News from the Lone Star State

[TexasStooge]

Garland teen killed in Richardson disturbance

RICHARDSON, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - A 17-year-old Sachse High School student was shot and killed Friday night in a Richardson parking lot.

The dead teen, identified as Jason Martin of Garland, was among six people shot during a disturbance at 11 p.m. in front of the Super Target store in the 600 block of South Plano Road. Martin was pronounced dead after being taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas.

The other five victims all received non-life threatening injuries.

Police said the shooting may have been sparked by an incident earlier in the evening at the Berkner-Lake Highlands high school football game.

[TexasStooge]

CRIME ALERT: Garland teen killed in Richardson brawl (Updated)

By CAROL CAVAZOS / WFAA ABC 8

RICHARDSON, Texas — School administrators thought trouble might follow Friday night's big game between Berkner and Lake Highlands high schools. But they had no idea it would lead to a shooting that left one student dead and five others wounded.

Richardson police dectectives tried Saturday to match up statements from all the witnesses. Until then, it's not clear whether students fired guns into the air or directly at others.

The students involved in the late night brawl weren't just from the rival schools; Jason Martin, the 17-year-old student who was killed, lived in Garland and was a senior at Sachse High School.

"He was an 'A' student," said Denise Martin, the victim's mother, clinging to a photo of her son from his recent homecoming dance. "I just want to plead to everyone, because this was my only child."

Martin's parents want to know who shot and killed Jason Friday night. The teen's father said that he and Jason's grandfather accompanied him to the big game between Berkner and Lake Highlands. At halftime, about 150 people tried getting in, but Berkner coach Jim Ledford, said his principal was ready.

"On Wednesday, he asked our administration not to let people in unless they have Berkner I.D. or Lake Highlands I.D.," Ledford said.

But after the game, students gathered at a Super Target parking lot in Richardson, a short distance from Berkner High. A friend of Jason's saw one of the fights—and left.

"It was something terrible," said Shemesha Moore. "They started turning out the lights at a certain time, and then we heard a gunshot, too. So, I was like, 'Okay, it's time to go.'"

Five young people suffered non-life threatening injuries.

Shemesha said she will attend another football game, but said she and her friends intend to go straight home afterwards.

School administrators hope others will do the same.

The altercation was the third Friday night after a high school football game, and the second in Richardson. A fight broke out between students at Pierce and Richardson high schools at a Whataburger parking lot in Richardson after a game between those two cross-town rivals. No one was seriously injured.

However, a Richardson police officer on his way to the melee fight drove his patrol car into a light pole. He was taken to a hospital with a broken nose and abdominal pain.

Earlier, three teenagers were shot in a Duncanville church parking lot after a game between Duncanville and Cedar Hill high schools. All were expected to survive.

Dallas Morning News writer Jay Parsons contributed to this report.

[TexasStooge]

Tips surge after appeals in teen's beating death

Dallas: Commissioner, radio personality ask for public's help

By JASON TRAHAN / The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS, Texas - At least $35,000 in rewards along with pleas from a Dallas County commissioner and a popular radio show host have helped open a floodgate of tips as Dallas detectives search for the identities of up to 20 men who beat a teenager to death last weekend.

By early Friday evening, 50 to 60 people had called police with tips in the death of Joseph Anthony Davis Jr., 18, who was attacked Sunday morning in a downtown parking lot at San Jacinto and Harwood streets as at least 100 people milled about.

Earlier, detectives were disappointed when only a few calls came in. Most led nowhere, prompting Commissioner John Wiley Price and KBFB 97.9 FM "The Beat" radio personality Rickey Smiley to ask constituents and listeners for help Friday.

"This is domestic terrorism," Mr. Price said at a morning news conference. "We want these terrorists brought to justice. Someone saw something, and as a community, we won't say we will just tolerate this."

He pledged to lobby businesses to raise the current reward to $50,000.

Mr. Smiley said he devoted six hours of his hip-hop show the last two days to talking about Mr. Davis' slaying.

"I have a son who is 15," Mr. Smiley said. "When I saw that child's picture on TV, it outraged me."

The publicity apparently worked, police said.

"The calls are coming in," Lt. Mike Scoggins said Friday afternoon. "We have three detectives on this case now instead of one."

He said the leads "might all be nothing, but at least people are calling."

Police said Mr. Davis and two relatives went to downtown Dallas for a party after the Grambling-Prairie View A&M football game last weekend but did not attend because it was too crowded.

As Mr. Davis and his relatives were hanging out in a parking lot about two blocks from the party at the Adam's Mark Hotel, police said, a mob of young men launched an unprovoked attack on them.

