News from the Lone Star State

[TexasStooge]

Gas wells: Too close for comfort?

Residents' worries rise as drilling pops up in more N. Texas cities

By LAURIE FOX, JEFF MOSIER and MARICE RICHTER / The Dallas Morning News

FORT WORTH, Texas - Brandi Hughes first noticed a field of gravel taking shape just two houses away from her home northwest of Fort Worth.

Then came the semi-trucks. Before she knew it, a hulking drilling rig climbed into the sky.

"I knew what it was, but I couldn't believe that it was right there," she said, standing on the front lawn of her brick home, craning her neck to take in her giant new neighbor.

The rig belongs to Devon Energy Corp., and soon it will begin drilling for natural gas on the grounds of Crossroads United Methodist Church. The landowner who sold the property to the church years ago retained the mineral rights and sold them to Devon for drilling.

Ms. Hughes and other residents of the Avondale Ranch subdivision say they had no idea that they would someday live in the shadow of such a formidable drilling operation. Now they have questions about safety, noise and traffic.

And they're not alone.

Throughout North Texas, but particularly near Fort Worth, homebuilders, developers and natural gas companies jockey for any spare scrap of land.

The rush to build homes in Tarrant, Denton and Wise counties – once rural areas – flies headlong into the booming business of natural gas drilling in the Barnett Shale, a huge underground layer of heavy, black rock that's saturated with the natural gas needed to make up for a declining U.S. supply.

The 5,000-square-mile field under 15 North Texas counties has 4,000 wells and produces about 1.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas a day, enough to power about 10,500 homes a year, according to industry reports.

Drilling has brought about a new problem: How can natural gas drilling companies, builders and property owners peacefully coexist?

"Gas development in urban areas is a recent thing," said Martin Garza, a real estate attorney for Hughes & Luce in Dallas who works in gas well development issues. "It creates less friction if the wells are in place before the homes. But it's a necessary part of life today."

The solution is a delicate balancing act among the state law that gives mineral rights owners the right to drill, property owners' right to quality of life and the country's need for natural gas.

The balance was upset after a fatal explosion at a Forest Hill gas well Saturday. Officials from XTO Energy blamed operator error for the blast that killed contractor Robert Dale Gayan, 49.

It's an inescapable neighborhood issue because of skyrocketing home development that, in some cases, has brought gas wells and drilling rigs right to people's doorsteps.

Touting education

Gas drilling companies say they want to educate developers and residents about their operations to ease noise, safety and environmental concerns.

"We install sound blankets on the outside of drilling rig floors for noise reduction. We use a closed-loop system so there is no mud pit at the drilling location, and then, after the wells are drilled, we use smaller tank batteries at the site," said Larry Dale, president of Dale Operating Co., a drilling company.

"But most important is the education we do with the communities and emergency responders to let them know what is taking place, what to expect and who to call should they have a concern."

Most cities have tried to negotiate everyone's rights and ensure protections by setting some regulations on drilling.

Cities have the right to regulate drilling but cannot severely restrict anyone's ability to recover their underground minerals. The mineral rights owner on a piece of land has the right to drill for gas and oil even if the surface property owner doesn't agree.

And cities – and school districts – are making money off the wells by leasing mineral rights for public lands. They're also reaping tax benefits. The value of mineral rights in Tarrant County doubled from $350 million in 2004 to more than $700 million last year. Taxable values of natural gas inside the wells in Denton County now approach $1 billion.

Fort Worth's gas wealth

Fort Worth has almost 500 wells in its city limits. Its wealth of underground natural gas makes it a major player in the drilling business.

Mayor Mike Moncrief has recommended that the minimum distance between wells and homes be increased from 300 feet to 600 feet. The issue will come up again today at a meeting of a task force formed to study the possibility of restricting drilling.

Danny Scarth, a member Fort Worth's gas drilling task force, said representatives came to the table with different agendas, but they have been able to find a consensus. The task force includes homeowners, real estate professionals and members of the gas industry.

