NORTH RICHLAND HILLS _ A veteran police officer who has competed for more than 17 years took gold in the Texas pentathlon during the Texas Police Games held last month in Austin.
A second officer also took two silver medals in two bicycle events.
The officers won their medals in athletic competitions with other officers from all over the state as well as from New Mexico, Arizona and California. An estimated 1,900 officers participated in the three day event.
Officer Tom Cleveland grabbed the top honor in the pentathlon, a five event contest that included a 1500 meter run, a 40 yard run where a competitor drags a 180 pound dummy, 100 meter dash, pull ups and a 400 meter police bicycle sprint.
Officer John Harding took two silver medals competing in a 32 mile road race and a 10K time trial.
_ Domingo Ramirez Jr.

FORT WORTH -- A North Richland Hills woman found dead in a Haltom City creek last month died from a mixture of drugs, according to the Tarrant County medical examiner’s website on Thursday.

Birdie Lunsford, 34, had hydrocodone, methamphetamine, diazepam and the muscle relaxant cyclobenzaprine in her system when she died, the medical examiner's office ruled. Her death was an accident.

Her body was found about 1 p.m. June 12  in the creek near the Diamond Oaks Country Club, police reported.

_ Domingo Ramirez Jr.

Parker County seemed more like Animal Kingdom this week as authorities responded to a variety of animal calls.

First, around midnight Monday, a 16-year-old girl was bitten by a young bobcat while attempting to rescue and cage the animal.

The girl's mother told authorities that the teen believed that the bobcat's mother had been injured and had abandoned the young bobcat near Veal Station Road, according to a press release by the Parker County Sheriff's Office. 

The girl suffered only a minor puncture wound to her right index finger and was treated at an Azle hospital and released.

The bobcat was captured and placed in quarantine at a nearby wildlife rescue.

If determined healthy, it will remain in the custody of the rescue facility, the press release states.

The next day, around 7:30 p.m. in Reno, juveniles discovered a young 18-inch alligator in a home's garage.

Animal control officers took custody of the alligator, which will be turned over to the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge to be used for future children's educations programs. 

On a sadder note, authorities were dispatched to another animal call in the 100 block of Granada Court shortly after 8 p.m. that same day.

A man, who had been house-sitting for friends, told authorities he had stopped by the house to feed his friend's two lab-mix dogs. There, he found one of the dogs dead in the driveway and the other wounded inside the home.

Both dogs had been shot.

"Officers discovered a blood trail with chicken feathers, leading them to believe the dogs had wandered off the property and were shot, then later returned to the home, where they were discovered," the press release states.

The release states that the wounded dog is expected to survive his injuries.

- Deanna Boyd

FORT WORTH _  A Silver Alert was issued Sunday afternoon for a 78-year-old man who last seen at a healthcare facility in south Fort Worth.
Police identified the man as Luis Martinez who has been diagnosed with Alzheimers.
He was last seen about 2:30 a.m. Sunday at Estates Healthcare & Rehabiltation at 201 Sycamore School Road.
Martinez is about 5-feet-4, weighing about 170 pounds, brown hair and eyes. He was last seen wearing gray shirt and pants, black shoes and wearing a baseball cap.
Police said that Martinez requires a cane for walking.
Anyone with information should call Fort Worth police at 817-335-4222 or any local police department.

_ Domingo Ramirez Jr.

The emergency vehicles were responding to an accident at 5233 Flamingo Road shortly before 8 a.m. when the ambulance and the fire truck clipped each other, said Medstar spokesman Matt Zavadsky. There were no injuries and Zavadsky said the accident was a "minor scrape."

-- Bill Hanna 

While 21 people were arrested for driving while intoxicated during increased enforcement around the July 4th holiday, no one died in traffic fatalities, Fort Worth police reported this morning.

The Fort Worth police traffic division increased its DWI enforcement between July 3 and July 5.

During that period, police also participated in a No Refusal-Anti-DWI campaign sponsored by the Tarrant County District Attorney's office. During the campaign, two police officers qualified as blood draw technicians were available to all participating law enforcement agencies to take blood samples from suspected intoxicated drivers.

In addition to the 21 DWI arrests, Fort Worth police issued 32 traffic citations, the press release states.

- Deanna Boyd

UPDATE: 9:55 a.m.

Masked gunmen pretended to be part of the costumed partygoers at a high school Halloween party in Pantego but eventually pulled guns and robbed the youths, pistol-whipping a parent in the process.

"It was a costume party. They had masks on," witness Barbara Collins, the mother of the party's host, told jurors. "We told them to take their masks off and they said it would ruin their costume."

