Harris County Sheriff's Office

More Houston Strippers Busted

Hilary Duff's Dad -- Still Free & On The Prowl

Sheriffs Department Seeking Air Power

Sheriff's Deputies Who Worked As Sensitivity Trainers Punished For Being Insensitive

This week's feature about Laura Howard also deals with crisis-intervention training in law enforcement.According to several sources from the story, the Harris County Sheriff's Office has been slow in accepting crisis intervention as a method of handling suspects and inmates at the jail. Apparently, ... More >>

No Need To Check On My Pot-Growing Empire, Officer

The Houston Fire Department was putting out a small electrical blaze last night at what looked to be an abandoned mechanic's shop.They couldn't be sure the fire hadn't spread inside, so they asked the guy who was on the property if he could open the place up.He didn't really want to."They told him ' ... More >>

Forklift-Drivin', ATM-Stealin' Band Of Brothers Finally Arrested

Photos courtesy HCSOIt took three years and officers from at least five different law enforcement agencies, but it looks like they finally nabbed the ATM crooks who used and then left fork-lifts behind as an odd sort of a calling card.The Harris County Sheriff's Office announced today that three bro ... More >>

Baby, Please Don't Go

It's not too late to keep the Hammer

Finalist Times Two

Two Houston Press stories do well in national competitions

And the Winners Are

Houston Press does well in a two-state contest

Recognition Time

Contests honor Houston Press writers

Change Change

Visitors to the county jail can now get the most for their money

Metal Help

The late William "Tray" Folliard, the Hard Rock, and stories from 'round town

The FBI Makes Things Go "Boom," And We Have The Video

(Note: The explosions get bigger the longer you stick with the video.) For the better part of this week, FBI bomb experts have been teaching area cops the Xs and Os of improvised explosives, like the ones made by shoe-bomber Richard Reid or the one that killed college student Matthew Rugo in his Tex ... More >>

Bayou Body Count: Guy Walks Into A Bar...

It sounds like something out of the movies: from out of nowhere an unknown man in dark clothes storms into a bar, guns blazing. But according to the Harris County Sheriff's Office, that was the scene at an after-hours club early Thursday morning. Deputy Thomas Gilliland tells Body Count that ... More >>

Houston's Own Professor Gates Incident, Except With Homeless People

​It is not against the law to feed the homeless. Nor does this require a permit. Deputy T. McGilbray of the Harris County Sheriff's Office was apparently unaware of this during his patrol on July 19, when he interrupted a local church group's weekly Sunday afternoon homeless outreach in James ... More >>

Trying to feed the homeless? Not so fast! Meanwhile, METRO blows $80K congratulating itself.

Highlights from the Blog at HOUSTONPRESS.COM

Bayou Body Count: They're Finding Dead Bodies All Over The Place

​For the past four days, local cops and sheriff's deputies have been finding dead bodies all over the place. From ditches and cars to living rooms and the middle of streets, they seem to be popping up everywhere.All the police have are just a few leads, no suspects, and a growing pile of cold bodi ... 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 >>

Cold-Case Arrest Of An Obvious Suspect Might Solve 29-Year-Old Murder

Photo courtesy HCSO​On March 26, 1980, Glen Clary reportedly took up a game of pool with a guy named Wilmer Joe Nichols at an east Harris County bar called the Maverick Club. Nichols had been flashing a wad of money. The two men allegedly left the club together, and Nichols' body was found later, ... More >>

Jose Azua, 16, Bayou Body Count No. 27

​Sixteen-year-old Jose Azua was simply slinging tacos at an outdoor stand Wednesday night in north Harris County when he came face to face with a guy holding a gun.It wasn't long until the Harris County Sheriff's Office got a call about a shooting.When deputies arrived, they found Azua had been sh ... More >>

Whatchoo Gonna Do When They Come...To Houston?

