A man police said robbed the Compass Bank on Burnet Road may be linked to the crime through DNA evidence.

The Compass Bank, located at 5600 Burnet Road, was robbed Jan. 4. Police said the robber approached a teller with a robbery demand note.

During the crime police said the robber told the teller to hurry up and give him all the money. The robber then fled on a bicycle leaving the demand note behind.

Police began canvassing the area for a white man with blond hair who is approximately 5-foot-10 and 165 pounds. He was last seen wearing a black zippered sweatshirt with a wing design and a knit beanie.

Police found the beanie nearby in the 5600 block of Montview. Detectives also found the black sweatshirt worn by the robber in an alley just north of the bank.

Detectives were able to link DNA on the sweater and beanie to Allen Keith Bright, 37. He was arrested on a parole violation after the motel manager where he was staying recognized him form surveillance images on the local news..

Police showed the surveillance images to Bright and he said while it looked like him it was not.

Bright is being held in the Travis County Jail under a $40,000 bond and is charged with second-degree robbery.

If you or someone you know is being charged with a crime such as drug possession, DWI, family violence, etc., and need someone to represent you, please contact the Law Office of Hector Gonzalez III at (512) 222-4140 for a free consultation.

Law Offices of Hector Gonzalez III - 512-501-2344
700 Lavaca St Suite 1400, Austin Texas 78701

The Burnet County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday arrested three people on drug charges after officers discovered a substance believed to be methamphetamine.

Officers stopped a vehicle on State Highway 29 west of Bertram on a traffic violation. The passengers gave consent for the vehicle to be searched, the sheriff’s office said.

The substance was found concealed in the passenger compartment.

Edwin Lewis Bowen Jr., 52 of Burnet, Laura Ann Fenderson, 41 of Burnet, and Danny Willie Flores, 37 of Burnet, were arrested and charged with possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, a state jail felony.

They remained in the the Burnet County Jail on Thursday pending arraignment.

If you or someone you know is being charged with a crime such as drug possession, DWI, family violence, etc., and need someone to represent you, please contact the Law Office of Hector Gonzalez III at (512) 222-4140 for a free consultation.

Law Offices of Hector Gonzalez III - 512-501-2344
700 Lavaca St Suite 1400, Austin Texas 78701

A renowned member of Austin’s running community died a morning after being struck by a car in West Austin.

Police did not release the runner’s name, but friends identified the man as 48 year old Scott Birk, a stay at home dad and prolific competitor in marathons and other races who regularly placed at the top of his age group.

According to police, a Dodge Durango was traveling south on RM 2222 at River Place Boulevard about 9 a.m. when it struck a man who was attempting to cross River Place. The Dodge had the green light when the pedestrian ran out in front of it and was struck, police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver, who has not been identified, stopped to offer aid, police said. No charges are expected to be filed, they said.

RM 2222 from River Place Boulevard to RM 620 was closed until about 12:45 p.m. as police investigated, officials said. Birk’s family members did not return a call, but fellow runners described him as affable, friendly and a dedicated competitor.

They said Birk would get his son ready for school and then train in his neighborhood. He ran the same hilly route along River Place Boulevard nearly every day, logging about 100 miles a week. Neighbors plan to hang yellow ribbons along the road in remembrance of him.

“The discipline the guy had was just impressive,” said Jesse Devlyn, one of Birk’s closest friends and running partners. “He was out there every day, doing hill workouts and repeats, that’s why he was so good. It’s not going to be the same running on weekends without Scott.”

Rogue Running coach Paul Salazar said Birk was a fixture at the Austin Marathon, the 3M Half Marathon and all the races in the local Distance Challenge series.

Other runners often made the assumption that because Birk was tall, well over 6 feet, that he was slow.

“There would be these spindly little runners pointing at Scott saying, ‘ That guy’s a tower, there’s no way he’s going to beat me,’ ” Christopher Gunderson said. “Then the gun would go off, and the guy pointing the finger never even saw him again.”

Birk often carpooled to races with neighbor Tzatzil Lemair, head of the Tough Cookies Don’t Crumble training group. “He was always getting faster, trying to find out how much faster he could still go even as he got older,” Lemair said. She described Birk as a cautious runner who wouldn’t run in the dark.

