HISD police arrest student with gun at Sterling High School

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A 14-year-old male student was arrested Wednesday after being found in possession of a loaded handgun at Sterling High School.

The arrest was made at 10:48am, roughly 10 minutes after campus-based Houston Independent School District police officers received a tip from the Houston Police Department that the student may have a gun.

Houston police were investigating an allegation that the student used the weapon to threaten an individual off campus on Tuesday afternoon. The HISD police officers took the student into custody without incident and confiscated the weapon after searching him.

The student told HISD police he was carrying the weapon to protect himself from gang members in the neighborhood surrounding the school.

Sterling High School parents are being informed about the incident by phone today, officials say, but we spoke with at least one mother at the school who hadn't heard.

"I'm a little upset because I haven't gotten a call or anything as yet," she said. "Now that I'm here, I'm hearing all this."

"This is my fourth year here, I'm a senior. Nothing like this ever happened before," a student told Eyewitness News.

The student is a juvenile and his name is not being released. Appropriate disciplinary action is being taken, and the incident has been referred to the Harris County District Attorney's Office for criminal prosecution.

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

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Ambulance joyride ends with woman's arrest

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A joyride in an ambulance ended with a 26-year-old woman behind bars this morning.

Police said the woman stole a Houston Fire Department ambulance just after 10pm and took it for a ride, seconds after paramedics dropped off a patient at St. Joseph's Hospital.

According to investigators, EMS workers transported a patient to St. Joseph's, but when they returned to the ambulance, it was gone.

Another ambulance found the stolen emergency vehicle nearly 45 minutes later on Pierce near Hutchins.

Police believe the woman was under the influence of drugs when she allegedly stole the ambulance. Officials said the vehicle wasn't damaged.

The woman was taken into custody and faces charges of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.

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

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Arrest made in alleged 'black magic' sexual assault

  TOMBALL, TX (KTRK) -- The search for a 60-year-old man accused of rape in Tomball has ended in his arrest. And now, the victim's family is speaking about the crime and how the man was finally captured.

Mario Munoz-Verudes is accused of assaulting a 17-year-old after claiming he could help her with black magic. According to the father of that teen girl, the man wanted for rape had been hiding from police not far from where the alleged rape took place back on September 25.

The father, who we're not identifying, says he knew Munoz-Verudes was hiding out in the woods behind the home and waited for him in an abandon house overnight. His son helped explain to us what happened.

"All of the fathers and mothers that have children, if they were to be violated, they would all feel the same," said the son. "Angry, mad and we wouldn't rest until we found the man."

According to police, the sexual assault happened at a home where Munoz-Verudes was renting a room from the owner. According to the girl's father, after finally finding Munoz-Verudes, they got into a physical altercation.

"He took out a knife and tried to stab my dad and that made him angry and what my dad did, he attacked him," said the son.

The girl's father tells us he was able to call police after the fight. Police arrested Munoz-Verudes early Saturday morning.

Police say Munoz-Verudes claimed he knew black magic and told the girl he would get rid of her bad spirits. This was allegedly his way to lure the girl into his home.

"Proclaimed himself to be a religious man, attended church regularly, supposedly, and was able to do some witchcraft or some spells," said Detective Ron McGullion with the Tomball Police Department.

Munoz-Verudes is facing a charge of rape. At this point, it's unclear when his next court appearance will be.

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Arrest made in fatal birthday party shooting

  Crystal KobzaHOUSTON (KTRK) -- An 18-year-old was arrested Sunday for an overnight murder at a Sweet 16 birthday party in northeast Harris County.

Johnny Robert Benavidez is charged with the murder of 27-year-old Edgar Garcia.

Garcia was shot to death in a driveway at a home in the 5700 block of Lauder near Homestead. He was there for his relative's 16th birthday party.

Dozens of teens were just feet away when the shooting happened around 12:30am.

