Does Ethan Couch Have What It Takes To Escape the Law?

Many people think 18-year-old affluenza-boy Ethan Couch and his enabling mom, 48-year-old Tonya, won’t last long on the lam — too spoiled, too rich, too in need of 1,500-thread-count Egyptian cotton bed sheets.  But, hey, some people do manage to elude even the world’s best Wyatt Earps for a very…

The Tarrant County Sheriff Says Look Out for Ethan Couch’s Mom, Truck

Despite chasing thousands of leads and making sure their man’s face is plastered all over media outlets across the country, Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson said Monday that his office has had no luck tracking down Ethan Couch, the “affluenza”-stricken teen fugitive who was given probation for killing four in a…

Fugitive Expert Says Ethan “Affluenza” Couch Won’t Make It Long

Ethan Couch is in the wind. Just don’t expect him to stay that way for long.   A judge handed the “affluenza”-inflicted teen 10 years probation in 2013 for killing four people while driving drunk. The judge, Jean Boyd, apparently bought Couch’s defense team’s contention that he wasn’t responsible for his…

Oak Lawn Protesters Pick Fight With Philip Kingston

Crime and more cops in the Oak Lawn neighborhood weren’t the only things on the minds of demonstrators who rallied outside City Hall this weekend.  Somewhere near the end of the gathering in front of Dallas police headquarters, the demonstrators, there to protest 12 violent attacks near the Cedar Springs…

If That’s Possible, Greg Hardy Story Gets Worse

Not only has Dallas Cowboys defensive end Greg Hardy neglected to show any remorse for allegedly beating his ex-girlfriend Nicole Holder, he’s made it clear this week that he doesn’t even believe he did anything wrong. First, a brief recap. In May 2014, Holder told police that Hardy choked her,…

Why Is Her Suicide Somehow Harder on Us Than His Death by Machete?

File under mysteries of the soul: that the suicide of the widow is somehow heavier to bear than the savage random murder of her husband. And then again, that’s nonsense. Who are we, strangers, to assign weight or relative value to  the death of Patti Stevens, who committed carbon monoxide…

Dallas County Set For Another Corrections Contract Fight

Dallas County appears to be about to get itself into another mess centered on the county’s entering into contracts with some of the entities that underpin the nation’s prodigious prison-industrial complex. Last year, the county almost banned in-person visits as part of a plan to implement widespread video visitation at…

Texas Senator John Cornyn Wants to Stamp Out “Murderabilia”

John Cornyn really, really doesn’t want you to get that copy of Catcher in the Rye you’ve had your eye on, the one signed by John Lennon’s killer, Mark David Chapman. Texas’ senior U.S. senator graced Dallas police headquarters Wednesday to promote something that’s been a pet cause of his for…

Attorney General Ken Paxton Booked on Felony Fraud Charges

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, indicted late last week for multiple felonies stemming from his alleged encouragement of investors to put more than $600,000 into a McKinney technology company, was booked into Collin County Jail Monday morning. In a civil proceeding, he has already admitted to one of the acts…

Whatever Happened to Dallas’ Eight-Liner Crackdown?

In 2001, under pressure from police and politicians, then-Dallas County District Attorney Bill Hill launched a highly publicized crackdown on illegal eight-liner parlors that had sprung up like ragweed in dingy storefronts in Dallas and suburbs. Toby Shook, a defense attorney and former prosecutor, remembers Hill assembling reporters at a…

Just Shut Up About Sandra Bland Already, Steve Blow

Let’s give credit where credit is due. The Dallas Morning News has done a perfectly OK job of covering Sandra Bland’s questionable arrest and alleged suicide in a jail cell outside Houston. Even chronically wrong opinionaters (i.e. Tod Robberson) have managed to swallow their worst hot-take reflexes and compose thoughtful…

Maypearl Police Chief Arrested, Charged with Sexual Assault of Teenager

Maypearl Chief of Police Kevin Coffey was arrested and charged with four felonies, including sexual assault of a child, after turning himself in Wednesday afternoon. Coffey, 49, contacted a then 14-year-old girl on Facebook two years ago, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. He sent her messages almost every day,…