News from the Lone Star State

[GalvestonDuck]

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/news/state/ ... raise.html

State workers to receive first salary hike in four years
By The Associated Press
(5/18/05 - AUSTIN, TX) — State workers would see their first salary hike in four years under a plan approved by a legislative conference committee working on the state budget.
Pay raises will be dolled out at 4 percent this September and 3 percent in 2006.
To help lower-paid workers, who wouldn't benefit as much from a percentage raise, the committee guaranteed every worker will receive at least $100 more per month this year and $50 a month more next year.
For example, the average state worker, who earns $32,681, would make $1,300 more starting September and another $1,000 the following year.
State troopers, corrections officers, game wardens and others with a similar classification would receive larger pay raises, from 9 percent to 24 percent this year, depending on the job and experience.
"At least they're making an effort to make their salaries more competitive," said Stuart Greenfield, a part-time teacher at Texas State University in San Marcos who has warned about the aging of the state work force.
Greenfield, however, questioned how much workers will actually see on their checks after possible changes in benefits that lawmakers are weighing.
The raise will cost the state $458 million over the next two years.
The plan also included a hazardous-duty pay increase from $7 a month to $10 a month per year of service, and a longevity-pay increase from $20 per month for every three years on the job to $20 per month for every two years worked.
The pay raises were a compromise between the plans pushed by the two chambers. The Senate had backed a 4.5 percent pay raise with a minimum $100 monthly increase each of the next two years, taking effect Jan. 1. The House had backed a 3 percent raise this fall.
The state has about 145,000 full-time employees. On average, they earn about 17 percent less than employees who perform similar jobs in municipal government or the private sector, according to a pair of state auditor's reports released last fall.
The salaries were cited as a key reason for the state's 14.8 percent turnover rate last year.
In 2001, Texas ranked 31st in the nation in compensation for state workers, according to an analysis by the Texas State Employees Union. It was ahead of all of its neighboring states.
(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press
 

[TexasStooge]

Man who taped dog's mouth guilty

By BRANDON FORMBY / The Dallas Morning News

DENTON, Texas – A man accused of taping a dog's mouth shut with duct tape was convicted Wednesday of animal cruelty.

A Denton County jury deliberated for about 40 minutes before finding Richard Swift, 43, of The Colony, guilty. Swift sat with his head in his hands after the verdict was read.

The construction worker faces up to two years in jail and a $10,000 fine. The punishment phase already has begun.

Swift’s attorney, Derek Adame, had tried to prove that his client is an animal lover who was trying to fashion a muzzle on Bull, a 1-year-old black Labrador retriever, last summer. The dog was euthanized later that day after suffering heat stroke.

Prosecutors argued that Swift's actions were inappropriate and directly led to Bull's death.

"The issue is: Is this cruelty? Is this the torture of an animal?" prosecutor Tony Paul said. "I will say to you now that this is not an appropriate method in which to train a dog not to bark."

[TexasStooge]

Pre-K student brings gun to Austin school

AUSTIN, Texas (The Dallas Morning News/AP) – A pre-kindergarten student brought a handgun to school, where it was seized by a fifth-grader and turned over to the principal, school district officials said Tuesday.

The 5-year-old reportedly displayed the loaded weapon outside the Blanton Elementary School cafeteria where students were gathered before class. The fifth-grader recognized it was real and took it to the principal.

Investigators were trying to determine how the child got the gun, Austin Independent School District spokeswoman Carmen Luevanos said.

District police said they will pursue charges against the adult who allowed the student to bring the weapon to school. The adult was not identified.

A charge of making a firearm accessible to a child is a Class C misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $500.

Luevanos said investigators do not believe the 5-year-old intended to harm any students.

"He just took it out to show other students," she said. "Their conclusion is the child was not really aware how serious his actions were."

[TexasStooge]

Two executions slated this week

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (The Dallas Morning News/AP) – A twice-convicted robber from Louisiana was headed to the Texas death chamber Wednesday evening for the fatal stabbing of his children's 84-year-old babysitter during a robbery.

Bryan Wolfe, 44, was on parole from Louisiana and had fled a work-release program when he was arrested for the 1992 slaying of Bertha Lemell at the woman's home in Beaumont. She had been stabbed 26 times. Around $40 was believed taken from the woman's change purse, which also had contained some black-eyed peas she carried for good luck.

Wolfe's lethal injection would be the seventh this year in Texas, the nation's most active death penalty state. Another execution was set for Thursday.

The U.S. Supreme Court this week refused to review Wolfe's case, and no late legal efforts to block the punishment were attempted.

"There's really nothing we can do," said his appeals lawyer, Michael Jamail.

Earlier appeals contended Wolfe's court-appointed trial lawyer was incompetent and ill-prepared to address the then relatively new DNA technology authorities used to link Wolfe to the killing.

Wolfe, from Houma, La., was seen in Lemell's neighborhood shortly before and after the slaying, according to court documents. When he was picked up by police two days later, he had deep cuts on his right hand. He said they were from a broken beer bottle. Authorities believed he cut himself with the knife while he was stabbing the woman.

