Crime Time

Man bites off part of coworker's finger in post-bar scuffle near Stockyards

What started as an argument between coworkers ended in a mess of punching and biting in the cab of a pickup that one man came out of missing part of a finger, according to police.

The man, 31-year-old Luis Gutierrez, said in a phone interview Sunday he lost about 1/3 of his finger after his coworker started biting him during a scuffle near the Stockyards.

The two had been out drinking, most recently at 8.O Restaurant and Bar, he told an officer who interviewed him in a hospital bed Sunday afternoon.

Gutierrez told the officer that his coworker was giving him a ride home when the scuffle started near Northeast 28th and Main streets.

Read the full story here.

-- Andrew Chavez

San Antonio police officers reassigned over racy photos

State briefs: 5 San Antonio police officers reassigned over photos: ""

(Via Star-Telegram.com: Latest Headlines.)

Woman awaits trial on 3rd felony theft charge in 8 years

Woman awaits trial on 3rd felony theft charge in 8 years: "Julie Witt Steen was convicted in 2000 of stealing more than $30,000 from a widow."

(Via Star-Telegram.com: Latest Headlines.)

Same robber might have hit 7-Elevens in Euless, Bedford

Same robber might have hit 7-Elevens in Euless, Bedford: "A man of medium build, about 6 feet tall, wearing a jacket with a hoodie, may have robbed the stores about 30 minutes apart early Saturday morning."

(Via Star-Telegram.com: Latest Headlines.)

Boot-scootin' Hurst thief grabs cowboy hats

Boot-scootin' Hurst thief grabs cowboy hats: "This would make John Wayne mad."

(Via Star-Telegram.com: Latest Headlines.)

Suspect arrested in slaying of Arkansas TV anchor

Police in Little Rock, Ark., say that a suspect has been arrested in the killing of TV anchor Anne Pressly.

Police say that Curtis Vance, 28, was arrested at a Little Rock home.

Pressly was found severely beaten in her home by her mother in October and later died in a hospital.

-- Lance Murray

More surveillance images released on carwash killing

Police are hoping someone might recognize two men suspected in the fatal shooting and apparent robbery of a father-of-three Saturday night at the All American Car Wash at 1341 E. Berry St.

The video, taken from a store next to the carwash (left), shows a driver emerge from a dark-colored car -- that investigators believe may be a Cadillac Deville DTS -- and walk toward the car wash.

The car’s passenger, in turn, gets into the driver’s seat.

Minutes later he picks up the other suspect, seen running back into camera view.

Click here to watch one angle of the video and then click here to see another, which has a better image of the suspects.

Finally, click here to read the story by Staff Writer Deanna Boyd.

Mr. Buck loses head, but not to a hunter

Deer season is in full swing in Texas, but Harris County officials believe a tame deer known as Mr. Buck was killed by poacher at a Houston-area park.

The poacher also stole the deer's impressive rack (shown here in a photo from the Precinct 5 Constable's office.)

Mr. Buck, a white-tailed deer, was mourned Tuesday by scores of people who enjoyed watching him at Bear Creek Pioneers Park, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Authorities say someone cut through a remote fence to reach the animal and then took the deer's head and antlers. The carcass was left behind.

Taxidermy shops in the Houston area were being advised about the crime, according to The Associated Press.

Harris County Commissioner Steve Radack says anyone who attacks an animal in captivity "is just the lowest of the low."

Charges including felony animal cruelty and poaching could be pursued against any suspects, the AP reported.

Meanwhile, Capt. Ray Valenta of the Precinct 5 Constable's office, said Wednesday that his phone has been ringing of the hook from people who want to help the investigation.

Click here to read the Houston Chronicle's report.

-- Bill Miller

Former JPS doctor gets prison time for child pornography

A former chairman of internal medicine at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth was sentenced Tuesday to three years and six months in prison after pleading guilty last summer to possessing child pornography.

James Young-Jin Shin of Southlake (right) received his sentence at a federal court in Dallas.

He pleaded guilty in July to downloading pictures and videos that included depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Shin, a native of Korea, was also fined $25,000 and may be deported when he is released from prison, authorities say. He could also lose his medical license.

In September 2007, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent acting on a lead from the agency's cyber-crimes unit in Washington D.C., went to Shin's home, according to court documents.

He allowed agents to inspect his computer and admitted having the illegal materials, the documents state.

Read more in this report by Staff Writer Kate Gorman.

Fort Worth boy helped police catch burglars with 911 call

Two burglars were caught in the act after a 9-year-old boy who was left home alone on Thanksgiving break heard the men breaking in Monday and called 911.

The boy said his father was at work and his mother at the store when the men broke into the house, near Interstate 20 and Hemphill Street, about 10:30 a.m.

The boy said he was watching cartoons in his bedroom when he first heard banging noises. He said that at first he dismissed the sounds as a "cat or something."

But when the banging got louder and was soon followed by the sound of breaking glass, the boy said he got scared, locked his bedroom door and called 911. He said he told dispatchers that he’d heard banging.

"I think someone is in the house," he said he told dispatchers.

Read what happened next in this report by Staff Writer Deanna Boyd.