News from the Lone Star State

[TexasStooge]

Plane forced to land in San Antonio

Federal agents question suspected undocumented immigrants on board

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (The Dallas Morning News) — A group of suspected undocumented immigrants was being questioned early Tuesday after federal officials forced their single-engine plane to land here.

The Cessna carried at least four suspected undocumented immigrants who were detained along with the craft's pilot by homeland security officials in connection with a possible smuggling operation, according to newspaper and broadcast reports.

A police dispatcher said federal authorities forced the craft to land just before 10 p.m. Monday at Stinson Municipal Airport, a few miles south of downtown San Antonio.

"They brought a plane down. They are holding it," a San Antonio Police Department dispatcher, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press. "They asked us to assist them. The FBI is handling it now."

Representatives of the Homeland Security Department, FBI and Federal Aviation Administration did not return telephone calls early Tuesday from the AP.

Online records of the Federal Aviation Administration show the 20-year-old plane is co-owned by Afzal Hameed of Dover, Del. The other co-owner is listed as Alyce S. Taylor, but no address is given for her.

The FAA records state that the plane's last three-year registration was filed in 1999, and that the agency received no response in 2002 after mailing new registration forms to Hameed.

Capt. Jeff Humphrey, San Antonio police special operations commander, told the San Antonio Express-News in Tuesday's editions that the five suspects were under investigation in connection with a smuggling operation involving Chinese nationals.

The newspaper said the five had been flying south of San Antonio when they were intercepted and ordered to land. Federal agents and San Antonio police surrounded the plane after it landed.

Federal authorities said the plane was flying in American airspace illegally and that those aboard the craft appeared to be Chinese, according to San Antonio television and radio station WOAI.

The Express-News said federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials asked for backup from San Antonio police, who provided a Chinese linguist to translate for the two male and two female passengers.

[TexasStooge]

Drug conspiracy fugitive: 'I haven't been hiding'

By STEVE STOLER / WFAA ABC 8

PLANO, Texas - A Plano man who was wanted by federal authorities in a drug conspiracy turned himself in at the Grayson County Jail on Monday.

Eight other people indicted on charges related to the investigation pleaded guilty, but one week ago federal and local authorities named Tyron Tarrant a fugitive from the law.

"We've been looking for him ever since these indictments were handed down, and he is definitely on the lam," McKinney police Capt. Randy Roland said at the time.

Tarrant spoke to News 8 shortly before he entered police custody.

"it wasn't like I was running," Tarrant said. "Come to my place of residence that's on my driver's license, and you would've apprehended me."

Tarrant called News 8 before turning himself in; he claims he wasn't hiding from the law. Tarrant said he was at his house in Plano the whole time.

"I'm an air conditioning, refrigeration and heating technician - that's what I do," he said. "I've been going on with my life. I mean, if you were looking for me, you could find me. I haven't been hiding."

Authorities believe Jecory May was the leader of the drug dealing organization. He's the same Jecory May who was one of three men charged with the murders of four people in McKinney last year. May is still considered a suspect, even though charges were dropped. Police are hoping the drug defendants who pleaded guilty will help them learn more about the murders.

Tarrant said he doesn't want his friends and neighbors to think he's in some way involved.

"Lie detector test ... anything you want to give me," he said. "I know nothing of the murder."

Federal prosecutors said the odds Tarrant was at his Plano home since July - while U.S. marshals were looking for him - are improbable and highly unlikely.

[TexasStooge]

City attorney Johnson to resign, councilman says

By CHRIS HEINBAUGH / WFAA ABC 8

DALLAS, Texas - A Dallas City Council member said City Attorney Madeleine Johnson told members of the council Monday night she has decided to resign.

Council member Ed Oakley said he spoke with Johnson Monday. He said Johnson told him she was not unhappy, but simply decided it was time to return to private practice.

Oakley said Johnson had intended to hand in her resignation to the council on Wednesday.


News 8 will have more on this developing story on Tuesday; watch WFAA-TV (Ch. 8) or check WFAA.com for the latest developments.

[TexasStooge]

Sudafed theft linked to meth trade

By MARY ANN RAZZUK / WFAA ABC 8

DALLAS, Texas - Detectives with the Dallas County Sheriff's office are launching a new crackdown on over-the-counter cold medicines.

Authorities said convenience stores in North Texas have been targeted by thieves who traveled into the state from Oklahoma in search of a chemical component found in Sudafed and similar products.

Detectives recovered bags of stolen medicines from a couple they arrested for stealing gasoline in Mesquite, but officers realized they stumbled on much more. Sheriff's officials said the couple detailed a new strategy for stealing medicine containing the chemical component needed to manufacture methamphetamines.

