SWAT officers find gas station employees safe

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A SWAT team is at the scene of an armed robbery attempt in Montgomery County.

Oak Ridge and Conroe police and Montgomery County Sheriff's deputies were called to a Shell station on State Highway 242 near I-45 around 3am where two armed suspects had entered the store through the McDonalds drive-through. A customer called 911.

Oak Ridge and Conroe Police officers arrived on the scene and believed that employees were still inside the store with the suspects. One of the employees was able to escape through the drive-through while the suspects were distracted.

"What we know at this time, is that we believe there are two armed robbers inside the store with two employees of the McDonalds and the Shell," said Lt. Dan Norris of the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office.

Initial attempts to contact anyone inside the business were unsuccessful and SWAT and crisis negotiators were called to the scene. Multiple attempts were made to contact anyone inside the business and eventually one employee came out that had been hiding behind a counter, authorities said. The witness did not know if the suspects were still inside but two employees were unaccounted for and they were believed to still be inside the business.

SWAT entered the business at about 7am and found two employees hiding in a back room and the suspects were gone. Investigators with the Sheriff's Office and the Texas Rangers are interviewing witnesses.

The suspects are described as two black males, 5'9" to 5'10" wearing a black hoodie and mask with gloves.

Crime Stoppers will pay up to a $1,000 cash reward for information leading to an arrest or indictment of a felony crime. Anyone with informaiton can call 800-392-STOP (7867). Anonymous tips can also be made through the Montgomery County Crime Stoppers Web Page at www.montgomerycountycrimestoppers.org.

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

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Harris Co. employees fired in connection to alleged sex scandal at county jail

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Six people entrusted with keeping law and order are now accused of violating the rules of the Harris County Sheriff's Office and breaking the law.

On Friday afternoon, Sheriff Adrian Garcia discussed the problem when he announced the results of an internal investigation.

The alleged sexual misconduct happened inside two jail facilities on Baker Street in downtown Houston -- the bigger detention center and across the street at the minimum security location.

Garcia says at both locations, the sexual activity happened inside the laundry room where there are no surveillance cameras. That's changing...and so is his staff.

"Their actions are inexcusable," said Garcia. "Today, I fired employees who have been employed here for over 10 years."

Among those fired were four detention officers and one deputy. Additionally, a deputy resigned and another retired while under investigation.

They join former Deputy Tony Richards as casualties of the probe that started in August of last year. He was fired in February and is now charged with having improper sexual activity with an inmate.

The others, according to the sheriff, are accused of either having sex with inmates or with other employees or as supervisors looking the other way.

"While people are in our custody, we have laws and rules to abide by," Garcia said.

Dean Sierra was checking into jail for the weekend for driving with a suspended license when we told him about he sex accusations.

"It doesn't surprise me at all," he said.

"I hear it a lot, I really hear it a lot so it doesn't shock me," said Montasha Curtis, who was in downtown to post a bond.

None of the others involved in the scandal have been charged so far, but the case is being referred to the Harris County District Attorney's Office. Garcia didn't name them Friday, but said some of them have been working at the sheriff's office for more than 10 years.

Garcia said he blames the previous administration for a culture that allowed this. He also said the sheriff's office already has taken additional measures, like installing more cameras at the jail to make sure this situation isn't repeated.

Stay with Eyewitness News and abc13.com for the latest details.

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

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Payroll error overpays thousands of HISD employees

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Some Houston ISD employees are being asked to pay back money from their own paychecks. The district is now trying to explain a payroll error it says overpaid thousands of workers over the last few years.

The employees are being notified this week. It's a very complicated accounting problem and the solution isn't an easy one either.

The notice went out to about 3,700 HISD employees and affects 12-month employees, which means most teachers are not affected.

The district says the problem dates back to the year 2000, when they converted to a new payroll system. As employees left or retired, they were being told they owed HISD.

"It's just not a good way to do business, so we're trying to clean all that up," HISD Spokesman Jason Spencer said.

Spencer admits the district didn't do a good job early on of informing employees and says they have an obligation to the taxpayers.

"We're attempting to reconcile that. We're going to all of our employees, we're letting them know how many days in advance they were paid for time that they did not work," Spencer said.

Employees will be given three repayment options: They may give back earned time off; have regular paycheck deductions for up to two years; or make a one-time payment back to the district.

