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Thursday, May 29, 2008
Man charged in Baylor student’s carjacking
Police have charged a Waco man in the armed kidnapping and robbery of a Baylor University student, linking him to three recent carjackings in the Waco area.
JAnthony Michael Garcia, 19, was charged with aggravated robbery Wednesday in the May 17th robbery of Baylor student Danielle Elliot, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
Elliot was walking her puppy at 12:45 a.m. near the 1400 block of James Avenue when a car pulled up behind her.
Garcia got out the car and walked up with a gun in hand, the affidavit stated. Garcia forced Elliot into her 2000 Pontiac Grand Am and drove around Waco, eventually stopping in the 2400 block of Park Avenue where an unidentified man got inside the vehicle.
The two men searched Elliot’s purse, stealing $26, a camera and taking Elliot’s Baylor senior ring from her finger, the affidavit stated. The two men threatened to kill Elliot and throw her body into the Brazos River.
At one point, Elliot unlocked her door and jumped from the moving vehicle, the affidavit stated. She broke both arms in the escape, but was able to run for help.
According to the affidavit, an “involved person” said Garcia had bragged about robbing Elliot and hiding her property. Waco police found the missing items during a search, the affidavit stated.
Garcia was arrested Friday and charged with aggravated kidnapping and aggravated robbery in two carjackings last week. In one, a man was shot, but he recovers. Billie Jo Allen, 21, was arrested with Garcia and charged in the case.
Police still are looking for Augustine “Tito” Perez, 20, in the latest two carjackings, said Waco police Sgt. Melvin Roseborough.
Neither Perez nor Allen have been linked to Elliot’s kidnapping, Roseborough said.
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Texas high court says sect kids should go back
In a crushing blow to the state’s massive seizure of children from a polygamist sect’s ranch, the Texas Supreme Court ruled Thursday that child welfare officials overstepped their authority and the children should go back to their parents.
Some of the children are in Waco at the Methodist Children’s Home but it is unclear when they will be moved.
The high court affirmed a decision by an appellate court last week, saying Child Protective Services failed to show an immediate danger to the more than 400 children swept up from the Yearning For Zion Ranch nearly two months ago.
“On the record before us, removal of the children was not warranted,” the justices said in their ruling issued in Austin.
The high court let stand the appellate court’s order that Texas District Judge Barbara Walther return the children from foster care to their parents. It’s not clear how soon that may happen, but the appellate court ordered her to do it within a reasonable time period.
The ruling shatters one of the largest child-custody cases in U.S. history. State officials said the removals were necessary to end a cycle of sexual abuse at the ranch in which teenage girls were forced to marry and have sex with older men, but parents denied any abuse and said they were being persecuted for their religious beliefs.
The case before the court technically only applies to 124 children of the 38 mothers who filed a complaint that prompted the ruling, but it significantly affects nearly all the children since they were removed under identical circumstances.
The ranch is run by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which teaches that polygamy brings glorification in heaven. It is a breakaway sect of the Mormon church, which renounced polygamy more than a century ago.
Texas officials claimed at one point that there were 31 teenage girls at the ranch who were pregnant or had been pregnant, but later conceded that about half of those mothers, if not more, were adults. One was 27.
Under Texas law, children can be taken from their parents if there’s a danger to their physical safety, an urgent need for protection and if officials made a reasonable effort to keep the children in their homes. The high court agreed with the appellate court that the seizures fell short of that standard.
Check back at wacotrib.com for updates.
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Search under way for missing Bosque County woman
An aerial search over three counties is underway today in hopes of locating the 42-year-old managing editor of the Bosque County News in Meridian.
Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Ronnie Ashmore said LaDawn Garland has not been heard from since about 7 p.m. Wednesday when she called her husband from her cell phone, and told him she was at Best Buy in Waco.
She was last seen driving a white, extended cab Dodge pickup, Ashmore said. Hamilton and Bosque county sheriff’s offices, the Texas Rangers and the Waco Police Department are involved in the search.
Evan Moore, the owner of the Bosque County News, said Garland asked her husband what he wanted for dinner. Her husband told her he would check with their son and call her back, but couldn’t reach her again, Moore said.
Ashmore said authorities do not have enough information to say whether foul play is suspected.
Moore said he doubts Garland’s apparent disappearance has anything to do with her work at the paper.
“Anybody who’s mad at us would be mad at me, not her,” said Moore, who has owned the paper for the past three years.
He said he saw no signs that she might have disappeared on purpose.
Garland lays out pages as one of the three full-time staffers at the paper.
“She knows everybody,” Moore said. “She comes up with story ideas all the time.” Garland is a native of the area and attended Cranfills Gap schools, he said.
Garland has two sons in their 20s and a daughter who was just married two weeks ago. Garland served as wedding photographer.
Moore said he and Garland were the only people working Wednesday, he at the Fort Worth office, and she in Meridian. He said he knows she left the office at about 2 p.m., saying she was going to run errands.
“We don’t know what happened,” Moore said. “But it sure doesn’t sound good.”
