DA Looks Into Eversole's Campaign Fund Use

The Harris County District Attorney's Office has launched an investigation into whether Precinct 4 Commissioner Jerry Eversole misused thousands of dollars in campaign contributions for his own benefit, District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal said Wednesday.

The inquiry will focus, in part, on collector-quality guns and a Florida vacation Eversole bought at charity auctions.

The probe was prompted by stories about Eversole's work habits and campaign spending aired by KTRK (Channel 13) in recent weeks. A story by KTRK reporter Wayne Dolcefino questioned whether Eversole benefited from auction items purchased with campaign contributions.

Eversole defended the charity purchases during an interview with the Houston Chronicle on Wednesday, although he has refused to discuss the accusations with Dolcefino.

FAA Selects Houston to Test Unmanned Aircraft

Houston is one of two cities chosen by the Federal Aviation Administration to test whether unmanned aircraft can be used safely in an urban environment, authorities said.

During the testing period, expected to run at least until next June, HPD and the Miami-Dade Police Department will help the FAA establish national flight guidelines, such as how the small aircraft can be deployed and what training is needed to operate them.

Gag Order Lifted in Benton Case

An appeals court lifted on Friday a gag order that prevented attorneys for a teenage girl accused of fatally stabbing a gang member from commenting on some aspects of her case, including plea negotiations and the potential outcome of her retrial in January.

The unanimous decision by the Fourteenth Court of Appeals means Ashley Paige Benton and her attorneys are free to talk publicly about such matters — including whether they believe prosecutors can secure a conviction — without fear of sanctions by a judge.

Councilmember calls for HPD Crime Lab investigation

Houston city leaders are reacting to the latest findings of troubles within the Houston Police Department’s crime lab.

Problems that could innocent people behind bars.

It is Mike DeGeurin’s job to defend.

"The bottom line is as a public we do not want a possibly innocent person to be convicted wrongfully,” said the famed defense attorney.

Now he has some new ammunition when he has a client accused of a crime in Houston. A document created by HPD Crime Lab Managers showing what they call "Issues with DNA.”

There have been 12 issues since the lab began taking cases in June of 2006.

Crime Lab timeline

Nov. 2005
New DNA section opens
2006
March 2
Accreditation denied
March 3
New Outside Proficiency Test
FBI Audit Finds issues
May 23
First Contamination Issue (Test Case)
June 19
DNA Lab Accredited and Casework begins
Nov. 29
Second Contamination Issue
Dec. 4
Third Contamination Issue
2007
Jan. 29
Fourth Contamination Issue
Aug. 3
Cheating on Proficiency Test Alleged
Aug. 22
Evidence Tampering Alleged
Aug. 24
“30 Day Squad” Internal Investigation Launched
Aug. 27
Lab Temporary Reorganization
Sept. 11
HPD Internal “Issues” timeline distributed to employees
Sept. 12
DNA section closed for deep cleaning
Sept. 21
Employee told Internal Investigation Report sent to Chief Hurtt
Oct. 4
Crime lab Whistleblower J. Phillips resigns
Oct. 5
J. Phillips asked to stay on paid leave
HPD announces investigation launched
Nov. 1
J. Phillips Comes Forward
HPD says Investigation “Ongoing”
Nov. 2
J. Phillips gives more details of troubles
Nov. 12
“Insider” speaks
Nov. 13
11 News discloses DNA Issues document
Nov. 14
11 News reports FBI Audit Details

There were six issues within two weeks in August and September.

It’s a timeline obtained only by 11 News. A timeline that had DeGeurin’s interest peaked.

"This can have a huge impact on an individual case,” he said.

That's why so many people are questioning why very few people, if anyone outside the department, were told about the issues.

And of the shutdown of the DNA lab for cleaning on Sept. 12.

City Councilmember Ada Edwards sits on the city’s public safety committee.

"All I know is what I've seen on TV and that's what bothers me,” said City Councilmember Ada Edwards, who sits on the city’s public safety committee. "It doesn't bother me it angers me."

It appears that the district attorney's office didn't know either.

Even though it is something, they are going to see over and over again in cases now making their way through the courts.

“Any defense lawyer who has a case in Harris County that involves scientific evidence, it is now presumed to be bad science,” said 11 News legal expert Gerald Treece.

Potentially hundreds of cases.

