DFW briefs: Burleson woman arrested at courthouse with gun

Woman arrested at

courthouse with gun

FORT WORTH -- A 53-year-old woman arriving for jury duty was arrested Tuesday after she entered the downtown courthouse with a loaded handgun, a county official said.

Deputies at the screening machine spotted a .32-caliber handgun in the woman's bag about 8:30 a.m. at the south entrance to the Tim Curry Criminal Justice Center, said Terry Grisham, a spokesman for the Tarrant County Sheriff's Department.

Dayna Kay Purtee of Burleson faces a charge of carrying a weapon in a place where they are prohibited. She remained in the Tarrant County Jail on Tuesday night with bail set at $2,500.

"It's a moot point if she had a license for it or not," Grisham said. "This is one place that someone can't walk into with a gun."

Last week, a 65-year-old woman from Little Elm was arrested at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport after security screeners spotted a .38-caliber revolver in one of her carry-on bags. Officials declined to say whether that gun was loaded. -- Domingo Ramirez Jr.

Porsche in fatal

wreck was speeding

IRVING -- The Porsche Panamera that crashed and sank in a Las Colinas canal Jan. 4, killing the three people inside, was going faster than the posted 55 mph speed limit, police reported Tuesday.

"The exact speed the vehicle was traveling is not known," a news release stated, "but investigators have been able to determine the sequence of events."

The car was westbound on Spur 348 when it struck a curb and went off the road, "striking numerous curbs and signs and traveled over various surfaces (grass, asphalt, concrete) before striking a curb and becoming airborne," the release stated. "The vehicle traveled approximately 95 feet in the air before striking the guardrail to the canal. The force of the impact tore the guardrail from the concrete base and the vehicle continued in the air and struck the other side of the canal. The vehicle then fell into the canal and was submerged in the water."

Killed were Ronald Eddins, 41, of Southlake; Kenneth Lark, 23, of Austin; and Kaat Debeuckelaer, 21, of Colleyville.

Police reported earlier that Lark and Debeuckelaer went to the Dallas Stars game the night of Jan. 3. They met Eddins for the first time at the bar at the Southlake Hilton. All three went to The Men's Club on West Northwest Highway and left about 2:45 a.m. Jan. 4. -- Marty Sabota

3rd person sought

in man's beating

FORT WORTH -- Police are calling on the public to help find a third suspect in a New Year's Day assault that left a man in a coma.

Officers found the victim, who was not identified, about 2:30 a.m. Jan. 1 outside a Fina station in the 4200 block of Miller Avenue. He is hospitalized in critical condition, police said.

Witnesses said the victim was fighting with one man when two others joined in. The victim was knocked down, hit, kicked and stomped. When witnesses tried to intervene, "the three suspects aggressively instilled fear and intimidation by pushing the attempted rescuers away, then resuming their repeated criminal acts toward the victim who still lay motionless," the release stated.

Derrick Charles Brown, 22, and Terry Lynn Dunlap, 27, were arrested and remained in the Tarrant County Jail on Tuesday. Brown's bail is $15,000, and Dunlap's is $25,000.

The suspect being sought was described as black, 6 feet or taller with some facial hair, possibly a light beard and mustache. He was wearing a red baseball cap, believed to have a Cincinnati Reds logo on the front, and a white brace or wrap on his left wrist.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 817-469-TIPS (8477). -- Marty Sabota

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