Crime Time

ID a crook, get $1,000

Want to make some easy money? If you know the whereabouts of any of Arlington’s top 10 wanted fugitives, you could earn a reward up to $1,000. Don’t worry, tipsters remain anonymous. Check out this week’s list on the Arlington Police Department’s Web site.

– Staff reports

Man guilty of killing 10-year-old girl in cannibalistic plot

Kevin Underwood was found guilty of first-degree murder this morning in the slaying of a 10-year-old girl as part of a cannibalistic plot, the Associated Press is reporting.

The 28-year-old former grocery stocker was convicted by a jury in Norman, Okla. The penalty phase of the trial will begin on Monday.

"It's the worst of the worst," District Attorney Greg Mashburn said. "His plan is to butcher someone like an animal."

You can read more here.

-- Lance Murray

Killing of a toddler, a defendant's tattoos highlight daily blotter

Mom accused of killing 3-year-old

FORT WORTH -- Her MySpace profile was headlined: "Hold on to your little gifts from GOD. You never know if someone will take them from you."

But Jaclyn Renee Pennington, 24, (right) has been arrested on a capital murder warrant in connection with the Feb. 17 death of her 3-year-old daughter. The Tarrant County medical examiner's office later ruled the girl's death a homicide, caused by blunt force trauma to her abdomen.

Staff Writer Deanna Boyd reports.

Murder suspect displays passion for demons

FORT WORTH -- Christopher Chubasco Wilkins apparently has a passion for pentagrams, demons and the number 666.

The symbols are tattooed all over his body. During Wilkins' capital murder trial, jurors saw photos of the tattoos, except for the one on a private area of his body.

Wilkins is accused of fatally shooting two men in 2005 and then dumping their bodies in far west Fort Worth. If convicted of capital murder, Wilkins, 39, will face the death penalty.

Staff Writer Melody McDonald reports. (Note: This article contains explicit language.)

Southlake city manager vows to review allegations found in DA's report

SOUTHLAKE -- City officials said Wednesday that they will get at the truth of the allegations that have torn the Southlake Department of Public Safety into rival factions and fueled a five-month grand jury investigation.

The Tarrant County district attorney's office released an investigative report Wednesday after a grand jury declined to indict leaders of the Southlake department on criminal charges stemming from allegations that they favored prominent residents and handled cases unethically.

No criminal wrongdoing was found, but the report recommended that the city further investigate allegations about the department's leadership. City Manager Shana Yelverton issued a memorandum Wednesday to city employees, the mayor and the City Council saying the city should use the report to help resolve the problems that by all accounts have caused low morale in the department.

Staff Writer Melissa Vargas reports.

And there's also a lot of police activity this morning in the Dallas area, including:

More cars set ablaze in Dallas

Lancaster police at scene of double homicide

Woman fatally shot in Cedar Hill

Gang member arrested in LA bus stop shooting

A 24-year-old gang member has been arrested in connection with the shooting Wednesday of eight people -- including five children and three adults -- at a Los Angeles bus stop.

Police say that the man, Billy Ray Hines, is a member of the Crips gang and has a criminal record. Officers arrested Hines Thursday walking near the shooting scene after recognizing him from a surveillance video that recorded the shooting scene.

The attack was "sparked by a dispute between the shooter and two other individuals who we believe were the intended victims," said Police Chief Bill Bratton.

-- Lance Murray

Twin porn actors suspected in burglaries

Police in Philadelphia have arrested twin brothers in connection with the rooftop burglary of a business. That's pretty unusual.

But there's more to the story.

The twins, Keyontyli and Taleon Goffney, 25, of suburban Pennsauken, N.J., have appeared in hardcore porn videos online, authorities say. Police say they are suspected in dozens of similar crimes in at least three states.

Keyontyli was arrested at the burglary scene and has been released on bond. Taleon was arrested later and it being held at the Philadelphia jail.

You can read more here.

-- Lance Murray

Possible deadly toxin found at Las Vegas motel

Authorities in Las Vegas say that a package found at a motel contained the deadly toxin ricin, according to preliminary tests.

The package was found at the Extended Stay America motel on Thursday. The motel manager gave the package to police who then had the tests conducted.