"Their method was to steal less than $50 in value, and just go from store to store to store," said Dallas County Sheriff spokesman Don Peritz. "That way, they would be relatively undetected."

The couple came to Texas from Oklahoma, where a new state law requires the medicine to be kept behind counters or locked up.

"For anything less than $50 in value, they'll receive a ticket," Peritz said. "Once they get back in Oklahoma I don't think there's a city in the state of Texas that's gonna extradite someone back for a Class C misdemeanor case."

Proposed legislation in Texas could keep targeted medications behind counters, limit amounts sold to individuals and toughen penalties for possession of large amounts.

"We don't want the people that cannot commit their crimes in Oklahoma to come over here to Texas to commit them," said Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez.

According to law enforcement officials, suspects can cook up meth as soon as they have the components they need.

"There was a traffic stop involving a mobile meth lab where they were cooking it in the back of a pickup truck," Peritz said.

Because of the potential for chemical explosions, public safety is a major concern - but the information the Oklahoma couple gave sheriff's officials new insight into what to look for.

"This gives us an opportunity to look at the problem from their point of view, and try and put something in place to stop it," Peritz said.

Sheriff's department investigators told News 8 that 80 to 90 percent of the meth labs they've investigated have used the chemical component in cold medicine, as opposed to other chemicals.

[TexasStooge]

Suspect's tip led to charges

FBI: 3rd man sought in takeover-style robberies may still be in N. Texas

By MATT STILES / The Dallas Morning News

RICHARDSON, Texas - The man first charged in a November takeover-style bank robbery in Richardson and the violent getaway that followed told the FBI last week that two area men were his accomplices, according to a court document obtained Monday.

The tip from Guadalupe Fajardo, among other investigative leads released Monday, led to federal carjacking charges Friday against brothers Roberto and Ramon Gavina.

The FBI shot and wounded Roberto Gavina, 24, on Friday at a Mesquite apartment complex after authorities said he tried to run over agents serving an arrest warrant.

Roberto Gavina remains jailed in Grayson County after a federal court appearance Monday after he received medical treatment for gunshot wounds to his shoulder and abdomen.

Investigators were still searching Monday for his 22-year-old brother, Ramon Gavina of Garland, who the FBI believes might still be in North Texas.

"We remind the public that we need their help," Guadalupe Gonzalez, special agent in charge of the FBI's Dallas office, said at a news conference Monday. "He is extremely, extremely dangerous."

The FBI described the younger Mr. Gavina as 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighing 195 pounds. He has brown hair and black eyes.

FBI agents say all three men are members of the Takeover Bandits, a gang of robbers that has eluded authorities for years. The gang is suspected of committing about 60 armed robberies, including several bank heists, since 2002.

Mr. Fajardo told the FBI last week that he and the Gavinas committed a Nov. 4 robbery at the America First National Bank on Greenville Avenue in Richardson, according to an FBI affidavit used to secure charges against the two men.

That heist, in which the robbers took $11,000, led to a high-speed chase north on Central Expressway. The men sprayed automatic gunfire at police in Richardson and Plano while committing three carjackings, according to the affidavit written by FBI Agent Mike Howell.

Mr. Fajardo remains in custody, charged in federal courts in Sherman and Dallas with carjacking and bank robbery. He also faces aggravated robbery and attempted capital murder charges in state court.

Similar charges against the Gavinas are likely, Agent Gonzalez said.

Agents first learned of their identities after Mr. Fajardo's former co-workers mentioned them as possible associates. Authorities then searched Roberto Gavina's trash, finding beer bottles and paper products with Mr. Fajardo's fingerprints on them.

According to the affidavit, Mr. Fajardo admitted to the FBI on Jan. 18 to a role in the robbery and daring getaway. He also identified the Gavinas as accomplices.

The five-page document describes Mr. Fajardo's confession, detailing what Plano Police Chief Greg Rushin described Monday as "unprecedented acts of violence" against officers during the getaway.

Mr. Fajardo told the FBI that he and the Gavinas fled after the robbery in a Honda stolen from McKinney. They then swapped the stolen car for a red Chevrolet Suburban and drove north on Central Expressway.

According to the affidavit, Roberto Gavina fired an assault rifle from the vehicle at a Richardson police officer who, unaware of their role in the robbery, followed behind. Mr. Fajardo told the FBI that he and Roberto Gavina later fired shots at another Richardson officer as the getaway went north.

The three men carjacked a white Chevrolet pickup, crashing at the intersection of Jupiter Road and Summit Drive, where they stole a gray Mazda. All the while, officers escaped a barrage of gunfire fired by the men, according to Mr. Fajardo's account.

At least five police vehicles were struck by gunshots. No officers were seriously injured.

