“What we found in Houston was there appears to be an increase in some categories of crime, in particular murder and robbery, during the Katrina time period when the evacuees came to Houston. There was no significant change in rape, aggravated assault, burglary or auto theft,“ said lead author Sean P. Varano.

The study was completed in an attempt to confirm or deny anecdotal stories from the public and the media regarding the behavior of the refugees. The research showed there was a small initial spike in crime, but it soon faded, meaning the fabled “Katrina crime wave” was little more than talk.

San Antonio criminal attorneys believe the crime wave myths were merely a way for locals to help blame their existing crime problems on a temporary, transient group of people.

To read more on the issue, see the article in the Houston Chronicle. Image via Ely Online [Flickr].

Houston criminal attorneys say that if the men are caught, they will be facing some very serious felony charges, including falsely impersonating an officer of the law, robbery, aggravated assault, and more.

To read more about the crime, see the article in the Houston Chronicle.

Carlos Correa was an attorney in Houston for the past 40 years, but recently found himself in the position of finding his own Houston criminal defense lawyer. During his many decades of practice, Correa had many run ins with the law, including failing to disclose information to U.S. Customs agents, improperly handling lawsuit monies, and more, but now he is facing serious charges that could result in a twenty year sentence. He was caught hiring a friend to lie on the witness stand in a murder trial in 2006 and cashing social security checks for his father between 1996 and 2008. Correa’s father died in 1996.

Correa is now facing twelve years in prison and the surrender of his legal license, but if he tries to flee before his incarceration begins, he may instead be put away for twenty years.

To read more about the story, see the article in the Houston Chronicle. Image via alan(ator) [Flickr].

Houston criminal lawyers, demonstrators and other community leaders are seeking to get an answer during a City Council meeting this afternoon. They are hoping to get an independent and transparent investigation to look into the issue and find the real reason the numbers have increased so dramatically.

“The incident reports are never published, the homicide report is never published, the Internal Affairs Division report is never published, and the grand jury is secret,” Houston civil rights attorney, Randall Kallinen, says, “so we’re calling for an independent investigation that’s open to the public, one that is not conducted by the police department or the district attorney’s office, into why there’s been this increase in shootings.”

Last year, the police killed fifteen people and injured seventeen others. The statistics are even more dreadful when you consider the fact that since tasers have been released, the officials have even more non-lethal ways to subdue a dangerous person.

To learn more, see the article in the Houston Press. Image via Kenny Miller [Flickr].

While no officers are being formally charged with the shootings, most are still under review by the department. The majority of officers in the department have said they prefer to use stun guns, but they are not always an option during certain confrontations.

While the department and the city government believe the shootings were all justified, many Houston criminal attorneys are cynical of the police officer’s choice to use deadly force in situations where stun guns may have been used effectively in place of guns.

To read more about the story, see the article in the Houston Chronicle. Image via thivierr [Flickr].

After 5 year old Nathan Key was killed by a driver who violated this law though, the penalties may soon increase drastically.The new bill, dubbed “Nathan’s Law,” proposes to make those caught passing a stopped school bus face $500 in fines, a license suspension and up to two days in jail. Repeat offenders could be sentenced to up to $800 in fines. If a child was injured under this new bill, the crime would immediately become a felony and the driver could face $5000 in fines and up to 5 years in prison. Lt. Governor Phil Bryant has pledged his support for the bill, saying, “It is a promise personally that I will do all that I can to make certain this bill moves forward and moves forward quickly.”

Houston criminal attorneys believe the change could help reduce temptation to pass the buses, which many drivers see as slow obstructions.

“No parent should have to experience what we’ve been through,” said Andy Key, Nathan’s father.

To read more about the proposed bill, see the article on WDAM. Image Via iboy daniel [Flickr].

The test can also lengthen the window of time a person can be tested following a sexual assault from 48 hours to 96, possibly even 120, hours. In cases where there are more than one perpetrator, the test can even identify how many men participated in the assault.

“There’s no way you can tell by looking at the victim whether there’s going to be a small amount there — there may be no trace of a stain or any sort of discoloration on the victim at all,” Dr. Kahn, the Harris County medical examiner’s forensic biology director, said. “This is something where the victim tells the nurse that, ‘He licked me here,’ or ‘He bit me here,’ or ‘He put his mouth here’ and they simply collect the sample and we see what we get.

Kahn also says the test can be used when a female victim of a non-sexual crime is attacked by a male. In many stabbing cases, for example, it is hard for the police to recognize any DNA samples when there is so much of the victim’s blood present. In these cases, the new test can render the victim’s blood invisible and search only for a male’s blood. The test will not work with two persons of the same sex however, and cannot tell the difference between two siblings. Additionally, it can only be used to identify a person who has already submitted a blood sample into evidence for the specific crime. The samples are not sensitive enough to recognize any unknown offenders on the list of previously identified offenders who have registered DNA samples.

Regardless of these set backs, Houston criminal defense attorneys are happy about this new prospect as it will help clear a number of men who are wrongfully accused of rape and other crimes. One of the most common reasons for inmate exoneration is DNA evidence after the fact clears the convict –this test can help prevent the innocent suspects from becoming inmates in the first place.

To read more about this new test, see the article in the Houston Chronicle. Image Via 44watt [Flickr].

This is very well illustrated in a recent criminal investigation circulating around white supremacist Stevie “Bubba” Walder’s recent murder of Naushad Virani during a convenience store robbery. Officials are finding it difficult to determine if Walder chose to rob the store, or chose to kill the clerk, based on the fact that Virani was a practicing Muslim, or if he merely wanted to commit a robbery, which resulted in a murder, and Virani only had the bad luck of being the person who happened to be behind the counter at the time.

Opponents of hate crime legislation claim these are some of the biggest problems with the crimes. Whether or not Virani was a Muslim, they claim, Walder should be held responsible for his acts. The issue is whether the crime is more serious if Walder shot Virani because he was not a white man, an issue which will continue to create controversy in the community.

To read more about the shooting and investigation, see the article in the Houston Chronicle. Image Via alancleaver [Flickr].

Authorities claim that Mireles took more than $232,000 from the fund over a period of several years. The District Attorney has said that repaying the victims who were cheated out of their funds will be his office’s first priority in the case and that enough funds have been recovered to reimburse all of the victims.

Eloise could face anywhere from 5-99 years in prison for her crimes and her husband could be imprisoned for up to ten years. Each of the defendants will face up to $10,000 in fines as well.

As of yet, neither of the Mireles, nor their Houston criminal attorneys, have been available for comment.

To read more about the crimes, see the article on KEN 5.

The incarceration rates have become stagnant and the plans for two new prisons that were to be built in recent years have been scrapped all together. “Texas is showing the rest of the country that if you look at research you can find ways to cut costs and crime at the same time,” said Adam Gelb, director of the Pew Center’s public safety performance project, a nonprofit think tank. Houston criminal lawyers are happy to see the change, as it means fewer of their clients will spend time in prison.

The crime rates have been reflecting positively on the changes as well. There has been a 25% reduction of parole violations since the programs have started. Last year, major crimes dropped 3%.

To read more about the effects of the new reforms, see the article in The Houston Chronicle. Image Via amandabhslater [Flickr].