Jail Inmate Charged in Fatal Shooting at North Houston Apartments

(Photo By HPD) Jacob Brown


Houston Chronicle

A suspect has been arrested in the shooting death of a woman and the wounding of a man last summer as the victims sat in a car in north Houston. 

Jacob Brown, 27, is charged with capital murder in the shooting, which occurred about 12:30 a.m. June 27 at 7311 Curry, according to the Houston Police Department. 

Police said Titisha Denise Williams, 22, and 33-year-old Damon McClain were in a car in the parking lot of an apartment complex when two men approached them and demanded money. The suspects then shot them more than once and ran away. 

Williams died at the scene. McClain, 33, was rushed to Ben Taub General Hospital and was in critical condition. No update on his condition was released. 

Investigators later determined Brown was a suspect in the case. At the time he was charged in the shooting he was already in the Harris County jail for an unrelated robbery case.

When asked about the gun used, Brown admitted that a few days previous to the incident, he'd broken into the home of a fat white gun owner and stole it.  The gun had been found under the pillow in the main bedroom.  The victim of the theft had no comment.

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Three Shot in Houston Car Wash - One Dead

Deluded Open Carry Demonstrators in Houston Think They're Reducing the Stigma

ABC local

Some customers at a southwest Houston bagel shop were startled to see people standing around with guns outside the store.

The people outside the Einsten Bros. Bagels on Montrose were with Open Carry Texas -- a group dedicated to the safe and legal carry of firearms openly in the State of Texas.

They say they want to remove the stigma on the appearance of guns in the community and educate people about firearms.

Members of the group claim some people are afraid of weapons because of misinformation from the media and the government.

"They don't classify firearms properly," Ricky McGrath with Open Carry Texas said. "Someone sees an AR-15 and thinks that it's a fully-automatic rifle; when in reality, it's no different than the standard hunting rifle that your father or your grandfather hunts with, or even your husband or your children are using."

Police responded to a call about the men, but say they weren't breaking any laws because it is legal to open carry long guns in Texas.

The reason people are afraid of weapons is not what this simpleton said: that they don't know the distinction between fully- and semi-automatic.  It's because they don't know the distinction between the criminal or mentally deranged carrier of the weapon and the lawful one. You guys of the gun all look alike.

Kyle Coplen Begins his Shotgun Giveaway in Houston Neighborhood

Associated Press/Pat Sullivan - In this Sunday, May 19, 2013, photo, Dan Blackford, right, shows Rory Strain, 12, how to hold a shotgun at a shooting range Sunday, May 19, 2013, in Houston. Strain lives in the northwest Houston community of Oak Forest, the first residential area being trained and equipped by a nonprofit that is giving away free shotguns to single women and neighborhoods with high crime rates. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)

 Yahoo News

Kyle Coplen, the project's 29-year-old founder said his group expects to train at least 50 Oak Forest residents and put up signs saying the neighborhood is armed.

"When we have a crime wave, we don't just say let's just increase police and that's all we do. We do multiple things. I see this as one aspect of what we can do," said Coplen, who graduated from the University of Houston with a master's degree in public administration.

It costs the organization about $300 to arm and train an individual and about $20,000 for an entire neighborhood. All costs are paid through donations, said Coplen, though he declined to say how much his organization has raised so far.

While some residents in the neighborhood are supportive, several officials have mixed feelings about it.

Pro-gun folks don't seem to consider the downside of more guns in homes.  Not only will accidents go up, but so will theft.  Some of these guns will end up in criminal hands.

Plus, when these shotguns start protecting their owners and the owners' property, unnecessary DGUs will take place. People will be hurt and killed who don't deserve it.

David Hemenway, a professor of health policy and management at the Harvard School of Public Health who has written about firearms and health, said studies suggesting gun ownership deters crime have been refuted by many others that say the opposite.

"Mostly what guns seem to do is make situations more lethal because most crime has nothing to do with guns," he said. "When there is a gun in the mix, there is much more likely to be somebody dying or somebody incredibly hurt."

