Law Enforcement and Houston Crime Stoppers Expand Successful Anti-Gang Campaign

THURSDAY TOP NEWS STORIES:

Cindy Horswell, Houston Chronicle
Seven months ago, a suspected gang member vanished without a trace after reportedly going on a shooting rampage in a nightclub parking lot that killed three and wounded three others.

Then after weeks on the lam, Harold Brown’s face was plastered on a digital billboard that sought information for his arrest on a capital murder charge. Tipsters were directed to www.stophoustongangs.org. The same day, authorities got a tip that led to his arrest at a traffic stop near the house where he’d been hiding, said Houston police Capt. Dale Brown.

The arrest is one of many credited to the billboard program, which was initiated a year ago. Of the 52 fugitives spotlighted on the digital signs in the Houston area, 35 have been captured, authorities said at a news conference Wednesday.

And the website, created in 2010, will now inform tipsters on how to receive a Crime Stoppers reward of up to $5,000 for any information that leads to charges or the arrest of a criminal gang member. A button on the Stop Houston Gangs’ website links to Houston’s Crime Stoppers site where tips can be made anonymously.

“Some will make a report because they just want to be a good citizen. But now some can do it if they just need the cash,” said Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia.

But even without the money incentive, the website had been effective, authorities said. More than 1,700 tips have resulted in 600 arrests in the two-year span.
(Read the full story at Chron.com)

MORE COVERAGE:
• New partnership helps law enforcement fight crime in Harris County (KPRC 2 News)
• Digital billboard leads to sexual assault suspect found (KRIV 26 News)
• Stop Houston Gangs enhances partnership with Crime Stoppers of Houston (Your Houston News)
• Those Billboards Work! Multiple-Rape Suspect Charles Davenport Arrested (Houston Press)

LOCAL AREA HEADLINES:

• Where does Houston rank on new report about the nation’s air quality? (KTRK 13 News)
• Doctors: New hope for babies with Spina Bifida (KPRC 2 News)
• New Initiative Hopes To Reduce Houston Homeless Population (KUHF Public Radio)
• Baylor Opens Eighth Health Clinic For Teens (KUHF Public Radio)
• Cinco Ranch teacher a finalist in Live with Kelly and Michael’s top teacher search (KTRK 13 News)
• Christian group attacks HISD with radio ad (KPRC 2 News)
• UH study aims to find out why astronauts get sick (Chron.com)
• Girl Scouts wants girls to ‘Be a Friend First’ (KIAH 39 Newsfix)

STATE HEADLINES:

• State senator declares ‘campus carry’ bill dead (Chron.com)
• Damages in West reach $100 million, insurance group says (Austin Statesman)
• In Wake Of Explosion At West, New Scholarship Honors First Responders (KUHF Public Radio)
• Why The ‘Don’t Mess With Texas’ Campaign Has Been Revived (KUHF Public Radio)

NATION & WORLD:

• EPA: Tar Sands Pipelines Should Be Held To Different Standards (NPR)
• The DEA Wants Your Old Meds, No Questions Asked (NPR)
• BP teams with A&M to study where spills might travel in Gulf (Chron.com)
• At least 149 dead in Bangladesh building collapse (USA Today)