Deputy shoots Channelview man during disturbance

  Crystal KobzaCHANNELVIEW, TX (KTRK) -- A deputy-involved shooting is under investigation in northeast Harris County after a man was shot in the chest.

The Harris County Sheriff's Office tells us the Precinct 3 deputy constable was responding to a domestic disturbance call off Sheffield Terrace at Pennygent near Channelview just after 10pm when he discharged his weapon, hitting the suspect.

"It's just shocking to see the officer just shoot the man in the middle of the street," witness Keri Agee said. "The cop pulled out his gun and shot him. I watched him shoot him right in the middle of the street."

Agee says she was in her front yard hanging Christmas decorations when she saw the Precinct 3 deputy arrive at her neighbor's home.

"I looked back and saw the officer fire two shots, and I went and called 911," she said.

Agee tells us the suspect and the deputy were yelling at one another prior to the shooting and the suspect had started taking off his clothes in the middle of the street.

Seconds later -- in the midst of ordering the suspect to the ground -- the deputy fired the shots.

HCSO officials are investigating what exactly led up to the shooting.

"I honestly think he was trying to show the cop he didn't have anything on him," Agee said. "And he said, 'I don't have anything, you don't have any papers on me, you don't have anything on me, leave my house.'"

Shirley Pruett, who also lives nearby, says she also heard the commotion and was terrified after hearing gunfire.

"What I heard very loud and clear was somebody repeat, 'Shoot, shoot, shoot,'" Pruett said. "And then I heard pow, pow, pow."

The deputy involved was not injured. Authorities tell us he has been with the department for four years.

The suspect, whose identity has not been released, was taken to Memorial Hermann Hospital. His condition is not known at this time.

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

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Cell phone photo lands 12-year-old Channelview ISD student in serious trouble

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A 12-year-old is accused of a crime because of what she did with her cell phone at school. Her story is a reminder of how because of our quickly changing technology, you may be breaking the law without even realizing it.

The 12-year-old Channelview ISD student's attorney says she was using her iPhone to take a picture of herself and a friend, but the phone has two camera lenses and she accidentally selected the wrong one. As a result, she snapped a picture of what could be percieved as a very racy picture of another young girl.

"They were telling me that I can get in a bunch of trouble for taking a picture like that, and I told them that it was an accident and they were like, 'no, you're lying,'" said the girl, who we're not identifying.

She was pulled out of class Friday at Alice Johnson Junior High, handcuffed, put into a patrol car and taken into custody all because of an incident Thursday at the school in the locker room. Her attorney says she was trying to snap a picture of herself and friends when she mistakenly took one out of her iPhone's forward-facing lens -- a picture of another student not fully clothed.

"She was just pulling down her pants, but not all the way -- barely," she told us.

The 12-year-old says she immediately realized her mistake and deleted the picture, even showing the girl who was in that alleged picture as she did.

But on Friday, she was arrested for taking it.

Lawyer Jack Carroll says the law protects the content that's on your phone. He says the Constitution was violated when investigators took the girl's phone to look for the picture.

"It's like having a government official or a police officer look through your diary. You can't do that without consent or a search warrant," he said.

But KTRK legal analyst Joel Androphy doesn't agree, saying the law is different because this occurred on school grounds.

"Like when you enter the airport you give up many of your constitutional rights; when you go into school you give up many of your constitutional rights in regards to search and seizure," Androphy said.

"They couldn't find nothing, but they're still saying that I did it," the 12-year-old said.

The girl just wants to go back to school. She's been suspended for three days and is being sent to an alternative school for another 30 days. She and her parents are appealing that assignment to alternative school.

We should note that investigators could not comment in any detail on this case because juveniles are involved.

Channelview ISD did not return our repeated calls for comment.

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

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Channelview teen accused of punching elderly man in the face

Jordan Lee Kitterlin, 18, is charged with injury to the elderly.

  CHANNELVIEW, TX (KTRK) -- A high school student is accused of punching an elderly man in the face.

Court documents state on September 24 Jordan Lee Kitterlin struck the 69-year-old man in the face, knocking him to the ground. The man suffered a severe laceration to his right eye.

A witness observed the incident and police say the witness identified Kitterlin through a photo.

Kitterlin, 18, is a student at Channelview High School.

He is charged with injury to the elderly. Bond has been set at $5,000.

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Man's body pulled from Channelview house fire

  CHANNELVIEW, TX (KTRK) -- A tragic fire Saturday in Channelview left one man dead and a family in mourning.

Firefighters were called to a home on Kremmer at Redstone near Beltway 8 and the East Freeway Saturday afternoon.

