star-telegram.com: Dallas

Man fatally shot in Grand Prairie standoff

Mon, 12 May 2008 11:01 CDT

By NATHANIEL JONES

Police shot and killed a 46-year-old Grand Prairie man Monday morning after he barricaded himself inside his apartment.

The man, who police have not identified, fired several shots inside his apartment and at police before he was fatally wounded about 4 a.m. Police had spent 45 minutes negotiating the man's surrender inside an apartment in the 500 block of West Westchester, just south of Interstate 20 and east of Carrier Parkway.

A SWAT sniper shot the man to keep him from hurting anyone, according to Grand Prairie Detective John Brimmer. The man reportedly was bipolar and had stopped taking his medication, Brimmer said.

He was pronounced dead at Arlington Memorial Hospital shortly after the shooting.

Supporters of illegal-immigration crackdowns leading in Irving and Farmers Branch

Sat, 10 May 2008 20:49 CDT

Star-Telegram

Supporters of crackdowns against illegal immigration in Irving and Farmers Branch are leading in their races for political office.

Farmers Branch City Councilman Tim O’Hare, 38, the champion of an effort to ban illegal immigrants from renting apartments in his city, is leading the mayoral race with 68 percent of the vote with five of 19 precincts reporting. His opponent, Gene Bledsoe, has 32 percent of the vote. Bledsoe said the city is spending too much money legally defending a rental ban doomed to be struck down in the courts.

Irving Mayor Herbert Gears, 45, whose reelection campaign included support for the city’s Criminal Alien Program, is leading with 53 percent percent of the early vote. CAP refers suspected illegal immigrants in the city’s jail to federal immigration officials and has resulted in the deportation of more than 2,700 people since it started in September 2006.

Gears' opponents Roland Jeter, who advocated a tougher crackdown, has 38 percent of the vote; Rigo Reza, who supported easing the crackdown, has 8 percent of the vote.

Carrollton mayor in fight for her political life

Sat, 10 May 2008 21:28 CDT

The simian senior citizen

Fri, 09 May 2008 06:37 CDT

DALLAS -- Jenny, recognized as the world's oldest gorilla in captivity, celebrated her 55th birthday Thursday with a four-layer frozen-fruit cake and banana-leaf-wrapped treats at her home in the Dallas Zoo. Her caretakers say she's a little creaky and her eyesight isn't what it used to be, but she looks good for an old ape. Gorillas in the wild normally live to about 30, gorilla specialist Kristen Lukas of Cleveland said. Healthcare and protection from predators has extended the life span in zoos.

By the numbers

360 -- Approximate number of gorillas in North American zoos.

4 -- Number of those gorillas over the age of 50. All are female. Trudy lives at the Little Rock Zoo in Arkansas, Colo at the Columbus Zoo in Ohio and Helen at the Louisville Zoo in Kentucky.

1953 -- The year Jenny was born in western central Africa.

1957 -- The year Jenny was acquired for the Dallas Zoo by the Hamon family of Dallas.

213 -- Jenny's weight in pounds

3 -- Number of gorillas Jenny shares her habitat with: Hercules, 43; Timbo, 45; and Patrick, 17.

Razzoo's will pay $1 million to settle discrimination lawsuit

Fri, 09 May 2008 04:35 CDT

By BOB COX

Razzoo's Cajun Cafe restaurant chain has agreed to pay $1 million and take other steps to settle charges that it discriminated against male employees and potential employees by limiting the hiring and promotion of men to bartender positions.

The settlement was announced by the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which had brought a discrimination lawsuit against Razzoo's.

The EEOC had pursued formal charges against the Addison-based company, which, the agency said in a news release, had "communicated to managers by e-mail a plan for an 80-20 ratio of women to men" bartenders.

"Some may think that sex sells drinks, but gender ratios are illegal," Suzanne Richardson, the lead EEOC attorney handling the case, said in the news release. "Razzoo's decision to hire and promote by gender is a clear violation of federal law."

