Crime Time

Police: 9 weapons, 2.7 pounds of marijuana seized in TCU-related drug operation

TCU-related drug operation, police after-action report

Fort Worth police have released the current totals from a drug operation that began in October after complaints of drug activity at an apartment building near TCU. 

In an "after-action report" dated Feb. 20, police said the operation had, as of mid-February, resulted in 23 arrests -- with 10 more to come -- and the seizure of nine weapons, about 2.7 pounds of marijuana and about $46,000 in cash.

One of the weapons, according to the document released Wednesday, was a rifle found "on TCU property, at 3508 Pond Drive.

The estimated street value of the drugs seized, police said in the summary, was about $29,000.

Included in that total, aside from the marijuana, were 37 grams of prescription pills (Xanax, Hydrocodone, Soma, Ambien); 1.10 grams of cocaine and methamphetamines; and 5.3 grams of MDMA, also known generally as Ecstasy (in pill form) and molly (in crystal or powder form).

TCU said on Feb. 15 that 15 of those arrested were current students, accused of selling drugs to undercover officers during the four-month sting. Four were members of the Horned Frog football team.

The "after-action report," essentially an interoffice memo that summarizes the results of the operation, indicates that no drugs were found at the home on Brady Avenue shared by defensive tackle David Yendrey and offensive tackle Tyler Horn.

A shotgun, 4 ounces of marijuana and paraphernalia including pipes and a grinder were among the items seized from the home of cornerback Devin Johnson.

A half-ounce of marijuana, five pipes and a digital scale were found at the home of linebacker Tanner Brock.

The document says that a warrant for an "Austin Michael Carpenter," born May 18, 1992, remained outstanding as of Feb. 20. On the day the roundup was announced, police identified the wrong Austin Carpenter in a photo and arrest warrant affidavit.

-- Kathy Vetter, editor

(Photo, by Paul Moseley/Star-Telegram: Texas Christian University Chancellor Victor Boschini Jr. listens as Fort Worth police Capt. Ken Dean speaks at a Feb. 15 news conference.)

UPDATE: Two of the largest seizures came at the homes of TCU students near campus -- in the 3200 block of South University Drive and in the 3200 block of Waits Avenue.

At the South University home of Peter Signavong, 21, police said they seized 11.78 ounces of marijuana, 0.4 grams of meth, 0.9 grams of Ecstasy, 4.4 grams of MDMA (molly), almost $4,000 in cash, two digital scales and "drug paraphernalia," including a grinder and clear capsules, the report says.

At the Waits Avenue home of Bud Dillard, 21; Earl Burke, 21; Eric Lodge, 22; and Cameron Forgie, 22, police said they seized 14.29 ounces of marijuana, 37 grams of "dangerous drug (Xanax, Hydrocodone, Soma, Ambien)," $705 in cash, two shotguns, four rifles, a "fraudulent driver's license picture," two digital scales and pipes, baggies, clear plastic capsules and a grinder. They also took five Apple iPhones and two Apple laptops. 

UPDATE TWO: Looks like the weapons seized were five rifles, three shotguns and a set of brass knuckles, according to the documents. 

UPDATE THREE: The summary says police have filed 81 charges in the case, most of them for delivery of marijuana. Melody McDonald, a spokeswoman for the Tarrant County district attorney's office, said Wednesday afternoon that the DA is awaiting "complete information" from Fort Worth police before deciding whether to accept the cases.

 

Godley woman was shot at near point-blank range, medical examiner tells jury

UPDATE: 4:30 p.m.

A Godley woman killed during a two-county crime spree was shot by a handgun that was no more than 8inches from her head, Tarrant County Deputy Chief Medical Examiner Marc Krouse told jurors in the capital murder trial of Mark Anthony Soliz.

Krouse began testifying late Wednesday about the death of 61-year-old Nancy Weatherly, who died June 29, 2010.

Soliz is accused of being the gunman who killed her as part of string of crimes that also left Fort Worth beer deliveryman, Ruben Martinez, dead.

