What did Greg Abbott’s border inspections turn up? Oil leaks, flat tires and zero drugs
The governor ordered troopers to thoroughly inspect every commercial truck coming from Mexico in what he described as an effort to stop illegal drugs and migrants from being smuggled into Texas. His order for increased state inspections led to snarling delays in trade between the two countries.
Produce assocation: ‘Enhanced inspections’ costing millions
As of late Thursday, roughly 80 percent of commercial truck traffic inbound to Texas from Mexico was still subject to Gov. Greg Abbott’s order requiring the Department of Public Safety to conduct “enhanced inspections” of every northbound truck attempting to cross the border. But Galeazzi noted that the additional level-one inspections being conducted by DPS focus on equipment — lights, mirrors, windshield wipers, etc. “Those safety inspections do not permit DPS to open the trailers, at least as I understand it,” he said. “The difference is they’re conducting inspections on somewhere between 20 to 40 percent of the traffic that’s coming through,” he said.
myrgv.comGov. Greg Abbott eases state inspections at one commercial bridge, as trade remains snarled across the border
The move provides little relief as trade between Texas and Mexico is hampered along the border because of Abbott’s order. The Colombia bridge is just one of 13 commercial crossings between the two countries and the only one connected to Nuevo León.
Sex trafficking allegations at The Refuge to be referred to federal prosecutors for potential criminal charges
Judge Janis Jack, who oversees a years-long federal lawsuit into systemic issues within the state’s foster care facility, sharply criticized the Texas Rangers and Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw, who concluded earlier this month that no wrongdoing had taken place at the now-shuttered The Refuge.
Six Kids Among Dozens Shot at Arkansas Gun Show
GettyA terrifying volley of bullets that left one person dead and 28 wounded—including kids as young as 19 months old—was sparked by two men who who “got in a gunfight” at a car show that was supposed to be a family-friendly event.“There was no mass shooting intended on this,” Col. Bill Bryant of the Arkansas Department of Public Safety said during a Sunday press conference about the violence that erupted at the gathering in small-town Dumas.Officials confirmed that Cameron Shaffer, 23, of Jacks
news.yahoo.comBorder Patrol pursuits lead to 32 arrests
On March 15, Border Patrol agents dealt with three failed smuggling attempts that led to 32 arrests. This resulted in a pursuit which ended once the driver plowed through a ranch fence. An hour later, a Department of Public Safety trooper was involved in a pursuit with a Chrysler 300 near Mission. The McAllen Border Patrol Station agents were requested to assist and, once engaged, were able to determine that five of the occupants were non-citizens from Mexico. Although DPS troopers attempted to assist and follow protocol, yet another driver embarked on a vehicle pursuit.
myrgv.comTexas Rangers, Attorney General’s Office investigating Real County Sheriff
The Texas Rangers and investigators with the Texas Attorney General’s Office raided several locations earlier this month in connection to an investigation of Real County Sheriff Nathan Johnson, Department of Public Safety officials have confirmed.
State to build border wall in Starr County
Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush announced a lease agreement Monday that will allow the state to build a border wall in Starr County. The commissioner held a news conference in Starr County in July to talk about a lawsuit filed by his office over the unfinished border wall in a property stretching 3,099 acres. Greg Abbott visited Del Río, he announced his plans to create a border wall and barriers. That same day Bush said the construction would receive emergency authorization on state lands. During Bush’s visit to Starr County in July, he announced the General Land Office would be making its 20,000 state-owned border acres available to his plans.
myrgv.comTexas prosecutor drops charges after migrants claim they were marched to private property, then arrested for trespassing
The Texas Department of Public Safety and U.S. Border Patrol insist the 11 men, arrested under Gov. Greg Abbott’s border initiative, weren’t set up for trespassing charges. But a county attorney decided the case was too muddled to prosecute.
Democrats see political peril in replacing Minneapolis PD
As activists mobilized this summer to ask Minneapolis voters to replace their police department, one of the first prominent Democrats to slam the plan was a moderate congresswoman who doesn’t even live in the city. Angie Craig declared it “shortsighted, misguided and likely to harm the very communities that it seeks to protect." Craig's district covers a suburban-to-rural and politically divided region south of the city, but her willingness to jump into the fight next door highlights the political threat that Democrats like Craig see in the proposal.
news.yahoo.comTexas court orders release of more than 200 migrants imprisoned in Gov. Greg Abbott’s border security clampdown
The men were arrested by state troopers and held for weeks without facing formal charges, a violation of state law. It’s the latest misfire in Abbott’s hastily assembled effort to involve Texas in patrolling the border.
