Crime Stoppers International

Yes, Gas Station Robber, Please Stare Directly Into The Security Camera. Thank You. Next!

Being a sheriff's deputy can be a difficult job, so it's nice when the crooks give investigators all the help they can. Take one of the guys who robbed a gas station in the 1700 block of Fry Road March 18. As the two went inside about 10:30 that night, they made sure their heads -- one covered wit ... More >>

FBI Seeks Help Apprehending a "Bundled Up" Bandit

I've long admired the FBI's wit when it came to criminal activity, particularly when it involved odd looking or strangely dressed bank robbers. They've had fat guys and dudes in wigs and sunglasses. They always manage to twist it into something funny even if the crime is anything but. Fact is, all ... More >>

Dissecting the Surveillance Video Shot of a Crosby Walmart Bank Robber

Before I get to this photo, it is worth noting that the impetus for this is a serious story about a guy who robbed a bank inside a Walmart in Crosby. The suspect apparently walked into the store at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, verbally threatened tellers and demanded cash. He fled the store after being han ... More >>

Sheriff's Office Asks For Help in IDYing Dead Victim Wearing Smurfette T-shirt

A woman whose dead body may have been inside a garbage bag for a month before discovery was wearing a Smurfette T-shirt and Harris County Sheriff's deputies hope this will lead to her ID. According to HCSO, the garbage bag was found in the 12500 block of Walters Road in north Harris County on Tuesd ... More >>

Here's Video of a Dude Calmly Stealing Thousands of Dollars from a Walmart

Some people work hard for their money, especially when it comes to a multi-thousand-dollar heist. Others just make it look easy. Among the latter are the guys who hit a Walmart Supercenter in the 15900 block of FM 529 Sunday afternoon. Crime Stoppers and the Harris County Sheriff's Office say a p ... More >>

A Casual Window Smash, An Extensive Search For Cash: Video Of One Burglar's Night Out

We like how the latest surveillance video released by Crime Stoppers begins: A dude standing outside a business, trying as hard as is humanly possible to look casual. You can almost hear him whistling, saying just loud enough for others to hear "Nothin' to see here, folks, move along..." and then j ... More >>

Man Walks Off With $15K Worth Of Golf Clubs, Bike From Bush Baggage Carousel

Someone scored a major haul by hitting Bush Intercontinental's baggage-claim carousel, and cops are hoping security-cam photos will lead to his arrest. The casually dressed dude got away with $15,000 worth of merchandise, in the form of "five sets of designer golf clubs, and a one of a kind 'Moots' ... More >>

Houston-Area Pharmacies, Bad Men Are Coming for Your...Metal? (w/VIDEO)

Maybe it's just us, but if we're going to all the pain and trouble of breaking into a pharmacy, we're walking out of there with some good drugs. And maybe an US Magazine or two, if it's a good one, but that's a given. That's not the new thing, though. These days, your pharmacy-robbers are after a d ... More >>

Pose Nicely for Your HDTV-Robbing Video, Please. Thanks!

If you've set up a security camera in your backyard, it's pretty clear you're expecting trouble. One Montgomery County homeowner found the trouble that was being looked for when his or her camera captured perfectly someone breaking into a back door and carting off a giant television. It happened t ... More >>

This Guy Picked The Wrong Person To Snatch A Purse From

Purse-snatching is hardly the most manly of crimes -- you pick a feeble-looking victim you're sure you can outrun, make a grab and then run for the hills. Sometimes, though, you misjudge your prey. That's what the guy pictured here did, and although he got away Crime Stoppers and the Webster polic ... More >>

For Your Viewing Pleasure: Zapruder-Like Breakdown Of A Crotch-Grabbing, Register-Slapping, Slip-Sliding Robbery Attempt

Choreographed like a Joffrey ballet, the best convenience-store robberies are intricately designed Matrix homages that feature split-second timing. And then there's the one that went down in the 11200 block of FM 529 July 20. Crime Stoppers is looking for help in finding these perpetrators, and fro ... More >>

Comment of the Day: Cat Killings Could Signal the Birth of a Serial Killer

We have some great commenters here on Hair Balls, and it's time we paid some damn attention to them. So we'll be highlighting a Comment of the Day each morning or afternoon from the previous day's work. Maybe two comments, even. This will all be determined by a highly rigorous scientific formula i ... More >>

