brought up the recent deaths and injuries
suffered by troopers in the last year. It’s
sickening how the cretin on the other end
of the phone tries to guilt their victims into
giving them money. They always talk like
they’re in law enforcement and that the
money is going to go directly to the organization involved. My usual answer is mail
me the information and I’ll make the decision when I get it.
This wasn’t good enough for the jerk on
the other end of the phone. He responded with his next prewritten question that
went something like, ‘how much can we
count on you to give to the fine men and
women of the Texas State Troopers?’ I
changed my tone with his blatant attempt
to bully me and asked what percentage of
the money collected would be given to the
troopers. This is where the truth showed
through and he uttered something nasty
and hung up on me. The truth about these
organizations is sickening. Most of them
D
Buying or Selling
Contact Bill
keep about eighty percent of
the money for their “administrative” cost.
The next call that day was for aid to
homeless veterans. This time I didn’t let
the guy read the next line from his script,
I just asked him how much money goes in
the pockets of the homeless veterans and
who decides which homeless veterans get
the money. He babbled and stuttered and
hung up on me too.
Private organizations claiming to be with
the Texas Department of Public Safety
have been calling Texas residents for
years, claiming to be raising funds to help
the families of a Texas State Trooper
recently killed in the line of duty. DPS
trooper Jean Dark said, “The DPS will
never call you at your home or business to
solicit cash donations.”
“Texas residents should know that the
DPS never solicits financial contributions
from private citizens. The agency is funded from your tax dollars,” she said.
Trooper Dark added that some groups
include in their names the terms “Texas
Rangers,” “State Troopers,” “Texas
Highway Patrol,” or “Department of Public
Safety.” While some officers may be
members of some of these associations
on their own time, these organizations are
not affiliated with the DPS.
So, the next time one of these slick talking con-men or women call you, tell them
that you will first call the Texas Attorney
General’s Consumer Protection Hotline to
verify their legitimacy and for them to call
you back later. Ten to one odd’s you won’t
hear back from them.
Oh, one of the things that seems to
impress people being called by these solicitor’s is the offer of a windshield sticker for
you car. “It never hurts to let our officer’s
know that we support them by having that
sticker on our car,” they will tell you. All
that sticker actually does is show everyone
that you got screwed out of your money.
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calling for the court to sentence Chandler
Also on Nov. 6, the defense presented a based on a pre-sentence investigation and
“motion to suppress,” a legal maneuver the evidence.
usually used to prevent articles of eviIn this agreement, he said, the state had
dence or confessions from being made waived the finding of a deadly weapon.
available to the jury. Lawyers for both the
Chandler withdrew his plea of not guilty
state and defense continued their legal of Michelle Webster’s murder and entered
maneuvering right up until the beginning a plea of “no contest.”
of the trial itself on Nov. 30, 1992
Judge Bass asked Chandler several
On that date the jury panel was sworn, times whether he was making the plea volqualified, and instructed, and a 12-person untarily, and Chandler replied each time
jury was selected and sworn. Eight wit- that he was.
nesses took their oath on that same day,
At that point Bass accepted the plea and
and opening statements
the plea bargain agreewere presented to the
ment and ordered that
jury.
Chandler be held in
Presentation of eviBrazoria County Jail
dence started Dec. 1,
without bail until he was
with retired Sheriff’s
sentenced.
Investigator
Buddy
When
the
jury
Truitt testifying that
returned to the courtwhen Chandler was
room at 1:30 p.m., Bass
shown a photograph of
explained what had hapthe barrel in which
pened.
Michelle’s body was
Chandler had chosen
found, he identified the
not to be in the courtbarrel as one that The barrel was sealed and had holes room when the jury was
cut in it from which an unpleasant told.
belonged to him.
These photos had smell emanated.
Judge Bass explained
been taken both on the river bank and in that a plea of “no contest” means the
the medical examiner’s office in Houston, defendant states the facts are true and
Truitt said. He told the court that Chandler that he does not contest them, but that
had told him the barrel and several tools such a plea cannot be used against him in
were missing from his residence.
a civil suit, as they could if he had pled
Truitt said that when Michelle’s mother guilty.
and stepfather were questioned separately,
Summa told a reporter for The Facts
he had asked Chandler if he had killed that the defendant had refused a similar
Michelle, and that Chandler said he had plea bargain before the trial started. He
not.
hadn’t expected him to accept it once the
Items seized from the Chandler home trial was under way, Summa said.
on an evidentiary search warrant included
He also explained that Judge Bass could
tools with bloodstains, a bloodstained sentence Chandler to a punishment rangwaterbed, and other items, Truitt said.
ing from five to 99 years or life imprisonHe also told the court that Chandler told ment. He felt that the proper punishment
him he had drilled a hole in the bathroom would be life, Summa said.
wall in the family’s Lake Jackson house
Apparently Judge Bass agreed, for on
“to watch Michelle.”
Dec. 14, he sentenced Chandler to life in
Joe Crouch testified that he had been prison, and gave him credit for 294 days.
fishing from his boat when he saw the plasChandler, now 56, now officially known
tic barrel and went to get it for his father, as Inmate Number 655919, is serving his
who had been wanting a bee barrel.
sentence in the Texas Prison System’s
Other testimony concerned items removed Michael Unit at Tennessee Colony, Texas.
from the barrel while it was in the medical
According to Michelle Lyons, Public
examiner’s office. In addition to Webster’s Information Officer for the Texas
body, these included a shirt, a woman’s shirt Department of Corrections, James
and jeans, panties, bra, men’s underwear, a Chandler was received by the prison syspiece of garden hose, newspapers, an empty tem on January 19, 1994. He is currentplastic bag, and a plastic bag containing ly classified as a minimum custody inmate
Webster’s severed leg.
who works as a clerk.
Bonnie Barker an investigator for the
He first became eligible for parole in
Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office February 1998 but has continued to be
Identification Division, testified that the denied. His next parole review is schedbra had two clasps that were broken and uled for November, 2009.
two that were still intact, and that the shirt
“His disciplinary history looks clean – it
had been cut in several places.
doesn’t appear that he’s had any major
Testimony in the case resumed the fol- infractions since arriving in prison,” said
lowing morning, but after a recess for Lyons. “In order for him to work as a
lunch Assistant DA Summa told District Support Staff Inmate (SSI), which is what
Judge Ogden Bass that the defense and he is in his designation as a clerk, he must
prosecution had come to an agreement have a clean disciplinary record.”
’s
t
a
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Sheriff’s Marine Division Search, Rescue, Crime Fighting
bridge into the water,” said Walsh.
Marine Patrol had been involved with the
case from the beginning because when the
body washed up near the causeway, “a
land-based patrol unit couldn’t get there so
Marine Patrol had to secure the scene.”
Walsh said the unit began to
process what evidence they
had and that sparked the initial report.
“There was this whole
sequence of events,” he said.
“We identified suspects and
the vehicle. We also identified
the weapon that was involved.
It turned out to be the weapon
that was used to shoot the guy
in the head before they
wrapped him up in the tarp.”
“Our deputies found a house
in Houston where the victim
was pulled from his car and
Lt. Chuck Walsh, Marine Division Commander
wrapped in the tarp,” Walsh
there is a lot of this type of behavior among added. “We identified all of these people as
area criminals, “but I’d say it happens.”
suspects, but we still didn’t know who the
A man’s body was found. Walsh explained victim was.”
that it was wrapped up in a tarp with a
Marine Patrol had run the victim’s DNA
chain wrapped around it and carefully profile, and “they ran his fingerprints but
woven through the holes on some cinder nothing was returned on that whatsoever,”
blocks.
Walsh said.
“They threw the body off of the causeway
It came down to one of the suspects actu-
0
0
a criminal mind has attempted to outsmart
law enforcement by using the natural beauty of the water in Galveston County to dispose of evidence including guns, knives
and human bodies.
Walsh explained that he would not say
2
By ANTHONY JONES, Feature Writer
Lt. Chuck Walsh, commander of the
Galveston County Sheriff’s Marine Division
was at a small one-story brick building on
18th Street which houses a twin engine,
high-speed boat and a 30-foot equipment
trailer.
Inside the trailer, equipment ranging from
full-faced masks to dry suits, to oxygen
tanks and bailout bottles for the eight
divers who make up the division’s dive
team.
“We’re a very small team,” said Walsh.
