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DALLAS (AP) -- A man who was slain at an upscale suburban Dallas shopping center is identified in federal court documents as the acting leader of a notorious Mexican cartel, a claim that would run counter to the long-held belief that drug kingpins seldom try to hide in the United States.
Juan Jesus Guerrero Chapa moved into a million-dollar home in Southlake in 2011, two years before he was fatally shot by three men who prosecutors say had been stalking him for months.
According to a recent court filing submitted by the lawyers for Jesus Gerardo Ledezma-Cepeda - one of three suspects slated to stand trial for Chapa's killing - Chapa became the interim head of the Gulf Cartel - one of Mexico's most violent drug-trafficking rings - following the arrest of predecessor Osiel Cardenas-Guillen, who was extradited to the U.S. in 2007 and later sentenced to 25 years in prison.
As head of the Gulf Cartel, "Chapa ran a large criminal enterprise whose activities included murders, narcotics trafficking, kidnapping, extortion, bribery, money laundering and torture," the court filing says.
It appears Chapa in part was seeking anonymity with his family in moving to the Dallas metro region. Court records said he had been living in fear because "he had been found by people who wanted to kill him."
Federal officials say it's unusual to find high-ranking gang leaders like Chapa in Texas, and particularly North Texas, a region the cartels over the years have used as a jumping off point to spread their drug distribution network. The Dallas region, fed by several freeways and small airports, allows for direct routes into the Midwest and beyond.
Ledezma-Cepeda and the two other defendants are scheduled to stand trial later this month on charges including conspiracy to commit murder for hire and interstate stalking.
One of Ledezma-Cepeda's attorneys, Wes Ball, said Chapa headed the Gulf Cartel in a transitional or interim capacity. Federal authorities have said Chapa was Cardenas-Guillen's lawyer and a principle figure in the cartel's operation.
Cartels often have lower-level members living in the U.S. to broaden drug-trafficking efforts, Russ Baer, a spokesman for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, said in a statement. These operatives are usually in the states for limited periods and then rotated back to Mexico to avoid law enforcement scrutiny.
However, upper-level leaders usually do not live in the U.S. due to the increased likelihood of capture, Baer said.
Ball added that the trial for the three men charged in Chapa's death could offer a rare look into cartel operations.
"Most of your cartel heads never go to trial, they almost always plead guilty," Ball said. "So public trials where all the nitty gritty details are laid out is actually pretty rare."
Chapa's death near Dallas in 2013 came the same month as the conviction in Austin of the brother of two top leaders for a competing cartel.
Jose Trevino Morales and others used proceeds from U.S. drug sales to purchase American quarter horses and launder the money. Court records show the operation was based out of suburban Dallas, and Trevino Morales was found to have invested $16 million of drug money in the buying, training and racing of horses across the Southwest United States.
Trevino Morales is the brother of two former leaders of the Zetas, an organization that has expanded beyond the drug trade to become the biggest criminal group in Mexico. One of the men was captured in 2013 by Mexican authorities and the other two years later.
In another case, Juan Francisco Saenz-Tamez was arrested by federal agents in 2014 while shopping in the South Texas city of Edinburg. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has said Saenz-Tamez was a leader of the Gulf Cartel.
DALLAS (AP) — Military officials investigating an apparent murder-suicide that happened Friday on a U.S. air base in Texas are trying to determine whether the gunman was authorized to have a weapon on the base, where the possession of firearms is heavily restricted.
The gunman was an airman who targeted his commander at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, according to a senior U.S. official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to publicly discuss the shooting. The commander oversaw a base K-9 unit, the official said.
A motive for the shooting and many other details were not released by authorities Friday. Brig. Gen. Robert LaBrutta, who oversees Joint Base San Antonio, declined to identify the men, saying their families must first be notified. He also stressed the shooting was not an act of terrorism.
Investigators from the Air Force and FBI are tracing two handguns found near the bodies of the two men inside a building that holds classrooms and offices.