"Not everyone is happy," he said. "Not everyone is upset."

Cities throughout the area say they've taken their cues from Fort Worth in crafting ordinances regarding gas drilling.

For unincorporated areas, there is no state requirement for a minimum distance between a home and a well, but the state Municipal Code, which applies to cities, sets that limit at 200 feet.

Area cities' ordinances range from 300 feet to up to 1,000 feet between wells and homes. A few have additional limits on noise, lights and hours of operations.

Trophy Club's rules

Trophy Club has some of the tightest restrictions on the 23 wells in its town.

The drilling is contained in an undeveloped area of Trophy Club, but developer D.R. Horton is proposing a 697-acre mixed-use development to be built around the gas wells.

When a drilling company first approached, hundreds of residents turned out in opposition. Complaints included safety, noise, odors and impact on property values.

Nick Sanders, who was elected mayor as a result of his leadership on this issue, said the town did everything possible to protect residents, including hiring a consultant to inspect the installation of wells and drilling operations.

He said that as drilling has expanded and wells have proliferated, residents have become concerned about monitoring and safety.

"We have concerns that the state doesn't have the resources to monitor all of this effectively," Mr. Sanders said. "With all these new wells, will there be enough inspectors to keep up?"

City officials in some small towns like Justin and Northlake also have concerns about improper disposal of water from the wells.

And Denton County is bearing the cost of road and bridge repairs on rural roads that weren't built to withstand the weight of trucks used in drilling.

Officials with the Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates drilling, said the agency's goal is to inspect every well in the state once a year and some as many as three or four times a year. The more frequent inspections are for wells that pose the greatest pollution risks.

Horizontal drilling

Producers in North Texas have developed a special method of drilling in urban areas – called horizontal drilling – to minimize the neighborhood impact of a project.

Producers drill down to the shale, and then drill the shale horizontally, in multiple directions, to boost the scope and production of the well.

After drilling, well caps are left behind. Most of the time, when the initial monthlong drilling is complete, the wells are silent.

Fort Worth resident Pam Staskus was caught off guard when drilling began anew at the well just off her front yard.

"It gave me huge headaches when they were drilling, and it's just so close to our homes," she said. "We do worry that something could happen."

Deaths are rare

But deaths from blowouts and well control problems are rare, according to the Railroad Commission. Before the Forest Hill accident, only one person had died in Texas since 2000. Some blowouts at wells in Haslet, Denton County and in Wise County have forced evacuations, but no injuries were reported, according to the Railroad Commission.

Officials said the only people who have been injured or killed in gas well explosions or accidents have been operations workers.

The biggest safety risk is a fire resulting from a gas explosion, an agency spokeswoman said.

The Rev. Keith Murray, pastor of Crossroads United Methodist Church, said he's not worried about the well on his property.

He said the church has worked with Devon officials to pay for a new road, and the company has promised fencing and landscaping around the well when it's completed. After the drilling is done, his church along U.S. Highway 287 will have a new parking lot.

"They follow the safety codes because it's their lives, too," he said. "Accidents happen. That gas well is no more dangerous than that road behind us is."

[TexasStooge]

Man planned to kill himself

Terminally ill man charged in wife's slaying free on bail

By TANYA EISERER / The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS, Texas - The terminally ill man accused of killing his wife of 60 years planned to also kill himself, authorities said Wednesday.

James Roberson, 83, left a note that detailed instructions to call police, the couple's daughter and a local funeral home. It also said that he and his wife, Mary Roberson, also 83, could be found in the back of the couple's tidy brick home in west Oak Cliff.

Authorities said that after reading the note, a hospice worker discovered that Mr. Roberson had shot and killed his wife as she lay in their bed. The hospice worker then called the couple's daughter, who notified police about 10:20 a.m. Tuesday.

