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VIDEO STORIES FROM JULY 29TH OF YEARS PAST


JULY 29, 2006
CONROE GLADSTELL APARTMENT FIRE


JULY 29, 2007
LANCE CORPORAL BOBBY TWITTY FUNERAL
BEDIAS, TX, USA
U.S. Marines
LCPL, CLB-6, CLR-2, (II MEF FWD), 2D MLG, CAMP LEJEUNE, NC
RAMADI, IRAQ 07/22/2007

He was born in Conroe, Texas and lived most of his life in Bedias. Now, Lance Corporal Bobby Lee Twitty has come home for the last time.

The body of Lance Corporal Twitty, 20, who was killed in Iraq Sunday, July 22, 2007, arrived at Easterwood Airport just after 3 p.m. Thursday. His body was met by his fellow Marines and his family, the Madisonville High School grad’s flag-draped casket was brought from the plane to a hearse that would carry him home to Madison County.

“I think it’s every citizen’s obligation to pay respect to the men and women that are putting their lives on the line as this young man did,” said John Happ, the director of Easterwood. “I think it’s really an honor and a privilege that we’re able to have this kind of a service at Easterwood.”

Many flags out only for national holidays fly prominently in Madisonville, some at half staff in honor of Twitty. About 60 people lined the downtown square, most bearing American or Texas flags in tribute to the fallen soldier — a young man forever known to all as a patriot.

Twitty joined the Marine Corps in 2005 after graduating from Madisonville High School. He was on his fifth month of service in Iraq when he was killed in a vehicle accident in Anbar province. He grew up in Bedias and was the second oldest among six brothers and sisters.

“He told his father he wanted a challenge,” his aunt, Carolyn Johnson said of his decision to join the Marines.

At home, Twitty enjoyed playing pool and bowling. He also loved hunting with his father and uncle, family members said.

They said he will be remembered by his friends as outgoing and fun-loving. In the short 20 years that he was with us, he made a lasting impression with numerous people, Johnson said.

He also is survived by his parents, James and Tammy Twitty.

Some of Bobby L. Twitty’s siblings were on vacation in Wyoming when they heard about their brother’s death. It was a vacation, family members say, Twitty would have loved. “He liked the outdoors. He was known as tough but had a heart of gold and a contagious smile,” said his aunt, Carolyn Johnson. “He will be missed by many and was loved by all.” Twitty, 20, of Bedias, Texas, was killed July 22 in a vehicle accident in Anbar province. He was a 2005 high school graduate and was assigned to Camp Lejeune. “He told his father he wanted a challenge,” Johnson said of his decision to join the Marines. “When he would come home from leave he would make sure that he spent all of his free time with his family and friends.” At home, Twitty enjoyed playing pool and bowling. He also loved hunting with his father and uncle, family members said. They said he will be remembered by his friends as outgoing and fun-loving. “In the short 20 years that he was with us, he made a lasting impression with numerous people,” Johnson said. He also is survived by his parents, James, and Tammy Twitty.


HARRIS COUNTY PRECINCT 4 MAKES BIG BUST
JULY 29, 2012
Hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of stolen property were confiscated from a storage facility in northwest Harris County Thursday, according to Harris County Precinct 4 Constables. A recreational vehicle and three trailers were among the priciest items taken, according to investigators. April Kovachich, 18, was found living inside a stolen trailer within a storage unit of which she was not a tenant, authorities said. She was arrested and charged with possession of methamphetamine after investigators said she had a small amount of the drug. Five motorcycles, two ATVs, an SUV and a golf cart were also among the items seized at Boat/RV Storage on Tower Oak Blvd. Investigators believe the property has been stolen from several different storage facilities in the Houston and Spring area over the past several months. The tip came from the owner of the storage facility. “She was noticing they were having a large increase in their electric bill and water bill,” Pct. 4 Constable Sgt. Gary Spurger said. “When she started looking into it, she found somebody who was actually starting to squat on their property, meaning they were on the property without permission.” Three other men were believed to be living in the stolen trailers along with Kovachich, Sgt. Spurger said. However, the men have not yet been arrested. Power washers, generators, a copy machine, several televisions and a large number of cell phones were among the countless other stolen items found stuffed inside some of the stolen trailers, according to Sgt. Spurger. “They had actually targeted this facility in the past it appears,” he said. “Because right where they were located, there were other places broken into. So, they were living where they were taking their stuff. They also had full counter surveillance, meaning they had outbound cameras to actually view the property all running on DVRs. They even had a couple of police radios.” It’s going to take a week or two for investigators to go through all of the stolen items before deputies can try to figure who it belongs to, Sgt. Spurger said.


