TSU investigating alleged hazing incident among university band members

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- As the Texas Southern University football team took the field Thursday night, something was missing -- the marching band. It was suspended and is now under investigation. The allegations against the Ocean of Soul are hazing.

Many people who attended the TSU game didn't know about the hazing allegations until it was obvious the band wasn't there. The band director, band staff and all students are being questioned, and if proven true, students could be expelled or even charged.

Halftime at BBVA Compass Stadium and the field is empty, which means the curb at the student shuttle bus stop is full. Many left early.

"There's no point of staying for 12 minutes and just sitting and looking at other people," freshman Didi Chiedu said.

For the game on September 15, the Ocean of Soul rocked. On Thursday night, their performance was canceled amidst hazing allegations.

TSU officials tell Eyewitness News they received the report Wednesday night. It involves the trumpet section and an allegation of excessive paddling. It's said to have happened September 19 off campus. There were no serious injuries but the university has a zero-tolerance policy for hazing.

According to a written statement, the university says "the band is suspended until further notice" and "TSU student affairs personnel will take appropriate action."

On Thursday night, we weren't allowed into the stadium for this story. Outside, students reacted to the allegations.

"It's not good, but it's hopefully not true," freshman Alex Coleman said.

"Usually you get this from fraternities and sororities, but from the band, which is a respectful organization at our school, it's ridiculous," Chiedu said.

This isn't the first time the band has been involved in a scandal, but it has been a long time. Twenty years ago while in Japan, students were accused of stealing thousands of dollars in electronics.

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

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UH trading cards big hit among students

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- There are baseball, football and other collectible trading cards, but have you ever heard of a college card? The University of Houston is using card collecting to increase school spirit, and it's putting money back in students' pockets.

"I started collecting after I found out that I had 22 cards," student Bright Yorka said.

They're called Cougar Cards, and there are 56 in all. Showcasing faculty and top University of Houston alumni. And if a student collects all of them...

"I've had three other friends get the scholarships, just because now they stay on campus," student Samantha Halbert said.

That's right. Collect the cards and get up to a $1,000 in scholarship money. So how do you get those valuable cards? By simply attending on-campus events.

"If you just come to university and then go away out into the city of Houston, you're missing out," said Dr. Simon Botts, the mastermind behind the program.

Dr. Botts has always believed a university education is more than what you get in class.

"You've got to be out experiencing things, learning how to deal with people, learning how to deal with different types of people, developing personal qualities and so on," Dr. Botts said.

"Do you guys fee like this is enhancing campus life in someway?" we asked junior Kelly Underkofler.

"I mean, I live on campus and all the events on campus, they always have cards. People want to come out and want to collect cards -- especially with the freshmen. It's a great way to get freshmen involved," she said.

Last year more than 2,200 events on campus gave out cards. This year, even more events are being added.

"I personally didn't think I was going to be involved in school life. But after I found out about this and you could get a scholarship, I started going to more events," junior Melissa Zayid said.

"You get to see what's going on in school, be a part of it, because this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience," student Lan Nguyen said.

And it's not just campus events -- the Cougar trading cards are even helping with class attendance.

"He used to give some cards out in class also, so you would have to attend class and not skip," junior Disha Jan said.

The UH program is believed to be the only one of its kind, a lucrative way to get college students out of their comfort zone, and in to campus life.

"That made me go to athletic events and also meet other people I possilby would not have met. Going to seminars and workshops, and also build that foundation ... and get that school spririt," sophomore Cindy Sanchez said.

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Missouri City sisters among victims of Nigeria plane crash

Josephine and Jennifer Onita of Missouri City were reportedly on the plane that crashed in Nigeria over the weekend.

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Two sisters from Missouri City are among those killed in a plane crash in Nigeria.

The Dana Air flight went down in Lagos Sunday, killing all 153 people on board.

We've learned that Josephine and Jennifer Onita were on the plane. They'd been in Nigeria for a wedding. Josephine graduated from the University of North Texas and Jennifer was a graduate of Texas Tech.