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

NRA Convention in Houston - Gun Violence in the Airport

Reuters/Reuters - A man rides down an escalator at the George R. Brown Convention Center, ahead of the National Rifle Association's (NRA) annual meeting in Houston, Texas May 2, 2013. REUTERS/Adrees Latif

Yahoo News

Tens of thousands of National Rifle Association members gather in Houston this weekend for the first time since the U.S. Senate rejected a plan to expand background checks for gun buyers, but NRA officials said attendees would not sit back to celebrate victory.

"We view it as an opening battle in what will be a multi-year war," said Andrew Arulanandam, a spokesman for the NRA, which lobbied against the proposal. "We're definitely not resting on our laurels."

 
On Thursday, as thousands of NRA delegates were arriving for the conference, a man sparked a panic at a busy Houston airport terminal when he pulled out a gun and shot at the ceiling, then either shot himself or was killed by a security officer who confronted him.

Of course the gun-rights fanatics will disavow any association with this character.  That's what they do when one of their own acts badly.  I ask you, does he belong to the gun-control side or the pro-gun side?

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

More on the Houston 4-Year-old

As we reported yesterday, this accidental shooting resulted in the death of a 4-year-old. What's come out today is that the gun was stolen and the gun owner had drugs in the house. The distraught dad was nearly hysterical with grief claiming that he'd told the boy never to touch the gun.

My question is what's the difference between this case and those in which a lawful gun owner experiences a similar tragedy.  Answer: not much, not much at all.

Criminal gun owners love their children just like their lawful counterparts do.  They teach the kids about gun safety the same way.  They cry when their kids get hurt too.

Lawful gun owners and criminal gun owners are birds of a feather. This kind of thing does not happen to gun control folks.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Houston 4-Year-old Dead in Accidental Shooting - Dad Arrested

Local news reports with video

It’s the kind of story no one ever wants to hear.

Houston Police are investigating the death of a child in northwest Houston.

Apparently 4-year-old Jaiden Pratt was spending the weekend at his dad’s apartment on Northborough Drive off west Rankin Road when he accidentally shot himself in the stomach.
His dad, 23-year-old Marquez Pratt, is now facing some pretty serious charges.

Homicide Detective Fil Waters with the Houston Police Department said the police found the father carrying the child outside after the incident. At this time, police are not entirely sure about all of the circumstances surrounding the shooting.

Tensions ran high as crowds gathered in the apartment complex, trying to understand what happened.
One thing’s for sure, it’s a heartbreaking story without a happy ending.

Trigger-Happy Houston Cop Kills Shoplifter

Houston Chronicle  via democommie

An off-duty Harris County sheriff's deputy said Friday that he was afraid for his life when he fatally shot a suspected shoplifter in a Walmart parking lot.

Deputy Louis Campbell was working an extra security job at the store in the 10400 block of the North Freeway about 9:45 p.m. Thursday when he fired the shot that killed 27-year-old Shelly Frey.

Prior to the shooting, a Walmart employee told Campbell that a group of women, including Frey, were stuffing store merchandise into their bags.  They paid for a few small items but then tried to leave without paying for the rest, Harris County sheriff's deputies said.

Campbell confronted the women in the doorway and ordered them to stop. They tried to force their way past him. One of the women, later identified as Frey, hit the deputy and ran.

Campbell followed them into the parking lot, where the shoplifting suspects climbed into a waiting car. Campbell opened the car door and ordered Frey to get out. But she refused, officials said.
Andrews began to drive away while the deputy was standing between the open door and the driver's seat.

"She threw it in reverse and tried to run over the deputy," said Thomas Gilliland, a Harris County sheriff's spokesman. Campbell later told investigators he feared for his safety and opened fire.  The car sped away.

You know what this is, really? This is summary execution for disobedience. Cops don't like it when you disobey like that.  Of course in order to justify it they always claim fear for their life, but I don't buy it.  He was unhurt. If his life had really been in jeopardy, he'd have suffered some injuries, no?

