News from the Lone Star State

[TexasStooge]

Police: Crowley officer downloaded child stuff at work

By DEBRA DENNIS / The Dallas Morning News

CROWLEY, Texas - A former Crowley police officer was indicted last week on two counts alleging he downloaded child pornography on a city computer.

Robert Greene, a detective and the department’s training coordinator, had worked for Crowley for 18 months, officials said.

Mr. Greene, 40, of Burleson was arrested Monday on two counts of possession of child pornography. He was released after posting $10,000 bond

Both charges are third degree felonies.

A grand jury issued a two-count indictment last week, said Lori Varnell, an assistant Tarrant County district attorney assigned to the computer and economic crimes unit.

A virus was detected on a police department computer last October, officials said.

Following an investigation, Mr. Greene’s computer was found to have inappropriate images, Crowley Police Chief Kirk Nemitz said.

Mr. Greene could not be reached for comment. He does not have an attorney on file, officials said.

Mr. Greene had worked at the department about eight years ago before retiring.

He returned to Crowley on May 17, 2004, Chief Nemitz said.

“It’s embarrassing for the department,” Chief Nemitz said. “It’s sad how one person can make the whole department look bad.”

Images were found on his computer last November.

The indictment accuses Mr. Greene of downloading the images on Oct. 27.

“His computer is the one that was isolated to be the corrupter. He was the only one who had access to that computer,” Chief Nemitz said.

An internal affairs investigation was launched and Mr. Greene was fired Nov. 22 for violating department policy.

At the same time, the Tarrant County prosecutor’s office launched a criminal investigation, Ms. Varnell said.

Mr. Greene taught penal code and other topics to other officers, Chief Nemitz said.

If convicted, Mr. Greene could face 2-10 years in a prison and a fine up to $10,000. He would also have to register as a sex offender.

[rainstorm]

he is not very nice

[TexasStooge]

Texas sandpit owner sees it as scuba park

CLUTE, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) - Into a giant sand pit where the remains of a mammoth and a saber-toothed tiger were discovered, some folks want to throw a bus, a couple of antique fire trucks and a space shuttle lookalike that once thrilled visitors at a now-defunct amusement park in Houston.

Why all the junk? To create a world of wonders for scuba divers.

The owner of the 50-acre pit wants to flood the hole and then charge diving enthusiasts for the privilege of exploring the sunken objects.

It would be one of the nation's biggest lakes ever created specifically for diving, and one of the few started from the ground up, instead of from an existing body of water.

"This is a dream come true," Mike Cryer, who runs a dive shop in nearby Lake Jackson, said as he gazed over the hole up to 70 feet deep that by next year could become Mammoth Lake. Cryer and his wife will help with the project's design and manage the operation.

The guys behind the project are Kenny Vernor and his cousin Tim Sweeten, both 46-year-old diving enthusiasts. Vernor's company owns the soon-to-be-exhausted pit, which has produced sand since the 1950s. He and his cousin also run a junk business that has been saving pieces of scrap that they want to throw down the hole.

Such as the metal skeleton of an old church steeple. A couple of rusty ship anchors. And a number of boats, one more than 40 feet long and another a 36-footer. The salvage company also has a scrap contract with NASA, from which it has gotten a collection of twisted pipes and intriguing metal spheres. And old F-5 Navy jet is already in the pit. The project's organizers are also hoping to acquire a tank.

"Scuba diving itself is very exciting, rewarding," Vernor said. "You put something down there for somebody to look at, (it) just increases everything exponentially. You can get closer, get different angles. If you want to see what the top looks like you just kick your fins and get up there and check it out."

The project will need a permit from the zoning board in Clute, a city of some 11,000 about an hour's drive south of Houston, but officials have been enthusiastic.

Diving in and around big junk is nothing new.

At Athens Scuba Park, a lake about 70 miles from Dallas, a couple of sunken buses and a military cargo plane are among the underwater attractions. In Bethlehem, Pa., a former quarry called the Aqua Park at Dutch Springs attracts hundreds of divers weekly who swim in and around a bus, fire truck, car, helicopters and a trolley.

At the sand pit in Clute, pumps normally prevent groundwater from rushing in. By the end of the year, when the last marketable sand has been removed, the pumps will be shut off and water allowed to build up. The pit could take a year to fill.