JULY 29, 2013
TRIAL FOR WRONG-WAY DRIVER FIRST DAY
The first day of the trial of Nichole Backus ended at 5:30 p.m. today. It was 2 p.m. before a jury was selected and after a one-hour lunch, the two charges of intoxication manslaughter and one count of intoxication assault were read to the jury by Assistant District Attorney Warren Diepraam, head of the Montgomery County Vehicular Crimes Unit. He also added the clause where a vehicle is considered a deadly weapon. If this is proven true and Baukus is convicted and sentenced to prison she will be required to do half of her time before she is eligible for parole.

Baukus, plead not guilty to all charges.

Diepraam was followed by Assistant District Attorney Andrew James who is also part of the Vehicular Crimes Unit. As he showed a photo of the crash, he told the jury that thirteen months ago today, this is what the county woke up to, death and destruction. He told them of the southbound lanes still closed, and traffic was backed up as far as the eye could see.

The crash ended the lives of Nicole Adams, 19 of Conroe, her friend, Travis Sanders, 18, of Houston. A third person in the vehicle Baukus struck was David Porras, 21 of The Woodlands. He survived but still has no upper teeth as the bone was damaged when the dashboard hit him in the face. He has had thirteen surgeries and is facing more.

He told the jury that at 9:15 pm Baukus arrived at “On the Rox”, a sports bar on Sawdust Road. There she met her friend Meagan. They both walked in and started ordering their drinks from a a friend of theirs, Jessica who not only worked there but was Baukus’ roommate. Over the next four hours, Baukus consumes four beers and seventeen shots. Video at the club provided exact times of the drinks.

The timeframe for beer and shots were as follows:

6:15 pm

923 pm

1008 pm

1009 pm

1016 pm

1037 pm

1047 pm

1125pm

1130 pm

1158 pm

1159 pm

1205 am

1220 am

1235 am

1236 am

1237 am

1255 am

130 am

131 am

145 am

146 am

Baukus then stumbled out of the bar at 2 a.m. She got into her truck and drove off.

It is unknown what she did from 2 a.m. until the crash just before 3 a.m. when, as captured on Northstar video she entered the freeway going northbound in the southbound lanes at Research. She drove on the shoulder for a short time. As she topped the hill at SH 242 she missed striking another vehicle. The driver of that vehicle witnessed the crash as she looked back and stopped to help.

Since calls came in the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Dispatcher alerted units of the vehicle going the wrong way. Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Reuvers was first on the scene within minutes as he was in the immediate area heard the call and responded only to be told seconds later there was a crash. He first went to the Ford F-150 and found Baukus leaning against it. She told he she was not the driver. Reuvers then moved further north looking for an ejected victim and found Nicole and Travis slumped over in the seat, dead, in the vehicle which had been struck head-on. Several people stopped and had already pulled Porras out of the vehicle.

Cody Harmon arrived next followed by Shenandoah Officer Todd Schmaltz. Schmaltz also approached Baukus and asked who was driving , she stated a man was but she didn’t know his name. Looking inside, Schmaltz, an experienced investigator that came from Orange County California and had worked with Missouri City Police Department noticed Baukus was not wearing a left shoe or sock.

