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Blotter headlines make for interesting 2008

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The 2008 year saw some strange and unusual events that made it onto the police blotter. With so much on the blotter, it warranted a debut in the Year in Review edition of the Hill Country News.

Here are some of the most memorable blotter stories:

Jealousy text? Man stabs wife multiple times

July 16 - Text messages sent in the wee hours of the morning may have led Leander resident Timothy Washington to stab his wife multiple times early on Sunday, an arrest affidavit said.

Leander police arrested the 48-year-old Washington early Sunday morning after he stabbed his 31-year-old wife, Aubrey Washington, 16 times in her head, neck and chest, according to the affidavit filed at the Williamson County Courthouse.

Aubrey was airlifted to University Medical Center at Brackenridge, where she was in critical condition. As of Monday afternoon, she was listed in stable condition.

Timothy Washington was taken to the Williamson County Jail in Georgetown. He faces first degree felony charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon-family violence and could face life in prison. He has a previous conviction of family violence in 2000.

Lt. Greg Minton of Leander Police Department said police were called to the residence in the 800 block of Springbrook Drive in the Oakridge subdivision at 2 a.m. Sunday. Minton said this is the first time Leander police have responded to this residence.

Minton said officers were called by the suspect, who said he and his wife, Aubrey, had gotten into a verbal argument. Washington “told police he had stabbed his wife several times with a knife,” Minton said.

New Leander restaurant burglarized twice in one week

July 16 - The owners of Lily's Cafe and Cantina in Leander - formerly known as Tony's Cafe - are offering a cash reward for information leading to arrests involving two recent burglaries of their restaurant.

Lily Dodd, co-owner of the establishment, said the first burglary happened a week and a half ago after the restaurant closed for the evening after showing the Ultimate Fighting Championship on a Saturday, July 5.

“I got a phone call the next morning from one of my employees who said the place had been broken into and things had been stolen,” Dodd said.

Dodd wasn't sure if just one person or multiple people broke into the place. She said the perpetrators broke down a back door and stole all the money from the register.

“We never left money in the register except that one night,” Dodd said. “But with UFC going on until late that night and everybody being tired, we left it in the register.”

Dodd said it was probably “an inside job” because her son's Wii game station was stolen, as were $50 in coins and money from a tip jar that only employees would have known to look for. “They must have been kids,” Dodd said, “because my $800 camera that was next to the Wii wasn't even touched.” In all, Dodd said she lost about $1,500 in money and the game set.

The thieves also stole three business checks from the checkbook and Austin police arrested Tyrone Scott last Thursday at an Austin The Money Box when he tried to cash one of the checks.

“They had two different inks and two different handwritings,” Dodd said. “Plus they misspelled my husband's name.”

She said they spelled the last name "Dott."

Austin police arrested Tyrone Scott on Thursday morning for trying to cash the check. Later that night, burglars struck Lily's again.

Between closing hours on Thursday evening and opening on Friday morning, burglars used a hoe to break through another back door. They used a knife to cut the cord of the cash register, Dodd said. She added that the knife and hoe had been left behind.

“I think it's just a bunch of kids,” Dodd said. “This seems to be consistent with some of the Cedar Park burglaries.”

High-speed chase goes through heart of Leander, Cedar Park

May 16 - A high-speed motorcycle chase that got as fast as 174 mph in Leander came to an end Tuesday afternoon when a Liberty Hill police officer arrested a 17-year-old Burnet resident at the intersection of McNeil Road and U.S. Highway 183 south.

The chase began in Liberty Hill when an officer clocked Rocky Huff going 68 in a 55 mph zone eastbound on State Highway 29 in Liberty Hill.

Capt. George Nassour of Liberty Hill chased the motorcycle east on SH 29 and then south on U.S. 183. Nassour said the chase reached 174 mph in the northern part of Leander where there is light afternoon traffic and there are no signal lights. The chase went through the heart of Leander and Cedar Park on U.S. 183 at speeds close to 100 mph, sometimes faster.