Witnesses told police that Mr. Davis was kicked, punched and jumped on by up to 20 men. Police said 100 to 200 people were in the crowd.

Some of the attackers chased Mr. Davis' uncle about a block and beat him severely until a passing Dallas police sergeant intervened. By the time more police navigated the clogged streets around the crime scene, the crowd had scattered.

Mr. Davis died later at a hospital.

He moved to Dallas a few months ago after graduating from high school in Mississippi. Relatives and friends said he and a cousin wanted to get good jobs and go to college in the area.

[TexasStooge]

Fort Worth teen struck, killed by tow truck

FORT WORTH, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) — Fort Worth police are investigating a deadly accident in which a teenager was dragged a block by a tow truck.

Police said 15-year-old Dwight Ward was running across the street when he was struck by the truck in the 2300 hundred block of Evans Ave. around 11 p.m. Saturday.

The impact caused the driver to lose control of the truck. He hit a street light, a parked car and a building—while the boy was dragged along.

The Tarrant County Medical Examiner's office said Dwight was pronounced dead at the scene.

WFAA-TV photojournalist Bryan Titsworth contributed to this report.

[TexasStooge]

I-35E project proceeds north

Northbound drivers will see snarls shift to Corinth area Monday

By CLIFF DESPRES / Denton Record-Chronicle

LEWISVILLE, Texas - Northbound drivers soon won't get stuck in the bottlenecked part of Interstate 35E that merges from three to two lanes just beyond the Lewisville Lake bridge.

That is, until they drive a bit farther.

State transit officials say work will start Monday, relocating that bottleneck north to Corinth by widening I-35E from four to six lanes. It will involve stretches north of the Lewisville Lake bridge to north of Swisher Road in Lake Dallas and reversing entry-exit ramps south of Swisher.

The $5.2 million project is expected to be finished by November 2006.

The extra lanes are an interim move to ease traffic flow in the Lake Cities area before work to widen I-35E from Lake Dallas to Denton to eight lanes begins in 2015, said David Hensley, an engineer with the Texas Department of Transportation.

"A lot of people are exiting Swisher Road, but they have to go through that traffic squeeze, then exit. We're taking people who exit at Swisher out of that squeeze," Mr. Hensley said. "Traffic might not be as bad because you're taking that traffic out of that merge."

The state, which rates the performance of its roads with letter grades, has assigned an "F" average to I-35E from Lake Dallas to Denton.

Doubling the four-lane highway to eight lanes would bring it up to a "C."

So city officials, business owners and drivers are welcoming the interim widening in an area plagued by traffic slowdowns and car wrecks.

Denton Mayor Euline Brock said the project is worth the money, even if it eases traffic congestion and boosts economic development for just two years.

"Any movement up and down I-35E is important to us," Ms. Brock said. "Lots of traffic pours in and off of I-35 at Swisher. Having three lanes in each direction will help everyone enormously."

For the first two weeks, barriers will squeeze traffic into one lane at times. After that, at least two lanes are expected to be open.

Jerry Goodale, president of Dark Horse Productions off I-35E north of Swisher Road, said he knows the construction will make driving in the area a nuisance for now.

But when it's done, it could ease traffic and aid economic development that's been hindered because people see the area north of the bridge as a traffic bane, he said.

Moving the bottleneck farther north would only help spur the economy of Hickory Creek, Lake Dallas and south Corinth, he said.

"Anything we do to alleviate traffic helps," Mr. Goodale said.

Eddie David wouldn't mind the widened road, either.

He said he drives from Carrollton to manage a retail nutrition store off Swisher, and many mornings he sits in a traffic jam that starts at the top of the I-35E bridge over the lake.

"It [the widening] will probably alleviate that," Mr. David said.

Jesse Graham, manager of the Pack 'n' Mail store off Swisher, isn't so sure.

He called the project "a step in the right direction," but he said it's not going to solve the overall cause of traffic – the six-lane I-35E bridge over the lake.

"That bridge is the biggest problem they've got," Mr. Graham said. "As soon as they get eight lanes on that bridge, they can make everything else fit."

[TexasStooge]

City banks on dialogue to resolve culture clash

Irving: Residents will hash out diversity issues at meeting

By STELLA M. CHÀVEZ / The Dallas Morning News

IRVING, Texas – Signs that Irving's population is a fusion of ethnic groups are everywhere.

There's the Asian grocer, a Mexican tortilla shop, an Islamic center and Buddhist temples.

What's not so clear, say some residents, is how people from many different backgrounds can coexist peacefully.