Military-issued and personal firearms are heavily restricted on the base and it's not clear whether the gunman was authorized to have a weapon, according to Dan Hawkins, a spokesman for the base. Weapons are used for training purposes and carried by base security personnel, Hawkins said, but personal firearms cannot be freely carried on the base.
"Allowing everyone to carry personal firearms would make the job of our security professionals much more difficult," Hawkins said. He also said security officers must be notified if a personal weapon is being brought onto the installation and the firearm must be registered, in addition to other requirements.
The restrictions apply not only to Lackland but also to Fort Sam Houston, the Randolph air base and another installation that comprise Joint Base San Antonio, which has more than 80,000 full-time personnel and is the home of Air Force basic training.
The 2016 defense policy bill signed by President Barack Obama directed the Pentagon to set up a process by which commanders of U.S. military installations and certain other commanders at military reserve or recruiting centers can authorize a member of the armed forces to carry a firearm if "necessary as a personal- or force-protection measure."
But Hawkins said that congressional legislation did not alter firearms policies already in place at Joint Base San Antonio, and neither did theTexas Legislature's decision last year to allow for the open-carry of handguns in the state.
Friday's shooting, which the San Antonio Express-News reports caused officials to abruptly end a nearby military training parade with thousands of spectators, is the latest to occur at a military facility inTexas in the last several years.
In January 2015, an Army veteran and former clerk at the veterans' clinic at Fort Bliss in El Paso shot and killed a psychologist, then killed himself. About a year earlier, three soldiers were killed and 16 wounded in an attack at Fort Hood near Killeen by Army Spc. Ivan A. Lopez, who also killed himself.
And in the deadliest attack to occur at a U.S. military installation, 13 people were killed and 31 were wounded in a mass shooting in 2009 at Fort Hood. Nidal Hasan, a former U.S. Army major, was convicted and sentenced to death in that shooting.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A homeless 17-year-old has been arrested, and police said Friday he'll be charged with murder in the killing of a University of Texas dance major whose body was recovered in the heart of the bustling campus — unnerving one of the country's best-known schools.
Investigators said Meechaiel Criner wasn't a university student and wasn't believed to have been in Austin long. Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo said Criner could face additional charges in the slaying of 18-year-old Oregon-native Haruka Weiser.
"We are very certain that the subject we have in custody ... is responsible for the death of this beautiful young woman," Acevedo said at a campus news conference.
Weiser was last seen leaving the campus drama building Sunday night. Her body was found Tuesday in a creek near the alumni center and UT's iconic football stadium, an area that hums with activity day and night.
The slaying shook a campus that's home to about 50,000 students. University President Greg Fenves called Weiser's slaying "horrifying and incomprehensible" and described it as an attack on the entire school community.
"It was unsettling," said 20-year-old Jasmine Chavez, who was on UT's central mall area Friday but hails from Houston. "I feel better now that they've caught the guy."
Police released surveillance video that showed a man they said was a suspect walking a women's bicycle. Firefighters recognized the man on the video as Criner, whom they had spoken to in connection with a trash fire near the UT campus on Monday. An Austin resident who reported the fire also called police when she saw the surveillance video, Acevedo said.
Criner wasn't arrested for the fire but was instead taken to a shelter. Police found him there Thursday and took him into custody without incident. The arrest warrant said his clothing matched that of the man on the surveillance video and that he was in possession of a women's bike, as well as Weiser's duffel bag and some of her other belongings, including her laptop.
Acevedo wouldn't speculate on motive and said authorities are still working to determine Criner's criminal record.
Texas Department of Family Protective Services spokeswoman Julie Moody said Criner "had been in Child Protective Services care" but that she couldn't elaborate on where, for how long or provide any further details, citing privacy rules and the ongoing criminal investigation.
Police have not released many details on Criner's background, though a person with the same name and birthdate as the suspect is listed in driver's license records as having lived in Texarkana, about 350 miles northeast of Austin.
