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Former San Marcos teacher arrested on sexual assault of a child charge
SAN MARCOS — Former San Marcos teacher Steven De Leon has been charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child, a first-degree felony, according to the San Antonio Police Department. He was arrested Thursday night and is in custody today in Bexar County, on $125,000 bond.
De Leon, 39, resigned from his position as a physical education teacher at Travis Elementary School on Tuesday amid allegations that he had an inappropriate relationship with a middle school student, according to a statement issued by the San Marcos school district.
De Leon worked for the school district as an elementary school teacher for 16 years, district spokeswoman Iris Campbell said. He has taught at Travis since the 2002-03 school year, she said, and at DeZavala Elementary before that.
The parents of the middle school student told district officials Monday that they suspected De Leon of having a relationship with their child last summer, according to the school district. De Leon was suspended with pay that day and the district started an investigation involving local law enforcement agencies, according to the school district.
Police arrest man suspected of soliciting young boy on Craigslist
Austin police have arrested a Dallas-area man they say used personal ads on Craigslist to try and entice minors into having sex with him, according to court documents.
Richard Raymond Kaiser, 39, of Sachse, has been charged with online solicitation of a minor, a second degree felony. He is not currently in custody, according to jail records.
Kaiser’s arrest affidavit says that earlier this week, police were conducting an investigation into potential online predators on Craigslist when they came upon a post titled “Dom Dad for boi.” The ad said the poster was in Austin for a home-school field trip, the affidavit said. The officer replied and started a conversation, posing as a 13-year-old boy.
The ad’s poster, identified as Kaiser, began to text the officer with sexually explicit messages, the affidavit said. Kaiser arrived at a downtown hotel Thursday evening to meet with the “boy,” but was taken into custody by police instead, the affidavit said.
After his arrest, Kasier confessed to having sent explicit texts to someone he thought was 13 years old, and went to the hotel “to see who would show up,” the affidavit said.
One dead in Leander crash, DPS investigating
One person is dead following a fatal crash in Leander overnight, a Texas Department of Public Safety official said.
DPS was notified of the crash on Chaparral Drive shortly after midnight and continue to investigate, the official said.
There were limited details regarding the crash, but officials expect to release new details later today.
One dead in wreck on Texas 71
Texas Deparment of Public Safety officers are investigating a fatal crash on Texas 71 just west of Bee Cave.
The wreck was reported shortly after 3:30 p.m. and involved three cars. State troopers said one person has died. Further details have not been released.
Permalink | Categories: Fatal accidents
Warrant issued for San Marcos teacher accused of inappropriate conduct with a student
SAN MARCOS — A warrant has been issued for Steven De Leon, a San Marcos elementary school teacher and basketball coach accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a student, according to the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office.
De Leon, 39, resigned from his position as a physical education teacher at Travis Elementary School on Tuesday amid allegations that he had an inappropriate relationship with a middle school student, according to a statement issued by the San Marcos school district.
De Leon has worked for the school district as an elementary school teacher for 16 years, district spokeswoman Iris Campbell said. He has taught at Travis since the 2002-03 school year, she said, and at DeZavala Elementary before that.
The parents of the middle school student told district officials Monday that they suspected De Leon of having a relationship with their child last summer, according to the school district. De Leon was suspended with pay that day and the district started an investigation involving local law enforcement agencies, according to the school district.
For earlier coverage, click here.
Abdo guilty of all charges
Update 4 p.m.: A Waco jury found Pfc. Naser Abdo guilty of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, attempted murder and four other charges Thursday afternoon. The AWOL soldier planned to detonate a bomb in a Chinese restaurant popular with Fort Hood soldiers and shoot the survivors. Sentencing is set for the summer.
Abdo, who was flanked by five U.S. marshals as the sentence was read, showed no reaction to the verdict.
Jurors deliberated for just a little over an hour before reaching their verdict, which followed three days of testimony from about two dozen witnesses. None would talk to reporters afterward.
Earlier: Federal prosecutors used AWOL soldier Naser Jason Abdo’s own words against him as they asked jurors to find him guilty on six counts, ranging from attempted murder to possession of a weapon of mass destruction, Thursday afternoon.
During closing arguments, prosecutors played a series of video clips in which Abdo tells police and his mother that he intended to kill Fort Hood soldiers. In a recording of Abdo’s initial confession to Killeen police in the moments after he was arrested, Abdo tells an officer: “I was planning to pull off an attack in Fort Hood, Killeen…I didn’t appreciate what my unit did in Afghanistan.”
Abdo had fought a highly publicized battle for conscientious objector status based on his Muslim religion before he fled Fort Campbell in Kentucky.