Collins is the second witness in the trial of Pedro Dominguez, 19, on charges of multiple aggravated robberies stemming from the Halloween party home invasion. The first witness, Tate Henshaw, said the costumed guests initially thought the gunmen were friends.

She then described being held face down on the floor while the masked gunmen went through the house looking for items to steal.

"We were all shaking," she said. "Theere was a real sense of danger there."

Henshaw said she and her friend, Nikki Collins, hosted the party, which consisted mostly of Arlington High School students.

-Dianna Hunt

A 19-year-old Fort Worth man unexpectedly pleaded guilty to burglary Tuesday for his role in a Halloween Party robbery in 2010 in which at least 20 high school students were robbed at gunpoint by masked men.

But prosecutors Page Simpson and Brock Groom told jurors they will proceed nonetheless with the trial against Pedro Dominguez, 19, in nearly a dozen aggravated robbery charges stemming from the robbery.

Groom described the party for jurors, saying members of a high school gymnastics team and church members had gathered for a "pretty wholesome time."

Three masked men entered the Pantego home and were at first mistaken for costumed partygoers. They refused to identify themselves to the group, however, and eventually pulled guns. They ordered the youths face down and held them at gunpoint while they rifled through the home stealing items.

When one of the youth's father arrived to pick him up, an altercation ensued and the father was beaten severely, Groom said during opening statements.

Groom said the robbers later bragged about the robbery. The stolen items were later found at Dominguez's apartment, Groom said.

Defense attorney David Bays told jurors that Dominguez does not deny there was a burglary but he urged jurors to consider only the credible evidence presented.

The robbery occured on Oct. 30, 2010. Testimony is expected to continue all week before Visiting District Judge David Cleveland.

Five robbery suspects were eventually arrested, including a 14-year-old who was sentenced in August to 10 years in a Texas Youth Commission facility.

-Dianna Hunt 

Police are seeking help in identifying robbers believed responsible for the hold-ups of several 24-hour pharmacies since February. 

Nine stores _ eight Walgreens and one CVS store _ have been targeted since February. Six have occurred in Arlington, most recently on June 23, and the others in Fort Worth and Grand Prairie.

In each, the suspect enters the pharmacy between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m., displays a gun to the clerk, and walks away with money and cigarettes, Arlington police say. 

 Investigators suspect the suspect may be working with others.

The robber has been described as a black man with a light complexion or  Hispanic male with a thin build and between 5-foot-6-inches to 5-foot-9-inches tall.

In some, the suspect wore a mask, long-sleeve shirt, long pants, gloves and a head cover, which could be covering up scars, tattoos or other markings, police say. 

 Anyone with information is asked to call PD Detective S. Archer at 817-459-5336 or Detective B. Dunn at 817-459-5729. Anonymous tips can also be made through Tarrant County Crime Stoppers at 817-469-8477 or online at www.469tips.com.

- Deanna Boyd

UPDATE: Noon

Teens took photos of themselves in full regalia with guns drawn at a celebration party they held after robbing more than 20 high school students at a Halloween party, an accomplice testified Wednesday.

David Castro, 20, who said he waited outside in the car while others went inside the Pantego home, said the others laughed and re-enacted the crime for their friends.

"Did they think it was funny?" asked prosecutor Page Simpson.

"Yes," Castro told jurors.

Castro testified Wednesday morning in the aggravated robbery trial of Pedro Dominguez, 19, who is accused of being one of four gunmen who robbed the Halloween party hosted for members of the Arlington school district's gymnastics teams. Castro and two others are also facing charges of aggravated robbery.

Simpson and co-prosecutor Brock Groom have presented evidence showing the teen robbers stole cellphones, wallets, jewelry and a vehicle after holding the students face down on the floor at gunpoint. A father, Charles Marshall, who arrived to pick up his son from the party, was bludgeoned, and his DNA was later found on a gun seized from Dominguez's car.

The trial Wednesday also included a harsh exchange in the courtroom between Dominguez's attorney, David Bays, and Castro's attorney, Lisa Mullen. 

Castro repeatedly testified that he did not reach a deal for leniency with prosecutors in exchange for his testimony, but Bays called Mullen to the stand outside the presence of the jury to question her about it.

Bays said he was "attempting to stop a fraud on the court."

Mullen countered that Bays had committed unethical behavior by talking to Castro in the jail without his attorney present.

"You did commit an ethical violation," she said from the witness stand.

Testimony is set to resume at 1 p.m. before visiting Judge David Cleveland.

UPDATE: 10:30 a.m.

Teenagers who infiltrated a Halloween party and robbed at gunpoint more than 20 high school students laughed and re-enacted their crime for friends afterwards, an accomplice testified Wednesday in the aggravated robbery trial of Pedro Dominguez.

