Houston Chronicle

A Harris County Jail inmate has been charged with murder in the death of another inmate in early May, authorities said.Jerome Nebuwa died May 6, two days after he was attacked by Gregory Keith Curtis, the Harris County Sheriff’s office said earlier this week. The charge followed an investigation by the Texas Rangers, which was requested by the sheriff’s office, the local agency said.During that investigation, several inmates told the state agency they saw Curtis attack Nebuwa from behind on the…

The burned body of a man was found early Thursday in the back seat of a car that exploded at an apartment complex in Independence Heights.Residents at the complex at 4635 Werner, northeast of Yale and Crosstimbers, reported hearing a loud explosion about 12:15 a.m., said Houston Police Department homicide detective M. Arrington. The residents called the Houston Fire Department.First-responders soon found a body in the back seat of the car.Arrington said the person, an adult male, is unrecogniza…

A man died Thursday morning in a hit-and-run wreck in northwest Harris County.Deputies are investigating the crash in the 9200 block of Antoine, just south of Texas 249. The road is temporarily closed.READ ALSO: Houston recording studio owner surrenders on trafficking charges [https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Houston-recording-studio-owner-surrenders-on-14997268.php]A passerby saw the injured man on the ground and notified authorities, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez tweeted.He al…

A fourth man has been charged with capital murder in a shooting death and carjacking in Spring that authorities said resulted from a drug deal gone bad.Cecil Lakey, 22, was arrested in August, five months after Chima Ogbonnaya was fatally shot in the parking lot of a business at 17907 Kuykendahl. Two witnesses identified Lakey, who goes by “Scooby,” as the gunman, a Harris County prosecutor said at his probable cause hearing this week.Ogbonnaya accompanied a friend who set up the deal, which aut…

A Houston man has been charged with murder in the shooting death of a woman at a Sugar Land hotel, authorities said.Sheldon Magee, 44, is also charged with attempted murder of a police officer in the incident Sunday at Courtyard by Marriott, 16740 Creekbend Drive.Magee is accused of fatally shooting 38-year-old Kiva Herrera, also of Houston. Herrera recently ended a relationship with Magee, Sugar Land police said Monday, adding that they believe the shooting resulted from a domestic disturbance.…

A West Texas pastor has been charged with sexual assault of a child, accused of preying upon a Harris County teenage girl after she sought counseling for a previous sexual assault, authorities here said.Conrad Estrada Valdez, 59, was arrested on two sexual assault charges and on July 1 was sent to Harris County Jail. He has since posted bond on $60,000 bail, according to court records. Documents list his address as Las Cruces, Texas, northwest of El Paso.Authorities are seeking other possible vi…

A woman was drunk when she ran a stop sign in northwest Houston Saturday night and struck a car, killing the driver, then fled from the crash, authorities said.Gabriala Sebastian-Lucas, 29, faces charges of intoxicated manslaughter and failure to stop and render aid in an accident involving death.She was driving a tan Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck east on Edward Drive when she ran a stop sign about 7:50 p.m. and collided with a blue Honda Accord northbound on Lee Road, police said.She told po…

Pamela Pratt lay dead in the passenger seat of her fiance’s SUV, fatally stabbed in the neck and the chest, while he drove around trying to figure out how to deal with the violent outcome of a fight, he allegedly told authorities.It would be more than two hours before Kenneth B. Howard called police and told them he had killed the 39-year-old woman, according to details provided by a Harris County prosecutor at a probable cause hearing for the 61-year-old Houston man who was charged with murder.…

Updated at 5:30 p.m.A partial roof collapse during a fire at an Atascocita sports bar led to the injury of a firefighter. The three-alarm fire broke out at Coaches Parroteyes Sports Grill, 5304 East FM 1960.The roof collapse blocked the firefighters initial entrance point, necessitating a mayday call. The firefighters that initial entered the burning building were then removed by a Rapid Intervention Team stationed outside.The injured firefighter was treated with symptoms of smoke inhalation and…