“But the guys we have run hard - we’ve
made some tremendous recoveries.”
“Water recreation is a key component of
the Galveston County lifestyle and the foundation of tourism in the area,” said
Galveston Sheriff Gene Leonard. “We are
committed to maintaining the safest possible conditions for all who enjoy water recreation. To that end, we commit to the greatest extent practicable, and affordable, significant resources for water rescue and
recovery, enforcement, public education
and Homeland Security initiatives.”
One homicide investigation that took
place a little over a year ago would have
been included in that cluster marked
“recoveries,” that Walsh mentioned. Many
ally cooperating with investigators. That
suspect told investigators that one of the
other suspects grabbed the victim’s cell
phone and went to Louisiana for a wedding
where he threw the guy’s cell phone into a
body of water.
“So, we loaded up our gear and went to
Louisiana and the guy showed us where it
happened,” said Walsh. “We conducted a
search and about 30-minutes into the
search we recovered the evidence.”
The team used some interesting techniques to safeguard the evidence. First, by
keeping the cell phone in water because as
soon as electronic gear is pulled out of the
water and into the air, “that’s when the corrosion starts.”
“We kept it secure underwater, we
bagged it underwater,” said Walsh. “Put it
in a container underwater. Our crime scene
unit called the FBI. They called the DPS
and we called a lot of different labs to find
out how to process this.”
None of their sources had a definitive
answer. Amid the intradepartmental communications, the crime scene unit realized
that the cellular telephone had a “SIM
card.” A SIM chip fits inside phones base
on the GSM technology. SIM cards contain
personalized information about its user
including the network activation and even
phone book entries.
“So they pulled the SIM card out and put
it in another phone,” said Walsh. “They
continued on page 18 (Marine Division)
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AWARD
TEXAS CITY - Each year the College of The
Mainland, Law Enforcement Program recognizes top achievers in it’s classes. Awards are
made for Academic Achievement, Top Gun
(firearms) and the Director’s Award for outstanding leadership.
In 2007 the Director’s Award was renamed
the Alfred “Robert” Goerlich Award in memory of a man who was a top achiever in his
class and only months before graduation
was diagnosed with stage four cancer.
In spite of continuing chemotherapy treatments, and the pain of the disease, Robert
Goerlich completed the academy without
missing a class. Additionally, he passed the
state law enforcement officers certification
examination on the first try and was hired by
Galveston County Sheriff Gean Leonard to
become a deputy.
Tragically, he died on New Years day
before he could be sworn in as a deputy.
Robert Goerlich was born in Galveston in
1948, graduated from Ball High School and
the University of North Texas. He was a husband, father and grandfather.
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The Big Bow-Wo
Breck
Gulf Coast
ANGLETON – Folks in
Angleton had probably never
seen so many out-of-town
police cars and police officers and police dogs before.
Most anywhere a person
would drive during the week
of January 29th through
February 2nd those proverbial red lights were in their
rearview mirrors or somewhere in sight.
That was because for the
second consecutive year,
Sheriff Charles Wagner and
the Brazoria County Sheriff’s
Office played host to the
National Narcotics Detector
Dog Association’s week long Deputy Rick Op
seminar, competition and
certification event, coordinated by K-9
Deputy Rick Opperud, a 16-year veteran of
the department.
Seventy-five officers and their K-9 partners from more than a dozen cities in Texas
and some from other states took part in the
events which included competition and certification in three categories; patrol work,
explosives detection and narcotics detection.
The winners in the three categories were:
Patrol Work:
1st Place: Rick Juarez and his partner
Marco, Harris County, Precinct Seven
Constable’s Office.
2nd Place: Robert Stock and partner
Maatje, University of Texas Police
Department, Austin.
3rd Place: Brian Bertrand with K-9 partner Naska, St. John Parish Sheriff’s Office,
ow in Angleton
k Porter
t Police News
LaPlace, Louisiana.
Narcotics Detection:
1st Place: Gary Almeida
and Amour, Harris County
Precinct Three Constable’s
Office.
2nd Place: Darrell Maretka
and partner Foster, Wharton
County Constable’s Office,
Precinct Two.
3rd Place: Rick Juarez and
Marco,
Harris
County
Constable’s Office, Precinct
Seven.
Explosives Detection:
1st Place: Robert Stock
and Maatje, University of
Texas Police Department,
pperud and Joe Austin.
2nd Place: Jason Taylor
and partner Robby, University of Texas
Police Department, Austin.
3rd Place: Greg Bisso and Sjean-doe
Houston Police Department.
Officer Robert Stock of the University of
Texas Police Department won Top Dog honors for outstanding dual purpose performance in both Patrol and Explosives
Detection.
One of the major achievements at the
seminar is to gain certification. Each police
dog must be certified annually, according to
Opperud, and these seminars are the place
where that takes place. Opperud said that
he and his K-9 partner Joe, train somewhere in the area one day each week,
unless duty prevents it.
Persons interested may learn more about
the National Narcotic Detector Dog
Association on it’s website: NNDDA.Org.
continued from page 14 (Marine Division)
called the office and got the phone number.
From there, they called the company (service provider) to determine who owned the
phone.”
Walsh explained that the case went on for
about three months before the victim was
identified.
“And the whole reason he was identified
is because the dive team recovered that
phone,” he added.
In short, the Galveston County Sheriff’s
Marine Division interacts with federal, state
and local government agencies and private
sector leadership to develop and carry out
a strategy for public safety through education, crime prevention and law enforcement.
The division is split into two parts, Marine
Patrol and the Dive Team. Marine Patrol
provides proactive patrols to deter crime,
terrorism and suppress reckless boating.
It’s also on the scene as a waterborne
response element for incidents not accessible by land based patrol. Marine Patrol also
provides recreational boating safety education and proactive enforcement of state and
local regulations. It investigates boating
fatalities, collisions and other incidents to
determine if a criminal violation has been
committed. It then takes proper enforcement action. The unit also rescues boaters
in distress.
The Dive Team searches for and recovers
evidence from underwater crime scenes
that may lead to prosecution. It also conducts surface and subsurface security
sweeps to detect the presence of improvised explosive devices (IED). The team has
been trained and utilized to conduct pier
sweeps and ship hull inspections to search
for IEDs.
“There is a tremendous amount of experience,” Walsh said, referring to officers
who make up the Dive Team. “Everybody is
an advanced diver. That’s like an advanced
recreational diver.”
He explained there is a qualification for a
commercial diver and then qualification as
a public safety diver, “and that’s where we
are.”
“Advanced diver is your initial requirement - advanced divers are trained for
dives to 100 feet deep,” Walsh added.
“About the deepest that we go to in
Galveston County is 50-60-feet.”
Public Safety diving requires very rigorous training. Candidates go through a twoweek school that teaches them how to dive
into black water and how to deal with
entanglement situations.
“When I say black water, I’m talking
about zero-visibility,” said Walsh. “Being
down and not seeing anything — even
pressing your fingers on your facemask and
not being able to see your fingers.”
“All of our divers are tethered to the surface,” he said. “We all dive with a harness
on and every diver is tethered to the surface in some way. Typically, we dive with
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one maybe two divers down below and a
safety diver ready to go. The safety diver
will use his carabiner and lock in and run
down the line to the diver if there is a problem.”
The “carabiner” is in essence a special
type of line which tethers a diver to the
watercraft, a safety device.
The sheriff’s office provides quarterly
training to ensure 10 different skills are
met. Most of them are emergency drills
while others kind of refresh people “and
make sure that when the shit hits the fan
we know what we are doing.”
“It’s all about our safety,” Walsh added.
“We intentionally try to have a very narrow
focus on the dive team because we have a
lot of equipment.”
In Dickinson a few months ago a guy had
used a tire iron or a crow bar to bash in a
lady’s head when he tried to kill her. Then
the suspect tried to strangle her.
“Miraculously, I don’t know how but she
managed to survive,” said Walsh. “They got
the suspect in custody and had him on
other charges. The district attorney was
hesitant to go forward with more serious
charges until they had the weapon.”
One thing led to another and the dive
team ended up going to Dickinson where
they recovered the weapon in a small tributary that runs off of Dickinson Bayou.
“We were able to tie that back to the case
and the DA’s office went with the upgraded
charge,” said Walsh.