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Houston's Stolen Guns

The Houston Chronicle reports

Cabdrivers Mohammed Elsayed and Blaise Nwokenaka, shot dead by the last passengers of their lives, were killed with a .380-caliber Cobra pistol - a gun stolen just 20 days earlier.

Nineteen-year-old Shanetria Grogan was slain by her ex-boyfriend, shot in the head with a .380-caliber Jimenez Arms semi-automatic pistol, also stolen. And 23-year-old Leroy Pierson, killed in a drug deal gone bad, suffered a fatal wound from a .40-caliber Smith & Wesson semi-automatic pistol, yet one more ripped-off weapon.

At least 32,000 guns, some 4,000 every year, have been stolen from Houston-area homes, cars, pawn shops and even gun dealers since 2005, with only 7 percent of them ever recovered, a Houston Chronicle analysis shows.

And this is only Houston, and what we know about. Can you imagine the extent of the problem nation-wide?

The solution is obvious.   Safe storage laws plus a reporting of stolen guns requirement would take care of the rest.

This wouldn't be a 100% solution, nothing is, but it would go a long way towards improving things.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Accidental Shooting Death of Houston 11-year-old by his Brother - Charges Possible

Chron.com reports

The Waller County District Attorney's office will likely recommend a grand jury investigation into the shooting at the family's home in Hockley, authorities said Tuesday. The two boys were playing with guns, a 12-gauge pump shotgun and a 20-gauge shotgun, unsupervised around 11:15 a.m. on Sunday.

A shot from the 12-gauge struck the younger brother, 11, in the left shoulder.

The 11-year-old was taken to Tomball Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead about 12:26 p.m. The 12-year-old was released to his parents about 8 p.m. Sunday.

The Waller County District Attorney's office has only received verbal reports and is still determining whether the parents could face charges. The decision will ultimately made by the grand jury.

I don't see the need for a Grand Jury Hearing to determine if a crime was committed. Whenever kids are left alone with access to guns, a crime had been committed - even in Texas.

Or am I wrong?

What do you think? Please leave a comment.

Accidental Shooting of Texas Man by Himself - He's Dead

Houston Chronicle reports

A 40-year-old man accidentally fatally shot himself as he was putting his gun on safety early Wednesday morning in Dickinson.

Duane Johnson died after accidentally shooting himself about 2:25 a.m. Wednesday at his business in the 3700 block of Medical Park drive, according to the Dickinson Police Department.

Police said Johnson went to check on his business after he received a call from an alarm company about the building. The building had not been broken into. Johnson accidentally shot himself in the chest as he tired to put the gun's safety on.

How is such a thing even possible? Could this Texas man have been so unfamiliar with firearms that he aimed it at his chest while trying to engage the safety? How did anyone know that's what he was doing anyway?

For me, there are some questions about this one, but the bottom line seems clear, man, gun, dead.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Cops Shoot Armed Man

CNN reports

Houston police said they shot Twohig after attempts were made to have him drop his weapon. He suffered several gunshot wounds and was transported to a hospital with nonlife-threatening injuries. Twohig is charged with aggravated assault against a public servant.

Bicycle officers A. Cantos and H. Lam said they were on patrol when they heard gunshots and saw Twohig standing on a bridge near the park's fountains and pond holding a weapon. When the officers approached the scene and told Twohig to drop his rifle, they said he fired his weapon into the pond and then gestered as if he was intending to commit suicide. Police said Twohig then screamed "shoot me, shoot me" toward the officers.

Easy Pickin's for Gun Burglars

The Houston Chronicle reports

Dozens of firearms have been taken in a series of burglaries this month in the northeastern Liberty County community of Tarkington Prairie, officials said.

Two men are being sought for questioning in the 13 break-ins. No one was home during the burglaries, Liberty County Sheriff's Office Capt. Rex Evans said.

Nearly 100 firearms - from hunting rifles, shotguns, pistols and handguns - have been taken.

Gun-rights supporters want us to simply shrug our shoulders and say, oh well, what can you do?