A 2014 article in a Texarkana high school publication featured a Meecchaiel Criner who described being bullied and difficulties in foster care as a child, saying, "What I want to leave behind is my name — I want them to know who Meechaiel Criner is."
Weiser's autopsy showed she had been assaulted, but police have refused to release further details about her death, except to say that the route she took from her dorm to the drama building often passed Waller Creek, where her body was found.
Fenves said increased police patrols on campus, which have includedTexas state troopers in cars, on bikes and on horseback, would continue for the time being. The Department of Public Safety also is conducting a security review on campus, including checking video monitoring, lighting and building security systems
"We will honor Haruka's life and what she stood for," Fenves said. "We will take this as an occasion to do as Haruka's parents asked us to do, learn from this and make this a better community and a safer community for everyone."
The university said that Weiser's was the first on-campus homicide since former Marine Charles Whitman climbed to the top of UT's bell tower on Aug. 1, 1966, and opened fire, killing 14 people and wounding scores of others. Authorities later determined Whitman also killed his wife and mother in the hours before he went to the tower. A 17th death would be attributed to Whitman in 2001 when a Fort Worth man died of injuries from the shooting.
Weiser's family said she had planned to take on a second, pre-med major soon and to travel to Japan this summer to see relatives. In a statement Friday, it said "we are relieved to hear" an arrest had been made.
"We remain steadfast in our desire to honor Haruka's memory through kindness and love," the family said "not violence."
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court handed Texas a victory Monday, upholding the state's system of drawing legislative voting districts based on everyone who lives there — not just registered voters.
But it was liberal groups, rather than the Republican-controlled state's top leaders, who applauded the 8-0 ruling loudest since it likely bolsters the voting power of Texas' booming Latino population over sparsely populated rural areas dominated by conservatives.
Gov. Greg Abbott's office declined to comment. Attorney General Ken Paxton put out a statement saying only that his office was pleased with the decision and "committed to defending the Constitution and ensuring the state legislature, representing the citizens, continues to have the freedom to ensure voting rights consistent with the Constitution."
Contrast that with the head of the Texas Democratic Party, which hailed the ruling as affirming the principle of "one person, one vote," a requirement laid out by the Supreme Court in 1964.
"This is a victory for our democracy and every Texas family," party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa said in a statement.
Added American Civil Liberties Union Legal Director Steven Shapiro: "The argument that states are forbidden from treating everyone equally for redistricting purposes never made any constitutional sense and was properly rejected."
That was a far cry from the years Texas Democrats and civil liberties and Hispanic advocacy groups have spent arguing in federal court that the Republican-controlled Legislature discriminates against minority voters in other ways it has drawn voting maps and in its approval of one of the nation's toughest voter ID laws.
They say that minority voters are more likely to support Democrats, but have been deliberately dispersed by many lawmaker-drawn electoral maps or are less likely to have one of seven forms of identification Texas now accepts at the polls.
Texas' top officials have long countered that the electoral maps are fair and that its voter ID law prevents election fraud.
At issue in this case were the complaints of two Texas voters, Sue Evenwel of Mount Pleasant and Edward Pfenninger from north of Houston, who argued that their voting power was diluted because many registered voters lived in their districts.
They compared that to Texans casting ballots in urban areas dominated by people who were too young to vote, or who aren't American citizens.
While arguing the case before the Supreme Court in December, both sides defended the notion of one person, one vote, but differed on how to apply it.
Paxton's office defended Texas' current system, which has been good to Republicans. A Democrat hasn't won statewide office in Texas since 1994 — the nation's longest such losing streak.
But it also suggested that a ruling overturning Texas' system would simply allow the state to determine another acceptable method.
The Supreme Court stopped short Monday of saying that states must use total population. It also didn't rule on whether states are free to use a different measure, as Texas had asked.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Gov. Greg Abbott has written a book detailing how he overcame a freak accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down and outlining his plan to "restore the Constitution."
"Broken But Unbowed" will be released May 17.