Several incidents this year have caused residents concern. Black and Hispanic students were involved in a fight at Irving High School. And a city survey revealed that some residents were upset about the city's efforts to print information in Spanish.

Finding solutions to the tensions and challenges of the city's diverse community is the subject of the Citywide Dialogue on Diversity on Saturday at the First United Methodist Church in Irving. The event is the result of months of discussions among community leaders, city officials and other residents about how best to address the city's growing diversity.

"The demographics of the city are changing to such an extent that it's beginning to affect public policy, and we need to start writing and drafting city codes and school district guidelines that reflect the interests and concerns" of the city's diverse residents, said Rene Castilla, who is coordinating the event.

Irving's population is 64 percent white, 10 percent black, 8 percent Asian and less than 1 percent American Indian, according to the 2000 census. About 31 percent of its residents are Hispanic.

Mr. Castilla described some of what's happened in Irving as a clash of cultures, in which longtime residents are seeing neighborhoods change as newcomers – in some cases recent immigrants – move in.

He said city codes should be updated and new residents educated on what is or isn't allowed in a neighborhood.

At Saturday's event, participants will be divided into groups where they will tackle different topics, such as the challenges new immigrants face living in Irving and the building blocks of a successful neighborhood.

David Yamada, a law professor at Suffolk University Law School, is no stranger to these kinds of discussions. He sits on the advisory board of City-Wide Dialogues on Boston's Ethnic and Racial Diversity.

The group began in 2003 as a neighborhood-based project, a reaction to years of racial tensions over school desegregation, he said. Like Irving, the city also has grappled with the arrival of many people from ethnically diverse backgrounds.

"It's a real struggle between the old and the new," Mr. Yamada said. "What we're trying to say is the way to face these issues is to acknowledge them and discuss them rather than just write them off."

Mr. Yamada said the issue is challenging for any city. There's no easy solution, he added; it's an ongoing process.

Anthony Bond, former president of the Irving chapter of the NAACP, said problems like the ones that occurred this year are never going to be resolved if people don't speak up.

"I'm not going to sugarcoat reality," he said. "We just need to be open and honest."

Manny Benavides, president of the local League of United Latin American Citizens, said he doesn't think enough is being done to include the Hispanic community in the discussions. He said he would like to see a greater emphasis placed on getting the word out to them and getting their input.

Shelia McDaniels, who has lived and worked in the city seven years, said she hasn't heard about the Irving event but thinks it's a good idea.

"The community has no other choice but to accept the diversity," said Ms. McDaniels, who is black and whose co-workers in a hair and nail salon are Hispanic and Vietnamese.

"A lot of times if people have only experienced their own surroundings, then they don't accept other cultures like they should," she said.

Resident Lulu Moreno, who is originally from Mexico, agreed but said she hasn't had any problems because of her ethnic background.

"Sometimes, we have our differences, but we don't get into punching matches over it," she said.

[TexasStooge]

Drilling allowed on school property

Irving ISD: Officials to lease mineral rights, hoping for natural gas

By KATHERINE LEAL UNMUTH / The Dallas Morning News

IRVING, Texas - Irving school district officials are pondering an alternative revenue source: drilling for natural gas.

The board of trustees has agreed to lease its mineral rights on district property and is currently drafting a bid proposal for interested companies and deciding which properties would be involved.

"It potentially could be a revenue source," Superintendent Jack Singley said. "That's the only reason we would be interested in this."

District officials declined to say how much money they might generate.

They say the state isn't contributing enough money to cover the district's increasing costs. Irving expects to receive about $18.3 million this year through the state's system of taking money from wealthier districts to fund poorer districts, said Debbie Cabrera, the district's executive director of finance.

"The way prices are going up for everything, it's getting harder to furnish electricity and air conditioning," school board president Ruben Franco said. "Wherever we find money, we've got to try to get it."

Irving recently eliminated its homestead exemption, after whittling it down over the past three years from 20 percent.

It also just approved putting a cellphone tower – the district's fourth – at Thomas Haley Elementary that would generate $1,500 a month in addition to a one-time payment of $5,000.

"They're unsightly, but we need more money," Mr. Franco said.

The district's venture into the drilling business was spurred by inquiries over the summer from Llano Royalty, an oil and gas exploration company.

"We believe the Barnett [Shale underground gas reserve] extends into Dallas County, certainly into the western one-quarter," Llano president Steve Looper said. "I think there will be a lot of activity in Dallas County in the very near future."

Drilling is most active in Denton and Tarrant counties, where the Barnett Shale is located. Tarrant County has 573 actively producing wells; Denton has 1,796. As of Friday, 384 drilling permits have been issued in Tarrant County and 264 in Denton County this year.