Harris County Sheriff's Office investigators said Benavidez was part of a group of uninvited males who showed up at the party. They were asked to leave and a fight broke out between the group and Garcia's brother, officials said.

The group left the party, but they reportedly returned with a handgun and began firing shots into the crowd.

Garcia was shot in the face and died at the scene.

Witnesses were all visibly shaken after the shooting. Many of the teens' parents arrived to pick up their children after the shooting. One witness said that most of the teens who were at the party attend MacArther High School.

Benavidez was scheduled to appear in probable cause court at 6pm Sunday, but officials said he was being combative. His bond was raised to $100,000 and he is set to appear in court Monday.

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SWAT standoff ends with arrest of five suspects

Five suspects were arrested after a SWAT stand off in northwest Harris County. The suspects are accused of stripping stolen cars.

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A two-hour SWAT standoff ended with five people in handcuffs on suspicion of stripping stolen vehicles.

Sheriff's deputies say they were tipped off about a chop shop on Brownie Campbell Road in northwest Harris County.

One man was arrested immediately, but four other people inside a trailer refused to come out. They eventually surrendered for questioning.

Deputies say they found at least 17 stolen vehicles on the property.

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Police make arrest in series of sexual assaults in SW Houston

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A suspected serial rapist is behind bars accused of attacking at least three women all at the same apartment complex in southwest Houston.

The details of this case are so disturbing that we cannot share most of what was read in court. Prosecutors read the horrific details of seven charges against Sedrick Johnson, 20.

They say he violently robbed and raped three different women at The Mills apartments, forcing them at gunpoint into a vacant unit for the alleged assaults.

A fourth victim fought and escaped without being raped, but was seriously injured.

Prosecutors say DNA evidence from the three rape victims matches Johnson's DNA, which was in the CODIS database because it was collected while Johnson was in prison for burglary.

Crime lab supervisor Courtney Head said, "We put one case into CODIS on Friday at about noon and approximately two hours later we got a hit."

Johnson was recently paroled after serving less than half of his three year sentence and also has a prior theft conviction.

Police say the crimes happened May 20, May 22 and June 3, with two attacks occurring the same day. Three of the four victims visually identified Johnson as their attacker.

Now at The Mills apartments security walks the grounds around the clock, surveillance cameras are rolling and Houston police have a visible presence. This is new and all reassuring to residents.

Johnson's girlfriend, who would not show her face on camera, believes he is innocent.

"I know the whole time he's been with me. We don't have time to do anything. All we do is work and go home," she said. "They're not true and I have proof that they're not true because we were home at the time."

Prosecutors say what Johnson allegedly did to these women was beyond violent, calling it "inhuman."

"Very animalistic, his tendencies are very similar," said prosecutor Alison Baimbridge. "The methodology, you could say, with which he used time after time with these women, is something that a normal human couldn't fathom, so if you think someone has the audacity to treat another human with that amount of disrespect, it's something that breaks your heart. It's unimaginable."

Johnson was denied bond and given a court-appointed attorney. He goes back to court on August 2.

Police are still looking for an accomplice, who acted as a lookout. They say they have some good leads.

"Each one of those women will never forget them, they will live them in their dreams and in their nightmares forever," Baimbridge said.

Several community activists, including Quanell X, got involved by handing out flyers, which may have helped with the arrest.

Johnson lives around the corner from the apartment complex and has lived there since April.

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Arrest made in fatal Surfside beach party shooting

  By Crystal KobzaSURFISDE, TX (KTRK) -- An arrest has been made in a deadly shooting at a beach party in Surfside. It's been almost two months since a Houston father -- an innocent bystander -- was killed. Now a suspect is in custody and it turns out he was due to go on trial later this month for another murder -- that of a 19-year-old college student.

Brazoria County officials and Houston police have been working for some time together to track down the person responsible for the shooting death of Derrick Milam, 26. They found their man Thursday night, and this is not the first time he has been charged with murder.

