DNA Sample Taken From Sect Leader Warren Jeffs

Can the sample be used to find out how many of the children, that are in state custody, are Warren Jeffs? It would be ashame for the state to release those kids without knowing how many children he fathered by underaged girls.

Texas investigators collected DNA samples from jailed polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs, accusing him of sexual assault of a child stemming from so-called "spiritual" marriages with girls as young as 12 years old.

The samples were taken as part of an investigation into whether Jeffs sexually assaulted four girls at the Yearning For Zion Ranch in west Texas in January 2004 and July 2006. Placed on the FBI's most-wanted list in May 2006, he was arrested outside Las Vegas that August.

Sheriff Tommy Thomas Should Resign

How much more should we have to tolerate?

The Harris County Sheriff’s Office was slapped with a big civil rights lawsuit on Thursday. The five plaintiffs include the Ibarra brothers, a local business owner and a judge.

Business owner Loyd Henderson is one of the plaintiffs. His company’s own security camera captured an exchange between him and a Harris County sheriff’s deputy. The video shows Henderson behind the counter, reaching for his license when – without warning – the deputy grabs Henderson and shoves him against the counter and then onto the ground before handcuffing him.

Illegal Immigrants Are Welcome

We need help with dealing with illegal immigrants. The question is, will we get it?

A federal judge has denied a Dallas suburb's request to have its latest rule banning home and apartment rentals to illegal immigrants declared constitutional.

The decision issued Wednesday focused on a Farmers Branch ordinance that would require prospective tenants to get a rental license from the city. Farmers Branch would ask the federal government for the applicant's legal status before approving the rental license. It was set to take effect 15 days after a ruling on a similar ordinance currently being contested in court.

What's in a title: Newborn Sect Child

State to retain custody of newborn sect child

By now everyone knows when they see the word "sect", it is more news about the polygamy compound that was raided by federal authorities. Newborn now becomes the latest headline:

The state will retain custody of a newborn born to members of a West Texas polygamous sect, attorneys for two sides in the biggest custody battle in state history agreed today.

The baby, Richard Daniel Jessop, who was born on May 12, more than a month after authorities raided the ranch outside Eldorado where his parents lived, will remain in state protective custody along with his two older siblings. Their mother, Louisa Bradshaw Jessop, 22, will be permitted to live with her children, under state supervision, at a soon-to-be-chosen residence.

Outrage Over Quintero Sentence

We all should be expressing public outrage over Juan Leonardo Quintero not receiving a death sentence for killing officer Rodney Johnson. I am glad that one of the jury members has decided to speak out:

A juror who advocated executing Juan Leonardo Quintero for murdering a Houston policeman blasted her fellow jurors who sentenced the Mexican national to life without parole.

In an emotional telephone interview today, Cypress secretary Cindy Bradford, 44, called for a change in state law that requires only 10 jurors to agree to a life-without-parole sentence.

We should be ashamed of ourselves for sitting quietly by while this brutal, vicious cop killer's life is spared.

Polygamist Sect Kids May Soon Go Home

Thou hath no right to take the children may be the words the polygamist sect members could be singing right now:

A Texas appeals court ruled today that a San Angelo judge exceeded her discretion when she ordered the state to take custody of children from a polygamist sect.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether the decision means the children will be returned right away to the custody of their parents, followers of a breakaway Mormon sect called the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Maybe one day the criminal justice system will recognize that we all should be concerned with children's mental/emotional safety as well.

Joe Horn Case Goes Before Grand Jury

The case of Joe Horn has been a touchy subject for most Texans who believe that Joe Horn was well within his right to shoot two burglars who were burglarizing his neighbor's home. There are also others who believe that Mr. Horn overstepped his boundaries when he shot and killed the burglars. This controversy may once and for all be resolved:

Grand jurors next month will hear the case of a Pasadena man accused of fatally shooting two burglary suspects as they ran near his property.

Investigators have said Joe Horn admitted to killing Diego Ortiz and Hernando Riascos Torres after he reported seeing them break into a neighbor's home. Both were shot in the back with a 12-gauge shotgun, Pasadena police said.

Police Officer's Killer Gets Life

My mouth is still open as I write this because this is definitely a case where the death penalty should have been imposed:

Jurors decided Tuesday that Juan Leonardo Quintero should spend the rest of his life in prison, rather than go to death row, for Johnson's 2006 murder.

The decision came in the second day of deliberations for the jury, which convicted Quintero of capital murder on May 8 in the court of state District Judge Joan Campbell.


Somebody should have wiped the smile off the killer's face when the verdict was read.

Harris County Sheriff's Office Dirty Deed Under Scrutiny

Why were these innocent men put under surveillance? Well, some lawmakers are asking that question:

State Sen. Rodney Ellis and other lawmakers today said they have asked the Texas attorney general to investigate the Harris County Sheriff's Office's surveillance of two brothers who successfully sued the county and the Sheriff's Office.