On Nov. 6, Mr. Fajardo was arrested after walking into a West Texas police station. A Richardson police detective helping the FBI has testified that Mr. Fajardo's investigators linked Mr. Fajardo's DNA to a bodily fluid recovered from an airbag in one of the carjacked vehicles.

The affidavit states that investigators recovered numerous items of evidence from carjacked vehicles, including shell casings, clothing and money. More items are being tested to see if further DNA evidence is present.

The FBI asked that anyone with information about Ramon Gavina's whereabouts call the FBI at 972-559-5000.

[TexasStooge]

Kidnap search reveals bloody clothes

But search for kidnap victim in SE Dallas turns up no body

By ERNESTO LONDOÑO / Al Día and JASON TRAHAN and MICHAEL GRABELL / The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS, Texas - The search for an abducted restaurant owner led investigators Monday to a southeast Dallas County thicket, where they found bloodstained clothes.

The search for his kidnappers led Dallas police to Chicago, where one of the suspects said he would not fight extradition, and where a sister of the other suspect spoke of the fugitives' stay in her suburban apartment and their attempts to get away.

By midafternoon, the team searching for Oscar J. Sanchez in the Dallas area began packing up, having found no other signs of his body along Dowdy Ferry Road near the Trinity River.

"No additional evidence has been found," said Lt. Jan Easterling, a Dallas police spokeswoman. "They searched this area very thoroughly. We were hoping to find Mr. Sanchez. We're not there yet."

As of this morning, it will have been a week since Mr. Sanchez, whose family owns La Calle Doce and El Ranchito restaurants, was abducted from a north Oak Cliff street.

Police now think the 30-year-old is dead after interviewing suspect Jose Alberto Felix, a Dallas teacher who was arrested Sunday at Chicago's Midway International Airport before a flight to Guadalajara, Mexico. His statements led police to focus on the woods.

Dallas detectives were expected to return with Mr. Felix, 28, after he declined to fight extradition Monday before a Cook County circuit judge.

A second suspect, 24-year-old Edgar Acevedo, a former El Ranchito waiter, is thought to have fled to Guadalajara on Saturday night.

Dallas police and the FBI, which has assisted the department since Mr. Sanchez's abduction a week ago, are expected to formally request that Mexican authorities help find Mr. Acevedo, who is a Mexican citizen.

As of Monday, a representative of the attorney general's office in Mexico City said American authorities had made no such request, which are typically funneled through the U.S. Embassy there.

Police have yet to say why the two men may have kidnapped Mr. Sanchez, the father of a 2-month-old.

The days in Chicago

Mr. Acevedo and Mr. Felix arrived in Chicago unannounced about midnight Thursday, hours before the city was buried in about a foot of snow.

Gabriela Acevedo, Edgar's sister, said in an interview that she got up from bed, let them into her apartment and apologized for not having clean sheets for the queen-size bed the men shared during two nights.

But nothing they said or did seemed suspect, said Ms. Acevedo, 29.

"It wasn't a surprise," she said of their visit. "It was the third time they came to see me, but it was the first time they stayed at my house."

The men spent most of their time indoors, watching snow fall outside the window of Ms. Acevedo's apartment, the second story of a duplex in an old red brick house in Cicero, about six miles from downtown Chicago.

In retrospect, she said, some aspects of their visit were odd.

They came unprepared for Chicago's harsh weather and had to borrow heavy jackets and gloves from Ms. Acevedo's husband.

The men also lacked toothbrushes, socks and underwear, so they made a quick run to a nearby store Friday to stock up.

Unlike his last two visits – the last one was Thanksgiving – Mr. Acevedo didn't bring his cellphone with him and frequently borrowed his sister's phone to make calls.

They drove a white Chevrolet Silverado pickup, which remained parked outside on the street for two days. In the past, they had driven rental cars.

Investigators released license plate numbers for such a truck late last week after finding it registered to Mr. Felix and missing from his Duncanville home.

On Saturday morning, Mr. Acevedo began acting restless, his sister said.

The two men hurriedly flipped through her dog-eared Hispanic yellow pages, looking for the nearest travel agency. They placed a few calls to toll-free numbers and left the house.

Mr. Acevedo asked his sister's neighbor whether he could borrow her car to run a few errands.

They had sold the pickup hours before.

Dallas police later impounded the truck after finding it at a used-car dealership in the western suburb of Hillside. It had been sold for nearly $8,000, said Dallas police Sgt. Joe DeCorte, who is supervising the investigation.

Mr. Acevedo, his sister and Mr. Felix drove to Pulaski Avenue and 26th Street, a bustling commercial district similar to Jefferson Boulevard in Oak Cliff.

Mr. Acevedo jumped out of the car and entered one of the many small travel agencies on the street while his sister and Mr. Felix waited.