In 1984 at age 26, Abbott was jogging when a falling tree crushed his spine and left him using a wheelchair. He received millions in a lawsuit settlement, but now opposes large jury awards in civil cases.
Abbott was Texas attorney general before becoming governor and sued the Obama administration repeatedly over policies including environmental regulations and the nation's health care law.
Abbott said in a statement Monday that he hopes his book will encourage Americans to "join the fight to restore lawful freedom and fix our country's foundation."
In San Antonio, 57-year-old Gabriel Robert Caggiano of Los Angeles, CA, faces up to five years in federal prison after pleading guilty to stalking a former employer and his wife who reside in San Antonio announced United States Attorney Richard L. Durbin, Jr., and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs, San Antonio Division.
Appearing before United States District Judge Xavier Rodriguez, Caggiano pleaded guilty to one count of stalking. According to court records, in 2008, Caggiano was employed a television station in Corpus Christi, TX. Caggiano was ultimately terminated from his employment at the station
By pleading guilty, Caggiano admitted that from March 15, 2015 until August 26, 2015, he repeatedly used voicemails, text messaging, social media and the U.S. Mail to retaliate against his victims. In those communications, Caggiano threatened physical violence against his victims as well as to embarrass, humiliate and cause substantial emotional distress to his victims by destroying the reputation of his former employer and his wife.
On November 12, 2015, Caggiano was arrested in Los Angeles. On November 24, 2015, Judge Rodriguez revoked Caggiano’s bond. He remains in federal custody. Sentencing is scheduled for 1:30pm on July 13, 2016.
This investigation was conducted by the FBI in San Antonio and Los Angeles. Assistant United States Attorney Sarah Wannarka is prosecuting this case on behalf of the Government.
In San Antonio today, 46-year-old independent insurance consultant William O. Haff faces up to five years in federal prison after pleading guilty this afternoon to his role in a kickback/bribery scheme involving local school district insurance plans announced United States Attorney Richard Durbin, Jr., and FBI Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs, San Antonio Division.
Appearing before United States District Judge Xavier Rodriguez, Haff pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. According to court records, The Mullen Pension and Benefit Group LLP (the “Mullen Group”) was a limited partnership that did business in San Antonio and elsewhere. Among other things, the Mullen Group provided insurance and related services to state and local government entities, including school districts and municipalities, on behalf of various insurance companies. The Mullen Group received payment from these insurance companies in the form of commissions, ordinarily a certain percentage of revenue received by the insurance company from a particular contract.
By pleading guilty, Haff admitted that from March 2008, to February 2010, he accepted approximately $64,584 from the Mullen Group in exchange for providing confidential information concerning employee insurance plan Request For Proposals (RFP), including one issued by the Edgewood Independent School District in San Antonio, that was not available to competitors of the Mullen Group. Haff also admitted to accepting money from the Mullen Group for influencing Boards of Trustees for the School Districts to award insurance services contracts to clients of the Mullen Group. In July 2008, Haff accepted $2,500 for his recommendation of a Mullen Group client to the San Antonio ISD Board of Trustees.
“Haff schemed to enrich himself by effectively selling inside information to give the recipients an unfair competitive advantage, and thereby undermine the integrity of the public contracting process,” stated United States Attorney Richard L. Durbin, Jr.
Haff remains on bond pending sentencing scheduled for 1:30pm on July 13, 2016.
This investigation was conducted by special agents from the FBI. Assistant United States Attorneys Mark Roomberg and Joe Blackwell are prosecuting this case on behalf of the Government.
In San Antonio, a U.S. Army Specialist assigned to Fort Sam Houston remains in federal custody today in connection with the sexual exploitation of minors announced United States Attorney Richard L. Durbin, Jr., and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs, San Antonio Division.
A federal complaint filed this morning, charges 26–year-old Anthony Quinton Quesinberry with one count of distribution of child pornography. According to the criminal complaint, during a one-week period beginning on February 18, 2016, the defendant transmitted ten posts to random users of the social networking application named YikYak which contained images of child pornography and/or verbiage soliciting minors for sexual contact.