Mrs. Roberson had been dependent on her husband after she suffered a series of strokes that left her right side partially paralyzed. Police say Mr. Roberson, who has brain and lung cancer, killed his wife because he feared she would wind up in a nursing home upon his death.

But when he tried to shoot himself, "for some reason, he couldn't pull the trigger," said Sgt. Gene Reyes, a homicide supervisor. "It's hard to say why. It could have been that the gun malfunctioned."

The frail Mr. Roberson, with two sheriff's jailers on either side helping him walk, shuffled out of the Dallas County Jail shortly before 2 p.m. Wednesday after being released on $2,500 bail on a murder charge. He was on suicide watch while in jail, authorities said.

His adult son and daughter were there to help him, but they declined to comment. His daughter whispered to him, telling him it would be OK, as they left the jail.

"That's one of the lowest bonds for murder I've ever seen," said Sgt. Don Peritz, Dallas County Sheriff's Department spokesman. "And I think the magistrate probably took the situation into account."

Chief Magistrate Judge Boyd Patterson said laws governing bail decisions require a judge to take the following factors into account: the seriousness of the crime, danger to the community and the chances the accused person will flee if released.

"In any case of a mercy killing, the safety of the community is not much of an issue," Judge Patterson said, adding that he has seen low bail for murder suspects.

But, he said, "I can't say I've ever seen one lower than $2,500, and I've been down here for 23 and a half years."

Staff writer Jason Trahan contributed to this report.

[TexasStooge]

Man nabbed for dog's torture death

By CYNTHIA VEGA / WFAA ABC 8

CARROLLTON, Texas - A man was arrested early Thursday in connection with the torture of a puppy who was found severely burned on Good Friday.

The dog later died.

Dallas police arrested Deshawn Brown, 21, at his mother's home in the Denton County community of Corinth shortly before 1 a.m. He faces several charges, including cruelty to an animal.

"All the personnel involved with this are quite relieved to have this gentleman in custody, based on the extreme cruelty of this crime" said Dallas police spokesman Sgt. Robert Patterson.

Brown was being held at the Lew Sterrett Justice Center in Dallas.

Mercy, a 10-month-old pit bull mix, had been doused with gasoline and set on fire. She was rescued on Good Friday, but she was unable to survive the extensive stab wounds and burns that covered 60 percent of her body.

Mercy died over the weekend. A memorial service was scheduled for Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Operation Kindness shelter, 3201 Earhart Drive in Carrollton.

[TexasStooge]

UTA students invent 'lie detector cap'

By JIM DOUGLAS / WFAA ABC 8

ARLINGTON, Texas - Some inventive students at the University of Texas at Arlington think they're on the verge of creating what might be an important new weapon in the war on terror.

It's a lie detector cap, which they say might also help police and border patrol agents.

To tell the truth, it doesn't look like much.

But these UTA graduate students think they're inventing a better lie detector, one that's basically fool proof.

Here's how: A little box sends beams of near infrared light through the skull to the surface of the brain. Receptors in the box measure light that comes back. Changes in that reflected light indicate changes in blood flow.

"How old are you?" Chris Lambe is asked.

"20," he replies.

He is lying - he's really 28.

Research shows that his brain had to work a little bit harder to create that lie, than to simply tell the truth.

The machine can detect that.

"If someone is lying, then some part of the brain is thinking hard to make stories, or to make different answer. In that case, that part of the brain needs more oxygen. More blood," says Dr Hanli Liu.

Liu has worked on the project for 15 years.

She hopes to convince the Department of Homeland Security to pump in research funding to finish the job.

"What we're asking is about two years development - two to three years," she says.

She says the goal is to create a portable, wireless, accurate way to separate fact from fiction.

It could prove invaluable to interrogators questioning suspected terrorists.

But without more research funding, Liu says the true promise of this technology will remain locked inside the brain.