Here we're not talking about some remote ranch on hundreds of acres where you keep guns in glass racks, Gunsmoke-style. We're talking about the city of Houston. Is it too much to require safe storage of weapons in the home? Is that a terrible infringement on peoples' rights?

Apparently so, in Houston they blame only the thieves and ask the gun owners nicely to be more careful.

Evans urged gun owners to secure their weapons. 

What's your opinion? Why are gun owners so reluctant to be truly responsible with their guns? These genius break-in artists spent an average of ONE MINUTE per home in order to take away six or eight guns from each. How difficult would it be to prevent something like that?

Please leave a comment.

Houston Texas, a Violent City

The Houston Chronicle reports on the grim situation down in the Bayou City.

Houston has a higher rate of violent crime than any other Texas city and ranks among the highest in the nation, according to a Houston Chronicle analysis of FBI crime data in the 25 most populous U.S. cities.

The city also has fewer police officers per capita or per square mile than the national average, the analysis shows.

The prediction is obvious.

“There's no doubt that there's going to be a spike in crime as a result of this,” said Gary Blankinship, president of the Houston Police Officers Union. “We have to learn to work smarter and try to use technology a little bit more, but some hard decisions may have to be made and some other city budgets may have to be looked at. Tough times cause people to have to make tough decisions.”

I remember reading somewhere that in situations like this the police actually encourage private citizens to apply for concealed carry permits in order to help out. What do you think? Is that the solution for Houston?

But, don't the good folks in Texas already have a lot of guns? Aren't they right smack in the middle of the Bible Belt, where guns and Christianity mix? Then why all this violence? What seems to be wrong?

What's your opinion? Would increasing even more the number of guns and CCW holders make things safer? I think that would continue to add fuel to the fire of never-ending violence.

By the way, if one person is a gun owner and staunch believer in the 2nd Amendment and has a certain opinion on this, and another person does not own a gun and believes in gun control and has the opposite opinion, which one do you think is more likely to be biased?

Please feel free to leave a comment.

Suicides among Army Recruiters

CNN reports on the grim story of a disproportionate number of Houston based army recruiters committing suicide. There have been four in the last three years.


"The United States Army Recruiting Command is deeply concerned by the instances of suicide within the Houston Recruiting Battalion," said a statement released by the Recruiting Command. "The board's objective will be to prevent future suicides, increase suicide awareness, analyze trends and highlight additional tools and resources to combat suicide within the Recruiting Command."

The Army's examination comes after a sergeant first class, a member of the Houston Recruiting Battalion and an Iraq combat veteran, killed himself at his home earlier this month.

It seems strange to me that recruiters would be particularly hit. Their work doesn't seem to be especially stressful. It begs a larger question: what is the suicide rate at large among service men and women and veterans of recent wars.

Due to the recurring deployments that have proven necessary to sustain operations in the Middle East, it is likely that a large majority of our recruiters are also veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The recruiter suicides come at a time when the total number of suicides in the Army's ranks has been growing, Army officials said. Through August there had been 93 active duty suicides in the Army.

Last year there were 115 active duty suicides, the highest for the Army since the Vietnam War, according to Army statistics.

Why do you think this would be happening? My first thought is that, not unlike Viet Nam, these engagements have become extremely unpopular. Perhaps that awareness has filtered through and has infected the troops themselves, like it did forty years ago. On the other hand, that may be too complicated a theory.

A simpler theory is this: the stresses associated with war are perhaps heightened by a number of factors. The continual fear of suicide bombers, although this did exist during Viet Nam, in recent years it's become a major concern. I guess we can thank the Israeli / Palestinian conflict for that. Another interesting thing I read is the number of battlefield casualties who live is at an all time high. This is due to improved medevac equipment and procedures. The result is a higher number of damaged individuals returning to society. I'll bet they make up a good percentage of the suicides.

What do you think? Part of my solution is to get out of Iraq, a war we never should have been involved in in the first place. I'd get our foreign combat activity down to a bare minimum. Isolationism might be preferable to the breath-taking costs of sustaining these wars.