Migrants arrested by Texas in border crackdown are being imprisoned for weeks without legal help or formal charges
Defense attorneys have started asking courts to set migrants free because local justice systems, overwhelmed by arrests under Gov. Greg Abbott's border security push, are routinely violating state law and constitutional due process rights.
After a Texas prosecutor dismissed dozens of migrant trespassing cases, some men were dropped at a border bus station
Officials said immigration authorities weren’t interested in taking migrants who had no criminal conviction into federal custody. But without documentation, at least one newly released migrant soon found himself back in detention.
Thanks to local politics and a railroad, rural Kinney County accounts for most of Texas’ migrant arrests
Under Gov. Greg Abbott’s border security push, Texas state police have arrested hundreds of migrants in the conservative county, usually after spotting them on cargo trains or walking remote ranch lands. Sent to a state prison retooled as an immigration jail, many men were left without lawyers for weeks.
An 18-year-old Venezuelan was among the first set free from Texas’ new jail for migrants. No one knew what to do with him.
After more than three weeks in jail, a trespassing charge against the man was dropped because state troopers shouldn’t have arrested him under Gov. Greg Abbott’s border security push. He wound up in bureaucratic limbo for days as federal agencies passed the responsibility for resolving his immigration status.
12 people believed to be connected to human smuggling in custody after vehicle chase into SW Bexar County
DPS troopers took about a dozen people into custody in far Southwest Bexar County who they believe are connected to human smuggling. They say eleven of them appeared to be undocumented immigrants.
The first migrants arrested in Gov. Greg Abbott's border crackdown have served their time. Federal officials will decide what happens next.
The Texas governor has derided federal immigration policy as "catch and release." But unless federal authorities now take them into custody, the migrants Abbott ordered state troopers to arrest could soon be freed.
DOJ sues Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott over executive order allowing DPS to stop migrants in vehicles
The U.S. Department of Justice is suing the state of Texas and Gov. Greg Abbott over the executive order the governor issued on Wednesday that allowed Department of Public Safety troopers to restrict lawful ground transportation of migrants.
Donald Trump visits Texas to tour “unfinished border wall” on U.S.-Mexico border with Gov. Greg Abbott
Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday joined Texas’ top state leaders at the U.S.-Mexico border to slam the Biden administration’s immigration policies during a visit to the “unfinished border wa[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]
sanmarcosrecord.comMan arrested after he made ‘terroristic threat,’ Kerr County Sheriff says
The Kerr County Sheriff’s Office announced on Sunday that deputies, along with FBI, Department of Public Safety and Secret Service, had arrested a man who self-identified as a terrorist and had plans for a “mass casualty event.”
South Dakota governor blocked from releasing records in attorney general's deadly crash
A South Dakota judge on Thursday blocked Governor Kristi Noem from releasing documents and video in the investigation of the state's attorney general for striking and killing a man with his car. Price had said the Department of Public Safety was within the bounds of state law in releasing the documents. In the videos, investigators confront the attorney general with the gruesome details of the crash. South Dakota Department of Public SafetyIn the interviews, Ravnsborg appears unsure of how his Ford Taurus veered onto the highway shoulder, where it struck 55-year-old Joseph Boever. House Speaker Spencer Gosch has proposed forming a special committee to investigate Ravnsborg's conduct in the fatal crash.
cbsnews.comShe answered honestly about mental health. Then the state revoked her driver’s license.
LEON VALLEY, Texas – Kathy Francis said her troubles with the Department of Public Safety started in March 2019, while applying to renew her driver’s license. The couple lives in rural Bandera County, meaning it made sense during a trip to town to stop by the driver’s license mega center on Huebner Road, in Leon Valley. Francis disclosed a bipolar disorder diagnosis on her March 2019 application to renew her driver's license. AdIt is unclear whether writing down PTSD on the application would have caused the state to flag Francis’ application. Francis' wife Kari has been forced to become her driver, after the state revoked Francis' license in September.