[TexasStooge]

Wanted felon arrested after chase

DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Police arrested a wanted felon Thursday afternoon, but not before he led them on a 40-minute pursuit stretching from Northwest Dallas to western Tarrant County.

The driver at the wheel of a dark red Ford Taurus initially fled from Dallas police. They followed on Highway 183 past Irving Mall, through Euless, Bedford and Hurst.

The chase continued on Loop 820 around northern Tarrant County, past North Richland Hills, Haltom City, Saginaw, and Lake Worth to Fort Worth.

The suspect then headed west on Interstate 20, but made a U-turn to the eastbound lanes.

It appeared that the car's tires were disabled. The car slowed on I-20 in the Benbrook area and the driver, wearing a white T-shirt and shorts, surrendered and was escorted to a Dallas police car.

No injuries were reported.

The suspect's name was not available.

[TexasStooge]

Woman attacked in Keller garage

KELLER, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/WFAA.com) - Keller police said a woman was attacked at her home Thursday morning and the assailant fled in her sport utility vehicle.

Police said the call for help came from a house in the 1600 block of Greenhill Court, near Sky Creek Ranch Golf Club, shortly after 8:30 a.m.

The 39-year-old victim said she had been assaulted by a man who grabbed her from behind and held a knife at her throat. The woman managed to escape after fighting off the attacker. Police said she suffered a superficial cut on the wrist.

Police are looking for the suspect in a stolen 2001 Toyota Sequoia SUV with Texas license plate 294-CPZ. The vehicle has an Indiana police decal in the corner of the rear window.

The woman's purse and three car seats are in the vehicle.

The victim told police the suspect has done work at her home twice in the past few weeks. He has been identified and Keller police issued an arrest warrant.

Police said the suspect has not been at work in several days and his employer had reported his truck as being stolen.

[TexasStooge]

Youths charged with beating, sodomizing teen

SPRING, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) – Two white teenagers severely beat and sodomized a 16-year-old Hispanic boy who they believed had tried to kiss a 12-year-old white girl at a party, authorities said.

The attackers forced the boy out of the Saturday night house party, beat him and sodomized him with a metal pipe, shouting epithets "associated with being Hispanic," said Lt. John Martin with the Harris County Sheriff's Department.

They then poured bleach over the boy, apparently to destroy DNA evidence and left him for dead, authorities said. He wasn't discovered until Sunday, 12 hours after the attack.

The victim, who was not identified, suffered severe internal injuries and remained in critical condition Thursday.

"It's more than likely the boy won't live," Harris County prosecutor Mike Trent said.

Keith Robert Turner, 17, and David Henry Tuck, 18, are charged with aggravated sexual assault, investigators said. Prosecutors are considering whether to attach hate-crime charges, but unless the victim dies, the possible penalty would be the same. If the boy dies and it is ruled a hate crime, Tuck could face the death penalty, authorities said. Turner would be too young to face execution.

The case has been turned over to the homicide division, Martin said, normal procedure in severe assault cases.

Authorities set bond at $100,000 for Turner. Tuck's bond was initially set at $20,000, but it was revoked Thursday. He was being held in the Harris County Jail.

Spring is a middle-class, largely white suburb of 36,000 residents, located about 10 miles north of the Houston city line.

[TexasStooge]

New drug spreading across North Texas schools

By BERT LOZANO / WFAA ABC 8

A mixture of heroin and Tylenol PM, commonly known as "cheese" on the streets, is quickly becoming a deadly addiction among teens.

One North Texas father found his 18-year-old daughter dead in bed as he tried to wake her up for school one Monday Morning.

"We were told that the child was using cheese before," said Deputy Chief Julian Bernal, Dallas Police Department.

Cheese is made after the two ingredients are grinded together into a powdery form and then snorted for a cheap high. Police said the combination makes it highly addictive.

"Kids don't know they are dealing with heroin," Deputy Bernal said. "They don't know what the substance is in a lot of situations. They say that they are doing cheese, but they really don't know what's contained in the substance and that's what is so scary about it."

