Home > Waco Breaking News > Archives > 2008 > December > 02
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Dow bounces back 270 points
NEW YORK — In a session that showed more indecision than conviction, the stock market rebounded Tuesday from the previous day’s massive decline. The Dow Jones industrials rose 270 points after fluctuating sharply, and all the major indexes rose more than 3 percent.
Investors wary about the economy drew solace from Ford Motor Co. Chief Executive Alan Mulally, who said the automaker has enough cash to make it through 2009 and might not need government help. Rival General Motors Corp. said late in the day that it needs $12 billion in government loans to continue operating; the news briefly shook the market, but stocks rebounded before the close.
The market was also encouraged after General Electric Co. said it expects to pay a dividend despite projections that fourth-quarter results will near the low end of its previous guidance.
More here from the Associated Press.
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Baylor QB Griffin named Big 12’s Offensive Freshman of Year
Baylor freshman quarterback Robert Griffin has been named the Big 12’s Offensive Freshman of the Year, as the conference’s coaches released their all-Big 12 team today.
Griffin, a former Super Centex star from Copperas Cove, took over as Baylor’s starting quarterback in the second game of the year and quickly proved to be a big-time playmaker.
He passed for 2,091 yards and 15 touchdowns against only three interceptions, setting an NCAA record for most pass attempts to start a career without a pick. Griffin also rushed for 843 yards and 13 touchdowns, tying Steve Beaird’s school record for most rushing TDs in a season.
Three other Baylor players earned first-team all-Big 12 accolades — senior offensive tackle Jason Smith, junior linebacker Joe Pawelek and junior safety Jordan Lake.
Smith, a fifth-year senior from Dallas White, opened his career as a tight end before shifting to tackle as a sophomore. A member of the Outland Trophy watch list and a midseason All-American pick by Sports Illustrated, Smith closed his career with 39 starts, more than anyone on the current BU roster.
Pawelek, a junior from Smithson Valley, led the Big 12 with 128 tackles and led all Bowl Subdivision linebackers with six interceptions. He also notched seven pass breakups, five quarterback hurries and two fumble recoveries.
Lake, a hard-hitting junior from Houston Memorial, finished second on the Bears with 97 tackles, and chipped in three interceptions, two forced fumbles and seven broken-up passes.
Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford was the Big 12’s Offensive Player of the Year, while Texas defensive tackle Brian Orakpo was tabbed as the Defensive Player of the Year.
Texas Tech’s Mike Leach and Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops, former coaching colleagues who led their teams to 11-1 records, shared the Coach of the Year honor.
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Officer seize nearly 900 pounds of marijuana
A traffic stop on Interstate 35 has led to the discovery of nearly 900 pounds of marijuana hidden in the trailer of an 18-wheeler, authorities say.
A Temple police officer stopped the semi-trailerbecuase it was committing a traffic violation Sunday morning, a Temple police spokesman said. After speaking with the driver, the officer searched the trailer and found the bundles of marijuana, Temple police spokesman Brad Hunt said.
A total of 872 pounds of marijuana, estimated to be worth about $872,000, was seized and the truck’s driver, 31-year-old Armando Chavarin, of Laredo, was arrested, Hunt said.
Chavarin was taken to Bell County Jail and faces federal narcotics trafficking charges.
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Victim had 12 stab wounds, medical examiner testifies in murder trial
A Dallas-based medical examiner testified this afternoon in the capital murder trial of 44-year-old Leslie Megan Lewis-Grant that her ex-husband, James Michael Grant Sr., was stabbed 12 times to his neck, chest, abdomen, arm and leg.
According to other court testimony in Coryell County’s 52nd State District Court during the opening day of Lewis-Grant’s trial, Grant was stabbed in his sleep Sept. 15, 2007 by Lewis-Grant’s boyfriend, 28-year-old John Tarrell Hopkins, who was also her 16-year-old son’s friend. Grant’s body was found in the bar ditch of a Gatesville road, about four-tenths of a mile from Lewis-Grant’s home.
