Harris County District Attorney's Office

Kaufman County Copycat Killings?

Most people reading about the killings of Kaufman County officials earlier this year - Mark Hasse, an assistant district attorney was shot on the courthouse steps in January, then District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife were found dead in their home on Easter weekend - responded with the appro ... More >>

Crush Video Case: Feds Drop Remaining Charges

Federal prosecutors have dropped the two remaining obscenity charges against alleged animal crush video producers Ashley Richards and Brent Justice and filed a notice of appeal on five counts previously tossed out by a federal judge.

Open Season: Do Laws Against Animal Crushing Videos Violate Free Speech?

Ashley Nicole Richards, who filmed herself torturing and killing kittens, puppies, cats and dogs, was the first person brought up on revised federal crush-video charges -- which backfired magnificently.

Armed Suspect Fatally Shot During Traffic Stop After Wounding HPD Officer

Just after midnight on Monday morning, Officer W. Fikes and Officer J. Dodson made an attempt to stop a vehicle driving erratically on the north side of Houston. The suspect, Jared Albert Alvarez, 32, refused to stop and drove down Saddle Rock into a cul-de-sac. In an attempt to evade officers, he b ... More >>

Rookie HPD Cop Shoots, Wounds Suspect A Month Into The Job

Most cops can go their entire 20- or 30-year careers without firing a gun at someone in the line of duty. Houston police officer B. Russell, Jr. wasn't so lucky. They say wounding (or killing) a suspect can be a traumatic thing for a cop to go through, and Russell is facing that process as a probat ... More >>

Daycare Firestarter Jessica Tata on List of DA's Cases Under Review for Potential Exculpatory Evidence

The criminal conviction of Jessica Tata, who owned the daycare where four children burned to death in 2011 is among more than 120 cases under review for possible exculpatory evidence, according to a letter the Harris County District Attorney's Office sent to criminal defense lawyers this week, in co ... More >>

Stolen Food Truck's Wild Ride: A Fence-Smashing, Median-Jumping, Cop-Hitting Episode On The Southwest Side

After one of their food trucks was burglarized a second time, the owners of Healthy Lunch Box Catering decided to take action. They may have got more than they bargained for. After setting up surveillance of their parking lot Saturday night, they were witnesses to a wild episode that only ended wh ... More >>

Bad Idea: 14-Year-Old Houston High Schooler Brought a Loaded Gun to School With Him Today

Houston police arrested a 14-year-old student who brought a loaded handgun to Sterling High School today. The gun was confiscated and the boy was taken "into custody without incident" about 10:48 a.m., according to a Houston Independent School District press release. The boy's name was not released ... More >>

Unidentified Armed Man Shot to Death by HPD Officers: Bayou Body County No. 191

Houston police say they were called to the home of a man who they found standing in his driveway armed with a shotgun and handgun and ended up shooting him dead after he threatened him. Houston police were not releasing the man's identity, pending verification by the Harris County Institute of Fore ... More >>

HPD Investigates Officer-Involved Shooting

A Lakeview Police Department officer, working a second job at a jewelry store, fired her gun at a suspect after he pepper-sprayed her. Houston police did not identify the officer who was working at a jewelry store at 19335 Gulf Freeway about 1:30 p.m. Monday, October 22. The officer was not inju ... More >>

Joshua Edward Williams Shoots At Cop, Faces Charges

A man has been arrested and charged with shooting at a cop on the northwest side Tuesday night, police say. Joshua Edward Williams, 23, faces charges of aggravated assault against a police officer and also suffered a non-life-threatening injury in the shootout, HPD says Police say the responded to ... More >>

BREAKING: Whistleblowing Precinct One Constables Allege Retaliation in Aftermath of Jack Abercia Indictment

Two Precinct One Harris County Constables have filed suit against Harris County and their immediate supervisor, Constable Kenneth Berry, successor to indicted former chief Jack Abercia. In both of the suits filed yesterday, plaintiffs Sergeant Kevin Williams (formerly of the Civil Division) and Ma ... More >>

Texan Challenges Civil Forfeiture Law

Police can keep your cash, car and other property, regardless of whether you've been convicted of – let alone charged with – a crime.

