Crime Time

Jailhouse interview: 'We prove ourselves by fighting'

They call themselves the Untamed Gorillas, or UTG.

And according to one member of the Arlington gang, they're hard-wired for fighting.

"We prove ourselves by fighting," said DeAngelo Cortez Morton. "When we fight, we're going to win regardless of what it takes."

And on Sept. 15, that involved gun play.

In a jail-house interview Thursday, Morton (left) described why he fatally shot Quintarick Wilson, 18, a Sam Houston senior and athlete, and wounded three others.

It was, he claims, self defense.

And he also said this: "I feel bad for killing him, though ... because of his mama.''

Read the report by Staff Writers Nathaniel Jones and Cynthia Neff, and also hear an audio recording of the interview.

-- Bill Miller

Still no sign of Glenda Furch

Hopes that the body of a GM plant worker, missing since September, had finally been found Wednesday in Arlington were later dashed after a preliminary examination by the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s office indicated the remains were not that of Glenda Gail Furch.

Linda Anderson, spokeswoman with the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s office, said a comparison between the remains and dental records of Furch excluded the 51-year-old woman.

Efforts were still being made Friday to positively identify the remains, she said.

-- Deanna Boyd

Arlington a speed trap?

Who says Arlington is a speed trap?

Columnist O.K. Carter reports that the mid city has been given a "dishonorable mention" by the National Motorists Association in its annual speed-trap list.

The NMA prepares the list every year, typically releasing it right before Thanksgiving.

"Nothing can ruin a vacation more quickly than an undeserved speeding ticket," the NMA's November news release on the speed-trap topic says.

The list, O.K. reports, is put together from complaints made by visitors to the city. There is, after all, two interstates and Texas 360 (pictured above) going through town.

But O.K. suggests this disclaimer: ''Doesn't it seem logical that cities with a lot of visitors and through traffic on interstates would be writing more traffic citations?''

Read more of O.K.'s column and offer your own comments.

-- Bill Miller

GPS smash-and-grabs increasing

What's the hot five-finger-discount item this year? GPS devices.

Staff Writer Melissa Vargas reports that area police are seeing a sharp increase in car burglaries involving Global Positioning System devices like the one pictured at right.

They are urging residents to hide the detachable kind.

Melissa's report also describes how thieves earlier this week stole seven devices at Grapevine Mills mall after smashing car windows. Sgt. Kim Smith told her that most of the devices were portable; only one was installed in the dashboard.

"We tell everyone to stash and store it," Smith said. "Even if that means taking an extra two minutes to put it in the trunk."

-- Bill Miller

Vandals splash paint at school, take laptops

Surveillance cameras have captured the images of vandals splashing paint and doing other damage recently at North Oaks Middle School in Haltom City.

The same crew -- the members appear to be teens or young adults -- were also seen hauling off 32 laptops computers.

"It's very frustrating," said Mark Thomas, spokesman for the Birdville district. "That's just taking computers away from kids."

Staff Writers Mark Agee and Terry Webster have more details.

-- Bill Miller

Mom stabs children in store bathroom, police say

Police in Augusta, Ga., say that a 22-year-old woman took her two small children into a convenience store bathroom and stabbed them to death.

A store clerk heard a scream and called 911. Sheriff's deputies forced the bathroom's door open to find the woman on the floor covered in the children's blood. She was holding a steak knife.

The children had been stabbed in their chests.

You can read more here.

-- Lance Murray

Bird watcher says someone took shot at him

A Galveston bird watcher who was put on trial for killing a cat that he thought was feral and menacing endangered bird species in the area says he has left the state because someone took a shot at him.

A mistrial was declared in Jim Stevenson's case and charges were subsequently dropped. He says he received death threats after the trial and that someone took a shot at his head.

Galveston police say that Stevenson wouldn't cooperate with their investigation. Read more here.

-- Lance Murray

Man accused of killing athlete claims self defense

A 19-year-old man accused of shooting and killing a Sam Houston High School football player last September at a homecoming party is claiming self defense.

DeAngelo Morton said Thursday from Tarrant County Jail that he and members of his gang began fist-fighting with a rival gang at the party when he saw Quintarick Wilson retrieve a gun.

Morton, who was carrying a weapon in his waistband that night, fired his handgun, killing Wilson and injuring three others. He admits to trying to injure all four.

"I was trying to shoot all of them," Morton said. "I was trying to save myself."

Staff Writer Nathaniel Jones reports.

-- Bill Miller

Texas authorities seek man in model's disappearance

Authorities in Texas have joined the search for a man wanted for questioning in the disappearance of an 18-year-old Kansas college student, who moonlighted as a model on an adult Web site.

Emily Sander (left), who previously attended high school in Bandera, disappeared over the weekend from El Dorado, Kan.

She was last seen Friday night with Israel Mireles, 24, a restaurant waiter with Texas ties, police said. The day after Sander vanished, police found a large amount of blood in Mireles' hotel room. Bedding was also missing.

Meanwhile, authorities say Mireles could be headed for Mexico, where he has family.

Texas Rangers have also been notified, according to this update by Staff writers Alex Branch and Bill Hanna.

-- Bill Miller

Man busted on suspicion of having 7 pounds of pot

Watauga Police seized more than seven pounds of marijuana valued at more than $30,000 Wednesday afternoon and arrested one man after authorities responded to a 911 hang-up at a house, authorities said.

Staff Writer Domingo Ramirez reported that police met with a woman who had minor swelling to her lower lip and appeared upset when she answered the door to a house in the 6600 block of Harrison Way.

She said everything was OK, but police suspected domestic violence. They subsequently arrested Philip Jamerino, 19, (right) who had been hiding in a bedroom closet.

They also found the marijuana, including a pound of specially grown HYDRO pot.

Read Domingo's report here.

-- Bill Miller