Category Archives: Crime and Punishment

More on finding Baby Holly

Posted on July 10, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Everything about this story continues to fascinate me. How did investigators find Holly Marie Clouse? It all came down to a question about spelling — and a birth certificate. In January, genealogists identified the bodies of Harold Dean Clouse and Tina … Continue reading →

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Uvalde updates

Posted on July 7, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Too much news, so time for a news dump. Uvalde shooting victims aren’t getting compensated from state fund as intended, officials say. State Sen. Roland Gutierrez and Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin said Monday that families of the Uvalde shooting victims … Continue reading →

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Charges against Judge Jordan dropped

Posted on July 3, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

That was quick. Just four days after being indicted and arrested, Harris County misdemeanor court Judge Darrell Jordan saw an official oppression charge against him dropped. Fort Bend County prosecutors on Friday announced they were dropping the misdemeanor charge against … Continue reading →

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More on Jordan and Dolcefino

Posted on July 2, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Dolcefino speaks. Former TV reporter Wayne Dolcefino has called for the resignation of Harris County misdemeanor Judge Darrell Jordan, alleging a personal vendetta led the jurist to wrongly hold him in contempt of court in 2020. Dolcefino’s demand came after … Continue reading →

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Jordan and Dolcefino

Posted on June 29, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I have questions about this. Darrell William Jordan, a Harris County misdemeanor court judge, on Monday was arrested and charged with of official oppression, according to court records. Jordan is accused of using his office to unlawfully arrest and detain … Continue reading →

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DAs are not going to be able to avoid enforcing anti-abortion laws

Posted on June 28, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I appreciate the sentiment, but that’s not how it works. Even before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on Friday, local prosecutors in several of the largest Texas counties vowed not to file criminal charges in abortion-related cases, seemingly offering hope … Continue reading →

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Lock Louie up

Posted on June 26, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

He believes he committed at least one federal crime. Who are we to disbelieve him? U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert was one of a handful of Republicans in Congress who asked former President Donald Trump for a pardon after the Jan. … Continue reading →

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Uvalde versus DPS

Posted on June 23, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Someone’s not happy. Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin on Tuesday accused state authorities of selectively releasing information about last month’s school shooting to scapegoat local law enforcement and intentionally leaving out details about the state’s response to the massacre. New details … Continue reading →

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DPS pins the blame on Arredondo

Posted on June 22, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Look out for that bus! Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw told a state Senate committee Tuesday that the law enforcement response to the Uvalde school shooting was an “abject failure” and police could have stopped the shooter at … Continue reading →

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What were Uvalde police actually doing at Robb Elementary?

Posted on June 21, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I’ll say it again: The more we learn about the law enforcement response to the Uvalde massacre, the worse it looks. Surveillance footage shows that police never tried to open a door to two classrooms at Robb Elementary School in … Continue reading →

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There’s a lot of resistance to releasing information about Uvalde

Posted on June 18, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Wow. The City of Uvalde and its police department are working with a private law firm to prevent the release of nearly any record related to the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in which 19 children and two teachers … Continue reading →

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What was DPS doing during the Uvalde massacre?

Posted on June 15, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Not much, it would seem. As many as 13 troopers with the Texas Department of Public Safety waited in a hallway at one point during a gunman’s rampage that killed 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in … Continue reading →

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Uvalde’s police chief speaks

Posted on June 11, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I’ll reserve judgment for now. Only a locked classroom door stood between Pete Arredondo and a chance to bring down the gunman. It was sturdily built with a steel jamb, impossible to kick in. He wanted a key. One goddamn … Continue reading →

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Long lost daughter of Tina Linn and Dean Clouse found

Posted on June 11, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Incredible. Absolutely incredible. Donna Casasanta got the call this week, a call she’s spent half of her life praying for. A call about Holly Marie. More than 40 years ago, her son, Harold Dean Clouse, moved to Texas from New … Continue reading →

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Justice Department starts its review of the Uvalde law enforcement response

Posted on June 10, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll see what they turn up. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said Wednesday that the Department of Justice’s investigation into the law enforcement response to the elementary school shooting in Uvalde won’t be criminal in nature. Garland described the federal … Continue reading →

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If committees are all we’re going to get, then let’s get something from the committees

Posted on June 5, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Not too much to ask, I hope. Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan on Friday announced the creation of a legislative committee to investigate the Uvalde shooting. “The fact we still do not have an accurate picture of what exactly happened … Continue reading →

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The entire law enforcement response in Uvalde is messed up

Posted on June 2, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

What is going on here? The official response to the mass shooting at an Uvalde elementary school — a response already marred by shifting narratives, finger-pointing and a general lack of timely and accurate information — took a further turn … Continue reading →