Gayle Fallon with the Houston Federation of Teachers raises several questions about the memo, including the statute of limitations.

"You don't go back and tell an employee that you are going to pay us something from eight years ago. We're going to suggest to our members, tell them no, make them sue you," Fallon said.

While teachers in the union are not affected, she's concerned about the employees at the bottom of the pay scale who are.

"I'm very worried about the clerks and the secretaries. It won't sound like a lot of money to the public, it is a lot of money, every dollar counts," Fallon said.

This could be as much as four weeks pay for some employees. The district says once this is corrected, it will not happen again.

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

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Galveston put 12 employees in traffic division on administrative leave

  GALVESTON, TX (KTRK) -- The city of Galveston's entire traffic division is on paid administrative leave.

The city isn't saying much about what happened, but here's what we've learned. All 12 employees are on leave until an investigation is complete.

Until then, all of the traffic division's duties and responsibilities have been given to other departments.

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

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Some employees stay at work due to floodwaters

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Floodwaters forced a group of people in southeast Houston to spend the night at their office.

What started as a normal day at work for Continental Tool Supply employees turned into a unique night after water flooded streets all around the West Loop near Crestmont.

The floods trapped about two dozen employees inside, including one man celebrating his 55th birthday. And even if the employees could make it out the Houston fire department says alligators are in the water surrounding the building.

Employees say things aren't so bad inside the office.

"We have three coaches in the office so we should be OK and we have heat," said trapped worker Fran Fleck. "We have water. We have bathrooms. We have everything we need."

HFD did offer to take some of the employees out of the building by boat, but no one wanted to leave their vehicle behind.

If you caught photos or video of the severe weather, you can upload them at iWitness.abc13.com or email them to news@abc13.com.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
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Employees tied up during Radio Shack robbery

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Houston police are investigating an alleged aggravated robbery in northwest Houston.

It happened on at the Radio Shack in the 5100 block of 34th Street near the Northwest Freeway.

According to police, it was close to closing time when two armed black men walked into the store and demanded money.

Investigators said the men tied up the employees and put them in a back stock room.

The suspects reportedly fled the scene.

Anyone with information can call Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.

(Copyright ©2011 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

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NASA employees training for Atlantis mission

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- We are just weeks ago from NASA'S final shuttle mission. Atlantis is getting ready to blast off for the international space station.

We're getting a look behind the scenes in mission control and the training for those who are set to jump into action if things go wrong. When you see a launch in person in Florida or even on TV, the shuttle's engine roar is so loud. So we figured on the floor of mission control it would, for some reason, be the same. It's not. It is really quiet in there. For the trip to space, there are 15 people in this room. Mostly, but not all, are men, and even when things are going well, they are tied keyed into the job they're doing. But when things go wrong, it's hard to tell. We were there for a simulation. The mission control team is at their normal seats. The crew was a few buildings over at Johnson Space Center in a simulator that twists and tilts and shakes with the crew inside. In this training session, the shuttle developed a simulated Freon leak. It knocked out the shuttle's ability to cool itself down and that could've been dangerous. The team decided to bring the shuttle home after just one orbit. It's never been done in real life. But on this day, in this room, it was done successfully. "It was a very important practicing. We have a very small crew this time, we don't have anyone in the mid-dock," shuttle commander Chris Ferguson said. "I think it was a great script. It gave us an opportunity and the mission control team an opportunity to see just what our capabilities are." They will practice this just one more time, and then it's launch day and then mission control is done. Once Atlantis lands, mission control will turn into a new room for some unnamed program. A lot of these people will get new jobs and the shuttles will stop flying, but this crew doesn't think it's the end. "The space shuttle won't stop inspiring people, they're going to park Atlantis down at the Kennedy Space Center and kids are going to go real close for the first time to see the Atlantis and say, wow that's amazing we can launch those into space, and hopefully they'll get the same reaction and say let's do it again, let's do it again," astronaut Rex Walheim said. Technicians will begin making high-tech X-ray scans of the shuttle's fuel tank's support beams to look for any cracks that could delay launch. Atlantis' final launch is scheduled for July 8 and we'll be in Florida to bring it to you. Send us pictures of your NASA experience through iWitness.abc13.com. (Copyright ©2011 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
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