Man Reaches For a Can of Beer, Shot Dead by Officer Who Thought He Had a Gun:Bayou Body Count No. 96

An unidentified man was shot to death by a Houston police officer when he reached into his waistband -- contrary to the orders of the officer -- and she shot him. There was no weapon on the man; he was reaching for a can of beer, investigators reported. Officer J. McGowan and her partner were c ... More >>

HPD: Shootout Amongst the Dildoes & Butt Plugs

An unnamed suspect is in the hospital but expected to live after being shot by two Houston police officers at the classiest place possible for a shootout, a Gulf Freeway adult-video store. It is not known if any dildoes or edible underwear or butt plugs were harmed in the event, which took place ab ... More >>

Darrel Franklin Clay Jr.: Wounded, Now Charged After Shooting By Metro Officer

A man who was wounded after being shot by a moonlighting Metro officer has been charged with aggravated assault against a public servant, Houston police say. Darrel Franklin Clay Jr., 20, got into an altercation with Metro police officer P.M. Martinez about 5:40 p.m. in the 800 block of Green Road ... More >>

Unidentified Male Killed Over Stolen Rims, 22, Bayou Body Count No. 27

A man whose tire rims were stolen confronted the man who did it and ended up dead, police say. HPD says the 22-year-old man, whose name has not been released, had his tire rims stolen Sunday by Demontrion Terrell Albert, 24. "Investigators determined Albert stole the male's car earlier in the day ... More >>

Delores Westmoreland: Former Kashmere High Dean, 1 Other Indicted for Tampering with Dropout Records

A Harris County grand jury today indicted two former administrators from the 2010 scandal at Key Middle School/Kashmere High School on felony offenses of "tampering with a governmental record." Dr. Delores Westmoreland, former dean of instruction at Kashmere, was indicted for three cases and fellow ... More >>

Hansraj Jathanna Says Spring Branch ISD Cops Beat & Harassed Him

Spring Branch school-district cops used excessive force on a man and later harassed him when he tried to complain, a federal lawsuit says. Hansraj Jathanna claims in the suit that he was pulled over by an SBISD cop who yelled at him, asked if he was an illegal alien and eventually "forcefully pushe ... More >>

Why Tow Truck Drivers Can Break Into Your Car

Tambreshia Laqua Jackson: HPD Let Alleged Teen Mom-Killer Have Her Baby Before Arresting Her

Had her baby then turned herself in.​Sixteen-year-old Tambreshia Laqua Jackson shot her mother to death in 2009, but by the time police figured out she'd done it, she was eight months pregnant. "It was agreed by HPD, the Harris County District Attorney's Office and Jackson that she would turn ... More >>

Houston Tow Truck Drivers Are Totally Above The Law

Mater makes his own rules​Tow truck drivers in Houston can break into your car in order to tow it -- against state regulations -- and here's why: Law enforcement ain't gonna stop 'em. We learned this by following up on an e-mail from a guy who says he watched a driver for Fast Tow jimmy the l ... More >>

Nathan Del Sol, 5, Bayou Body Count No. 82

Horror story: Five-year-old shot by his seven-year-old brother.​Houston homicide investigators are looking into the shooting death of a five-year-old boy who was shot by his seven-year-old brother. The two were left unattended in a Katy Freeway motel room while their father was in the motel's ... More >>

Jose Zerate Brings (Sex) Toys to Meet Kids at Hotel, Cops Say

KPRCJose Zerate: Wrong kind of toys.​A man who met a woman online and insisted she bring along two young children she babysat to a hotel rendezvous arrived on the scene carrying sex toys and was arrested, KPRC is reporting. A spokesperson for the Harris County District Attorney's Office tells ... More >>

Unidentified Male, Bayou Body Count No. 31

Male shot by off-duty cop.​An unidentified male of unknown age was shot by an off-duty Houston Police officer Wednesday night. Officer S. Bryant, a 15-year veteran of HPD currently assigned to the Narcotics Division, was working an extra job at the Emerald Bay Apartments (6767 Bennington) when ... More >>

Omar Ventura, 29, Bayou Body Count No. 20

Cop leaves bar at closing time and finds trouble​An off-duty cop leaving a bar shot to death a man involved in a scuffle and wounded another, Houston police say. Jose Coronado, who has been with HPD for almost five years, was leaving Sherlock's Pub in the 1900 block of West Gray about 2:20 a. ... More >>

Animal Abuse: The Five Worst Houston Examples In 2010

Humans: Will you ever learn?​We like to think that animal abusers will not only get a lump of coal from Santa this time of year, but a pitchfork-in-the-ass from the Other Guy in Red as well. For those of you who like to keep tabs on just how low the human race can sink, here's a roundup of some of ... More >>

Texas High Court Halts Hearing On Death Penalty

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, acting on its own motion, has ordered a halt in the hearings District Judge Kevin Fine is conducting into the constitutionality of the death penalty as it is applied here. District Attorney Pat Lykos' office made the announcement, having been informed of the mov ... More >>

Albert Randle III, 23, Bayou Body Count No. 194

Friday night fight in a bar​A bar shooting near the Third Ward left a 23-year-old man dead Friday night.Police received a call shortly before midnight about a shooting at C. Phil's Bar at 401 Alemda Road. Whent hey got there they discovered Albert Randle III had been shot in the chest.He was trans ... More >>

What? Someone Actually Gonna Do Time For Identity Theft?