​Houston cops and sheriff's deputies will be the stars in this Saturday's episode of Cops; this means, of course, that -- unknown to us -- original episodes of Cops are still being made, we guess.We just assumed they were in endless rerun status, but then again one Cops show is much like another.T ... More >>

Go Speed Racer Go!! (Just Not This Weekend)

​The Harris County Sheriff's Office has announced a crackdown on street racing this weekend.They're not saying exactly what they'll be doing ("tactics will not be disclosed at this time"), but the HCSO will be teaming with the Precinct 5 Constables office (and DPS), so that should give you some id ... 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 >>

County's New Mugshot Policy May Not Withstand Court Test

Iron Man 2, at a theater near you​Yesterday, the Harris County Sheriff's Office announced that it will no longer let anyone see the mugshots that are taken just after someone has been arrested. The sheriff's office argues that it takes too much time and sucks up valuable man-hours to e-mail the ph ... More >>

Sheriff Adrian Garcia Touts Department's Move Into The 21st Century

Welcome to the 21st century, crooks​The Harris County Sheriff's Office threw a little soiree for the media Monday afternoon to trumpet the department's apparent success using DNA collected at crime scenes to solve burglaries.But the real lesson Hair Balls took away from the announcement is this: T ... More >>

Tasered To Death: Traffic Stop Turns Fatal, Without Bullets (Updated)

Running away from an HCSO deputy is fatal​The Harris County Sheriff's Office says its homicide unit will investigate the death of a man who was tasered by one of their deputies and died after hitting his head in a fall.HCSO says the man, whose identity is being withheld pending notification of his ... More >>

Sheri Lynn Davis, Teacher Who Became A Web Sensation For Beating A Kid: Charges Filed

Not arrested yet, but charges filed and warrants issued​The Harris County Sheriff's Office has announced that charges have been filed against the charter-school teacher whose videotaped hitting of a student went viral on the web.Sheri Lynn Davis has been charged with injury to a child. Three other ... More >>

Gregory Hundl, 25, Bayou Body Count No. 183

Photo courtesy HCSOKilled by a drunk teenaged driver​A jailer with the Harris County Sheriff's Office was killed early Saturday when a drunk teen rammed into his motorcycle as he waited at a red light, officials say.Gregory Hundl was heading home after a shift at the jail and was stopped at the U. ... More >>

Quanell X's Missing Man Found, Wasn't Missing In First Place

A couple of TV stations -- including Channel 39, above -- had stories last night on a Quanell X press conference in front of the jail, criticizing the Harris County Sheriff's Office for releasing a former inmate with mental problems without informing relatives.The former inmate, Clifton Barber, was ... More >>

Fugitive Sex Offenders Will Be Easier To Find, Officials Say

Photo by Paula BeltránPat Lykos, flanked by representives from the city and county​It's gotten tougher to be a fugitive sex offender in Harris County, a group of law enforcement officials announced Monday.The three main local agencies dealing with sex offenders are merging their databases and mon ... More >>

Joseph Wade Walker: The XXXL Bandit Has Waddled His Last

Joseph Walker, XXXL​Houston has been transfixed with the livin' large antics of the XXXL Bandit, the roly-poly bank robber who was a modern-day cross between Charlie Weis and (Not So) Pretty Boy Floyd.The run -- the waddle? -- is over. The Harris County Sheriff's Office has announced today they ca ... More >>

Andre Sloan: Sheriff's Office Says It's Cracked 20-Year-Old Murder Case

Photo courtesy HCSOAndre Sloan: Charged with a 1990 murder​The Harris County Sheriff's Office used DNA evidence to crack a cold case and file murder charges against Andre Sloan in a 20-year-old killing, officials said today.Finding Sloan, 48, won't be too difficult: He's currently serving a life s ... More >>

Geroge Wesley Ellington: Sheriff's Deputy Indicted For Moonlighting As Security For Ecstasy Dealer

Rave on, with the help of the Harris County Sheriff's Office​Harris County Sheriff's deputies moonlight all the time, providing security for local businesses.Including ecstasy dealers, apparently.A federal grand jury indicted a sheriff's deputy for selling criminal information to a ecstasy dealer ... More >>

Dennis Ray Anderson: Body-In-A-Barrel Dude Hangs Himself

Dennis Ray Anderson, murderer, takes his own life​Dennis Ray Anderson, the dangerous, hotly pursued convicted murderer who left a female corpse in a barrel in his back yard here, has been found hanged to death in a Florida motel room.Christina Garza of the Harris County Sheriff's Office says Frida ... More >>

Everything in Between

No Age makes punk palatable.

