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Harris County Sues Houston Motel Known For Prostitution A Houston motel nationally known for prostitution activity is the subject of a new lawsuit. Harris County alleges the motel is a criminal nuisance to the neighborhood. |
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Bill Would Curb Access To Photos Of Murder Victims Legislation authored by Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, would require court approval for most requests to view or copy crime scene photos that show murder victims. But some say the measure is a solution in search of a problem. |
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New East Harris County Task Force Produces Results, Adds Additional Officers It began as a pilot program earlier this year, targeting all types of crime in East Harris County. And with the quick success of the joint task force, more officers are being added. |
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New Harris County Gambling Task Force Hits Ground Running With Successful Busts Last week two illegal game rooms in Southwest Houston were shut down. Two people were arrested and authorities seized gambling devices, cash, drugs and weapons. A Harris County task force formed just last month has been busy putting these operations out of business. |
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Report Looks At Why Texas Convicts More People Of Prostitution Than Other States A new report finds that reducing penalties for prostitution and sending defendants to diversion programs would decrease the illegal practice and save the state money. The report aims to bolster efforts to pass legislation that eliminates part of state law that makes repeated prostitution a state felony. |
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Elderly Woman Charged In Murder For Hire Plot Against Montgomery County Prosecutors An 84-year-old woman is accused of trying to hire a hitman to kill a Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney and injure Montgomery County District Attorney Brett Ligon. |
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HPD: Bomb Hoax Is A Serious Offense, A Terroristic Threat There was another campus security scare today after two bomb threats emptied the University of St. Thomas campus in the Montrose area. The threats appear to be a hoax, and authorities aren't happy about it. |
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Houston, Harris County Continue Negotiations Over Jail System The city and county are getting closer to a joint processing center for jail inmates. City councilmembers will soon vote on a financial stake in the plans for a new intake facility. |
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Harris County Seeks Proposals For Joint Inmate Processing Center Harris County Commissioners Court approved a study for the design of a proposed law enforcement joint city-county inmate processing center that's been on the board for years. |
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Female Bank Robbers Uncommon, But Not Unusual Houston police arrested a woman they say robbed a bank in southwest Houston earlier this month. Meanwhile, authorities have determined that another bank holdup was committed by a woman who tried to disguise herself as a man. |
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Increasing Sexual Assaults In North Harris County Police need you help in identifying and locating one, possibly two rapists believed responsible for a number of sexual assaults in north Harris County. Investigators fear the attacks could get more violent. |
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Houston To Crack Down On Gold And Jewelry Buyers With gold and precious metals getting high prices — jewelry theft is becoming more common. City officials want to add more regulations to the gold buying industry. |
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Houston Officials Tout Positive Crime Statistics Houston's crime rate is flat — according to Houston Mayor Annise Parker and the Houston Police Department. The city released numbers comparing the past six years of crime statistics and they show an overall decline in crime. |
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Ten Year Old Cold Case Solved With Help Of DNA Cherita Thurman was found tied and badly beaten in her north Houston apartment ten years ago. Now, Harris County authorities have announced another cold case murder has been solved. |
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Clearing Texas Rape Kit Backlog Brings Hefty Price Tag It could cost Texas up to $11 million to clear the backlog of some 20,000 untested rape kits in police agencies statewide, state officials estimate. If Congress doesn't come through with funding, lawmakers here in Texas will search during the upcoming legislative session for funds to help solve the crimes and arrest predators. |
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Workplace Food Theft: A Tale of Woe Have you ever had your food stolen out of the office refrigerator? A lot of people report it as a common occurrence — but there's very little research to back up their claims. |
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Warning About Holiday Charity Scams Lots of people like to donate to charities this time of year, but consumer advocates warn there are some individuals who want to take advantage of that goodwill. They say you need to ask questions if someone calls asking for a donation, even if they sound legitimate. |