Minutes later, he returned with a ticket to Guadalajara.

"Guadalajara?" his sister asked. He had no relatives there and no reason to visit, she pointed out.

"I think it was the first flight he found," she said Monday. "I didn't think much of it."

Mr. Acevedo ordered Mr. Felix to drive to O'Hare International Airport. He said he was in a hurry, worried that the traffic would make him miss his flight.

Their goodbye was rushed. The car drove up to the drop-off lane, and neither his sister nor Mr. Felix got out of the car.

It was unclear which flight he took, but he was in Mexico in time to call his sister that night.

Ms. Acevedo said Mr. Felix told her he intended to join her brother in Guadalajara the next day but decided to stay in Chicago another day because of a problem with the sale of the pickup.

Before dawn Sunday, Mr. Felix, whom Ms. Acevedo only knew as "Bebo," whispered a few words of thanks into her bedroom and walked down the narrow set of stairs that led to the street, where a cab was waiting.

He left behind an unmade bed in a small unadorned room without a doorknob and a plastic bag with dirty socks and underwear.

Mr. Felix never made it out of the country.

Using information from Dallas police, Chicago detectives tracked the suspects through a travel agency, Sgt. DeCorte of Dallas police said.

Chicago officers arrested him about an hour before ATA Flight 89 pulled out of Gate A9.


Apartment searched

About noon, Chicago police pounded on the door of Ms. Acevedo's downstairs neighbor. They flashed a picture of Mr. Acevedo to the girl who opened the door. Then they searched every room. The officers spoke little Spanish, and the residents had trouble understanding, Ms. Acevedo said.

But someone recognized Mr. Acevedo's photograph and pointed upward.

The officers ran to Ms. Acevedo's apartment. He was nowhere to be found.

Ms. Acevedo said they questioned her for several hours at Chicago police headquarters. Then her phone rang. It was her brother.

The officers asked her to ask him where he was.

"I'm in Guadalajara, traveling," was his only response, she said. The call was short.

The police dropped Ms. Acevedo home late Sunday. She said they never told her police wanted her brother in connection with a high-profile kidnapping and possible homicide.

Ms. Acevedo struggled to answer whether her brother was capable of committing such a crime.

"If he's guilty, he ought to pay," she said.

Back in Dallas, dozens of police officers searched by foot, on horseback and in the air. They tromped their way through a mile-wide swath between Interstate 45 and C.F. Hawn Freeway.

By midmorning, a police helicopter spotted a cardboard box amid a maze of bogs and brambles, where a dirt road meets Dowdy Ferry Road, just north of the Hutchins city limits.

Crime scene technicians carefully bagged and wrapped several pieces of evidence that appeared to include a blanket and a hard plastic chair mat in addition to clothing and a mop.

Police did not say whether the items belonged to Mr. Sanchez or Mr. Felix, whose Duncanville house was searched last week shortly after the kidnapping.

But after the box was discovered, a police dog spent about an hour searching the area, which consisted of a patch of private property dotted with storage sheds and heavy machinery.

The family of Mr. Sanchez said little Monday. A family spokesman said the relatives were devastated by news that he might be dead.

"The family continues to hope and pray for Oscar's safe return and does not feel that further comment will be appropriate until such time as the police are in a position to confirm the suspect's statements," their spokesman, attorney Mike McKinley, said in a written statement.

By 1:30 p.m., the police dog had found nothing. Foot and mounted searches continued for 90 minutes, then were called off for the day.

"There is evidence that we're in the right area," Lt. Easterling said. "We need to analyze the evidence further."

Ernesto Londoño and Tanya Eiserer reported from Chicago. Jason Trahan and Michael Grabell reported from Dallas. Laurence Iliff in Mexico City and Michelle Mittelstadt in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.

[TexasStooge]

Search On For Armed Robbers Who Tied Up Hotel Employee

DALLAS, Texas (KXAS NBC 5) -- Lewisville police are searching for two armed robbers who they say tied up a hotel employee and then took money early Tuesday.

The two men walked into the Days Inn in the 200 block of North Interstate 35 around 2 a.m. and left with an undetermined amount of money, police said.

The employee was tied up but not hurt.

About a half hour later, he managed to escape and call police, NBC 5 reported.

There was no immediate description of the two men, but one was reportedly armed with a pistol.

[TexasStooge]

Police Search For Arlington Convenience Store Robbers

Investigators: Men Pose As Customers, But Not Working Together

ARLINGTON, Texas (KXAS NBC 5) -- Arlington police are looking for two men who have robbed several convenience stores.

Police said one man is in his late 30s or early 40s and has targeted EZ Mart convenience stores. Police have linked him to five robberies in the last two weeks.