DNA from blood samples on a door knob, the floor and towels at Lemell's house, plus on the black coin purse and a knife found at the scene, matched Wolfe's DNA.

Wolfe had been to prison after confessing to an armed robbery in Louisiana while serving in the Army in 1983, then another robbery in Houma in 1989. He blamed marijuana and cocaine for his crimes.

He was released from a Louisiana prison in 1991 after one year of a three-year sentence. Court records showed he absconded from a work-release center. Less than three months later, Lemell was killed. She had been watching his two children while his wife worked.

"He didn't have a very good past, and it was just a truly despicable crime," said Ed Shettle, the Jefferson County assistant district attorney who prosecuted Wolfe. "If you are going to steal something, money from somebody who knows you and you don't want to get caught, what are you going to do? You are going to murder them. And that's what he did."

Leo Lemell, the slain woman's 80-year-old cousin, said the years since Wolfe was given the death penalty have been difficult.

"It always frustrates you when something runs on and on and on," he said. "They need to get it over with one way or another."

On Thursday, condemned prisoner Richard Cartwright, 31, was set to go to the death chamber for the 1996 robbery and fatal shooting of a man in Corpus Christi.

[TexasStooge]

Missing implant leaves woman in silent world

By CHRIS HEINBAUGH / WFAA ABC 8

DALLAS, Texas - Recreational therapist Jolene Arnold helps people with disablities get more out of life.

She's also deaf, but for years has been able to partially hear thanks to a cochlear implant.

"It helps me hear sound," Arnold said. "It helps me read lips better."

But last week, Jolene's world went quiet while she was rollerskating in Garland. Jolene was skating with one of her clients—an autistic child—and when she took a tumble, she lost the earpiece for the cochlear implant.

Despite a search, announcements and even a reward, no one turned the earpiece in.

The device processes sound, sends signals to the auditory nerve and lets someone hear.

Professor Philip Loizou said this device opens up new worlds for the hearing-impaired, so losing it is like going deaf all over again.

"Actually, it's much worse," Loizou said. "Because you lose your hearing gradually, (but) in this case it's sudden, so it's much more dramatic."

Jolene can still read lips, but can't hear her clients, fire sirens and music—and can no longer hear herself speak.

"It helps me function every day," she said.

Arnold hopes someone will realize what the device is, and return it.

She doesn't have the $10,000 needed to buy another, and until she does Jolene's world will again be silent.

[TexasStooge]

Pilot, 4 Men Survive Chopper Crash Near Houston

Helicopter Crashes Shortly After Taking Off

HUFFMAN, Texas (KXAS NBC 5) -- A helicopter working for an energy exploration company crashed and broke apart Wednesday when a cable hanging from the craft snagged on the ground and yanked it down, officials told KPRC-TV in Houston.

The crash happened at about 8:25 a.m. at a construction site near F.M. 2100 and F.M. 1960 in Huffman, east of Lake Houston. Officials said the helicopter was carrying five men.

Investigators said the chopper, owned by Horizon Helicopters, Inc., had traveled about 30 feet from takeoff before it went down.

Harris County Sheriff's Lt. John Martin said LifeFlight transported two of the victims with critical injuries to Memorial Hermann Hospital. Two other victims and the pilot transported by ambulance were not believed to have life-threatening injuries.

Flying debris from the crash hit several others on the ground.

The Bell Ranger helicopter was working for Quantum Geophysical, a Houston company that searches for oil and gas. It had just finished refueling and was taking off when a 60-foot cable that hangs from the helicopter snagged and yanked the craft nose first into the ground, Gutierrez said. The propeller flew off when the helicopter hit.

Martin said the crash happened near a residential area but said residents had not been affected.

Cy-Creek emergency workers and officials with Precinct 3 Harris County Sheriff's Department and the Department of Public Safety also responded to the scene.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

[TexasStooge]

Cell phones get expensive for Dallas ISD

By CHRIS HEINBAUGH / WFAA

NEWS 8 EXCLUSIVE

DALLAS, Texas - The Dallas Independent School District's $13 million deficit means every penny counts.

A few thousand dollars extra could mean more textbooks; $10,000 could pay for a teaching assistant.

So why did it take the district so long to get some of its school board trustees' cell phone bills under control?

For the trustees, the cell phones are a perk of their unpaid position for which taxpayers pick up the bill. Those phones, however, have cost more than $62,000 in just the last three years.

News 8 did the math on cell phone bills for each trustee since 2002 Most averaged less than $200 a month, but some jumped out.

Trustee Lois Parrott's bill totalled $7,200 - the second-highest on the board. That bill swelled from 691 calls made to directory assistance totaling $891; additionally, there were more than 8,000 text messages totalling $836.

Parrott wouldn't talk on camera; she said she didn't know about the text messages or the calls to 411. Yet last week, she turned her cell phone into the district and closed her account.

