Crime Time

Thong bandits remind us of Coen Brothers classic

Remember that early Coen Brothers classic, Raising Arizona with Nicholas Cage and Holly Hunter?

You'll recall the line from the hayseed telling the Cage character, who during a heist was wearing a nylon stocking: "Son, you got a panty on your head."

Well that whole scenario was played out in real life, this time on May 16 in Arvada, Colorado where two men used brightly colored women's thong underwear to disguise themselves during the robbery of a Diamond Shamrock.

But you'll see in the surveillance video released by police to The Denver Post that the thongs didn't do a very good job concealing their facial features.

Of course the other extreme is wrapping one's head in duct tape, but that's been done already. Remember the story (right) from last summer?

This all sounds funny at first, but when you watch the video of the Colorado thong bandits, you see that these guys were pretty rough with the store clerk.

And be warned: the audio is laced with f-bombs.

-- Bill Miller

Man denies buying babies in Mexico

A Texas man being held in Mexico on child trafficking charges said allegations that he bought babies from poor Mexican women and sold them to adoptive U.S. couples are false.

Amado Torres Vega, 64, of Harlingen, and his 25-year-old girlfriend, Maria Isabel Hernandez, are suspected of buying more than a dozen children ages 2 or younger, Mexican officials said.

He told The Monitor newspaper during an interview Thursday at the Reynosa, Mexico, Police Department that his efforts to help the women were legitimate.

"I wasn't making a dime off of this," he said. "These women were irresponsible. What are their options? Abortion? I did what I could to give their children a better life."

Read more here.

-- Bill Miller

Testimony: family members forced to eat vomit, feces

The three wives and 19 children of Mansa Musa Muhummed (right) kept to themselves for years, but no more.

They are the key witnesses in the Muhummed's trial on charges that he beat them, tortured them and deprived them of food.

According to The Associated Press, Muhummed sat in the Hemet, Calif. courthouse with a hand over his face, shaking his head in denial as family members described being beaten, strung up by their feet and forced to eat vomit and feces.

"It is the worst case we've ever heard of," prosecutor Julie Baldwin said last week.

Click here to read more about the allegations.

-- Bill Miller

Teen pimps plead guilty

Three teenagers who were accused of forcing runaway girls into prostitution reached a plea agreement Thursday and were sentenced to the Texas Youth Commission, court officials said.

The teens -- two are now 17 and one is 16 -- will be released no later than their 19th birthdays.

The teens were accused of befriending runaway girls and later forcing them into prostitution in south and east Fort Worth.

Police said the teens found customers by trolling low-income apartment complexes. Johns were charged between $30 and $50.

The girls, who were 13 to 15 years old, said the boys forced them to comply through beatings, sexual assaults and threats against their families. Police arrested the boys in January after a report that one girl was assaulted at a convenience store owned by a frequent customer.

A mother of one of the girls said her daughter is in counseling and is afraid of the defendants.

"These girls have to live with what happened for the rest of their lives," she said. "These boys aren't going to serve much time. I don't think that after a year and half, they'll be ready to get back into society."

Staff Writer Alex Branch reports.

-- Bill Miller

Unidentified man: 'Call 911; I've been shot'

A man lies shot to dead and police don't know who he is.

The shooting was reported shortly after midnight at the C&D Kwik Stop in the 4100 block of Mansfield Highway, said Lt. Paul Henderson, police spokesman.

"Two guys were closing up the convenience store," Henderson said. "They actually heard several gunshots. The victim walked up and said, 'Call 911; I've been shot.'

"He immediately collapsed. He died at the hospital and so far, we still don't know who he is."

-- Staff Writer Bill Miller reports.

Blotter: A chase; familes grieve boy's death; Operation Hydro Pham

Police chase ends beneath house
So desperate was Martin Beltran (far left) to not go back to jail, he led police on an hour-long, high-speed chase Thursday afternoon from the south Fort Worth to Haltom City.

Then he abandoned the pickup truck he was driving and tried to hide under a house, but officers found him. A woman in the house, Jennifer Ann Lopez, (near left) was arrested for outstanding warrants.

The chase started when police tried to stop Beltran for speeding. Maybe he would have gotten only a ticket, but he was taken back to jail instead.

"I asked him why he didn't stop," said Lt. Paul Henderson, police spokesman, who went to the scene. "He said he was a 'habitual' and was afraid of being put away for long time.

"Hopefully, we can accommodate him."

Special Correspondent Susan Tallant reports.

Pain shared in boy's death, friend's stabbing

A 14-year-old boy remained hospitalized Thursday, one day after police say he fatally shot a friend because the youth repeatedly stabbed him with a knife.

As Blake Graves recuperated from at least 20 stab wounds, others mourned the death of 13-year-old Danny Allen, (right) who was shot several times in the chest and head.

The teens' families said the boys were friends who attended Hughes Middle School.

"Everyone is stressed out," said Graves' aunt, Sherry Britton. "No one has had any sleep. We feel horrible. Everyone in the family is just devastated. Our hearts go out to the other family."

Police on Friday were still trying to sort out what caused the fight.

Staff Writers Melody McDonald and Bailey Shiffer report.

Suspects arrested for hydroponic pot

Staff Writer Mitch Mitchell reports that federal agents on Thursday arrested more than a dozen people suspected of being members of a marijuana smuggling ring. Another suspect was arrested in California on Wednesday, federal officials said.

The take-down was called “Operation Hydro Pham,” according to the U.S. attorney's office. Pham is the last name of a couple of the suspects.

