Deputies: Boy, 11, nearly abducted at Montgomery Co. bus stop

  Pooja LodhiaCONROE, TX (KTRK) -- Montgomery County investigators are turning to the public as they look into a claim of an attempted abduction. A Conroe ISD student says he was waiting at a bus stop when two men tried to take him.

The alleged encounter happened Monday morning along County West Drive in the Grangerland area.

Investigators already have combed through the area, trying to find out who would try to kidnap 11-year-old Ricardo Meza.

"Two guys pulled up whenever I was alone," Ricardo told us.

Ricardo was waiting at his bus stop on Monday morning when he says a gray Toyota hopped a curb and came right at him.

"They pulled up and told me to get into the car and I said no, and whenever I went to run, my backpack swung forward and the passenger punched me in the back," he said.

Ricardo says he first tried to run home.

"They said that they know where I lived," he said.

So Ricardo ran two miles away, to the Subway restaurant where his mother, Wanda Meza, works.

"He was crying hysterically and I was calming him down," she said.

Montgomery County deputies haven't been able to find or even identify any suspects.

Now this mother is asking for your help finding those responsible.

"You expect them to be safe, going to walk to the school bus or doing anything," she said. "This could be any one of our children, you know, not just mine."

Ricardo was not injured during the incident, but he is still shaken up from it.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked contact the Montgomery Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigations Office at 936-760-5876.

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Nearly $1 million in cash seized from Splendora property

SkyEye 13 HD was over a home in Montgomery County that authorities raided as part of a cocaine trafficking and money laundering investigation.

  SPLENDORA, TX (KTRK) -- SkyEye 13 HD was over a home in Montgomery County that authorities raided as part of a cocaine trafficking and money laundering investigation.

The Montgomery Co. Sheriff's Office says it has seized about $1 million in cash from the suspects involved in this investigation. Of that amount, authorities say about one-quarter of it was seized from a suspect on the border. Investigators also seized several laptops, five vehicles, and documents from the property in the 16000 block of Oaklawn in Splendora.

Officials say the investigation has been going on for several months and that they expect more seizures and arrests.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

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Pasadena parents accused of nearly starving children

PASADENA, TX (KTRK) -- A Pasadena father and mother are now facing charges after their baby boy was found to be severely malnourished, and we spoke with the grandmother and great grandmother of the six children who were removed from the couple's home.

Nicholas and Andrea Murrey are the parents of the 8-week-old baby boy. Each is wanted on a charge of injury to a child by omission. No one answered the door at their home on Friday, but Eyewitness News was able to track down Andrea's grandmother.

"What can you say? They're my grandchildren," said Andrea's grandmother who asked us not to identify her.

She says she told her granddaughter to feed her children more, but detectives found something else.

"The child weighed seven pounds when it was born, and when our officers made entry into the home and CPS got involved, the child still weighed seven pounds," Pasadena Police Department Spokesman Vance Mitchell said.

It all began last August when Andrea brought her four-year-old daughter for treatment at Bayshore Medical Center. Doctors say the girl was dirty and had bruises, so police were called. Soon, CPS moved the girl and her three siblings out of the home.

"You think they're better off in CPS custody?" we asked the great grandmother.

"I do. And I know it hurts so bad, because for some reason, we can't even see them for ourselves," she said.

Investigators say at one point, there were six children inside the house. The Murreys had four, and Nicolas Murrey's girlfriend also live there with her two kids.

"Her father and I don't appreciate her being there, but she's her own person, and we can't stop her. She doesn't live with us, we can't tell her what to do; but I'm in charge of her children," said Bobbie McCoy, the grandmother of the other two children.

McCoy is now raising the toddlers even as her daughter still lives with the Murreys, a couple that the great grandmother describes, as unfit parents.

"They couldn't provide for them; it's why they would be in a better place," the great grandmother said.