Parent Allen Gwinn, a DISD watchdog, thinks the district looks the other way.

"I think the view of DISD administration of the board members are ... that these are golden children, and they can pretty much do what they want," Gwinn said. "They obviously let them get away with a lot."

Trustee Ron Price had the highest cell phone total by far. Many months, his bill climbed into the high hundreds; some months it was over $1,000.

From 2002 through last February, Price's cell phone cost taxpayers $18,877.

"Everybody calls me on my cell phone," Price said. "I average about ... about 60 phone calls a day from people."

Price said everyone from parents to teachers to reporters reach him by his DISD cell phone, adding that it's how a good trustee serves his constituents.

But other trustees do their jobs at a fraction of the cost, with monthly averages ranging from $84 to $185.

Price, who has a business as an education consultant, said he only uses his DISD phone for DISD business. Still, some of those calls take place after midnight.

"Believe it or not, there's board members ... we talk after midnight," Price said.
DISD officials said the district does not audit or monitor the trustees' cell phone use.

"We are concerned about every penny spent by DISD, but at the same time provide trustees with the tools to do their jobs," said district spokesman Donald Claxton. "It's really incumbent on the trustee to make the decisions on how to use their property."

District officials said they recently negotiated a new calling plan for all the trustees and were able to make it retroactive for several months, which will get the district back a few thousand dollars. But when asked if they also considered asking some trustees to curb their cell phone use, officials said they weren't going to do that.

Gwinn said the district and the trustees should be better stewards.

"I can think of a lot better ways to spend $18,000 than on somebody's cell phone bill," he said.

Price said he knows the rules, and follows them.

"Your cell phone is used for the benefit of your constituents," he said.

When asked how he might assure his constituents that the phone is indeed just being used for district-related business, Price rubbed his bald head.

"I can assure them, because when I got on the school board I had hair, and look what they've done to me."
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Trustee cell phone use

(All figures indicate average per month use)

Ron Price - $484
Lois Parrott - $185
Lew Blackburn - $181
Hollis Brashear - $146
Joe May - $146
Ken Zornes -.$137
Jerome Garza - $93
Nancy Bingham - $84

Source: Dallas ISD

[TexasStooge]

Fort Worth PD Mounted Patrol aging quickly

By JIM DOUGLAS / WFAA ABC 8

FORT WORTH, Texas - Some members of the Fort Worth Police Department are too old to do their jobs and need to be taken off the streets.

They're not offended by that, though - they're horses.

Citizens and visitors love the horses, as much a part of Fort Worth as the old courthouse. They even quench their thirst in the courthouse fountain just like a century ago.

But now, the department's Mounted Patrol unit is down to 14 healthy mounts - and more than half of them are old enough for greener pastures.

"He's put countless hours on the streets of Fort Worth," Sgt. Billy Samuel said about BJ, the oldest horse in the unit at 23. "He's got real bad bone splinters in his feet and legs. He's not ridable."

Nocona is the next oldest, at 22 years of age.

"Nocona has seizures," Samuel said. "Not ridable."

Nocona and BJ are available to adopt, but they need veterinary care and can't be ridden.

The city does not pay for horses, so the citizens' support group for the mounted patrol is trying to raise money to help. Fort Worth police would like to rotate out eight of their old horses over the next year or so.

It costs between $5,000 and $5,500 to put a police horse on the street. Not pocket change, but certainly cheaper than a Crown Victoria police cruiser.

"I'm a police officer on a horse," said officer Kathleen Westfall. "What could be better?"

It takes about a year to train a police horse to handle crowds, stress and noises. Still, the officers who ride will miss their old friends for a lot longer than that.

[TexasStooge]

Convict executed for robbery-slaying

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) – A twice-convicted robber from Louisiana was executed Wednesday evening for the fatal stabbing of his children's 84-year-old babysitter during a robbery.

Bryan Wolfe expressed love to relatives and friends who were watching through a window a few feet away, telling them he appreciated their support.

"I will be OK," Wolfe said. "I am at peace with all of this and I won't have to wake up in prison any more."

"I totally surrender to the Lord."

As the drugs began taking effect, Wolfe gasped slightly several times and turned his head toward the witnesses, his eyes open. A sister on the other side of the window also began gasping for air and had to be carried from the death house.

Wolfe was pronounced dead at 6:31 p.m., 10 minutes after the lethal dose began.

Wolfe, 44, was on parole from Louisiana and had fled a work-release program when he was arrested for the 1992 slaying of Bertha Lemell at the woman's home in Beaumont. Lemell had been stabbed 26 times. Around $40 was believed taken from the woman's change purse, which also had contained some black-eyed peas she carried for good luck.

Wolfe's lethal injection was the seventh this year in Texas, the nation's most active death penalty state. Another execution was set for Thursday.

[TexasStooge]

Guns missing from store warehouse

FORT WORTH, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - The search is on for dozens of weapons missing from the storage facility for a new sporting goods store in north Fort Worth.

