Homer Simpson Is Not Amused

Sandwiched between reports of strangulations, strikings and stolen cars on Saturday’s Dallas Police Department crime report is this item from the Fiesta at 9727 Webb Chapel Road in Northwest Dallas: “AP ATE A CHOCOLATE DONUT AND LEFT WITHOUT PAYING FOR IT.” And, yes, “AP” means the guy was arrested –…

“The Exonerator,” Texan of the Year

If you had Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins in your office’s Dallas Morning News Texan of the Year pool, well, collect your winnings. (This no doubt displeases Dallas County Commissioner Ken Mayfield, who says in the piece that Watkins and his DNA exonerations are “costing the taxpayers $480,000 per…

Tomorrow Morning, a Fired DPD Officer Will Fight to Get His Job Back

In March, Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle fired Senior Cpl. Jeffrey “Jack” Nelson, one of the three officers involved in the now-infamous phony ticket scandal that also resulted in the officers filing a lawsuit against D magazine last July. As The News recounted upon Nelson’s firing in the spring:Senior Cpl…

Highland Park Developer Who Likes to Sue Is Royally Pissed Over Book

Can’t say I’d ever heard of Highland Park’s Hiram Walker Royall till last night, when I stumbled across this piece from the First Amendment Center concerning the developer’s October ’08 libel lawsuit, brought about because Royall’s furious over the contents of the well-reviewed 2007 book Bulldozed: “Kelo,” Eminent Domain and…

“West Texas Puro Tango Blast” — Not As Much Fun As It Sounds

Only a few days ago, The Dallas Morning News ran a piece about Texas’ Tango Blast gang, which was formed within the confines of the state’s penitentiaries and “could change the Dallas landscape because it rejects old notions of prison gang exclusivity and lifelong commitments,” wrote Tanya Eiserer. (The D-Town…

Eastside Homeboy Gets 19 Years

The U.S. Attorney’s Office just sent word: Arturo Tinoco is going to federal prison for a long, long time — 19 years and then some. Why? Because twice in the span of seven months, the 29-year-old was stopped by Dallas police, who, both times, found a whole bunch of methamphetamine…

Child Porn Lands Prominent Southlake Doc in Prison For Three Years

A little more than one year ago, Dr. James Shin was a Southlake resident and a family man and the Chair of the Internal Medicine Department at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth. Then, on September 17, 2007, officials with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement cybercrime unit discovered “numerous…

DA Craig Watkins Tells WSJ of His “Obligation to Seek Justice”

Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins A couple of days back, The Wall Street Journal ran a profile of Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins – and he’s “The Exonerator,” proclaimed the headline to a story that, like many others written about Watkins in recent months, focuses almost exclusively on…

Holiday Crime Initiative, Not Just Another Excellent Band Name

At this very moment, the city council’s Public Safety Committee is meeting to discuss, among other things, the so-called Holiday Crime Initiative aimed at preventing crime during this most wonderful time of the year. Specially, today’s presentation deals with two parts of town: the Dallas Police Department’s North Central Patrol…

From Texas Death Row, a Blog

Rogelio Reyes Cannady A week from today, 36-year-old Rogelio Reyes Cannady will be dead. That’s the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s plan, anyway: Cannady is scheduled to be executed on November 19 for murdering his cellmate in October 1993. Cannady, once a waiter, was in prison in ’93 serving out…

Ex-DISD Official Ruben Bohuchot Gets 11 Years In Prison

Ruben Bohuchot Allen Gwinn just texted me with today’s news: Ruben Bohuchot, the former Dallas Independent School District associate superintendent for technology indicted last year and convicted in July for screwing the district out of millions, was just sentenced in federal court. Writes Allen, U.S. District Judge Sam Lindsay has…