Soliz is also facing capital murder charges in Tarrant County in Martinez's death. Another man, Jose "Joe" Ramos, is also facing capital murder charges in the death of Weatherly and Martinez.

-Dianna Hunt

UPDATE: 1:30 p.m.

Accused killer Mark Anthony Soliz was written up by Johnson County authorities for moving the bracket on this "belly restraints" while being transported back to jail after court, prosecutors told the judge Wednesday in his capital murder trial.

Johnson County Assistant District Attorney Martin Strahan did not indicate if authorities considered him to be an escape risk, but said they wanted to notify state District Judge William Bosworth about the Tuesday incident.

The notification was made outside the jury's presence. Testimony then resumed with a former Fort Worth crime scene investigator.

-Dianna Hunt

UPDATE: 11 a.m.

CLEBURNE - It's been CSI: Fort Worth in the capital murder trial Wednesday of Mark Anthony Soliz.

A series of crime scene investigators from the Fort Worth police department have been detailing the evidence they collected at crime scenes all over town during what prosecutors say was an 8-day crime spree over two counties by Soliz and a co-defendant Jose "Joe" Ramos.

Investigators have found bullets, shell casings, blood and DNA from a series of stolen vehicles, drive-by shootings, armed robberies and the fatal shooting of beer deliveryman Ruben Martinez between June 22-29, 2010.

Soliz is standing trial in the shooting death of 61-year-old Nancy Weatherly, of Godley, who was killed during a robbery of her rural home. If convicted, Soliz could face the death penalty.

Ramos is awaiting trial in Weatherly's death, and both men have been charged with capital murder in Tarrant County in the death of Martinez.

The Tarrant County medical examiner is expected to testify this afternoon before state District Judge Bill Bosworth.

Among the members of the audience is an independent sketch artist who has begun sketching the courtroom action.

-Dianna Hunt

Tarrant medical examiner among critics in Death Row case

In a case that drew in a Tarrant County medical examiner, the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to halt the execution of Larry Ray Swearingen, whose lawyers say he is innocent of the murder of a college student. A key question in the 1998 case was how long 19-year-old Melissa Trotter had been dead when her body was found in Sam Houston National Forest. Former Harris County Medical Examiner Joye Carter ruled that Trotter had been dead 25 days or more, putting Swearingen in the frame for her death. But Carter's findings in numerous cases had come under fire, particularly after it was discovered that she had used an unlicensed pathologist to conduct hundreds of autopsies. In a 2009 investigation, Star-Telegram reporter Yamil Berard reported that Dr. Lloyd White of the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office was among numerous pathologists who questioned Carter's findings in the case. Some called Carter's work sloppy and irresponsible. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott opposed Swearingen's request to the Supreme Court.  He is due to be executed in August. - Lois Norder

Mansfield school district police share details of 2009 case involving accused Sam Houston teacher

Mansfield school district police have shed more light on the 2009 case involving Brandon Ashley McDaniel, the Arlington high school teacher arrested Tuesday on charges of having sex with two students.

At the time of the report, Arlington police referred the case to the Mansfield department after determining that the alleged incident occurred within its jurisdiction.

The complaint was assault by bodily contact, a Class C misdemeanor, but the alleged victim declined to press charges, Mansfield Sgt. Greg Minter said Wednesday.

"The case came to us as a referral," Minter said. "We didn't have a complainant physically come to us. We contacted the parties involved, and during the course of the investigation, the decision was reached not to prosecute."

In that case, according to Arlington arrest warrant affidavits obtained Tuesday, a student had reported that McDaniel "grabbed her jaw and kissed her on the lips" and that he "had inappropriate conversations with other students and would invite them to his residence."

Read more here.

-Patrick M. Walker

Fort Worth store clerk arrested in alcohol sale linked to fatal wreck

FORT WORTH — A convenience store clerk was arrested Tuesday night, accused of selling malt liquor to a 17-year-old high school student Friday, a few hours before he was fatally injured and a 15-year-old passenger was killed in a wreck, a spokesman for the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission said.