At Pinkston High School, where the teenage girl attended school, many students said cheese is something most of them have heard about.

"A lot of people buy it at school," said one student. "It's going on at school. People buy it in a pill."

Police said the drug can cost as low as $2.00. The Dallas Independent School District is investigating 54 felony cases, and 24 cases of those were found on the campuses of 11 middle and high schools.

"The district is responding to the growing drug problem," Deputy Bernal said. "The district is sending students caught with cheese to drug rehab."

But for now police, said the best way to combat the new drug is to make principals and parents aware of its dangers before it's too late.

[TexasStooge]

Dallas Police investigate possible pipe bomb

DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Police are investigating what may be a pipe bomb in a Dallas neighborhood.

The investigation in taking place in the 1400 block of Cove, near East Kiest Boulevard.

At least six homes have been evacuated.

A man who rented a U-haul van found the devices in the truck.

[TexasStooge]

Police: Princeton student had 'hit list'

PRINCETON, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Police in the northern Collin County community of Princeton said they have arrested a 16-year-old juvenile who is charged with making a terroristic threat.

Chief Jeff Barnett said the juvenile had threatened to harm fellow students and school officials. He said police recovered a "hit list" of 20 students and two adults who had been targeted.

"The threat was not specific in nature; it was just a list of students," said Princeton Independent School District Superintendent Philip Anthony. "We don't know of anyone else potentially involved."

Chief Barnett said the suspect had been involved in a fight on the Princeton High School campus on April 12 and was arrested. The student was later released and placed in an off-campus educational program in McKinney.

The student subsequently made "terroristic threats" to other students and adults. "There was a mention of firearms," Chief Barnett said, adding that no weapons were found in a search of the young man's home. He was arrested at the alternative school on Wednesday.

Anthony said school officials met Thursday with parents of the students who were named on the "hit list" to address their concerns and to outline the steps being taken to safeguard students. "We are on high alert here, keeping all exterior doors locked, keeping everything locked down," he said. "The reaction of the parents was that of cooperation and appreciation that we were giving them advance notice."

Princeton is located seven miles east of McKinney.

[TexasStooge]

Texas House OKs $1 cigarette tax hike

AUSTIN, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) — A pack-a-day will cost Texas smokers an extra $365 a year under a cigarette tax increase approved in the House on Thursday.

The higher tax, which would kick in Sept. 1, is expected to generate $680 million that would be used to offset school property tax cuts in Gov. Rick Perry's plan to revamp the way Texas funds public education.

The tax plan, which also includes an expanded business tax, is part of Perry's answer to a Texas Supreme Court ruling declaring the state's school funding system unconstitutional and ordering it fixed by June 1. Lawmakers are in the second week of a 30-day special legislative session to tackle the issue.

Perry has said that the plan would reduce school property taxes by one-third, although the House version does not prescribe enough money to get to that level.

Before it can become law, the measure must be approved by the Senate, which is expected to take up the issue next week. If the Senate agrees, the new tax will be added to the 41 cent tax smokers already pay in Texas.

With an 82-57 vote, supporters fought efforts to reduce the increase.

Critics argued that Texas smokers would cross state lines to buy cheaper cigarettes, or buy them online to avoid the tax.

At $1.41, Texas' taxes on cigarettes would be significantly higher than surrounding states—almost twice as high as New Mexico's 91-cent levy. A carton there would be about $9.68 cheaper.

"A lot of people think if you raise the price high enough, people are just going to quit smoking. I'm not one of those," said Rep. Warren Chisum, a Pampa Republican who tried unsuccessfully to reduce the tax increase to 65 cents a pack. "They just get them from another source."

Perry has argued that the higher tax would deter people from smoking, saving the state additional money in health care costs related to smoking.

"If the choice is between taxing property or taxing poison," he said, "then I say let's tax cigarettes."