Armed Man Crawls Through Drive-Thru Window To Rob Fast-Food Place (w/VIDEO)

Imagine if Santa Claus was armed and wearing a bandanna across his face. Not a very Merry Christmas, to be sure, but Kris Kringle was apparently the inspiration for one robber. The Harris County Sheriff's Office and Crime Stoppers have released surveillance video of the robbery, which features the ... More >>

HPD Seeking Man Who Shot Guy Who Followed His Orders

Two men emerged from Dreams Gentleman's Club about 4:30 in the morning April 8. They were approached by two men, one with a gun. The armed man "pointed [the gun] at the two men and ordered them to raise their hands," Houston police say. "The second man told his friend to run and then fled. The vic ... More >>

Gelareh Bagherzadeh: Crime Stoppers Offers Record $200,000 Reward for Tips on Her Murder

Police are still baffled by the January 16 murder of Gelareh Bagherzadeh, a Texas Medical Center student and activist against the Iranian government who was gunned down in an expensive neighborhood. Today Houston Crime Stoppers announced they are offering the highest reward in their history: Inform ... More >>

Watch Kids React to Their School Bus Being Fired On

Crime Stoppers has released security video of the incident last month when a passer-by fired four shots at a school bus. Luckily no one was hit. What do the kids do when they hear the shots? Most of them run to the windows where the shots were directed to see what's going on. Kids, kids: Duck and ... More >>

Jaime Mata: Chilling Video of Him Allegedly Barricading Bar, Setting It on Fire

Police are looking for Jaime Mata, who's been charged with arson for burning a bar in the 8000 block of Harrisburg after barricading the door so patrons couldn't leave. Crime Stoppers says Mata and a friend were tossed from the bar. They returned, "closed the burglar bars and barricaded the door wi ... More >>

This Is the Guy Who Checked His Car for Damage, Not His Victim, in Fatal Hit & Run

Crime Stoppers has released a composite photo for a leading candidate of Most Skewed Priorities of the Year: The guy who smashed into a pedestrian and knew it, who then drove a couple of blocks before stopping to check his car for damage and then driving blithely on. The incident happened March 14, ... More >>

Bus Rider's Nightmare: Man Hassles Her, Follows Her off the Bus & Rapes Her

Houston Police and Crime Stoppers are looking for help in finding a man who was the nightmare no bus passenger wants to endure. Last Wednesday at 1:45 p.m., a 31-year-old woman was walking to the Metro stop at Wayside Drive and Lawndale when she was approached by a man who wanted to talk. She pref ... More >>

"Have You Seen My Zombie" Dude Sought by Cops for Forging Checks

The guy pictured here wonders, via his T-shirt, whether you've seen his zombie. Pasadena cops want to know whether you've seen the guy, because they say the picture shows him fraudulently cashing a stolen check. "The victim had received the check via mail; the method that the suspect used to obtai ... More >>

Here's Your Nattily Dressed ID Thief of the Day

Photo by Crime StoppersWho wouldn't trust this guy?​Should one desire to (allegedly) pursue the gentlemen's trade of ID theft, one should eschew such hoi polloi garb as T-shirts and flip-flops and instead embrace a sense of style. At least that seems to be the philosophy of this dude, who rac ... More >>

A Truck Like This Killed Margaret Smallwood

Do you know anyone who drives a truck like the one pictured above? If so, you better hope they have a good alibi for their whereabouts around 6:45 p.m. December 14. That's when the driver of a gold Chevrolet Silverado slammed into Margaret Smallwood, who was crossing the street in the 7100 block of ... More >>

Pawn Stars: Thieves Nab Hundreds of Guns in String of Robberies

When I watched the full video seen in the screen capture image above, I thought two things. First, I thought, "Wow, that is a brazen commission of an alleged crime I am witnessing on the Internet. How...brazen!" Secondly, I thought, "Every cop show on television lies to me!" Because, look at that im ... More >>

Keith Stone Look-Alike Robs Bellaire Bank

I saw The Toxic Avenger at the Alley Theatre over the weekend and learned from the program that one of the actors plays Keith Stone, the mullet-wearing Keystone beer guy in their television ads. We had no idea that he was also into robbing banks. Of course, it's probably not him, but that wig sure d ... More >>

Do You Know Who Killed Edlyn Villegas?