The teen, Ivan Torres, was driving a pickup that swerved into oncoming lanes on Mitchell Boulevard, colliding head-on with another pickup shortly after 4 p.m.

The clerk was arrested at T Market, in the 1700 block of South Riverside Drive, Maj. Charlie Cloud of the beverage commission said. The clerk, who was not identified, was arrested on suspicion of selling alcohol to a minor, a Class A misdemeanor.

Torres, of Forest Hill, was weaving in and out of southbound lanes on Mitchell Boulevard when his Chevrolet pickup veered into the path of a northbound Escalade EXT pickup near Glen Garden Drive South, Sgt. Cynthia Blake said Tuesday.

Jeanette Lopez, 15, of Fort Worth was pronounced dead at the scene, and Torres died the next day. The second passenger, Berenice Lerma, 15, was critically injured, police have said.

No alcohol was found in the truck, Blake said. Statements from other students prompted police to call in the beverage commission, CloudÖ said.

"We are waiting for toxicology results on [Torres], but in the meantime, we’re looking into the case," Cloud said.

Agents interviewed students and tracked down where Torres might have bought alcohol, he said.

Investigators think Torres and an unidentified student may have bought 32-ounce bottles of malt liquor during their lunch break from Trimble Tech. Cloud said they likely drank some then and also upon returning to school, where they skipped an afternoon assembly.

He said he does not know how many bottles were bought or consumed.

Lopez and Lerma were not with the two until after school, and Cloud said there is no reason to believe the girls were drinking.

Lopez’s death has been ruled a homicide, according to the Tarrant County medical examiner’s website. Torres’ death was ruled an accident.

Lerma’s condition could not be learned Tuesday. Four people in the Escalade had minor injuries, police have said.

Beverage commission agents are also looking into a wrong-way wreck early Monday in which Eric Jordan, 25, and Christopher Brookins, 24, were killed when their southbound Cadillac slammed head-on into a tow truck on northbound MLK Freeway about 2:15 a.m.

Witnesses have told investigators that the men left Tru Lounge, a downtown Fort Worth club, just before the wreck. Jordan’s birthday was Monday, according to the medical examiner’s website.

Penalties for violating alcohol sales and serving laws range from fines to cancellation of liquor permits.

— Domingo Ramirez Jr. and Marty Sabota

Dallas doctor accused of $375 million fraud

Dr. Jacques Roy and five owners of home health agencies have been arrested and accused of a nearly $375 million Medicare fraud scheme, federal officials said today in Dallas. The feds also said they were suspending 78 home health agencies associated with Roy based on credible allegations of fraud. The scam, they said, was to recruit thousands of patients for unnecessary home visits and medical services billed to Medicare. He got nabbed, they say, after federal officials noticed a huge spike in the number of patients he certified for home health care. State medical board records show that the 54-year-old had his medical license suspended for 30 days and was put on 5 years probation because he had a sexual relationship with a patient, that he improperly prescribed controlled substances, including hydrocodone, to that patient, and that the patient died in a car wreck that was tied to elevated blood levels of hydrocodone. The medical board loosened restrictions on Roy in 2004 and in August 2005 released him from the order. The Justice Department Tuesday said that Roy's Medicare scheme apparently began in 2006. The scheme was the largest home health care fraud ever committed, they said. - Lois Norder

Updated: Arlington police arrest Sam Houston High teacher on 2 charges of improper relationship with a student

Arlington police arrested Brandon McDaniel, a Sam Houston High School teacher, this morning.

McDaniel has been on administrative leave since Feb. 8 on suspicion of inappropriate conduct with a female student, said Amy Casas, spokeswoman for the Arlington school district.

This is not the first time McDaniel has been accused. He was investigated in 2009, "but none of the claims could be substantiated at that time," Casas said.

McDaniel, who has worked for the district since August 1999, chaired the English department and taught IB English and theory of knowledge.