[TexasStooge]

Raid rumors leave workers on edge

Feds say employers targeted, but employees skip out

By FRANK TREJO and TIM WYATT / The Dallas Morning News and PATRICIA ESTRADA / Al Día

Rumors that immigration agents are rounding up illegal immigrants, perhaps in retaliation for recent protests, have spread fear from construction sites to supermarkets to ice cream pushcarts across North Texas this week.

Although immigration officials said Thursday that no major detention sweeps had occurred in the Dallas area since last week's action against a pallet-making company, officials with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said they intend to continue to crack down on employers who are more egregious violators of immigration law.

The fear of raids is having an immediate effect.

Ice cream vendor Floriano Maldonado, 48, believes that the raids are real and that they are directly related to the April 9 march when hundreds of thousands of people marched through Dallas advocating immigrants' rights.

"We told them, 'We're here!' and now they're coming after us," Mr. Maldonado said.

John Chakwin, the region's top investigation official for Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Dallas, said the biggest targets of the Secure Border Initiative will be employers who profit from hiring illegal workers, but added that work site visits by immigration agents are going to lead to more people being bused back to Mexico.

"We can't possibly chase every illegal alien in North Texas, but we've got to go after the companies who hire them," Agent Chakwin said Thursday. "But if someone is doing something illegal – or here illegally – they should be looking over their shoulders."

Mr. Chakwin said his office is working at least five active investigations in this region – which includes North Texas and Oklahoma – and gathering information from more than a dozen local, state and federal agencies for more.

"I think there is more to come," he said. "We're going to be targeting the most egregious violators first, and we're going to charge them criminally and go after their assets."

An example of that effort occurred last week when coordinated raids on one national company, IFCO Systems, resulted in apprehension of more than 1,100 illegal workers and a few employers.

Dallas-area raids at three IFCO facilities netted 93 workers, and all but three were from Mexico, according to ICE spokesman Carl Rusnok. By the end of the day, 90 had agreed to "voluntary removal," had been loaded on buses and were headed back to the border, he said.

Mr. Chakwin said the IFCO raids went off without incident or complaint.

But the impact of the raids lingers.

• At one construction site Tuesday, just two of 35 workers showed up after word spread of an impending raid.

• Workers in a sandwich shop first sent in a scout to check for signs of a raid before the rest of their shift colleagues would show up for the lunch rush.

• Shoppers who usually go to Fiesta or Carnival stores said they are now buying groceries at places such as Tom Thumb.

Afraid to show up

The protests have been fueled by a bill passed in the U.S. House in December that would make it a felony to be in the country illegally. The bill also would make it a crime to help illegal immigrants. The U.S. Senate is working on its own version of the legislation.

Mr. Maldonado said Thursday was his first day back at work in almost two weeks because he has been afraid to appear in public. He said the seven other men he lives with in an apartment have also stayed away from work.

"I'm sure they are not rumors. The immigration is doing raids. They are picking people up," he said.

Mr. Maldonado, who said he has lived in Dallas for two years, said he needs to work because he still owes about $700 to the man who smuggled him into the country.

The manager of the Oak Cliff ice cream company where he works said that out of 130 employees, only four showed up for work Wednesday and 17 Thursday.

"We've always been afraid of being robbed when we go out to work; now we're afraid of Immigration, too," Mr. Maldonado said.

Vanna Slaughter, head of immigration counseling services at Catholic Charities in Dallas, said the concerns go beyond the workers.

"Our phones have been ringing off the hook. Employers have been calling us trying to find out what's happening, and our clients have been calling wanting to discuss their cases over the phone because they're afraid to come to our office," she said.

'It's all false'

Dallas lawyer Domingo Garcia, one of the organizers of the massive march, said that he and other Hispanic activists have heard the reports of new raids but that so far, all have turned out to be unfounded rumors.