"The gleam in my eye is, here is proof. It is not just a supposition on my part that they make mistakes,” said DeGeurin. “Here is proof that they do.”

Now plenty of people are asking for a full accounting. Asking for all the details.

"I brought it up yesterday at council. (I) asked the mayor for a full briefing either through the public safety committee and or through his mayor’s report,” said Edwards.

The details do exist.

But HPD has yet to release them.

The lab is required under its accreditation to keep detailed records on all problems.

"There is no reason this should be kept secret,” said DeGeurin. “There is no reason it should be explained or spun. Just we’ve got a problem.

“Deal with it.”

Crowne Plaza Reduced to Rubble

The Crowne Plaza Hotel in the Medical Center was reduced to rubble in a matter of seconds Sunday.

It was a part of a plan to make way for development in the area.

By the year 2011, the site will be home to Texas Children’s Hospital Maternity Center.

It will be a 15-floor, 720,000-square foot space that will host an estimated 5,000 births a year.

Lawsuit Against Judge Sharon Keller Dropped

The widow of an executed killer has dropped the lawsuit against a criminal appeals judge.

A day after filing, Marsha Richard withdrew the suit, which accused Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge Sharon Keller of causing the inmate's Sept. 25 lethal injection. The lawsuit said Keller violated Michael Richard's due process rights when she ordered the court clerk's office to close promptly at 5 p.m. on Sept. 25 before his lawyers could file an appeal.

Galleria Rape Victim Awarded Millions

A jury decided Thursday that The Galleria and its security company must pay a rape victim more than $3.5 million, KPRC Local 2 reported.

Jurors determined that the shopping center did not do enough to protect the woman from the attack in the summer of 2003.

Although it wasn't a unanimous decision, the jury found that the victim should be paid damages for mental and physical pain and anguish.

Judge Sued Over Death Sentence Appeal

The wife of a man executed in September sued a judge who prevented his state appeal from being filed by not extending the office hours of Texas' highest criminal court on the day he died.

The federal lawsuit by Marsha Richard against Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge Sharon Keller, filed Wednesday in Houston, accuses Keller of violating the rights of Michael Richard by preventing his attorneys from filing an appeal hours before his execution.

Keller refused to allow the court to stay open past 5 p.m. on Sept. 25, even though attorneys for Richard had called and asked for extra time to file their appeal.

Defense Portrays Temple as Well Liked

DAVID TEMPLE

The defense began calling witnesses Tuesday in the murder trial of former Alief ISD football coach David Temple.

In all, 14 witnesses took the stand for the defense in a bid to portray the accused as a loving husband, not a killer who got rid of his pregnant wife to be with another woman.

Temple’s wife, Heather, was the third witness of the day.

Heather Scott Temple had already taken the stand as a witness for the prosecution a few weeks ago in testimony that revealed lurid details about her adulterous relationship with Temple in the weeks prior to Belinda Temple’s death.

Fireworks erupted between defense attorney Dick DeGuerin and prosecutor Kelly Sigler over the hundreds of text messages exchanged by David and Heather.

Belinda Temple was eight months pregnant when she was fatally shot in the head at the couple’s Katy home about eight years ago.

Prosecutors are relying on mostly circumstantial evidence to prove that David Temple killed Belinda to be with Heather.

The defense planned to continue calling witnesses Wednesday. It was unclear if David Temple would be among them.

Did CareFlite Overcharge the Feds?

A government audit finds CareFlite overcharged the federal government nearly $2 million to evacuate sick or injured people during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

An audit by the inspector general for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services questioned some $2 million of the $5.7 million the medical transport service billed.

The audit said there were times Grand Prairie-based CareFlite used its own aircraft to transport evacuees when it could have looked for less expensive transportation.

However, CareFlite and the Health and Human Services Department defended the costs, saying the contract didn’t require CareFlite to seek subcontractors with lower rates.

Subcontractors were used when CareFlite’s own fleet wasn’t available or when patients were located outside the 1,000-mile range of aircraft in use.

The audit recommended CareFlite refund more than $68,000 of the cost required to transport 11 patients.

It also suggested the Health and Human Services Department work with CareFlite to determine how much can be allowed of the $1.97 million billed without seeking subcontractors.