Dallas County has no actively producing wells, said Ramona Nye, spokesperson for the Railroad Commission of Texas, which regulates oil and gas drilling.

But geologist Larry Standlee said improved technology and the soaring cost of natural gas may prompt more companies to take risks and drill in unexplored territory.

"Any time the price of a commodity goes up, people start looking for it in places that would not be economical otherwise," said Mr. Standlee, an adjunct professor at the University of Texas at Arlington.

The school district isn't alone. The city of Irving is drafting ordinances to deal with mineral rights and drilling regulations. Its neighbor to the south, Grand Prairie, passed similar ordinances last month. And to the north, Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport also has received drilling inquiries.

Mr. Looper said he intends to begin drilling in Irving by the end of this year or the beginning of next year. He is interested in properties along Belt Line Road and the Trinity River area.

School district officials are considering putting mineral rights up for bid on as many as 10 properties: Kinkeade Early Childhood School, Brown Elementary, Davis Elementary, Elliott Elementary, Townley Elementary, Lamar Middle School, Sam Houston Middle School, Nimitz High School, the Ratteree Development Center and the Service Center.

Mr. Singley said no drilling rigs would be located on school campuses.

Technology involving horizontal drilling enables companies to place drilling rigs on adjacent properties to reach reserves under schools, homes or other buildings.

A number of school districts in Tarrant and Denton counties have already profited from natural gas drilling.

The Krum school district in Denton County signed a lease for $30,000 and will receive 18 percent of future royalties for a horizontal well to be drilled by Eagle Oil and Gas, Superintendent Troy Hamm said.

"It's not costing us anything," Mr. Hamm said. "I think any time a school district can secure extra revenue, it helps the district and the taxpayers."

The Azle school district received about $385,000 for a lease this summer and will get 25 percent of future royalties from XTO Energy for drilling on two school campuses. Superintendent Edd Bigbee said the drilling area will be fenced.

"They were drilling like crazy out here, and we could certainly use the money," he said.

The Ponder school district in western Denton County benefits not from the leasing of mineral rights but from property taxes generated by natural gas wells within the district's boundaries. This year about $7.7 million of the district's $10 million budget will come from property taxes levied on mineral values, according to Superintendent Bruce Yeager. That boon put the district for the first time into the category of property wealthy districts under the state's school finance system.

"Leasing is a very minimal part of our revenue," Mr. Yeager said. "We were not property wealthy until the minerals. You take the mineral production out, we're not wealthy. Unquestionably the mineral value pushed us over."

In Tarrant County, residents spoke out earlier this year against a proposal to drill near Keller High School. Keller city officials decided in August to allow the drilling. The Keller school district has leased mineral rights to EnCana Oil & Gas, company officials said.

EnCana spokesperson Wendy Wiedenbeck said the company will use horizontal drilling to access an area about a mile and a half beneath the high school from a private property about 3,000 feet away. She said the company will hold an open house to educate the community about the process.

"We want them to understand there will be an impact on their community, but the impact will be minimal," she said. "Horizontal drilling is valuable because it minimizes our footprint and allows us to drill multiple wells from one site."

[TexasStooge]

Residents now need permits before holding a garage sale

Irving: Council also tweaks rules on weeds, fences and ad vehicles

By ERIC AASEN / The Dallas Morning News

IRVING, Texas – Before residents open their garages to bargain hunters, they'll first need to get a permit.

The City Council on Thursday amended its garage sale ordinance to require the free permits. It also tweaked rules for weed growth, fences and advertising vehicles.

The revisions, effective Nov. 7, are among the council's first wave of code enforcement reforms. More are on the way.

The changes come after residents have complained that their neighbors aren't taking care of their properties.

Mayor Herbert Gears said the reforms will allow the council to improve "our ability to maintain the integrity of our neighborhoods."

The amended garage sale ordinance means that permits will need to be displayed during the sale.

The city hopes the registration makes it easier to track location and frequency of garage sales. In addition, charitable groups are no longer limited to holding two garage sales each year. However, residents are expected to adhere to the two-sale limit. Sales can't exceed 72 consecutive hours.

Among other revisions:

• Weeds can't be more than 10 inches tall; 12 inches used to be the limit.

• Residents will now need to use metal posts when building wooden fences.

• Advertising vehicles – automobiles primarily used as billboards – can't be parked on the same tract of property from 1 to 4 p.m. for more than three consecutive days.

Code enforcement officials plan to start enforcing the rules by handing out warnings, said Gary Miller, acting inspections director. Fines vary for each offense.