Yesterday, FBI agents executed a search warrant and seized the defendant’s cellphone and desktop computer. A preliminary forensic examination of the phone and computer revealed the presence of child pornography.
Upon conviction, Quesinberry faces up to 20 years in federal prison. A detention hearing for the defendant is expected to occur next week in U.S. Magistrate court in San Antonio.
It is important to note that a criminal complaint is merely a charge and should not be considered as evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
This investigation continues. It is being conducted by the FBI together with the U.S. Army Criminal Investigative Command at both Fort Sam Houston and Fort Riley, KS. Assistant United States Attorney Sarah Wannarka is prosecuting this case on behalf of the Government.
In San Antonio, 54-year-old Jose A. Ytuarte, a former Texas Department of Public Safety Customer Service Representative in Hondo, TX, pleaded guilty to his role in a scheme to provide fraudulent drivers’ licenses to undocumented aliens announced United States Attorney Richard L. Durbin, Jr., and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs, San Antonio Division.
Appearing before United States District Judge Xavier Rodriguez, Ytuarte pleaded guilty to one count of use of interstate facility in aid of unlawful activity--bribery. By pleading guilty, Ytuarte admitted that from May 2013 to July 2015, he accepted cash bribes from a co-conspirator in exchange for inputting materially fraudulent information, namely that the individual was born in the United States, into the DPS computer system in order to process and issue a driver’s license to an undocumented alien.
Ytuarte’s co-defendant, 44-year-old Azeez Mistry of San Antonio, is charged in the conspiracy count. He is also charged with one count of transfer of false identification documents and four counts of use of an interstate communication facility in aid of unlawful activity. According to the indictment, Mistry would direct undocumented and documented aliens who could not get a driver’s license legally to Ytuarte. Mistry would charge between $1,000 and $5,000 for each license and then pay a portion of that fee to Ytuarte as a cash bribe.
Ytuarte, who faces up to five years in federal prison, remains on bond pending sentencing scheduled for July 13, 2016. Mistry, who is also currently on bond, is scheduled for jury selection and trial on May 2, 2016. Upon conviction, he faces up to 15 years in federal prison.
This case was investigated by the FBI, Texas Rangers and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Assistant United States Attorney Christina Playton is prosecuting this case on behalf of the Government.
An indictment is merely a charge and should not be considered as evidence of guilt. Mistry is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The parents of a 1-year-old girl say their daughter has died after undergoing general anesthesia to fill cavities at a dentist office.
The Texas State Board of Dental Examiners is investigating the death of Daisy Lynn Torres while the family awaits autopsy results to find out what went wrong.
Daisy Lynn was supposed to have two cavities filled at Austin Children's Dentistry early Tuesday morning. Her mother, Betty Squier, says that after Daisy underwent anesthesia, the dentist came out and told her they needed to do additional dental work. Squier says she trusted the dentist was making the right decisions.
A short time later, Squier was told that Daisy Lynn had gone into cardiac arrest. Squier says that by the time paramedics arrived at the hospital, her baby was brain dead.
For now, the couple is trying to make funeral arrangements in Houston, where their families live.
"I just want everyone to know that we're very thankful for everyone that's supporting us through this difficult time, and everyone's prayers and comments and uplifting words has really made an impact, and it's something that we really need right now," she said.
A Dallas case in which a 4-year-old boy suffered a fatal drug overdose while having cavities treated prompted an investigation published by The Dallas Morning News in December. The dentist's dosage was double what state dental schools approved for sedating preschoolers. State regulators gave the dentist a $3,000 fine, online remedial classes and unsupervised probation.
The 18-month investigation found that state agencies charged with protecting the public often fail to take strong action against dangerous dentists. Even those who are disciplined can find it easy to keep working with little or no oversight.
The boy was one of at least 85 dental patients who have died in Texassince 2010. The newspaper reported that the number of similar deaths nationwide is likely much higher.