Investigators said the robber asks for cigarettes and, when the clerk reaches for them, the robber pulls a gun or knife and demands money.

Police said the second robber walks into convenience stores and drug stores.

The robbers use similar styles, as both act like customers until they decide to strike, police said.

Officers said they don't think the robbers are working together.

[TexasStooge]

One Of Tallest Fiberglass Steeples On Earth Returns To Fort Worth

FORT WORTH, Texas (KXAS NBC 5) -- One of the tallest fiberglass steeples in the world is back in its place.

The congregation of Birchman Baptist Church in Fort Worth looked on Monday as crews fixed the steeple.

The 77-foot structure was blown over in the high winds last June.

The steeple has been atop the church for more than 15 years.

[TexasStooge]

Program To Reduce Dallas Crime By 10 Percent Under Way

40 Officers To Work 4 Extra Hours Each On Friday, Saturday Nights

DALLAS, Texas (KXAS NBC 5) -- A program to reduce crime in Dallas by 10 percent this year is now under way.

Through the end of this year, 40 officers will work four extra hours each on Friday and Saturday nights -- the busiest times for police.

The extra manpower will be used to speed up response time, allowing other officers time to patrol their beats.

The bulk of the overtime will go to the city's southeast and southwest patrol divisions.

[TexasStooge]

TYLER ABDUCTION/HEARING

TYLER, Texas (KDFW Fox 4) -- A Tyler man accused of kidnapping and murdering a Wal-Mart employee faces an extradition hearing today. Johnny Lee Williams was arrested in Arizona Friday.

Investigators say a security tape shows Williams kidnapping 19-year-old Megan Holden from a Wal-Mart parking lot last week. She was later found shot to death in west Texas. If Williams doesn't fight extradition he could be back in Texas to face capital murder charges in two weeks.

[TexasStooge]

Sanchez search moves to Trinity River

By BRAD HAWKINS / WFAA ABC 8

DALLAS, Texas - What Jose Felix told detectives in Chicago about the kidnapping of North Texas restaurant owner Oscar J. Sanchez launched a massive search 900 miles away in rural southern Dallas County.

The search moved Tuesday to a slice of the Trinity River, where bloodstained clothes found a day earlier offered further clues about where to look.

Dallas Fire-Rescue has deployed at least two aluminum boats to begin dragging the river near Dowdy Ferry Road for the body of Sanchez, who was kidnapped last week, Lt. Joel Lavender said.

In the air, on horseback and with the keen senses of canine help, searchers had hoped to find Sanchez's body south of Interstate 20, near Dowdy Ferry Road. But a day-long combing of the thick brush yielded no such resolution, only more questions as so-called 'items of interest' ended up in paper sacks, headed for more analysis.

"There is evidence that we're in the right area," said Dallas Police Lt. Jan Easterling. "We've got to determine if that evidence is, in fact, tied to this kidnapping. That will be analyzed in the lab."

Police found clothing, a plastic or rubber chair mat, a blanket and mop, some of which appeared to be bloodstained.

Across town, on Monday night police briefed members of the restaurant community of North Oak Cliff. In the neighborhood, known for its Latino culture and plagued by crime, those who attended the meeting are linked to this kidnapping by profession - and some by friendship.

"We know each other, we take care of each other," said restaurant manager Leticia Barbosa. "We're very sad at what happened, and we're very concerned about the Sanchez family."

Another high-profile Mexican restaurant family crime in North Texas remains unsolved: the drive-by murder of Doris Ojeda last March. Some here wonder if it's more than coincidence - and Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle said it isn't.

"I don't think you're going to see an increase in kidnappings," Kunkle said. "They're virtually impossible to execute where people get money and get away with the crime."

While Sanchez remains missing, for his family and his community, hope fills the void of uncertainty.

The Dallas Morning News and Al Dia contributed to this report.

[TexasStooge]

Police recover drugs, cash after chase

By CYNTHIA VEGA / WFAA ABC 8

DALLAS, Texas - A police chase ended with a cocaine bust early Wednesday near Dallas Fair Park.

Just after midnight, officers were tipped off about a drug deal at Jim Miller Road and Interstate 30. Police pursued two suspects and stopped them in the 4100 block of Carl Street.

Investigators said they retrieved a stash of cocaine and a large sum of cash at the scene, but they observed a cell phone and other suspected drugs being tossed out the car window during the chase.

No weapons were recovered.

"No matter how big or how small a drug dealer you are, we'll put you in jail and charge you with everything we can," said an undercover Dallas police narcotics officer involved in the operation. "This is what happens to you: You get caught."

The two suspects face a felony charge for evading arrest along with drug possession charges.