"We've talked to the people at ICE and to immigration judges, and it's all false," said Mr. Garcia, who is civil rights chairman for the League of United Latin American Citizens.

He mentioned that he has heard of some immigrants not sending their children to school or missing doctors' appointments because they fear raids.

"I would hope that President Bush, and I would hope that ICE and their local representatives, would not engage in that type of conduct. And if they do, we're prepared to take action against them," Mr. Garcia said.

That message could be reinforced Monday when many workers are expected to take the day off as part of an economic boycott, a follow-up protest for the rights of illegal immigrants.

Many who support the cause of illegal immigrants are doing what they can to help those afraid to venture out.

Francisco "Pancho" Jaime, a Dallas-area contractor, said he has had to go buy groceries for some of his workers.

"They are afraid to go buy food, but I told them I would go buy food for them," Mr. Jaime said.

[TexasStooge]

BREAKING NEWS: Traffic

From WFAA ABC 8 and Traffic Pulse Networks

DALLAS: Eastbound I-30 is closed between Fielder and Lamar Blvd./Cooper St. due to multi-vehicle accident.

Real-time Dallas/Ft. Worth Traffic Reports from Traffic Pulse

[TexasStooge]

High-speed chase leads to crash in Irving

IRVING, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - A high-speed police chase Thursday night ended in a crash in the 1600 block of East Grauwler in Irving.

The chase started when Dallas police tried to pull over a stolen car. Five minutes later as the driver headed into Irving he flipped over.

He then tried to run but police caught him.

One person was seen loaded into an ambulance.

[TexasStooge]

Carjackers hit Fort Worth couple

FORT WORTH, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Fort Worth police were searching Friday for two men who robbed and kidnapped a couple overnight.

Investigators said the man and his wife pulled into their driveway in the 3700 block of Galvez Avenue around midnight when two men pulled a gun on them.

The woman got away, but the assailants drove off with her husband.

They later released him unharmed, but sped away with their SUV, a tan Chevrolet Tahoe.

Photojournalist Mike Zukerman contributed to this report.

[TexasStooge]

Police increase presence at Sachse High after arrests

By IAN McCANN / The Dallas Morning News

SACHSE, Texas - Police maintained a stepped-up presence at Sachse High School Friday after a fight Thursday led to five arrests and four more citations for disorderly conduct.

Sachse police Sgt. Marty Cassidy said the students got into an argument that escalated into a fight, with shoving and punches, about 2:40 p.m. Thursday in the bus-loading area. When an officer and coaches couldn’t break it up, the officer used pepper spray, and the fighting stopped.

Four 17-year-old students—Justin Roberson of Garland, Kindle Thome of Rowlett, Dwayne Jordan of Garland and Dameon King of Garland—were arrested on disorderly conduct charges, taken to the Sachse jail and later released. A juvenile student was charged and released to a parent.

Three more adult students and another juvenile were expected to be issued citations on Friday. Disorderly conduct is a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by a fine up to $500.

Sgt. Cassidy said that in addition to school resource officers, patrol officers would be present as school lets out Friday, though he said police had no indication that there would be more fighting.

[TexasStooge]

Cutting torch sparks Big Town fire

By JIM GETZ / The Dallas Morning News

MESQUITE, Texas - A demoliton crew working on the roof of the old Foley's store at Big Town Mall accidentally touched off a fire that sent flames and black smoke into the morning sky today, a Mesquite Fire Department spokesman said.

No injuries were reported in the blaze, which broke out about 9:50 a.m. and was contained by 10:15.

The mall, touted as the first enclosed and air-conditioned shopping mall in the Southwest when it opened in 1959, has been abandoned in recent years and is being torn down to make way for future development.

Mike Lewis, field supervisor with Cherry Demolition of Houston, said his small crew was clearing debris on the roof in preparation for further demolition. "Debris got piled up there, and something started it," he said.

