Tag Archives: Texas Crime

Poor Little Rich Kid Ethan Couch Headed to the Pokey – For Now

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There may be some small bit of justice for the victims of Ethan Couch – the so-called Affluenza teen who killed four and seriously injured two others in a drunk-driving crash in Fort Worth.  At the time of the  wreck, Couch has a blood alcohol level three times the legal limit – from drinking beer stolen from a Walmart.  At his juvenile trial, Couch’s defense team claimed that the 16 year-old was not to blame for his reckless actions because his parents were – well, bad parents.  Couch was apparently allowed to drive himself to school as early as age 13 and already had a nasty drinking habit by age 15.  The defense was probably correct about Couch’s worthless parents, but the nation was outraged when Couch avoided any detention time.  The outrage grew when Couch violated the conditions of his probation by drinking and then escaped to Mexico with mother Tonya to avoid further criminal sanctions.

Since being returned to Texas, Couch has remained in jail and today, a Texas judge finally held Couch accountable for his actions.  Couch appeared in regular court for the first time since he turned 19 on Monday and it did not go well for the young man.  State District Court Judge Wayne Salvant initially indicated that he would not immediately rule on how much longer Couch would spend in the Tarrant County jail.  Judge Salvant abruptly changed his mind after hearing an argument from prosecutors that Couch should be sentenced not to 120 days in jail for the crash, but to 180 days for each of four counts of intoxication manslaughter under a separate part of Texas code.

But before we praise Salvant too much for finally holding Couch truly accountable for his heinous actions, it must be noted that Salvant indicated that he may reconsider his ruling after further briefing from legal counsel.  Now if they would only put Tonya Couch away for a good long while . . .

Enchanted Rock Vandals Arrested

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Charles Agawereh and Meredith Baird of San Marcos had the bright idea to spray paint their street names of CA$H and TRUCK on the beloved natural landmark Enchanted Rock. And the couple was apparently stupid enough to post the photo on Facebook.  It didn’t take police long to identify the two since their street names were known from an earlier arrest in San Marcos.  The pair now face felony graffiti and drug-related charges, according to Texas Parks & Wildlife officials.  Hope the 15 minutes was worth it.

 

If it Weren’t for Bad Luck . . .

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Philip Panzica of Houston earned national notoriety after being arrested for allegedly having sex on the High Roller Ferris wheel in Las Vegas six weeks ago.  Who knew that was illegal?  On Saturday, his streak of bad luck continued as he was gunned down in a carjacking at 5:15 am in southwest Houston.   According to KTRK, one of the carjackers told Panzica to “come clean” before killing the 27-year-old in front of his fiancé.  It is unknown if the carjackers knew about Panzica’s big wheel hanky-panky  with Chloe Scordianos of Long Island, NY which  happened on the day he was to marry Mistie Bozant who herself may have been pregnant with another man’s child.

The female witness to the shooting was described only as Panzica’s fiancée and it is unclear if she was the aforementioned Mistie Bozant.   What is known is that Panzica and his “fiancé” had just left the Houston topless bar where she works and that an argument broke out in Panzica’s car before the carjacking occurred.

Based on information from the fiancé and the description of the stolen car, police arrested  Bryant Watts and Arron Jones.  Watts allegedly confessed to killing Panzica and both men are now jailed on a capital murder charge.

Tommy Tipton – Lotto Swindler and Bigfoot Hunter?

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Fayette County Justice of the Peace Tommy Tipton resigned his judicial office in the wake of the scandal surrounding the arrest and conviction of his brother Eddie Tipton for rigging lottery results.  Eddie, the former Director of Security for the Multi-State Lottery Association, is out on bond following his conviction for fraud after attempting to claim a $16.5 million jackpot in Iowa.  But Eddie’s legal problems do not end there.  He faces another Iowa  trial on charges of ongoing criminal conduct and money laundering related to jackpots in other states.  But what does all of this have to do with Bigfoot?

Let Red fill you in.  Iowa prosecutor Rob Sand has asked a judge to bar any discussion of Bigfoot hunting at Eddie’s upcoming trial.  It appears that brother Tommy and two other friends possibly involved in the unfolding scandal are Bigfoot Hunters.

Sand’s motion noted that Tipton is or was a member of the Gulf Coast Bigfoot Research Organization — a group dedicated to searching for Bigfoot and relatives in Southern states whose members “prefer to keep a low profile, due to the repercussions from their peers or employers.”  The GCBRO, however, has distanced itself from Tipton and the lottery scandal.  A spokesman for the group indicated that it hasn’t had a confirmed Tommy Tipton sighting in years.  “It’s been right at, or nearly 15 years since any of us, has conversed with him in any way, shape or form,” founder Bobby Hamilton said.