Deandre Gray, 19, is behind bars charged with murdering Milam. The shooting happened back on April 7 during a beach party in Surfside, where authorities say an estimated 15,000 people had gathered.

After investigators received a tip on Gray's whereabouts, they were able to track him down near his house.

"When he jumped out of the car, I understand he had a purse with him, which he threw out or disposed of. The purse contained narcotics and a weapon -- a pistol," said Brazoria County Sheriff Charles Wagner. "This man's a dangerous person. He's now in jail, less of a threat to society."

Investigators say when they located Gray, he took off with a three-year-old in the car, and drove to a nearby Luby's where they found him hiding in a walk-in freezer. The child was left alone in the car.

"He's out on murder, was out on bond for murder, he's alleged to have, our evidence shows he murdered somebody else," Sheriff Wagner said. "That makes him very dangerous."

Gray was arrested and charged with murder in the case of 19-year-old, Sashe Gray Jones, who was fatally shot in 2009. She was an innocent girl, caught in the line of fire and killed after a bullet went through her car door while driving down the road.

Her mother Alfreda Mosley said, "They released him and let him back on the streets. Now another family is grieving and they're going through what I went through two years and three months ago."

Investigators tell us part of the conditions of Deandre Gray's bond included wearing an ankle monitor and a curfew. They say when Gray was taken into custody, he was not wearing his ankle monitor. Investigators with Brazoria County tell us questions as to why he wasn't wearing his monitor will be left for probation officers and the district attorney's office to answer.

"The state should have did a better job of keeping track of people that have ankle monitors," Mosley said.

Gray's bond has been set at $1 million and he is currently being held in the Brazoria County Jail. Gray is not only facing murder charges but investigators tell us he is also facing additional charges from Thursday night's chase, including endangering a child.

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Arrest made in deadly shooting at Family Dollar store

Houston police arrested and charged Dwight Richardson with aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon.

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- We have an update to a recent robbery at a Family Dollar store that included the death of a store clerk.

Houston police arrested and charged Dwight Richardson with aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon. Officers are looking for a second suspect. Police accuse the pair of robbing a Family Dollar store at Bellfort near Bullfinch in southeast Houston on May 17.

There was a shooting during the robbery and officers tell us a bullet fired from a customer's gun killed the store clerk.

The District Attorney's office will determine if the case goes to a grand jury.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
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High-speed chase ends in arrest

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A driver in a stolen pickup truck led police on a high-speed chase this morning which ended in The Woodlands.

The chase started around 3:30am at the Hurricane Club on Dina near Airline. A man says he left his vehicle running at the club when someone took off in it, so he reported it stolen. When an officer spotted the stolen vehicle, he turned on his lights and tried to pull the truck over. The driver would not pull over and the chase ensued.

The pursuit reached speeds of up to 100 miles an hour. The suspect led police north on 45, exited Main to the service road and was off and on the freeway several times, causing two separate accidents. Officers used spikes north of 242.

The driver continued to travel a long way on two front rims, even sparking a fire in the bushes near the Macaroni Grill at The Woodlands Parkway.

The suspect crashed into a guardrail near The Woodlands Parkway at around 4am. He tried to flee on foot, but was quickly taken into custody.

The suspect told Eyewitness News he was in fear for his life, which is why he didn't stop for police. He told authorities his friend let him borrow the reported stolen vehicle.

The suspect could face a charge of felony evading.

No one was injured during the chase.

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Arrest made in Houston boy's 2004 abduction

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Eight years ago, an infant disappeared from his Houston home. Now, his alleged abductor is in jail and authorities have found the boy. They are working to reunite him with his mother.

In 2004, Auboni Champion saw her infant son for the last time. Then on Monday, she found out Krystle Rochelle Tanner, the woman accused of taking him, was arrested in San Augustine County, close to Lufkin.