Cryer said there is "something uniquely cool" about "diving around an antique fire truck, or a tank, or crawling inside a boat that used to float."

"There's a lot of explorer in most divers," he added.

In 2003 a backhoe operator at the pit unearthed tusks. A skull and other bones also were found. Scientists determined the skull was about 38,000 years old and came from a warm-climate relative of the woolly mammoth. The artifacts are now at Texas A&M University.

Joseph Ramirez, whose family owns some of the property that overlooks the pit, said the lake will attract more traffic but should be good for the city. And besides, "I've got lakefront property," he said with a grin.

[TexasStooge]

On camera: Fort Woth holdup man

FORT WORTH, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) — Authorities hope surveillance photos will lead to the arrest of a man who robbed a downtown Fort Worth bank.

The picture sequence shows the suspect walking into the Washington Mutual Bank on Throckmorton Street Tuesday afternoon and approaching a teller, where he asked for a deposit slip.

Police said the man wrote a holdup message and said he was armed.

The suspect was described as a white man in his mid-30s; about 6-foot 2-inches tall with a thin build.

After leaving the bank, the man went to a nearby retail store, purchased a Western-style outfit and changed his clothes.

The man was last seen on a city bus on Houston Street.

[TexasStooge]

Dallas ISD lays off 250 employees

By BERT LOZANO / WFAA ABC 8

DALLAS, Texas — Termination notices are going out this week to nearly 250 Dallas ISD employees.

The dismissals are part of a major budget overhaul at the district.

Superintendent Michael Hinojosa promised to revamp the district's budget to put more money in the classroom and give Dallas teachers a pay raise.

This new budget will do that but at a price for some district employees.

Dallas school board members have voted to lay off the district's 250 hall monitors at all its schools.

Those hall monitors are in charge of patrolling hallways and checking student backpacks, but they also guard against intruders inside schools. The district will save $4 million by cutting those positions.

Principals will get some of that money back to rehire monitors if they so choose.

This is all part of a more than $1 billion budget proposed by Hinojosa that has already been approved.

The school board will vote on the entire budget next week, which includes cutting the staff at DISD's central office and the district's car allowances.

[TexasStooge]

Man who stabbed himself during traffic stop charged

DALLAS, Texas (The Dallas Morning News) - A Mexican national who stabbed himself and injured a deputy during a traffic stop in southern Dallas County last month has been charged with aggravated assault on a public servant.

Dallas County sheriff spokesman Sgt. Don Peritz said Oscar Cantu Fierro, 52, was a passenger in a car driven by Jose Eduardo Rodriguez-Lopez that was stopped for a traffic violation along Interstate 45 on May 3.

While the deputy had the vehicle stopped, Mr. Fierro began stabbing himself repeatedly in the chest with a knife. When deputies tried to intervene, the suspect slashed at one, cutting him, Sgt. Peritz said.

After Mr. Rodriguez-Lopez was taken into custody and Mr. Fierro was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment, deputies discovered about three pounds of marijuana in the vehicle.

A grand jury indicted Mr. Fierro on June 8 for aggravated assault on a public servant, a first degree felony that could result in between five and 99 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.

Mr. Fierro, who also faced a marijuana possession charge from June 2002, is being held without bond in the Dallas County jail, Sgt. Peritz said.

Mr. Rodriguez-Lopez was arrested on possession of marijuana and is currently free on bond, he said.

[TexasStooge]

Toddler run over during carjacking

By REGGIE AQUI / KHOU CBS 11

HOUSTON, Texas - A Houston girl who would have turned 2 later this week died late Tuesday after she was run over by her parents' sport utility vehicle, which had been carjacked by two men.

Police said the family had stopped to use a pay phone at a car wash near their home on the city's north side. The girl's uncle said the family doesn't have a phone at home and the victim's father wanted to check on his mother, who is in a Houston hospital.

Two men approached the father at the phone, demanding money. When he told them he didn’t have any money, the suspects went over to the vehicle where the mother and children were. She told them she didn't have any money, and the suspects started removing the couple’s four young children from their Chevrolet Suburban, police said.

Then the situation turned tragic.

“As they were leaving, they ran over one of the babies ... and she was transported to the hospital and was pronounced dead,” Houston police Sgt. C. W. Howard said.

