Event Report: Lackland AFB Main Exchange (San Antonio, Texas)

LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, TEXAS -- Had a terrific book signing event at the Main Exchange here on Thursday, Oct. 20! I spent two hours here, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., chatting with customers, personalizing copies of the book for people who purchased them while I was there, and then signing the rest so that other customers can pick up an autographed copy.

Thanks to Manager Titus Stokes and his team for putting together this successful event (and for taking the pictures that appear with this report). I knew that the store management was top notch when I showed up and discovered a signing table loaded with about 100 copies of Texas Confidential: Sex, Scandal, Murder, and Mayhem in the Lone Star State and decorated with balloons -- yes, balloons, a first for me -- and a big poster of me in an especially adventurous pose.

Mr. Stokes expressed an interest in possibly having me come back to do another signing sometime in the foreseeable future and I told him I would be glad to do so and that perhaps sometime in December, when people are doing their Christmas shopping, would be ideal (I also added that I would be glad to do a presentation in addition to a signing if he had the resources to accommodate that). One way or the other, I had a great time at Lackland and am looking forward to the next opportunity to have an event there!

Breaking News: Lee Roy Suarez Arrested!

On Monday, Oct. 3, Mexico authorities arrested Lee Roy Suarez in the region of Monterrey, Mexico, more specifically the Agencia Federal De Investigacion of Mexico City, the Comal County Sheriff's Office announced Tuesday, Oct. 4. The Lone Star Fugitive Task Force sponsored by the U.S. Marshals Service has announced the arrest of Lee Roy Suarez (shown at right top and middle).

Suarez was wanted by the Comal County Sheriff’s Office for the homicide of Diego Saenz and aggravated assault of his brother, Vicente Saenz, on Nov. 20, 2004.

Authorities say Vicente was able to identify Lee Roy Suarez and his two friends who started the fight. The others, Christopher Andrew Ortiz and Adrian Guerrero, were quickly taken into custody and charged. Both were convicted, sentenced, and sent to prison. Up until this date, Suarez had remained a fugitive from justice.

The Comal County Sheriff’s Office requested assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service. Suarez was aired several times on the nationally syndicated television show, America’s Most Wanted. The countless man-hours finally paid off when members of the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force along with Mexican authorities, Agencia Federal De Investigacion of Mexico City, were able to track Suarez to San Nicholas, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. Investigative efforts revealed that soon after the homicide, Suarez fled to Mexico, assumed another identity, was arrested on at least one occasion by Mexican authorities, but was released before his true identity could be determined.

Still, U.S. authorities continued to pursue Suarez. Suarez was again tracked to Mexico, this time to the region of Monterrey, Mexico. The U.S. Marshals contacted the Agencia Federal De Investigacion. Mexico authorities worked tirelessly throughout this investigation and based upon information shared by U.S. authorities were finally able to locate and apprehend Suarez, who now awaits extradition back to Texas.

"We commend and thank the Mexico authorities, more specifically the Agencia Federal De Investigacion of Mexico City," said Robert R. Almonte, United States Marshal for the Western District of Texas (shown at right). "The cooperative efforts between our two countries clearly demonstrates our resolve to doggedly pursue dangerous criminal and bring them to justice. Furthermore, we hope this arrest brings some closure to the Saenz family and the Comal County community."

Agency members of the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force participating in this arrest are as follows: Bexar County District Attorney’s Office, Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, Comal County Sheriff’s Office, Bexar County Fire Marshal’s Office, San Antonio Independent School District – Police Department, San Antonio Police Department, Texas Department of Public Safety, Texas Department of Criminal Justice – Office of Inspector General, Texas State Attorney General’s Office – Sex Offender Fugitive Unit and the U.S. Marshals Service.

Breaking News: Inferno Erupts in Waxahachie!

WAXAHACHIE, TEXAS -- An immense industrial inferno broken out at around 10 a.m. CST at the Magnablend Inc. petrochemical plant in this town south of Dallas, threatening a nearby elementary school. The plant is located not far from highway I-35E.

At this writing the fire continues to grow and is spreading unchecked, running out from the plant along roads, railway tracks and around a string of tanker cars, and even along the surface of a stream. The flames are so intense that they have destroyed one of the firetrucks brought in by emergency personnel to battle the blaze.