Investigators say Tanner is being uncooperative, but late Tuesday, Tanner's sister called police, saying the boy is with her here in Houston.

Champion says she was shocked to get the phone call about the arrest on Monday.

"Overwhelmed, because it's been eight years; he made eight on the first of March," she said.

Investigators in San Augustine County arrested the woman caring for Champion's son eight years ago when they both disappeared. Champion says Tanner was her son Miguel's godmother.

"I came back, he was gone," Champion said.

It was a case that seemed to fall through the cracks until now. The coordinator for the Houston Regional Amber Plan says they were never contacted about the case in 2004. New developments late last year after a CPS report led investigators to Tanner.

"Concerning an allegation or report of negligent supervision of children and perhaps some physical abuse of this unknown male child," said an investigator.

"It was like, I knew this family. It wasn't like, hey stranger. No, I knew this family. I spent time with them. We had Thanksgivings and Christmases," Champion said.

Now she's missed out on so many years.

"I'm hoping he's alive and OK," Champion said.

Eyewitness News found out late Tuesday night that Miguel is both alive and safe.

The Saint Augustine County Sheriff's Office says it received word from Houston police that they were contacted by the suspect's sister, who said she has the child with her in Houston. Child Protective Services was notified and are now making arrangements to pick up the child so he can be reunited with his mother.

"We love him very much and we never gave up. That's one thing I would never give up," Champion said.

Tanner is being held without bond in San Augustine County.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
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Arrest made in hit and run wreck that injured dad

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A dad who was on his way to work is instead in the hospital, and now a man is charged in the hit and run accident.

The incident happened around 7:30pm Thursday in the 14000 block of Rio Bonito near Highway 6 in west Harris County.

Keylon Napper, 26, was walking to work when the driver of a car veered slightly and hit him, deputies said. The driver stopped and got out, but when an eyewitness approached him, he said he couldn't stay and left the scene.

"It's not right. You just hit them and then you pull aside to say stay right here and just keep going? That's not cool," Brian Henderson, Napper's brother-in-law, said.

Dylan Flyn Jones, 24, was later arrested and charged with failure to stop and render aid. Bail for the felony charge has been set at $5,000.

Napper was transported via LifeFlight to Memorial Hermann Hospital. He was conscious and talking when he left the scene. We're told his injuries were serious but not life-threatening.

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Police arrest 2 suspects after high-speed chase

SkyEye 13 HD was over the aftermath of the chase scene

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Two men are now in custody after a high-speed chase through two counties.

Deputies in Montgomery County say they tried to stop a car Tuesday evening on FM 1314 for making an illegal u-turn, but the driver took off. Deputies pursued the vehicle on FM 1314 to Highway 59 in northeast Harris County where the vehicle reached speeds over 100mph. We caught the chase into northeast Houston on Transtar Jam Cams.

The two suspects jumped out of the SUV in the 1700 block of Saddler in north Houston, but were caught a short time later.

Deputies say they found 250 pounds of marijuana in the SUV with an estimated street value of more than $132,000.

Jesus Alvarado, 32, and Gregorio Ramirez, 23, are both facing charges of possession of marijuana and evading. Alvarado faces an additional charge of possession of a firearm.

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Escapee calls deputies to come arrest him

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A man who escaped from Harris County deputies' custody on Thursday afternoon is now behind bars.

The suspect was detained in the 1700 block of FM 1960 shortly before noon Thursday for questioning about a robbery earlier in the week. But as he was getting ready to be transported to the HCSO Cypresswood Substation at 6831 Cypresswood, the handcuffed suspect ran away.

Deputies set up a perimeter around the Wimbledon Estates neighborhood but couldn't find the man.

But on Friday, the suspect called the Harris County Sheriff's Office and asked for deputies to come get him. He was arrested around 6pm Friday and is now facing a felony escape, even though he'd been wanted only for questioning before.

The suspect was arrested in the same area from which he escaped.

