TV News Houston

HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT MEMORIAL SERVICE

The Memorial Service took place on Saturday at the Houston Frire Department Retirement Center near Bush Airport. Due to the weather the event was moved indoors. Besides the Memorial the new funeral coach was blessed.
The video is 41 minutes long and ends with interviews with Jay Evans and Kevin Kulow’s father.

CLICK ON ARROW TO VIEW VIDEO:

BEER TRUCK CLOSES US 59

MARCH 19, 2010-CLEVELAND, TX.-Just after 3:30am Friday an 18-wheeler owner by Navaho Trucking was northbound on US59 coming from Anheiser Brewery in Houston and heading for Hot Springs, Arkansas. As he approached the first Cleveland exit he realized he had exited onto Business 59 he attempted to swerve back onto the main lanes. He was beyond the pavement and traveling at approximately 60 mph ran through the ditch flipping the big rig on its side.
The 21 tons on beer remained within the trailer. However there was a steady stream of beer flowing out.
Cleveland Police and Fire closed US 59 and diverted all traffic through Cleveland. Smith Heavy Duty Wrecker was on the scene and with the assistance of Milstead Heavy Duty, Milstead Environmental and air bags the vehicle was uprighted in approximately seven hours.
Just after dawn with a temperature change fog began rolling in adding to the traffic and rubber necking problem.
A minimal amount of oil and fuel were spilled allowing the freeway to be back open by noon.
The driven was treated for minor injuries.

CLICK ARROW FOR VIDEO:

SHENANDOAH HOME DEPOT THIEF NABBED

Just after noon today loss prevention employees from the Home Depot on IH-45 at Tamina contacted Shenandoah Police in reference to a shoplifter in the store. As Shenandoah arrived the suspect Rolando Avila, age 30 ran out of the store and with loss prevention and police behind him ran to the Buffalo Wild Wings across the street. There he stashed his coat and tried to hide in the dumpster.
Police were able to locate his car in the parking lot. The keys for the Chevrolet Cavalier were in Avila’s possession.
Having consent to search the vehicle they found almost $800 worth of sabre saw blades and various other tools. When they opened the the trunk they found almost three times that much from other Home Depot Stores in the Houston and Spring Valley area.
The suspect had also removed the front and rear license plates of the vehicle.
In addition to the tools they found almost fifteen pounds of fajita meat on the floor board and even more saw blades wrapped in tin foil.
He also had what appeared to be a shopping list and doctor and lawyer contacts for workmans comp.
He was placed in custody and transported to the Montgomery County jail.
Detectives say this is not his first round as the charges will most likely be enhanced with the prior convictions.
Shenandoah is also working with other law enforcement agencies to determine if the cases from other Home Depot thefts are related.
Since Loss Prevention employees have started working in the Shenandoah store and the police department across the freeway from the store very few shoplifters are getting away.

CLICK ARROW TO VIEW RAW VIDEO:

FATAL ACCIDENT LEE TURNER AND SH105

EAST MONTGOMERY COUNTY – A major accident killed one adult, and critically injured an adult and an infant Thursday afternoon.
The crash occurred just after 2 p.m. on Hwy 105 E. at Lee Turner Rd. when an eastbound 2000 Ford Windstar mini-van tried to pass another eastbound vehicle on the shoulder, but lost control, spinning into the path of a westbound Borden’s Milk truck.
The Borden’s truck driven by Douglas Jeager, struck the passenger side of the van, killing the passenger Antonia Pacheco-Lara, of Shepard and seriously injuring the driver Hermelinea Garcia-Gomez 31 of Shepard. The 13-month-old child which was the daughter of the deceased was ejected from a child safety seat, traveling through a window and landing on the ground.
MCHD medics arrived, along with Cut and Shoot, North Montgomery County and Splendora Fire Departments.
PHI Air Medical transported the female driver to the Texas Medical Center in Houston. A Life Flight medical helicopter was dispatched for the baby, but medics later determined the child’s injuries were too severe to fly and a ground ambulance was used instead.
The Borden’s driver sustained only minor injuries.
Pct. 4 Justice of the Peace James Metts conducted an inquest and ordered an autopsy.
Hwy 105 E. remained closed until just after 5 p.m. as DPS and the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office investigated and documented the crash site.
It was the second fatal accident on the roadway in the last few weeks.