After looking inside the truck he spotted the bloody sock on the drivers floorboard along with the shoe. He also noticed only the drivers side airbag was deployed. If someone had been in the passenger seat that bag would have also been activated. When he asked where she was. Baukus thought she was at FM 2920 and Interstate 45 some ten to fifteen miles south of the crash scene.

She continued to deny her being the driver.

As Schmaltz was talking n his cell phone to a DPS Trooper en route to the crash scene he noticed Baukus smiling and laughing, when he asked what was so funny, she stopped.

When MCHD medics arrived her story changed. She told the medics she indeed was the driver of the vehicle.


JULY 29, 2014
At 6 a.m. Tuesday morning Polk County Deputies along with DEA, DPS, Livingston Police, Polk County Constables, Onalaska Police, and almost ten other agencies began to follow dozers into an additional sixteen marijuana fields. As of noon, there were an additional 27,000 plants harvested and more to go as the heat begins to once again take its toll. Setrac brought in a mobile medical facility to assist in treating anyone who was affected by the heat.

Investigators are still talking with Rene Carbajal Burrisqueta, 26, of Houston who was captured after Texas Parks and Wildlife Game Wardens happened upon another camp. Several fled but with TDCJ dogs close by one was captured. At this time he is being held for evading arrest.

Several pumps and generators have also been removed from multiple sites.

It is not known how much longer it will take but lights were also brought in on trailers early Tuesday.


JULY 29, 2015
MONTGOMERY COUNTY 1ST ASST DISTRICT ATTORNEY ON ONLINE RULING
Judge Kelly Case, of the 9th District Court of Montgomery County, made what is arguably his most controversial ruling to date on Wednesday, dismissing the indictment against an accused child predator based on the defense attorney’s contention the statute violated his client’s right to free speech. As word of the decision spread, outrage grew and will likely continue growing, since the ruling’s effects may be far-reaching.

Attorney Steve Jackson requested a Writ of Habeas Corpus hearing in the case of 35-year-old Kingwood resident Daniel Paquette, who was charged with Online Solicitation of a Minor. In the end, Case agreed with Jackson, declaring the state’s entire “Online Solicitation of a Minor” statute violates the First Amendment. A written statement from the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office said the law “essentially prohibits a person from using the internet or other electronic communications in an effort to arrange to meet with a minor child for sex,” and “forms the basis of a large portion of the work that the county’s Internet Crimes Against Children task force has been so effectively using to target child predators in the Montgomery County area.”

Members of the Montgomery County Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force arrested Paquette May 4, 2014, after he allegedly arranged to meet what he believed to be a 14-year-old girl with whom he communicated online and agreed to pay for sexual intercourse, and went to the prearranged location with cash and a condom. A Montgomery County grand jury handed down an indictment against Paquette in November.

Following Case’s ruling, Jackson elaborated on the motion, reiterating his contention the statute was “ambiguous” and “unconstitutional”, saying legislators had agreed, and a new statute will take its place September 1. Jackson offered the hypothetical example of a man and his wife, or adult sex partner engaging in online “sexplay” involving the female pretending to be a 13-year-old girl as the couple discusses having sex when the husband arrives home. Under the current law, Jackson said the husband in that scenario could be prosecuted for Online Solicitation of a Minor, just like Paquette, despite the fact that the man knew the person he was messaging was a consenting adult.

However, Montgomery County First Assistant District Attorney Phil Grant said there have been no ICAC arrests and prosecutions based solely on dialogue, and that was not the basis of Paquette’s arrest. Grant said it was about Paquette’s intent, which his actions showed to be meeting a minor for sex. He also indicated Mr. Jackson had been creative with the facts regarding the statute and its constitutionality.

“Mr. Jackson is discussing a two-year-old ruling by the Court of Criminal Appeals that found one section of this statute to be unconstitutional,” Grant said. “That section had nothing to do with the act that Mr. Paquette was charged with.”

