HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-06-12 Euless Articles DISTRIBUTED TO: PAGE I A
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Three Arrested in String of Gas Station
Robberies
Trio charged in four robberies;more charges expected
SIM
By Kovin Cokety Fnday Jun 8 2012 Uprated 10:01 PM CDT
UNI
, w r ar
y
9
advertisement A Crime Stoppers tip after an
NBC 5 story led police to
three men suspected in a string of gas station robberies in Grand Prairie,Euless,Arlington and
Bedford.
Luis Lopez,29,arrested at a Arlington home June 5,Euless police said.
"Investigators interviewed him,"Capt.Gary Landers said."He subsequently confessed.Based on
the information he gave us,we developed the other two suspects."
Police arrested 22-year-old Fabian Fernandez in Bedford on Thursday and 23-year-old Amador
Febles-Vazquez in Fort Worth on the following day.
"From May 13th at 6 a.m.to May 20th at 2:45 a.m.,they hit nine places,"Landers said."They hit
No' several places in one night."
Surveillance cameras show them taking cash from the register,ordering clerks at the QuikTrips
and RaceTracs to the floor and threatening to shoot them if they move.
"The concern was it might escalate,because they were saying they had a weapon,"Landers said.
"They never displayed a weapon,but they said that they had a weapon and if they didn't comply
with them,they would use it."
The three are all being held in the Euless City Jail.They're charged with four robberies in that city,
and police in the others are expected to add more charges.
"We are relieved to have them off the street,"Landers said."We're relieved to have them in
custody,and hopefully,hopefully,this doesn't happen again."
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Two robbers suspected in 9 North Texas convenience store
holdups
ups
May,zz. cn1a
Two robbers could be responsible for as many as nine holdups at area gasoline stations, with
the same bandits hitting Euless at least four times this month, police said Tuesday.
Euless police have released photographs of the suspects from store surveillance cameras in
hopes that someone recognizes the robbers.
The bandits have threatened to shoot employees, but no one has brandished a weapon.
In each of the Euless holdups, the robbers entered the businesses with their faces covered with
a T'shirt' police said. They walked behind the counters and demanded cash.
After fleeing the stores, the men got into a two-tone blue or green over tan minivan, police
said.
The men are believed to be in their 20s with thin builds.
The robbed businesses are the QuikTrip in Grand Prairie on May 12; QuikTrips in Bedford and
on Westpark Way in Euless on May 13; QuikTrip on South Industrial Boulevard and RaceTrac on
West Euless Boulevard, both in Euless, and a QuikTrip and RaceTrac in Arlington on May 14.
Robbers hit the RaceTrac on West Euless Boulevard in Euless again Saturday and a QuikTrip in
Grand Prairie on Sunday.
Anyone with information about any of the robberies should call their local police department or
Crime Stoppers at 817-469-8477.
Domingo Ramirez Jr.,
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Mid -cities work to
catch
brazen thieves
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EULESS, Texas -
Four police departments are working together to get a brazen
group of thieves off the streets. The men have robbed at least
seven convenience stores in the mid-cities area.
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Police said a group of three Hispanic men, at least one with a
thick Spanish accent, has robbed busy convenience stores in
Euless, Bedford, Arlington and Grand Prairie.
In almost every case two of the men enter the store with t-shirts
covering their faces. One man goes directly behind the counter
and threatens the clerk while demanding money. The second
man is known to grab packs of cigarettes.
The men have claimed to have a gun.
"No weapon has actually been displayed but our fear is as this
progresses that they keep getting braver and braver and braver.
There may be a weapon displayed at some point and time,"
said Capt. Gary Landers with the Euless Police Department.
Euless is the city that has seen the highest number of incidents.
Some have taken place when the stores are busy with
customers.
"It's extremely surprising. They go in when there's lots of
people. Pretty brazen individuals to be going in there," Landers
said.
Police are hoping someone will recognize the suspects in
surveillance images. In one instance one of the men can be
seen without his face covered
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Bedford joins other area cities in denying Atmos Energy rate increase
Bedford is the latest city to deny Atmos Energy a proposed 13.6 percent rate increase.
Following the recommendation of the Atmos Cities Steering Committee, which comprises
representatives from more than 150 cities served by Atmos K4id'Ten, the Bedford City Council
voted 7-0 Tuesday night to rejecttherequest.
Fort Worth, Arlington, Euless and Hurst have also voted down the proposed increase.
"They were unable to reach an agreement with Atmos, and the next step in the process is to
deny the rate increase one city at a time," said Chris Barker, assistant city manager in Euless.
"Although we formed the group to make recommendations, each city makes its own decisions."
More than 300 of the 441 cities that Atmos Energy serves in Texas have denied the request
filed Jan. 31 to increase the rate it charges for delivery of natural gas, Atmos spokeswoman
Jennifer Ryan said.