"Did they think it was funny?" asked prosecutor Page Simpson.

"Yes," David Castro, 20, told jurors.

The youths even took photos of themselves in full regalia with guns drawn at a celebration party they held after the robbery, Castro testified. The photos were submitted as evidence in the trial.

Castro testified wearing his green jail jumpsuit about the planning that went on before the Oct. 30, 2010 robbery.

Simpson and prosecutor Brock Groom have presented evidence that the party was a "wholesome" event for the Arlington school district gymnastics team members that was interrupted by the masked gunmen.

The gunmen stole cellphones, jewelry and wallets, then left in a Lexus stolen from one of the students. A father who arrived to pick up his son was bludgeoned when he tried to stop the gunmen.

Castro said he waited in Dominguez's car outside the party because he wasn't dressed appropriately to be a robber. He said he was wearing shorts; the others were wearing dark clothes and gloves.

Testimony is expected to continue before Visiting Judge David Cleveland.

-Dianna Hunt

WEDNESDAY MORNING

Blood from a father who was bludgeoned after interrupting a Halloween party robbery was on a gun found in the car of accused gunman Pedro Dominguez, an expert witness testified Wednesday.

Jennifer Valentine, who works in the DNA lab for the Tarrant County medical examiner, told jurors that she tested blood found on the gun and that it matched the DNA of Charles Marshall.

Marshall testified Tuesday that he was hit repeatedly in the head with a heavy object after he arrived to pick up his son from a high school Halloween party.

Dominguez is standing trial in Criminal District Court #4 on nearly a dozen aggravated robbery charges stemming from the Halloween robbery.

Testimony is continuing Wednesday before Visiting Judge David Cleveland.

-Dianna Hunt 

A jury deliberated less than a hour before convicting a Fort Worth man in the brutal stabbing of his girlfriend.

The jury in state District Judge Louis Sturns court found James Cody Sparks, 25, guilty of murder in the death of Christy Jenkins, 19, who was the mother of their two young children.

Sentencing phase of the trial is now beginning.

-Dianna Hunt

A jury is deliberating the fate of a Fort Worth man accused of brutally stabbing the mother of his children after an argument.

James Cody Sparks, 25, is charged with murder in the Sept. 27, 2010 death of Christy Jenkins, 19, who was mother to their 14-month- and 2-month old daughters at the time.

Prosecutors Sean Colston  and Michelle Dobson presented evidence that Sparks had warned repeatedly that he might kill Jenkins. On the day she died, Jenkins had gone to talk to Sparks at his home and emerged after about 10 minutes running for help.

A neighbor caught up with her and asked who stabbed her, Colston told jurors in closing arguments.

"Cody," she said.

"Where are you stabbed?" Jenkins was asked.

"All over," she replied.

"Then she collapsed," Colston said. "This is not a whodunit. Cody Sparks is in fact guilty of the offense of murder."

Defense attorney Edwin Youngblood urged jurors to weigh the evidence and consider only that which is credible.

"There are gaps in the evidence," Youngblood said.

A jury of only 11 people is deliberating the case before state District Judge Louis Sturns. One of the jurors recogned members of the victim's family and alerted the judge that he or should could not be impartial.

-Dianna Hunt

A jury has convicted an Alvarado man in the stabbing death of his neighbor.

Ramiro Alfred Mora III, 51, was found guilty Wednesday of murder by a jury in state District Judge Sharen Wilson's court in the death of Linda Holland.

Holland was killed on April 21, 2011 inside Mora's apartment in the 800 block of Heights Drive in Fort Worth. The knife was still stuck in her head when police found her.

A friend flagged down police and told them Holland had been stabbed. Mora was arrested a few hours later.

Punishment phase in the trial begins Thursday.

-Dianna Hunt

Three dollars in bus fare apparently cost Linda Holland her life.

A jury Thursday sentenced Ramiro Alfred Mora III, 51, of Alvarado, to the maximum life in prison in the fatal stabbing of Holland on April 21, 2011.

Prosecutors Michele Hartmann and Kacey Fickes presented evidence that Holland and a friend had gone to Mora's apartment so that Holland could borrow $3 for bus fare. At the time, Holland and Mora lived in the same apartment complex.

The friend left, and when she returned, Holland had been stabbed and still had a knife in her head. Mora was arrested later after causing a disturbance in another area of the apartment complex.

Mora has two previous felony convictions for aggravated assault on a police officer, and several misdemeanor convictions.

-Dianna Hunt

The jury has begun deliberating in the aggravated robbery case against a Fort Worth teen accused of being one of four gunmen who infiltrated a high school Halloween party and then robbed the 20 youths who were there.