“Mr. Paquette is charged with luring a person he thought was a child into an illegal sexual encounter,” he said. “The case law clearly states that is constitutional.”

According to Grant, the courts struck down only the section of the statute that involved discussions with no intent to meet, thereby protecting the free speech of those who were simply involved in fantasy discussions. The statute’s original intent was not changed, only the language.

“The courts and the legislature have never said that attempting to lure a child into an illegal sexual encounter is okay,” Grant said. “Mr. Bennett and Mr. Jackson used the old magician’s trick of misdirection by talking about a section of the law that didn’t apply to Mr. Paquette, and unfortunately Judge Case fell for it.”

Indeed, State Representative Debbie Riddle, R-Tomball said the change taking effect September 1 is basically the same law, with the same intent, but has merely been “tweaked a little, for clarification.” She too scoffed at the notion the law was so flawed or vague its use would violate someone’s constitutional rights.

“You know, you can hardly find a diamond that doesn’t look a little better with a little bit of polishing on it, so I think this last session we tightened it up a little,” Riddle said. “The intent was clear from the beginning, so that intent is not ambiguous.”

Riddle, like Grant, said “intent” was a critical part of the statute. As a grandmother of 10, she feels strongly about such legislation, she said.

“It is incumbent upon all of us, especially the legislators, the lawmakers,” Riddle said. “That’s got to be our number one focus, our number one job, and that is to make sure the safety and security of all Texans is well established – especially our children.”

In the courtroom, prosecutors cited multiple similar cases that have been tried since the ruling Jackson cited, with the courts in those cases finding the portions of the statute that are the basis for the charge are not speech-related, as in Jackson’s stated scenario involving consenting adults. Rather, they require the suspect to intentionally attempt to lure a minor child to engage in sex.

In fact, Grant said, the procedures used by Montgomery County ICAC investigators are specifically designed to “weed out” those who are merely engaging in “twisted sex talk.”

“Arrests are made only when adults get in their car and drive to a location to meet the minor child,” Grant said. “The defendants we arrest have made proactive efforts to find and molest children.”

Prosecutors are appealing Case’s decision and have no plans to back down on that or any of the other pending Online Solicitation cases, they said.

“Judge Case’s rulings continue to place the children of Montgomery County in danger,” Grant said.


JULY 29, 2015
DEFENSE ATTORNEY STEPHEN JACKSON ON JUDGE CASE ONLINE RULING
SAME CASE AS ABOVE


JULY 29, 2015STATE REP DEBBIE RIDDLE
SAME CASE AS ABOVE


JULY 29, 2016
CONROE SHOOTING-MAN SHOOTS AND KILLS DAUGHTER AND THEN HIMSELF
Just before 6pm a Montgomery County Precinct 3 Deputy Constable responded to the Dominion Apartments on I-45 just south of FM 1488. The male who lived at the apartment was being served with custody papers and was to relinquish his daughter to his ex-wife. The wife was on the scene but not in the apartment. At first, the male did not respond to knocks at the door by the deputy. He finally exited the apartment and as the deputy approached the male brandished a gun and held it to his chest. He alternated it between his head and chest as the deputy called for backup and Conroe Police SWAT since the apartments are within the Conroe city limits. For more than 20 minutes the deputy tried talking with the male s other units responded. At 6:39 pm the male shot himself in the head. Officers then moved into the apartment where they found a three-year-old female with a gunshot wound to the head. MCHD was called in and both were pronounced deceased. Conroe Police Detectives are now on the scene.