Diane Tadlock, Lewis-Grant’s supervisor at the Gatesville prison unit where she worked as a nurse, testified that Lewis-Grant would often talk about wanting Grant dead. When asked by the prosecution how often Lewis-Grant would talk about wanting to kill Grant, hiring someone to kill him, or wishing he was dead, Tadlock replied, “every day or at least every other day.”
Tadlock said Lewis-Grant would talk about his death “jokingly, but we knew she was serious,” referring to herself and the other nurses.
When asked by defense lawyer Russ Hunt whether she reported Lewis-Grant’s threats to the police, Tadlock said she did not, and that she now regrets not doing so.
Also upon questioning from Hunt, Tadlock said Lewis-Grant did not tell her why she said she hated her ex-husband so much.
Tadlock said she and Lewis-Grant were close friends, and that Lewis-Grant babysat her children on occasion.
Tadlock testified that Lewis-Grant met John Tarrell Hopkins, 28, through her son, 16-year-old James Michael Grant, Jr., or Jamie Grant.
Tadlock also testified that Lewis-Grant then developed a sexual relationship with Hopkins. She was aware, Tadlock said, that Hopkins was a registered sex offender and was doing drugs with Jamie Grant.
After Grant’s death, Tadlock said Lewis-Grant told her “complete detail” of her whereabouts, which Tadlock testified she thought was odd.
Tadlock said Jamie Grant said, “I’m glad my dad is dead,” and that he seemed more upset that investigators had seized his boots as evidence. Coryell County sheriff’s investigators have said that Jamie Grant stomped on his father’s chest after Hopkins had stabbed the man to death.
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Waco police arrest two in vehicle burglary
Waco police officers arrested two 20-year-olds early this morning after they were seen breaking into a vehicle at the Colony Apartments located at 8014 W. Woodway Drive.
According to a police report, Idi Busby and Danielle Neuenschwander were charged with burglary of a vehicle and taken to the McLennan County Jail. Busby also was charged with outstanding traffic warrants.
Officers were called to the Colony Apartments around 12:30 a.m. after a resident there observed a man, wearing a black hoodie, take a silver briefcase and backpack out of a truck parked in the parking lot.
The suspect was seen running across the parking lot and got into what looked like a Chevrolet Impala with tinted windows.
After the description of the vehicle was given to officers, checks of other apartment complexes in the West Waco area where made. While checking the Baxter Crossing Apartments, 415 Owen Lane, officers located a light-colored Chevrolet Impala with tinted windows.
The driver of the vehicle was identified as Neuenschwander and the passenger was Busby. Officers could see a silver briefcase and backpack inside the vehicle, the report says. While officers were questioning the two individuals a man came up and told the officers that his vehicle had just been broken into and his stereo stolen.
The stereo taken in that burglary also was found inside the suspect vehicle, the report states.
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Midway High offers college night
Prospective college students can visit with 94 college/university representatives tonight at Midway High School.
The event is open to the public and is sponsored by Baylor University, McLennan Community College, Texas State Technical College, Midway High, Waco High and Vanguard College Preparatory School. Doors will open at 7 p.m. and those attending are asked to enter through the cafeteria doors located at the back of the school, 8200 Mars Drive.
Parents may participate in two seminars in the MHS theater/auditorium. A financial aid presentation will be conducted at 7:15 p.m. and at approximately 8 p.m. parents can receive help with the transition process between high school life and college life.
For more information, contact Midway High School at 761-5650 or visit the Midway ISD Web site at www.midwayisd.org.
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Trial update: Texas Ranger testifies
Further testimony in the capital murder trial of Megan Lewis-Grant, 44, came from Texas Ranger Jeff Ramos, who is based in Lampasas.
Ramos told jurors in Gatesville’s 52nd State District Court that some time after the September 2007 murder of James Michael Grant Sr., he went to the Gatesville prison where Grant’s ex-wife works and collected DNA samples from her.
Ramos then interviewed John Tarrell Hopkins, who has confessed to the crime, and asked him if he knew why he went to the prison. Hopkins, he said, replied to take DNA from Megan Lewis-Grant to exclude her from the crime scene.