"The Mid-Tex division filed a rate case for a systemwide increase of about $49.1 million, which
equates to about $2.71 per [residential] customer per month," Ryan said. "The reasoning is that
we're making a considerable investment in our infrastructure to maintain a safe and reliable
system. This rate case is how we recover our investment."
David Park, Atmos vice president for rates and regulatory affairs, told the Star-Telegram in
February that the utility had made about $134 million in capital improvements in the previous
14 months and $500 million since 2007.
The Fort Worth City Council denied the rate request May 15 after Utility Administrator
Bridgette Garrett reported that the steering committee recommended a number of changes to
Atmos' figures.
She said, for instance, that the company's return on equity rates (the amount shareholders are
entitled to) should be reduced from 10.9 percent to 9.5 percent, that a proposal for an energy
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efficiency plan funded only by ratepayers should be removed, and that requested operation
and maintenance expense levels should be lowered.
If the utility and the cities can't reach a compromise, Atmos will appeal each case individually to
the Texas Railroad Commission, Ryan said.
Atmos Mid-Tex has 30 days after a city denies the rate increase to file an appeal, said Railroad
Commission spokeswoman Ramona Nye.
"We have not received an appeal yet," Nye said.
Once an appeal is filed, the commission will enter a final order establishing rates within 185
days, Nye said. Final action will take place at a public conference.
Should the rate increase be granted, Atmos customers would pay more for transporting gas,
but would see bills lower than two years ago because of a significant decrease in the market
price of gas, Ryan said.
She said that Atmos charged $5.35 per 1,000 cubic feet of gas in May 2010. A year later,the
charge was $5.91. This month, it's about $3.55.
A residential customer using 4,400 cubic feet, which Ryan said is the average monthly usage,
would pay $36.59. If the rate increase is approved, that bill would be $39.30.
This report includes material from the Star-Telegram archives.
Terry Evans, 817-390-7620
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Can they find their way to Austin?
Posted Saturday,Jun. 02, 2012
The Texas Capitol runs on seniority and smarts.
But next year, Tarrant County will send rookies.
At least six newcomers will represent local voters in the Texas House thanks to new election maps and
losses by two incumbents.
For example, Bedford and Euless will probably be represented by a 28-year-old who has gone to the
Capitol twice in his life, including once for the public tour.
"I've been watching quite a bit of video to see what a state representative actually does," said Jonathan
Stickland, the Republican nominee for the District 92 seat vacated by Todd Smith.
Stickland campaigned for presidential candidate Ron Paul and others in past elections, but he said that
until this year, he had never imagined himself"writing bills and amendments and all that stuff."
Stickland is the youngest on a Republican ticket that also includes Matt Krause, 31, of Fort Worth and
Giovanni Capriglione, 39, of Southlake.The Democratic ticket includes several 30ish candidates,
including ex-lawmaker Chris Turner, 39, of Grand Prairie.
(Stickland also said he did not know until last week that Texas House Speaker Joe Straus is Jewish. I
quoted him in March telling a Tea Party meeting that he would oppose Straus "because as a Christian, I
believe we must call evil evil." He said that he was answering an earlier question about abortion, not
talking about Straus, and that he will renounce any ally who insults Straus'faith.)
Both Stickland and Krause,a religious conservative making his second House bid in a district spanning
north Arlington and east and north Fort Worth, said their mentor in the Tarrant County delegation will
be four-term Arlington Republican Bill Zedler, 68, if Zedler defeats Libertarian Max Koch.
"There's some stuff you can only learn by having been there, and we have good people to look up to,"
Krause said.
On the Democratic side,Turner has the inside track to return to the Legislature from Arlington. He
served one House term two years ago when he lived in Burleson.
"Clearly, Tarrant County is losing a lot of seniority this cycle," he said.
"But there's been so much turnover in the Legislature the last two years, maybe it won't be a
disadvantage.What's important is for us to work together as a county delegation on the issues that
cross party lines, like university funding."
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We talked about the inherent problem with turnover in Austin: The lobbyists and bureaucrats never
leave.
"That's spot-on," Turner said. "The people who are there year-round wield a lot of influence. We're the
ones learning."
Call it a 140-day tour of the Capitol.
Bud Kennedy's column appears Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
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More than 2 dozen pools in Tarrant County shut down
Posted Sunday, Jun. 03, 2012
Jump in a swimming pool with the alkaline level too high and disinfectants may not kill the bacteria
swimming along with you.
Poorly maintained pools can also have problems with wastewater disposal, with the devices that
prevent swimmers from getting sucked under water and trapped, or with electrical equipment.
Inspectors have found such problems and more at pools in Tarrant County this spring and have ordered
the immediate shutdown of more than two dozen because of health hazards.