While family members cope with what's happened, police are hoping the suspects will turn themselves in.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
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Child nearly drowns in backyard pool in Kingwood

A child nearly drowned in a backyard pool in Kingwood

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A local couple is relieved to have their child safe at home tonight after a close call in a backyard pool.

Houston police say they were called the 5400 of Hickory Village in Kingwood on Friday morning after the parents of a little boy woke up and saw him missing. They frantically searched for the child and discovered him in their backyard pool.

They called for help. The child was taken out of the water and transported to a hospital.

Police say he appears to be OK.

(Copyright ©2011 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
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ID theft suspect bilks victim of nearly $12,000

 Detectives need help identifying this man, who is accused of stealing someone else's identity to withdraw nearly $12,000 from the victim's bank account.

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Detectives need help identifying a man who stole someone else's identity and forged paperwork to withdraw nearly $12,000 from the victim's bank account.

Around 2pm on December 21, the suspect entered a bank in the 5000 block of Fairmont Parkway using the identity of a 69-year-old man to make a withdrawal in the amount of $4,000, according to a Crime Stoppers press release. The suspect signed the victim's name, and after receiving the money, the suspect withdrew another $3,000. The suspect then returned the next morning and withdrew $4,700. After receiving the money, the suspect then tried to withdraw $20,000, but the teller told him that it'd take some time to get the money together. The suspect claimed he'd return the following day but never did. The teller contacted the account holder who advised her that he was out of the country and did not authorize anyone to make a withdrawal from his account. The suspect is now wanted for identity theft and forgery. He is described as a thin black male, in his late 40's to early 50's, about 5-foot-8 with short salt-and-pepper hair. The suspect was a wearing a brace on his right wrist. Surveillance video captured the suspect at the bank making the withdrawal. Anyone who recognizes the suspect is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS (8477). (Copyright ©2011 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) 

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Nearly 200 officers could lose jobs

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- It's not a rumor anymore. Big cuts are more than likely coming for the Houston Police Department. There's not enough money, so cops may have to go. Hundreds of civilian employees will also probably lose their jobs.

It's important to note that nothing is final until the mayor says it is, but Houston Police Chief Charles McClelland did submit his proposal to Mayor Annise Parker. In order to meet those budget goals, a significant number of HPD employees -- both police officers and civilians -- would be laid off if he had to implement that plan today.

Chief McClelland is recommending that 181 police officers and 445 civilian employees be laid off. The civilian employees would include those working in the jail. Officers with the least seniority would be cut first.

The department would have to give those employees a minimum of 45 days notice. Since the budget has to be passed before June 30, pink slips could be handed out in just a few weeks.

Chief McClelland calls his proposal a worst case scenario, and says there is still time to save these jobs.

McClelland said, "The mayor has told me she's committed to doing everything that she can to reprogram money back into HPD to make sure that that doesn't happen. There's a lot of things that could happen outside of the mayor's control. She may not be able to guarantee 100 percent, but she has certainly committed to me, 'Look, I don't want to do this. I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that this does not happen.' And I believe that."

"I personally don't see how we can lose any classified officers and continue to deliver the services to the citizens of Houston that they expect," said Houston Police Officer's Union President Gary Blankinship.

Chief McClelland says he would need $17 million from the city of Houston in order to save those jobs. The fight to save these jobs will not be an easy one. HPD's operating budget is somewhere near $685 million -- 95 percent of that goes towards salaries.

There are two new cadet classes slated for the budget for next year, and those cadets will not be cut. One class is scheduled to start in May.

Firefighters could lose jobs too Major budget cuts could also hit the Houston Fire Department hard. A source told us that roughly 200 firefighters are facing job cuts due to budget constraints. Jeff Caynon, president of the Houston Professional Firefighters Association, said those numbers are accurate and worries what those layoffs would mean. "When we have structure fires with fatalities, it's always almost the very, very young or the very, very old and we're making a decision here that essentially says the city of Houston is okay with the very, very young and very, very old dying in house fires," Caynon said. Stay with Eyewitness News and abc13.com for the latest on this story. (Copyright ©2011 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) 

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