Huff remained on the service road of U.S. 183 and eventually wrecked on a curb at the McNeil intersection. Nassour said Huff got up and began running. A foot chase ensued for about a half block before a Williamson County deputy brought down Huff with a Taser, said Nassour, who made the arrest.

The motorcycle, a red 2005 Honda CVR, was reported stolen to the Austin Police Department earlier, Nassour said. Eight law enforcement cars were used, including two Liberty Hill cars and six from the Williamson County Sheriff's Office.

Huff was taken into custody at Williamson County Jail in Georgetown and is charged with evading arrest and unauthorized use of a vehicle.

Road rage results in aggravated assault for Cedar Park man

May 23 - On Tuesday afternoon at approximately 5:30 p.m., Cedar Park Police were dispatched to 1600 South Lakeline Blvd. on a report of a man driving a red Chevy Blazer who was displaying a shotgun subsequent to a verbal “road rage” type of disturbance.

When officers arrived on the scene, they observed the suspect vehicle leaving the scene and initiated a high-risk stop. Initial investigation revealed no shotgun as reported, but subsequent investigation determined that the driver, Nicholas Hofman, a 21-year-old Cedar Park man, had allegedly engaged in a verbal “road rage” type disturbance with another man and that he had retrieved a shotgun from his home, but had returned it to his apartment prior to police arrival, hiding it under his bed. After conducting interviews with witnesses and the victim, Jason Edralin, 30, the following was determined to have taken place.

Edralin and his 4-year-old daughter were in his car as he entered the roadway, reportedly pulling in front of the suspect, Hofman. Hofman then activated an “after-market” diesel truck type air-horn which he had affixed to his Chevy Blazer. This resulted in a verbal disturbance between the suspect and victim as both vehicles stopped at 1600 S. Lakeline Blvd.

After words were exchanged, Hofman returned to his apartment and retrieved a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun and returned to the front of the apartment complex to re-engage Edralin in another verbal disturbance. As Edralin approached Hofman sitting in his Blazer, Hofman displayed the shotgun in a manner and under circumstances that implied a threat of deadly force. Edralin disengaged from the verbal disturbance and contacted police, while Hofman returned to his apartment to hide the shotgun under his bed. It was at this point, when Hofman was leaving the apartment complex, that CPPD stopped him.

After Cedar Park Police located and recovered the shotgun, Hofman was placed under arrest for aggravated assault/display of a deadly weapon, which is a second-degree felony, punishable by two to 20 years in jail and a fine up to $10,000. Hofman was booked into the Williamson County Jail where he remains at the time of this release.

Leander officer dragged by driver

July 16 - A woman dragged a Leander police officer about 300 yards with her car and was charged with aggravated assault, according to an arrest affidavit.

Chanell Marie, the driver of the car, was also charged with drunken driving and could face a life sentence.

A call came into the Leander Police Department regarding a reckless driver on Ran Road in Leander on Friday night. Officer Ryan Doyle responded to Marie's car on the side of the road. He walked up to the car and she drove away, dragging Doyle approximately 300 feet, the affidavit said.

Marie was arrested and open beer containers were found in her car.

Marie was still in the Williamson County Jail on Monday. Her bail was set at $29,000.

Carroll accused of sexual abuse

June 4 - The Four Points area received a shock last summer as a formerly respected citizen turned out to be a suspect in a series of sexual crimes against children.

Billy Dan Carroll, a former resident of Grandview Hills, ran a successful court reporting business and was a volunteer with CASA (Court-Appointed Special Advocates) when the allegations came to light.

Carroll is charged with six counts of sexual assault of a child and one count of improper photography. He is accused of molesting up to 10 female children between the ages of two and 16. He is also accused of videotaping his victims, and of drugging at least one of the victims. Austin police reportedly seized video evidence from Carroll's home, documenting the abuse.