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Police chase ends in wreck, arrest

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A man was in custody Saturday after allegedly leading police on a chase and causing a wreck that briefly shut down an intersection.

According to investigators, the suspect was spotted driving on the wrong side of Main St. around 11:20am Saturday.

A Harris County Precinct 7 deputy constable tried to pull over the driver, but he refused to stop.

A short chase ensued through Midtown, and then officials said the suspect tried to cross over the METRO light rail tracks at McGowen.

Authorities said the suspect struck another vehicle and was pinned between it and the METRO pedestrian poles.

Emergency responders pulled the man from his vehicle and transported him to Ben Taub General Hospital with a few broken bones, officials said.

The driver of the other vehicle was taken to St. Joseph Medical Center with minor injuries.

The METRO pedestrian poles were lying across the track, blocking train traffic. Main at McGowen was shut down briefly while officials picked up the poles and cleaned up some clean oil that spilled in the roadway in the accident.

Pct. 7 is investigating the incident. Charges against the suspect are pending.

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Deputies arrest home robbery suspects posing as gardeners

HUMBLE, TX (KTRK) -- Harris County sheriff's deputies have arrested three men they say posed as gardeners to rob an Humble homeowner at gunpoint. An observant neighbor helped authorities catch the men.

It's a common knock at the door; a landscaper asking if you need any work done. But once a man made his way into a woman's home for an estimate, investigators say he held her at gunpoint while his friends started loading up her electronics. "I'm coming out, locking my door and I hear a loud bang," said one of the woman's neighbors, who didn't want to be identified. The neighbor says the scene at 1pm May 13 just didn't look right. "He was backed up in the driveway and they were opening the garage door. There was another individual coming out, carrying electronics and stuff," the neighbor said. As he followed them in his vehicle, taking down a license plate number, his neighbor running out of the house confirmed everything he was thinking. "She was just yelling that they had her at gunpoint, they had her at gunpoint and she was yelling for me to go get them, go get them," he said. Neighbors say crime has been a problem for the relatively new subdivision near Humble. Homeowner Nicoles Melgarejo even had his AC unit stolen. "They just grabbed it out and stole it and when we came back, there was nothing there," Melgarejo said. "I don't open the door to nobody, just be sure on the safe side," neighbor Freddy Lopez said. We checked with the Harris County Sheriff's Office and two breaking-an-entering have been reported in the last 30 days. However, three suspects masquerading as landscapers are now in custody. Two were arrested at home after leaving a folder behind used for the fake estimates. It had a number and address on it. "Had pretty much written on the back of his registration for the vehicles. That's really something you don't want to write on maybe next time," Harris County Sheriff's Office Deputy Thomas Gilliland said. Freddy Sims was later arrested by HPD during a different robbery. So their landscaping scheme is up, thanks in part to a good neighbor. "It's always good to help out and put criminals in jail," the neighbor said. All three are now charged with aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon and/or burglary of a habitation. The Harris County Sheriff's Office also says all three have criminal histories. We worked on this story with the Humble Observer, one of our Houston Community Newspaper partners. (Copyright ©2011 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
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Deputies make arrest in alleged Montgomery Co. sex assault

Daryl Lee Beeson, 49, is charged with sexual assault of a child

  THE WOODLANDS, TX (KTRK) -- Investigators with the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office say they've arrested a man responsible for the sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl earlier this year.

Daryl Lee Beeson, 49, is charged with sexual assault of a child. The alleged incident happened back on January 24. According to a press release issued by the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, the victim told investigators she had been lured by a man into a green Honda Civic and then taken to a trailer house off Rayford Road and sexually assaulted.

The victim says afterwards, she was taken to a nearby restaurant on I-45 and released.

An investigation led authorities to Beeson. Detectives say there's a possibility of more victims. If you have any information about this case or any other possible victims, you're asked to call the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office at 281-297-6510.

(Copyright ©2011 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
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