But Ramos said he used an investigative technique on Hopkins and instead told him that Megan Lewis-Grant sold him out and said he did the killing.
Hopkins got irate at that news, Ramos testified, and said, “I’m not going down in this alone!”
Hopkins then confessed to his part in the killing and told the Ranger of the roles of Grant’s son, James Michael Grant Jr., and Megan Lewis-Grant.
Evidence collected at the scene was consistent with Hopkins’ confession, Ramos said.
The Ranger also described the search of Michael Grant’s house at 403 Rocky Road where investigators determined he was murdered in his sleep before his body was removed and found behind a truck on Greenbriar Road.
The bed’s mattress and the bedroom walls had blood on them, Ramos said. The bedroom was ransacked, with clothes thrown about, he said, adding that it was clear it was made to look like a burglary.
Ramos also was asked about a police report made during 2004 by James Michael Grant Sr. against Megan Lewis-Grant in which he claimed she tried to switch out his insulin. They were going through a divorce at the time, he said.
Defense attorney Russ Hunt Sr. also asked about an assault causing bodily injury case against Michael Grant. Ramos said he did not recall that.
The trial is scheduled to resume at 1:10 p.m.
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Report: Terror attack likely by 2013
As if we didn’t have enough to worry about with the economy, comes this report that a terror attack on a major city somewhere in the world using weapons of mass destruction is likely within the next five years.
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Man pleads guilty to getting toddlers to smoke marijuana
I’d like to think there’s a special place in hell for people who do stuff like this. The Associated Press reports that a man shown on videotape coaxing two toddlers into smoking marijuana has pleaded guilty.
Vanswan Polty was sentenced to seven years in prison in a plea deal today, after pleading guilty to two charges of injury to a child and other unrelated charges, the AP reports. Polty’s trial was set to start this week, and he had faced up to life in prison if convicted of a felony charge of engaging in organized criminal activity.
Polty, 20, and a teenage uncle of the 2-year-old and 4-year-old were seen in the video found by police last year in the Fort Worth suburb of Watauga. Drug tests performed on the children revealed they had marijuana and cocaine in their system. The children have since been placed in foster care.
Demetris McCoy, 18, pleaded guilty to injury to a child charges in July and agreed with prosecutors to testify against Polty.
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Woman’s capital murder trial begins in Gatesville
The capital murder trial of a woman accused of helping her son and another man kill her ex-husband has begun in Gatesville’s 52nd State District Court.
Opening arguments and testimony were offered in the trial of Leslie Megan Lewis-Grant, 44, in the murder of James MIchael Grant Sr., who was 44 when he was killed Sept. 15, 2007.
His teenage son and John Tarrell Hopkins, 28, had confessed to the killing and are in prison.
During opening arguments, Coryell County District Attorney David Castillo said that Hopkins will testify in this trial and tell the court that he was in love with Megan Lewis-Grant.
Hopkins, he said, was led to believe the James Michael Grant Sr. was abusing his ex-wife and the children after their divorce. Megan Grant promised Hopkins money and property if he would kill her ex-husband, Castillo said, adding that several people had heard her say that she wanted him dead.
She made statements that she would kill her ex-husband, who was diabetic, by changing his insulin or baking him a cake loaded with sugar, Castillo said.
The district attorney also told jurors that testimony will reveal that she offered money to two other men that she dated to kill her ex-husband. One of those men, who lives in Florida, was offered $5,000 to kill Grant, Castillo said. That man will testify in this case, he said.
Defense attorney Russ Hunt Sr. in his opening arguments said there was a bitter divorce between Michael Grant and his ex-wife. She is depressed and she self-medicates herself by drinking too much, Hunt said.
Megan Grant was intoxicated and made those comments in jest when people heard her, Hunt said.
Hunt told jurors that Megan Hunt was afraid of her ex-husband, who was stalking her. She couldn’t go anywhere without him videotaping her every move, Hunt said.
On the day of Grant’s death, she didn’t know anything about it, Hunt said.