John Conley, race director of the LiveStrong Austin Marathon and Half Marathon, said Birk ran the Austin Marathon in 3 hours, 16 minutes in 2010. “I just think one of the truly great guys in the running community is gone, and he’ll be missed,” Conley said.

Leaders in the running community said that in order to stay safe while training, runners should wear brightly colored, high-visibility clothing, always assume the driver of a motor vehicle is distracted, and avoid crossing against traffic lights at intersections and jaywalking. They should run on a sidewalk if possible and run against traffic in order to see what’s coming.

Monday’s was the 25th traffic fatality of 2011. At this time last year, there were 20, police said.

In May, pedestrian Courtney Griffin was killed in her Tarrytown neighborhood when she was struck by a driver who fled the scene. Gabrielle Nestande has been charged with failing to stop and render aid in that case. Police said they suspect alcohol was involved in the case, which remains under investigation.

A recent study by Transportation for America, a Washington- based policy institute, ranked the Austin-Round Rock area as the 18th most dangerous in America for pedestrians.

The study ranked the country’s largest metropolitan areas according to their relative risk to walkers. Austin had 231 pedestrian fatalities between 2000 and 2009, according to the study.

The Houston and Dallas metro areas ranked ninth and 10th on the list, respectively.

If you have been charged with murder, sex crime, assault, etc., please contact The Law Office of Hector Gonzalez III at (512) 222-4140 for your free consultation.

Law Offices of Hector Gonzalez III - 512-501-2344
700 Lavaca St Suite 1400, Austin Texas 78701

Police believe a ‘significant amount’ of beer and tequila led to a fight between two friends that ended with one now facing a second-degree felony aggravated assault charge.

Christian John Cinkovich, 45, was having dinner at this friend’s house on Marcy Street Thursday night when he became irritated, belligerent and aggressive and started to argue with his friend, police said.

The argument escalated and Cinkovich got up from the table and punched his friend in the head twice, a court affidavit states.

The court affidavit states that the injured friend, who said he had ringing in his ears after being struck, tried to back into the safety of his kitchen when Cinkovich picked up a bottle and hit him in the head again.

Trying to help his friend who was hurt from being hit, another man at the dinner party jumped in the fight and hit Cinkovich in the back with a frying pan to subdue him, police said.

According to the court affidavit, after Cinkovich was hit with the frying pan, he ran away and jumped on a green bicycle to get away. At this point, someone inside the house called 911.

When police arrived, the man who was hit told police he did not want to press charges against his friend, the affidavit states.

Around 10:30 p.m., police said they were called back out to the home because Cinkovich had come back and walked up to the porch where the friend he had beaten was sitting and holding ice to his face.

When police returned, they said Cinkovich had run away again and could not find him.

Twenty minutes later, police said they were called to the home a third time because Cinkovich had come back with a four-foot long bamboo stick and was swinging the stick and hitting things in the yard.

When police arrived, Cinkovich could not be found, so police called for a K-9 unit to help search for him.  The police, however, did find Cinkovich’s green bicycle.

Police said they waited in the yard for Cinkovich to come back.

Cinkovich wandered back into the yard of his victim about 15 minutes later, police said, and when he saw police officers, he ran away and dove over a fence head first.

According to a court affidavit, Cinkovich started to run away and when officers caught up to him on foot they twice shot him with a stun gun.

Cinkovich was arrested and also charged with evading on foot, a misdemeanor.

If you or someone you know is being charged with a crime such as drug possession, DWI, family violence, etc., and need someone to represent you, please contact the Law Office of Hector Gonzalez III at (512) 222-4140 for a free consultation.

Law Offices of Hector Gonzalez III - 512-501-2344
700 Lavaca St Suite 1400, Austin Texas 78701

A fugitive and sex offender from South Texas was arrested Thursday night after authorities found him working at a South Austin carnival.

Members of the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force staked out the carnival while workers set up rides at the corner of Warehouse Row and Ben White Boulevard. Task force officers spotted Vern Houston, 26, operating a carnival ride and arrested him around 9 p.m.

He had several drivers’ licenses and other IDs on him that were not his. Houston was recently added to the Nueces County Sheriff’s Office “10 Most Wanted” list. Houston is wanted for several burglaries in the Corpus Christi area, according to U.S. Marshals.

“The Lone Star Fugitive Task Force is committed to tracking and locating those fugitives who have the potential to prey upon our children,” said Robert R. Almonte, the marshal for the Western District of Texas.