Police and Crime Stoppers are looking for the people behind the brutal murder of a 36-year-old woman whose nude and badly beaten body was found near a Pasadena bayou New Year's Day. Edlyn Villegas had gotten into a verbal altercation at a nightclub late the night before, police say. Her body was f ... More >>

Galleria Jewelry Store Smash-And-Grab: It Doesn't Get Much More Brazen Than This (w/VIDEO)

It got pretty brazen at a Galleria jewelry store before the holidays. Authorities have released a video of a smash-and-grab that is just that: Robbers entering the Ben Bridge store at the posh mall about 9 p.m. December 22, bringing down Thor's hammer on the jewelry cases, and running off...to Aber ... More >>

The "Merry Christmas" Bandit Wishes Yuletide Greetings As He Robs You

Employees of a northeast-side gas station probably were feeling a little low about 4 a.m. December 19. First, because they were working at a freaking gas station at 4 a.m. in the morning. Second, because they had just had a pistol waved in their faces by a robber demanding cash. All those blues ma ... More >>

Lowell "Cook" Bell: Do You Know Who Killed Him?

Stymied cops are again asking the public's help in finding out who killed Lowell "Cook" Bell. Bell, 55, was found dead August 22 in his apartment in the 6700 block of Fairway after friends and relatives became concerned since they had not heard from him. "After entering the apartment, they found B ... More >>

Xaiver Rubio, 17, Bayou Body Count No. 178

An altercation on the far southeast side ended in murder Friday night, police said. Xaiver Rubio, 17, was shot after a sidewalk argument. His brother, Ruben Rubio, 22, was injured but is expected to survive. The suspect, Johnathan Anthony Franklin, 22, escaped and is on the run. The incident happ ... More >>

Esvin Sabonluis, Killed Near Richmond Strip: Man Arrested, Charged

Another suspect is still at large.​Last month we told you about a man killed as he walked to his car with his wife near the Richmond Strip, an area not generally known for outright murder. Esvin Sabonluis, 27, was killed about 9:10 p.m. October 23 in the 6200 block of Fairdale, near Fountain ... More >>

Carlos Cancina: Police Looking for Alleged, and Very Short, Child Rapist

Crime StoppersCarlos Cancina: Small, and on the run.​DA investigators and Crime Stoppers are looking for Carlos Daniel Cancino, an 18-year-old wanted on charges of sexual assault of a child. Officials say that in June "a twelve year old victim was in a residence with Cancino whom she calls 'C ... More >>

Missing: Very Expensive (Tacky?) UH Cougar Jewelry

Crime StoppersCougar Pride​Crime Stoppers is offering a reward for information on a big Memorial Day heist in the ritzy Broadacres neighborhood. The victims are anxious to get their jewelry back, and who could blame them? We, too, would be desperately missing our UH loh precious-jewel-encrust ... More >>

This Dude Fast-Talked $424 Out of an Elderly Woman: Feel Proud, Smart Guy

Crime StoppersHas a way with old women​Police are looking for the man pictured here, who they say talked a Bellaire woman out of $424. He walked up to an 85-year-old woman on May 6 and told her there was something wrong with her front tire. Ever the gallant knight, he told her he could fix it ... More >>

Unidentified Male, Bayou Body Count No. 93

Killed while drinking a beer​A man was shot to death behind a southeast side convenience store Monday night, and police say they are looking for a "person of interest" to talk to them about the case. Two men bought beer at a convenience store in the 8300 block of Park Place Boulevard about 8: ... More >>

Juan Antonio Aranda: Cops Say Fugitive Abused 7-Year-Old

Crime StoppersJuan Aranda, wanted man​Police are looking for Juan Antonio Aranda, 37, who they say at least twice sexually abused a seven-year-old girl. He's been charged with sexually assaulting the girl at her residence here in Houston, and then threatening the girl's mother if she reported ... More >>

These Dudes Are Going to Hell

Crime Stoppers​If there is a hell, there's probably a space reserved for people who rob churches. If so, these two guys better watch out. Crime Stoppers and HPD released these sketches of two guys suspected in robbing people carrying the collection from Assumption Catholic Church back in Jan ... More >>

This Is the World's Greatest Swindler (Walmart Div.)