Police found the Suburban, which belongs to the father's supervisor, in a field in northwest Houston. Investigators took fingerprints from the vehicle, and were using trained police dogs to track where the suspects went next.

The family said the suspects appeared to be in their 20s.

The other family members were not injured.

[TexasStooge]

Man shot to death after argument

DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - A man was shot to death Wednesday afternoon at a Far Northeast Dallas apartment complex, police said.

Dallas police Sgt. Gil Cerda said the victim got into an argument around 1 p.m. with a man, a woman and possibly other individuals at the Richland Oaks Apartments in the 13000 block of Audelia Road.

One suspect pulled out a gun and shot the victim, who died at the scene.

Shortly after the shooting was reported, officers arrested a man and a woman in connection with the man's death, Sgt. Cerda said.

The victim's name was unavailable.

[TexasStooge]

Snake infestation spurs neighbors to call in help

By STEVE STOLER / WFAA ABC 8

FRISCO, Texas - A neighborhood association in the Frisco area called in the professionals after homeowners said their neighborhood marsh was filled with scores of snakes.

Most in the neighborhood said they love the serenity of the nearby pond, which has swimming wildlife that ranges from ducks and turtles to great blue heron. However, they also expressed that they aren't so in love with the other creatures swimming in the waters so close to their home.

"You can see them from my deck swimming through the water," said homeowner Barbara Barron.

Barron said she nervously watched the pond for three years.

"A lot of children come up here and fish; and they fish by the concrete barrier and they dangle their feet in the water," she said. "And my concern is just somebody getting bit by a poisonous snake."

The neighborhood association called on Cliff Moore to take on the snake problem. Moore's company, Animal Services Inc., specializes in wildlife relocation.

Moore was assigned with going into the marsh and cutting down the number of snakes from what he calls a perfect habitat for the creatures.

On his first night out, Moore said his crew quickly felt overwhelmed and outnumbered, but they still captured 10 diamondback water snakes and one Texas rat snake, which are all non-venomous.

On his next battle with the snakes during the night, Moore brought in more reinforcements. After several hours of carefully combing through rocks and brush, the crew caught seven more diamondback water snakes.

While there are still many more snakes to catch, Moore said he believes they made a dramatic impact.

"We just removed 18 breeding specimens," he said. "To leave those animals there is to add their complement of babies each and every year."

Moore said the idea is not to eliminate the snakes, but make the number manageable. At a rate of ten babies a year, he just reduced the population by about 180 snakes for the next year.

[TexasStooge]

Pupil fails to graduate over TAKS mix-up

By JEFF BRADY / WFAA ABC 8

DALLAS, Texas - She has a notebook full of testing documents - several of which show she's finished with high school, and is ready to graduate.

But the state and Spruce High School - won't let her.

"All I want is my diploma," says Destiny Terrell.

Terrell can't graduate without passing the TAKS test.

Instead, she studied for - and took - the TAAS test - seven times - before passing it, and she feels as though she's done enough.

She says her school counselors let her down.

"If they would have checked on this better, they would have found out that I was supposed to take the TAKS instead of the TAAS," she says.

"Nowhere is anyone taking responsibility for the mistake," says her mother, Celender Nickerson.

It's complicated.

She went from DISD to Arlington and back, had two children, a bad auto accident, a long hospitalization, and wound up at alternative school Otto Fridia.

Still, the district says the TAKS is a must.

"State requires it," says Jose Torrez.

DISD officials say they have counselors and teachers who will tutor Destiny to get past the TAKS.

"I would compromise, but as far as taking the TAKS test, I refuse to, because I worked too hard on this TAAS test to pass, for them to just let it go like that," says Terrell.

So for now, this girl's destiny hangs on a test that can't be ignored - and an error that no one will honor.

[TexasStooge]

E. Texas officer is fired

Gladewater policeman is dismissed after incident with reporter

By PETE SLOVER / The Dallas Morning News

GLADEWATER, Texas - A policeman accused of threatening a news reporter with a shotgun was fired by the East Texas city of Gladewater this week.

Officer Bryan Naismith had been suspended for three months, pending the investigation of a March 2 incident involving Dave Michaels, a reporter for The Dallas Morning News.

When the confrontation occurred, Mr. Michaels was reporting on the fatal police shooting of Jonathan King by Mr. Naismith.

