Church meeting leads to felony charge

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A 15-year-old girl told authorities that she had sex with a man she met at church last year. Now that man is facing a felony charge.

According to court documents, the girl told a deputy with the Harris County Sheriff's Office that she met Juan Carlos Sixtos, 25, at church last year in about March, and they had communicated on Facebook. She says the pair talked on the phone and texted daily.

In July 2011, the teen says she snuck out of her house at about 2am to meet Sixtos and had sex with him in his car. The sexual relationship reportedly continued until November.

Sixtos reportedly confessed to having sex with the teen. He is charged with sexual assault of a child under 17 years of age. Bail has been set at $30,000.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
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Police: Meeting set up on Craigslist ends in shooting

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A meeting set up on Craigslist ended in a shooting late last night in southwest Harris County.

It happened outside the Walmart on Highway 6 and Parkwest Central. Deputies say the victim and a friend went to the store to meet a man who responded to a Craigslist ad for some shoes.

During the deal, the man pulled a gun and shot the victim twice. He's in critical condition.

Deputies say the two men realized they knew the suspect once they met him. They're now looking for him.

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Galveston to host annual hurrican prep meeting

  GALVESTON, TX (KTRK) -- On Wednesday, Galveston will make sure it's prepared for hurricanes with a training exercise on the beach and a town hall meeting in the evening.

The city's Hurricane Preparedness Town Hall Meeting is scheduled to begin at 6pm at the Galveston Island Convention Center, 5600 Seawall Boulevard. The meeting will address what everyone needs to do should a major hurricane hit.

Attendees also are encouraged to watch a training drill, which is scheduled to begin at 5pm.

As in year's past, exhibits will open to the public prior to the start of the meeting.

Elected officials, National Weather Service personnel, and representatives from UTMB, Galveston County, and the City of Galveston will make informative presentations.

The public can address the speakers during a community Q&A session. Free hot dogs, cake, and drinks will be provided to all attendees.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
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Fort Bend ISD budget meeting Monday open to public

  SUGAR LAND, TX (KTRK) -- The budget is front and center for Fort Bend Independent School District on Monday.

The district's board of trustees is holding a public meeting to discuss the proposed budget for the next fiscal year.

Top on the agenda is debating the maintenance and operations tax rate.

The meeting is at 4:30pm at the FBISD administration building in Sugar Land.

Anyone can attend and weigh in with their opinions.

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Multiple investigations highlight of Port meeting

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- You could cut the tension with a knife, but that's just one of the headlines tonight in the widening scandal at the Port of Houston. The fate of the port president is still in limbo, and the promise of an open book for taxpayers may already have been broken.

Signs of a Port in turmoil -- signs of support for the embattled president were all over at the meeting. The Port already has legal bills of $23 million in the last two years. So how they do navigate the waters of multiple ethics investigations sparked by 13 Undercover? They pay another lawyer, and Rusty Hardin isn't cheap. "I represent the Port as an entity, not any individuals, and I expect a very inexpensive role, Mr. Chairman," Hardin said. "What does that mean? I don't know," Port Commissioner Elyse Lanier said. Our Port-O-Plenty investigation is creating waves along the Ship Channel. Questionable spending, a lavish severance deal and possible conflicts of interest by the long time Port chairman, Jim Edmonds. "I think we need to be more transparent and accountable," Port Commissioner Janeice Longoria said. The woman at the center of a controversial catered trip on the Port boat was even there. "I thought it was important to come here today to talk about the facts," Nora Brownell said. Remember Alec Dreyer's defense for that trip? "Nora brought to us a number of contacts, a number of people that we were not exposed to in the energy marketplace," he said. So we've always wondered why it was called the "friends of Nora" trip. Now we know. "They were really not there as energy companies. They were there as friends of mine, frankly," Brownell said. Dreyer has denied he ordered a Port document to be changed to make the trip look more official. Brownell says she always intended to pay for the expensive catering. It just took her seven months to do it. So did Lanier buy Tuesday's explanation? "Not 100 percent because I've seen emails that conflict with what she says," Lanier said. The fate of the Port president was put on hold pending all these investigations. "There's been a lot of allegations flying back and forth," Edmonds said. And what about the Port chairman's now ended consulting deal with port vendor AECOM? It came after Edmonds steered the port to help Libya fix up its ports, where AECOM has a huge business deal. We asked again last night how long was the contract, how much was he paid? "This is an open book anybody wants to look at anything in this organization is most welcome to it," Edmonds said. Ready for the answers? "I have no comments," Edmonds said. "You were talking a lot about transparency. Here's your chance to be transparent," we told Edmonds. "I don't care to talk to you about anything," he replied. "Should he answer those questions?" we asked Lanier. "Yes, I think all questions should be answered," she replied. Rusty Hardin called us to announce his fee to the Port for helping out is $5,000 a month up to six months. The Port commissioners didn't talk on Tuesday about that empty cruise terminal or the $108 million in taxpayers money that may have been wasted on it. (Copyright ©2011 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
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Port of Houston mum ahead of meeting

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Expect a showdown Tuesday at the Houston Port Commission. Its' the first meeting in the wake of 13 Undercover revelations, and suddenly the Port is refusing to answer many of our new questions about the chairman and his ties to a Port vendor.

"I have an almost full-time, non-paying job. I serve on several other boards. I have to make a living. I got two teenage kids," Houston Port chairman Jim Edmonds said. But as busy as he is, Jim Edmonds wants to hold on to that non-paying job as chairman of Houston's Port Commission. He's been in charge at the Port for more than a decade. "I believe he has a significant conflict of interest that has to be addressed," Houston Mayor Annise Parker said. After the mayor's ultimatum last week, Edmonds issued a written statement, announcing that potential conflict was over. "My AECOM contract was for a specified time period and has ended," the statement said in part. But the Port chairman says he's done answering our questions about AECOM, like how long was he on a Port vendor's payroll, how much was he paid and did the Libyan connection play a role? "The nexus between Libya and AECOM and the Port and the chairman raises lots of questions," Harris County Judge Ed Emmett said. That's because AECOM has up to half a billion dollars in business with Libya and for the last two years, Edmonds has steered the Port to become consultants on Libya's Ports. We've told you about that 2009 Saharan vacation Edmonds took with executives of AECOM during a joint trip to Libya. They paid. The Port of Houston later agreed to a major study of Libya's Ports, while a brand new cruise terminal here sat empty. Remember September 24, 2009? Moammar Gadhafi's rambling speech attacking the US and UN? That same day, Edmonds directs a Port official to huddle with AECOM. Their recommendation "let the dust settle in Washington" before they embark on a joint campaign to help Libyan officials get U.S. visas quicker. February 2010, the Port signs a Memorandum of Understanding with Libya, and there's no record the Port Commission voted on the deal. And of course in January that now-famous photo-op with Edmonds and Gadhafi's military commander son, who was given a tour of the Port. "They may not have been and that'd be my fault if they weren't," he replied. Who asked for the courtesy to Gadhafi? AECOM. But Jim Edmonds isn't the only Port official under fire. Two Port Commissioners want to talk about the continued employment of Port president Alec Dreyer amidst questions about a catered trip on the Port boat and why a document detailing who requested the trip was changed. Dreyer has denied any involvement in that. "I think Alec Dreyer really needs a better answer for what happened there," Emmett said. It should be a meeting full of fireworks. We'll share the answers with you. (Copyright ©2011 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
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