Crime Time

Arrest made in used-cell-phone child porn case

You may recall the Crime Time item from March 20 on the used cell phone that contained child pornography when a Dallas man bought it at a pawn shop. The phone reportedly contained a pornographic video involving a small child.

Well, news today from Dallas police that an arrest has been made.

Jvar Lamar Howard, 22, was arrested Friday by police in Abilene. He has been charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child and is in the Taylor County Jail on an initial bond of $50,000, according to a Dallas Police news release. He also faces other unrelated charges, police said.

The case is pending in Denton County, where police believe a crime occurred. Police said earlier in March that they had identified the child and that she was safe with her mother, who was unaware of what had happened.

-- Lance Murray

Couple that prayed for child who died of infection are indicted

An Oregon couple have been indicted on charges of manslaughter and criminal mistreatment in the death of their 15-month-old daughter who authorities say they prayed over rather than seek medical treatment for an infection.

Carl and Raylene Worthington reportedly are members of a church that preaches against medical care.

Their daughter, Ava, died March 2 of bronchial pneumonia and a blood infection, conditions the state's medical examiner says could have been treated with antibiotics. The child also had an untreated benign cyst on her neck that hampered breathing, said Dr. Christopher Young, a deputy state medical examiner.

Oregon passed laws in the 1990s that took away faith-healing shields for parents after several children died.

-- Lance Murray

Your blotter: Man with Liberty Bell display hit; shotgun blast wounds man

Man with Liberty Bell display hurt in Richland Hills wreck

Speed and alcohol may have contributed to a crash in which the owner of a replica of the Liberty Bell was injured late Sunday in Richland Hills, police said.

David Hall, owner of the display, was in good condition Monday morning at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth, a hospital spokeswoman said.

A police news release stated that the display of the replicas of the Liberty Bell and the Ten Commandments were on a flatbed trailer, which Hall was securing when a gray Chevrolet Tahoe crashed into the trailer, injuring Hall.

Read more here.

Man wounded in shotgun blast on I-35W in Fort Worth

A shotgun blast wounded a man about 2 a.m. Monday on Interstate 35W in south Fort Worth, and two suspects were arrested, police said.

Pellets from the blast wounded John Lenard Mathis Jr., 41, of Fort Worth, in the shoulder and neck, said Lt. Paul Henderson, police spokesman.

Mathis told police he was driving home on I35W when he noticed a silver Honda two-door car driving recklessly behind him, and he feared the vehicle was getting too close, Henderson said.

"He tapped on his brakes to get him to back off," Henderson said.

The Honda, later identified as a Civic, moved alongside Mathis' red 1997 Ford pickup and a shot was fired, wounding Mathis, Henderson said.

Click here to read more on how Mathis made it home safely and how two suspects were subsequently arrested.

-- Bill Miller

Man wants to profit from "Killer Clown's" paintings

For those of us old enough to remember the crimes of serial killer John Wayne Gacy in Chicago, this story should be of interest. Perhaps even a little creepy.

A Chicago man is looking to sell paintings by Gacy that he bought from the killer while Gacy was imprisoned in the 1990s. Gacy, right, was put to death in 1994 for the rape and murder of 33 boys and men in the 1970s.

The more than 200 paintings feature a character that Gacy called "Pogo the Clown," the same character the Gacy himself portrayed when he entertained children, neighbors and friends. One of the paintings even depicts "Pogo" out side 8213 W. Summervale, the address of Gacy's house where dozens of bodies were found buried in a crawl space. Gacy was eventually nicknamed "Killer Clown."

It's no wonder so many people have a psychological fear of clowns.

You can read the Fox News story here.

-- Lance Murray

Police say couple duct-taped, dangled boy as punishment

When you think of disciplining a child, duct tape and trash bins normally don't come to mind.

But in Jasper, Texas, a couple are accused of using those two items to discipline a 4-year-old boy at a daycare facility.  According to police, the couple bound the boy's wrists and feet with duct tape and then dangled him over a metal trash bin as punishment.