Investigators say they don't believe the substance was intended for an attack, but they cordoned off the area and isolated the room in which the package was found.

-- Lance Murray

Ex-Dallas councilman convicted of embezzlement

The Associated Press is reporting that a federal jury has convicted former Dallas City Councilman James Fantroy of embezzlement.

According to a release from U.S. Attorney Richard Roper, the jury deliberated for 20 minutes before reaching a verdict.

The charges stemmed from his handling of government grant money missing from Paul Quinn College community development fund, prosecutors said. Fantroy had been the treasurer of that fund.

He had denied any wrongdoing, but he now faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

-- Lance Murray

Were these boots ropers for dopers?

When you see this lead paragraph on an Associate Press story, you have to stop and read: LAREDO, Texas -- These boots weren't made for walking.

The story goes on to tell about the arrest Tuesday afternoon of a Fort Worth man, Jose Angel Rangel, 40, after customs agents at a Laredo port of entry said they found nearly two pounds of heroin hidden in the soles of boots inside luggage on a commercial bus.

Rangel faces federal drug charges, according to the AP. Authorities valued the heroin at about $170,000. The arrest happened as the man on the bus from Mexico to Texas was selected for a secondary inspection, the AP reported.

That's when an imaging system revealed something unusual within the boots, the AP reported.

-- Lance Murray

Child molestation, murder trial highlight daily blotter

Plea deal gets 60-year-old 25 years in child sex case

FORT WORTH -- Her mother was out of town and her aunt needed to run an errand.

That, officials say, is how the 10-year-old girl ended up at the home of her aunt's neighbor that December 2006 day -- and in the clutches of Walter Stillwell Jr.

"They knew he had been to prison but they didn't know he was a registered sex offender," said prosecutor Bill Vassar.

On Monday, Stillwell, 60, pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual assault of a child in exchange for a 25-year prison sentence.

Staff Writer Deanna Boyd reports.

2nd man pleads guilty in scheme to evade taxes

Gary R. Trebert, whose employees once sported T-shirts saying they survived a federal raid at his nursing home business headquarters, pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiring to evade more than $34 million in taxes.

The scheme involved about 70 nursing homes that Trebert and two other North Texas men operated across the country, including in Tarrant County, court documents say.

Staff Writer Darren Barbee reports.

Suspect goes on trial in 2005 double slaying

FORT WORTH -- Prosecutors contend that Christopher Chubasco Wilkins is a calculated, vengeful killer who confessed to fatally shooting two men inside a vehicle in 2005.

Defense attorneys say Wilkins, with his tattooed head and tough demeanor, likes to shock people and falsely confessed to those two killings -- as well as to 12 others in five states.

Eventually, it will be up to a Tarrant County jury to decide what -- and whom -- to believe.

Wilkins, 39, is on trial on capital murder charges in state District Judge Everett Young's court, accused of killing Willie Freeman, 40, and Mike Silva, 33, and then dumping their bodies in rural far west Fort Worth. If convicted, Wilkins could face the death penalty.

-- Staff Writer Melody McDonald reports.

Teen gets 6 years for Wal-Mart robbery

BEDFORD -- A Kilgore teen whose getaway van ran out of gas after he robbed a Wal-Mart customer last year has been sentenced to six years in prison.

Jerry Fontineau, 18, pleaded guilty Monday to credit card abuse and aggravated robbery in the March 22 holdup. He was sentenced Tuesday to 18 months for the credit card abuse and six years for the robbery. The sentences will be served concurrently.

Staff Writer Domingo Ramirez Jr. reports.

Juarez body count: 5 bodies, 3 torsos, 2 heads

Yesterday, Crime Time featured a story on the discovery of multiple bodies in a backyard of a home in Juarez, Mexico, across the Rio Grande from El Paso.

The body count -- or body parts count -- is now clearer, the El Paso Times reports. So far, investigators have found five bodies, two heads and three torsos.

Excavators were still on the site Wednesday, the paper reports. The house was the site of a large marijuana bust in January.

In 2004, the bodies of 12 men were dug up in the backyard of another Juarez home.

You can read Times reporter Louie Gilot's report here.

-- Lance Murray