JULY 29, 2016
ATTEMPTED TRUCK JACKING
just before 11 pm a dark-colored possibly Grand Prix and a white Audi opened fire on an empty 18-wheeler that was northbound on I-45 near Wilson Road. The shots sent people scattering in the parking lot of Star Cinema for cover. A DPS helicopter searched over the area for a possible suspect who ran into the woods just north of Wilson Road. After 2 hours of using both dogs and the DPS helicopter, a suspect was not found. The driver of the truck ran across the freeway to Walmart to call Conroe Police for help. Conroe Police are asking the public for help. If anyone saw the incident please contact Conroe Police. According to the driver who was from Compton, California several black males approached him and attempted to take his trailer near Cullen and SH 288 after he unloaded lemons and Cantelopes at a grocery supply. Houston Police showed up and they left. Then as he was driving they pulled up next to him. Police believe there were several males in the vehicle as the shooters shot out 3 of the 18-wheeler tires and left bullets in another with multiple strikes on the wheels. There were no shots into the truck or trailer. According to police, once the tires were shot and the driver attempted to pull off the highway, both vehicles exited the freeway and after exiting the vehicle approached the truck from the passenger side. That was when the driver jumped out and after running through the heavy traffic on I-45 to the Walmart Store. That is where several people called Conroe Police after seeing the man come into the store covered in sweat.

The incident remains under investigation.


JULY 29, 2017
BODY OF MISSING WOMAN FOUND IN NATIONAL FOREST
Officials are seeking answers in the death of 55-year-old Theresa Kirkpatrick of Conroe, whose body was found in the Sam Houston National Forest around 10 a.m. Saturday after her husband Alan reported her missing in that area around 4:30 p.m. Friday.  Law enforcement is saying little about the ongoing investigation, but her brother had plenty to say, and he believes Alan Kirkpatrick is to blame.

According to officials and family members, Alan Kirkpatrick claimed they went Friday morning to retrieve a motorcycle that was stuck in the woods off Stubblefield Lake Road. He said he lost sight of his wife at some point and was unable to find her after that.  Alan Kirkpatrick allegedly told authorities he didn’t report her missing for eight hours because he was trying to find her on his own.  However, Theresa Kirkpatrick’s brother, Mike Keiser, painted a very different picture as he stood in the dense forest where she was found.

“My sister would never have been in these woods,” Keiser said. “She had herniated disks in her back, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and emphysema.”

Theresa Kirkpatrick was also overweight, weighing around 200 pounds and 5 feet 2 inches tall, adding to the difficulty she would have had gone deep into a thicket. Keiser said she was doing good if she could tolerate the heat on her own porch for 20 to 30 minutes.

“She doesn’t go hiking,” Keiser said. “She doesn’t even go out in her yard. Her medical condition won’t allow it.”

He claims when he visited Alan Kirkpatrick Saturday morning, his brother-in-law appeared to be crying but had no actual tears. That visit was when Keiser was able to get a better location than the police had on where his sister would be found.  He said the police were given four different stories on Friday, and none of the locations indicated in those stories were correct. He said he was unsure whether his brother-in-law realized he was giving him the right location when he said it, since it was not where he’d told officers to look the previous evening.

Adding to his suspicion of Alan Kirkpatrick’s involvement in Theresa’s death, Keiser also says his sister did not ride motorcycles and was physically incapable of climbing on one. He repeatedly commented that his sister was “taken” from him, but said the police had asked him not to say anything more to the media, fearing he might jeopardize their investigation. Keiser said he last spoke to Theresa Kirkpatrick on Sunday, and “everything was okay.” However, he said there was a history of violent incidents involving his sister and brother-in-law during their marriage that he estimated to be of 25 to 30 years. Law enforcement said they had no history of reports of domestic violence with the couple, but Keiser said some of their family members had stepped in at times to defend her from physical abuse.

“Alan goes into rages. We knew he hit her, but she didn’t even want to tell us,” he said. “She was afraid we’d do something.”

Keiser, who learned of his sister’s disappearance through Facebook, said his sister was not a violent person, but very loving, which made her death all the more difficult.