“We had an aggravated assault where we
recovered a knife,” he said, explaining
another crime where the dive team played
an integral role — about half of the calls to
the team are to assist other agencies. “We
tied that to some other case — a robbery
where some guns were stolen. They were
automatic weapons and the ATF (Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms) was
involved.”
“We assisted League City,” he added.
“We used metal detectors underwater. The
weapons were dumped in the water. The
crooks thought they couldn’t do anything
with them and threw them in the water.”
While Walsh said criminals convince
themselves that the water here is a safe
place to hide something, many times things
that were thought to be hidden are recovered.
“We’ve recovered safes in the water,
we’ve recovered vehicles,” Walsh said.
“And obviously we recover bodies and
some of the cases are pretty gruesome.”
The team investigated the death of a
woman who had previously made two suicide attempts — one was an overdose and
the second time she tried carbon monoxide
in the garage. She had been interrupted on
both attempts.
“Her house backed up to Dickinson
Bayou and she stood on this little ladder
and from the waist down she was in the
water. She put the butt of the shotgun on
the ground then put the barrel in her mouth
and reached forward to pull the trigger.
Everything blew back in the bayou. So, we
had to go and recover that body and safeguard that scene - from the neck up there
wasn’t much to recover.”
Inside the trailer where the divers stow
their gear, there are lockers for different
gear, including lift bags for heavy lift situations like a vehicle or an object that they
need to lift to the surface. There are extra
hoses, buoys and extra tanks.
Walsh explained that 15 years ago the
Galveston Sheriff Dive Team was nothing
but a handful of guys who brought their
own gear to the table. There were six or
eight guys, six or eight different types of
gear, six or eight buoyancy compensation
tanks (BCs), six or eight different fins, six or
eight different types of tanks. BCs help a
diver easily remain at the surface. The tank
is given air, to dive the air is discharged
from the tank.
“Everything was different there was no
standardization,” Walsh said. “In a blackwater emergency, if I had to go down and
rescue my buddy - I can’t see, it’s all feel,
I’ve got to push the stuff out of the way and
deal with the entanglements - finally get to
the diver and figure out: What type of BC
does he have? Where does it disconnect
out?”
“It’s been a long process but finally about
four or five years ago we crossed the
continued on next page (Marine Division)
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Dickinson
continued from prev. page (Marine Division)
threshold where everybody has agency
equipment,” he added. “Everything we use
on a dive scene is owned and maintained by
the county and is in the county budget.”
Walsh explained that standardizing the
equipment has increased the team’s safety;
“it’s increased our effectiveness - that was a
pretty significant hurdle.”
“Then of course we integrated underwater
communications - we talk to divers, they talk
to us, using a button on their face mask,”
Walsh said. “It’s wireless communications.”
Pointing to a long, cylindrical-shaped
device housed in a crate, Walsh said just a
few months ago we incorporated this.
“Its sonar, hardwired to topside and it runs
off a laptop computer,” he added. “The topside processor is powered up with 24-volts.”
The sonar device has a multi-beam that
shoots out in multiple directions simultaneously. The team uses a side-scan sonar as
well as a Dual Frequency Identification
Sonar (DIDSON).
“We’ve used it on security investigations, a
boat accident investigation, and a homicide,” he said. “We’re able to cover tremendous amounts of area and identify anomalies
in the water. And then we can send the
divers in to identify the anomalies - it makes
our search time a lot more effective.”
Recovering evidence can be a snap with
such equipment and most would think it
would be useless to even attempt to hide evidence underwater but where Superman had
Lex Luthor, our dive team has a guy trying to
report his car as being stolen.
“He had intentionally driven it off of the
boat ramp,” said Walsh. “As we were
responding, we had found out there had
been a hit-and-run fatality.”
The man reporting his car as stolen then
became the suspect who had run over this
child on a bicycle and killed him. The suspect
then fled the scene and drove his car into the
water and tried to say that it was stolen.
“We came out there and recovered the car
and we proved that it wasn’t stolen that he in
fact was in that car at the time the kid was
hit,” said Walsh. “He was connected to the
crime. We recovered keys and other personal effects and other things and only he would
have been in the car.”
All divers on the team use full-faced masks
and dry suits. They utilize oxygen tanks as
well as bailout bottles as a secondary source
for breathing. Something unique to the
Galveston Dive Team is they use a surfacesupplied bailout. Only one other team, in
Houston, uses that type of bailout. In the
event that a diver becomes entrapped he
can then switch over to his bailout bottle.
“When he does that then we start splashing another diver to bring down a reel of
hose and we hook it up to topside,” Walsh
said. “So now we’ve got control of the guy’s
air supply and we don’t have to worry about
having him air out and drowning.”
GCSO operates six fixed-hull patrol craft,
including a 27-foot Boston Whaler with twin
outboard engines and a 34-foot Donzi, highspeed intercept boat recently obtained
through a Port Security grant.
Sheriff Leonard said the Sheriff’s office
has been fortunate through the years in
obtaining financial support outside the normal budget, “most notably from the Moody
Foundation, in acquiring watercraft and
other equipment.”
“More recently, Homeland Security funding and a partnership with the Port of Texas
City have channeled several hundred thousand dollars toward our operation,” Leonard
added.
Amador New Permanent GISD Police Chief
GALVESTON, TXThe
Galveston
Independent
School
District
Board of Trustees
voted to name
LeeRoy Amador
as GISD Police
Chief and retain
New GISD Police the GISD Police
Chief LeeRoy Amador Department for the
2007-2008 school year.
Amador has served as Interim Police
Chief since August 2006 and has more
than 30 years experience in traffic and
criminal laws. Prior to serving as Interim
Police Chief, he was a patrol officer for
GISD Police and also spent 25 years
working for the Texas Department of
Public Safety as a Texas Highway
Patrolman and Criminal Investigator.
He was recently selected by Sam
Houston State University Bill Blackwood
Law Enforcement Management Institute
of Texas to participate in Leadership
Command College for police officers in
executive positions.
His goal as police chief is to enforce district policy and school rules while promoting good behavior, positive public relations and a rapport of trust between officers, students, faculty and the community.
“As Interim Police Chief, I have already
implemented several changes in an effort
to improve the police department,” says
Amador. “This position will allow me to
move forward in making additional
improvements in our department.
”Under his leadership, the district has
increased security at Ball High School and
is currently in the process of providing standard uniforms for civilian truancy officers
and campus monitors. Additionally,
Amador has implemented a revised
Emergency Operation Response Plan, created new lockdown procedures, and has
inspected all GISD campuses to evaluate
security measures for students and faculty.
continued on page 24 (Amador)
(281) 534-6689
Gulf
Gulf Coast
Coast Police
Police News
News -- Page
Page 19
19
family, was to locate the body of Shelley
Sikes. We had gotten real close to the
family and felt like we had got to know this
little girl because we knew so much background on her and her associates.
“When this first happened we had no
clue as to a motive, so we thought of every
possible scenario and tried to eliminate
them systematically. One of our scenario’s
was just a random abduction and that’s
what it turned out to be, just a couple of
goof balls, screwed up on dope with no
regards for anyone but themselves and
just took advantage of this poor, young
girl.”
The two men never made admissions to
sexual assault but at one point Gerald
Zwarst tells in his confession that he
remembers John King being in the back of
the truck with Sikes, but he didn’t know
what King was doing. “We have a pretty
good idea what he was doing,” said
Kessler.
According to Hansen, that night the two
men drove to King’s parent’s home in
Bayview, taking Sikes with them, where
they got a couple of shovels. The investigators estimate this was about one o’clock
in the morning as King’s parents slept.
“As part of his confession, King says they
buried her alive,” said Kessler. “I asked
him, ‘how do you know she was alive when
you buried her?’ and he gave me this look
and said, ‘because the ground was still
moving.’
Crews dugs up the ground in the woods
in back of King’s parents home because
he indicated they had buried her in the
woods, but would not be more explicit.
Kessler said, “We just wore that area
out. Then we would get more leads and
we would search that area. That’s how we
developed all the different areas that we
searched. The clues just kept coming in.
“Later on Zwarst said that she was
buried near the sandpit on 27th Street in
San Leon, so we went there with a county
bulldozer and dug that whole area up,
probably 8 to 10 feet deep and an area
half the size of a football field.
“We did recover what we believe to be
Shelley’s blouse. It was the exact right
size and right color, right type that she
wore to work and it had all the buttons
ripped off.”