Is it Just Red, or Does this Kid Looked Stoned

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This Dec. 28, 2015 photo released by Mexico's Jalisco state prosecutor's office shows who authorities identify as Ethan Couch, after he was taken into custody in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. U.S. authorities said the Texas teenager serving probation for killing four people in a drunken-driving wreck after invoking an "affluenza" defense, was in custody in Mexico, weeks after he and his mother disappeared. (Mexico's Jalisco state prosecutor's office via AP) Photo: AP / Jalisco state prosecutor's office

Red is not normally one to pick on teens, but occasionally there is a worthy subject.  In this case, it’s notorious “affluenza” teen Ethan Couch who fled to Mexico with his possibly even more irresponsible mother Tonya Couch.  Both were captured in Puerto Vallarta  earlier this week.  Couch will likely face a maximum of 4 months in jail for parole violations despite having killed 4 and critically injuring another in a drunk driving episode when he was 16.  Couch’s attorneys claimed that his privileged upbringing somehow made the youth less responsible for his egregious acts.  An unrepentant Couch and his mother apparently staged a “going away” party before they fled to Mexico in the face of Couch going away for parole violations.

Today in Texas History – December 30

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From the Annals of the Political Machines – In 1938, San Antonio mayor Charles K. Quin was indicted for misappropriation of funds. Quin, an attorney by trade, had practiced in San Antonio since 1923.  He also served as an assistant city attorney and a city utilities attorney before returning to private practice in 1932 as a partner of C. M. Chambers, the Democratic mayor of San Antonio. When Chambers died in 1933, Quin was selected to fill his unexpired term and then prevailed in the regular election later that year.  A mayor, Quin was head of the San Antonio political machine tradition and associated with the gambler and bootlegger Charles Bellinger. The Bexar County grand jury indicted Quin and two other city officials for allegedly using city funds to pay wages to more than 400 “precinct workers” in the 1937 election.  Not  surprisingly, the indictment was quashed but Quin was defeated in the next election by Maury Maverick.  Quin vanquished Maverick in the 1941 election, but resigned from the mayoral office in 1942 to accept a position as a State District Court judge – a position he held until his death in 1960.

Today in Texas History – November 30

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From the Annals of Lawlessness –  In 1890, Texas pioneer and author John H. Jenkins was killed in a gunfight in Bastrop.  Jenkins was attempting to save his son, the County Sheriff, from an ambush when he was shot down.  Jenkins had moved to Texas as a young boy with his family eventually settling on the banks of the Colorado near present-day Bastrop.  After his father was mysteriously killed while working his fields, Jenkins became the ward of Edward Burleson.  Jenkins joined the Texas revolution at age 13 fighting in Burleson’s First Regiment of the Texas Volunteers.  He is reputed to have been the youngest Texian soldier in the San Jacinto campaign although he was not present at the battle having been dispatched to aid his mother and siblings escape from the advancing Mexican armies.  He later served in the Texas Rangers and with the Confederate Army in the Civil War.  Jenkins is best known for his well-written and colorful memoir – Recollections of Early Texas – published by the University of Texas Press in 1958.

106 Bikers from Twin Peaks Shoot-Out Finally Indicted

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After only 8 months of prosecutorial twisting in the wind, the McClennan County District Attorney finally obtained indictments against 106 of the bikers involved in the March 2015 shoot-out at the now closed Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco.  The wheels of justice are grinding slowly, but not particularly finely as there were no indictments for murder or assault issued by the grand jury. All were indicted on charges of engaging in organized criminal activity.  For unknown reasons, 9 of the 106 indictments were sealed.  Another 71 bikers were arrested and perhaps the murder, assault and weapons charges are going to be leveled against those individuals.  In any event, the MCDA has seemed overwhelmed by this massive project.

DPS Issues Gang Update

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The Texas Department of Public Safety issued its latest “Gang Update” on Monday August 31.  According to the DPS’  Texas Gang Threat Assessment, several Texas based gangs remain a major problem.  The report ranks gangs in order to determine which ones are the most dangerous.  Under the ranking system, Tier One gangs pose the biggest threat.  These include Tango Blast with 15,000 members, Texas Mexican Mafia with over 4,700 members, and Texas Syndicate with more than 3,400.

Can We have Their Names Please?

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Gov. Greg Abbott signed a sweeping border security bill that will cost the state over $300 million to fix a problem that may not exist anymore. Statistics show that crime in the Rio Grande valley is at an all time low. But that doesn’t matter to Abbott who justified the massive increase in police presence by claiming that, “Here in Houston, there are more than 20,000 dangerous gang members that are associated with cross border traffic crime.”  Abbott went on to claim that there are more than 100,000 such hoodlums In the state. Abbott cited no source for his numbers.  It’s becoming more and more clear that Abbott will say anything because Texas Tea Party voters who control the electorate clearly will not hold him accountable. Need a stat to support throwing money at a problem- just make one up.