​Nakeshia Brown, a 30-year-old Houston woman, has been sentenced for stealing the identities of patients while working as a nurse at Memorial Hermann Hospital. The Houston Press wrote about Brown's case in a cover story about identity theft, published in June of last year. The story highlighted th ... More >>

13-Year-Old Can't Be A Prostitute Because She Can't Consent To Sex, Attorneys Argue

​The Texas Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments in a case involving the Harris County District Attorney's prosecution of a 13-year-old girl for prostitution. Attorneys for the girl, called "B.W." in the proceedings, say that, because a minor cannot consent to sex, B.W. should not have been ... More >>

The DA's Victims Rights Division Becomes A Victim Itself

​A year ago, the Houston Press looked into restitution in the state parole system and discovered that in 90 percent of the cases, victims never get all the money that was owed to them.While we can't vouch for the percentage, it looks like victims counting on the Harris County District Attorney's O ... More >>

Bayou Body Count: A Stench At The Airport

​George Bush Intercontinental Airport may not be on the same level as mythic Mafioso burial grounds such as JFK in New York or the airport in Newark, N.J., but it still finds a stiff every once in a while.Last week, airport police got a call about a terrible stench coming from the parking lot of t ... More >>

Bayou Body Count: A Police Shooting Over An Open Beer

​There is something to be said about the importance of solid doors, strong locks and a secure home. Think not? Well, the carnage over the past several days may change your mind.It was Friday evening, about 7 p.m., when 18-year-old Jubelle Serano was taking care of her 6-year-old sister at their ho ... More >>

Bayou Body Count: Where Have All The Killers Gone?

​As the temperature slowly begins to dip, so too it seems that the number of murdered bodies found in and around Houston are fewer and fewer.But that certainly doesn't mean there's no action for the police.On Wednesday at about 8:30 p.m., a 37-year-old woman and her roommate began arguing in their ... More >>

Two Cousins Nabbed In Mexico For Separate Houston Murders

​Two men wanted for separate Houston murders were caught together in Guadalajara, Mexico yesterday afternoon. The crimes, which occurred about two years apart, were unrelated. The suspected killers are cousins. "Murder runs in this family," said homicide detective Michael Miller of the Houston Po ... More >>

Bayou Body Count: Don't Mess With A Cop's K-9

​You don't mess with a man's dog. Especially if that man is a cop. At about 4:30 p.m. Friday, Houston police officer W.G. Smith made his way to an apartment complex at 7100 Renwick to check out a burglary that was supposedly going on. As Smith was heading up to the apartment, one of the people wh ... More >>

Complain About BARC, Find Yourself Charged With A Crime

Photo by bf_photos The Harris County District Attorney's Office has charged a BARC volunteer for filing a false police report regarding animal abuse he said he heard while at the city's animal control facility. Shelby Kibodeaux was charged July 1 with the class B misdemeanor, which ca ... More >>

After 22 Years Of Wrongful Imprisonment, Two More Days To Freedom

A man convicted of rape in 1987, based largely on questionable HPD crime lab data, and sentenced to life in prison is expected to be released on bond Thursday, according to the Harris County District Attorney's Office. Recent DNA test results show "discrepancies between the new tests and evidence p ... More >>

Not Everyone Is Cheering DA Pat Lykos's Latest Move

Photo courtesy Pat Lykos for DAIf you look up "throwing someone under the bus" in the dictionary of clichés, you might just find the following example from Pat Lykos's braver, newer Harris County District Attorneys Office used as illustration. Not content to keep her ire in-house about a recent jur ... More >>

Change Comes To The Harris County Courthouse

Who's Crying Now?

HPD Cops Indicted For Stealing From HPD Cops

Prosecutors Dismiss Assault Charges in J Prince Gym Beating Case

Priscilla Slade and the TSU Three

Spurred on by a fellow student's death, Oliver Brown, William Hudson and Justin Jordan ran a gauntlet on their way to bring down a president

Getting Wasted

Local officials say they are only after compliance and cleanups. Critics claim otherwise.

Shin Splits

Shiatsu doc closes up shop

Insider

Letters

The Gangs Among Us

Asian crime is growing. Asian immigrants are its main target. And the HPD hasn't a clue what to do.