“We arrested them in June and in August
we conducted a massive search involving
over 500 volunteers. We searched all over
Bacliff and San Leon. We had a company
of Texas State Guard and the TV stations
furnished us helicopters.
“We had done smaller searches with
dog’s and body dog’s but once we identified every possible spot that had been
mentioned, we plotted the area and
assigned a team to search it. We had two
horse teams and just about every team
was made up of off duty police officer’s
from every agency in the area.
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“Initially we had a NASA photographer
with us and he was shooting infrared photos from the air. He told us we could get
infrared film for our camera’s and NASA
gave us the special filters required so that
we could make our own photos. We did
that from DPS helicopters that came to
our aid. We searched so much that we
wore out the dogs and the helicopters. We
went over every area again and again just
to make sure we didn’t miss a spot. I think
the search was a success in that Shelley
has never been found in any of the places
where we searched.”
According to Hansen, Sheriff Joe Max
Taylor and then Chief Deputy Gean
Leonard gave the investigators free reign
in the investigation. There were no restrictions. Both he and Kessler had the case
from the very beginning until he was
pulled off to work an undercover, auto
theft investigation. He was and still is the
department’s auto theft expert.
“The cooperation from other law
enforcement agencies was unbelievable,”
said Kessler. “When we put out fliers we
would get calls at three o’clock in the
morning saying, ‘This is La Porte PD,
we’ve got a truck pulled over and one of
our officers saw the flyer and maybe you
ought to come look,” and Tommy would
get out of bed and go to La Porte.”
Hansen and Kessler spent literally thousands of hours investigating the abduction
and suspected murder of Shelley Kathleen
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Sikes, not to mention the hundreds of
other law enforcement officers and volunteers who joined in the investigation and
searches.
In 1987 John Robert King, then 20-years
old was convicted of Aggravated
Kidnapping in a trial that was held in
Jefferson County, Beaumont, Texas on a
change of venue. He was handed a life
sentence and is today serving that sentence at the state prison facility in
Palestine, Texas.
King’s first parole hearing comes in June
of this year. After being offered immunity
from further prosecution by then District
Attorney Mike Guarino in an agreement
signed by State District Judge Henry
Dalhite, King continues to refuse to tell
authorities where to find the remains of
Shelley Sikes.
Gerald Pieter Zwarst was tried in Brazos
County, Bryan, Texas also on a change of
venue from Galveston County. He was
also sentenced to life imprisonment on a
charge of Aggravated Kidnapping and is
serving his sentence in a facility at
Huntsville, Texas. He becomes eligible for
parole in August, one month after King.
He also refuses to divulge the whereabouts of the remains of Shelley Kathleen
Sikes.
Galveston County District Attorney Kurt
Sistrunk has filed a formal notice of
protest with the parole board in both
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Local Coalition Partners with Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of
America and HBO on Addiction Documentary
The Bay Area Council on Drugs and Alcohol’s Galveston County Community Coalition has been
selected by Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America to help promote HBO’s educational documentary on addiction. “This documentary is a wonderful tool for educating both the public and the
helping professionals in regards to the advances that have been made in the treatment of addiction,” says Paul O’Reilly the local Coalition Coordinator for BACODA. “This documentary reaches
into the very families and communities that are affected by addiction and brings forth the reality of
the addiction disease.”
HBO(r), in partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the National Institute on Drug
Abuse (NIDA), and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), launches the
ADDICTION project on March 15. The project is an unprecedented multi-platform campaign aimed
at helping Americans understand addiction as a chronic but treatable brain disease.
The campaign includes a 14-part documentary series; a companion book published by Rodale
Press; four independent addiction-themed films; a comprehensive website and an unprecedented
30-city nationwide community outreach campaign funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
and coordinated by Join Together, Faces and Voices of Recovery, and the Community Anti-Drug
Coalitions of America (CADCA). The ADDICTION project brings together the leading researchers
and institutions that are utilizing effective new medications and behavioral therapies, changing the
way we think about addiction, addiction treatment and recovery.
Addiction effects every community in our nation and when we consider the facts listed below we
realize how important of an issue it truly is. According to the *2003 Youth Risk Behavior Survey
found that among high school students, during the past month.
* 1 out of 2 drink some amount of alcohol.
* 1 out of 4 binge drink.
* 1 out of 4 had their first alcoholic drink before age 13.
* 1 out of 10 drove after drinking alcohol.
* 1 out of 3 rode with a driver who had been drinking alcohol.
For more information visit: www.addictionaction.org and for information on scheduling a local viewing email: coalitions@bacoda.com.
* Grunbaum J, Kann L, Kinchen S, Ross J, Hawkins J, Lowry R, et al. Youth Risk Behavior
Surveillance-United States, 2003. MMWR 2004;53(No. SS-2):1-96
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T EXAS E XECUTIONS
Scheduled Execution – March 28, 2007
Vincent Gutierrez
Born: October 1, 1978 in Bexar
County, Texas
Occupation: None
Education Level: 8 Years
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On March 10, 1997, Vincent Gutierrez,
Randy Arroyo, and several others met at
Christopher Suaste’s residence to discuss
Arroyo’s desire to steal an automobile.
The next morning, Arroyo, Gutierrez, and
Suaste drove to an apartment complex
where the target vehicle was parked.
It was owned by United States Air Force
Captain Jose Cobo. Suaste parked his
vehicle nearby and watched Gutierrez and
Arroyo approach the target vehicle, enter
it, and drive out of the complex.
While returning to his home, Suaste saw
Captain Cobo lying on the shoulder of the
highway with blood stains on his shirt.
Several hours later, Suaste received several telephone calls from Arroyo and
Gutierrez, asking Suaste to pick them up.
Upon doing so, Suaste observed Gutierrez
wearing different clothes than those worn
earlier that day. The newer clothes were a
tee shirt and a pair of gym shorts with the
USAF logo. Gutierrez explained his earlier
clothes had blood on them, and the new
clothes were obtained from the back of the
stolen automobile.
Upon Suaste’s inquiring about what happened after he left the apartment complex, Gutierrez laughingly explained: upon
entering the target vehicle, he forced
Captain Cobo at gunpoint to move to the
back seat; Arroyo drove the vehicle from
the complex; when Captain Cobo begged
for his life and offered his wallet, Gutierrez
reassured him that he would be released;
nonetheless, Captain Cobo attempted to
exit the vehicle, but was restrained by his
seat belt; Gutierrez grabbed Captain Cobo
to prevent him from jumping from the
vehicle; at that point, Arroyo yelled “Shoot
him. Shoot him. He’s trying to escape.”;
Gutierrez fired his pistol twice, striking
Captain Cobo in the back; Captain Cobo
began choking and coughing up blood; as
Gutierrez and Arroyo drove on, Gutierrez
stated he did not want to drive around with
a “dead man” in the car; Gutierrez directed Arroyo to reduce the vehicle’s speed;
and, upon his doing so, Gutierrez shoved
Captain Cobo out of the moving vehicle
onto the shoulder of the highway.
Later that day, Arroyo confessed to being
involved in Captain Cobo’s murder and led
police to the pistol Gutierrez had used to
kill him. Gutierrez was charged with capital murder for an intentional killing by
firearm while in the course of kidnapping
and robbery.
On March 2, 1998, a jury found
Gutierrez guilty of capital murder and sentenced him to death. Arroyo was sentenced to life.
Scheduled Execution - March 6, 2007
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Robert Martinez Perez
Born: June 29, 1958 in Bexar
County, Texas
Occupation: Laborer
Education Level: 9-Years
On 04/17/94, in San Antonio,
Texas, Robert Martinez Perez and two
co-defendants, Joe Sandoval and
Javier Garcia, fatally shot Jose
Travieso and Robert Rivas numerous
times with a .380 caliber pistol, a 9
millimeter pistol, and a .38 caliber
pistol. The shooting was a result of an
internal power struggle within the
Mexican Mafia.
Martinez originally received on a 10year sentence from Bexar County for
1 count of Attempted Voluntary
Manslaughter with a Deadly Weapon
(stabbed a 38-year old Hispanic male
numerous times in the heart and
stomach during a domestic disturbance); on 8/6/90. He was released
on parole on 7/1/92. He was sent
back to the pen on 10/01/92 then
released again on mandatory supervision.
He was on mandatory supervision
when he murdered Travieso and
Rivas.