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Misogyny is always a threat

Posted on May 31, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

It was there in plain sight. He could be cryptic, demeaning and scary, sending angry messages and photos of guns. If they didn’t respond how he wanted, he sometimes threatened to rape or kidnap them — then laughed it off … Continue reading →

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Justice Department to review what happened with Uvalde police

Posted on May 30, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Okay. The U.S. Department of Justice will review the law enforcement’s response to the Uvalde school massacre as local police face intense scrutiny for not acting quickly enough to confront the shooter. “The goal of the review is to provide … Continue reading →

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The national media discovers Skeet Jones

Posted on May 24, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s NBC News with a nice, juicy story. Lawmen came to remote Loving County, Texas, on Friday to arrest the county judge, a former sheriff’s deputy and two ranch hands on one of Texas’ oldest crimes — cattle theft. Judge … Continue reading →

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The cattle-rustling County Judge

Posted on May 22, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

“Bonkers” is the first word that came to mind as I read this Twitter thread and the linked story at the end of it: . #BREAKING: Loving County Judge Skeet Jones was arrested earlier today by the Texas and Southwestern … Continue reading →

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How will abortion bans be enforced?

Posted on May 19, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The good news is that anti-abortion zealots don’t yet know how they’re going to force women to give birth. The bad news is we cannot count on that to continue to be true. It took next to zero effort for … Continue reading →

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Crystal Mason’s conviction to be reconsidered

Posted on May 12, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Good news. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has told a lower appeals court to take another look at the controversial illegal voting conviction of Crystal Mason, who was given a five-year prison sentence for casting a provisional ballot in … Continue reading →

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Oh yeah, Hotze knew all about the Aguirre attack

Posted on May 9, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Who could have ever guessed that a lifelong lying lair was lying to us? Two days before a private investigator looking into a voter fraud conspiracy theory smashed into an air conditioning repairman’s truck and pulled a gun on him, far-right activist Steven … Continue reading →

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What is going on at CrimeStoppers?

Posted on April 25, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Whatever it is, I’m not sure how to stop it. “Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.” That message, along with the promise of a reward, has appeared for decades at the end of news reports … Continue reading →

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Hotze gets bail

Posted on April 22, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t know about you, but I’d feel much safer if this guy had been locked up. Far-right activist Steven Hotze on Thursday made his first court appearance since being indicted on criminal charges after funding a private investigation into … Continue reading →

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Hotze indicted for his bogus “voter fraud investigation”

Posted on April 21, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Lock him up. Steven Hotze, the far-right agitator who funded a private investigation into voter fraud that ended with a private investigator pointing a gun at an innocent air conditioning repairman, has been indicted for his role in the episode. … Continue reading →

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City Council approves security camera ordinance for bars and convenience stores

Posted on April 21, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I have mixed feelings about this. Houston bars, nightclubs and convenience stores must install security cameras outside of their buildings within 90 days in a citywide surveillance effort Mayor Sylvester Turner hopes will diminish violent crime in high-risk areas. City … Continue reading →

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More on Lizelle Herrera

Posted on April 13, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Listen to the advocates. They’re seeing this clearly. A 26-year-old woman was arrested and jailed in South Texas last week over a self-induced abortion just months after the state banned most abortions and weeks before the U.S. Supreme Court could … Continue reading →

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The “self-induced abortion” saga

Posted on April 11, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

This was quite the journey. Starr County District Attorney Gocha Allen Ramirez said Sunday he has filed a motion to dismiss a murder charge against a woman for performing a “self-induced abortion.” Ramirez said the Starr County Sheriff’s Department “did … Continue reading →

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No charges against Deshaun Watson

Posted on March 13, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Good for him, I guess. A Harris County grand jury on Friday declined to indict Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, choosing not to criminally charge him in nine alleged instances of sexual assault or harassment during various private massage appointments, according … Continue reading →

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More on Tina Linn and Harold Clouse

Posted on March 13, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Very moving stuff. Donna Casasanta picked through the brush in an overgrown patch of woods in northeast Harris County, looking. The 80-year-old mother had spent 40 years wondering. She had traveled 980 miles, driven with her grown children for three … Continue reading →

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Tina Linn and Harold Clouse

Posted on February 20, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

This is a fascinating story about two people who were murdered in 1980, discovered in 1981, and finally identified in 2021 thanks to the broader availability of public DNA databases. Debbie Brooks was hard at work one day back in … Continue reading →

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We don’t really need more prosecutors on the bench

Posted on February 13, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Ugh. On a winter afternoon nine months into the pandemic, Harris County district attorney Kim Ogg held a Zoom meeting with felony judges and prosecutors to discuss the backlog of cases caused by COVID-19 shutdowns at the downtown Houston courthouse. … Continue reading →

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