A Senate panel has approved the nomination of Houston attorney Charles Eskridge to fill a vacancy on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.President Donald Trump nominated Eskridge, a partner at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP in Houston and adjunct professor at University of Houston, for the post in early May.“I am grateful my colleagues on the committee favorably reported Charles for the federal bench in Houston,” Sen. Ted Cruz said in an email Thursday after the Sen…

Houston police have arrested a 17-year-old, and charged him with super aggravated sexual assault of a girl under 6 years old.Mario Luis Guarachj was charged on Wednesday, according to court records.POLICE: Driver dodges $5,400 in tolls with this device [https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Driver-dodges-5-400-in-tolls-with-illegal-13762795.php]He is being held on a $100,000 bond. Details of the case have not been released due to the victim’s age.Guarachj is scheduled to appea…

A Deer Park refinery has ended a shelter in place that was enacted after low levels of benzene were detected at the facility, company officials said Wednesday.The shelter in place at Shell Deer Park came the same day as emergency crews extinguished a blaze at nearby Intercontinental Terminals Co., a fire that lasted nearly four days and which caused a plume of black smoke to linger over the Houston area.EXCLUSIVE: Deer Park company at center of explosion accused of intentionally polluting water…

One student was injured Thursday in a shooting at Atascocita High School, authorities said.The injury is not life-threatening, officials reported. Students were on-campus for after-school activities at the time of the shooting.“Things are under control,” the Harris County Sheriff’s Office tweeted Thursday night.Humble ISD police and Precinct 4 constables also are on the scene. Authorities said they believe the suspect fled the scene in a red Chevy Impala, according to initial reports.NEWS WHEN Y…

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A fifth person has been charged with murder in the machete slaying this summer of a man who authorities said was a member of a rival MS-13 gang. Francisco Antonio Rodriguez-Ulloa, 20, was arrested Tuesday and is the latest to be charged in the death of 25-year-old Victor Castro-Martinez, who was killed June 6 at Cullinan Park. Castro-Martinez was also a police informant, but Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said earlier this month the man was killed because he was in a rival MS-13 gang, not be…

Crime Stoppers of Houston and the Harris County Sheriff’s Office are seeking the public’s help to find some of the area’s most-wanted fugitives.Crime Stoppers will pay up to $5,000 for information leading to the charging and/or arrest of the suspect(s) in this case. Information can be reported by calling 713-222-TIPS (8477), submitted online at www.crime-stoppers.org [http://www.crime-stoppers.org] or through the Crime Stoppers mobile app. All tipsters remain anonymous.SURPRISE DELIVERY: Someone…

A Baytown man pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal drug trafficking violations that involved possessing and distributing cocaine from the Houston area to areas in Louisiana and Mississippi, according to the U.S. Southern District Court of TexasU.S. Attorney Joseph D. Brown said Jose Quiroga, 42, served as a narcotics and bulk currency courier for a drug trafficking organization led by Eugenio Cerda. Cerda’s organization was responsible for trafficking cocaine and fentanyl from the Houston area to B…

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Crime in Houston fell slightly in 2017 but police Chief Art Acevedo continues to lobby for hundreds of additional officers.The city may need as many as 2,000 officers, he said this week, repeating calls from previous chiefs to grow the department’s force.And the chief again criticized Gov. Greg Abbott and other state officials, saying they make it difficult for cities to police and protect themselves by focusing on unnecessary legislation regarding immigration, gender issues and local control.HO…

As of 10 a.m Thursday, Aug. 31, this post is no longer being updated. Cities and counties around Houston are issuing voluntary and mandatory evacuation orders as floodwaters continue to rise in some areas.Here’s a list of local shelters taking people in. [https://www.chron.com/news/houston-weather/hurricaneharvey/article/houston-shelters-hurricane-harvey-12012951.php] And here’s the latest list of official and confirmed evacuation orders from the greater Houston area: Harris CountyCounty offici…