The ring specialized in distributing hydroponically grown marijuana, which is grown submerged in water, throughout the Metroplex, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

Authorities said the investigation began in December 2005, when federal agents discovered that it was responsible for the distribution of several thousand pounds of marijuana (like the pot shown above in this photo from the Drug Enforcement Administration).

Click here to read more about what the government has to say about the case.

-- Bill Miller

Houston cops want to keep their beards

Crime fighters in Houston are battling the city over whether they can wear beards.

The Associated Press reported that the Houston City Council on Wednesday unanimously authorized spending up to $150,000 to defend the city in a lawsuit challenging the no-facial hair policy.

"The lawsuit is pending and we have to defend ourselves," Councilman Ron Green said. "But we're basically saying we want new police officers, but we don't want police officers with beards."

Four police officers filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in November claiming the policy is discriminatory, according to the AP.

The officers say the prohibition on beards and goatees is unfair for men who suffer a skin condition that reacts negatively to shaving. The condition can cause severe irritation, rashes and ingrown hair.

OK, the image (left) of the fine fellow from Germany may be an exaggeration of what we're trying to say. And maybe it's inappropriate for us up here in Cowtown to comment -- after all, Fort Worth has its share of crime -- but it's no secret that crime in Houston is a grave concern for its residents. We wonder if they think their officers have better things to do, and if all those legal fees spent by the City Council could be better spent on police recruitment, equipment, overtime .....

-- Bill Miller

Your blotter: robbery, burglary, a killing and tat bandit goes back to prison

We have lots of crime from early this morning and a fatal shooting from Wednesday night.

Let's start with the most dire: A 13-year-old boy was fatally shot and a 14-year-old acquaintance was stabbed several times Wednesday evening inside a house in the 800 block of Buffalo Springs Drive in far southeast Fort Worth, police and relatives reported.

Police said the 13-year-old, identified by a sister as Danny Allen, stabbed the older boy, identified by relatives as Blake Graves. He then grabbed his father's handgun and shot Allen several times, according to police and relatives.

Graves ran down the street where a neighbor saw him, and police were called about 5:30 p.m. He was taken to Cook Children's Medical Center in stable condition, according to a news release from Lt. Paul Henderson, a police spokesman.

According to an early police account, Allen broke into the Graves' house.

Special Correspondent Susan Tallant reports.

Shotgun bandit hits stores in Haltom City, Fort Worth

Two men, one wielding a sawed-off double-barrel shotgun, were involved in the robbery of a Haltom City convenience store early Thursday.

But police said the same two guys might be responsible for a store holdup in Fort Worth that happened just minutes before the Haltom City robbery.

Staff Writer Domingo Ramirez Jr. reports.

Arlington gun store hit in smash-and-grab robbery

At least two, possibly three, men are wanted for burglarizing Arlington Arms, a gun store at 823 Oram St., about 3:30 a.m. Thursday.

Authorities said early Thursday morning that they still have not determined what was taken.

Staff Writer Paul Bourgeois reports.

Tattoo bandit gets 75-year term, 18 life sentences

The tattoo bandit will be in her 80s before she has a chance to get out of prison.

Phyllis Dawn Harvey, 34, (left) received 18 life sentences and a 75-year sentence Wednesday for a crime spree last summer. In 12 days, Harvey robbed stores in eight cities and carjacked four people to feed her drug addiction.

Harvey, who was caught when police recognized the rosary tattoo on her wrist, said her previous time in prison wasn't enough to keep her out of trouble with drugs.

"I came home and made an attempt to do good, but I didn't stay clean long," she said. "When it came down to how I was going to support my habit, I made some bad choices."

"Yes, you did," replied State District Judge Louis Sturns. "Yes, you did."

Staff Writer Kate Gorman reports.

-- Bill Miller

Former Watauga police chief indicted in Victoria

Victoria's police chief, a former top cop in Watauga, has been indicted on charges alleging he tampered with an investigation by leaking information about it with a local reporter.

Chief Bruce Ure (right), and David Smith, a former city attorney for Victoria, are accused of four felonies: misuse of official information, aggravated perjury, tampering with a witness and criminal conspiracy. Both were also indicted on official oppression, a misdemeanor.

Each was released on $25,000 personal recognizance bonds, The Associated Press reported.

Ure remained on the job and his attorney vowed to fight the allegations. You may recall that he left Watauga a year ago after serving there for two years to be near family in Victoria.

During that time the department made headlines for its handling of some personnel disputes.

It made national headlines, however, in 2007 as it investigated two teenagers who encouraging two toddlers to smoke marijuana. Ure’s interviews were aired on numerous national news and cable commentary shows.

Read the Victoria Advocate's report of the latest case here.

-- Bill Miller

Child advocate in Austin accused of molestation

If a girl needs a court-appointed special advocate, there is turmoil in her life, frequently from abuse or neglect. But the CASA is there to help her get from a temporary bad situation into a safe and healthy environment -- perhaps a permanent home.

But when the CASA molests her, she could wind up spending the rest of her life dealing with that abuse.

Now a court-appointed advocate in Ausin is in the Travis County Jail, accused of aggravated sexual assault of an 8-year-old girl.

Billy Dan Carroll, 53, was arrested Sunday and was being held Wednesday on a bond of $2 million, according to The Associated Press.

Police have also said that they seized video allegedly showing him having sex with children ranging in age from 3 to 15 and two adult women who appeared to be unconscious.

Police Sgt. Brian Loyd said investigators are trying to determine the identity of the people on tape and hope victims will come forward.

"We don't know where it is going to end up, how many victims we may end up with," Loyd said. "There could be six. There could be 20. There is no telling."

The Austin American-Statesman has more on the case and Carroll's mugshot.

-- Bill Miller