The carnival is operated by Crabtree Amusements, an Austin company. Owner Patrick Crabtree said Houston caught a ride up to Austin from Corpus Christi to work the carnival. The person who runs background checks on carnival employees has been out of state, and had not processed a background check on Houston before he started working at the Austin carnival.

The company issued the following statement late Friday afternoon:

“Crabtree Amusements does pre-employment drug screens and asks if the person has any history of sex offenses. Persons with sex offenses are not hired. If they are to be hired the must sign a release the paper work is forwarded to our safety office for back ground checks thru Texas Department of Safety Criminal History and the US Justice sexual offender public website. Mr. Houston was hired as casual labor to help in erection of equipment. He then decided to continue to work, since the paper work has not reached our safety office, in transit to Colorado the check had not been done yet. Security is provided on site during event with off duty officers from Sheriffs dept. We are about family entertainment and work to provide a safe environment for all.”

Nikki Stites worked with Houston.

“He was friendly we were sitting up there playing video games with his sister all night I was just shocked,” said Stites.

She said the carnival employees are like one big family.

“They are a good company and hopefully it doesn’t take them to a bad reputation,” said Stites.

The arrest didn’t stop Stephen Mohan from bringing his family from Kyle to the carnival for the first time.  But it did remind him to always watch out for predators.

“They’re living and walking around among us and you just have to be careful,” said Mohan.

Houston is in the Travis County Jail pending his transfer to Corpus Christi.

If you or someone you know is being charged with a crime such as drug possession, DWI, family violence, etc., and need someone to represent you, please contact the Law Office of Hector Gonzalez III at (512) 222-4140 for a free consultation.

Law Offices of Hector Gonzalez III - 512-501-2344
700 Lavaca St Suite 1400, Austin Texas 78701

Travis County prosecutors have declined to criminally charge a 45 year old woman who sped up as she tried to park her pickup, striking and killing 62 year old Felipe Duran, who was strumming Christian songs on his guitar outside a market in February.

Instead, Juana Arrellano-Aviles, who was driving without a driver’s license or insurance, received three traffic citations.

Austin attorney Steven Pastrana, who is representing Duran’s family, said he is looking into the possibility of a civil lawsuit against the driver.

The family “was upset that this lady has been allowed to just walk on this,” Pastrana said.

But prosecutors said the accident didn’t rise to the level of a criminal offense.

“Under the definition of criminally negligent homicide, there was not evidence to support a conviction,” said Buddy Meyer, trial bureau director for the Travis County district attorney’s office.

The district attorney’s office likewise declined to prosecute the driver on misdemeanor criminal charges, Meyer said.

Duran was a fixture in front of the Rundberg Lane market, where he built up a legion of admirers and friends with his guitar playing and discussions about religion. After his death, community donations and the Mexican consulate in Austin helped his family transfer his body to his native Mexico, Pastrana said. Arellano-Aviles told police she was going to the store to send some money home to her family in Mexico and brought her 10 year old son with her. The vehicle she normally drove was blocked in, so she took a pickup to La Mexicana market on Rundberg Lane, according to the Austin Police Department report on the crash.

She told police that she felt the truck move forward as she attempted to park. “At this time Juana realized she is getting close to the end of the space and where the man had his box of things,” the report said. “She stepped hard and the truck moved fast and she hit the man. Juana realized she had pressed the accelerator pedal.”

Initially, she told police that she might have been driving with both feet, but then said she drove with one.

In the report, Austin police Detective Pedro Garza concluded, “I could only speculate that Juana may have misjudged where the brake pedal was and panicked when the truck accelerated.” She also told police that she had never obtained a driver’s license and had been driving unlicensed for the past seven years.

The Austin Police Department does not inquire about immigration status as a matter of policy. Arellano-Aviles received Class C misdemeanor citations for reckless damage, failure to maintain financial responsibility and not having a driver’s license, police said. According to Austin Municipal Court documents, Arellano-Aviles has received and paid seven traffic citations since 2003, including five tickets for not having a license and one for “failure to maintain assured clear distance,” in which she paid a fine corresponding to a violation involving a collision. The most recent citation was issued in October.

Defense attorneys say criminal prosecutions are rare in vehicular killings that don’t involve alcohol, drugs, texting or drag racing.