As families look for somewhere to cool off this summer, they may want to know how 5afe it is to take a
dip at public pools and the pools at health clubs, apartment complexes and motels.
Inspectors visit them all. Some might get monthly inspections, but others are inspected only once a year
-- and it may be August before it's their turn.
And only in Fort Worth can the public get quick access to the inspection reports.The city posts online
health inspection reports for the roughly 900 pools and spas it is responsible for citywide.
Most Tarrant County cities and Dallas/Fort Worth Airport contract with the county for the inspections,
but the county doesn't publish the inspection reports on its website.
To find out about pool closures or get reports on any of the 568pools the county inspects, an openopen-
records request is required, officials said.
That's because there is no standardized rating system for swimming pools as there is for food
inspections, making it more difficult to quantify ratings, said David Jefferson, environmental manager for
Tarrant County Public Health.
He also said Tarrant County Public Health doesn't charge cities enough or have enough staff to put the
data online.
"We would love to do those things, but we have limits just like everybody else," Jefferson said.
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Arlington and Euless also require open-records requests. North Richland Hills doesn't' but you must ask
for the information in person at 7200C Dick Fisher Drive S.
Officials in both Euless and North Richland Hills say no one has been clamoring to get the information.
"We have not had them on a website, because it's not a frequently requested item," Euless
spokeswoman Betsy Deck said.Arlington would consider putting the information online if the public
requested it, Gutierrez said.
While there may be little public demand for inspection reports, pools across Tarrant County have been
dosed this spring for various health and safety reasons.
Typical problems include inadequate chlorine or other problems with the pool's chemistry, or unlocked
gates or other safety hazards.
In Fort Worth, officials say most pools are inspected once a year unless there are problems.
So far this year Fort Worth has done 81 routine inspections and made 23 closure orders. All the pools /
that were ordered closed, including four in May, have been reinspected and reopened, according to the
city.
"Most of these operators want to rectify the problems right away," said Elmer DePaula, consumer
health superintendent for code compliance. "Most of the apartment complexes have someone paying
rent or a lease, and I would say there is drive to have that corrected."
In 2008, the federal Virginia Graeme Baker Safety Act required drain cover standards for public pools to
prevent entrapment by suction from uncovered drains,and one of the pools the city ordered closed in
May had some problems with maintenance of an anti-entrapment device. But DePaula said most public
pools have addressed those issues.
Tarrant County inspectors shut down five pools this year, but only one, the Holiday Inn Express in
Mansfield, has been re-inspected and allowed to reopen.
The others that remained closed as of Friday morning are the Buffalo Ridge Apartment in Burleson, the
Oak Creek Apartments Phase 1 in Bedford,the Toscana Villas Apartments in Bedford, and the
Econo|odgeinAzle, according to information obtained through an open-records request.
Entities that contract with Tarrant County for inspections include Azle, Hurst, Bedford, Keller, Benbrook,
Lake Worth, Burleson, Mansfield, Blue Mound, Pantego, Colleyville, Richland Hills, Crowley, River Oaks,
DFW Airport, Saginaw, Da|worthing&onGardens, Sansom Park, Everman,Southlake, Forest Hill,
Watauga, Grapevine, VVest|ake, Haltom City, Westworth Village, Haslet and White Settlement.
Arlington, which inspects 484 public or semipublic pools either annually or semiannually, hasn't ordered
any closed this year, said Misty Gutierrez, field operations manager for the west code compliance
division. But more than 100 pools have not been inspected yet, the city says. Some four dozen others
didn't receive their annual operating permit because they didn't pass inspection.
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The most common violations are poor water quality, defective or missing safety equipment, inoperable
filtering and sanitation equipment, defective pool barriers, defective electrical equipment, inaccurate
depth markings and absence ofa working emergency telephone.
Officials noted that pools are also Inspected when a complaint is made.
In North Richland Hills, pools are inspected by two employees of the neighborhood services
environmental health division, who also inspect restaurants, city spokeswoman Mary Peters said.
Each pool gets a preseason inspection, followed by monthly inspections during the May-through-
September swim
ay through5eptembersvvimn season. Pools either pass or fail; they aren't scored like restaurants.
Euless pools are inspected by code compliance officers who also inspect apartment complexes for safety
and cleanliness.
Checking pools annually and when complaints are received, they note deficiencies and, if the number or
type of infractions warrant, will close the pools.
On May 24, officials said, pools at two motels were closed Plaza Suites, 421 W. Airport Freeway,
because of low chlorine levels, and Quality Inn, 1001 W. Airport Freeway, because of missing
equipment.
The front pool at Shadow Creek Apartments, 311 S. Industrial Blvd., was closed May 31 because of lack
of maintenance. A pool in the back was closed earlier, Deck said.
Staff writers Terry Evans and Patrick Walker contributed to this report.
Bill Hanna,
817'390^7698