Crime Time

Kaufman County judge says slain DA always suspected former JP Williams

Kaufman County residents say they're anxious for a suspect to be charged in the murders of DA Mike McLelland, his wife, Cynthia, and Mark Hasse, the assistant DA.

Investigators are focused on former JP Eric Williams (shown here), who is currently jailed on a different charge -- this one for making a terroristic threat.

Murder charges may follow any day, sources say. Kaufman County Judge Bruce Wood said McLelland was steadfast in his belief that Williams was responsible for Hasse's killing in January.

"He never wavered," Wood said Tuesday. "He said he knew he did it but he just couldn't get the evidence to prove he did it."

Bill Hanna has more from Kaufman in this update.

-- Bill Miller

 

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/04/16/4779920/kaufman-residents-anxiously-waiting.html#storylink=cpy

Colorado teen, accused of dismembering girl, shocks courtroom

Sixteen family and friends of Jessica Ridgeway, all wore her favorite color, purple, in a Golden, Colo. courtroom on Friday, to show solidarity for the slain 10-year-old girl.

The man suspected of kidnapping and dismembering her, Austin Sigg, shocked those in the courtroom by entering a not-guilty plea. This stunned them because of earlier police testimony that he had confessed to the crime.

After the hearing, Stigg, 18, turned around to face Jessica's supporters as deputies handcuffed him. He smiled awkwardly at them.

Writers from The Associated Press were there. Read their report here.

 — Bill Miller

Updated: Former Kaufman JP arrested on terroristic threat

FBI agents on Friday searched the home of former Kaufman County justice of the peace Eric Williams as part of an investigation into the slayings of the local district attorney and his wife.

Early Saturday, Williams was booked into the Kaufman County Jail and accused of making a terroristic threat, according to WFAA/Channel 8.

Williams, you will recall, was prosecuted and convicted of theft by the Kaufman County district attorney's office.

District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife, Cynthia, were found dead in their home on March 30. A prosecutor in McLelland's office, Mark Hasse, was fatally shot in January.

Here’s the latest from The Associated Press.

— Bill Miller

Accused campus attacker wanted to cut off people's faces

A couple days ago we learned that Dylan Quick, accused in the mass attack earlier this week at a Houston-area college campus, had fantasized about carrying out the crime.

Well now investigators have added these to his list of fantasies: cannibalism and necrophilia.

The 20-year-old student also told investigators that he fantasized about cutting off people’s faces and wearing them as masks.

Juan A. Lozano of The Associated Press filed this report.

— Bill Miller

Fort Worth mom gets 27 years for child abuse

A 6-year-old Fort Worth girl has suffered traumatic brain injuries, bruising, broken teeth and shattered bones, according to an official with the Tarrant County district attorney's office.

Some will wonder why the child’s mother didn’t try to shield her from the abuse.

Explanation: The perpetrator was her mother.

A jury on Friday sentenced 33-year-old April Chavunne Brown, mother of seven, to 27 years in prison for child abuse.

Mitch Mitchell covered the proceedings and has this report.

— Bill Miller

Dog killed in burglary south of Weatherford

Much more than personal belongs were lost Tuesday in a break-in south of Weatherford.

Whoever burgled the home in the 300 block of Harmony Circle also killed the family’s pet pit bull, 11-year-old Moline.

She was found in the living room with a gunshot wound to the head.

"Moline’s death is an outrage," said Sheriff Larry Fowler, who vowed to double the $1,000 reward, offered for information in the case.

Tom Soap told investigators that he came to visit his mother and found the front door open, according to a news release from Fowler’s office.

The house was in disarray with overturned beds, drawers rummaged through, and various items strewn about several rooms.

Soap said someone took a pillow case from one of the bedrooms and filled it with jewelry and other items, but left it inside the garage.

Other missing items, however, included a .22-caliber rifle, a nail gun, knives, and an impact drill.

But the loss of Moline hurts the most.

"She was a family member," Soap said.

If caught, whoever did this could face charges of burglary of a habitation, a second-degree felony, and cruelty to non-livestock animals/torture, a state jail felony, according to the news release.

The $1,000 reward, before Fowler’s contribution, will be paid from the Parker County Sheriff’s Animal Cruelty reward fund, the news release stated.

Anyone with information can call the sheriff’s office at 817-594-8845, or Parker County Crime Stoppers at 817-599-5555. Callers to the tip line can remain anonymous.

— Bill Miller

Sam Hurd, former Cowboy, pleads guilty

Former NFL wide receiver Sam Hurd pleaded guilty Thursday to trying to set up a distribution network for pot and cocaine.

He faces 10 years to life in prison.

"I'm sorry for everything I've done," he said.

The Associated Press has this report.

-- Bill Miller

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/04/11/4768201/ex-nfl-player-hurd-pleads-guilty.html#storylink=cpy

Denton man in custody after escape attempt Wednesday

A Denton man was still in custody Thursday after he was recaptured Wednesday, the culmination of an escape attempt from a Denton County courtroom, according to reports.

The incident began around 10 a.m. Wednesday when Alberto Guadalupe Contreras, 19, was in the courtroom for a hearing on charges of driving while intoxicated, assault with bodily injury, criminal mischief and failure to appear.

But, while a bailiff was in a holding cell with another prisoner, Contreras simply left the courts building, according to reports.

When deputies caught up with a few hours later, he resisted arrest and was shot in the arm, officials said.

Jail records showed Thursday that he was in custody, facing four charges, including resisting arrest. Bail was set at $4,500 total for three charges -- $1,500 each -- but no bond amount was listed for resisting arrest.

Read more here.

-- Bill Miller

Deputies: Vasectomy suspect caught after brief foot pursuit

MILLSAP _ A man who told a deputy during that a traffic stop that he was in pain after having a vasectomy fled the scene and led authorities on a brief foot pursuit late Wednesday before he was caught.
The Millsap man may have run because he had outstanding warrants.
Authorities identified the suspect as Ricky Lee Crawford, 36, who was in the Parker County Jail in Weatherford on Thursday morning. Bail had not been set for Crawford.
Deputies with the Parker County Sheriff’s Office pulled over a vehicle in the 100 block of NW Front St. in Millsap Wednesday on a traffic stop.
Crawford was a passenger in the vehicle and told a deputy that he needed an ambulance because he was in pain from a vasectomy.
As deputies called for an ambulance, the Millsap man ran away.
Deputies caught him a few minutes later.
Crawford had been wanted on charges of motion to revoke probation and assault causes bodily injury to a family member, according to Parker county criminal court records.
In addition to those charges, Crawford will now be charged with evading arrest, failure to identify and giving false information to a peace officer.
As for his medical emergency, there was no mention of it on reports.
_ Domingo Ramirez Jr.

Fort Worth man accused in sexual assault of boy

When a 3-year-old boy tried to open a door to get out of a house around 1 a.m. last January, the man babysitting him decided to discipline him.

But, Alex Daniel Delgado, 23, of Fort Worth later admitted to police that he got mad and "went too far."

Delgado said he bit the boy’s fingers, hands, toes and feet.

Then he "lost control" and grabbed a pencil and stuck it up the child’s anus.

Delgado is now indicted for sexual assault of a child.

Deanna Boyd has more in this report.

— Bill Miller