A massive column of black, choking smoke can be seen for miles of the conflagration.

"This smoke is so thick, that the radar believes it's raining, that's how much stuff is in the air," said CNN meteorologist Chad Myers. "This is dangerous, toxic smoke.

Donald Golden, the environmental health and safety manager for the plant, said that all the site's workers had been evacuated and were accounted for and safe. When pressed by CNN for information about what toxins might be contained in the billowing smoke his call was disconnected.

Waxahachie, a community of somewhat more than 21,000 people, is home to more than a half dozen major industrial plants in addition to Magnablend.

"Magnablend is a custom chemical blending, manufacturing and packaging company committed to customer service excellence," the company says on its website.

"Magnablend manufactures products based on each customer's own formulations and specifications, but can assist in the development of new formulations as well. We can assist in the formulation, laboratory, pilot and commercialization phase of any chemical blending project ... Magnablend manufactures custom chemicals for a variety of industries, including: oil field, agriculture, pet food and feed supplements, water treatment, construction and industrial cleaning."

"Magnablend's strategically located facilities allow us to manufacture, blend and package custom liquid or powder chemicals per your specifications quickly and efficiently. Magnablend's strict quality control systems, specialty equipment and processes, custom packaging and labeling, and variety of shipping and receiving methods ensure we will meet and exceed all of your custom chemical needs."

Magnablend has additional facilities in Alice, Texas; Everson, Pennsylvania; Williston, North Dakota; and Caspar, Wyoming.

Video: Magnablend Waxahachie Texas Fire fighting Fail

Event Report: Book Signing, Barnes & Noble Market Heights

HARKER HEIGHTS, TEXAS -- Had a great book signing for Texas Confidential: Sex, Scandal, Murder, and Mayhem in the Lone Star State at the Barnes & Noble bookstore in the Market Heights shopping plaza near Fort Hood! Thanks to Community Relations Manager Fabbie Santiago not just for setting it up but also for making sure several of my other books were on hand, including Life in Civil War America, Fire & Ice, Ghosthunting Virginia, and Shipwrecks and Lost Treasure: Great Lakes.

One of the highpoints of this event was the opportunity to meet three other Texas authors who were also doing signings at the store, Shawn Henning (Michael Jackson: We Love You More), Peter Lawrence Jackson Jr. (Free the Poet), and H.G. Manning (Southern Legacy, Unwavering Duty). Great chatting with all three of them and very much hope we cross paths again at future events!

Another highpoint was seeing Tanja Cook, an old friend from Munich who lives in the area and took the time to come by and visit for awhile with me and my wife Diane.

6 Years Ago Today: 'Most Hated Woman in America' Murdered!

On Sept. 29, 1995, a trio of kidnappers killed, dismembered, and buried American Atheists founder Madalyn Murray O'Hair, her son Jon Murray, and her granddaughter Robin Murray O'Hair. Police in Austin, Texas, did little to investigate the abduction, torture, and murder of the person who had become known as "the most hated woman in America" as a result of her efforts to have prayer expunged from public schools.

While state and federal investigators initially assumed the O'Hair family members had been murdered by religious fanatics, they eventually learned that victims had been abducted and slain by a former employee and his accomplices. They did not benefit from their crimes, however, as one of them was killed by another and they lost the half million dollars they had extorted.

The demise of O'Hair is the subject of "The Most Hated Woman in America," a chapter in the "Murder" section of Texas Confidential: Sex, Scandal, Murder, and Mayhem in the Lone Star State.

Breaking News: Michael Jackson Death Trial Begins for Houston Dr. Conrad Murray!

Attorneys for the prosecution and defense made opening statements Tuesday, Sept. 27, in the trial of Houston physician Dr. Conrad Murray, 58, who has been charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of pop star Michael Jackson in June 2009. The cardiologist has been free on $75,000 bail since February 2010, when he was charged in the felony death of Jackson.

"The evidence in this case will show that Michael Jackson literally put his life in the hands of Conrad Murray," prosecuting Deputy District Attorney David Walgren told the told the seven-man, five-woman jury in the presence of a packed courtroom. "The evidence in this case will show that Michael Jackson trusted his life to the medical skills of Conrad Murray. ... That misplaced trust in the hands of Conrad Murray cost Michael Jackson his life."