Authorities said 76 rifles, shotguns and handguns worth $100,000 disappeared from a warehouse near the new Cabela's store, which is set to open next week at I-35W and Highway 170 near Alliance Airport and the Texas Motor Speedway.

The theft, from a locked unit, took place during the first two weeks of May.

"We noticed they were missing when we went to do an inventory and transfer them from that locked facility to our store," said Cabela's spokesman John Castillo.

When asked about the possibility of it being an inside job, Castillo said, "I hate to speculate ... we don't know."

Special agent Tom Crowley of the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which is assisting with the investigation, said there was some evidence of damage at the storage facility, and investigators were looking into whether someone could have crawled though a gap between the ceiling and door.

Stolen guns are nearly as valuable as drugs in resale value on the streets, according to the Americans For Gun Safety Foundation. 170,000 guns are stolen every year, and it's a double-edged crime: a theft that can sometimes result in murder.

“Our main concern is that these weapons do not get into the hands of criminals,” Crowley said Wednesday. “We think they can be recovered.”

The new Cabela's is a 230,000-square-foot superstore that is expected to be a top tourist draw in Tarrant County, with projections of four million visitors in its first year.

WFAA-TV reporter Karin Kelly and DallasNews.com reporter Kimberly Durnan contributed to this report.

[TexasStooge]

2 years given in dog's death

Denton: Jury says man's record, behavior led to maximum sentence

By BRANDON FORMBY / The Dallas Morning News

DENTON, Texas – The man who taped a 1-year-old black Labrador retriever's mouth shut in July, causing the dog's death from heatstroke, will serve two years in state jail, a Denton County jury decided Wednesday.

"What he did was an unbelievably cruel act, and he deserved to be punished," lead prosecutor Tony Paul said after the trial.

Richard Swift, 43, of The Colony was convicted Wednesday morning of animal cruelty. Jurors decided on the maximum jail sentence allowed and fined him $5,000, half the maximum.

Some jurors said the crime combined with Mr. Swift's six previous criminal convictions – including manufacture/delivery of a controlled substance and assault causing bodily injury – played a role in their decision.

"In the past, he's been given numerous chances to rehabilitate himself," juror Jon Burkhart said.

Mr. Swift was not eligible for probation because he once had probation revoked after he tested positive for marijuana and cocaine, prosecutors told jurors.

Derek Adame, Mr. Swift's attorney, said he was let down by the verdict and sentencing.

"You're always disappointed when things don't go your way," Mr. Adame said. "But I understand what they did and why they did it."

During his closing arguments, Mr. Adame conceded that Mr. Swift caused the death of the dog, Bull, but said that it was not intentional.

"You can say, 'How dare you do something this stupid?' but what you'll never be able to do is say beyond a reasonable doubt, 'You intended and knew you were torturing a dog,' " Mr. Adame said.

Rodney Swift, Richard's younger brother and the dog's owner, did not agree with the jury.

"I think it's wrong," Rodney Swift said. "I don't think all of the truth has come out." He declined to comment further.

Rodney Swift was the only witness to testify for the defense in the three-day trial. On the stand, he described his brother as a lifelong animal lover and owner who would never intentionally hurt a dog.

The prosecution called seven witnesses, most of whom saw Bull the day of the incident. They described a semi-conscious dog so overcome with heat exhaustion that he could not move, respond to commands or drink water.

Mr. Swift laughed, sighed and shook his head repeatedly during the prosecution's opening statements and testimony from prosecution witnesses. After the prosecution objected to his behavior, 367th District Court Judge Lee Gabriel admonished Mr. Swift outside the jury's presence.

"If you choose to act that way, you will only hurt yourself," Judge Gabriel said. "You've done it from the very first witness to the last witness."

Jurors noticed his behavior. Mr. Burkhart said it was one of the factors he weighed in the verdict and sentencing.

"He almost seemed like he was trying to intimidate some of the witnesses," he said.

The incident last summer garnered national media attention and criticism from animal protection groups. The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Denton County district attorney's office received hundreds of letters and e-mails about the case.

It took jurors about 40 minutes to reach a verdict and 90 minutes to decide on the sentence.

Mr. Adame, the defense attorney, said the real victim in the case was Rodney Swift.

"Obviously, in my opinion, I would have liked for them to give greater weight to his brother's position," he said. "He loses his dog and he loses his brother. I wish they had taken that into consideration."

[TexasStooge]

Truck crashes into vehicles at dealer

DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - A driver lost control of his truck and crashed into vehicles at a car dealership in Northeast Dallas Wednesday afternoon.

The driver was on the eastbound LBJ service road near Jupiter Road around 4 p.m. when he or she veered off the road and slammed into four SUVs at the Ewing Buick-GMC dealership. The driver also hit a light pole, causing it to fall on another vehicle parked on the lot.

An ambulance responded to the scene to treat the driver, whose injuries are unknown.

Police have launched an investigation to determine what caused the crash.