Razzoo's response

Bob Luxen, an attorney for the company, said that Razzoo's never discriminated against "any employee or applicant" and that the company never had an 80-20 policy.

In the consent decree settling the case, Razzoo's denies the actions.

"We never discriminated in the past. We will not in the future," Luxen said. "The EEOC had projected the trial in this case would take four weeks, which would have been every expensive and very disruptive for Razzoo's. We think we would have won the trial. We think the EEOC would have appealed, so we decided to settle this matter."

Terms of the deal

Razzoo's agreed to pay $775,000 that will be divided among male employees who allegedly were discriminated against. The company also agreed to spend at least $225,000 to hire a human-resources consultant or set up its own in-house human-resources department.

Four masterpieces from Nasher collection sold at Sotheby's auction

Thu, 08 May 2008 11:39 CDT

By ANDREW MARTON

Four masterpieces from the vast collection of Raymond and Patsy Nasher fetched big prices at a Sotheby’s auction conducted Wednesday evening in New York.

Leading the way were two pieces by Picasso, one of which -- the very large canvas Le Baiser ("The Kiss") -- garnered $17.4 million, well above its anticipated sale price of $15 million.

Along with Le Baiser and another work by Picasso, two Giacomettis also sold very successfully, bringing the total take from the Nasher pieces to $27.5 million.

After Ray Nasher, the developer of NorthPark Center mall, died in 2007 (his wife died in 1988), the Nasher Foundation announced plans to auction some 200 pieces from the couple's collection that were not considered central to the mission of the Nasher Sculpture Center, which opened in 2003.

More works will be auctioned on Friday.

CPS had previous contact with parents of kids in squalid house

Thu, 08 May 2008 12:57 CDT

BY BILL MILLER

The arrest of a Dallas man after his two children were found earlier this week in a trash-strewn, boarded-up home was not the first time the family had contact with authorities.

Child Protective Services was notified in 2005 and 2006 that the children may have been kept in neglectful, squalid conditions, but proof of the allegations could not be found, said Marissa Gonzales, CPS spokeswoman.

That was not the case Monday when Gregory Dewayne Amphy, 22, was arrested on several charges, including two counts of endangering a child. The arrest was made shortly after police found his 5-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter alone in the home at the 3500 block of Holmes Street in southeast Dallas.

Officers responding to a neighborhood complaint about drug activity at the house found the children on a soiled mattress inside the house, which has had no utilities since 2002, police said. Human feces, they added, had piled up in a toilet and a 9mm pistol was within easy reach of the children, police said.

CPS placed the children in foster care. Meanwhile CPS officials planned to talk with Amphy while in custody and with Leeann Foster, the mother, to determine if there were any relatives who could care for the children.

"Greg Amphy is the father of both children," Gonzales said. "However, he and Ms. Foster are not a couple currently."

Foster told CPS officials after Amphy's arrest that the children lived with her, but she recently allowed them to stay with Amphy for a visit, Gonzales said.

The first CPS contact with the family was in August 2005 when the agency got a tip "that the two parents and both children were living in an apartment that was unsanitary and that the children were dirty," Gonzales said.

A CPS caseworker went to the address, but found that the family had moved. The worker tracked them down to a new address, but that home was clean "with no hazards," Gonzales said.

The worker concluded that allegations of neglect were "unable to be determined" because the family moved and conditions at the old address could not be investigated, Gonzales said.

The family, however, "was referred to a private social service agency for support services," Gonzales said.

In June 2006, CPS was notified that the parents "got into a physical fight with each other while the children were present," Gonzales said.

"The home was alleged to be dirty and the children were said to be dirty, as well," Gonzales said. "A CPS caseworker went to the home and observed it to be clean and free of hazards.

"The children were clean and appropriately dressed. Allegations of neglect were ruled out."

Amphy, however, had already begun to develop a criminal record in Dallas, according to Dallas County jail records.

In February 2005 he was arrested for unlawful restraint and interfering with an emergency call. In March 2007 he was arrested for assault causing bodily injury.

This year, he was arrested for possession of marijuana in January and robbery in April, the records show.