Mr. Michaels told Upshur County sheriff's investigators that Mr. Naismith pulled the gun and threatened him after using his personal vehicle to bump the reporter's car on a rural road near Mr. Naismith's driveway. The reporter told investigators that, in an earlier visit to the house, the officer's wife had suggested he return later, when her husband would be home.

Mr. Naismith, in his first public comments about the incident, said his wife never issued such an invitation. He said Mr. Michaels was skulking around his house, after he was told by Mrs. Naismith, police officials, a city attorney and the officer himself that he would have no comment.

Mr. Michaels, who now works at a New Jersey newspaper, said Wednesday that he has given investigators an audio recording of his encounter with Mrs. Naismith, in which she invited him to return.

The sheriff has referred the case to the Texas attorney general.

In the shooting of Mr. King, a grand jury cleared the officer, but a citizens' group had called for the officer to be fired.

In a written statement, Gladewater officials emphasized that the incident with Mr. Michaels, not the King shooting, was the reason for the dismissal.

"We are aware that some of Officer Naismith's conduct in the episode with Mr. Michaels violated department policies," the statement said. "Though we can understand the strain that Officer Naismith has been under, this does not excuse a police officer's violation of the rules, even when off duty."

[TexasStooge]

Stalling in SMU suit denied

Plaintiffs say they want to depose 1st lady in Bush library land battle

By KRISTEN HOLLAND and HOLLY K. HACKER / The Dallas Morning News

The plaintiffs suing Southern Methodist University over ownership of a condo complex have told the court they want to depose about 60 people, including first lady Laura Bush and White House counsel Harriet Miers.

SMU officials called the move a delaying tactic in court Wednesday, saying that few, if any, of the people named will be deposed. The plaintiffs, Gary Vodicka and Robert Tafel, allege in their suit that SMU used fraud and intimidation to oust residents from the University Gardens condominium complex so they could build the George W. Bush Presidential Library on the land.

"There is no legitimate need or reason for these depositions," said John McElhaney, a lawyer who represents the university. "We view suggestions like this as attempts at harassment."

He said SMU would fight any requests to depose its employees or representatives. Mrs. Bush is an SMU trustee. Ultimately, the court will have the final say on who can be deposed.

The White House had no comment Wednesday. And neither did a spokesman for former Commerce Secretary Don Evans, who is leading the library selection committee.

SMU says it bought the nearby condos fairly last year. Mr. Vodicka and Dr. Tafel allege that tactics used by SMU to get condo owners to sell should invalidate the sale. Both say they still own their condos.

The parties went to court Wednesday for a hearing on whether the case should be dismissed, as SMU requested in April.

Dr. Tafel's lawyer, Larry Friedman, included the list of people he wants to depose in a motion for continuance he filed on June 7 in a Dallas County district court. Mr. Friedman wrote in the motion that his firm needed more time to brush up on the case.

Dr. Tafel, a Euless dentist, hired Mr. Friedman on June 6, according to court records. His wife, lawyer Lara Briggs-Tafel, had previously represented him in the case against SMU. Mr. Vodicka is a lawyer who lives in one condo and rents out three others. Dr. Tafel doesn't live in the complex or rent out his unit.

Mr. Friedman said the depositions are necessary to respond fully to SMU's arguments.

"We're looking to uncover the truth," he said. "We want to know if the decision on the Bush library has been made. No one has been willing to give us a concrete and truthful answer on that. We're entitled to full disclosure of the facts relating to this matter."

Mr. Friedman said his firm is preparing a second motion to depose President Bush and Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove. Mr. Vodicka said he also wants to depose all of the people on the list. "I was going to get around to it," he said.

SMU lawyers said in the hearing that the motion for continuance doesn't include any "substantive reason whatsoever" why some of the individuals should be deposed. It's "just an unfocused delaying tactic which is entirely improper," Mr. McElhaney said.

SMU attorney Leon Bennett agreed, saying that Dr. Tafel and his lawyer were "just using a shotgun tactic, quite frankly, in trying to sweep every possible issue before the court."

Mr. Friedman said it's his legal duty to depose everyone who may have any knowledge of the case. Mr. Vodicka disputed the allegations that he and Dr. Tafel are trying to stall the case.