[TexasStooge]

Suits: Abuse signs ignored at day care

Officials blame 2 employees, now in prison for molestation

By BROOKS EGERTON / The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS, Texas - One was a popular longtime parishioner. The other was a clown with a criminal record, a falsified resumé – and a recommendation from a deacon.

For most of the 1990s, they worked at St. Pius X Catholic Church's child care center in Far East Dallas. Each was the target of complaints about his behavior with little girls. Each turned out to be a child molester and is now in prison.

Lawsuits set for trial beginning next month say center officials ignored "red flags" about the men, despite tremendously expensive 1990s litigation showing that Dallas Catholic Diocese leaders had turned a blind eye to evidence of sexual abuse by priests.

Church officials blame everything on the child care workers, saying in court filings that the men managed to deceive everyone around them. The officials declined several requests to be interviewed about the cases and didn't respond to written questions.

The lawsuits come at a difficult time for diocesan leaders. They face a broader criminal investigation of how they handle sexual misconduct allegations. They are still trying to recover from the past clergy cases, which cost them nearly $40 million in payments to victims. And a priest who was a leading supporter of Bishop Charles Grahmann's management of those cases was recently arrested on child pornography charges.

Diocesan officials are floating the possibility of declaring bankruptcy – something they discussed in 1997, after a civil jury found them liable for covering up ex-priest Rudy Kos' abuses and assessed the largest clergy-abuse judgment in U.S. history. A post-trial settlement cut the amount dramatically, and the diocese never sought court protection from creditors.

Michael Pezzulli, lead attorney for the current plaintiffs, said the diocese has enough resources to meet demands. He said that in pretrial settlement talks, he is seeking roughly $15 million for the eight families he represents – a little less, on a per-victim basis, than the diocese has paid in the biggest clergy cases.

Mr. Pezzulli's firm sued in state District Court on behalf of victims of Julio A. Marcos, who worked at St. Pius' child care center until his arrest in early 2001. Mr. Marcos pleaded guilty to sexually abusing or assaulting 11 preteen girls from the center, many repeatedly, and is serving a life term in prison.

One of his former co-workers, Patrick Willhoite, who quit in 1998, has been convicted of abusing two girls, one of them at the center. Another law firm said it is preparing to sue the diocese on that girl's behalf.

Center officials knew of concerns that the men had been too close to girls at the facility and had histories of suicidal behavior, according to evidence and testimony in pretrial depositions. Each man has sworn that he warned center director Jeanie Easler about the other's inappropriate contact with children. She has played down the seriousness of the allegations and said that the men were jealous of each other.

The diocese's attorneys are seeking to exclude much of the evidence. In court filings, they question the relevance of Mr. Marcos' suicide attempt. And they say jurors shouldn't hear about Mr. Willhoite because none of his victims are involved in the current case.

Suicide notes, overdose

Co-workers took Mr. Marcos to the hospital in 1992, his second year on the job, after he sent them suicide notes and overdosed on drugs. Later, he said in a deposition, came three anonymous accusations of sexual misconduct with children that were reported to Ms. Easler.

Ms. Easler, who recently retired, testified in her deposition that she knew of no misconduct allegations against Mr. Marcos. She acknowledged knowing that he showed favoritism toward girls.

In the late 1990s, Mr. Marcos expressed fear that he was going to be accused of molestation in connection with a child-custody fight, according to a priest who was associate pastor at the parish.

The Rev. Michael Forge said he did not ask for details of the potential accusations, did not investigate and notified no one. "I didn't think it was important," he testified in a deposition.

The Rev. Ramon Alvarez, who was St. Pius' head pastor in 1998, testified that Father Forge should have notified him.

Father Forge said he advised Mr. Marcos to quit working in child care because "you subject yourself to, you know, false allegations." The employee responded, he said, that " 'it's worth the risk, it's worth the risk.' He basically said, you know, the kids need him and the kids love him."

Mr. Marcos has testified that he does not remember the conversation.

Father Forge – who now heads a Terrell parish – also testified that he had received no training then in recognizing potential molesters.

In court filings, the defense argues that Mr. Marcos was a longtime member of the St. Pius parish whose popularity with children and their parents fooled even the experts – including a fellow parishioner who is a Dallas police sergeant on the child exploitation squad.

Mr. Marcos called Sgt. Byron Fassett around 1997 to say he had received child pornography in an unsolicited e-mail, both men have testified. The sergeant said he warned Mr. Marcos to be more careful online.

After Mr. Marcos' arrest a few years later, authorities found child pornography on his computer.

The defense also notes that in addition to his part-time child care job, Mr. Marcos worked as an office aide for Dallas lawyer Windle Turley. Mr. Turley was one of the attorneys who won the landmark judgment against the diocese in the Kos case.

Plaintiffs' attorneys in the child care cases say Mr. Turley's staff, Sgt. Fassett and the victims' parents didn't have enough information to realize the danger Mr. Marcos posed.

Troubling record

Mr. Willhoite, the second convicted employee, worked at the center for much of the 1990s despite severe mental illness, being on probation for felony theft, a falsified educational history and complaints about his behavior with girls, according to records and testimony. He ran a "clown ministry" on the side and was widely known to children as Dr. Issac.