Crime StoppersThis is one talented guy, Crime Stoppers says​This livin'-large guy to the right is The World's Greatest Swindler, as far as guys who hustle Walmart cashiers go, if Crime Stoppers is to be believed. The dude goes around to various stores, finds a young cashier, buys a magazine w ... More >>

ID Thief Helpfully Poses for Sam's Club Card

A rare photo of a criminal genius​You've ripped off someone's credit cards, gone on a $2,000 spree at various suburban stores and the cops still haven't caught you. Help 'em out!! That was apparently the thinking of one woman, who in the course of using a stolen credit card got so swept up in ... More >>

Crime Stoppers Offers $5K Reward For...A Guy Shoplifting Some Razors?

Crime Stoppers: Organized shoplifters now a target​The latest release from Crime Stoppers is hardly a stop-the-presses kind of announcement: Crime Stoppers and Investigators with the Houston Police Department are seeking the public's assistance in identifying a man wanted for stealing razors and r ... More >>

Guy Robs Bank, Gets Away In Taxi -- In Houston(!)

Photo courtesy FBITaxi!!​We've had bicycling bank robbers, banks robbers who waddled away, and now we've got a cool customer who takes a taxi.In Houston, where taxis are way down the list of transportation options, that's a nice twist.The perpetrator, described as "white male, 35-40, approximately ... More >>

Bike Bandits Plague Houston: FBI Seeking Duo Of Pedal-Powered Brigands

"Hurry up, my ten speed's double-parked."​At the outset, the situation couldn't have seemed more menacing. Right around the time they opened their doors this morning at the Capital One bank on Highway 6 North, a tall, lanky guy in dark clothes and a baseball hat strode up to the counter and pa ... More >>

Unidentified Man, Bayou Body Count No. 86

​Judging by where the body was found, this one looks like that homicide detective's nightmare: a body dump. Around eleven A.M. yesterday, workers picking up trash in the 12800 block of TC Jester -- an isolated, discontiguous and distant northwest Harris County stretch -- found the body of an ... More >>

That's One Happy Looking (Alleged) Child Molester

Photos courtesy Crime Stoppers​Doesn't Crystal Polanco look cheery in that mugshot?Why, it's almost like she just got finished giving alcohol to a 13-year-old kid and then sexually assaulting him.Crime Stoppers said Polanco and her husband Aaron were definitely down with the youngsters, and that's ... More >>

Unidentified Man, Bayou Body Count No. 41

​Another body was found. There is not much info, just a few bare facts and loads of questions.On Saturday afternoon, a couple of guys were driving along the 100 block of Gulf Bank, just north of Highland Heights, when they spotted a man lying in a yard.Harris County deputies say the men pulled ove ... More >>

Another Anonymous Male, Bayou Body Count No. 16

​The list of anonymous bodies and unknown killers continues to grow, as Houston homicide detectives opened another case over the weekend.On Friday at about 10:30 p.m., the cops got a call from a resident along the 3400 block of Tampa, a little east of Hermann Park, about a dead body in a nearby ho ... More >>

Repeat Subway Robber Hits the Same Sandwich Shop Three Times

A disgruntled ex-Subway mascot, perhaps?​Fresh bread, healthy options, elaborate sneeze-guards -- some people just really love Subway. And Crime Stoppers and local law enforcement are asking for the public's help in identifying "The Repeat Subway Robber" -- a dude who's robbed the Subway at 2 ... More >>

The Saddest, Dumbest Robbers

Photo by cardhouseA pair of criminal masterminds recently executed a daring daylight robbery -- of a 99-cent store.Police are on the lookout for two black males carrying old Alf lunchboxes, soon-to-expire cans of pseudo-tuna, plastic spatulas, wads of crumbled dollar bills and boxes of deterge ... More >>

Last Suspect In Shooting Of Historic Officer Nabbed

Someone Hates Kashmere Gardens Schools

Dialing for Dollars

Crime Stoppers and its rewards get a mixed reception from students