Walgren said that Murray administered to Jackson a powerful sedative called propofol in levels equivalent to those used for general anesthesia. Autopsy results showed that Jackson also had a combination of other drugs in his system that contributed to his death.

"The acts and omissions [of Murray] directly led to [Jackson's] premature death at the age of 50," Walgren said and that evidence would show that Murray repeatedly acted with gross negligence, repeatedly denied appropriate care to Jackson, that his repeated incompetence and unskilled acts led to Jackson's death. The pop star was pronounced dead at 2:26 p.m. June 25, 2009, at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.

At a hearing in January during which Murray was ordered to stand trial, one of Jackson's security personnel and two paramedics testified that it appeared the singer was already dead before he was taken from his rented home in Holmby Hills to the hospital. The Los Angeles County Coroner's Office later determined that Jackson had died of acute propofol intoxication and declared his death a homicide.

Murrary and his defense attorneys maintain that he has been wrongly accused in Jackson's death and suggest that Jackson may have given himself a larger, lethal dose of propofol while the doctor was out of the pop star's bedroom.

Prosecutors allege that Murray administered propofol to Jackson to help him fall asleep after a bout of insomnia following a rehearsal for an upcoming series of concerts in London, failed to properly monitor his patient while focusing on telephone calls and text messages.

Seats were reserved for both Murray's supporters and Jackson's family members and most of them were in court Tuesday, including his parents, brother Jermaine, and sisters Janet and La Toya.

Reporters from more than 30 media outlets also had reserved seats and six members of the public were chosen through a drawing outside the courthouse (but barred from wearing anything related to Jackson or Murray into court).

Testimony is scheduled to begin once the opposing attorneys finish their opening statements. The trial is expected to last four to five weeks. If convicted, Murray could be sentenced to up to four years in prison.

Breaking News: Jasper Hate Killer Executed!

HUNTSVILLE, TEXAS -- On Wednesday, Sept. 21, the state of Texas put to death white supremacist gang member Lawrence Russell Brewer, 44, for his role in the 1998 dragging murder of a black man in Jasper, Texas. All of his appeals had been exhausted and their were no last-minute attempts to stay his execution.

Brewer and two accomplices chained James Byrd Jr., 49, to the back of a pickup truck and then dragged him down a bumpy road until he was not just killed but actually decapitated and dismembered.

"No," Brewer said when asked if he had any final words, a single tear hanging in the corner of his right eye. "I have no final statement."

A lethal injection was administered to Brewer at 6:11 p.m. and he was pronounced dead 10 minutes later. Both of his parents and two of his victim's sisters were in attendance.

One of Brewer's accomplices, John William King, 36, also was convicted of capital murder in Byrd's death and is currently on death row pending sppeal. A third accomplice, Shawn Berry, 36, was sentenced to life in prison.

"One down and one to go," said retired Sheriff Billy Rowles, who initially investigated the horrific scene. "That's kind of cruel but that's reality."

"He had choices," Byrd's sister, Clara Taylor said of Brewer the day before the execution. "He made the wrong choices." She said that someone from her brother's family needed to bear witness to Brewer's execution.

Around 2:30 a.m. on Sunday, June 7, 1998, witnesses saw Byrd walking on a road not far from his home in Jasper, a 7,000-person community located northeast of Houston. Soon after another witness then saw him riding in the bed of a dark pickup truck. Byrd subsisted on disability payments, could not afford a card, and walked or hitch-hiked to get around.

Around 8:30 a.m., Rowles discovered the grisly scene, in which body parts and blood were spread over a wide area.

"I didn't go down that road too far before I knew this was going to be a bad deal," he testifed at Brewer's trial.

According to testimony at the trial, the three white men drove Byrd out into the country and then stopped along an isolated logging road. There, they attacked their victim, tied him to the truck bumper with a 24-foot logging chain, and dragged him for three miles, dumping his mutilated remains between a black church and cemetery where the pavement on the road ended.

Police arrested Brewer, King, and Berry by the end of the next day.