"They've utilized strong-arm tactics, intimidation tactics, deceit, fraud – but they want to accuse me of a delay tactic," he said. "It's horse manure."

After 10 months of arguing procedure, the hearing was supposed to finally address the merits of the case. But Judge Jay Patterson put everything on hold because one of Mr. Vodicka's tenants has filed for bankruptcy.

When someone files for bankruptcy, there's an automatic stay on any legal cases against the filer, Mr. Bennett said. Mr. Vodicka and Dr. Tafel contend that legal issue should put the case on hold.

SMU lawyers argued in court that only the portion of the case affecting the tenant who declared bankruptcy should be put on hold and the rest should proceed.

The two sides now have a few weeks to file briefs arguing their case

Meanwhile, SMU and Mr. Vodicka are also pursuing mediation. The two sides are scheduled to meet with a mediator June 27.

Mr. Bennett said the university has already removed some equipment from the buildings and hopes to begin demolition soon.

"We still remain confident in the outcome of this," he said.

[TexasStooge]

Teen fight tapes surface in Grand Prairie

By GARY REAVES / WFAA ABC 8

NEWS 8 EXCLUSIVE

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas — It is a disturbing phenomenon that has raised alarms with parents, law enforcement officials, and even among some young people.

News 8 was the first to tell you about the "fight tapes" in Arlington. Now, there are new images of teens doing battle in streets and schoolyards—this time, apparently, in Grand Prairie.

The video was e-mailed to News 8 anonymously. We don't know whether it has been distributed commercially or if it is sold as a DVD—like the fight tapes that surfaced last month in Arlington.

News 8 took the tape to Grand Prairie police so detectives could take a look.

The Grand Prairie tapes look a lot like the fight videos from Arlington. They show young people brawling to a pulsating soundtrack.

The difference is that these videos are labeled as being from "Dallas County - South Grand Prairie Texas."

Two undercover detectives from that city reviewed the tapes, looking for evidence that there were victims of the public fighting.

Detective J.J. Wallis said police were also scanning the video for clues as to where the fights took place. "Definitely one of our middle schools," he said. "There are a coupld of them that are set up that way."

With suggestions from detectives, News 8 went looking for fight locations. We found that one school on the tape appeard to be identical to LBJ Elementary—with a playground next door and Julia Guerro tending her garden in the blue collar neighborhood nearby.

She said she has seen the fights, and they frighten her. "Sometimes I think they're gangs," Guerro said. "Teenagers; 14, 15 or 16."

Police would like to stop the fights and the halt the video productions, but they will need help to do it.

"There is a crime committed if you have a victim," said Grand Prairie police spokesman Detective John Brimmer. "You've got to have somebody that's willing to come forward and file a complaint with the police department."

Detectives said they will be showing the tapes to school resource officers to see whether they can identify anhyone who took part in the fighting.

They will also be consulting with colleagues in Arlington, who have already made some arrests in fight videos made in their city.

So far, Grand Prairie detectives said all they've observed on the tapes are misemeanors, but that could change as the investigation continues.

[TexasStooge]

Town reaches uneasy peace with polygamist sect

Neighbors can't relate, but don't live in fear

By KAREN BROOKS / The Dallas Morning News

ELDORADO, Texas – Fugitive polygamist leader Warren Jeffs' driver's license picture hangs in post offices across the nation – but not the one in this little West Texas outpost.

"Distributing the FBI fliers is not really a priority," said Schleicher County Sheriff David Doran. "Everyone here already knows what he looks like."

Even before Mr. Jeffs landed on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list in May, the 1,900 people in this two-stoplight town were familiar with the Utah native purported to have 70 wives. After all, his group lives next door.

Long before the nation awoke to the saga of plural marriages, racism, child brides and other accusations against Mr. Jeffs' breakaway fundamentalist Mormon sect, the folks in this town south of San Angelo were well aware of the self- proclaimed prophet of the 10,000-member Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Two years ago, the polygamist sect he leads constructed a giant, reclusive compound just outside of town, turning Eldorado upside down with scary stories and a flood of reporters and investigators. But now, the isolated Yearning for Zion ranch is neither novelty nor nightmare for the people of Eldorado – even though only a handful of them have ever been inside its gates.

Residents no longer worry about the safety of their children. They're educated on the religion enough to know that believers don't try to convert outsiders. They admire members' skills and work ethic, even as they abhor the polygamist way of life.