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New South Waco Library set to open Saturday
The new South Waco Library, 2737 S. 18th St., will open amid great fanfare at 11:30 a.m. Saturday with the spotlight focusing on local philanthropists Malcolm and Mary Ruth Duncan, who funded the library.
The library, which is being donated by the Duncans to the Waco-McLennan County Library system, is more than twice the size of the former building and includes a large meeting room, conference room and two study rooms.
City officials say there are five additional public computers and more library materials. Saturday’s celebration will also include a special children’s time at 1:30 p.m. with puppeteer Nancy Burks Worcester.
“We have been so overloaded here,” library manager Judy Horton told the Tribune-Herald last month. “We have loads of books I couldn’t put out on the shelf, so we’ve just been stockpiling them for a year and a half. This is going to be so much nicer.”
The old library will become part of the renovated South Waco Recreation Center.
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Marlin teens arrested in fight over girl
Two teenage cousins were arrested and another cited in Marlin Wednesday after police said they were beating each other with clubs on their way home from school in a fight over the same girl.
Marlin Police Chief Tom Hamilton said the boys were walking home from school Wednesday afternoon when they stopped in front of a business on Live Oak Street in Marlin to fight with their fists and clubs.
It didn’t take long, Hamilton said, before they had an audience.
“Anything like this happens and you’ve got half the town hanging out there,” he said. Two of the boys were charged with aggravated assault, and the other was cited for disorderly conduct.
One of the boys was taken to the hospital, where he was treated for minor injuries, Hamilton said. — Erin Quinn
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Escaped jail inmate caught
The McLennan County jail inmate who escaped earlier this week during a work detail has been caught and is in custody.
Marc Hirst, 32, led multiple law enforcement agencies on a manhunt near Battle Lake after he walked away from the road crew at the Precinct 2 road and bridge barn, 2325 Battle Lake Road in Hallsburg, at about 8 a.m. Tuesday.
Hirst was arrested May 4 on a charge of possession of a controlled substance.
Officials say Hirst broke into a home Tuesday night near Battle Lake Road, where he stole a shotgun and changed clothes.
Watch wacotrib.com for more details.
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Local students get service academy appointments
Two local students will be recognized this afternoon for getting service academy appointments in announcements at U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards’ Waco office, 600 Austin Ave., Suite 29.
Jacob Petter of Reicher Catholic High School and Peter McLeod of Lorena will be recognized. Petter will be another Reicher graduate headed to the Air Force Academy. McLeod earned an appointment to the Naval Academy.
The announcements will be at 2:30 p.m.
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“To infinity and the space shuttle …”
The idea: He’s on a mission to excite students about science, math and space travel.
During the STS-124 mission, the 12-inch-tall action figure will to deliver daily blog journals from space and launch a series of educational games and online sessions related to the mission.
While in space, the character will fly in zero gravity as part of an experiment tied to the NASA’s “Toys in Space” educational program that will encourage students to pursue studies in science, technology and math.
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We’ve got graduation photos
Robinson High School held its graduation last night at the Ferrell Center and we have plenty of photos online from the event, like the one below. See anyone you know?
Other schools that held graduations are Texas Christian Academy and Reicher Catholic High School. We’ll be uploading more graduation pics as they happen.
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State softball: Bosqueville wins, to play for state 1A title
Bosqueville is now just a win away from a sweet repeat.
The Lady Bulldogs will play for their second straight Class 1A state championship after rallying past Clyde Eula, 5-3, here in the state semifinals Thursday morning at McCombs Field in Austin.
Bosqueville (25-7) will play the winner of the Shiner-Maud winner at 8:30 a.m. Saturday. Junior Michelle Miller led the Lady Bulldogs at the plate, going 3-for-3 with a triple.
Visit our slide show for more images from today’s game.
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State softball: Clyde Eula cuts into Bosqueville lead
Clyde Eula gets a run back in the top of the sixth, as another Bosqueville error costs the Lady Bulldogs at the Class 1A state softball semifinal.
Eula’s Jenna Betcher led off the inning by reaching on an error from Bosqueville shortstop Haley Feight.
Three batters later, nine-hole hitter Hannah Bales drove in her third run of the game with a solid single to left. Bosqueville’s lead is 5-3 heading into the bottom of the sixth.
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Nepal assembly abolishes monarchy
The main palace in Nepal’s capital lowered the flag of the country’s royal family today, a day after lawmakers, led by former communist insurgents, abolished the monarchy that had reigned over the Himalayan land for 239 years.
Palace staff took down the small red standard with a flag-waving lion and replaced it with Nepal’s national flag, a red banner of two triangles adorned with a sun and moon.
The changing of the flag was “a decision by the government to show that Nepal is now a republic,” said a palace official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of palace rules.
— The Associated Press
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State softball: Bosqueville goes ahead, 5-2
Bosqueville now leads 5-2 after five innings at the Class 1A state softball semifinal.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Lady Bulldogs plated four big runs. Ashley Barnes led off the inning with a double, then Grace Getman followed by legging out a bunt single.