"We're not about finding a way to slam people with citations ... and exerting our authority," he said. "We're about voluntary compliance."

Many council members say the revisions are a good start. The metal posts should lead to fewer rotting fences, they say, and the vehicle rules will deter companies from getting free advertising.

"When someone parks a truck with large banners on the side ... it can't be parked there day after day," council member Joe Philipp said. "It's time for us to tackle that."

The revisions are part of the council's broader effort to strengthen code enforcement.

The council last month authorized the hiring of a marshal and three new code inspectors to help code enforcement. And the Planning and Zoning Commission is reviewing ordinances related to outside storage, including the number of cars that can be parked on property.

[TexasStooge]

Teen killed at Lancaster convenience store

LANCASTER, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/WFAA.com) - The family of a Lancaster convenience store clerk, 19, called his shooting death a cold-blooded murder.

Police are now working to piece together evidence to track down the killer involved in the 2 a.m. robbery at a 7-Eleven store located at 640 W. Pleasant Run Road in Lancaster.

A lone gun man entered the store, asked for cigarettes and then shot and killed Anthony Flannery, the 7-Eleven clerk. Police said the man then stole an undetermined amount of money and fled the store.

Mark Flannery, the victim's father, said his son had only worked at the convenience store for three months.

"He was a good kid," Flannery said. "He went to school. He graduated and didn't get held back anywhere. He didn't do drugs and didn't smoke or drink. He was just a good kid."

Flannery said he will never understand why the man who robbed the convenience store also had to take his young son's life.

"[The robber] has to deal with the consequences," he said.

While Flannery said he is ready for justice, he said he doesn't blame 7-Eleven or the police for the death of his son.

In fact, just 15 minutes prior to the shooting, an officer checked up on Flannery at the store. That very same officer was called back to the scene after the robbery.

The investigation is ongoing and detectives said the whole incident was recorded on the store's security video.

Anyone with information about the case should call 972-227-4006.

[TexasStooge]

Arrest made in teen's beating death

DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Police made an arrest Monday in the recent beating death of 19-year-old Joseph Davis.

Dallas police have arrested a 21-year-old man in connection with the murder. He is now in jail on a quarter-million dollar bond.

Davis had recently moved from Mississippi to Texas and was beaten to death October 2 in a parking lot on San Jacinto Street.

Witnesses said several people took part in the beating. More arrests could follow.

[TexasStooge]

Man charged in beating death

By KIMBERLY DURNAN / DallasNews.com

DALLAS, Texas - A Dallas man has been charged with murder in connection with last week's beating death of an 18-year-old man in a downtown parking lot after the Grambling-Prairie View A&M football game.

Antonio Denard Few, 21, was in Lew Sterrett Justice Center on $250,000 bond, Dallas police Sr. Cpl. Max Geron said Monday.

Police started getting tips when at least $35,000 in reward money was offered and Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price and KBFB 97.9 FM "The Beat" radio personality Rickey Smiley asked listeners for help.

An anonymous caller led police to Few, Geron said.

Police said Joseph Anthony Davis Jr. and two relatives had gone to downtown Dallas for a party at the Adam’s Mark Hotel after the Oct. 1 football game, but it was too crowded. They were hanging out in a parking lot two blocks away in the early morning hours of Oct. 2 when a mob of young men launched an unprovoked attack, police said.

Witnesses told police that Davis was punched and jumped on by up to 20 men. Police said 100 to 200 people were in the crowd.

Some of the attackers chased Davis' uncle and beat him severely until a passing Dallas police sergeant intervened.

Police were continuing to investigate the crime and collect tips, Geron said.

"We want to make clear that this investigation is ongoing, and there were several people who participated," he said. "We are still encouraging those with information to call the homicide unit."

The homicide unit can be reached at 214-671-3661.

[TexasStooge]

Woman killed in truck-train collision

By KIMBERLY DURNAN / DallasNews.com

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - A woman was killed and two others were injured Monday afternoon after a pickup truck that edged around the railroad crossing arms was struck by a passenger train in Grand Prairie, officials said.

The woman, a man and an 18-month-old girl were in a Ford Ranger pickup when it collided with a westbound Texas Eagle Amtrak train at the Southwest 19th Street intersection, said Mike Sieg, assistant chief for the Grand Prairie Fire Department.

The woman, who was driving, was pronounced dead at the scene. The adult passenger suffered serious head and internal injuries and was taken to Methodist Hospital in Dallas, while the baby was flown to Children's Medical Center, Sieg said.

The victims' names were not immediately available.