[TexasStooge]

Homeless evicted from under I-45

By DON WALL / WFAA ABC 8

DALLAS, Texas - The Texas Department of Transportation took steps Tuesday morning to clear out several camps of homeless people underneath bridges and overpasses in Dallas.

TXDoT has a "zero tolerance" policy when it comes to loitering on state property.

Police rousted about a dozen homeless people from their makeshift shelters under Interstate 45 near downtown Dallas. Four people were arrested on unrelated warrants.

Steve Fitzpatrick lost his place to stay and more. "People bring us clothes, blankets and things to stay warm," he said. "Now the police are going to take it all and throw it in the trash."

But TXDoT supervisor Rodney Douglas was unapolagetic, saying that the underpasses are off-limits and are clearly marked. "They've been stealing our signs, making shelter out of signs and selling aluminum off the back of it," Douglas said. "We're just trying to clear our right-of-way up."

Ironically, the City of Dallas conducted its annual homeless survey on Monday night. Some of the same homeless people were asked if they've got everything they need, then the next morning they were forced out.

Tom Dunning, who heads the mayor's task force on homelessness, said the timing of the two events was coincidental, but regrettable.

"It couldn't have been worse ... I don't know where the breakdown came," Dunning said. "You know it's a horrible coincidence, because it's very important for us to know the number of homeless we are dealing with."

The director of the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance, which conducted the homeless survey, told News 8, "We would not have anything to do with a sweep; we were not made aware."

After the homeless were moved out, heavy equipment moved in to scoop up blankets, cardboard, tents and tarpaulin. The debris filled five dump trucks.

"Now we have to start all the way over, with nothing," Fitzpatrick said.

[TexasStooge]

Sanchez search moves to Trinity River

By GARY REAVES / WFAA ABC 8

DALLAS, Texas - Police widened their search for Oscar Sanchez Tuesday after failing to find evidence of the missing restaurant executive.

It's now been more than a week since Sanchez was kidnapped. One suspect is in custody in Chicago while another remains on the run in Mexico.

In Dallas, the focus was on a wooded area along the banks of the Trinity River where suspect Jose Felix told police to look for Sanchez; police believe the 30-year-old man is dead.

Police asked colleagues at Dallas Fire-Rescue to help with the search, asking them to deploy boats to scour the shores of the Trinity for any clues.

"We know that there's a family that's upset, we've got a police department that's upset, we've got a community that's upset," said fire department spokesman Lt. Joel Lavender. "The only thing we can do is use whatever tools we have and assistance we can give to come to some sort of resolution in this case."

Through an attorney, the Sanchez family reaffirmed hope while acknowledging some sense of how a senseless crime may have been was hatched.

"Oscar is a successful young man, he's highly visible, he lives in an area of town that's quiet, (and) it's very easy for someone to do something like this without being noticed," said family attorney Mike McKinley. "On the street where this occurred it is very quiet, and it took a while for somebody to notice Oscar's car sitting there with the engine running and the door open."

McKinley said uncaptured suspect Edgar Acevedo, who worked on and off at the family's El Ranchito restaurant, never directly reported to Oscar Sanchez - and no one else in the family knows him well either.

"Sanchez was a very easy target for someone who thought they could score some money in a quick way," McKinley said.

In the search for Sanchez, four boats were used to search a stretch of the Trinity south of Interstate 20 to the Dowdy Ferry Road bridge. Police on shore continued to search the bottomland and a nearby junk yard with trained dogs and on horseback.

On Monday, directions from Felix led police to a carboard box, some red-stained plastic and bloody clothing. But there was no trace of human remains and tests have not yet determined if these items are linked to the Sanchez kidnapping. Officials then decided to expand the search area to include a wider region along a rural road between Interstate 45 and Highway 175.

While the kidnappers will not profit, an informant could; the reward is now more than $50,000. The search will resume after dawn on Wednesday.

WFAA-TV's Brad Hawkins contributed to this report.

[TexasStooge]

Robbers target Arlington stores

By YOLANDA WALKER / WFAA ABC 8

ARLINGTON, Texas - There's a pair of suspects robbing gas station convenience stores in south Arlington.

Between the two of them, they've hit about ten locations - some several times - in areas off Interstate 20 along Matlock, Bardin and Arbrook roads.

Police said the two suspects have similar methods of operation, but police believe they are not working together and probably don't even know each other.

The first suspect walks into convenience stores, pretends to buy a small item and then robs the clerk at knifepoint.

"We believe the suspect is responsible for at least nine offenses here in Arlington," said Arlington Police spokesperson Christy Gilfour.

It happened one night to Paul Nguyen, while he was working behind the counter at a Diamond Shamrock off I-20 and Matlock.

"I basically just backed away," Nguyen said. "If he was going to take the money, he was going to have to do it himself - I'm not going to hand-feed him anything. So, he took the money and ran, right across the field so nobody could catch him."