Joseph Bennard Nichols
Born September 8, 1061 in
Galveston County, Texas
Occupation: Laborer
On October 13, 1980, Nichols, Willie Ray
Williams and two women drove to an apartment building in Houston, Texas, intending to
rob a nearby grocery store. Committing the
robbery was Nichols’ idea.
Armed with guns, Nichols and Williams
entered the grocery. Seventy-year old Claude
Shaffer, Jr. was working as a deli clerk behind
the counter. Nichols pointed his gun at
Claude, and Claude made a movement that
Nichols interpreted as gun retrieval. Nichols
then shot at Claude Shaffer. Williams also
shot at Claude while fleeing the store, but he
returned to the counter to take the cash box.
Claude was killed by one bullet to the back.
The women drove Nichols and Williams
away from the scene. The quartet were arrested soon thereafter.
At the punishment phase of Nichols’s trial,
the state submitted evidence that Nichols had
been convicted of theft in 1979, and had
pleaded guilty in May 1980 to an April 1980
robbery for which he was sentenced in July
1980 to nine years’ felony probation, which
he was serving when he committed the
instant offense. Additionally, it was shown
that on August 13, 1980, Nichols committed
an armed robbery of a convenience store,
shooting the clerk in the shoulder when he
did not respond speedily enough to Nichols’
demand for more money. Nichols continued
to demand more money as the clerk was
bleeding from his wound.
Further, on October 11, 1980, two days
before the present offense, Nichols committed another robbery of a convenience store,
aiming his pistol at the clerks. There was also
evidence that when booked into jail following
his arrest for the instant offense, Nichols had
stated he would “shoot any deputy that got in
his way.” Finally, there was evidence that in
June 1981, while in jail awaiting trial, Nichols
conspired with others to engage in an escape
involving the use of a firearm and other
weapons.
The defense called fifteen witnesses. Many
testified they thought Nichols could be rehabilitated, that he was nineteen at the time of
the offense, and that at school he had had
average grades, had been an excellent athlete, and had presented no disciplinary problems. His parents divorced when he was
seven, but both maintained a good relationship with him.
He married, and dropped out of school, at
about age seventeen to support his young
child. His parents thought he had gotten into
trouble due to the pressure he was under to
support his young child and because he got in
with a bad crowd.
Nichols’s accomplice, Willie Ray Williams,
was also sentenced to death in the robbery
and was executed in January 1995.
Roy Lee Pippin
Born: April 30, 1955 in Harris County,
Texas
Occupation: A/C & Heating Technician
Roy Lee Pippin was sentenced to death
for the kidnapping murders of Elmer
Buitrago and Fabio Buitrago.
Pippin owned and operated an air conditioning business known as Pippin Services.
In December 1993, Pippin became
involved in a money laundering scheme to
funnel proceeds from the sale of
Colombian cocaine in the United States to
Mexico, using air conditioners and modi-
fied gas tanks of trucks to transport large
sums of money across the Mexican border.
When approximately $2 million in drug
proceeds was reported missing, Pippin
rented a white panel van from PV Rentals
and reserved two rooms at a Motel 6 on
April 27, 1994. Pippin’s immediate supervisor in the money laundering scheme was a
man identified in the record as “Alfredo.”
When the missing money was discovered,
Pippin apparently proceeded with the kidnapping plot under direct orders from
Alfredo.
At Pippin’s request, Abraham Pacheco,
an employee at Pippin Services, took two
men, Elmer Buitrago and his cousin, Fabio
Buitrago, to the Motel 6 and held them
captive against their will for several days.
The record shows that Pippin paid $500
per shift to three employees from his air
conditioning business to assist in holding
the two men captive. Although Pippin and
his wife stayed in the next room for a short
time, Pippin would generally only visit the
hotel to monitor the situation and occa-
sionally bring food, beer, and drugs to the
captors.
Before dawn on May 4, 1994, Pippin and
Pacheco took Elmer and Fabio Buitrago to
a warehouse in the rented van. Pippin then
shot them each approximately four times
through a pillow to muffle the sound, and
both men then left the warehouse to get rid
of the murder weapon.
Shortly thereafter, Houston Police Officer
Eddie Parodi, responding to a call of criminal mischief in progress at the apartment
complex located directly behind the warehouse, arrived at the scene and found the
fatally wounded Elmer Buitrago crying out
in English and Spanish for help. A security
guard on duty at the apartment complex at
the time, assisted Officer Parodi in finding
the source of the commotion that resulted
in the calls from concerned residents.
Before Officer Parodi arrived at the scene,
he had noticed two men fitting the physical
descriptions of Pippin and Pacheco driving
around the apartment complex in a white
van.
Before the ambulance arrived, Buitrago
spoke with Officer Parodi and identified
Pippin as the shooter. Buitrago described
Pippin as a white male, approximately 5’9”
and 200 pounds, with sandy brown hair.
Pippin is a white male with sandy brown
hair. At trial, he testified that he is approximately 6’1” and weighs between 210 and
220 pounds. Buitrago also claimed that
after Pippin shot him in the warehouse, he
was able to hit Pippin with a pipe and
escape. The security guard later testified
that he also heard Buitrago say “Pippin
shot me” and mention the name “Roy.”
Buitrago died later that day at the hospital from his gunshot wounds. The body of
Fabio Buitrago was not discovered until the
next day, when police returned to the warehouse to obtain statements from witnesses. Upon further investigation, the police
found eight fired nine-millimeter cartridge
cases from a semiautomatic weapon on
the right side of the room and some bullet
holes and fired bullets lodged in the north
wall of the warehouse. Law enforcement
officers arrested Pippin on June 28, 1994
at a friend’s house.
At his trial, Pippin admitted to participating in the aggravated kidnappings of Elmer
and Fabio Buitrago but denied killing any
of them or even being present when they
were killed. On September 15, 1995,
Pippin was convicted of capital murder for
intentionally killing more than one person
during the same criminal transaction, and
for killing Elmer Buitrago during the course
of a kidnapping. Despite the presentation
of mitigating evidence during the punishment phase of his trial, which consisted
mainly of the testimony of his ex-wife and
her mother that he was not a violent person.
Pippin was sentenced to death.
Charles Anthony Nealy
Born: September 8,1961 in Dallas
County
Occupation: Unknown
Nealy was sent to death row for the 1997
robbery and murder of Dallas convenience
store clerk, 25-year old Jiten Bhakta.The
robbery was videotaped by an in-store
camera as Nealy shot the clerk to death,
then fled the scene on foot with about
$4,000.
cases. “In most cases we don’t express
an opinion on parole, but in a case this
serious, it deserves our attention, and we
do,” said Sistrunk.
Officials are convinced that King and
Zwarst murdered and disposed of Shelley
Sikes and have appealed to the public to
write the parole board to protest their
release.
The address is:
TDCJ-ID-Parole Division
Review and Release Processing
PO Box 13401
Austin, TX 78711
When writing to the parole board, refer
to John Robert King, TDCJ Number
00479010 and Gerald Pieter Zwarst,
TDCJ Number 1986889.
Solution to puzzle on page 3
continued from page19 (Amador)
He was also instrumental in sending
GISD Police Officer Gene Wilganowski to
an Internet safety training program called
NetSmartz. The NetSmartz Workshop is
an interactive, educational safety
resource from the National Center for
Missing & Exploited Children and Boys
and Girls Clubs of America. Wilganowski
is making presentations to students
across the district.
Amador also plans to launch a new
Student Crime Stoppers program in
2007-2008. Additionally, he and
Grants Coordinator Rena Lidstone
have submitted a grant application
for the Gang Resistance Education
And Training (GREAT) Program
through the U.S. Depar tment of
Justice, Office of Justice Programs’
Bureau of Justice Assistance. This
grant will be utilized by the GISD
Police Department in middle schools
throughout the district in the upcoming school year.
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MEMBERS OF THE B.B.B.
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409-945-0135
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Galveston
409-740-1565
Nestled in the Neighborhood…
Dedicated to the Community…
Home is Just Around the Corner…
To Profile or Not to Profile
by Joe Garza / Police News Columnist
The Webster’s II New Riverside
Dictionary defines the word profile as follows, “(1. a.) A view of something, esp. of
a human head, from the side. (1. b.) A representation of a side view, esp. of a human
head. (2.) The outline of something. (3.)
A biographical sketch.”