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New Metal Recycling Regulations Hope To Catch Thieves The Houston area is struggling with a rash of costly metal theft. Lawmakers, city officials and business owners urge the Harris County Commissioners Court to adopt tougher regulations when it comes to the sale of scrap metal. |
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Resurgence Of Bars And Cars Program Hopes To Crackdown On DWIs The holiday season means a rise in the number of arrests for driving while intoxicated or under the influence of a controlled substance, because of zero tolerance programs. One area north of Houston is increasing focus on those who over-serve alcohol to patrons. |
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Crime Stoppers Enlists The Community To Fight Crime Crime Stoppers of Houston hopes to take a bigger bite out of crime through a new fundraising initiative that will enlisting more community support. |
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Houstonians Encouraged to Get to Know Their Neighbors Thousands of Houstonians will gather Tuesday evening for the "National Night Out Against Crime." The annual event gives neighbors a chance to get to know each other, in an effort to keep crime out of their neighborhoods. Local officials hope the event will get people in the habit of talking to each other year-round. |
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UH Police Make Arrest in Campus Armed Robbery University of Houston police think they may have cracked a crime ring with the arrest of a man they say robbed a UH student at gunpoint last week. The arrest may help solve a string of recent UH robberies. |
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DNA Evidence Helps Investigators Solve Old Murder Case Harris County investigators say DNA evidence led them to a suspect in a 2004 murder case. They found that suspect behind bars. |
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Labor Day Patrols Stepped Up To Combat DUI Once again, law enforcement agencies are warning Texans about stepped-up enforcement on the roads during the holiday weekend. |
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How To Spot Illegal Grow Houses As federal drug agents sort out what appear to have been sophisticated pot-growing operations across the Houston area, they are also letting residents know how to spot similar grow houses, even in upscale neighborhoods. |
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Alief Teacher Busted For 53 pounds Of Marijuana Possession A Houston area teacher won't be getting ready for school in a couple of weeks. She was arrested and jailed in Louisiana after authorities found 53 pounds of marijuana in the trunk of her car. |
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Family Of Victim Files Suit Against Strip Club The family of a Conroe teen killed by a drunk driver last year has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the strip club that served the driver that night. The family's attorney says Rick's Cabaret served Erasmo Ramirez drinks until he ran out of money and was kicked out of the club. Bill Stamps has more. |
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City Of Houston Releases Shooting Survival Video In the wake of last week's shootings in Colorado, the City of Houston has released a six minute video instructing the public how to survive a similar mass shooting event. |
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Bellaire Murder For Hire Case Dropped An unusual murder for hire case has been dropped by Harris County prosecutors. Jeff Stern was charged with attempting to have his wife killed — but the DA's office now say there isn't enough evidence to take the case to trial. |
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First Time Federal Hate Crime Law Used In Houston Conviction Under the federal hate crime law, three men are convicted for the brutal beating of a black man at a downtown Houston bus stop. They are the first in Houston to be tried under the law. |
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Local Sheriff Says Citizens Can Help Prevent Tragedies Local law enforcement is aware that similar acts of violence — like the the deadly shootings which took place in Aurora, Colorado — can just as easily take place here in Houston. Local law enforcers say prevention is the key. But how? |
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Tonight Only One Drug Will Be Used In Texas Inmate's Execution For the first time tonight, the state of Texas will use only one drug to execute a man on death row. The state has done away with the three-drug "cocktail" it used to use for executions. |
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Firsthand Account, Why Not To Drink And Drive All Texas counties will take part in a "no refusal" program this Fourth of July holiday. That means more police will be out looking for motorists who decide to get behind the wheel drunk. |
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Crime Stoppers Hopes Huge Reward Leads To Cell Phone Burglars Crime Stoppers is offering a big reward, as sheriff's deputies try to find the suspects who are breaking into Houston-area cell phone stores. Authorities are concerned because they don't know where those cell phones are going. |