George Block, 48, known by kids at the daycare as "Bigfoot," and his wife Julia Block, 47, are charged with child endangerment and could face up to two years in state jail if convicted.

-- Lance Murray

3 kids killed in hotel room; their dad is prime suspect

Why would a father take his three children to a hotel room and then kill them?

That's the question police in Baltimore, Md., want answered today as they investigate the slaying of three children, ages 2, 4 and 6 inside a downtown hotel room. The prime suspect is their father, who police found in the room with what appeared to be self-inflicted cuts. Police say the children were drowned.

According to police, the man called the front desk to report what he had done.

-- Lance Murray

Something in the UTA air that night

Police at the University of Texas at Arlington are investigating three March 16 incidents, one involving students being shot by a pellet gun and another involving the theft of a cricket bat at gunpoint. The crimes were described in e-mail bulletins that went out about 24 hours after they occurred, said university spokesman Jerry Lewis. He said the bulletins are sent to faculty, students and staff when anything suspicious or criminal is reported.

The details in the e-mail alerts were:

At about 12:57 a.m. March 16, a student was walking in the 600 block of First Street when he heard someone yelling "you’re lucky" behind him. He then saw an older four-door sedan with two men inside. The passenger had both arms out of the window, pointing at the student and shouted "you’re lucky."

About an hour later, two men walking in the 400 block of Oak Street were struck by shots from a air gun or pellet gun that was fired from a passing white car with two men inside.

Then, about 11:58 p.m., 19 students playing cricket at 800 W. UTA Blvd. were confronted by six men, two holding some kind of handgun. The men demanded the cricket bat one of the students was holding and fled.

The victims in the first two incidents were identified in the e-mails as "students of Middle Eastern descent." Lewis said the university has a large population of Middle Eastern students, many of whom live on campus, and university officials don’t suspect a trend. Police are asking anyone with information about the incidents to call them at 817-272-3381.

-- Traci Shurley

'Black magic' woman gets beating from Indian mob

Sometimes mob justice still happens and CNN has a report on an Indian woman who was bound to a tree and beaten by villagers who accused her of being a witch.

The network has some pretty dramatic -- and it should be pointed out, rather graphic -- footage shot by a journalist who later reported the incident to police. The woman was still tied to a tree with authorities arrived, the network reported.

"I was appalled at what I saw because people should be more socially responsible than to do this," police official Nishant Tiwari said.

A man reportedly did most of the beating and said he was justified because he had paid the woman to use magic and prayer to improve his wife's health. But his wife's health declined and he accused the woman of using "black magic." He could face seven years in jail, if convicted.

-- Lance Murray

Boy, 16, confesses to 12 murders in serial-killing spree

It's telling when the number of victims almost equals the age of the killer. But, that seems to be case in Brazil.

The Associated Press is reporting that a 16-year-old boy has confessed to killing 12 people in southern Brazil over the past three months. Police say the boy killed some of his victims for enjoyment. He says he killed during a fit of rage or for revenge.

Police also say they have enough evidence to prove that he shot and killed at least six of the 12 people that he claims to have killed.

-- Lance Murray

Arrest made in series of Virginia highway shootings

Virginia authorities have taken a man into custody in connection with a series of highway sniper shootings.

Police stormed a farm and fired at a man who confronted them with a handgun, according to reports. A second man is being sought, police said.

The series of highway sniping incidents began early Thursday on Interstate 64 on the 20-mile stretch between Charlottesville and Waynesboro, police said. Bullets hit two cars, a van, a tractor-trailer, another vehicle and an unoccupied dump truck and two people were injured.

Among the clues is a surveillance video of a rather unique car -- a 1970s-era AMC Gremlin seen around the time shots were fired at a bank and a residence in Waynesboro. The car later was found abandoned and police say the man arrested owns a car similar to the one seen in the video.

Seems to me that if you're going to commit a crime, a Gremlin getaway car would stick out like a sore thumb. If you're too young to remember a Gremlin, then watch this.

-- Lance Murray