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Thursday, February 9, 2012
Leander police: Tips pouring in on home invasion
A flurry of tips related to Tuesday’s Leander home invasion is helping police compile a list of potential suspects, officials said Thursday.
“We’ve had numerous tips come in from Crime Stoppers and neighbors in the area saying that they’ve seen a guy that looks like this guy,” Leander police Capt. Greg Minton said.
Minton said the department has put together a list of seven or eight people that match descriptions of the two men that entered a home on Elkhorn Ranch Road in the Lakeline Ranch neighborhood about 7:45 p.m. Tuesday with stun guns and bound two women’s hands with tape before demanding to know the location of a safe.
Police said the home invaders are both white. They said one was 5-foot-10 to 6 feet tall, had a goatee and was wearing a dark-colored suit and black beanie-style cap with eye holes. He also had the word “LOVE” tattooed across his right knuckles. The second robber is 6 feet to 6-foot-2 and was wearing a black ski mask, dark shirt and work pants, police said.
“Apparently there are a lot of people with ‘LOVE’ tattoos on their hands,” Minton said, referring to the number of calls police have received.
Tuesday’s home invasion was the second in a little more than a month to occur on the same cul-de-sac. In a December case, the robbers were also armed with stun guns and demanded the location of a safe.
Minton said that there are several similarities between the two instances, though police are not “100 percent sure” they are related. Minton also said the fact that the suspects broke into two homes on the same small street demanding a safe indicates they are looking for something specific.
“Usually they know there’s something there that they want; it’s not usually just a random ‘take a chance at it,’ ” he said.
Permalink | Categories: Home invasion
Police: Woman wanted to kill boy she said was Antichrist
A woman has been charged with burglary after police say she broke into a Lakeway couple’s home with a gun and said she wanted to kill their 5-year-old son because she believes he is the Antichrist, according to court documents.
Beth Ann Straley, 46, was charged this week with burglary of a habitation. Her bail was set at $500,000, and she is not currently in custody, according to jail records.
An arrest affidavit said that about 1 p.m. on Jan. 27, Straley broke into a home in the 220 block of Varco Drive in Lakeway armed with a pistol. She confronted a woman who was babysitting a 5-year-old boy and demanded to know where the child’s mother was, the affidavit said. The babysitter took the gun out of Straley’s hand and Straley ran away, the affidavit said.
Straley went to another home in the 110 block of Burgess Drive and told residents there she went to the first home to kill the toddler because she believes he is the antichrist, the affidavit said. She also said she intended to kill his parents, the document said.
The arrest affidavit does not say if Straley knew the couple or their child. The parents of the child and the babysitter could not immediately be reached for comment.
Police seek suspects in Manor Road robbery
FROM THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT:
On Tuesday, February 7, 2012, Austin Police Officers responded to a Robbery of a Business at 5301 Manor Road. At approximately 11:48 p.m., two armed suspects entered the Stop N Express and demanded money. The suspects fled the scene with an undisclosed amount of cash, and were seen getting into a vehicle driven by a third suspect.
The suspects are described as:
Suspect #1 Black male Late 20s to 30s 5’7”-5’8” tall Heavyset Clean-shaven
Suspect #2 Black male Late 20s to 30s 5’8”-5’11” tall Heavyset Mustache
The suspect vehicle is described as a black mid-2000’s year model four-door sedan, possibly a Lincoln. The vehicle was driven by a suspect described as:
Black male Approximately 35 years of age 5’8”-5’11” tall Large build Bald Possible mustache
This case remains under investigation by APD Robbery detectives. Detectives are asking the public’s assistance in identifying these suspects. Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the Robbery main line at (512) 974-5270, the Robbery tip line at (512) 974-5092, Crime Stoppers at (512) 472-TIPS or text “Tip 103” + your message to CRIMES.
Permalink | Categories: Robbery
Man charged with robbery after downtown attack
A 19-year-old man faces a felony robbery charge after police say he attacked a man who was walking downtown early Sunday morning, according to an arrest affidavit.
Fabian Hernandez, Jr., 19, has been charged with robbery by threat, a state jail felony. He remains in custody at the Travis County Jail with bail set at $20,000.
An arrest affidavit said that about 3:20 a.m. Sunday, the victim was walking alone in the 500 block of Lavaca Street when he noticed two men following him. The victim told KVUE TV that he is a bartender at Oilcan Harry’s who was leaving work. He tried to get the two to pass by him, but they did not, and he began to fear for his safety, the affidavit said.
As he reached Guadalupe Street around Sixth Street, one of the men asked him if they should get a cab, the affidavit said. When the victim turned around, one of the men punched him in the head, the affidavit said.
The victim asked the men why they attacked him, but they laughed at him, the affidavit said. He ran south on Guadalupe and they chased after him, the document said. He managed to get away from them after running a few blocks and called 911, providing the description of his attackers to a dispatcher, it said.
While he was on the phone, the victim saw the two men coming toward him again, so he ran to the parking lot at Fifth and Colorado streets. The men blocked him in and one of them demanded his money, the affidavit said. The victim then saw a taxi and was able to get inside, where he stayed until police arrived, the affidavit said.
Officers put out descriptions of the suspects and were able to arrest one of them after they attempted to run away, according to the document. That suspect, Hernandez, was charged with robbery after the victim identified him in a police lineup, the affidavit said.
Hays student arrested after officials say he made death threats
A Hays High School freshman who threatened to kill students and teachers and set off bombs has been charged with making a terroristic threat, a Class B Misdemeanor, officials said.
Hays County sheriff’s officers on Wednesday night arrested the boy, whose name is being withheld because he’s a juvenile, after they said concerned students at Hays High reported that he was making death threats.
The boy admitted to making the threats, officials said. An investigation shows that his plan was in the “initial” planning stages, according to the sheriff’s office.
The boy is in custody at the Hays County Juvenile Detention Center. In a statement, Hays school district spokesman Tim Savoy said the student is barred from school while the criminal case is open.
“It is important to emphasize that no students at Hays High School were in any imminent danger,” he said.
Permalink | Categories: Bomb scare
Police: Brothers stole grandfather clock, Justin Bieber merchandise
Two men face felony burglary charges after police say they broke into a South Austin home in December and stole several items, including some Justin Bieber merchandise.
Arrest affidavits say two brothers, Anthony Moreno, 33, and Jose Moreno, 24, have been charged with burglary of a habitation, a second degree felony. Neither man is currently in custody, according to jail records.
The affidavits said that last week, police were able to match the fingerprints from a December burglary in the 7200 block of Mesa Drive to a juvenile suspect. When confronted by detectives, that suspect said he broke into the home with the two Morenos, the affidavit said. An arrest warrant for burglary was issued for the juvenile, the affidavit said.
The juvenile told police that he and the Morenos had committed between 10 and 15 burglaries in the past year, and they stashed the stolen items at a house in the 900 block of East 13th Street, the affidavit said.
The affidavit said that around 3 a.m. on Dec. 29, the Moreno brothers and the juvenile entered the house on Mesa Drive through the garage and removed jewelry, video games, a grandfather clock, a television, cameras and other items.
After police searched the stash house on 13th Street, they found these items, as well as Justin Bieber posters, calendars, and gift bags, the affidavit said.