They pray earnestly for the compound's children. And they carry a nagging fear of a possible violent showdown should Mr. Jeffs make a stand here.

Eldoradoans have also been reassured by the fact that – so far, at least – charges of welfare fraud and tax evasion that drain county resources in other states have not accompanied the sect's arrival in Texas.

In fact, it's quite the opposite, according to Schleicher County appraisals: Last year, the members paid about $116,000 in property taxes on about $8 million worth of property. This year, appraiser Scott Sutton doubled the value after the temple was built. This year's tax bill is estimated at more than $400,000.

Church members have two weeks to appeal, and they've asked for information about possibly designating a tax-exempt religious status on the temple for next year.

Mr. Sutton said the temple, appraised at $8 million by itself, is far and away the most valuable piece of property in the county.

Despite how their nerves have calmed, residents remain divided on how to relate to the 70 or so people living permanently at the YFZ ranch. Do they live and let live or bust down the door?

And the townspeople haven't turned the other cheek to their concerns about the church members' psychological and personal safety.

"Every time I pass by it," resident Roxanne Rangel said, "I think, 'Lord, what can be going on in there?' "

Much of what is known about life on the YFZ ranch was gleaned through the contacts of a handful of locals, as well as tracing their roots in polygamist communities, long split from the mainstream Mormon church, along the border of Utah and Arizona.

Members in Texas still answer to Mr. Jeffs, who is wanted on sex-crime charges. An on-site leader, believed to be the sect's preacher, is in charge.

Only the sheriff, some deputies, and a few county and government regulators – along with the occasional city utilities worker – have gotten past the locked gate and guardhouse on County Road 300.

Sheriff Doran has toured the compound several times, enough that he has become the de facto liaison between the church and town. And with an endless stream of reporters coming to Eldorado from around the globe, he's the group's accidental public spokesman.

Church members have built a grain silo, a community garden, a meeting hall, a commissary that authorities believe stocks basic supplies, several large log cabins, a dairy and a chicken coop. The ranch also has a refrigeration truck and a large cold storage unit, probably used for meat bought in bulk, below the cafeteria in a log cabin.

'Old World' lifestyle

The YFZ ranch has an estimated 15 dairy cows and a milk processing plant, and members keep the chicken operation "immaculately clean," Sheriff Doran said.

Teenage boys are seen working in the gardens, and the sheriff believes they also labor in the chicken house and the dairy.

Women work in some operations but maintain "traditional, Old World roles" of caring for children and households, Sheriff Doran said. The men oversee construction and development and deal with authorities. Member Merrill Jessop serves as the church's lead liaison with Eldorado and the state. He doesn't speak to reporters.

The church strongly fights publicity and interaction with the outside world. In front of the appraisal office, two men who said they lived at the YFZ declined to talk about it and asked not to be photographed.

"Please respect our privacy," one of the men told a photographer.

They guard it well – if a vehicle circles the ranch, a truck scrambles atop a large lookout hill near the members' massive temple. From there, one can see for miles.

Nobody but church members has ever been inside the temple. It's considered sacred ground.

Yet in spite of their reclusive ways, YFZ residents are growing more accustomed to life with the locals. The children, who used to hide whenever Justice of the Peace Jimmy Doyle's plane buzzed overhead, now wave up at the sky.

Mr. Jessop even took a ride, asking Mr. Doyle to show him what the compound looked like from the sky. Mr. Doyle recalled that they talked about the plane Mr. Jessop once used to ferry former prophet Rulon Jeffs, Warren Jeffs' father, to his homes and communities up north.

Mr. Jessop remarked lightly that the property looked junky from the sky, and that members probably should clean it up if people were going to be flying over it.

The men never talked about religion.

Unsettling neighbors

Despite the contact, Eldorado residents are still unsettled by their neighbors. They worry about the safety of the women and children at the compound and the men and boys who are cast out and stripped of their homes and families, with wives and property reassigned to other men. They also see the specter of a Jonestown or Waco-like confrontation if Mr. Jeffs is found.

"I don't have the fear of them anymore," said Kay Creek, a preschool teacher at First Baptist Church and director of the vacation Bible study for kids. "It's knowing what's going on with those children. We're right here, four miles away, and we can't do anything for them."