But Martin J. Brown, Health and Human Services deputy assistant secretary for acquisition management and policy, indicated the agency saw no reason to challenge the charges.
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This reminds me of a situation in New Orleans where Slimy Mac-P, a political operative and former restaurateur had his hands in the City's cookie jar.

Inmates Want Houston's Crime Lab Evidence Reviewed

More than 150 inmates whose convictions may be based on faulty Houston crime lab evidence have asked that their cases be reviewed, a judge said Thursday.

Since Oct. 22, Judge Mary Bacon, a retired state district judge overseeing the review of 180 convictions with flawed blood-typing evidence, has conducted hearings with all inmates currently incarcerated in those cases. Of 160 inmates contacted at various Texas prisons via video conferences, all but four agreed to have their cases reviewed.

The hearings are the first step in a plan that Harris County's 22 criminal state district judges developed last month to review cases with problematic blood-typing evidence from the Houston Police Department's crime lab.

Police Seek Info in Death of Girl Found in Box

A little girl whose body was found in a container Tuesday had one or more skull fractures, according to preliminary autopsy results.

The grisly discovery was made by a fisherman over the weekend during Harbor Walk’s first tournament in West Galveston Bay. More than 75 boats lined the marina for the event.

Some of the participants were believed to have fished in the proximity of the body, so detectives are hoping to hear from as many of them as possible. They want to know if anyone saw anything suspicious around the island where the container was found.

The container is described as a Sterilite brand model 1842. It is royal blue with a black handle.

Authorities say the child's body was found a few miles west/southwest of the Galveston Causeway.

Investigators say it contained the decomposing remains of a little girl, believed to be between 3 and 5 years old.

She had long, blonde hair, was about 33 inches tall and weighed about 25 pounds.

The child was wearing a size 2T pullover top—possibly pink and a matching pink skirt with the Cherokee label. The child was wearing size 8-1/2 size white tennis shoes with purple trim, velcro closures and small lights on the heel.

The body was taken to the Galveston County Medical Examiner’s where an autopsy was performed.

Detectives hope the autopsy will help lead to the child’s identity and cause of death.

They are treating the case as a homicide and checking records to see if any children have been reported missing from the area.

“Investigators are certainly looking at that angle—past Amber Alerts, missing children, things of that nature from this general area,” said Maj. Ray Tuttoilmundo with the Galveston County Sheriff’s Department.

Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stoppers or the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office at 409-766-2222 or 866-248-8477.

Harris County Jail to form new Mental Health unit

It is the second largest jail in the nation, and it’s about to set the standard for the country.

On any given day, there are 9,000 inmates in the Harris County Jail, 20 percent of them with a history of mental illness. According to some experts, that makes the jail the largest mental health facility in the state.

Some say the jail's move is revolutionary, but will it make a difference?

With that in mind, the jail has formed a new mental health unit comprised of 61 specially trained officers. The jail also spent $1 million converting four cellblocks into mental health housing. Under the new program, inmates will be screened during intake instead of being placed immediately among the general population. For some of these inmates, it will be their first encounter with a mental health professional.

Spring Teacher Charged with having Sex with Student

A Spring ISD teacher has been charged with having sex with a student. Alison Mosbeck was in court Monday and was released from jail after posting a $20,000 bond.

Three weeks ago, the Pct. 4 constable’s office received a tip that a teacher at Spring’s Dueitt Middle School was having a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old student.

Following an investigation by its own police department, Spring ISD put Mosbeck on administrative leave.

Alison Mosbeck faces four felony charges for having a sexual relationship with a student.

Late last week, the Harris County District Attorney’s Office filed four felony charges against the 34-year-old Mosbeck, who went to work for the district two years ago. She faces one count of inappropriate relationship between teacher and student and three counts of felony sexual assault.

According to Spring ISD, the student does not attend Dueitt Middle School this year. The district also said because the allegations involve only one student and that it appeared to be an isolated relationship a letter was not sent home to parents.

Mosebeck is due back in court Nov. 29

Assaults and Turnovers high in Texas Prison System

Assaults on Texas prison guards and staffers have doubled in the last five years while turnover among prison employees is at a record level, according to a newspaper report.

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice reported that more than 36 staff members have been assaulted this year by inmates with weapons, up from 18 in all of 2003, according to an analysis by The Dallas Morning News.