Other charges from his arrest on Monday included resisting arrest, auto theft and possession of marijuana, according to records.

He was still being held Thursday at the Lew Sterrett Justice Center with bail set at $25,000, said Deputy Michael Ortiz, spokesman for the Dallas County Sheriff's Department.

Grand Prairie police look for missing elderly man

Thu, 08 May 2008 13:01 CDT

BY PAUL BOURGEOIS

GRAND PRAIRIE -- Police are asking for help from the public to find a 81-year-old Korean man who is missing.

Hong Kil Duk went missing from the 300 block of Crossland Boulevard about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Grand Prairie police Lt. John Brimmer said.

Brimmer said an extensive search that included four search dogs failed to find the man.

He is 5-foot-7, weighs 140 pounds, has gray hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a gray shirt and green pants.

Anyone with information about Hong is asked to call 972-237-8700.

Suspect in slaying of Arlington student to return from Mexico

Thu, 08 May 2008 07:35 CDT

By NATHANIEL JONES

The suspect in the slaying of a 19-year-old Arlington woman is scheduled to be brought back to Dallas County at the end of the month, officials said.

Mexican authorities agreed to hand over Ernesto Pina Reyes, 21, after the Dallas County district attorney's office waived the death penalty, said Jamille Bradfield, a spokeswoman for the office.

If convicted of capital murder, Reyes faces life in prison.

The burned body of Melanie Goodwin, a University of North Texas sophomore, was found early Sept. 25 in the 3200 block of Keller Springs Road in Carrollton.

Investigators have said that they do not believe Goodwin and Reyes knew each other. The police investigation indicated that the two met for the first time about 1:40 a.m. Sept. 25 at a convenience store at Mayhill Road and Interstate 35E in Denton.

A friend of Reyes' told investigators that he saw Reyes with Goodwin's body and helped him destroy evidence, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.

Reyes was arrested by a fugitive task force a month later at a relative's house in central Mexico.

Early voting is heavy in Southlake, Irving, Farmers Branch

Thu, 08 May 2008 12:17 CDT

By PATRICK McGEE

Voters turned out in force for early voting for the May 10 elections in Irving, Farmers Branch and Southlake.

Nearly 9 percent of Southlake's 17,480 registered voters -- the largest percentage in Northeast Tarrant County after Westlake -- cast ballots in the election, which includes a controversial item about whether the city's police officers and firefighters can join the state civil service system.

Southlake did not have municipal elections in 2006 or 2007. Early voting ended Tuesday.

Thousands voted early in Farmers Branch and Irving, where the illegal-immigration issue roils the races for mayor and City Council seats.

In Farmers Branch, 2,662 people cast ballots in early voting, and in Irving 4,877 voted, according to the Dallas County elections office.

Farmers Branch City Secretary Cindee Peters said such a large turnout was only seen last year when a referendum on banning illegal immigrants from renting apartments in the city drove many people to the polls.

Voters approved the rental ban by a ratio of 2-to-1, but its implementation has been stalled by lawsuits. The cost of those lawsuits has become an issue in this year's election as the City Council member who proposed the ban, Tim O'Hare, makes a bid for mayor. He is opposed by real estate agent Gene Bledsoe, who said the city is wasting money defending the rental ban in court.

Irving City Secretary Janice Carroll said Irving's early voting turnout is about in line with recent years' early voting when there was a contest for mayor. She said 5,350 voted in early voting in 2005, when Herbert Gears was elected mayor.

Gears is now in the middle of an illegal-immigration debate as he runs for re-election. One of his challengers, city building inspector Rigo Reza, wants the city to ease up on the Criminal Alien Program, which refers suspected illegal immigrants in the city's jail to federal immigration officials. CAP has resulted in the deportation of 2,700 people since it started in September 2006.

Another challenger, attorney Roland Jeter, wants the city to crack down further on illegal immigrants.

Westlake, which has a Board of Aldermen election, had a 27 percent turnout for early voting.

The small town has 544 registered voters.

Staff writer Jessica DeLeón contributed to this report.