Right now, investigators are trying to determine what caused the plane to crash. Records show the jet involved in the crash suffered a bird strike two years ago and lost engine power.

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

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Sugar Land student among 50 semifinalists in National Spelling Bee

Eighth grader Sivateja Tangirala of Fort Settlement Middle School in Sugar Land is one of the 50 finalists in today's Scripps National Spelling bee finals.

  OXON HILL, MD -- Fifty semifinalists are preparing to take the stage at the National Spelling Bee -- including the sister of the 2009 winner and two five-time participants.

Unlike in the preliminary rounds, spellers who get words wrong will hear the dreaded bell that signals it's time to leave the stage.

Eighth-grader Sivateja Tangirala of Fort Settlement Middle School in Sugar Land is one of the 50 finalists in today's Scripps National Spelling bee finals. Tangirala also qualified for last year's Spelling bee.

Among the favorites is 10-year-old Vanya Shivashankar of Olanthe, Kan., whose sister, Kavya, won the Scripps National Spelling Bee three years ago. Vanya was the only speller to earn a perfect score in the preliminary rounds.

Six-year-old Lori Anne Madison, the youngest speller in the history of the event, did not make the semifinals.

Thursday's semifinals will be broadcast live on ESPN2, as will the finals Thursday evening.

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Plea deal sparks outrage among some

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- On Tuesday evening, months after a plea deal was cut saving an immigrant from possible deportation, there is still a quiet storm inside the Harris County DA's office over it.

It was such a good deal, it's never been offered before or since, and the defense attorney has connections to the DA's BAT van scandal.

This really seems like a minor case -- a gas station employee sold an inspection sticker to an undercover cop without insurance. It's a crime. He admits he did it. But he got a good plea deal and it so upset some senior prosecutors who say it violated policy, the DA was forced to weigh in on it herself.

This is Mohammad Umer.

"My name is Jimmy," he told us.

Oh, he doesn't want to admit it, but it's him. There's his mug shot. There's the facts of his case from court documents. And there's the inspection sticker HPD says he fraudulently sold undercover cops without proof of insurance.

"Can I come here and get an inspection sticker without insurance?" we asked Umer.

He didn't offer a response.

He's not the only guy to get arrested for this kind of crime in Harris County, but he got what seems like a sweet deal to make the case go away. We'll show you how good it was in just a minute.

First...

"I take this very seriously," Harris County Pct. 4 Sgt. Eddie Hazel said.

Meet Sgt. Eddie Hazel. He's a Precinct 4 deputy constable and heads up an emissions task force, busting places that allegedly sell fraudulent inspection stickers.

The day we were with him, he seized two emissions machines and arrested the operators for giving cars a passing grade allegedly without ever passing an emissions test.

The operator is facing two to 20 years in a Texas prison.

"Absolutely it should be a second-degree felony," Hazel said.

Every one arrested by Hazel's task force is charged with a felony. And in court records, every similar case DA Pat Lykos' office has handled ended up as a felony -- except one.

"Talk to Mr. Rawlings," Umer told us.

Umer couldn't take the deal everyone else got because he's an immigrant and he could get deported with the usual deal. So his lawyer, Clay Rawlings, convinced the DA's office to drop Umer's case to a misdemeanor; Umer paid a $1,000 fine and walked away.

"Given the totality of the circumstances, it was a fair deal," Rawlings said.

But sources inside the DA's office say it was so out of the ordinary, supervisors complained about it all the way to DA Pat Lykos herself.

"To react this strongly, it seems strange. It seems out of kilter," Rawlings said.

To the defense lawyer, it might seem odd, but not to our sources at the DA's office, who told us the prosecutor in the court said no deal, his supervisor said no to this deal, her supervisor did too, but when the defense lawyer talked to the DA's right hand man, Jim Leitner, he agreed to it. But why?

Leitner says off-camera it was the right thing to do for a 61-year-old immigrant with no criminal history.

"This is an extensive investigation that they had to send undercover officers in to bust somebody," said Houston Police Officers Union Chief Ray Hunt.