Here's what Arlington police are saying:

The Arlington Police Department is investigating an inappropriate relationship between an Arlington teacher and two female students. On Tuesday, February 28, 2012, Arlington Police Officers arrested Brandon Ashley McDaniel as part of that investigation. He is being held at the Arlington City Jail on two charges of improper relationship between an educator and student. Bail is set at $20,000.

 
An anonymous tip initiated the investigation into McDaniel, 36 of Arlington. In November, McDaniel drove a female student to Austin for a day trip, according to information gathered during the investigation. The victim told Arlington Police that what began as a teacher-student relationship evolved into a consensual sexual relationship.
 
A second victim was discovered during the course of this investigation. She told detectives that McDaniel and she had sexual contact in his classroom at Sam Houston High School. Both victims were 18-years-old. However, it is a criminal offense for teachers to have a sexual relationship with a student, regardless of age. Improper relationship between an educator and student is a second-degree felony. 
 
If anyone has information about this case or similar situations involving this McDaniel is asked to call Arlington Police Detective Angie Franco at 817 459-5352, or submit an anonymous tip through Crime Stoppers at (817) 469-TIPS (8477).  All tipsters remain anonymous and are eligible for a reward up to $1,000.

-Patrick M. Walker

Tattoos may tell tale of accused killer's desire to 'live now, die later'

UPDATE: 4:25 p.m.

Fort Worth crime scene investigators are telling jurors about the items - including the murder weapon - seized from the car that accused killer Mark Anthony Soliz was riding in when he was arrested.

Crime scene investigator Timothy Lee testified in Soliz's capital murder trial that he found the 9mm handgun later linked to the crime and took two fingerprints off the packaging of a label maker found in the car.

The long string of items seized sent Prosecutor Christy Jack digging for large Ziploc bags to hold the items once Uckle took them out of their sealed packaging during testimony.

Jack has joined Johnson County Assistant District Attorneys Martin Strahan and Larry Chambless in prosecuting the case.

Defense attorneys have suggested during questioning that the ringleader of the 2010 crime spree was co-defendant Jose "Joe" Ramos, who is awaiting trial.

Soliz is facing capital murder in the death of Nancy Weatherly, 61, of Godley. He is awaiting trial in Tarrant County in the death of beer deliveryman Ruben Martinez.

Ramos is also awaiting trial for capital murder in those deaths.

If convicted, Soliz is facing the death penalty. Prosecutors say they have not decided whether to seek the death penalty against Ramos.

-Dianna Hunt 

UPDATE: 12:20 p.m.

CLEBURNE - Tattoos may tell the story of accused gunman Mark Anthony Soliz, who is standing trial on capital murder charges in the shooting death of a Godley woman.

A large tattoo on his upper arm depicts the comedy-tragedy mask and the words, "Live Now. Die Later." It mixes with the gang symbols and teardrops scattered across Soliz's body.

Photos of those tattoos were presented to jurors Tuesday, to show Soliz's involvement with a northside gang known as Varrio North Side. The VNS reference is an Anglicized variation on the Spanish word, barrio, which means neighborhood, and is used by a northside gang, former gang officer Jesus Alaniz testified Tuesday.

Co-defendant Jose "Joe" Ramos is also affiliated with a gang known as Puro Tango Blast, Alaniz testified.

The two are charged with capital murder in an 8-day crime spree that stretched from Fort Worth to Johnson County and left two people dead. Soliz is standing trial in state District Judge Bill Bosworth's court in Johnson County in Weatherly's death, and is awaiting trial in Tarrant County in the death of a beer deliveryman.

He could get the death penalty if convicted.

Ramos is also facing capital murder charges in both cases, but prosecutors have said they have not decided whether to seek the death penalty against him. 

Testimony is expected to resume after a lunch break, about 1:15 p.m.

-Dianna Hunt

UPDATE: 10:40 a.m

Accused killers Mark Anthony Soliz and Jose "Joe" Ramos were known gang member on Fort Worth's northside, a former Fort Worth gang officer told jurors Tuesday.

Detective Jesus Alaniz, who has since been promoted to criminal investigations, told jurors that Soliz - known as "Kilo" - and Ramos were suspected of being involved in a string of Fort Worth armed robberies when they finally were arrested in June 2010.

