CITIZEN SAVES SMALL CHILD FROM MOVING TRAIN

PRESS RELEASE

On December 19^th, 2011, at approximately 1043 Hrs, Officers from the Palestine Police Department responded to the area of W.Oak @ San Jacinto in reference to an unattended child.

The complainant, a passing motorist driving westbound on W. Oak, observed what appeared to be a small child approaching a slow moving train, west of the railroad tracks near the intersection.

The child, a four year old male, was eventually detained by the complainant, and upon police arrival, a search was undertaken to find the child’s residence.

Officer Marcos Lara found that the child had walked away from a residence in the 300 Block of McClellan, after the babysitter reported leaving her two children, along the victim and the victim’s brother outside while she went to the bathroom inside the residence. The children varied in age from 2-6 years of age.

Child Protective Services was notified and an employee responded to the scene.

An offense report was generated for Abandoning/Endangering a Child with Criminal Negligence, a State Jail Felony. The case will be forwarded to the Palestine PD Criminal Investigation Division, and will be sent to the Anderson County District Attorney’s Office for consideration.

PALESTINE PD GETS TWO NEW CRIME PREVENTION OFFICERS

PRESS RELEASE

The Palestine Police Department has two newly trained Crime Prevention Officers, after they completed their training at the Harris County Sheriff’s Department last week.

Officer Fernando Nino and Detective David Kassaw completed Phase I of the three phases in the Crime Prevention program taught by the Institute for Criminal Justice Studies.

Both officers have completed coursework and have obtained the basic knowledge of Crime Prevention and the fundamental concepts and techniques for preventing and deterring crime. They have been awarded the skills to conduct home inspections, business commercial security surveys, residential security surveys, and are able to make realistic recommendations to remove or reduce obvious crime risk. Detective Kassaw and Officer Nino advised that the training was fun and interesting, but was very demanding of their time. “There was a lot of homework involved in the class, and it was not uncommon for us to be completing our assignments at 1am”, said Det. Kassaw.

The department will be looking to put their skills to good use in the near future, as Chief Robert Herbert takes over on January 3^rd.  Chief Herbert, also a Crime Prevention Inspector, will be looking to bring the police department and the community together.

“This is one of the programs that the Palestine Police Department has lacked over the course of the last ten to fifteen years, says Lieutenant Jeff Powell. “We will be developing the policies and procedures for implementation of the program based on input from Chief Herbert and the officers that completed the training.”

Phase II of the training will deal with public speaking in regards to Crime Prevention, and Phase III will allow the officers to train by attempting to “burglarize buildings” to find if they are actually secure. The department is planning on continuing the officers’ training later in 2012.

LOCAL BUSINESS VICTIM OF BURGLARY

PRESS RELEASE

On December 9^th, 2011, at approximately 0242 Hrs, Officers responded to Katie’s

Pantry, located at 4217 W. Oak, in reference to a burglar alarm.

Upon arrival, officers determined that offenders had entered into the business by breaking through the back wall of the building. The business was searched, the offenders appeared to have fled scene prior to the arrival of police.

The ATM machine from inside the business appeared to have been stolen during the offense. The monetary loss due to offense has not been reported at the time of the press release.

Upon review of the surveillance video, it appears that the offenders wore gloves and masks during the commission of the offense.

Anyone having information regarding this or any other criminal offense, can call the Palestine Police Department Criminal Investigations Division at (903)731-8477 or Crime Stoppers at 729-TIPS(8477).

WOMAN STABBED BY EX-BOYFRIEND

PRESS RELEASE

On November 30^th, 2011, Officers from the Palestine Police Department responded to the Palestine Regional Medical Center, 2900 S. Loop 256, in reference to an Aggravated Assault with Deadly Weapon, which occurred at a residence in the 1200 block of Hays St.

According to the victim, Amber Priehs, 20 years of age, her ex-boyfriend, identified as Jalon R. Owens, 21 years of age, entered into her residence without permission, and became involved in a verbal argument regarding their relationship, which had reportedly ended in the last several weeks.

During the disturbance, Owens produced a knife reportedly stabbed Priehs in the left upper arm.