Fire Department spokesman Mark Noble said the blaze was sparked by a cutting torch the crew was using to sever a bolt.

[TexasStooge]

Explosion destroys Fort Worth house

By KARIN KELLY / WFAA ABC 8

FORT WORTH, Texas - A one-storey house in Fort Worth has been almost totally destroyed by an explosion but no one was inside at the time.

The blast took place on the 800 block of Fairview, north east of downtown.

Firefighters say the explosion may have been caused by a leak in the natural gas line. Atmos is on the scene attempting to determine what happened.

The elderly man who used to live in the house died about a month ago. Neighbors were concerned about a caretaker who lived in the house with her 18-year-old son, but they were not there at the time.

"It had not crack to it, it was just a boom sound," said Don Andrews.

"It was like a bomb hitting. I was sitting in the dining room - it shook the whole house," said his wife Mary Lou.

Houses in the neighborhood date back to the 1930s.

[TexasStooge]

Granger wants ship named in Fort Worth's honor

By LAURIE FOX / The Dallas Morning News

U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, R-Fort Worth, is launching a campaign to name one of the U.S. Navy's new ships the USS Fort Worth in honor of the North Texas city.

Ms. Granger made her request in a letter to Secretary of Navy Donald Winter, who names all new Navy ships. Ms. Granger, who announced her intentions Friday, said that many communities have a U.S. Navy ship named in their honor, and she wants Fort Worth to be one of them.

She cited the city’s long association with the U.S. military, the men and women from Fort Worth who serve in the military and the thousands of Fort Worth residents who work in the defense industry.

The Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base is located in Fort Worth as are Lockheed Martin Aeronautics and Bell Helicopter-Textron, companies that build military aircraft.

[TexasStooge]

Prosecutor: No hate-crime charges for 2 teens

HOUSTON, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) - Prosecutors won't seek hate-crime charges against two white teens accused of brutally beating and sodomizing a 16-year-old Hispanic boy after he tried to kiss a young girl, officials said.

If the teenagers are convicted, though, jurors will be told during sentencing about the ethnic slurs used during the attack, Harris County prosecutor Mike Trent told the Houston Chronicle for Friday's editions.

David Henry Tuck, 18, and Keith Robert Turner, 17, are both charged with aggravated sexual assault in the attack that left the unidentified victim in critical condition with massive internal injuries.

Authorities said the two dragged the boy from a house party Saturday and into the yard, where they sodomized him with a plastic pipe from a patio table umbrella and poured bleach on him. Trent on Friday described the pipe as being sharpened at one end and said Tuck stomped on the boy with steel-toe boots and kicked the pipe into him.

At one point, the teens tried to carve something on the boy's chest with a knife, he told CNN Friday.

"I don't know that the very beginning of the attack was racial," Trent said, "but there's no question that they were venting quite a bit of hatred in their hearts."

The victim lay behind the house for more than 10 hours before he was found and someone called an ambulance. Trent said there were witnesses to the beating, though no one else had been charged.

"You do certainly have to wonder why anyone not report that for as long as they did," he told CNN.

Investigators said the attack happened at an unsupervised house party in Spring after the 16-year-old tried to kiss a 12-year-old Hispanic girl.

Bleach was poured over the boy's body in an attempt to destroy DNA evidence, Sheriff's Lt. John Denholm said.

Trent said Friday that doctors had also told investigators they suspected some kind of toxicity in his internal organs that may have been caused by foreign substance, "which makes me wonder if they didn't pour bleach down the pipe as well."

Charles Hinton, Tuck's attorney, did not immediately return a call seeking comment. It was not known if Turner had an attorney.

Authorities set bond at $100,000 for Turner, who was still waiting to make his initial court appearance. Tuck's bond was initially set at $20,000, but it was revoked Thursday during a court hearing.

The sexual assault charges are punishable by five years to life in prison.

Trent said if the victim dies, the teens could face murder charges punishable by life in prison or the death penalty.