In law enforcement there is a training
process that usually begins with a police
academy. The law enforcement academies that train and certify police officers
have a very challenging prescribed program that prepares officers for the active
law enforcement job. A very important
part of the job is learning the penal code
statutes and the ordinances that officers
will be responsible for enforcing. By the
very nature of the job, officers must
become very proficient in observing situations and individuals in order to see “what
is wrong, improper or out of order” concerning different scenes, scenarios and/or
individuals. This in essence is profiling.
From my perspective as a thirty-year law
enforcement veteran with patrol, investigative, administrative, supervision and management experience, the effective and
proficient law enforcement officers will
become excellent profilers.
I remember my very first day of training
at the Park Place Police Substation with
the Houston Police Department. I was
assigned to ride with Officer Bill Kenisell,
who was a five or six year veteran officer
working the day shift. We left the substation just after 7 a.m. and only got about a
block down Park Place Blvd. when Officer
Kenisell suddenly made a very quick Uturn, getting behind a vehicle and turning
on emergency equipment on the shop. I
asked him, “What happened?” He replied
that the vehicle that had just passed us
(going in the opposite direction) had an
expired inspection sticker. My immediate
thought was, would I ever learn the job
and be as good as Officer Kenisell. I did
learn how to spot expired inspection stickers and registration stickers as well as to
observe and detect the illegal traffic
actions of the motorists in Houston, Texas.
From 1987 to 1991, I was a Sergeant
Investigator and one of the tools that was
most beneficial in investigating and clearing cases was the profiling process.
People, by nature, are creatures of habit.
We do things a certain way at certain
times in order to achieve certain desired
results. My last assigned case in the
Internal Affairs Division (1987 – 1988) of
the Houston Police Department was
regarding an allegation of Aggravated
Sexual Assault against two Houston Police
Officers. It was a most challenging case
and I can tell you that early in the case I
had doubts about the legitimacy of the
complainant’s allegation. I went through
the initial process of getting a sworn statement from the complainant and her assurances that she would follow through with
prosecution.
All the available evidence was gathered
and then I began to focus more on the
main subject or target (Officer) of the allegation. I looked into the complaint history
of the Officer in order to construct a profile of what type of Officer I was dealing
with. What began to emerge soon afterwards was very interesting and made me
pause as to the Officer’s conduct as an
Officer. It also made me wonder if his
supervisor was aware of what was happening between the subject Officer and his fellow Officers. The developing profile was
disturbing to me.
Some of the Officers stated that they did
not want him checking by on their calls,
especially if there was a female victim or
complainant on the scene. One Officer
also related that if he “put out an assist”,
he’d have to think about whether or not he
would check by or respond to the Officer’s
call for assistance. This was a very revealing comment, and I began to wonder if his
supervisor was aware of his Officers’ attitudes towards the subject Officer.
The process of profiling by law enforce-
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Full-service Meat Counter - Custom Cut Meats
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Serving West Galveston since 1963 1 mile west of Jamaica Beach
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continued on page 28 (Profile)
MED + CENTRAL
613 University Blvd. (6th St. & Ave. F)
Tel: 409-765-6666, Hours M–F 10–6
CROSS-OVER SETS
• Contrast Trim – 20 combinations – $19.99/set
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“Selections that make you look Good…Prices that make you feel Good!”
INTERNATIONAL CAR CARE
General Auto Repair
American & Import
A/C Repair
Engines
Mufflers
Brakes
TONY
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Transmissions
State Inspections UTM
Oil Changes
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UTMB t
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Monday thru Friday: 7:30 am to 5:30 pm
Disco
Tuesday specials–Oil Change for $19.95–Emission Stickers on models ‘96 and newer’ for $35.00
409-763-1515
1328 Postoffice
4 Blocks from UTMB
SEX OFFENDERS — BRAZORIA COUNTY
Galveston Health & Racquet Club
Galveston’s Finest & Only
Family Fitness Center
These Sex Offenders are not wanted by the law…
they are published for Community Awareness in cooperation with local law enforcement agencies.
If you have information that any of these offenders are residing at an address other than the one shown, please contact the listed police agency.
Offering
POLICE FAMILY
MEMBERSHIP DISCOUNT
www.galvestonfitness.com
(409) 744-3651
2318 83rd Street
LOAN
COMPANY
2327 Broadway
Galveston, Tx 77550
(409) 765-8410
815 W. Main St.
League City, Tx 77573
(281) 338-4060
3307 Palmer Highway
Texas City, Tx
409-941-9403
MONTHLY AUTO AUCTION
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FOR FULL LISTINGS CALL
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Texas Auto Title &
Registration Consultants, Inc.
Donald Mcclure TXE 12482
Convicted Sex Offenders are required by Texas law to
register with law enforcement in the city in which they reside.
ALSUP, JASON ANDREW
White Male, Born: September 10, 1983
1119 One Oak Chase Rd. Arcola, Tx
Sexual Assault of 8-year old female
Risk Level: Not Available
Fort Bend County Sheriff
ANDREWS, BOBBY LOUIS
Black Male, Born: August 14, 1961
9815 FM-521, Juliff, Tx
Indecency with a 15-year old female
Sexual Assault of 15-year old
female (2 counts)
Risk Level: Moderate
Fort Bend County Sheriff
CANO, LAURENCE LEE
White Male, Born: March 11, 1962
Nickname: Breadman
105 Knight Rd., Angleton, Tx
Sexual Assault of 23 year old
female
CHAVEZ,BENINO
Hispanic Male, Born: October 23,
1980
117 N. Oak, Clute, Tx
Aggravated Sexual Assault of 11year old female 2-Counts
Risk Level: High
Clute Police Dept.
CLARK, DANNY DENE
White Male, Born: November 1, 1953
7431 County Rd. 171, Lot 13, Alvin, Tx
Aggravate Sexual Asslt of 13 year old
female
Brazoria County Sheriff
FILES, ZACKERIA WALTON
White Male, Born: February 20, 1981
12635 April St., Brookside Village, Tx
Brookside Village Police Dept.
GARRETT, WILLIE GENE
White Male, Born: April 19, 1955
1716-1/2 CR 244E, Brazoria, Tx
Indecency with a 16 year old female
GUTIERREZ, RICHARD
Hispanic Male, Born: August 18,
1960
3202 Pine St., Damon, Tx
Indecency with 11-year old female
Risk Level: High
SEGURA, BILLY JOE
White Male, Born: August 23, 1967
Nickname: Angel
403 Allen Rd. Oyster Creek, Tx
Indecency w/a child by sexual contact
Victim: 8-year old female
Oyster Creek Police Dept.
VRAZEL, LISA ANNE
White Female, Born: February 8, 1970
5923 5th St., Danbury, Tx
Indecency with a 15-year old male
Danbury Police Dept.
SEX OFFENDERS — GALVESTON COUNTY
Convicted Sex Offenders are required by Texas law to
register with law enforcement in the city in which they reside.
These Sex Offenders are not wanted by the law…
they are published for Community Awareness in cooperation with local law enforcement agencies.
If you have information that any of these offenders are residing at an address other than the one shown, please contact the listed police agency.
ABERNATHY, DAVID LEE
White Male, Born: September 4, 1968
1114 18th St., Apt. 4, Galveston, Tx
Address not verified by local authority
Aggravated Sexual Assault of 3-year
old female
ARMSTRONG, JOHN FRANKLIN
White Male, Born: April 26, 1959
2810 Woodlawn, Dickinson, Tx
Aggravated Kidnapping with intent
to commit Sexual Assault
Victim: 42-year old female
Dickinson Police Dept.
ARCENEAUX, EDDIE LEE JR
Black Male, Born: October 17, 1981
7821 Leaning Oak Dr., Texas City, Tx
(2 counts)
Texas City Police Dept.
COLLINS, JERONALD
Black Male, Born: October 10, 1989
3001 League City Parkway, Apt 303
League City, Tx
Aggravated Sexual Assault 6-year
old male
League City Police Dept.
DELACERDA,RICHIE JOE
Hispanic Male, Born: May 28, 1977
6601 FM-646, Santa Fe, Tx
female (3 counts)
Risk Level: High
Galveston County Sheriff
FILOTEO, FRAILAN BONIFACIO
White Male, Born: March 9, 1963
4730 Warren Way, Hitchcock, Tx
Carnes Brothers
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Where the family name
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Galveston
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409-741-5397
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Fine Steaks
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Telephone:
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GARDNER, ROBERT SHANNON
White Male, Born: August 29, 1975
860 Gulfview Dr., Crystal Beach, Tx
female
HOGUES, TROY EDWARDS
Black Male, Born: February 26, 1983
16727 David Glen, Friendswood, Tx
Risk Level: High
Friendswood Police Dept.