The jury went out about 3:20 p.m. after hearing closing arguments from prosecutors Brock Groom and Page Simpson urged them to convict Pedro Dominguez, 19, of multiple counts of aggravated robbery.

Evidence also linked Dominguez to the bludgeoning of a father of one of the party-goers who interrupted the robbery when he arrived to pick up his son.

"Today is his day to be accountable," Groom told jurors.

Among the witnesses was alleged accomplice David Castro, 20, who said Dominguez was one of the leaders during the robbery.

Defense attorney David Bays presented testimony from another  alleged accomplice, Pablo Garcia, who said Dominguez had no role in the robbery.

"The only issue in this this case is whether Pedro Dominguez was present and participated in the robbery," Bays told jurors.

Dominguez took the witness stand again Thursday to repeat his claim that other witnesses were lying about him and that he did not participate.

Jurors have heard testimony all week before Visiting Judge David Cleveland.

-Dianna Hunt

A Fort Worth man with a history of domestic violence has been sentenced to life in prison in the brutal stabbing of his girlfriend.

A jury in state District Judge Louis Sturns' court deliberated just 20 minutes before handing the maximum sentence to James Cody Sparks, 25, who was convicted Wednesday of murder in the Sept. 27, 2010 fatal stabbing of Christy Jenkins, 19, the mother of their two young children.

Prosecutors Michelle Dobson and Sean Colston presented evidence that Jenkins had a "tumultous" relationship with Sparks, and lived separately in the same neighborhood. She went to Sparks' home the day of the stabbing to get medical information about one of their children.

She emerged a few minutes later calling for help. A neighbor found her and said Jenkins said that "Cody" had stabbed her "all over." She then collapsed.

Jenkins had reported previously that Sparks had threatened to kill her but had declined to pursue charges against him. A previous girlfriend testified he had also been abusive to her, according to the district attorney's office.

"This verdict gives Cody Sparks a lifetime to think about the life he has taken and the damage he has caused these two little girls," Dobson said in a written statement.

Defense attorney Edwin Youngblood had urged jurors to sift through the evidence to weed out that which was not credible.

-Dianna Hunt

Mansfield Police were investigating a bank robbery at a BBVA Compass Bank Thursday morning.

According to police, the man entered the bank in the 3100 block of Matlock Road about 11:30 a.m., approached a teller and demanded money using a note.

Bank employees gave him an undetermined amount of cash.

The suspect fled north on foot on Matlock.

He was described as black and about 5-foot-7 with a thin build. He was wearing jeans, a white collared shirt with black stripes and sunglasses.

Anyone with information can contact the Mansfield Police at 817-473-0211 or the tips line at 817-276-4750.

-- Marty Sabota

FORT WORTH — A 38-year-old motorcyclist fleeing from police crashed and died Thursday afternoon, police said.
According to Officer Clifton Miller, a police spokesman, the department’s fugitive unit saw a “fugitive of justice” riding a 2006 Harley-Davidson with a female passenger.
Police said the man had five outstanding felony warrants. 
“The officers, in marked police cars and uniforms, approached the fugitive and attempted to detain him, but he was able to elude the officers, failing to yield to their activated red and blue emergency lights,” Miller said.
The motorcyclist led officers, including the North Division’s Zero Tolerance Unit, on a brief chase that began shortly after 3:30 p.m. in Fort Worth, went into Saginaw and looped back to Fort Worth. He was westbound in the 800 block of Longhorn Road when he hit a median riser, lost control, went airborne and flew into oncoming traffic.
The man, who was not wearing a helmet, was pronounced dead at the scene.
He was identified by the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office as Charles Grissom of Fort Worth.
Police said the passenger either fell or jumped off along the way and was taken to an area hospital where she was treated for minor injuries.
 No one else was hurt and no other cars were damaged. There was damage to some private fencing.

-- Marty Sabota

UPDATE: 4 p.m. Friday

A youth convicted of participating in the armed robberies of high school students at a Halloween party in Pantego on Oct. 30, 2010 has been sentenced to 99 years in prison. A jury in state District Judge Mike Thomas' court handed Pedro Dominguez, 19, the maximum sentence. Full story: http://bit.ly/SjqPdR

UPDATE: Noon, Friday

The jury may be getting close to deciding punishment in the Halloween robbery case. They sent out a  note to the judge asking if "99 years to life" is  "valid" sentence.

The answer, the judge responded, is that it would have to be one or the other.

-Dianna Hunt

UPDATE: 11:21 p.m.

