- Bastrop County grand jury declines to indict caretaker at center of The Refuge abuse scandal.
. . . “The Grand Jury did not indict Iesha Greene, or any other person, for any offense(s). The Grand Jury did not find sufficient evidence to support an indictment on any criminal offense,” Conor Brown, an investigator with the Bastrop County Sheriff’s Office, wrote to The Refuge. The case was presented to the grand jury on Sept. 13, and the shelter received a copy of the letter in the mail on Tuesday. Brown did not respond to a request for comment.
. . . Testifying before a committee investigating the allegations in late March, Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw said he was confident Greene would be arrested on charges of sexual exploitation of a child and child pornography when law enforcement can provide further evidence.
Court-appointed watchdogs of Texas’ foster care system, meanwhile, have said there is “ample evidence” that former sex trafficking victims were abused at a foster care facility, though they did not mention Greene. U.S. District Judge Janis Jack said she would seek a federal criminal investigation into allegations that children were sexually abused and trafficked at The Refuge.
Relevant Terms:
- grand jury
- Bastrop County
- Sheriff's Office
- The Refuge
- committee investigation
- Texas Department of Public Safety
- Steve McGraw
- arrested
- charges
- sexual exploitation of a child
- child pornography
- law enforcement
- court appointed
- watchdog
- foster care system
- evidence
- sex trafficking
- victims
- foster care facility
- U.S. District Judge
- Janis Jack
- federal criminal investigation
- Families of three Uvalde shooting survivors sue school district, gun makers, city officials and others.
The families of three children who survived the Uvalde mass shooting in May have filed the first lawsuit in a federal court against the Uvalde school district, law enforcement officials, gun makers and others, alleging that their negligence and failures contributed to the massacre.
. . . In all, the suit names 10 defendants: the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District; since-fired school district police chief Pete Arredondo; the City of Uvalde; Mariano Pargas, a lieutenant who was the acting Uvalde police chief during the shooting; Mandy Gutierrez, the school’s principal who the suit alleges failed to notify teachers of the gunman’s presence through the school’s intercom; Daniel Defense LLC, a gun manufacturer; Firequest International Inc., which designed an accessory trigger system the gunman used; Oasis Outback LLC, the gun store in Uvalde where the shooter bought and picked up his firearms; Motorola Solutions Inc., which designed or sold radio communication devices used by first responders that allegedly failed; and Schneider Electric USA Inc., which is alleged to have made or installed the doors at the school.
The defendants could not be immediately reached for comment.
About a month ago, another law firm served the Uvalde school district with a $27 billion claim over the May 24 shooting at Robb Elementary School that left 19 children and two teachers dead.
The lawsuit says each defendant played a part in the shooting’s tragic outcome, from producing faulty technology that hindered first responders to pushing dark marketing that pitches lethal weapons to young minds.
The families of three children who survived the Uvalde mass shooting in May have
- filed
- lawsuit
- federal court
- Uvalde school district
- law enforcement officials
- gun makers
- negligence and failures
contributed to the massacre.
- Texas’ Western District Court
- seeking unspecified damages
- defendants
- - the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District
- - school district police chief Pete Arredondo
- - the City of Uvalde
- - Mariano Pargas
- - Uvalde police chief
- - Mandy Gutierrez
- - school principal
- - Daniel Defense LLC
- - gun manufacturer
- - Firequest International Inc
- - accessory trigger system
- - Oasis Outback LLC
- - gun store
- - Motorola Solutions Inc
- - radio communication devices
- - Schneider Electric USA Inc
- Texas court confirms the attorney general can’t unilaterally prosecute election cases.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's last-ditch attempt to regain the power of his office to unilaterally prosecute election cases was rejected by the state’s highest criminal court Wednesday.
The Court of Criminal Appeals instead upheld its previous ruling that says that the attorney general must get permission from local county prosecutors to pursue cases on issues like voter fraud. Paxton had been fighting to overturn that ruling as the issue of prosecuting election fraud has become fraught in recent years. Paxton sought to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and has aggressively pursued individual cases of fraud, outraging some voting rights advocates who see the punishments as too harsh for people who made honest mistakes.
Last December, eight of the nine members on the all-GOP court struck down a law that previously allowed Paxton’s office to take on those cases without local consent. The court said the law violated the separation-of-powers clause in the Texas Constitution.
Texas Attorney General
- Ken Paxton's last-ditch attempt to regain the power of his office to
- unilaterally
- prosecute
- election cases was
- rejected
- state’s highest criminal court
- The Court of Criminal Appeals
- upheld its previous ruling
- the attorney general must get permission from local county prosecutors to pursue cases on issues like voter fraud.
- overturn that ruling
- voting rights advocates
- punishments
- eight of the nine members on the all-GOP court
- struck down a law
- allowed Paxton’s office to take on those cases without local consent
- the law violated the separation-of-powers clause in the Texas Constitution
- Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton fled his home to avoid being served with subpoena, court record says.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton fled his home in a truck driven by his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, to avoid being served a subpoena Monday, according to an affidavit filed in federal court.
Ernesto Martin Herrera, a process server, was attempting to serve the state’s top attorney with a subpoena for a federal court hearing Tuesday in a lawsuit from nonprofits that want to help Texans pay for abortions out of state. Later on Monday, Paxton filed two requests: a motion to quash the subpoena and another to seal the certificates of service, which included the affidavit from process server.
- served a subpoena
- affidavit
- filed in federal court.
- Ernesto Martin Herrera
- process server
- a federal court hearing
- lawsuit
- nonprofits
- Paxton filed two requests
- motion
- quash the subpoena
- seal the certificates of service
- In campaign ad, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick suggests mandatory 10-year sentence for gun-related crimes.
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is making the increase in violent crime a major point of his reelection campaign, most recently proposing to imprison people for at least 10 years if they’re convicted of any crime while using a gun.
“Texans are fed up with violent crime and skyrocketing murder rates,” Patrick says in a campaign ad that began airing this week. “To stop it, I will pass legislation next session to add a 10-year mandatory jail sentence to anyone convicted of using a gun while committing a crime.”
But details are scant on what would be a major policy shift to increase incarceration in the state, which already imprisons the most people in the country.
- Texas Lt. Gov.
- Dan Patrick
- increase in violent crime
- a major point of his reelection campaign
- proposing to imprison people for at least 10 years if they’re convicted of any crime while using a gun.
- murder rates
- 10-year mandatory jail sentence
- convicted of using a gun while committing a crime.”
- major policy shift
- increase incarceration in the state