Coryell County Sheriff’s Lt. Ricky Helms told jurors that Grant’s body was found after a man who was headed to work called police when he saw a truck, with its high-beam lights on and the engine running, parked alongside Greenbriar Road, four-tenths of a mile from Megan Lewis-Grant’s house.
Sheriff’s officers found Grant’s body behind the truck. Grant was wrapped in bedclothes and secured with a black cable TV cord and ski rope, Helms said. Stab holes were found in the sheets and comforter wrapped around Grant, Helms said.
A deputy saw the barbecue pit at Megan Grant’s home at 760 Greenbriar Road going at 5 a.m., the officer said.
Crime scene investigators found remnants of clothing in the pit, he said. Hopkins confessed that Lewis-Grant burned the bloody clothing for he and her son, Helms said.
For our preview story on the trial, click here.
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Russian warships train with Venezuelan navy
Russian warships have held training exercises with Venezuela’s navy in Moscow’s first such Caribbean deployment since the Cold War.
Russian television on Tuesday showed images of a Venezuelan-operated Sukhoi fighter jet swooping low over Soviet warships in a simulated air attack.
The exercises that started Monday included an air defense exercise and joint actions to spot, pursue and detain an intruding vessel, said Russian navy spokesman Capt. Igor Dygalo.
The Russian ships arrived in Venezuela last week in an operation widely seen as a show of Kremlin anger over the U.S. decision to deliver aid to Georgia aboard warships following that country’s conflict with Russia.
President Hugo Chavez has said the Russian ships aren’t meant as a provocation to the United States or any other nation. He has praised Russia for raising its profile in the Americas, while saying the U.S. Navy’s recently reactivated Fourth Fleet poses a threat to Venezuela.
U.S. officials says the Fourth Fleet, which was dissolved after World War II, will help maintain security in the Caribbean and Latin America while performing humanitarian missions and counter-drug operations.
This week’s joint Venezuelan-Russian exercises featured helicopters dropping special forces soldiers onto a ship as if it had been “seized by terrorists,” according to a report on Rossiya television.
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Diabetes class to be offered in Waco
The Texas AgriLife Extension Service in McLennan County and the Waco-McLennan County Public Health District have partnered to provide a Do Well Be Well With Diabetes class in January.
The classes will be held on Jan. 12, 14, 21, 26, and 28 at the Waco-McLennan County Public Health District Training Room, 225 W. Waco Drive, from 1 to 4 p.m.
The class will consist of 10 lessons covered in five sessions. Lessons will cover self-management topics such as diet planning, nutrition, medications, foot care, and other issues of self management. The class is designed for diabetics and their family members. Classes are free for first-time participants, but you must preregister.
For more information or to preregister, call the McLennan County Extension Office at 757-5180 or Christine Smith at 750-5631.
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Bomb blast on train kills 3, injures 29 in India
A bomb exploded in a train coach in India’s insurgency-hit northeast today, killing at least three people and injuring another 29, a state government official said.
The explosion occurred shortly after the train arrived at Diphu railroad station, about 200 miles south of Gauhati, the capital of Assam state, said District Magistrate M.C. Sahu.
Today’s blast comes just days after suspected Muslim militants attacked targets across Mumbai, killing at least 172 people and injuring 239. The blast was not seen as related to the Mumbai attacks.
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Former first lady to get out of hospital
A Bush family spokesman says former first lady Barbara Bush is being released from a Houston hospital today, one week after undergoing ulcer surgery.
The spokesman says Bush is in good condition and recovering as expected. He says she is set to be discharged from The Methodist Hospital.
Bush, 83, was hospitalized a week ago for abdominal pains and underwent surgery for a perforated ulcer Nov. 25. During the surgery, doctors closed a nearly 1.5-centimeter hole caused by the ulcer. She began a liquid diet Monday after test results came back normal.
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Waco area under red flag warning
Waco and surrounding counties are under a red flag warning from 11 am to 6 pm today. From the advisory:
SOUTHERLY WINDS WILL INCREASE TO 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 35 MPH BY MIDDAY TODAY. IN ADDITION…HUMIDITY VALUES WILL DROP TO 20 TO 25 PERCENT ACROSS MUCH OF NORTH TEXAS BY MID AFTERNOON. THE GUSTY WINDS AND LOW HUMIDITIES WILL RESULT IN CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS THIS AFTERNOON.