Hunt says officers weren't contacted before the deal was made and he has serious questions about why it was done in the first place. Court records show Umer's case was the only felony defendant Clay Rawlings handled in all of 2011, but not the only time Rawlings was at the courthouse last year.

When Rachel Palmer, one of DA Pat Lykos' top assistants took the Fifth inside a grand jury investigating Lykos' office, Rawlings was by Palmer's side as her personal lawyer.

Palmer kept quiet, the grand jury never heard what she knew about Pat Lykos and BAT vans. Two months later, Umer got the deal cutting a possible prison term to a $1,000 fine.

"I don't know if it's him, if it's the attorney or who, but somebody -- somebody -- got a sweetheart deal here," Hunt said.

"There's zero connection, there's no connection whatsoever," Rawlings said.

In an off-camera interview, Leitner said he had no connection to Clay Rawlings or this deal, but did admit he went against unusual pressure from lower-level prosecutors to offer the bargain, something he points out he is allowed to do and is free to do in any case.

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La Marque proposition sparks concern among some

LA MARQUE, TX (KTRK) -- A proposition in La Marque has some worried there will be fewer police officers on the streets. But that city's elected officials say that won't be the case and the worries are unfounded. The proposition specifically deals with the number of officers for the department.

Currently, the city charter of La Marque requires a minimum of 25 officers on the payroll. But a new proposition aims to drop that requirement and some feel it's a move to eventually reduce the numbers of officers in La Marque.

Early voting for La Marque''s May 12 election is underway, but the sign gaining the most attention in front of City Hall is that of Proposition 21.

"It's absolutely just a public safety issue," La Marque Police Association President Forrest Gandy said.

"To me, that's just a scare tactic and it bothers me," La Marque Councilwoman Connie Trube said.

Prop 21 would do away with a city ordinance, requiring a minimum of 25 officers on staff at the police department. The amendment was added in 1998 to silence a movement to disband the police department and contract with the sheriff's office.

And the concern is voting yes for Prop 21 would be the first step for the movement to resurface.

"Absolutely yea, and that's why it's such a big concern for us. Because it's important to keep adequate police staffing for our own safety but most importantly for the safety of citizens," Gandy said.

Trube says there has been no talk of reducing officers and approves of Proposition 21. She says it simply allows the council flexibility.

"The thing about voting yes would be, in case La Marque's population would drop 5,000 or 10,000, that would still require citizens to have 25 police officers and that could be a huge burden on the budget and the tax base," Trube said.

Prop 21 was added to the ballot by a charter review committee; its members appointed are by council.

Committee members claims it's simply a house-cleaning measure to remove an outdated amendment from the city charter.

"I don't think it's ever dangerous to put anything before the voters. We are of the people, by the people, for the people. They have the final say. And people are smart, they know what to do," La Marque Mayor Bobby Hawking said.

Currently, 29 officers are on staff, which Gandy says is still below state recommendations. Early voting began Monday, with the election day taking place May 12.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
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Houston ranks third among cities that added jobs in the leisure and hospitality sector

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Houston's hospitality industry is booming and its helping keep Houstonians employed.

According to the Houston Business Journal, the Bayou City ranks third among cities that added jobs in the leisure and hospitality sector. Between February of 2008 and February of this year, Houston added 19,000 jobs.

New York City took the top spot, adding over 50,000 jobs, followed by the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Washington, DC and Austin round out the top five.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
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Officer among 4 injured in 3-vehicle wreck

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A Houston police officer was among four people injured in a three-vehicle accident today in northeast Houston.

Houston police say the female officer had her lights on after she had pulled over a silver Jaguar late Monday morning when the driver of a U-Haul truck veered out of a center lane, and rear-ended the police cruiser. The police car then hit the Jaguar. The officer and the driver of the Jaguar, who was in the back seat of the police cruiser, were taken to local hospitals to be checked out, and both had non life-threatening injuries. Two passengers of the U-Haul were also taken to an area hospital with non life-threatening injuries. The 26-year-old male driver of the U-Haul was arrested for driving with a suspended license. We're told he was not injured. There is no word yet on the cause of the accident. (Copyright ©2011 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

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