Shortly after hiring him in 1991, center managers sent Texas officials an incorrect birth date and Social Security number for Mr. Willhoite's criminal background check, and it turned up nothing. On other paperwork, he had given them the correct date and number.

The managers have testified that they don't know how the discrepancies occurred and that they did not check his claims about his education. Among his bogus assertions was that he had studied youth ministry in "St. Lewis."

In a 1992 letter, Mr. Willhoite told a center manager about his illness and said he had been "placed into the legal system for supervision" because of missing funds at a previous job. Center managers have testified that they had no knowledge of the letter, although it was in St. Pius' files.

One ex-manager has acknowledged that she knew he suffered from depression. But a deacon who was counseling him told her "there was nothing to worry about," she testified, "and I took the word of a deacon of the church."

In 1994, a parishioner told center officials that she had seen Mr. Willhoite have inappropriate physical contact with a preschooler at a recent church event.

A sworn statement from Theresa Kleineck said that he put the girl on his lap, "began to rub his hands on her breasts" and stroked her face. Ms. Kleineck said that when she reported this to the officials, they told her that they had previously warned him not to put children in his lap and not to show favoritism to girls.

She said she also reported complaints that other mothers had shared with her – that Mr. Willhoite had tickled girls, walked in on them when they changed clothes and repeatedly asked a 5-year-old to pull up her dress for him. That child's mother has signed a sworn statement alleging that center officials disciplined the girl for showing Mr. Willhoite her panties.

Center officials have testified that Ms. Kleineck never provided sufficient information to justify her assertions. Sgt. Fassett said she also called him but did not make a specific complaint.

In 1997, Ms. Kleineck renewed her protests at a parish meeting called to discuss the recently concluded Kos civil trial. That led to a smaller session at which she confronted Mr. Willhoite in the presence of two parish priests and Ms. Easler, the center director.

Mr. Willhoite insisted that he had done nothing wrong and would continue putting girls on his lap, according to testimony from church employees who were in the smaller session. They said he backed down only under orders.

The church kept Mr. Willhoite on staff, even after Pius' pastor received a letter from Ms. Kleineck that included information about his theft history. Ms. Easler testified that she moved Mr. Willhoite to a different classroom, nearer her office.

Center records show she also had moved him a year earlier, after receiving a complaint that he made two girls uncomfortable and cautioning him "to watch playing favorites."

In a 2002 sworn statement, Mr. Willhoite described himself as a pedophile and admitted that he had molested girls who sat on his lap at the child care center. He said he had gotten away with it because supervisors were "not looking for anyone within the organization that would harm children."

Later, testifying in a deposition, he acknowledged signing the statement but would not confirm its accuracy. He is serving a seven-year prison term.

[TexasStooge]

Officer killed in 1925 added to memorial

By JASON TRAHAN / The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS, Texas - For decades, Charles S. Swinney existed only in a fading newspaper clipping passed down in a Kentucky family's scrapbook.

But on Wednesday, his name was alongside 74 others engraved on the steel panels of the Dallas Police Memorial, honoring those who have died in the line of duty.

"It's nice to have someone recognized like that in our family," said Officer Swinney's great-niece Katharine Wallace, 76. She is a retired court reporter who was unable to travel to Dallas from Versailles, Ky., for Wednesday's annual police memorial ceremony across the street from City Hall.

It's been more than a year since an amateur police historian stumbled upon the story of how Officer Swinney was shot to death by two men while patrolling Knox Street on June 21, 1925.

There had been a question as to whether he was a full-fledged officer, but earlier this year, Chief David Kunkle approved his inclusion on the wall of honor.

"It's appropriate," said Senior Cpl. Jess Lucio, the department's historian who worked to get Officer Swinney recognized. "I'm sorry that it's taken this long. If other officers are out there, we will find them."

A private donor provided nearly $400 for a headstone for Officer Swinney and his wife, who were buried in unmarked graves at Oakland Cemetery in Dallas.

At the memorial, flags whipped in the midday breeze as dozens of white-gloved hands snapped to furrowed brows during the ceremony. The crack of a 21-gun salute ricocheted off the downtown high-rises. Family members dabbed their eyes as the names of all 75 officers were read aloud.

"We remember the officers who gave their lives to make this a safer city," Chief Kunkle told those assembled. "To the families, we promise never to forget."

[TexasStooge]

Homeowners take aim on coyote problem

By YOLANDA WALKER / WFAA ABC 8

TARRANT COUNTY, Texas — Coyotes taking up residence in one northwest Tarrant County neighborhood near Eagle Mountain Lake could meet their fate this weekend.

Residents of Harbour View Estates said a licensed hunter will take aim on their problem because of the danger the predators pose to pets and children.

Neighbors believe four coyotes roam the gated community looking for food after being forced out of their natural habitat by rapid development. Their distinctive howls can be heard during the night.