“My sister was an amazing person,” he said. “She loved her family she was very loved by her family. She was taken from us, and didn’t deserve what she got. She never hurt a soul.”

Keiser said now that his sister has been found, his family is hoping to learn what really happened to her, or as he put it, “what (her husband) did”. He choked back tears as he told that his sister had helped raise him and his brother, and was always there for them “no matter what.”

Tim Whitecotton, of the Walker County Sheriff’s Department, said Kirkpatrick was found in that county. His agency was notified by MCSO that she was found in their jurisdiction, off of Forest Service Road 208, off of a multi-use trail.

“A lot of times people get these confused with city parks and it’s not,” Whitecotton said. “It’s a very dense rural area, and with the heat and the humidity that we’re experiencing right now in the area it’s very dangerous and very treacherous.”

Walker County investigators are being assisted by the Texas Rangers and the Forest Service. The search effort and investigation involved multiple other agencies, including Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, Montgomery County Search and Rescue, New Waverly Fire Department, TDCJ K-9 units, and there were fire and EMS command posts.

Whitecotton said there were no visible signs of trauma and the victim has been transported to Montgomery County Forensic Services for autopsy.

MCPR will update when we have more information…


JULY 29, 2018
MONTGOMERY COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE FLEET FATAL CRASH
At 3:15 a.m. Sunday morning a Montgomery County Deputy was leaving the parking lot of the annex which offices Justice of the Peace Wayne Mack. As the deputy turned left heading east on SH 105 to back another deputy up on a traffic stop, a motorcycle topped the hill and slammed into the drivers’ side rear of the patrol car. The deputy was not injured and performed life-saving measures on the motorcycle operator. MCHD and Montgomery FIre arrived and pronounced the 55-year-old male deceased. DPS and the Montgomery County District Attorneys Office is investigating this crash which is at least the fourth of its kind in the same stretch of this roadway. Montgomery County Justice of the Peace Wayne Mack ordered Eickenhorst Funeral Directors to transport the victim to the Montgomery County Forensic Center for an autopsy. The Deputy has been with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office for one year.


JULY 29, 2018
OLD HIGHWAY 105 FATAL CRASH AT METTS ROAD
Just after 10 pm, two 17-year-old males were driving east on Old Highway 105 at Metts Road when the driver failed to negotiate a curve. The 1988 Nissan 300 left the road and sideswiped a tree causing the vehicle to partially roll. A resident in the area on his way to work came upon the scene and immediately called 911. The male passenger was still trapped in the vehicle but was removed by the driver. CPR was initiated. NMC Fire arrived on the scene with MCHD just behind. Life-saving measures failed and the 17-year-old passenger was pronounced deceased. The 17-year-old driver was taken by DPS to Conroe Regional Medical Center for a mandatory blood draw which was negative. He was not injured. DPS investigated the crash. They are being assisted by the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office Vehicular Crimes Unit. Montgomery County Justice of the Peace James Metts responded to the scene on ordered Eickenhorst Funeral Directors to transport the deceased to the Montgomery County Forensic Center for autopsy.


JULY 29, 2019
DRIVER MISSES ROAD ENDS UP IN CREEK BED
About 5:30 am Monday Jonathan Peterson, 34, of Conroe, was northbound on FM 1485 at Kidd Cemetery in a Dodge Charger he had just purchased. As he approached Kidd Cemetery where the road goes from two lanes to one, he said the driver in the left lane would not let him over. Due to his speed, he avoided the guardrail, traveled through the grass and landed some 15-feet below the road surface in a creek bed. East Montgomery County Fire Department responded and found Peterson to be uninjured. FM 1485 was closed down until approximately 8:30 am as Saddle Creek Heavy Duty Wrecker had to maneuver the vehicle which was partially under the roadway to retrieve it. In addition, TxDOT was on the scene requested HAZMAT International to the scene. Due to gasoline and fluids in the water, the creek will need to be dammed and pumped out and rocks stripped of fluids.

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