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HOUSTON (AP) —
The family of a black woman found dead in a Texas jail three days after a confrontation with a white state trooper filed a wrongful-death lawsuit Tuesday against the officer and other officials, saying it was a last resort after being unable to get enough information about the case.
Bland, a 28-year-old Chicago-area woman, was found dead in her Waller County jail cell in Hempstead on July 13. Bland's family and others also have criticized Trooper Brian Encinia, who stopped Bland for failing to signal a lane change. Video of the stop shows that the confrontation quickly escalated after Encinia asked Bland to put out her cigarette.
"This family's motivation is that they don't want to see this sort of thing happen again to another family," family attorney Cannon Lambert said during a news conference in Houston.
Bland's mother Geneva Reed-Veal, holding a Bible during the news conference, added: "The bottom line is she never should have been inside the jail cell. Period."
HOUSTON (AP) —
Oilfield services company Baker Hughes Inc. says the number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. declined by two this week to 874.
Houston-based Baker Hughes said Friday 664 rigs were seeking oil and 209 explored for natural gas. One was listed as miscellaneous. A year ago, 1,889 rigs were active.
Among major oil- and gas-producing states, New Mexico gained three rigs, Louisiana gained two and North Dakota, Ohio, Texas and Wyoming each gained one.
Kansas lost four rigs, Utah declined by three, Alaska and Pennsylvania each lost two and Colorado and West Virginia each declined by one.
Arkansas, California and Oklahoma were unchanged.
The U.S. rig count peaked at 4,530 in 1981 and bottomed at 488 in 1999.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) —
The top boss over the Texas trooper who arrested Sandra Bland said there was reason to pull her over for failing to signal a lane change and told lawmakers Thursday that the trooper remains on the state payroll because the investigation is still playing out.
Bland was found dead in the Waller County jail on July 13, three days after her arrest. Authorities say she hanged herself with a garbage bag, a find her family has questioned. Her family and others also have criticized the traffic stop that led to Bland's arrest.
"There was a reason, if you look at it from a traffic violation standpoint," Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw said, responding to sometimes pointed questions from lawmakers during a hearing at the state Capitol. "But again, I don't want to prejudge. I don't know what the trooper is going to say in terms of when he's interviewed. When the investigation is over with, I'll be able to assess."
He later told reporters that while he had not yet spoken to Trooper Brian Encinia, the Texas Rangers and FBI have interviewed the trooper.
The confrontation between Bland and Encinia swiftly escalated after she objected to being told to put out her cigarette. Bland, who was black, eventually was arrested for allegedly assaulting the white trooper.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) —
Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt has filed Medicaid fraud and identity theft charges against a Texas woman.
Pruitt said Friday 37-year-old Melody Lewis of Dallas fraudulently billed the Oklahoma HealthCare Authority for nearly $75,000 from October 2011 through September 2014.
Court records do not list an attorney for Lewis.
Pruitt says Lewis worked for several behavioral counseling agencies in the Oklahoma City area when she used the identities of 65 different Medicaid recipients to file more than 1,000 claims for face-to-face services. Pruitt says investigators found that Lewis was traveling out of state when she claimed to have provided the face-to-face services.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) —
A South Texas jailer has been accused of smuggling drugs to inmates.
Bexar (bayr) County Sheriff Susan Pamerleau says 22-year-old Deputy Termaine (tur-MAYN') Elliott was arrested Friday at work in San Antonio.
Pamerleau says undercover investigators believe Elliott was transporting drugs and other contraband to inmates. She declined to identify what drugs were involved, including some confiscated from Elliott when he was arrested.
Elliott joined the sheriff's department in February and was assigned to the Bexar County Adult Detention Center. He's charged with bribery and possession of controlled substances in a correctional facility.
The sheriff did not immediately release bond or custody details for Elliott, or information on an attorney to speak on his behalf.
If convicted, Elliott faces up to 20 years in each felony count.