The increase reflects growing violence among inmates. The department recorded more than 900 cases of inmates attacking inmates so far this year, up more than 30 percent from 2002.

Meanwhile, guards have been leaving their jobs sooner, with one in four employees quitting the agency last year. The department's workforce was down more than 3,900 employees at the end of August.

Criminal justice experts and department officials said the violence can be attributed to factors including the staff shortages, tougher criminals and prison overcrowding. The department struggles to recruit officers because of low pay.

Lawyer says Texas AG's office Pushed Execution

An attorney for the only man put to death since the U.S. Supreme Court announced plans to review the constitutionality of lethal injection said staff at the Texas Attorney General's Office pushed for the execution.

Michael Richard, 49, was executed Sept. 25 hours after justices decided to take up a challenge from two condemned inmates in Kentucky over the same lethal injection procedures used by Texas. Richard's death also followed a refusal by Sharon Keller, presiding judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, to keep the office open past 5 p.m. so his attorneys could file an appeal.

Richard's attorneys wanted his execution halted until the Kentucky issue was settled.

David Dow, one of Richard's attorneys, said a lawyer on his staff informed Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott's office about the failed attempt with the criminal appeals court about 6 p.m. But an assistant attorney general from Abbott's office told lawyers they had six minutes to file an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court for Richard.

HISD fired officer who authored "Ghetto Handbook"

A Houston school district police officer who distributed a “Ghetto Handbook” has been fired.

Officer Roby Morris was placed on paid leave at the first of the school year after he handed out a multi-page pamphlet that listed “Ebonics” definitions to common phrases.

On Friday, the district moved to fire Morries.

According to HISD, Morris told investigators he created the handbook to get back at one of his supervisors.

He also used as his defense the fact he is married to a black woman and that they have three biracial kids, an internal investigation found.

About a dozen HISD employees, most from the district’s police department, received copies of the handbook back in May. The pamphlet claims to allow officers to speak as if they had lived “in the hood.”

“The publication was incredibly offensive and completely reprehensible. HISD condemns it in the strongest possible terms,” district spokesman Terry Abbott said. “This incident represents an egregious violation of our standards of conduct and decency.”

Perry appoints "3" to Texas Southern Board

Texas Southern University's governing board is nearly complete after Gov. Rick Perry named three new regents Thursday.

The governor selected investment manager Sam Bryant, former Dallas area school board member Curtistene Smith McCowan and Tracye McDaniel, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Greater Houston Partnership.

The appointments leave one vacancy on the nine-member board, which was remade after a series of management and financial missteps at TSU. The previous board resigned under pressure earlier this year.

HPD Overtime Abuse Could Cost You Money

Police officers are relied upon to enforce the law, not break it. Previously, 11 News learned about HPD officers being investigated for overtime abuses.

But Chief Hurtt is now putting a stunning number of officers to that investigation.

“He used the range 30-60 as a ballpark number that IAD had identified that the DA’s office might want to look at,” HPD General Counsel Craig Ferrell said.

Meanwhile, 11 News obtained internal documents regarding time worked. Once acknowledges HPD’s outdated computers can’t document all the work performed.

In part because of that, a city audit and the internal affairs investigation, a new overtime worksheet goes into effect November 1 requiring, among other things, at least 15 minutes or adequate travel between official police work and an extra job.

That requirement was prompted by allegations of abutments – when an officer clocks out at, say, 2 p.m. and starts an extra job at 2:01 p.m.

“That was one issue, and there were also overlaps,” Ferrell said.

Overlaps are also known as double dipping – when an officer claims overtime pay for the same hours he works an extra job.

HPD says the new system should help clear up innocent mistakes as well.

“Some of these that may appear to be double dipping … may just be bad record keeping,” Ferrell said.

But none of this sits well with patrol officer who already record all their hours, but across three different and incompatible systems.

“Making us fill out more and more forms over something they already have the information on,” Mark Clark of the Houston Police Officer’s Union said.

A new system and software are in the works, but it could take more than a year to implement.

That’s why HPD wants this paperwork now. Other police departments, including Washington, D.C., are interested to see how HPD’s plan works out. D.C.’s force recently had five officers retire and 10 others indicted for double dipping.

HPD’s internal investigation should be completed by year’s end, at which point it may be clear how much the alleged activity has been costing taxpayers.