A recorded jailhouse conversation showed his incredulous mother asking whether he was set up. “It’s all true mom,” Abdo said.
“I can’t wrap my head around this; there must be a reason,” his mother continued. “The reason is religion mom, there is no other reason,” Abdo responded.
Prosecutor Larry Schneider pointed to testimony from a federal agent who said Abdo told him he was seeking to bomb a Chinese buffet restaurant during the lunch hour when it would be crowded with soldiers. Abdo wanted to “literally get the most bang for his buck,” Schneider said.
Abdo’s attorney, Zachary Boyd, argued that Abdo’s actions didn’t constitute attempted murder because he had not built a bomb when he was arrested. “It was a plan,” he said. “It didn’t happen. … I ask the jury, you good people, to do the hard thing, to stand up and say ‘not guilty.’”
The jury is now deliberating.
Earlier: WACO — After less than half an hour and three quick witnesses, all of them Killeen police officers, defense attorneys for Pfc. Naser Abdo rested their case this morning in federal court.
Jurors will begin deliberating after lunch, when attorneys will give their closing arguments. Abdo, accused of plotting to bomb a Killeen restaurant popular with Fort Hood soldiers, faces life in prison on six charges, including possession of a weapon of mass destruction and attempted murder.
Abdo’s attorney Zachary Boyd questioned all three officers about Abdo’s arrest on July 27 at America’s Best Value Inn in Killeen, suggesting they had not properly read Abdo his Miranda rights. The officers maintained that they had done so in the moments before they turned on recording equipment that captured Abdo’s confession.
Earlier, outside the presence of the jury, Boyd said that an Army legal officer at Fort Campbell in September had dropped child pornography charges against Abdo. Fort Campbell officials did not immediately return a request for comment. Abdo was charged with having child pornography on his government computer shortly after he was granted conscientious objector status based on his Muslim faith last spring. Abdo, who claimed the charges were fabricated by his unit as a reprisal for refusing to deploy to Afghanistan, fled Fort Campbell before his court-martial could begin.
U.S. District Judge Walter Smith denied Boyd’s request to bring the legal officer before the jury, as he had done before the trial started, ruling the potential testimony irrelevant. Abdo’s child pornography charges were not brought before jurors during the trial, which began Tuesday morning.
Abdo appeared in court Thursday wearing a Taqiyah, a brimless prayer cap worn by Muslim men. All week he has been wearing a white medical mask that covers most of his face. Earlier this month he was accused of spitting blood at his jailers and the U.S. marshals guarding him at the courthouse and Abdo later claimed to have infected himself with HIV before coming to Killeen. U.S. Marshals removed protective eyewear earlier this week after Boyd complained they would prejudice the jury.
While his previous court appearances have been marked by outbursts, he has appeared calm during his trial, conversing frequently with his attorneys.
Suspects in custody following SWAT standoff
3 p.m. update:
Police said that three people, including an aggravated robbery suspect, have been taken into custody following the SWAT standoff in Southeast Austin.
The SWAT team surrounded a house in the 2600 block of Deadwood Drive to arrest the suspect in a robbery that took place Wednesday, police said. Three people inside the house were detained, including the suspect who lived at the home, officials said.
Officials are still making sure that no one else is inside the house, they said.
Earlier:
At least two suspects were taken into custody this afternoon following a SWAT standoff in Southeast Austin, police said.
The suspects were barricaded inside a house near Teri Road and Palo Blanco Lane, officials said. It was unclear why the suspects were being sought.
Nearby Houston and Rodriguez elementary schools are still on lockdown, however. Rodriguez students who live nearby will be kept at school until they can be picked up by parents, officials said, while those who do not live nearby will be released in the usual fashion. Plans for the Houston students were not immediately clear.
Permalink | Categories: SWAT team
Austin police to initiate ‘no-refusal’ Memorial Day weekend
The Austin Police Department will enforce a “no-refusal” drinking while driving or boating initiative over the Memorial Day weekend, the department said Thursday.
Those suspected of driving or boating while drunk will have their blood tested under a search warrant if they refuse to give a breath or blood specimen.
This is the second year in a row for the “no-refusal” Memorial Day weekend. Last year, the same initiative to combat drinking while driving or boating netted more than 50 arrests over the four-day holiday weekend, police said.
For the second year in a row, officers will enforce a daily citywide no-refusal initiative from 9 p.m. Friday through 5 a.m. Tuesday morning. The “no-refusal” boating while drinking initiative will occur over the same four-day period.
Officers will target the major roadways around Lake Austin to stop intoxicated driving suspects, while others will ride along with lake patrol officers to handle impaired boaters when appropriate.