DALLAS (AP) —
When Sandra Bland died in a small Texas jail last week, she became just the latest name on a long list of inmates whose deaths were determined to be suicides.
Bland's death following her arrest for a minor traffic violation added fresh fuel to the national debate over police use of force on blacks. It also focused new attention on the longstanding problem of inmates who take their own lives.
The traffic stop "is one issue and that will be dealt with," Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said earlier this week. "But she lost her life in the jail. And that's what we have to look at." If the correct procedures had been in place, "maybe she would be alive today."
Suicide is the leading cause of death in jails after natural illness. In fact, inmates take their own lives three times more often than the average population, according to a 2010 study cited in the National Study of Jail Suicide.
Since 2000, the total number of jail suicides has remained fairly constant — around 300 a year, according to the federal government's Bureau of Justice Statistics. Improved awareness and monitoring have helped make suicides far less common than in the 1980s or 1990s.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) —
One of two felony indictments against former Texas Gov. Rick Perry was tossed out Friday, giving the Republican presidential candidate a potentially huge legal victory in the face of flagging polling numbers for the 2016 race.
The 3rd Court of Appeals in Austin sided with Perry's pricy legal team, stating in a 96-page ruling that the charge of coercion of a public servant constituted a violation of the former governor's free speech rights.
Perry, who left office in January, was indicted last August on the coercion charge and a separate charge of abuse of official power, which wasn't affected by the ruling.
For now, he'll still have to face the abuse of power charge — which could tie him up in court and eat into valuable on-the-ground campaigning time in the midst of his White House run. But Perry's lead attorney, Tony Buzbee, downplayed the future significance of the case, just as his client has for months, saying it will have "no impact whatsoever" on the campaign.
"One down, one to go," Buzbee said at a Houston news conference. "The court today threw out what we believe to be the greater of the two charges." He added that the abuse of power charge is "hanging by a thread."
BEEKMAN, N.Y. (AP) —
A 26-year-old Texas man has been extradited to upstate New York to face charges for alleged sexual actions committed against a young girl a decade ago.
Christopher Wustrau was arrested last week in his hometown of San Antonio and transported by state police to New York on Wednesday. He was arraigned before Town of Beekman Court and sent to Dutchess County Jail on $100,000 cash bail or $200,000 bond.
Wustrau is charged with first-degree sexual conduct against a child. The charge was brought after a former resident of Beekman reported a sex offense that occurred approximately 10 years ago. An investigation revealed that Wustrau sexually abused the victim when she was between the ages of 7 and 9.
It could not immediately be determined if Wustrau has an attorney.
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) —
A man who last winter called 911 to surrender over a 2011 slaying in Corpus Christi has been sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Terry Lynn Smith of Beaumont pleaded guilty to murder in the plea deal Thursday.
Beaumont police in January arrested Smith after he called, from a halfway house, to claim responsibility for the September 2011 stabbing death of 51-year-old Patricia Duling.
Corpus Christi police say Duling's boyfriend returned home after work and found her body. Investigators say the victim was stabbed more than 80 times.
The 60-year-old Smith, who's had addiction issues, apologized to the victim's family. Smith said he doesn't remember what happened but that it shows what drugs and alcohol can to do.
DALLAS (AP) —
A Dallas-area woman has pleaded guilty in a $1.6 million Medicaid scam over false claims using the names of legitimate counselors.
Brenda Ward of Cedar Hill faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.
Ward on Friday pleaded guilty to health care fraud. She's free pending sentencing later this year in Dallas.
Court documents indicate Ward, who's not a psychotherapist or a mental health provider, was president and CEO of H.E.L.P.-Ing. Communities Inc.
Prosecutors say Ward obtained a Medicaid number for HCI and submitted claims for counseling never provided. Ward also wrongly used the Medicaid provider numbers of four licensed counselors who were unaware of the scheme operating since 2009.
Ward submitted claims on behalf of nearly 300 Medicaid recipients — mainly children.