Carroll is now in Travis County Jail awaiting trial. Prosecutors recently offered a plea agreement that would allow him to avoid a trial, but would keep him in prison for the rest of his life. The deal would let him serve four life sentences concurrently, followed by two consecutive life sentences. He would not be eligible for parole until he was 150 years old. Carroll's court-appointed attorney Bill Hines has not yet accepted the deal. If there is no plea agreement, the case will likely go to trial this spring.

Woman runs over boyfriend

February 22 - A woman backed her car over her boyfriend last weekend at a Cedar Park apartment complex, leaving the man with a broken wrist and bruises. She faces up to 99 years in prison.

At 3:59 a.m. on Sunday, after an argument between Morgan Fair of Leander and Eric Herms of Cedar Park, both 21, Fair and a friend of hers left Herms' apartment on 1600 S. Lakeline Blvd. and got into a 2000 Toyota Celica.

According to a signed affidavit, Herms stood behind the car and began banging on the trunk with his fists. When Fair put the car in reverse, Herms layed down on the ground behind the car. He got up and banged on the trunk again, she put it in reverse and he layed down. This happened about four times before she rolled her car backwards over him. She dragged him several yards before hearing his screams and finally stopped.

Fair called 9-1-1 and did not leave the scene. Cedar Park police and medics showed up to find Herms laying on the ground. He was taken to Brackenridge Hospital and treated for bruises and cuts on his legs, arms, back and torso. He also had a broken wrist.

Fair was taken into custody by Cedar Park police and transported to the Williamson County Jail in Georgetown, where she was released after posting a $20,000 bond.

Fair is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon family violence, a first-degree felony punishable by up to 99 years in prison and a fine not to exceed $10,000.

Cedar Park Police Chief Henry Fluck said that alcohol was involved, and that Fair's blood-alcohol content was above the legal limit on .08 percent. According to the affidavit, the couple had been to Sixth Street in Austin that night.

CP man arrested for shooting dog with bow and arrow

June 6 - Cedar Park police arrested Kenneth E. Holder, 60, of Cedar Park, on Tuesday, June 3, 2008, for cruelty to animals/kill or injure after shooting his girlfriend's dog with a bow and hunting-tipped arrow.

On Sunday, May 18, 2008, at approximately 6:30 p.m., Cedar Park Police responded to an address on North Kings Canyon, on report of a dog bite. Upon arrival officers met with Holder who was reportedly highly intoxicated at the time of the contact. Holder said that he was trying to wash his girlfriend's dog, but it would not comply with his direction, so he had to forcibly hold the dog down, which resulted in the dog biting him on the arm. The dog's owner indicated that the dog only bit Holder as a result of the treatment and that the dog was trying to get away from him.

About an hour later, and after reportedly consuming large quantities of alcohol, Holder shot the dog using a bow and hunting-tipped arrow. When police arrived the dog was still alive but critically injured as a result of the arrow shot. Animal Control arrived to take custody of the injured animal, but unfortunately the dog had to be euthanized at a local animal care clinic as a result of the injuries.

Leander man arrested for shooting child with BB gun

May 16 - Leander police arrested a man in the 1800 block of Bent Oak Cove on Saturday for shooting a neighborhood child with a BB gun.

Robert Cleland, 38, was arrested at approximately 9:30 p.m. on Sat., May 10, for shooting a 12-year-old boy in the back with a BB gun. Cleland was in his yard while a group of neighborhood children were playing with “air soft” weapons, which shoot plastic pellets.

According to Leander police, Cleland invited one of the children to shoot him in the leg, but all the children joined in and began shooting him.

Cleland allegedly became angry and upset by the actions of the children and retrieved his Daisy Powerline 880 BB rifle from his garage. One boy continued to shoot Cleland, and as the boy walked away, Cleland discharged his BB gun at the boy's back.

When police arrived, the boy had a BB-sized wound on his back that was bleeding.

Cleland was taken to the Williamson County Jail in Georgetown, where he was charged with Injury to a Child. If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison.

He was released at approximately 2:40 p.m. on Sunday after posting $7,500 bail.

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