Priehs reportedly was driven to the hospital by a friend, where she was treated for the injury. Detectives then were called to assist with the investigation.

Officers were unable to contact Owens in reference to the incident, and he has yet to come forward.

The case was forwarded to the criminal investigation division for follow up investigation.

POLICE DEPARTMENT WARNS CITIZENS REGARDING RECENT TRAILER THEFTS

PRESS RELEASE

The Palestine Police Department has received several reports of theft of utility trailers since September 1, 2011, having taken over 15 reports regarding this type of theft.

There does not appear to be any specific pattern, and there are few leads regarding the suspects at this time. Citizens are asked to be on the lookout and report any suspicious occurrences where trailers are being transported away from businesses and residences that look out of the ordinary or the vehicles moving the trailers do not match that of the home owners.

“Citizens with trailers are encouraged to lock down the tongue of the trailer with a spare ball, by locking the extra ball in place with a lock. Other methods of precaution may be to “boot” the trailer tires, or lock both trailer tires in place by locking a pipe between the two tires”, says Lt. Jeff Powell.

Any citizens having information regarding the recent trailer thefts or any other criminal activity are encouraged to call Crimestoppers at (903)729-TIPS or the Palestine Police Department Investigation Division at (903)731-8477.

COPPER THEFT MOTIVE FOR HOUSE FIRE

PRESS RELEASE

On November 17^th, 2011, at approximately 0952 Hrs, the Palestine Fire Department and Palestine Police Department responded to the 100 Block of Ferguson in reference to a suspicious house fire.

The initial investigation indicated that a witness had observed suspects, described as a heavy set female and male, entering into the residence, and believed that the house may have been rented by the couple.

Fire Department Officials discovered that the suspects appeared to have been burning insulated house wiring in the bathroom using an unknown accelerant.

The fire in the tub, according to Interim Fire Chief Alan Wilcher, apparently got out of control and set the rest of the bathroom on fire.

No one was found within the residence during the investigation, indicating that the suspects fled prior to the Fire Department and Police arriving on the scene.

There was also evidence that the house was being occupied by persons without the consent of the owner, who contacted the police department over the weekend to report the offense.

“The insulation in being burned off so that the copper can be more expediently sold to businesses that deal in precious metals.”

“We need help from the public in identifying these suspicious circumstances. If persons are carrying around spools of house wiring, and look out of place, the police need to be contacted. We need to identify these people, as we have received several reports of copper theft.  A lot of it is continuing to come from vacant houses and businesses. It is a growing problem”, said Lt. Jeff Powell of the Palestine Police Department.

The case is being forwarded to the criminal investigation division for follow up investigation.

Two Care-Flighted in Overnight Accident on Crockett Rd in Palestine

PRESS RELEASE

On 10-06-2011 at approximately 0200 hrs, Officers responded to a call of a Major Traffic Accident on Crockett Rd at Vaughn. Upon arrival, Officers discovered that only one vehicle had been involved in the accident.

The vehicle was described as a red 2006 Dodge Charger. The initial investigation of the accident revealed that vehicle had been traveling southbound on Crockett Rd, in the outside lane. The vehicle appeared to have initially left the roadway striking a curb located near Crockett and Hunter Dr. The vehicle drove south through a triangular grass island, entered back onto the street at E. Vaughn, and traveled over the curb on the south side of E. Vaughn near Crockett. Rd. The vehicle initially struck a speed limit sign before striking a tree. The right side vehicle appeared to strike the first tree causing the vehicle to spin and become airborne. The vehicle struck a second tree causing the vehicle to sheer in half. A female passenger, later identified as Camilla Oliver 22 years of age, was ejected approximately 50 feet from the front seat of the vehicle. The male operator of the vehicle was not ejected, and was identified as Rannel Edward West, 34 years of age. Both subjects were initially transported to Palestine Regional Medical Center and were both care-flighted to ETMC-Tyler. Upon checking their status later in the day on October 6h, Oliver’s status was unknown pending surgery, and West was classified  as critical but stable.

Although speed has been determined to have been a factor in the accident, the investigation is continuing, as it has yet to be determined if intoxication played a part in the accident.