The suspect, a thin white man around age 30, has struck eight times this month alone. Monday night, he hit the Howdy Doody Mart in the 6200 block of Matlock. A few hours later, he stopped at a 7-11.

"We don't believe that he's working in connection with any other suspects in Arlington, but we would like the public to help us identify this man because he is using a weapon," said Gilfour.

He may be working alone, but he is crossing paths with another suspect. The two of them have robbed some of same stores such as the E-Z Mart on Bardin Road. The second suspect pretends to buy cigarettes, and when the clerk turns around he strikes.

"He was seen in one of the videos we have with a sleeveless shirt, and the witnesses have described several tattoos on both arms," Gilfour said.

The Hispanic male suspect is about 40 years old, 5 foot 10 inches, about 180 pounds. He has only robbed E-Z Mart stores, and also brandishes a knife, though no one has been seriously injured in the robberies.

"We're pretty sure that with some of the photos that we've put out, someone in the public knows who this guy is," Gilfour said. Police have increased their patrols in this area.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Arlington Police Department at 817-459-5600, or Crimestoppers at 817-469-TIPS.

[TexasStooge]

City begins settling fake-drug suits

By BRETT SHIPP / WFAA ABC 8

NEWS 8 EXCLUSIVE

DALLAS, Texas - Three years ago, the city of Dallas was watching the unfolding of what became known as the fake-drug scandal.

Now, that dark chapter in Dallas Police Department history is starting to come to a close as the city begins to settle lawsuits filed by innocent victims.

When News 8 first broke the story in January 2002, it seemed impossible to believe. Nearly two dozen innocent civilians, mostly working-class Hispanics, were busted by Dallas police in some of the biggest drug seizures in the city's history.

All of those arrested were ultimately vindicated when police informants admitted the drugs were all fake. All of the victims sued the city, and now the city is about to pay.

Fifteen plaintiffs have agreed to monetary settlements, which the city isn't quite ready to concede.

"I don't consider a case settled until we sign on the dotted line, so we've made significant progress," said city attorney Madeleine Johnson.

Yet even plaintiff's attorney Tony Wright suggests the city deserves credit.

"The city finally did something right without being forced to ... even though they were squeezed," Wright said.

Wright said his four clients will receive a nice settlement, though the amounts are still being kept confidential. Yet ask some of the victims, and one might get the impression they actually lost.

Maria Mejia had to watch her husband Jesus spend five months in jail.

"Nobody ever really knows what we went through," Mejia said.

Any money her family will receive means nothing, said Mejia, until the officers involved - who are about to be tried - also serve time in jail.

Erubiel Cruz sat in jail for two months, and also said he wouldn't be happy until the officers are in jail.

It could be several weeks before the settlements are finalized, but closure for the victims may never come.

Said Mejia, "It will always be in the back of our minds."

[TexasStooge]

Killer who cited Metallica lyrics executed

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP/WFAA ABC 8) – A condemned killer who twice avoided execution last year when courts halted his punishment on the day he was to die was executed Tuesday for a slaying in Corpus Christi more than 20 years ago.

The execution came after the U.S. Supreme Court refused on a narrow 5-4 vote to block Troy Kunkle's execution.

Kunkle was contrite as he looked toward the daughter and son-in-law of his victim, Stephen Horton, and sought their forgiveness.

"I would like to ask you to forgive me," he said. "I made a mistake and I am sorry for what I did. All I can do is ask you to forgive me."

Kunkle then turned his head toward an adjacent window in the death house and expressed love to witnesses he selected to watch him die, including his mother and his wife.

"I love you and I will see all of you in heaven," he said. "I love you very much. Praise Jesus."

Kunkle recited the Lord's Prayer and then indicated to the warden he had finished. In the seconds before the lethal drugs began taking effect, he repeatedly mouthed "I love you" to his friends and relatives. He exhaled slightly and gasped before he slipped into unconsciousness. Eight minutes later, at 8:12 p.m. CST, he was pronounced dead.

"Shame to Texas," his wife, Christa Heber, said as she watched him die.

Kunkle, 38, spent more than half of his life on death row for the death of Horton, 31, who was fatally shot and robbed of $13.

The 1984 shooting gained notoriety with disclosures Kunkle, from San Antonio and then just over 18, quoted lyrics of a song by the heavy metal rock group Metallica after Horton was gunned down.

The lethal injection was the second of the year in Texas, the nation's busiest execution state.

Twice last year Kunkle was spared from the death chamber by court rulings on the day he was set to die. The most recent halt came Nov. 18 when the U.S. Supreme Court stopped the execution about 40 minutes after Kunkle could have been strapped to the death chamber gurney for injection. Tuesday's execution date was his sixth.