Witnesses told officials that the pickup truck had driven around the crossing arms, Sieg said.

None of the train's passengers were injured and the train sustained minimal damage, said Marc Magliari, a spokesman for Amtrak. The train had left Chicago on Sunday, stopped in Dallas at 1:48 p.m. Monday and was headed to Fort Worth, he said.

The train will be delayed until local authorities allow it to continue to its destination, Magliari said.

[rainstorm]

Tips surge after appeals in teen's beating death

Dallas: Commissioner, radio personality ask for public's help

By JASON TRAHAN / The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS, Texas - At least $35,000 in rewards along with pleas from a Dallas County commissioner and a popular radio show host have helped open a floodgate of tips as Dallas detectives search for the identities of up to 20 men who beat a teenager to death last weekend.

By early Friday evening, 50 to 60 people had called police with tips in the death of Joseph Anthony Davis Jr., 18, who was attacked Sunday morning in a downtown parking lot at San Jacinto and Harwood streets as at least 100 people milled about.

Earlier, detectives were disappointed when only a few calls came in. Most led nowhere, prompting Commissioner John Wiley Price and KBFB 97.9 FM "The Beat" radio personality Rickey Smiley to ask constituents and listeners for help Friday.

"This is domestic terrorism," Mr. Price said at a morning news conference. "We want these terrorists brought to justice. Someone saw something, and as a community, we won't say we will just tolerate this."

He pledged to lobby businesses to raise the current reward to $50,000.

Mr. Smiley said he devoted six hours of his hip-hop show the last two days to talking about Mr. Davis' slaying.

"I have a son who is 15," Mr. Smiley said. "When I saw that child's picture on TV, it outraged me."

The publicity apparently worked, police said.

"The calls are coming in," Lt. Mike Scoggins said Friday afternoon. "We have three detectives on this case now instead of one."

He said the leads "might all be nothing, but at least people are calling."

Police said Mr. Davis and two relatives went to downtown Dallas for a party after the Grambling-Prairie View A&M football game last weekend but did not attend because it was too crowded.

As Mr. Davis and his relatives were hanging out in a parking lot about two blocks from the party at the Adam's Mark Hotel, police said, a mob of young men launched an unprovoked attack on them.

Witnesses told police that Mr. Davis was kicked, punched and jumped on by up to 20 men. Police said 100 to 200 people were in the crowd.

Some of the attackers chased Mr. Davis' uncle about a block and beat him severely until a passing Dallas police sergeant intervened. By the time more police navigated the clogged streets around the crime scene, the crowd had scattered.

Mr. Davis died later at a hospital.

He moved to Dallas a few months ago after graduating from high school in Mississippi. Relatives and friends said he and a cousin wanted to get good jobs and go to college in the area.

that sounds horrible

[TexasStooge]

Arrest in convenience store slaying

By CYNTHIA VEGA / WFAA ABC 8

LANCASTER, Texas - Lancaster police said they have made an arrest in connection with Monday's fatal shooting of a convenience store clerk.

Anthony Flanery, 19, was killed during a 2 a.m. holdup at a 7-Eleven store at 640 West Pleasant Run Road in Lancaster.

Investigators said they would release more information about the arrest at a news conference Tuesday morning.

Flanery's family 19, called his shooting death a cold-blooded murder.

Police said a lone gunman entered the store, asked for cigarettes, and then shot and killed Flanery. Police said the man then stole an undetermined amount of money and fled the store.

The crime was captured on surveillance video.

Mark Flanery, the victim's father, said his son had only worked at the convenience store for three months.

"He was a good kid," Flanery said. "He went to school. He graduated and didn't get held back anywhere. He didn't do drugs and didn't smoke or drink. He was just a good kid."

Flanery said he will never understand why the man who robbed the convenience store also had to take his young son's life.

"[The robber] has to deal with the consequences," he said.

While Flanery said he is ready for justice, he said he doesn't blame 7-Eleven or police for the death of his son.

In fact, just 15 minutes prior to the shooting, an officer checked up on Flanery at the store. That very same officer was called back to the scene after the robbery.

Anyone with information about the case should call 972-227-4006.

[TexasStooge]

Student athlete dies of bacterial meningitis

By DEBBIE DENMON / WFAA ABC 8

MANSFIELD, Texas — Austin Phillips played baseball since he was seven years old. He and his Mansfield High School teammates went deep into the state playoffs last year.

On Thursday night, Austin pitched two innings in a scrimmage for his new team, the Tyler Junior College Apaches.