Fax: (409) 744-9623
11126 F.M. 3005
Lube & Tune
Featuring
HOWARD, JIM
Black Male, Born: September 15, 1980
2015 Jeridona, La Marque, Tx
Aggravate Sexual Assault of 13-year
old female
La Marque Police Dept.
MORRIS, EMILY ANN
White Female, Born: April 13, 1982
1715 Oak Ridge Dr., Kemah, Tx
Kemah Police Dept.
Jim Enloe
281-554-8044
281-554-8878 Fax
2102 W. Main League City, Tx 77574
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continued from page 25 (Profile)
ment has been an accepted and effective
method of accomplishing the job of solving crimes. It is also most beneficial in the
proactive approach of preventing some
criminal violations. The profiling process
is the best methodology that takes law
enforcement professionals from the
known factors and/or the available evidence to the timely identification of the
unknown perpetrators and their criminal
and/or destructive strategies and behaviors in any given community or society.
There is a certain minority segment in
our society today that has been working to
make profiling in general by law enforcement a civil rights violation. This would be
a huge mistake. There is documentation
that there has been some history of racial
profiling by some police agencies in some
communities during the many generations
of law enforcement in our country. This is
unacceptable to the law enforcement professional. However, imagine if you will,
being given the responsibility as a police
department chief to respond to a certain
crime wave or trend and then having your
hands tied as to using certain proven
methodologies that will identify the causes
or suspects of the criminal activity. Or
imagine that you are an investigator
charged with the responsibility to solve a
rash of burglaries, robberies or sexual
assaults. There is evidence that has been
collected and statements taken from witnesses, complainants and reportees concerning the crimes. These are credible
leads and clues that can be used to develop a pattern or profile of the suspects that
are likely or probably responsible for the
acts of violence and the crimes that have
been committed. Identification of the suspect or suspects is an indispensable component in solving the criminal acts and following through with effective prosecution
of the perpetrators.
In 99.9 percent of all cases the criminal
suspects always want to remain unknown.
Perhaps it’s because the crooks aren’t
proud of what they do, and will not stand
on the street corner and announce to the
world or admit what they have done and
then accept the consequences. They want
to perpetrate their crimes and escape
detection, but most especially to avoid
criminal prosecution. I believe the people
who commit crimes decide first that they
can “get away with it.” The escape after a
crime or eluding detection is the second
most important objective once the crime
is committed.
Does any of this make sense to you? The
job of a police officer is 85% common
sense and 15% knowledge. The skill that a
police officer develops over time is a result
of the effective interface of common sense
and knowledge. If there is a crime problem
for law enforcement to resolve, one of the
most helpful and indispensable tools is the
profiling process. This must be based on
known facts and evidence from the behavior patterns of suspected persons or
groups.
Bay Area to Host Texas Police Games No Insurance in Galveston, You May Be Towed
Staff Report
In June of this year, police athlete’s
from across the state will be in the
Houston-Galveston area competing in
the 32nd annual Texas Police Games.
For the first time, the annual event,
which draws hundreds of law enforcement officer’s from departments large
and small, will be competing at dozens
of locations in the area in sporting
events such as Archery, Volleyball,
Weight Lifting and job related events
like pistol and rifle competition and K9 and Mountain Biking events.
The Texas Police Games will attract
nearly two thousand police athletes
and a growing number of firefighters
who have only recently become eligible
to compete. The economic impact on
the area is estimated to be nearly $3
million, according to the Greater
Houston Convention and Visitors
Bureau.
The NASA Bay Hilton Hotel has been
selected as the host hotel for the event
which lasts five days beginning June
10th. “The folks at the Hilton really
laid out the red carpet for us,” said
event organizer Freddie Joe Pyland of
the Houston Police Department.
“Securing the locations and facilities
for all the various events was a task to
be reckoned with,” said Pyland. “The
outstanding help that we got from
Captain Mary Johnson of the Galveston
County Sheriff’s Office was a ‘Home
Run’ for us,” he remarked. “We also
received some much appreciated
assistance from Bill Daws, Athletic
Director at Clear Creek High School
where several of our events will be conducted.”
“In coordinating the games we relied
heavily on local law enforcement agencies. Our area coordinators were the
League City, Kemah, La Porte,
Pasadena, Webster, and Houston
Police Departments, as well as the
Galveston and Harris County Sheriff’s
❝
Spring has sprung
The grass has riz
Where last years
Careless driver is.
Office’s and the Houston Fire
Department. They all played valuable
rolls in putting this event together and
they continue working on it as the start
date grows nearer.
“Not to be overlooked is the great
help and assistance we are getting
from the Clear Creek, Pasadena and
Baytown Independent School Districts,
and the Alvin and San Jacinto
Community Colleges.
Our private sector partners include
Slick Willie’s on NASA Road One, South
Shore Harbor Fitness Center, Alpha
Bowling, Magnolia Creek and Timber
Creek Golf Clubs, and Memorial Park
in Houston. Others include Ultimate
Paintball, League City Sportsplex, Big
League Dreams and the Kemah
Development Commission,” Pyland
concluded.
The entire schedule of events is available online at texaspolicegames.org.
The website provides online entry
forms, coordinator contact information, hotel information and all the rules
and regulations pertaining to each
event. Persons or individuals interested in helping support this event may
contact Ronnie Sowell at the Texas
Police Athletic Federation, toll free, 1800-634-9752.
All competitors will pre-register at the
NASA Bay Hilton Hotel on NASA Road
One on the shores of Clear Lake.
More than twenty five supply vendors
are already signed up to display their
wares at the hotel. The vendor exhibit
coordinator is Elizabeth Schooler at
713-550-3351.
The competition events are free to
the public.
Statewide coordinators may be contacted for additional information. They
are Houston Police Officer’s Craig
Pennamon, 713-308-0239; Freddie
Joe Pyland, 281-924-3004; and Harris
County Sheriff’s Deputy Kim Malveaux,
713-877-5250.
Breck Porter/Gulf Coast Police News
GALVESTON - “If you don’t have insurance
and we stop you for a violation, chances are
your car will be impounded,” says Lt. Henry
Porretto, commander of the Galveston Police
Department, Special Operations Patrol,
charged with getting uninsured drivers off
the streets of Galveston.
“If you can’t prove
that you have valid
insurance or if you’ve
been arrested or citied
for no insurance, if
you are a flagrant violator, we re going to
tow you,” he told The
Police News.
The Special Operations Patrol (SOP) was
formed in November of last year by Police
Chief Kenneth Mack to deal with problems
that were generating citizen complaints,
among them red light runners, handicap
parking violators and uninsured motorists.
Last year police in Galveston issued nearly
5,000 citations for the offense. Fifty eight
were to drivers under the age of 17, and 710
to drivers under 21 years old. Almost half of
the tickets were issued by GPD’s motorcycle
officers who are now an integral part of the
Special Operations Patrol. They handed out
2333 of the 4995 tickets given to uninsured
motorist last year and are on a fast track to
exceed that number this year.
“We are trying to make the streets safe for
law abiding citizens,” says Porretto. “The
personal experiences of our most seasoned
officers is that people with no insurance
seem to drive with less care than people who
are insured. That’s the reason why we stop
them in the first place, for traffic violations.
That’s how we find them without insurance.”
“Many drivers have no insurance because
they have had so many violations that insurance companies will not insure them, yet
they continue to drive.
“We’re reasonable. Our officers use judgment before impounding someone’s car. If it
s just a case of a citizen not having an insurance card with them and we can verify their
coverage by calling the insurance company,
we do that. We are not out there just trying
to tow cars, we are trying to be fair and reasonable, but we do intend to remove as
many uninsured and unsafe drivers from our
streets as we can,” said the Lieutenant.
The policy of impounding uninsured vehicles began catching on across the country
last year. Police like it. The public does too.
And cities are jumping on the bandwagon. It’s hard to find
many
complaints
about a policy of hauling uninsured vehicles to the impound
lot. But as the policy’s
popularity spreads, police departments are
struggling to figure out if it’s an effective way
of getting uninsured vehicles and their drivers off the street. For now, at least, it’s worth
a shot, police say, because it’s a way to combat the issue of uninsured motorists. The
problem seems overwhelming: About one in
five Texas drivers has no car insurance,
according to the Texas Department of Public
Safety.