Ellis, D-Houston, said the recent disclosure that sheriff's deputies were assigned to watch Erik and Sean Ibarra amounts to Gestapo tactics.

The Ibarra brothers filed a federal lawsuit against the Sheriff's Office and Harris County in 2004, alleging their civil rights were violated when deputies stormed their home, seized their film and arrested them after one of the brothers photographed a drug raid at a neighbor's home.

Although they were not charged with a crime, could it be that the sheriff's office was trying to frame them for a crime?

What Is A Sister-Wife To Do?

That may be the question the attorneys don't want answered:

Attorneys for ''disputed" minor girls taken from a West Texas ranch owned by fundamentalist Mormons say their clients have been taken from state foster homes to undergo videotaped law enforcement interviews without legal counsel.

They were asked to identify their children's father and to name their ''sister'' wives.

Who is your baby daddy will probably lead to other disputes.

Houston Doctor Admits To Murder Plot

This criminal is getting off lightly:

A former Houston physician serving a decade in federal prison for bilking millions from insurance companies admitted Thursday that he plotted to kill the lawyer who prosecuted the case.

Ira Klein is charged with orchestrating a murder-for-hire plot against his sixth wife and retaliating against the FBI agent and federal prosecutor who handled his health fraud criminal case.

Klein, 62, pleaded guilty Thursday to threatening to kill Assistant U.S. Attorney Samuel Louis. Under a plea deal, the doctor is required to serve 30 months in federal prison, though 18 of those will be rolled into his current term.

His intended victims are probably still suffering from emotional distress.

Polygamist Adult Fooled CPS

Some polygamist adults may be playing games with child protective services by pretending to be teens instead of adults.

Texas Child Protective Services conceded Tuesday that a pregnant teen taken from a polygamists' ranch in West Texas was an adult when she gave birth in San Marcos last month, casting some doubt on the statistics released by the agency that more than 20 underage girls were pregnant or had given birth.

The teenager, 18-year-old Pamela Jeffs, gave birth to a boy on April 29. CPS officials said she was one of 27 girls in a "disputed" minor category who once told CPS they were adults but later indicated they were under 18.

All 27 girls were among 463 children taken from the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints' Yearning For Zion Ranch near Eldorado on April 4 and 5 after the state insisted all were either sexually or physically abused or at risk of abuse. Three weeks later, the children were scattered to foster care facilities throughout the state.

And now some are claiming to be have been adults all along.

I guess their rationale is: If you want a scandal, we will give you one and the joke will be on you.

Getting Away With Murder

This story is unbelievable. Can anyone tell me what the jury was thinking?

Former Houston firefighter Barry Crawford was convicted of murder after shooting a wrecker driver in 1998. Steven Ray Hardin was trying to tow Crawford's vehicle when he was gunned down.
A jury gave Crawford probation and 1,000 hours of community service.

Under Crawford’s probation requirements, he’s supposed to carry a picture of the man he killed in his wallet. He is also required to carry a sign, five times a year, that says “ I murdered a citizen in Humble."

Serving Up More Than Food

Restaurant vows to keep patrons happy by serving up a little sex on the side:

A Houston restaurant operator was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison Monday for his role in a sex trafficking ring that lured women and girls here from Central America and Mexico and forced them into prostitution.

Walter Alexander Corea pleaded guilty in 2006 to one count of servitude-trafficking conspiracy and one count of smuggling conspiracy in connection with what officials believe to be one of the nation's largest smuggling operations.

As she sentenced him, U.S. District Judge Vanessa Gilmore said that she was imposing the maximum amount of time allowable under federal law for the convictions.

The restaurant was probably just a front for the sex trafficking.

Kelly Siegler Resigns

Good news for Harris County. Kelly Siegler has resigned from the district attorney's office. Now we can go about the business of finding truth in justice.

CIA Operative's Widow To Sue

Did rogue cops kill this man?

Houston attorney Randall Kallinen has been retained by Roland Carnaby’s widow. He said he expects to file a lawsuit against the Houston Police Department for engaging in that high-speed chase even though Carnaby posed no threat and had no criminal record. He alleges too that the officers involved in the fatal shooting had a checkered record.

Was Roland Carnaby A CIA Operative?

Look at who is claiming he was not a CIA operative:

His family claims he was a long time CIA contractor. Certificates and distinctions from what appear to be service all over the globe to prove it. HPD said he did have what appear to be federal credentials of some kind.

"There are credentials in the car that we have seized,” said HPD Capt. Steve Jett. “That was the indication that he worked for the CIA. They look authentic, but you can do a lot of things with a computer." To that end, Houston police said a CIA official would be meeting with investigators to review the identification as well as assist HPD with the case.

Officially, the FBI and CIA say that Carnaby was not an officer. A spokesman for the intelligence agency went as far as to make it a point that while the agency doesn’t normally confirm or deny a person’s employment with the CIA, “he was never a CIA officer.”

Can you really believe what the CIA is claiming? They definitely used this man for something.