As the house went up in flames, neighbors say they tried to help save the man inside.

"It was real scary because I knew that there was the possibility that someone was in there, so I was afraid for my neighbor's life," Carmen Elizondo said.

By the time neighbors got word that the house across the street was on fire, there was little they could do to help.

"I was frightened for whoever was in there, so I started breaking all the windows, the back doors and double doors. And yeah, sure enough, there was a lot of smoke coming out," Ruben Elizondo said. "It was pretty scary."

Channelview and Cloverleaf Fire Departments arrived and made a fast attack, extinguishing the flames quickly.

When they searched the home, they found the man's body.

Lt. Dean Hensley with the Harris County Fire Marshal's Office said the victim's father lives on the same street but he was also unable to save his son.

"Once he found out about the fire and saw, there was an attempt with a garden hose, but he said it was just way too big," Hensley said.

The victim's name has not been released. Neighbors tell us he was in his 40s.

According to investigators, the house is not considered a total loss. The victim's bedroom and the roof of the home suffered the most damage.

Firefighters remained at the scene all afternoon, trying to put out hotspots. They even brought in K-9s to investigate the cause of the blaze.

The fire appears accidental, but the cause remains under investigation.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
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Three-alarm fire breaks out at popular White Elephant Flea Market in Channelview

CHANNELVIEW, TX (KTRK) -- Fire lit up the sky above east Harris County early Friday morning, destroying nearly everything in its path at a local flea market. Now that the flames are gone, the business owners are left picking up the pieces and wondering what's next.

That massive three-alarm fire broke out at a popular antiques shop, burning nearly everything inside. It took fire several departments most of the morning to put out the fire at the White Elephant Flea Market along the East Freeway near Carlang in Channelview.

Harris Co. fire marshals say the roof collapsed and the building is destroyed. Firefighters are still putting out hot spots. Officials say they are not ruling out that this fire is suspicious as two buildings on the property were burglarized and three people were seen walking away at around 3:30 this morning, the same time this fire started.

It looked like an inferno. Ferocious flames fighting their way through the roof and windows of the business. The fire attacked the large white tin building as volunteer firefighters struggled to get control of the raging flames. With this blaze blaring and glowing, it didn't take long for worried workers to find out.

"I ran to tell my husband, 'Hon, hon, the flea market is burning,'" said Estella Gonzalez.

"Everything is gone," said one business owner. "Thirty-five thousand. My business is big, you know."

We spoke with one man who has worked at the flea market for years.

"I've been here for five years and that is what I do," said worker Diego Mata. "But now that I'm seeing this, it's like really horrible. It hurts me, you know, because I've been here all of my life, since I was a child. My parents used to be bring me here."

Mata says the booth he works at sells uniform clothing for work and they often leave all of their merchandise inside the building.

For at least two hours, the fire tore through the building before firefighters were able to put it out. And now about 100 booths with jewelry, antiques and other treasures are gone and business owners are left with nothing.

Estella Gonzalez, who had a quinceanera planning business, says her family relied on her earnings.

"I think we lost something like $5,000, $6,000," said Gonzalez. "I'm pretty depressed. This was an investment that we had planned on some earnings we had and now they are gone up in smoke."

Like Gonzalez, many booth owners say they did not have insurance. The owner of the White Elephant Flea Market says the building was insured, but he can only hope for the best.

"We've got some insurance. I doubt if it will cover it, just like normal, we always come out losers," said the owner.

With the signature statue still standing through the devastation, business owners say they are hoping to be able to do the same.

"I don't ever give up. I'm a fighter," said Gonzalez.

According to the The White Elephant Flea Market website, the business has been at the same location for 39 years with more than 400 booths, selling anything from furniture to jewelry. The owner says it is too early to know right now if he can rebuild.

Firefighters are using saws to get to existing hot spots as fire marshals are investigating if this fire was an accident or intentionally set.

No one was injured.

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

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Pedestrian struck and killed in Channelview

  CHANNELVIEW, TX (KTRK) -- A man was killed when he was hit by a truck in Channelview overnight.

Harris County Sheriff's Office deputies say the accident happened in the 16100 block of the East Freeway around 9:35pm Saturday.

According to officials, a man was walking northbound when he tried to cross the westbound lanes of the East Freeway.

The man walked in front of a black Ford F-150 pickup truck. He was hit by the pickup and then struck by several other vehicles, officials said.

The driver of the pickup stopped after the collision. He told investigators he did not see the pedestrian.

The man -- identified by HCSO as Pablo Garcia Jr. -- was dead by the time emergency responders arrived.

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