"He loved baseball," said Theresa Phillips, Austin's mother. But she said Friday and just said he didn't feel good. He felt like he had the flu."

Austin went to his girlfriend's house Friday night and got even sicker.

"Before my husband could get him, the girlfriend called and said he was going in and out of consciousness, and so I had to call an ambulance," Theresa Phillips said.

Later that evening, Austin Phillips went into a coma. He died Monday night at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas from bacterial meningitis.

Jon Groth, the Tyler baseball coach, said Austin's death was devastating. "Here we have an 18-year-old who was vibrant and athletic and the whole nine yards, and got sick in a very short time," he said.

The college identified 48 people that may have come in contact with the student from Mansfield. The health department in Tyler ordered them to take a preventative antibiotic.

"We've all had medication this weekend because we were around Austin," Groth said. "The good thing is, none of us have shown any signs of the illness."

Austin's family said this tragedy could have been easily prevented, if only Austin had been vaccinated against bacterial meningitis.

Health officials say the disease is relatively rare in the United States. In parts of Africa, widespread epidemics of bacterial meningitis are common. A 1996 outbreak in Niger, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali and other nations resulted in 25,000 deaths.

WFAA-TV reporter Steve Stoler contributed to this report.

[TexasStooge]

DeSoto man charged in clerk's murder

By CYNTHIA VEGA / WFAA ABC 8

LANCASTER, Texas — Lancaster police said they have arrested a suspect in connection with Monday's fatal shooting of a convenience store clerk.

Christopher Glenn Dominique, 21, was charged with capital murder. Police said they believe he has been living in DeSoto, but said Dominique appears to have recently moved from the New Orleans area.

Anthony Flanery, 19, was killed during a 2 a.m. holdup at a 7-Eleven store at 640 West Pleasant Run Road in Lancaster.

Lancaster police Lt. Joe Hall said Dominique's name came up early in the investigation. "It's not really appropriate for me to comment on his criminal history right now, but we believe he's had some difficulties in the past," he said.

Hall said Dominque was arrested about 2 a.m. Tuesday at an unnamed Dallas-area hospital where he was a patient. He said Dominique's injuries were due to an "unrelated incident" that occured after Flanery's shooting death.

Bail for Dominique was set at $1 million. Hall said he was expected to be transferred to jail later on Tuesday.

Flanery's family called the teen's shooting death a cold-blooded murder.

Police said a lone gunman entered the store, asked for cigarettes, and then shot and killed Flanery. Police said the man then stole an undetermined amount of money and fled the store.

Hall said there was no indication that Flanery knew his killer or that he had been specifically targeted.

The crime was captured on surveillance video.

Mark Flanery, the victim's father, said his son had only worked at the convenience store for three months.

"He was a good kid," Flanery said. "He went to school. He graduated and didn't get held back anywhere. He didn't do drugs and didn't smoke or drink. He was just a good kid."

Flanery said he will never understand why the man who robbed the convenience store also had to take his young son's life.

"[The robber] has to deal with the consequences," he said.

While Flanery said he is ready for justice, he said he doesn't blame 7-Eleven or police for the death of his son.

In fact, just 15 minutes prior to the shooting, an officer checked up on Flanery at the store. That very same officer was called back to the scene after the robbery.

[TexasStooge]

Texas senator detained at airport with gun

McALLEN, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) -- A South Texas lawmaker detained by police after bringing a handgun through an airport metal detector said Monday he made a mistake and that he had a permit to carry the weapon.

Sen. Juan Hinojosa, D-McAllen, was found with a 9 mm handgun in his briefcase as he passed through security at Miller International Aiport in McAllen, Harlingen television station KGBT reported. Airport security discovered the weapon and Hinojosa was taken to the McAllen Police Department before being released.

“I made a mistake in rushing to the airport and not checking my briefcase prior to entering the McAllen Miller International Airport,” Hinojosa said in a statement. “The airport security at McAllen Miller International was doing their job.”

Hinojosa said police verified his concealed handgun permit, identity and traced the weapon before releasing him.

McAllen police and a woman answering the phone at the airport would not comment when contacted by The Associated Press late Monday.

[TexasStooge]

Officer rescues accident victim after close call

By JIM DOUGLAS / WFAA ABC 8

A Fort Worth police officer is counting his blessings after getting sandwiched on the freeway between two drunk driving suspects - but it's his actions after the accident that are getting attention.

About 1:30 Monday morning, officer J.C. Williams stopped a suspected drunk driver on I-35W near Seminary Drive after the suspect left a Fort Worth bar.

But before Williams could even open his door, a pickup truck slammed into the back of the police car.