Since November, police have been towing
uninsured cars that were in accidents or
were pulled over for traffic stops. Police
aren’t releasing impounded cars until
motorists show proof of insurance, a valid
drivers license, proof of vehicle ownership,
and payment of all towing and storage
charges. Often, these accumulated charges
exceed the value of the impounded vehicle.
Galveston police are pleased with their policy so far. Cars are being taken off the
streets. But there s no way to tow every car,
they say.
The Police News tracked a recent case in
which a driver was stopped by a motorcycle
officer for a minor traffic violation, only to
discover that the driver had no driver’s
license or insurance. “If a person has no driver’s license, the car legally cannot move,”
according to Lt. Porretto. As a result, the
man was issued citations for no driver’s
license and no proof of insurance and his
vehicle was towed to an impound lot.
continued on page 30 (No Insurance)
TO M E S T E P
❞
The Gulf Coast
Police News
Visit us on the Web
Co n ce a l e d
H a n d g u n Tr a i n i n g
Crystal Beach Insurance Agency
P.O. Box 1017
Crystal Beach, TX 77650-1017
Tel: (409) 684-2220
Fax: (409) 684-3563
Jessicca Fairweather — Agent
Email:
Jessicca@CrystalBeachInsurance.com
Web:
http://www.CrystalBeachInsurance.com
Photos & Finge rp rints Included
A m m o Av a i l a b l e
(409) 945-6636
Cell
(281) 455-0846
Received this art in an e-mail from a sailor over
seas. His name is too small to read but his initals
are J.H. and he is a Navy Chief. Great Example
of PhotoShop Art.
continued from page 29 (No Insurance)
The citations alone could result in fines
totaling $553.00. The tow truck charges
were $167.50 and storage on the vehicle
accumulates at the rate of $22.00 each day.
If the vehicle is not claimed within 30 days,
it is sold at public auction. If this particular
car remained in storage for the entire 30
days before being claimed, the owner potentially would have to pay $1,380.50 to
reclaim his vehicle, which in our estimation
was worth less than a thousand dollars.
Lt. Porretto says that the six motorcycle
officers under his command are impounding
20-30 vehicles, “and there s no end in
sight.”
GULF SIDE
OVERHEAD DOOR INC.
POLICE HUMOR
The Golfer
A murder has been committed.
Police are called to an apartment and find a man standing, holding a 5-iron in
his hands, looking at the lifeless body of a woman on the ground.
The detective asks, “Sir, is that your wife?”
”Yes.”
”Did you hit her with that golf club?”
”Yes. Yes, I did,” the man answers. He stifles a sob, drops the club and puts
his hands on his head.
”How many times did you hit her?”
”I don’t know. Five...six ...put me down for a five.”
K
Police Dog
A woman saw an ad in the local newspaper which read: “Purebred Police Dog $25.”
Thinking that to be a great bargain, she called and ordered the dog to be delivered.
The next day a van arrived at her home and delivered the mangiest-looking mongrel she had ever seen.
In a rage, she telephoned the man who had placed the ad, “How dare you call that
mangy-mutt a purebred police dog?”
”Don’t let his looks deceive you, ma’am,” the man replied, “He’s in the Secret
Service.”
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major
credit cards
409-621- JEFF (5333)
Cap’n Bob’s PROPERTY WATCH
C a p ’ n B o b : A retired Sheriff’s Captain looking after your property – whatever you need, whenever you ask.
The Difference is Flexibility
No monthly fee … You only pay for work requested!
• Documented property inspections • Storm Preparations
• Inspect for Vandalism and Trespassing
• and WHATEVER
• Arrange Cleaning/Maintenance/Repair
• Check HVAC Operation/Service Scedules ELSE YOU NEED!
• Verify Security Lighting/Alarm Systems
(409) 737-9504
www.GalvestonPropertyWatch.com
Innocence Project to Review DNA for 354 Inmates UTMB Teddy Bear Gifts for Traumatized Children
DALLAS – The Innocence Project of Texas
will receive unprecedented access to
review the cases of 354 inmates requesting DNA testing under a plan unveiled by
new Dallas County District Attorney Craig
Watkins.
The upcoming review is the first of its
kind in Texas and “virtually unprecedented” nationwide, said Barry Scheck, codirector of the Innocence Project, a New
York-based legal center that specializes in
overturning wrongful convictions.
Smaller-scale efforts have been undertaken in Virginia, Florida and North
Carolina, experts said, but this is believed
to be the first time a prosecutor has called
for an outside examination of every
request for appeal based on DNA evidence.
Decision a No-brainer
Watkins, who has seen two men exonerated by DNA since taking office Jan. 1,
describes his decision as a no-brainer.
“We had to make this move,” Watkins
said Friday. “We’re going to do things right
in Dallas County and right some wrongs
that have been done in the past.”
DNA evidence has exonerated 12 Dallas
County men since 2001, which is more
than all but two states, according to the
Innocence Project.
A 13th man, James Giles, is expected to
be exonerated within the next few weeks,
Watkins said.
Thirty-four Dallas County inmates have
received DNA testing since being convicted. Eleven saw their guilt confirmed and
six are still going through the testing
process. In five cases, the DNA testing
was inconclusive, according to the district
attorney’s office.
Lab Keeps Evidence Longer
Dallas County has been the site of an
inordinate number of exonerations in part
because the laboratory prosecutors use
holds onto biological evidence for up to 25
years, said Jeff Blackburn, director of the
Innocence Project of Texas.
Other labs across the state often destroy
samples after convictions, he said.
Innocence Project lawyers and staffers
will work with law students at Texas
Wesleyan, Texas Tech, North Texas,
University of Texas at Arlington and
Southern Methodist to identify the most
likely candidates for exonerations.
No tax money will be used to pay for testing, Watkins said.
• Top two: Illinois and Texas lead the
nation in DNA exonerations with 26 each.
• Next in line: New York follows with 21.
• Nationally: There have been 194 exonerations.
Source: Innocence Project
GALVESTON — A group of clinical laboratory science students at UTMB have presented a collection of stuffed teddy bears
to the Galveston Police Department to
help the officer’s deal with traumatized
children they encounter at accidents,
crime scenes and other situations they
encounter, involving children who are having difficulty dealing with the circumstance.
(L to R) UTMB Students Jennifer Crook &
Mary Finn, CPS Supervisor Shemeca
Richard, Child Advocacy Center Executive
Assistant Barbara Cromie, Galveston Police
Officers Robert McCurley, Archie Chapman
& Stacy Papillion.
The students, members of Lambda Tau
Honor Society, recently conducted a Teddy
Bear Drive among the student body at
UTMB. The collection of Teddy Bears
were presented to officers of the GPD
Special Operations Unit at the Child
Advocacy Center in Galveston where some
of the toys will also be used for children at
the center.
A “Box of Bears” presented to the Child
Advocacy Center by UTMB Lamda Tau
Honor Society students.
POLICE HUMOR
”LAPD OFFICER: “We arrested this man beating the living daylights
out of some poor slob for no reason at all! What should we charge him
with?
”DESK SERGEANT: “Impersonating an Officer.”
K
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Galveston, Texas
409-741-DITV (3488) — 800-816-DITV (3488)
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house anywhere in
Galveston County on
your lot or one of mine.
We are willing to provide you with 100% financing on a 30 year fixed mortgage rate. Only
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Title Company of my choice. All you have to do
is pay your monthly fixed mortgage note.
To pre-qualify there is a minimum credit score of 620 to build
a new home or to buy one of the homes now being built.
PLEASE CONTACT
Galveston
Roxana Sifuentes, Loan Officer
Toni Leyva, Vice President
Carol Purdy, Pres/CEO
Coastal Community Federal Credit Union
(409) 765-6067
LaMarque
Joe Garcia, Loan Officer
Lisa Scott, Branch Manager
Coastal Community Federal Credit Union
(409) 986-6595
You are welcome to come by and see the quality
of our homes. Please visit one of our homesites at
403 12th Ave. N. in Texas City.
Builder Contact: blushields@houston.rr.com. We can build a
2 bedroom, 2 bath home on your lot starting at $90,000.00.

Police News March 07

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