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Houston FBI: A Busy Year For Bank Heists Two more bank robberies so far this week in the Houston area have added to a startling total halfway through year. Houston FBI has stayed busy chasing down the bad guys. |
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New Effort To Fight Gang Activity Houston's proximity to the border is one reason gang activity is increasing. A new weapon was announced with the creation of an anti-gang tactical operations center that will serve areas around the city. |
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Crime Stoppers Offers $200,000 For Information On Shooting of Med Student The unsolved murder of an Iranian student, living in Houston, prompted Crime Stoppers to offer their largest reward ever. |
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Texas Insurance Commissioner: Insurance Fraud Not A Victimless Crime The Harris County District Attorney's office has launched a new initiative to cut down on fraudulent insurance payouts. Last year, insurance fraud cases totaled nearly $24 million in Texas alone. |
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Child May Have Been Targeted In Revenge Plot Over Ended Affair Officials from the Fort Bend County Sheriff's office say the woman who kidnapped a 9-year-old boy Monday was seeking revenge over a failed affair with the boy's father |
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Local Group Calls 'Wage Theft' A Growing Problem A local nonprofit says wage theft is a growing problem among some industries here in the Houston area. Wage theft refers to cases where employees are either underpaid or not paid at all for the work they've done. And although it's hard to ever collect money owed, the group says there are ways the city can crack down on these employers. |
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Arrests Made In Massive Apartment Check Thefts The investigation continues in an operation that led to the arrest of 40 members of a massive check fraud ring. Thieves cashed millions of dollars in checks and money orders taken from apartment complex lock boxes. |
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Officials Call Anti-Drug Smuggling Operation a Major Success Harris County Sherriff Adrian Garcia says an operation aimed at cutting off local drug smuggling routes has resulted in 100 arrests and the confiscation of drugs and weapons. Garcia says the operation will make drug smugglers think twice about how and where they try to move drugs throughout the county. Bill Stamps has more. |
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Report: Youths Wield Control At State's Largest Lockup A report from the independent ombudsman's office raises concerns about a small group of youths who purchase control of weaker youths using drugs, cigarettes and money at the Giddings State School. Texas Juvenile Justice Department Administrators say the take the report seriously and taking action. |
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Local Law Uses Digital Collaboration To Fight Gangs Local law enforcement agencies are collaborating specifically to help fight gangs. Houston area residents, who have information about a gang, or have questions about possible gang activity, can visit a website specifically designed to help fight gangs. |
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Yates Attorney Says She's a Different Person Now The attorney who represented Andrea Yates through several trials says he's confident she's fit to leave a state mental hospital to attend church services. Jack Williams has the latest on Yates' request to take trips outside a mental hospital. |
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Money Saved Means More Deputies "Out of the red" means the end of an apparent hiring freeze for the Harris County Sheriff's Department. Sheriff Adrian Garcia says by balancing his department's budget, he will be able to move 100 deputies out of the county jail & hire civilians to take their place. |
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Auto theft in Texas has seen a steady decline the past several years. Factors behind the turn-around include new technology and education, and that helps with lower insurance premiums. |
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Law Prof.: Claim Of Self-Defense In Deadly Road Rage Fight Appears Justified Houston Police continue their investigation into Monday's deadly road rage incident on the Gulf Freeway. One of the men involved says he was acting in self-defense when he put another man in a headlock. The man later died. David Pitman spoke with a local law professor who says, based on the facts that are known right now, it appears the self-defense claim will likely hold up. |
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Law Enforcement Concerned About Rise In 'Smash and Grab' Robberies They run in with hammers, smash the display cases, steal the loot and are out of the store in less than a minute. Crime Stoppers is offering up to $10,000 for information that will help crack the case of a series of "smash and grab" thefts that have occurred in recent weeks. |
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Police Need Your Help In Catching Con Man Houston police say a man pretending to be a utility worker, stole from unsuspecting victims in two home burglaries. A composite sketch has been released of the con man. |