Prosecutors “would have to show a high degree of recklessness or conscious indifference,” said San Antonio defense attorney Robert Kahn, who handles many vehicular homicide cases. “If it’s just a question of someone being a real, real poor driver or making a bad decision, it’s usually left for a civil case.”

Under Texas law, a person is criminally negligent when he or she “ought to be aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the circumstances exist or the result will occur” and that not perceiving that risk “constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of care that an ordinary person would exercise.”
Meyer said the statute means errors behind the wheel, even those resulting in death, aren’t necessarily crimes.

“She clearly intended to step on the brake and not the accelerator,” Meyer said. “Unfortunately, she made a mistake.”

Traffic fatalities involving pedestrians make up about a quarter of fatalities on Austin roads, according to police. Of the 192 traffic fatalities in Austin since 2008, 46 involved pedestrians.

But police say identifying the number of deaths similar to Duran’s is more difficult. Because he was killed in a parking lot, and thus on private property, Duran was counted as an accidental death, and not a traffic fatality.

If you have been charged with murder, sex crime, assault, etc., please contact The Law Office of Hector Gonzalez III at (512) 222-4140 for your free consultation.

Law Offices of Hector Gonzalez III - 512-501-2344
700 Lavaca St Suite 1400, Austin Texas 78701

A shootout on the Rio Grande between U.S. Border Patrol agents, Texas Rangers and Mexican drug runners left at least three of the drug traffickers wounded, the Department of Public Safety said.

Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Trevino said the shootout occurred in the Hidalgo County community of Abram and said none of the U.S. law enforcement personnel were injured.

He said the operation involved Texas Rangers, Texas Parks and Wildlife game wardens and the U.S. Border Patrol, and sheriff’s deputies were among those on the scene “after the fact.”

Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Tela Mange said the shooting occurred when officers participating in a multiagency “Texas Ranger Reconnaissance” operation attempted to stop a large drug load from coming across the river.

Officers arrived in three patrol boats after spotting a suspicious vehicle on the U.S. bank of the river and two boats full of drugs on the water; they “received heavy gunfire from the Mexico side” while attempting to interdict the boats, she said. It was unclear what happened to the wounded or whether arrests were made. Mexican authorities were notified of the abandoned boats loaded with drugs and were on the scene, the DPS said.

It is not the first time shots have been exchanged along the Texas-Mexico border. Since January of last year, DPS has tracked at least a dozen incidents of shots being fired from Mexico and into Texas, with U.S. officers shooting back in some cases.

No U.S. authorities have been reported hurt in those cases.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, called the Thursday incident a “brazen attack” and added, “Cartel-related violence along our border is real and escalating, and the administration cannot continue to deny it when American lives — particularly those of our law enforcement — are directly in harm’s way.”

Gov. Rick Perry in September of 2009 announced the establishment of the reconnaissance teams to bolster what he said were inadequate federal resources along the Texas-Mexico border.

The teams, composed of Texas Rangers and Texas National Guard Counterdrug forces, are deployed to high-traffic, high-crime areas to help stem the flow of contraband, according to an agency news release.

A multiagency investigation is under way, including the Customs and Border Protection, Texas Department of Public Safety and the FBI.

If you have been charged with murder, sex crime, assault, etc., please contact The Law Office of Hector Gonzalez III at (512) 222-4140 for your free consultation.

Law Offices of Hector Gonzalez III - 512-501-2344
700 Lavaca St Suite 1400, Austin Texas 78701

Hays County Sheriff’s Office got a tip on Sunday afternoon that a man driving a grey BMS in the area was carrying a quantity of narcotics.

A deputy, along with a Texas state trooper, found the vehicle matching the description and followed it. The car was stopped for two traffic violations at 3:15 p.m. in the 9400 block of U.S. Highway 290 east, and a K-9 officer and dog searched the vehicle.

Officers found 2.2 pounds of cocaine and 4 1/2 pounds of “ICE” methamphetamines in the BMW.

Sheriff Gary Cutler said that the follow-up investigation determined the drugs were headed to the Austin area for distribution.

Vincent Lamont Davis, 37, was arrested and charged with manfacture and delivery of a controlled substance, penalty group 1, more than 400 grams, a first-degree felony.

If you or someone you know is being charged with a crime such as drug possession, DWI, family violence, etc., and need someone to represent you, please contact the Law Office of Hector Gonzalez III at (512) 222-4140 for a free consultation.