"Science has thrown us a lifeline": North Carolina prisons give COVID-19 vaccine to inmates and staff
Inmates and staff at North Carolina's prison system began receiving doses of the COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday, officials said. Airman First Class Emily Riddles of the North Carolina Air National Guard prepares a COVID-19 vaccine shot at Raleigh's Central Prison on January 21, 2021. In North Carolina alone, there have been 9,414 positive cases among inmates. Staff cases have not been reported. North Carolina Army National Guard/Sergeant Jamar Marcel PughSara J. Totonchi, executive director for the Southern Center for Human Rights, said North Carolina ranks among the top states with high COVID-19 cases among inmates.
cbsnews.comDPS waiver for driver's license expiration ends in April
The Department of Public Safety announced Tuesday that the temporary waiver for driver's licenses and identification cards will end in April. The waiver expires April 14 for residents who need to renew their licenses or identification cards. Greg Abbott granted a waiver for licenses, commercial learner permits, ID cards and election identification certificates for those that expired on or after March 13, 2020. All DPS services are now by appointment only and can be made online. DPS also recommends that anyone who needs to renew their license before April 14 should make an appointment in the coming weeks.
mysanantonio.comLaw enforcement searching for Texas State student who disappeared after crash near Luling
LULING, Texas – The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) is continuing their search for a Texas State student who disappeared following a car crash near Luling, Texas. According to a department spokesperson, the crash happened at around midnight Monday morning. Law enforcement officers found a crashed vehicle near Salt Flat Road north of Interstate 10, but do not know how the incident occurred. Officials are still trying to locate the victim who they believe may be Jason David Landry, 21, a Texas State University student. A university spokesperson confirmed that DPS would be handling the case.
Disappearance of Utah monolith won’t prompt major probe
FILE - This Nov. 18, 2020, file photo provided by the Utah Department of Public Safety shows a metal monolith in the ground in a remote area of red rock in Utah. The Bureau of Land Management said it had received credible reports that the three-sided stainless steel structure was removed on Nov. 27. The site doesn’t have a parking lot, bathrooms or cellphone coverage, and some passenger cars had to be towed from the remote area after getting stuck. The attention came after the monolith was spotted Nov. 18 by state helicopter crews helping wildlife biologists count bighorn sheep. The site is now empty except for a piece of rectangular metal covering a hole where the monolith had stood.
Mysterious silver monolith disappears from Utah desert
The Utah Department of Public Safety said biologists spotted the monolith on Nov. 18, a report that garnered international attention. While Utah officials did not say specifically where the monolith was located, people soon found it on satellite images dating back to 2016 and determined its GPS coordinates, prompting people to hike into the area. Reporters with The Salt Lake Tribune hiked to the spot on Saturday and confirmed that it was gone. “This was just a once-in-a-lifetime experience that we couldn't miss out,” Marino told KUTV. On the way, they passed a long-bed truck with a large object in the back and he said he joked “oh look, there's the Utah monolith right there,” he said.
Mysterious shiny monolith found in otherworldly Utah desert
This Nov. 18, 2020 photo provided by the Utah Department of Public Safety shows a metal monolith installed in the ground in a remote area of red rock in Utah. The smooth, tall structure was found during a helicopter survey of bighorn sheep in southeastern Utah, officials said Monday. State workers from the Utah Department of Public Safety and Division of Wildlife Resources spotted the gleaming object from the air and landed nearby to check it out. The smooth, tall structure was found during a helicopter survey of bighorn sheep in southeastern Utah, officials said Monday. “This thing is not from another world,” said Lt. Nick Street of the Utah Highway Patrol, part of the Department of Public Safety.
Two killed in small-engine plane crash near Houston, DPS officials say
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Texas – Two people are dead following a plane crash outside of Houston, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. The crash happened Sunday morning after a fixed-wing, single-engine plane crashed into the neighborhood of Linnwood Drive and Elm Street, according to officials. MONTGOMERY COUNTY - @TxDPSSoutheast Troopers responded to a Fixed Wing Single-Engine (N26136) plane crash in the neighborhood of Linnwood/Elm St. Two confirmed fatalities identities unknown. pic.twitter.com/NAV8andmWc — TxDPS - Southeast Texas Region (@TxDPSSoutheast) October 25, 2020Officials said it’s unclear what led to the crash at this time. RELATED: US Navy: 2 onboard training plane killed in Alabama crash
South Dakota agency: AG reported hitting deer, but hit man
– South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg reported hitting a deer with his car on Saturday night but actually killed a pedestrian whose body was not found until the next day, state investigators said Monday. The Department of Public Safety issued a statement Monday that said only that Ravnsborg told the Hyde County Sheriff’s Office that he had hit a deer. Tony Mangan, a spokesman for the department, would not confirm whether Ravnsborg called 911, saying it is part of the ongoing investigation. The pedestrian, who was identified as 55-year-old Joseph Boever, was not found until Sunday morning, according to the department. Boever told his cousin that he had been reaching for some tobacco.