Nancy Selewacz said Zach, her 8-year-old whippet, was viciously attacked by one of the coyotes three weeks ago.

Zach was saved by a four-hour surgery, but he required 125 stitches and it cost $2,800.

"This is our dog," Selewacz said. "If this had been somebody's child, it just would have been devastating."

The Harbour View Estates Homeowner Association says it has been forced to take action.

"Where do you go? What do you do? It's dark out here at night; you don't know what's out here," said Debby Jackson, who lost her cat, Harley, to a coyote attack. "I want to protect my animals, I want to protect my family, and I want to protect the people that are around here as much as I possibly can."

Jackson, who sits on the association's board, said they've arranged for a licensed hunter to come out on Saturday to shoot the coyotes.

There's nothing illegal about the plan since the property is not within the city limits.

But resident Randy Sue Rabideau is outraged. "I just think it's inhumane and it's barbaric."

She not only worries about safety, but—as an animal lover—she can't fathom shooting coyotes. "Every shot I hear is going to pierce my heart," Rabideau said.

The members of the homeowner association offered assurances that the coyote eradication will be a controlled operation. "There will be no shots fired toward the house," Jackson said. "He's been told he has to account for every bullet he shoots."

[TexasStooge]

Dangerous gang moves into North Texas

By REBECCA LOPEZ / WFAA ABC 8

NEWS 8 EXCLUSIVE

DALLAS, Texas - It is considered the most dangerous gang in America, and it has moved into Dallas-Fort Worth.

Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, is a group made up mostly of Salvadorans who entered the U.S. illegally through Mexico. Department of Homeland Security officials said once they are caught in the U.S. they are deported, but some continue to make their way back and onto the streets of North Texas.

The gang has an estimated 10,000 members across 33 states. Many are known by the Dallas Cowboys jerseys they wear, and police said they are ruthless. More than a dozen suspected members were recently arrested in Dallas.

To get into MS-13, a gang member has to endure a 13-second beating.

Jonathan Reyes is a former member and a two time convicted killer.

"You have to prove yourself as a gang member who is the meanest, and everyone has to be scared of you," Reyes said.

"We know they are involved in very violent criminal activity, including homicides, rapes (and) sexual assault of minors," said Thomas Homan of the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Wednesday night, ICE and Dallas police arrested suspected gang member Juan Delacruz Gomez, 21, for murder. They said he and 18-year-old Melvin Duarte shot Eduardo Galecia in the head in March.

Authorities have identified 140 MS-13 gang members in North Texas, and have arrested 17 of them so far.

In fact, law enforcement officials consider the gang such a high priority that they've created a special nationwide effort called Operation Community Shield to dismantle it.

The Department of Homeland Security considers gang members a threat because they smuggle drugs and illegal immigrants across the border.

"If they are smuggling aliens, that is a vulnerability on the border," Homan said. "These conduits could be used by terrorists to smuggle a terrorist into the country."

Authorities said MS-13 is now recruiting heavily in North Texas, especially targeting young illegal immigrants.

[TexasStooge]

Parents say system fails to track teen drivers

By BRAD WATSON / WFAA ABC 8

UNIVERSITY PARK, Texas - The parents of a University Park girl killed by a teenage boy are calling for closer monitoring of teenage driving records.

This week, as Charles Austin Ames pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide for killing six-year-old Ann Kathryn Kerwin, a question lingered: Why was he still driving?

"How did this happen? What was the timing? Who knew what?" asked Barbara Kerwin, Ann's mother.

Looking back from the intersection where Ames' truck hit the Kerwin girl in 2003, records show he's among thousands of drivers whose records are never complete, in courts crushed with appeals.

In 2002, Ames appealed tickets for speeding and running a red light in a school zone. The District Attorney dismissed them because the citations couldn't be read.

Weeks later, a police report showed Ames failed to yield and hit another car—but he wasn't cited in that case.

And then a Dallas police report said Ames ran a red light and hit Megan Jackson's car, sending her to the hospital. Police did not issue a ticket because an officer didn't see the wreck.

"I was surprised that there were that many loopholes," Barbara Kerwin said.

Ames' attorney said Ames appealed his tickets as the system allows.

At the Dallas County Criminal Court of Appeals, 25,000 ticket appeals come in every year, but gaps develop in records because of deferred adjudication, defensive driving and dismissals.

"So sometimes—unfortunately—driving records don't really accurately reflect how many citations someone has received," explained Judge Kristin Wade of the Dallas County Court of Criminal Appeals.

Juries don't always favor prison time for drivers who cause wrecks that kill children.

On Wednesday, a jury gave Rocky Anderson of Highland Park 10 years probation for running a red light while drunk and killing 10-year-old Braden Hopkins.

The outraged judge added 180 days jail time to be served in nine-day periods on the dead boy's birthday and Christmas holidays over the next 10 years.

Statistics show that 20 percent of all traffic deaths involve teen drivers. Young males between 16 and 20 are in twice as many fatal accidents as female drivers.