LATER TONIGHT…ALTHOUGH HUMIDITIES WILL BEGIN TO RECOVER…THE GUSTY WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE THROUGHOUT THE NIGHTTIME HOURS. ANY ONGOING FIRES MAY CONTINUE TO BE SPREAD BY THE GUSTY WINDS.
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Auto companies make another pitch to Congress
Detroit’s automakers, making a second bid for $25 billion in funding, are presenting Congress with plans today to restructure their ailing companies and provide assurances that the funding will help them survive and thrive.
General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co., and Chrysler LLC would refinance their companies’ debt, cut executive pay, seek concessions from workers and find other ways of reviving their staggering companies.
UAW leaders, meanwhile, summoned local union leaders from across the country to an emergency meeting Wednesday in Detroit to discuss concessions the union could make to help auto companies get government loans.
U.S. automakers are struggling to stay afloat heading into 2009 under the weight of an economic meltdown, the worst auto sales in decades and a tight credit market. General Motors, Ford and Chrysler went through nearly $18 billion in cash reserves during the last quarter, and GM and Chrysler have said they could collapse in weeks.
Top executives from the Big Three failed last month to convince a skeptical Congress that they were worthy of $25 billion in loans. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., ordered them to outline major changes, including the elimination of lavish executive pay packages and assurances that taxpayers would be reimbursed for the loans.
All three companies are filing separate plans. Congressional hearings are planned for Thursday and Friday.
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Wall Street makes some gain after big selloff
Wall Street advanced cautiously this morning, as investors waded back into the market in search of bargains after Monday’s big selloff, ever mindful of the health of the financial, retail and auto sectors.
Some buying was to be expected after the stock market suffered one of its worst days since the start of the financial crisis on Monday, as a litany of bad economic news sent investors to the sidelines. The Dow Jones industrial average slid 679.95 points Monday, its fourth-highest drop ever.
But investors remain wary of the health of the financial sector, following a report that Goldman Sachs Group Inc. could face losses totaling $2 billion when it reports its fiscal fourth-quarter results because of continued market turmoil. The report underscored concerns that banks will be saddled with more losses in the coming quarters due to the ongoing troubles in the credit and housing markets.
The Dow was up about 150 points.
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Update: Both fires in Waco are out
Two morning fires, one at an apartment complex near the Richland Mall, have been extinguished by Waco firefighters.
The blaze at the Landmark Apartments in the 300 block of Richland Drive started at about 6:50 a.m., according to Waco Assistant Fire Chief Patrick Kerwin. He said the fire started in an upstairs unit of a four-apartment building.
When firefighters arrived, the unit was completely engulfed in flames, he said. The three other units suffered smoke and fire damage. There was no report of injuries, but for families have been displaced because of the fire, he said.
Crews are still on the scene cleaning up. The cause of the fire will be determined later.
The other blaze was at a vacant house at 924 Orchard Lane in East Waco, not far from Brooklyn Park.
Kerwin said it was likely that the gas and electricity were off at the structure. Crews also are still at that scene and the cause has yet to be determined.
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Cold start, but warming quickly
It got downright cold overnight, hitting a low of 28 degrees out at the Waco Regional Airport, but with the winds switching to the south the warmup is already under way. Temperatures are already at 44 degrees, headed to a high near 67.
The winds will be between 15 and 25 mph, with gusts as high as 35 mph.
It won’t get as cold tonight, with a low around 55 under partly cloudy skies. We’ll still have that stiff south wind between 15 and 20 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
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Waco firefighters busy this morning
The Waco Fire Department is dealing with two blazes this morning. Eight units responded to a fire at the Landmark Apartments in the 300 block of Richland Drive, though it appears that the fire has been extinguished and cleanup is under way.
The police scanner just called for units to a house fire located at the corner of Orchard and Walnut streets.
We’ll update you as information is available.
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