Reward increased in cold case of Texas teacher found dead in 1995
SAN ANTONIO Twenty-five years after the death of Beaumont teacher Mary Catherine Edwards, Texas law enforcement officials are still looking for her killer. The Texas Department of Public Safety has increased the reward of up to $6,000 for information leading to the arrest of the suspect, or suspects. The well-loved teacher was last seen in public on Jan. 13, 1995, DPS states. The case remains unsolved as Texas Rangers and Beaumont detectives have exhausted all leads. Anyone with information is asked to submit information through the Texas Rangers cold case website or by calling the missing persons hotline at 1-800-346-3242.
WATCH: San Antonio police will have ‘massive show of force’ at protest over George Floyd’s killing
SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said law enforcement, public safety staff and local businesses are prepared for the peaceful protest planned for Saturday afternoon. The protest is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Travis Park and is in response to the recent killing of Houston native, George Floyd. McManus said 75 Department of Public Safety Troopers as well as numerous San Antonio police officers and other officials will be working at the protest for safety, in case behaviors escalate. McManus said he met with the protest organizers and believes the protest will be peaceful. What happened to the police officers is an absolute justice in this case,” McManus said.
DPS: Man’s disappearance in South Texas could be a threat to his own safety
SAN ANTONIO – Authorities are searching for an 85-year-old man who disappeared in Weslaco on Tuesday evening. According to a Silver Alert issued by the Department of Public Safety, Hilario Torres Perez disappeared around 6 p.m. Tuesday in the 700 block of Agostadero Street in Weslaco. He is 5-feet, 7-inches tall, weighs 170 pounds, has brown hair and has brown eyes. DPS states he was last seen wearing a flannel button-up shirt and khaki pants. Officials believe his disappearance “poses a credible threat to their own health and safety.”Anyone with information is asked to contact the Weslaco Police Department at 956-968-8591.
FBI, Texas Rangers raid Precinct 2 constable's office, seize county vehicle
The FBI and Texas Rangers executed a search warrant early Monday morning inside the offices of the Bexar County Constable for Precinct 2. The reason why is that I don't believe in the good ole boy system, I never have," Barrientes Vela said. Barrientes Vela declined to respond to questions about those incidents. "The Bexar County Criminal District Attorney's Office has no comment regarding the activity by the Texas Rangers and the FBI related to the Precinct 2 Constable's Office this morning," a spokesperson for the DA's office said. 2:Barrientes Vela accused of sex discrimination in latest lawsuit filed by deputy constableEmbattled Precinct 2 constable announces future political plansBarrientes Vela, top Pct.
Portion I-10 hit with Imelda flooding reopens
BEAUMONT, Texas - A portion of Interstate 10 in southeast Texas that was closed due to flooding from Tropical Storm Imelda has reopened. KFDM-TV reports that officials with the Texas' Department of Public Safety and Department of Transportation said the interstate between Winnie and Beaumont reopened as of noon Sunday. The interstate though is still closed at the San Jacinto Bridge in Harris County after loose barges struck the support columns near the water. The Texas Department of Transportation said Sunday that the barges had been dislodged and officials are inspecting the bridge for damage. This weekend floodwaters began to recede to reveal the exhausting cleanup effort that lies ahead after Imelda slowly churned across the region, damaging hundreds of homes and causing five deaths.
3 dead, 4 hospitalized in suspected drug overdose
"To be clear, this was not a case of a tainted drug being passed around or distributed in large volume at a large venue which could have affected even more people. It appears to have been isolated to a single location," the Pittsburgh Department of Public Safety said in a statement. "However, police are concerned about a tainted, potentially deadly batch of drugs in the community."
chicagotribune.comMotorcyclist arrested after leading DPS troopers on chase
SAN ANTONIO - Authorities have a man in custody after the Department of Public Safety says he led troopers on a chase around San Antonio's East Side. Troppers said the chase started around 1:20 a.m. Saturday when they tried to pull over a motorcyclist near I-35 and AT&T Center Parkway, but he refused to stop. The pursuit ended about 30 minutes later when DPS troopers were able to box him in at a H-E-B store on Rittiman Road. The suspect was arrested and charges are pending. Copyright 2019 by KSAT - All rights reserved.
Girlfriend says head-on crash victim loved boxing, faith
SAN ANTONIO - A local woman says she couldn't believe the images she saw of the car crash that took her boyfriend's life. Cantu was into fitness, boxing and his faith, Canales said, and they had been planning to take a road trip around the state this week. "He wanted to go to Houston because he loved Joel Osteen, and he really wanted to go to the Sunday service," Canales said. Canales said Cantu worked for a dairy company, rotating and stocking the milk at H-E-B stores, and he was driving his work vehicle when the crash happened. Hernandez, his passenger, worked as a team lead at an H-E-B store, according to her family.