She and the other teachers jokingly daydream of flying over the compound and dropping pamphlets for the women and children to read, coaxing them into the arms of First Baptist.

"Sometimes, I envision our fellowship hall looking like the stadium in Houston after Katrina," said teacher Shea Politte, 27, whose husband, Sylas, is the youth minister at First Baptist.

She doesn't worry about her safety, comparing the compound to an "ant pile – you don't mess with them, and they won't mess with you."

In Eldorado, the sect's presence is largely silent, but constant. Reporters still blow through town occasionally, and the Baptist church added the compound to its regular prayer list. Every once in a while, a truck with Utah plates clatters through town, or a man with peculiar Little House on the Prairie clothing stops in at Duckwall's, a general store, to pick up supplies.

Eldorado resident Mary Nolan, 57, still wonders whether the compound will eventually grow big enough for its members to start voting and "take over" the town leadership – as they have in two towns on the Utah-Arizona border.

The water and sewage infrastructure on the YFZ ranch can accommodate 2,000 people, even if that might seem crowded on the 1,600-acre ranch, said Randy Mankin, the former city manager and publisher of the weekly newspaper, the Eldorado Success.

Sheriff Doran doesn't think members plan to take over, but "they plan for growth, no doubt."

Residents are, indeed, getting used to their neighbors. It's easy once again to find books about Mormonism in the local library. Two years ago, librarians couldn't keep them in stock, but by now, everyone in town has read them all.

In fact, for many, the compound is largely ignored – until they drive past on their way to run errands in San Angelo and catch a glimpse of the temple's gleaming white dome peeking over the scrubby hills.

"That's what you see when you drive through town," Ms. Creek said. "It's not forgotten."

[TexasStooge]

Suspicious package clears Garland post office

By CYNTHIA VEGA / WFAA ABC 8

GARLAND, Texas — A suspicious package led to the evacuation of a post office in Garland Thursday morning.

Workers called police around 6:30 a.m. after they observed strange noises and smoke coming from a parcel in the facility in the 3200 block of Saturn Road.

The building was cleared.

The Garland police bomb squad was at the scene within an hour. They were using a remote-control robot to examine the mysterious package.

A postal employee said the large package was about the size of a fire hydrant. It had been sent from a business in New York to another business in Garland.

The robot is capable of opening the package and also examining the air surrounding it. A mobile crime lab was also at the scene to process any chemical evidence.

[TexasStooge]

Drive-by shooting injures 3 in Fort Worth

FORT WORTH, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) — Police said three people were injured in a drive-by shooting Wednesday night.

According to witnesses, a gunman in a cream-colored older model Volvo fired at the victims about 10:30 p.m. at Northwest 22nd Street and Wagner Ave.

Two people were hit in the leg; a woman was shot in the back.

She was hospitalized in serious condition, but her injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.

Police investigators said they believe the shooting may be gang-related.

WFAA-TV photojournalist Mike Zukerman contributed to this report.

[TexasStooge]

2 arrested in Navy man's death

DALLAS, Texas (DallasNews.com) - Two men were arrested Thursday morning in connection with the death of a U.S. Navy sailor who was killed Friday night while on leave visiting family in Dallas.

Kameron Pratt, 34, was parked Friday night in front of his parents' home in the 6100 block of Lake Placid Drive when two men approached. Pratt was dragged out of his pickup and shot in the chest, and his truck was taken, police said. He died a short time later at Methodist Dallas Medical Center.

Police recovered Pratt's truck Saturday night, and identified two suspects after tracking tires and rims that were taken from the truck. Itar Elan Kissentaner, 26, and Michael Dewayne Walton, 34, both of Dallas, were arrested around 5:30 a.m. Thursday in the 300 block of Du Bois Avenue in South Dallas.

"Detectives were able to identify the type of wheels and tires the complainant had purchased, (and) we were able to follow and locate where the property had been sold," said Dallas police Lt. Mike Scoggins.

Scoggins said the stolen accessories were sold in the Oak Cliff area, but declined to be more specific, saying that detectives were still working the case.

Both suspects are in police custody, and will face capital murder charges. Bail has been set at $1 million each.

[rainstorm]

Snake infestation spurs neighbors to call in help

By STEVE STOLER / WFAA ABC 8

FRISCO, Texas - A neighborhood association in the Frisco area called in the professionals after homeowners said their neighborhood marsh was filled with scores of snakes.