The safety initiative also coincides with a personal watercraft ban on Lake Austin beginning at sunset Friday that will last until sunrise Tuesday, police have said. The ban includes wet bikes, motorized surfboards and other personal watercraft and is intended to keep the lake safe during the holiday weekend, officials said.
Non-motorized watercraft such as kayaks, canoes and paddle boards can still be used.
SWAT standoff ends peacefully
12:18 a.m. update: Austin police report that the SWAT call has “ended peacefully. The subject is being treated by EMS and will be transported to the hospital for evaluation. Any charges are pending at this time.”
Earlier: Negotiators are attempting to persuade a man to peacefully surrender after he barricaded himself inside his South Austin home this evening, Austin police said.
Authorities said the man is believed to be armed, and they have evacuated all the homes within proximity of his residence in the 7100 block of Tawny Circle near 1st Street and William Cannon Drive.
Officers were dispatched to the house shortly before 7:30 p.m., when they received 9-1-1 reports of a man inside threatening to kill himself, police said. They attempted to make contact with the man by phone and through speakers before evacuating the area and calling negotiators, authorities said.
San Marcos teacher under investigation for assault of a child
SAN MARCOS — A San Marcos elementary school teacher and basketball coach is under investigation for aggravated sexual assault of a child, Martindale Police Chief Harry Juergens said today.
Steven De Leon resigned from his position as a physical education teacher at Travis Elementary School on Tuesday amid allegations that he had an inappropriate relationship with a middle school student, according to a statement issued by the San Marcos school district.
The parents of the middle schooler told district officials Monday that they suspected De Leon of having a relationship with their child last summer, according to the statement.
De Leon was suspended with pay that day and the district started an investigation involving local law enforcement agencies, according to the statement.
Juergens said his department received the case about 5 p.m. Tuesday.
The alleged relationship between De Leon and the student didn’t occur on school property, according to the district.
Juergens said police have not arrested De Leon. The investigation is ongoing, he said.
Administrators recognized De Leon in 2009 for “services ‘above and beyond’ their duties to help community school children,” according to a news release the school issued.
“Mr. De Leon goes out of his way, in every way, to help the students of Travis Elementary: from tutoring for TAKS to coaching an afterschool basketball program - just to name a few,” Travis Elementary principal Niki Konecki is quoted saying in the news release. “He even rides his bicycle to school each day to model healthy lifestyle habits for the children. We are vey lucky to have such a dedicated individual at Travis Elementary.”
Permalink | Categories: Sexual assault
Personal watercraft banned from Lake Austin over Memorial Day weekend
From the Austin Police Department:
The Austin Police Department Parks and Lake Patrol Unit will prohibit the use and operation of personal watercraft, wet bikes, motorized surfboards and similar devices on Lake Austin beginning at sunset on Friday, May 25, 2012 and ending on Tuesday, May 29, 2012 at sunrise. Non-motorized devices such as kayaks, canoes and paddleboards can still be used.
The annual ban of personal watercraft is necessary to ensure the safety of the large number of people that make use of the lake and parks over the Memorial Day holiday weekend.
Police will be patrolling Lake Austin this weekend and urge people using waterways to follow the Texas Water Safety Act and City of Austin boating laws and ordinances. Police urge all boaters to practice safe boating and to call 911 for all reckless operation of boats or emergencies.
The Austin Parks and Recreation Department and the Austin Police Department want the public to enjoy the parks and lakes but urge people to make this a safe holiday. For more information, contact the APD Lake Patrol Unit at 512-329-8841.
City Ordinance: 8-5-81 WATERCRAFT AND OTHER MOTORIZED CRAFT ON LAKE AUSTIN.
(A) A person may not use or possess a jet ski, wet bike, motorized surfboard, or similar device on Lake Austin:
(1) from sunset on the Friday before Memorial Day until sunrise on the Tuesday after Memorial Day;
(2) from sunset on the Friday before Labor Day until sunrise on the Tuesday after Labor Day; or
(3) from sunset on July 3 until sunrise on July 5.
(B) A person operating a motorboat on Lake Austin shall stay on the right side of the lake, except when assisting a downed water skier.
(C) A person may not operate a watercraft on Lake Austin at a speed that is greater than reasonable and prudent under the existing circumstances.
Austin police investigate body found near Statesman parking lot
Austin police officials said that a body found in Lady Bird Lake this morning is not considered suspicious and that there are no suspects.
“It appears to be a drowning,” senior police officer Dennis Farris said. The person’s identity has not been released.
Police received an initial report of a deceased person in the water near an Austin American-Statesman parking lot about 5 a.m., the official said.
Photos by Roberto Villalpando / American-Statesman staff