In their appeal, Kunkle's lawyers had contended jurors at his trial were not allowed to properly consider as mitigating evidence his history of alcohol and drug abuse, plus a family history of mental illness and abuse.

Attorneys also contended his death sentence was unconstitutional and he improperly was denied resentencing due to procedural technicalities that limit the number of appeals on the same issues.

It was Aug. 11, 1984, when Kunkle and several friends drove from their home in San Antonio about 140 miles to the southeast to Corpus Christi for a day at the beach. They were high on drugs and beer and looking for someone to rob when they offered Horton a ride that evening. Once inside the car, a gun was put to his head and he was ordered to surrender his wallet. Horton refused and was shot.

His body was pushed out of the car. His wallet, containing $13, was taken.

According to testimony at Kunkle's capital murder trial, after shooting Horton in the head Kunkle chanted: "Another day, another death, another sorrow, another breath" – the refrain from the Metallica song "No Remorse" on the album "Kill 'Em All."

Prosecutors also remembered him at one point during his trial playing an air guitar in the courtroom as lawyers discussed whether the Metallica song could be admitted into evidence.

Kunkle, born in Nuremberg, Germany, where his father was stationed in the military, last year told San Antonio television station KENS the slaying was a "juvenile mistake made with juvenile peer pressure."

"There's nothing about this to be proud of," he added. "Really, it's kind of a shame and an embarrassment."

Three of Kunkle's companions that day received prison terms ranging from 30 years to life.

"To this day I can recall Stephen's face as I stood there alone with him," Ed Wimberly, who was working as a Corpus Christi police officer at the time and found Horton's body, recently wrote to the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. "I wondered why someone would shoot him in the head and then dump his lifeless body in a field without a care in the world."

Also Tuesday, convicted killer George Jones won a reprieve from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals that blocked his execution, scheduled for Thursday. Jones was condemned for the abduction and slaying of a Dallas man during a carjacking almost 12 years ago.

[TexasStooge]

Flu spreading across North Texas

By JANET ST. JAMES / WFAA-TV

DALLAS, Texas - Influenza has become widespread across North Texas over the past month, and now some doctors are seeing worrisome trends in their flu patients.

Some physicians told News 8 they are finding flu in people they thought were protected.

The waiting room at one Carrollton doctor's office is filled with misery. Libby Goldman is among those suffering.

"It's the chest and the head that really, really hurt," Goldman said.

As a high-risk diabetic, Goldman got a flu shot, yet she shows all signs of having influenza.

Dr. Richard Honaker said he's seen an influx of cases like this in the past two days.

"Either their antibody levels did not rise enough to prevent the flu, or they had another strain that we're not yet aware of," Honaker said.

His lab is filled with positive flu tests. But because influenza isn't officially tracked, health officials don't know yet if there's a trend.

Goldman has pneumonia too, a common complication of the flu.

Honaker recommends a prescription medication called Tamiflu, which kills the influenza germ.

"Get treatment early," he said. "Then, you will be less likely to spread this to your family and your friends."

Late Tuesday, the Texas health department recommended that flu shots be made available to anyone, so that a shot shortage doesn't turn into a surplus this year.

But doctors said people can prevent the flu by washing their hands, and those who get it can protect the rest of us by staying home when they're sick.

[TexasStooge]

Mom Poses As Daughter Online, Police Make Arrest

Man's Chat With Teen Turns out To Be Her Mom

MCKINNEY, Texas (KXAS NBC 5) -- A McKinney woman helped police make an arrest of an alleged online predator by posing as her daughter.

The mother, who asked that her name not be used, saved many of the instant messages she got from an Allen, Texas, man who wanted to meet her.

The woman said the messages were sexual and annoying but police say the bigger issue is that he thought she was her 16-year-old daughter.

The mother believes the man used her daughter's online profile to find out her age and that she lives in McKinney. Since mother and daughter share an e-mail account, it was the mother he first made contact with.

"I wasn't comfortable with what he was (chatting) about," the mother said. "So I decided to keep (chatting) and see what he would say and see if it was something I needed to be concerned about."

The woman said they exchanged messages for weeks, which became increasingly more suggestive. He allegedly e-mailed pictures of himself naked and would not stop even when the woman said she was only 16 years old. The woman went to police after her other daughter, a 12-year-old, clicked on a message while playing games.

"She clicks on it, and out pops his web cam, and he's sitting there naked," the mother said.

The woman contacted police who asked her to continue posing as her daughter.

Authorities were able to find out personal information about who they were chatting with and set up a location to meet, McKinney police Capt. Randy Roland said.

With that information, police arrested David Knott, 37, and charged him with solicitaion of a minor, which is a felony.

He is currently out on bond.