Alaniz said Soliz was known to be in the VNS gang - Vario North Side - and the Texas Syndicate prison gang. Ramos also was known to be in a prison gang.

Alaniz testified as prosecutors laid out a crime spree that stretched over 8 days, starting with a home burglary that netted the murder weapon and continuing through the death of Nancy Weatherly of Godley on June 29, 2010.

The judge is now considering whether to allow prosecutors to be able to force Alaniz to display his gang tattoos.

-Dianna Hunt

 

CLEBURNE - A juror with a toothache briefly delayed the start of testimony Tuesday in the capital murder trial of Mark Anthony Soliz, accused of killing a Godley woman in Johnson County and a Fort Worth man in a five-day crime spree.

State District Judge Bill Bosworth told attorneys about 9 a.m. that a juror had alerted him that she had dental surgery on Feb 23, and had been seen by her dentist in Crowley on Monday evening for "pain and discomfort."

She is also set to have her sutures removed on Wednesday, the judge said.

Prosecutor Christy Jack asked the judge to question the woman about whether her pain was making it difficult to continue hearing the case. Defense attorneys Mike Heiskell and Greg Westfall urged the court "not to make it more than it is."

After brief consultation with the woman privately, the judge said she was able to continue and would agree to have her sutures removed by a Cleburne dentist during the lunch break on Friday.

Soliz is standing trial on a capital murder charge in the death of Nancy Weatherly, 61, who was shot during a burglary of her rural home in Godley.

Soliz and another man, Jose "Joe" Ramos, are accused of killing Weatherly during a spree that stretched across two counties in 2010. Tarrant prosecutors are assisting the Johnson County district attorney's office.

Soliz and Ramos are also facing capital murder charges in Tarrant County as well in the death of beer deliveryman Ruben Martinez.

Testimony resumed Tuesday morning with a Fort Worth police investigator.

-Dianna Hunt

 

Theft of murder weapon kicked off crime spree, witnesses testify in Soliz capital murder trial

UPDATE: 12:30 p.m.

CLEBURNE - The murder weapon took center stage in the opening of the capital murder trial of Mark Anthony Soliz on Monday, with prosecutors presenting testimony that Soliz obtained the 9mm handgun by burglarizing a Fort Worth couple's home at the beginning of a 5-day crime spree.

The couple, who were renting the home and have since moved, said they came home about 8 p.m. and found the door to their house had been kicked in. The house was trashed and several weapons - including the handgun - had been stolen.

Prosecutors said Soliz used the weapon in a series of crimes that left a Godley weapon dead in her home from a gunshot wound to the head. A beer deliveryman was also shot and killed at a Fort Worth convenience store.

The Johnson County and Tarrant County district attorneys are cooperating in prosecuting the case, which stretched from several incidents in  Fort Worth to the Godley killing. Johnson County Assistant District Attorneys Larry Chambless and Martin Strahan have been joined by Tarrant County Assistant District Attorney Christy Jack.

Soliz is standing trial in Johnson County for the shooting death of Nancy Weatherly, and is still facing a capital murder trial in Tarrant County in the death of deliveryman Ruben Martinez. A co-defendant, Jose "Joe" Ramos, is awaiting trial.

-Dianna Hunt 

CLEBURNE - Testimony is set to begin in the capital murder case of a Fort Worth man accused of going on a crime spree that left two people dead in Johnson and Tarrant counties.

Mark Anthony Soliz, 30, is facing a possible death penalty if convicted in Johnson County of the shooting death of Nancy Weatherly, 61, of Godley, during a robbery of her rural home in 2010.

The robbery and shooting of Weatherly was in the midst of a series of criminal activity that also led to the fatal shooting of a beer deliveryman at a Fort Worth convenience store.

In opening statements, prosecutor Larry Chambless walked jurors through the spree, which started with the burglary of a Fort Worth residence in which several guns, including a 9mm handgun were stolen. The gun was later linked to the shootings.