Harris County Jail Takes First Tentative Step Towards Ankle Monitors

Ankle monitors may take the place of jail time for some in Harris County​The Harris County Sheriff's Office is seeking to take a first "baby step" towards using ankle monitors and home confinement to fight jail overcrowding, a spokesman says. HCSO is asking Commissioners Court for permission ... More >>

Norma Jean Clark: Sheriff's Deputies Arrest Her for Murdering Her Husband 23 Years Ago

Franklin County SONorma Jean Clark, accused of murdering her husband in 1987​Back in April 1987, when Edmund High Clark was found dead in his bedroom from a shot to the head and one in the back, his wife Norma Jean said she'd been sleeping in another room and was awakened by the shots. She fl ... More >>

Spring Cleaning: Let the Sheriff's Office Help You Shred Your Documents

You should really shred these at home.​It's almost April. The air is warm with the hint of summer weather to come. Birds are chirping. Trees are blooming and that annual rite of passage is upon us: spring cleaning. For most of us, that means cleaning up around the house, maybe gardening a bit ... More >>

Alexander Olivieri: 18-Year-old Murder Suspect Grins for Mugshot

HCSOAlexander Olivieri: Nice mug​The Harris County Sheriff's Office has arrested Alexander Olivieri, 18, for the Katy murder of Bridgett Frisbie, 17. Frisbie's body was found, dead from a gunshot wound, by some kids who were four-wheeling in a field Sunday afternoon. Olivieri's mugshot, rele ... More >>

Three Generations of Crack Sellers Under One Roof

HCSOSheila Sowell: a family affair​Apparently family togetherness, when it comes to crime, is not limited to adult-diaper scamsters. The Harris County Sheriff's Office announced this afternoon that they had busted a family of six for selling crack from their home on the northeast side of town ... More >>

Sheriff's Gang and DWI Crackdown Near Flea Market Yields 16 Arrests, 120 Tickets

Who doesn't love a flea market? People who are arrested there.​Deputies from the Harris County Sheriff's Office targeted an area near a popular northside flea market this weekend and made 16 arrests and gave out 120 tickets. It was a combined DWI and anti-gang initiative, a spokesperson said, ... More >>

Ronald Washington: Slices Woman With Machete, Douses Her With Gasoline, Then Gets Arrested When He Files a Report

HCSORonald Washington felt aggrieved.​If we take the Harris County Sheriff's Office at its word, then Ronald Washington got into a fight with the mother of his six-month-old baby, a fight that included swiping at her with a machete, dousing her with gasoline and driving off with the kid in the ... More >>

76-Year-Old Man Tied Up for Two Days by Burglars

HCSOJunior Velasquez​Burglars left a 76-year-old man tied up in duct tape and wrapped in a rug for two days while they calmly ransacked his house, the Harris County Sheriff's Office says; the man eventually dragged himself out onto the street to find help. Two suspects have been arrested in t ... More >>

Stealing a Purse in Church: a How-To Video

The Harris County Sheriff's Office has released this security-cam video of a woman rifling through a purse during a church service. "God and a camera were watching Cynthia Gonzalez, aka Cynthia Martinez, as she allegedly stole from a woman's purse after the woman got up to receive communion," the s ... More >>

Sheriff Asks Congress for More Money to Patrol Port

HCSOGive me more money, Garcia said.​Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia told a congressional subcommittee today that he needs more cash to protect the Port of Houston. "At the end of the day, it comes down to the ability of someone to patrol in a patrol boat or a patrol car," he told the Ho ... More >>

Harris County Sheriff's Diversity Training: Our PowerPoint Presentation

Diversity: It's The Right Thing To Do!​Remember back in 2008, when the Harris County Sheriff's Department circulated those internal e-mails making fun of everyone (but white men?) And later that year, when deputies handcuffed a Sikh woman and her entire family -- and called them Muslims -- bec ... More >>

IWatch Harris County App from the Sheriff's Department Poorly Designed

The IWatch welcome screen.​The best smartphone apps meant for functionality rather than entertainment fill a need, are easy to use and provide appropriate functionality for the task at hand. The Harris County Sheriff's Department IWatch Harris County app delivers about one-and-a-half of those ... More >>

The Scene of A Fantastic Metro Crash: Conveniently, Near Lawyers' Offices

Photo by John Nova LomaxOops​At around 9 a.m., a dump truck headed eastbound on Capitol was struck by a southbound MetroRail train. The truck was knocked up on the sidewalk, where it came to rest very near the door to Ziggy's deli. The train derailed, but both vehicles remained upright. A sta ... More >>

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

Claus: Not the suspect.​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 deman ... More >>