But on the same play Clyde Eula first baseman Brianna Guerrero tried to throw Barnes out at third and sailed a throw deep into the right-field corner, allowing both Barnes and Getman to score. Haley Feight and Morgan Elkins later added RBI hits to up the gap to three runs.
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Houston to spend $150,000 defending police beard ban
City officials in Houston are apparently willing to dig deep to defend the police department’s ban on beards.
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.
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State softball: Clyde Eula takes 2-1 lead
In the top of the fourth inning at the Class 1A state softball semifinal in Austin, Clyde Eula got its first hit — a two-run bloop single by Hannah Bales — to take a 2-1 lead over Bosqueville.
The Lady Bulldogs have made a couple of errors and went down in order during their at-bat in the bottom of the fourth.
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Officials probe train wrecks in Boston, Chicago
Federal investigators arrived today at the tracks outside Boston where two commuter trains collided and derailed during rush hour a day earlier, trapping and killing a train operator and injuring more than a dozen passengers.
Officials from the National Transportation Safety Board were trying to determine what caused Wednesday’s above-ground crash, which killed 24-year-old Terrese Edmonds near a station in suburban Newton, said Joe Pesaturo, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
The crash came hours after an elevated train derailed in Chicago, sending 14 people to hospitals. Officials there quickly blamed human error by the operator.
— The Associated Press
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State softball: Bosqueville up, 1-0
Bosqueville scored its first run in the second inning on a sacrifice fly by Caitlin Jackson to take a 1-0 lead over Clyde Eula in the Class 1A semifinal at McCombs Field in Austin.
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Library reading club offered for kids
Children ages 12 and younger can earn a free ticket to the Ringling Brothers Circus and a backpack for reading this summer during the Waco-McLennan County Library’s 50th Reading Club Jubilee, it was announced in a news release.
Here’s the rest of the information:
Sign up for this free activity from May 31 through June 30 at all four libraries and receive a reading log to record reading efforts to reach two goals:
*Ages 2-12 can receive a free ticket to a Ringling Brothers Circus performance from July 17-20 by reading five books.
*Children 12 and younger receive a backpack and coupon treats from Wendy’s and Chick-Fil-A for completing a reading goal of 20 hours.
Reading can be done at home, in the car, on vacation, at camp, while waiting at the doctors, etc. and the books, audiobooks, magazines, graphic novels that are used do not have to be from the library. Pre-readers can participate by listening to stories read to them.
Please call 750-5942 or visit the library’s Web page at www.waco-texas.com and select Library/Youth Services Page.
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State softball: No score after first
Bosqueville has opened play this morning in the University Interscholastic League State Softball Tournament against Clyde Eula at McCombs Field in Austin.
The defending Class 1A state champion Lady Bulldogs (24-7) and Clyde Eula (22-11-1) are scoreless after the first inning.
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Ashlee Simpson, husband announce pregnancy
“While many have speculated about this, we wanted to wait until after the first trimester to officially confirm that we are expecting our first child,” read a statement Wednesday on Wentz’s blog, the Associated Press reports. “This is truly the most joyous time in our lives and we are excited to share the happy news and start our family.”
Ashlee and her sister Jessica spent some time growing up in Waco and have grandparents in the area.
Simpson-Wentz, 23, and Fall Out Boy bassist Wentz, 28, exchanged vows earlier this month at Simpson’s parents’ Los Angeles-area home. Sister Jessica was the maid of honor.
(Getty Images photo)
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Search resumes for missing inmate
The manhunt for a county jail inmate whom McLennan County sheriff’s officials say escaped earlier this week during a work detail will resume today near Battle Lake.
A large-scale search with a helicopter, search dogs, horses and several law enforcement agencies scoured that area all day Wednesday, sheriff’s officials said.
Authorities say Marc Hirst, 32, who was arrested May 4 on a charge of possession of a controlled substance, walked away from the road crew at about 8 a.m. Tuesday from the Precinct 2 road and bridge barn, 2325 Battle Lake Road in Hallsburg.
Officials say Hirst broke into a home Tuesday night near Battle Lake Road, where he stole a shotgun and changed clothes.
The man, weighing 165 pounds and standing 5 feet 6 inches tall, is believed to be wearing white cargo pants and a dark, long-sleeved shirt. He has blonde hair and blue eyes and a goatee.
The sheriff’s office is asking anyone with information about Hirst to call the sheriff’s office at 757-5222.
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Boil water notice in Elm Mott
The McLennan County Water Control and Improvement District No. 2 in Elm Mott has issued a boil water notification as a precautionary measure due to low water pressure, the district says in a news release today.
The release advises that water should be brought to a vigorous rolling boil for two minutes before use.
Those with questions can call 829-1824 or 829-1954.
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Hot, dry days ahead
The forecast calls for a stretch of days in the 90s without rain in sight. I imagine we’ll see folks starting to water their lawns more. We’ll have sunny skies, with a high near 91 and a south wind between 5 and 15 mph.
Try to stay cool today. Shouldn’t be a problem … provided you can stay indoors.
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