Prosecutors say Soliz and a co-conspirator, Jose "Joe" Ramos, also stole a Dodge Stratus, burglarized Weatherly's home and stole her truck, and shot the deliveryman. Several other crimes in north Fort Worth were also linked to the pair.

Chambless said Soliz eventually confessed to shooting the Godley woman, saying, "It was me, Mark Soliz, that shot the woman," in a written statement.

Defense attorney Mike Heiskell of Fort Worth, however, pointed the finger at Ramos, saying Soliz is brain-damaged from fetal alcohol syndrome and is a "follower." He said Soliz grew up with a mother who did drugs, sniffed paint, drank alcohol and worked as a prostitute.

He said Soliz has been hospitalized for "hearing voices."

"We are what we learn. We are what we live," Heiskell told jurors.

Testimony is expected to begin midmorning in Johnson County court.

-Dianna Hunt 

Fort Worth police move to discount remarks by two officers before broadcast

Fort Worth police issued a pre-emptive strike Thursday against two of their officers, who apparently will appear on the 10 p.m. news criticizing the way Immigration and Customs Enforcement handled a human trafficking investigation.

The department posted a message on its media portal Thursday afternoon that initially confused the Star-Telegram -- until we saw the CBS-11 promo.

Two officers, the promo said, "were seeking justice for a sex slave."

An ad on the station's website refers to a "Botched case of kidnapped mom"

Here's the full statement from Fort Worth police:

Tonight, a news organization is airing a feature on Human Trafficking. At the request of the producer we approved an interview to take place with two former Human Trafficking police officers with an understanding that the interview would focus on the facts of a specific case. During this interview the two officers provided their opinion regarding the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency on the handling of the case.

The opinions expressed are not the opinions of the City of Fort Worth or the Fort Worth Police Department. Prior to this interview one of the two officers expressed his displeasure with being reassigned to patrol in an article published by an association news letter. It was the decision of command staff after a recommendation from the ICE Human Trafficking Task Force to transfer both officers out of the task force and replace them with a qualified detective with the knowledge and rank to file cases within either the federal system or state or both. This was an operational decision however it generated much criticism by the two officers who were obviously upset regarding the decision.

Police said they believe this matter is closed and will not be providing additional statements or interviews.

UPDATE: The "article published by an association news letter" appears to refer to an item published by officer Daniel Meza in the second quarter 2011 edition of "Signal 50," the Fort Worth Police Officers Association magazine.

In the article, Meza describes being a member of a team of human trafficking investigators operating under a federal Department of Justice grant starting in 2006. He appears to imply that Fort Worth police misused the DOJ grant and transferred him to patrol when he complained.

UPDATE:

 

According to Channel 11, a woman was beaten, abused, humiliated and taken from her family in her native country of Honduras. The man also cut his name into her stomach – a brand to show everyone he owned her, Channel 11 reported.

As a friend called for help, she fled from her captor, hid in the classroom of an old school building in Cleburne and waited for Fort Worth police officers Danny Meza and Gabe Barrera to come get her, the station reported.

The officers, who are trained as investigators of human-trafficking crimes, said they took her to a safe house. In October 2009, she was still not out of harm’s way.

The officers said they worked to save the woman, only to see their case evaporate when they turned to the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agency in Dallas to pursue federal human-trafficking charges against their suspect.

"They didn’t believe her story and wouldn’t certify her as a trafficking victim," Barrera told Channel 11.

Meza and Barrera said ICE’s decision not to officially certify the woman as a trafficking victim resulted in the federal case falling apart. Instead, the man was jailed as an illegal immigrant and, subsequently, deported back to the Honduras. 

The woman left Dallas and moved to another part of the country. The man re-entered the country last October and tracked his victim down, the station said. But this time, ICE agents in another part of the country acted immediately, arresting the man and providing protection for the woman, the station said.

The man is again jailed for being in this country illegally, while authorities work to see if they can gather enough evidence to file federal trafficking charges against him.

-- Marty Sabota, Kathy Vetter and Mitch Mitchell