CLICK ON ARROW TO VIEW VIDEO:

RUSK COUNTY EXORCISM JURY PICKED IN CONROE

CONROE – The jury selection process began on Wednesday for the capital murder trial of a Rusk County man charged in the brutal beating death of his girlfriend’s 13-month-old daughter on Dec. 2, 2008 during what authorities say was an attempted exorcism by the couple.
Blaine Keith Milam, 20, of Henderson is charged with Capital Murder of a person under six years of age.
The child’s mother, 20-year-old Jessica Bain Carson, will be tried separately, charged with the same crime.
Officials say the couple called 911 around 10:30 a.m. that Tuesday morning, saying Amora Bain Carson was not breathing. Sheriff’s deputies responded and found the child dead, with evidence of blunt force trauma all over her body, accompanied by dozens of human bite marks.
Detectives later determined little Amora was beaten with a hammer.
Some news reports claimed the couple took tools to a pawn shop to try and get enough money to pay a priest to perform an exorcism on Amora, but were unsuccessful and decided to handle it themselves. Other reports stated the toddler was already dead when they tried to get the money to pay a professional to perform the task.
Some say if justice were done in a previous case, Milam would not have been around any child. According to court records, in August of 2008, less than four months before Amora’s murder, Milam was convicted of first-degree felony aggravated sexual assault of a different child in the 4th District Court of Henderson. He was sentenced to five years confinement, but he was given a suspended sentence, which released him on probation instead of placing him behind bars. The Texas Department of Public Safety’s Sex Offender Registry lists Milam as “high risk.”
Both Milam and Carson have remained in jail since their arrest in 2008.
District Judge Clay Gossett ordered a change of venue for Milam’s trial last year, citing too much publicity in the county where the crime occurred. Of the 1,500 potential jurors summoned in Montgomery County, 533 appeared on Wednesday, 109 were excused and by Thursday, 424 were qualified.
Gossett said most jurors excused because they had some knowledge or opinion of the case. Individual questioning of prospective jurors is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, but the trial is not expected to begin until May.
Milam’s attorney, Rick Hagan, said he expects jury selection to take about two months. Hagan was appointed by a Justice of the Peace in Rusk County three days after the murder.
Hagan could say little more, since Gossett has issued a gag order for everyone involved in the case.

CLICK ON ARROW TO VIEW VIDEO:

TDC GUARD FOUND DEAD IN BED

Liberty County Officials are being quite tight lipped about the discovery of a TDC Official found dead at his home on County Road 2243 on Thursday morning. Ronnie Pechacek was found in bed of his wood frame home just east of the Cleveland airport. Detective remained on the scene for several hours. According to officials he was handcuffed over his to the headboard of his bed. A ruling will be made once an autopsy is done.

CLICK ON ARROW TO VIEW VIDEO:

HOMEOWNER SHOOTS MAN TRYING TO GET INTO HOME

PORTER – Neighbors trying to help neighbors is usually a happy occasion, but it led to a shooting in East Montgomery County Wednesday night.
Around 11 p.m., a homeowner in the 24900 block of Lynn Lane heard a disturbance outside and opened his front door to find his neighbor was being assaulted by the neighbor’s 26-year-old son.
Click the arrow to view video:

The homeowner yelled at the attacker, who then began kicking the homeowner’s car. The homeowner’s wife called 911 just as the 26-year-old jumped their fence and began to approach the couple’s front door. The homeowner went back inside his home, slamming the door shut. The enraged 26-year-old then began trying to kick in the door.
The homeowner grabbed a 9mm pistol and shot through the door, striking the 26-year-old once in the chest. The wounded man ran back to his house and was on his porch when officers from the Pct. 4 Constable’s Office, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and the Texas Department of Public Safety arrived.
MCHD EMS transported the wounded man to a Life Flight medical helicopter which took him to Memorial Hermann Hospital in the Texas Medical Center in Houston. He is expected survive.
The homeowner has not been charged.
As of this writing, names were unavailable.
CLICK ON ARROW TO VIEW VIDEO:

SUNDAY SPLENDORA GRASS FIRES

It was a beautiful Sunday. Mild temperatures, a nice breeze, very low humidity and many people wanting to start Spring cleaning.
A little after noon the first call came in to the Splendora Fire Department for a grass fire on Magnolia Drive of US 59. Arriving on the scene they determined it was the same location of a multiple alarm house fire several months ago. The owner lit what was left of the house and burned it to the ground. In doing this and not keeping a watchful eye on the fire things got out of hand. He heard an explosion looked out and saw the pasture around the house on fire. By the time firefighters arrived the fire had already jumped three property lines and was threatening homes on the next street over.
Splendora called for help from Grangerland and New Caney to get it under control.
After almost two hours it was contained leaving just the structure burning. Within minutes another call came in for another large grass fire off Tram Road and Frye. As units arrived there it was determined many structures were threatened and once again the call went out for help.Grangerland responded from the first scene as did New Caney, Plum Grove was dispatched also.
On both fires the tops of the grass and leaves were dry giving the fire plenty of fuel. Below that was another story. Mud and soft ground at times pulling boots off firefighters. No trucks were able to get to the main body of the fire and hose lines had to be stretched hundreds of feet. Many trees within the burn area that were dead but still standing gave a chimney effect blowing embers and flames out the top starting additional fires. Firefighters needed to cut those trees to contain the fire.

CLICK ARROW TO VIEW VIDEO:

Most of the grass fire started by illegal burns. There is no burn ban in effect but there are state laws on outdoor burning and one even spells out what a resident of Montgomery County can burn.
In general residential garbage burning and all commercial burning is prohibited year round. Refuse burning near a neighborhood or on less than 5 acres is a Class C Misdemeanor, and violators can be fined up to $500 per occurrence.
The following is a general overview of outdoor burning rules and regulations.
1.
Only small limbs ( less than 2” diameter) and leaves may be burned in neighborhoods, and the burning may not create a nuisance situation for another neighbor.
2.
No business may burn waste or refuse at any time
3.
Surface burning of land clearing debris is regulated by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, and is generally not allowed.
4.
Refuse or household trash may not be burned in or near a neighborhood.
5.
Refuse or household trash may not be burned on rural property less than 5 acres.

WILLIS FIRE INJURES TWO

Shortly after 3am North Montgomery County Fire Department received a call for a house fire on Seminole Drive. Upon arrival they found two victims in the front yard that had been rescued by neighbors. , a male age 45 with second and third degree burns over 32 percent of his body. Also a female companion age 62 with burns over 40 percent of her body but mostly to the lower torso. MCHD requested PHI Air Medical and Lifeflight. Both landed at Mueller Steel Buildings just off Shepard Hill and Highway 75. The female was taken to Galveston Burn Unit and the male to Hermann Houston. The cause remains under investigation.

CLICK ARROW TO VIEW VIDEO:

FATAL ACCIDENT SH105 AT SECURITY FOREST

Cut and Shoot along with North Montgomery County Fire Departments were dispatched to a single vehicle accident this morning. The reportee advised dispatchers that the victim, a male approximately 50 was unconscious and had difficulty breathing. Engine 21 went on location with a confirmed entrapment.

CLICK ARROW TO VIEW VIDEO:

As medics from MCHD arrived on the scene both fire departments started the extrication of the male who had left the main lanes of eastbound 105 and hit a TXDOT road grader which was on the improved right shoulder.
There was a caution sign posted almost 100 yards before the scene advising motorists of work crews being ahead.There were also TXDOT vehicles with lights and signage.
Shortly after the extrication started the driver was determined to be deceased.
DPS Troopers investigated the accident with MCSO providing much needed traffic control to allow at least one lane of the heavily traveled SH105 to continue moving.