The jury deciding punishment for convicted Halloween robber Pedro Dominguez is busy: Now they want to see photos taken of the bloodied head of a father who was pistol-whipped after he interrupted the robbery when he arrived to pick up his son.

And they want to see the gun that still had his blood on it when it was taken from Dominguez's car at school.

-Dianna Hunt

UPDATE: 11:05

The jury deliberating punishment for convicted Halloween robber Pedro Dominguez returned to the courtroom Friday morning to rehear the frantic 911 calls from party-goers reporting the robberies.

Jurors also have asked the court for a list of felony convictions and charges against Dominguez and for the difference between a life sentence and a 99-year sentence.

Under both sentences, an inmate is eligible for parole after 30 years. 

-Dianna Hunt

UPDATE: 10:25 a.m., Friday

A jury has begun deliberating punishment for convicted Halloween robber Pedro Dominguez.

Prosecutors Page Simpson and Brock Groom urged jurors to give Dominguez the maximum life in prison, saying he already has become a career criminal at age 19.

"He's a predator," Simpson said in closing arguments. "What's left after you've pistol-whipped someone and put 20 kids on the floor? I can think of two things - murder and capital murder.

"Keep this community safe," she urged jurors. "Keep him off the streets for as long as possible."

Defense attorney David Bays urged jurors to give Dominguez 20 years - enough time so that he can rehabilitate himself.

"Is your sentence going to create a rehabilitated man or a hardened criminal?" Bays told jurors during closing arguments. "Your verdict should give him some hope."

Dominguez was convicted Thursday of being one of four gunmen who infiltrated a high school Halloween party and then robbed nearly 20 participants at gunpoint, pistol-whipping a father who interrupted the burglary by arriving to pick up his son.

The robbers, all teens, then held a celebration party and laughed about their exploits, taking pictures of themselves in full regalia with guns drawn. The next day, an co-defendant testified, they drove back by to see if they could steal the guns they'd left behind in the Pantego home when they left in a rush.

"It's all that more eggregious that they went back," Groom said.

Jurors began deliberating at 10:25 a.m. in state District Judge Mike Thomas' court.

-Dianna Hunt

Convicted Halloween robber Pedro Dominguez is already a "career criminal" at 19, a prosecutor suggested during questioning Friday in the punishment phase of Dominguez's trial.

Prosecutors Brock Groom and Page Simpson presented evidence that Dominguez has a prior car theft conviction and prior juvenile troubles.

Defense attorney David Bays presented testimony from Dominguez's family, including his mother, Christina Dominguez, that they would support the youth in getting back on track if he is out of prison.

Closing arguments are set to begin midmorning before state District Judge Mike Thomas.

-Dianna

Tarrant County prosecutor Christy Jack may get the award for Courthouse Quote of the Week.

"You don't get a bus full of nuns," Jack said this week, explaining to jurors why some of the prosecution's witnesses had less-than-stellar backgrounds.

Even without the nuns, Jack and co-prosecutor Steven Gebhardt won an aggravated robbery conviction against  Robert Earl Bell Jr.

Bell was accused of shooting a man during a robbery on July 3, 2009 in Arlington and leaving him for dead after the pair met up through their dates. Bell is also facing a capital murder charge stemming from a double shooting outside the notorious Chicas Locas lounge in Arlington on July 11, 2009.

Punishment phase of the Bell's trial on the aggravated robbery charge was under way on Friday before state District Judge Robb Catalano.

-Dianna Hunt 

FORT WORTH - A Fort Worth man accused of capital murder in the deaths of two men outside the now-closed Chicas Locas lounge in Arlington has been sentenced to life in prison on an unrelated aggravated robbery case.

A jury in state District Judge Robb Catalano's court deliberated just 45 minutes Monday morning before sentencing Robert Earl Bell Jr., 22, to the maximum sentence.

Bell's accomplice and cousin, Darren J. Bell, 28, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for aggravated robbery in a plea deal in exchange for his testimony against Robert Bell.

Prosecutors Steven Gebhardt and Christy Jack presented evidence that Robert Bell robbed and shot a man he had met through women they were dating on July 3, 2009. The man survived.

The two cousins had also been charged with capital murder in the deaths of two men two days later, on July 11, 2009. Officials said they were robbing the two men outside the Chicas Locas lounge. That club, which Arlington officials contended was a community nuisance, has since closed.

-Dianna Hunt  

If you want to be ready for the next Johnson County earthquake, Sheriff Bob Alford has a suggestion. He recommends checking out this FEMA website that includes tips for dealing with earthquakes. But Alford acknowledges much of the advice is for more serious quakes than what Johnson County has seen but said there still might be some useful tips for minimizing damage.

- Bill Hanna