Law Offices of Hector Gonzalez III - 512-501-2344
700 Lavaca St Suite 1400, Austin Texas 78701

When school officials arrived at the Thrall school district campus on the morning of May 23, they found a Jolly Roger flag hoisted up the high school flagpole and the school’s marquee read “honk if you’re horny” on both sides. The fan belts on 10 school buses were cut, and locks to the school doors were glued shut.

An estimated $13,100 in damage was done in an attempt, as part of a senior class prank, to force the district to cancel classes for the day, police said.

Now, two teens are charged with criminal mischief, a state jail felony punishable by up to two years in jail, relating to the incident, court records show. Zachery Candelas, 17, of Coupland, and Jared Cummings, 18, of Elgin, both seniors at Thrall High School when the incident occurred, were charged June 3. Candelas was booked into Williamson County jail on Monday, and Cummings was booked into jail on Tuesday, court records show. Both were released after each posted a $7,500 bond.

“It was a prank that just went too far,” Thrall Police Chief Whitney Whitworth said.

Efforts on Wednesday to reach Candelas and Cummings for comment were unsuccessful.

As a result of the prank, the Thrall school district canceled morning school bus routes, Thrall school district Interim Superintendent Ernie Laurence said.

Classes were not canceled. In fact, the district had more than 90 percent attendance that day, which is normal, Laurence said.

“We had to go in and make some adjustments,” he said. “It didn’t take us long to get into the building, and classes were able to resume.”

Enough of the buses were repaired that day to run all afternoon bus routes, Laurence said. When questioned by investigators, Candelas and Cummings both said they caused the damage, court records show.

Laurence would not comment on the pair. The last day of classes was Friday, he said.

The prank was part of a so called bucket list the senior class had made up at the beginning of the school year, Whitworth said.

But when the time came to carry out the plan to get classes canceled, only Candelas and Cummings were willing, according to an arrest affidavit. Most of the pranks on the list, executed throughout the school year, were harmless, Laurence said.

“When it started getting serious, I think most students just totally backed away,” Laurence said.

If you have been charged with murder, sex crime, assault, etc., please contact The Law Office of Hector Gonzalez III at (512) 222-4140 for your free consultation.

Law Offices of Hector Gonzalez III - 512-501-2344
700 Lavaca St Suite 1400, Austin Texas 78701

A Burnet County woman is accused of being responsible for the death this month of her 9-year-old daughter, Abigail Garcia, by denying her the medication and food she required.

According to an arrest warrant affidavit issued Friday, Georgina Chavez Garcia, 33, had repeatedly allowed the prescriptions to control her daughter’s epilepsy to lapse. Garcia was not yet in custody Friday afternoon.

Garcia is also accused of letting some four months to pass with fixing a feeding machine for her daughter, who suffered from cerebral palsy and needed the device to keep her nourished.

The girl, whose name was not listed on the affidavit, died June 13 after being taken to a hospital emergency room.

The affidavit charges Garcia with injury to a child, a first-degree felony.

Burnet Police Chief Paul Nelson said the child’s parents took her to Seton Highland Lakes Medical Center where she died shortly after. Investigators believe the child, who weighed 47 pounds, was far too skinny.

“The child did have a pulse at the time of arrival but unfortunately the child did pass away at the hospital,” said Nelson. “She had cerebral palsy- she had a feeding tube, so we’re looking into the feeding machine and the medications she was taking.”

Investigators have been interviewing several people, including the child’s parents, teachers, siblings and other relatives.

Nelson said both parents and several relatives are cooperating with the investigation and that Child Protective Services is also investigating. Five other children who were living in the home have been placed with another relative.

The Travis County Medical Examiner’s office performed an autopsy, but an official cause of death has not been released.

Police will turn the investigation over to the Burnet County attorney’s office.

According to Child Protective Services spokesperson, Julie Moody, the family did not have previous history with CPS; however at the time of Abigail Garcia’s death, CPS was working with the family.

The family’s five other siblings, are together with appropriate family.

If you or someone you know is being charged with a crime such as drug possession, DWI, family violence, etc., and need someone to represent you, please contact the Law Office of Hector Gonzalez III at (512) 222-4140 for a free consultation.

Law Offices of Hector Gonzalez III - 512-501-2344
700 Lavaca St Suite 1400, Austin Texas 78701