Most in the neighborhood said they love the serenity of the nearby pond, which has swimming wildlife that ranges from ducks and turtles to great blue heron. However, they also expressed that they aren't so in love with the other creatures swimming in the waters so close to their home.

"You can see them from my deck swimming through the water," said homeowner Barbara Barron.

Barron said she nervously watched the pond for three years.

"A lot of children come up here and fish; and they fish by the concrete barrier and they dangle their feet in the water," she said. "And my concern is just somebody getting bit by a poisonous snake."

The neighborhood association called on Cliff Moore to take on the snake problem. Moore's company, Animal Services Inc., specializes in wildlife relocation.

Moore was assigned with going into the marsh and cutting down the number of snakes from what he calls a perfect habitat for the creatures.

On his first night out, Moore said his crew quickly felt overwhelmed and outnumbered, but they still captured 10 diamondback water snakes and one Texas rat snake, which are all non-venomous.

On his next battle with the snakes during the night, Moore brought in more reinforcements. After several hours of carefully combing through rocks and brush, the crew caught seven more diamondback water snakes.

While there are still many more snakes to catch, Moore said he believes they made a dramatic impact.

"We just removed 18 breeding specimens," he said. "To leave those animals there is to add their complement of babies each and every year."

Moore said the idea is not to eliminate the snakes, but make the number manageable. At a rate of ten babies a year, he just reduced the population by about 180 snakes for the next year.

snakes kill rats and mice. those people will complain when they are overrun with rats

[TexasStooge]

Rims lead to 2 arrests in Navy man's murder

By GARY REAVES / WFAA ABC 8

DALLAS, Texas - Dallas police said they found the key clue that led to Petty Officer 2nd Class Kameron Pratt's killers 1,300 miles outside of Dallas.

Pratt was killed by carjackers Friday outside his parents' home while on leave in Dallas.

"I'm going to miss my brother," said Keanon Pratt. "This didn't have to happen. It didn't have to happen."

The pickup he had driven from the Navy base in Norfolk was found burned and its 22-inch rims, which were made by a special brand not found in Dallas, were missing.

"These people who take this type of wheel, they want that wheel and they'll pay extreme amount of money to get that wheel on their car," Lt. Mike Scoggins.

Police worked 18 hour days on the case and went from shop to shop looking for a dealer who bought the hot wheels.

While they wouldn't say where they found the rims, they did say the dealer wrote out a receipt that led them to people who then led them to the suspects, which were arrested around 5:30 a.m. Thursday on Dubois Street.

Michael D. Walton served 15 years for crimes including aggravated sexual assault, robbery and stolen cars. Itar Kissentaner did eight years for robbery. The two suspects both face capital murder charges.

"It's a very good feeling to be able to call the family at five in the morning and say we were able to arrest the killer of your son," Lt. Scoggins said.

[TexasStooge]

Fort Worth police crack down on gangs

By JIM DOUGLAS / WFAA ABC 8

FORT WORTH, Texas - Wednesday night saw another drive-by shooting in North Fort Worth in which three more young people were wounded.

That adds to crime statistics already showing a 35 percent increase in violent gang crime this year.

"Another retaliatory shooting," said Sgt. Bill Beall from Fort Worth Police.

WFAA has reported recently on Fort Worth Police's multi-level attack - it has beefed up its gang team to a record 53 officers.

"We have the largest gang unit in the state of Texas," said Beall.

They've distributed thousands of flyers seeking tips.

The city has funded two new gang intervention programs called "Comin Up."

But a big problem has come up with that.

City officials can't find a suitable building in the Woodhaven area, where gang violence led to the death of a 13-year-old boy a few weeks ago.

Supporters say Comin Up helped more than 100 gang members change their lives last year alone.

"We had a young man who actually came through the program, completed EMT training... and wants to be a firefighter," said Daphne Barlow from the Boys and Girls Club.

But the biggest change coming could be the use of protective orders.

For the first time, civil lawsuits filed against gang members for gang activity.

"One of the provisions possible to put in these lawsuits is gang members congregating. Then if they violate this injunction they can be arrested for violating those lawsuits," said Beall.

Better to arrest them for that than to have to arrest them for murder.