Through his attorney, we asked Ames or his parents to comment, but they declined.

The Kerwins says they are committed to try and make improvements in the system so another family doesn't have to bear the horror they have suffered.

[TexasStooge]

TSA sees increase in banned items

By DAN RONAN / WFAA ABC 8

DALLAS, Texas - The next several months are going to be very busy at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and Love Field as millions of North Texans take vacations.

But nearly four years after September 11, many people are still being caught trying to bring weapons and other items onto planes.

Within the last month, the Transportation Security Administration banned lighters from being carried onto airplanes, in addition to the pre-existing bans on knives, guns and other weapons. Yet it seems many people aren't getting the message.

Edward Shin of Ireland wanted to smoke a cigarette as he changed planes Thursday at D/FW. Before catching a flight in Detroit, he left his lighter behind.

"it is just so chaotic going through security anyways, so the last thing you need is to be called back to have a lighter taken from you," Shin said.

Last month's ban prevents lighters from being kept in carry-on bags. But a 45-gallon can at D/FW was about two-thirds full - just one week's worth of lighters taken by TSA officials from passengers in only one terminal.

"Certainly, lighters are items that people carry every day, so they might not think to go through their purse or their briefcase and so forth," said the TSA's Andrea McCauley. "Then again, we ask they make sure they know what they're traveling with."

It isn't just lighters, either. Among items found this week at D/FW were a small saw and a box cutter just like the ones used by terrorists on September 11.

TSA officials said each summer they see a pretty big increase in items confiscated at the security checkpoints as more vacations are taken.

Within the last month, the government banned lighters from being carried onto planes. Already, knives, sharp tools and other weapons were not allowed. Still, it seems many people aren't getting the message.

[TexasStooge]

Firefighter trainee held after gun incident

Dallas: Driver was trying to tow SUV from lot, officials say

By JASON TRAHAN / The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS, Texas - A Dallas apprentice firefighter was arrested after he pulled a gun on a tow truck driver trying to remove his Cadillac Escalade from a convenience store parking lot, officials said.

Police and fire officials say that about 12:30 a.m. Thursday, a tow truck was preparing to take Jason Jerome Crear's sport utility vehicle from the parking lot of a 7-Eleven in the 7000 block of Greenville Avenue when he approached the truck's window and began pounding.

"Just after midnight, those cars that were illegally parked were towed," said Lt. Joel Lavender, a Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesman. "He got into an altercation with a tow truck operator."

According to a police report, at some point Mr. Crear reached into his back pocket and pulled out a 9 mm Ruger handgun, but bystanders grabbed his arm before he could point it. The tow truck driver ducked and drove away, the report says.

No shots were fired, and Mr. Crear was arrested on a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge.

He was being held at the Lew Sterrett Justice Center in lieu of $500 bail.

Mr. Crear, who was hired by Dallas Fire-Rescue in 2002, lacks only the EMS portion of his training to be eligible to become a full-fledged firefighter, Lt. Lavender said.

His job status hasn't changed since the arrest, but officials launched an internal investigation into the incident.

County records show that grand jurors cleared Mr. Crear of a felony theft charge in 2000.

He had a 2003 misdemeanor domestic violence charge out of Mesquite dropped in March.

"He was cleared after his wife said ... he was acting in self-defense," said Capt. Jesse Garcia, another department spokesman.

As fire officials investigated that incident, they learned Mr. Crear also had a warrants out for his arrest because he failed to pay two traffic tickets in Collin County, Capt. Garcia said.

Officials said he took care of those warrants, both for driving with a suspended license.

"We hold our members to a higher standard because the public expects a lot from us," Capt. Garcia said. "We take any allegation like this seriously. This is not the type of behavior we expect from firefighters."

[TexasStooge]

McKinney preschool's logo causes flap

By STEVE STOLER / WFAA ABC 8

McKINNEY, Texas - A Mckinney ISD parent is calling a new logo symbolizing the district's preschool program a form of racism.

The logo depicts a fair-skinned child doing a cartwheel in front of the earth. But Leslie Moore, a McKinney teacher whose child is in the preschool program, took exception.

"It sends the wrong message," Moore said. "It's telling me that every other ethnic race other than Caucasian is inferior to the Caucasian race."

Moore sent an e-mail to preschool director Kristina Perez, who wrote back, "The intention was never to make any ethnicity feel left out."

Perez also wrote, "T-shirts are already in print, along with bags for the children. We have also designed letterhead. At this point, I don't think it would be feasible to make changes."

"I would like to see that every child is being represented on the logo," Moore said. "That they are worthy of making the face of a t-shirt."

McKinney ISD administrators told News 8 they have stopped all printing of the logo. They'll meet with Moore next week to discuss other options, including another logo that depicts diversity with three children.

"We have a very diverse school district, and we're very proud of that," said McKinney ISD spokeswoman Diana Gulotta. "There was never any intent at any point to offend anybody. We're sorry that Ms. Moore was offended, and that's why we want to meet with her."