"Just 'bam' - I didn't hear any tires squealing or anything," Williams said. "Next thing you know, your sirens are going off. Airbags and glass are everywhere (and) you don't know what happened."

Williams couldn't believe he wasn't badly hurt.

"If it had been maybe five seconds later, I would have been stepping out of the car at that time," Williams said. "It could have been a lot worse."

But then, the story took another twist when Williams got out and went over to the truck that hit him. He said driver Francisco Solis, 22, was slumped over and bleeding from the head.

Williams feared an explosion from leaking gasoline.

"I took it he was unconscious, so I took my baton out and broke his glass," he said.

Although in pain from his own injuries, Williams dragged the man who hit him out of harm's way.

"I took an oath as a police officer to protect and serve," he said. "I'm not going to be the judge of whether he lives or dies tonight. I'm going to do all I can to save his life, no matter what happens."

Williams comes from a family of police officers, and despite his trying experience he has kept his positive outlook.

"I enjoy my job," he said.


WFAA ABC 8
After narrowly escaping injury, officer J.C. Williams (inset) rescued a drunk driver who slammed into his cruiser during a traffic stop.

[TexasStooge]

Officer rescues accident victim after close call

By JIM DOUGLAS / WFAA ABC 8

FORT WORTH, Texas - A Fort Worth police officer is counting his blessings after getting sandwiched on the freeway between two drunk driving suspects - but it's his actions after the accident that are getting attention.

About 1:30 Monday morning, officer J.C. Williams stopped a suspected drunk driver on I-35W near Seminary Drive after the suspect left a Fort Worth bar.

But before Williams could even open his door, a pickup truck slammed into the back of the police car.

"Just 'bam' - I didn't hear any tires squealing or anything," Williams said. "Next thing you know, your sirens are going off. Airbags and glass are everywhere (and) you don't know what happened."

Williams couldn't believe he wasn't badly hurt.

"If it had been maybe five seconds later, I would have been stepping out of the car at that time," Williams said. "It could have been a lot worse."

But then, the story took another twist when Williams got out and went over to the truck that hit him. He said driver Francisco Solis, 22, was slumped over and bleeding from the head.

Williams feared an explosion from leaking gasoline.

"I took it he was unconscious, so I took my baton out and broke his glass," he said.

Although in pain from his own injuries, Williams dragged the man who hit him out of harm's way.

"I took an oath as a police officer to protect and serve," he said. "I'm not going to be the judge of whether he lives or dies tonight. I'm going to do all I can to save his life, no matter what happens."

Williams comes from a family of police officers, and despite his trying experience he has kept his positive outlook.

"I enjoy my job," he said.


WFAA ABC 8
After narrowly escaping injury, officer J.C. Williams (inset) rescued a drunk driver who slammed into his cruiser during a traffic stop.

[TexasStooge]

Pharmacy burglaries worry police

By DON WALL / WFAA ABC 8

North Texas police departments are working together to figure out who is behind a string of pharmacy burglaries.

In the last year, a dozen pharmacies in six North Texas cities have been targeted, two in the last month alone. The methods vary a little, but the goal is the same: thieves are after the painkiller hydrocodone.

On surveillance tape taken last Tuesday, burglars can be seen with t-shirts pulled up over their heads, prying into the Glenview Professional Pharmacy in Richland Hills.

"This is where they got the door open," said pharmacist Larry Cowan. "The police responded, were here in five minutes, and by that time they were in and out and gone."

The same burglars hit the pharmacy twice in two months. Both times, thieves stole up to 10,000 tablets of the addictive pain medicine hydrocodone, also known as Vicodin.

At $2 to $5 a pill, that's a street value of $20,000 to $50,000. Police said children as young as middle school buy the drug.

"If you're selling to grade school kids, that could be horrible," said Richland Hills police detective Jonathan Robinson. "I also have heard they mix it with alcohol to give them a quicker buzz."

Pharmacies from Dallas to Fort Worth have experienced hydrocodone burglaries, including Carie Boyd's prescription shop in Hurst.

Boyd warns an overdose can be deadly.

"(It can) cause heart failure, cause you to die ... respiratory depression," Boyd said.

In a few instances, police have caught burglars, but so far not in Richland Hills, where the drug thefts and potential use are considered a danger to young people in particular.

"If you get addicted to a particular type of drug at that age, you've got a pretty difficult life ahead of you as you get older," said Richland Hills police Chief Barbara Childress.

From the surveillance tape, police can make out a four-door silver Dodge truck and an older dark blue Ford Taurus with a missing back bumper. They hope to have the video enhanced to possibly make out faces.