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Internal memos find 'no fault' in suspended Texas Ranger's Uvalde response

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:58:31 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN/Nexstar) — Internal records obtained by KXAN show the two highest-ranking Texas Rangers said a suspended Ranger should not face repercussions for his actions after the Robb Elementary mass school shooting in Uvalde — and also provide new details of the widespread misinformation between officials during the response.The Department of Public Safety, which oversees the Texas Rangers, sent a letter to suspended Ranger Christopher Ryan Kindell on Jan. 5 stating its intent to terminate him for not “conforming to department standards” during the response to the massacre that left 19 children and two teachers dead. DPS Director Steven McCraw signed the termination letter, which was obtained by KXAN. Additionally, the letter said Kindell “took no steps to influence the law enforcement response toward an active shooter posture,” and that “constitutes a failure to perform your duty competently.” KXAN reached out to Kindell's attorney who declined to comment on the matter as K...

This is what $2,000 in rent will get you in these Texas cities 

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:58:31 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – In recent years, hunting for an apartment in Austin has probably had many wondering if a California zip code was accidentally input into the real estate search engine rather than an Austin one. While the Austin area has become well known for its soaring rent prices, some Texas metropolitan centers remain more affordable. KXAN looked at five cities in the Lone Star State to see what living accommodations would be available for $2,000 using Zillow and the average fair market rate – the 40th percentile of gross rents in each housing market– in each city. Austin Fall foliage in Austin near Riverside Drive and Interstate 35 (Courtesy: Julio Sattler)It is no secret that people have flooded into the "Live Music Capital" in the past decade. And the rent prices match that population growth – the city consistently ranks towards the top of cities with the fastest-rising rent prices in the country. Rent evaluation: The fair market rent prices for the Austin-Round Rock region are...

Indicted Austin police officer resigns from TCOLE board

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:58:31 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – An Austin Police officer indicted in connection to the 2020 racial injustice protests resigned from a state commission on Wednesday. Justin Berry confirmed to KXAN on Thursday the Senate confirmed his resignation on the floor Wednesday. In August 2022, Governor Greg Abbott appointed Berry to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) for a term set to expire August 30, 2027.Earlier in 2022, Berry was indicted, along with 18 other APD officers, on aggravated assault charges related to the May 2020 racial injustice protests in downtown Austin. He previously called the indictment “frivolous.” Berry bonded out on a $1 bond amount.Abbott provided a statement in August in response to questions about the indictment, which said “Here in Texas, we back the blue. Justin Berry is a proven public servant who has selflessly worked to protect his community and his fellow Texans.” Abbott added that officers who responded during protests in Austin “deserve to be ...

Suspects in 2016 Manor death detained in Mexico: U.S. Marshals

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:58:31 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – The U.S. Marshals said Wednesday two suspects in the 2016 death of a man in Manor will be extradited back to Travis County after they were detained in Mexico. According to the Marshals office, Manor Police were looking for Thomas Bernal, 25, and his mother Dernal Bernal, 51, of Elgin.Thomas Bernal is charged with manslaughter and failure to render aid. Authorities allege Bernal drove away from the scene of a crash on Maria Lane in Manor on July 27, 2016. According to the Marshals Office, the victim, Devon Sanders, who was 19, was hanging from Bernal's vehicle as he drove away. Sanders was pronounced dead at the scene. As KXAN reported, Devon Sanders graduated from Manor New Tech High School that year and had plans to attend University of Houston-Victoria in the fall of 2016. PREVIOUS: Mother of teen killed in hit and run asking for help finding driver The Marshals office said Manor Police got a warrant for Debra Bernal for tampering with physical evidence. Debra Be...

Texas woman gets three years in prison for exporting guns to Mexico

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:58:31 GMT

McALLEN, Texas (KXAN) – A Texas woman will spend three years in federal prison for exporting firearms and ammunition, according to an announcement Thursday from the office of the United States Attorney's Southern District of Texas. The office said Brenda Belinda Barba, 33, of Spring, Texas, pleaded guilty on April 7, 2022.At the time of her plea, Barba admitted to attempting to unlawfully exporting a Glock 9mm pistol, Glock .22 caliber pistol, four Glock pistol magazines, and 550 rounds of various caliber ammunition.U.S. District Judge Micaela Alvarez ordered Barba to serve three years in federal prison Thursday to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release, according to the announcement. The U.S. Attorney's office said on Nov. 29, 2021, Barba attempted to exit the United States at the Anzalduas Port of Entry in Mission. At that time, she told law enforcement she had nothing to declare, to include firearms and ammunition. However, upon inspection of the vehicle, au...

Saratoga Springs man accused of sexually abusing child

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:58:31 GMT

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (NEWS10) — A Saratoga Springs man is doing time in Saratoga County Jail after troopers say he inappropriately touched a child under the age of 11. Matthew Breen, 55, was arrested on Tuesday after a week-long investigation. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Troopers were tipped off to the alleged abuse on May 8, around 10:30 a.m. According to police, Breen fondled the child the day before. After his arrest Tuesday, Breen was charged with first-degree sexual abuse, endangering the welfare of a child, and forcible touching. He was arraigned at the Saratoga Springs City Court, where bail was set at $5,000 cash, $10,000 bond, or $50,000 partially secured bond. His next court date has not yet been set.

5 things to know this Friday, May 19

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:58:31 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Meteorologists Rob Lindenmuth and Jill Szwed called for warm and breezy weather this afternoon, ahead of a rainy Saturday. It could get a bit breezy later in the day too, so keep that in mind if you've got any outdoor activities planned. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! The man accused of shooting and killing Kaylin Gillis last month has now been indicted by a grand jury. And as the New York State canal system opens for the summer, leaders are once again emphasizing water safety. Read more, in today's five things to know. 1. Alleged Kaylin Gillis shooter indicted for second-degree murderOn Thursday morning, a Washington County grand jury returned a three-count indictment accusing Kevin Monahan of the murder of Kaylin Gillis. Gillis was fatally shot on April 15 when she and her friends mistakenly drove to the wrong address in upstate New York. Alleged Kaylin Gillis shooter indicted for second-degree...

Farmington couple faces court for disturbing child abuse case

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:58:31 GMT

FARMINGTON, Mo -- Farmington couple is due in court today on a disturbing case of child abuse in 2018. Elizabeth Cheatham And her live-in partner, Daryl Head, are charged with endangering the welfare of a child and four counts of kidnapping. Investigators say Cheatham ordered child-size prison uniforms for her four adopted children to wear. Police say the kids were also forced to live inside plywood boxes. The children were rescued after a tip to an abuse hotline. Cheatham I worked for the Missouri Department of Corrections.       

Vast San Luis Valley is Colorado’s newest cultural destination

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:58:31 GMT

They came from the Bay Area, Boulder, Nashville, Tenn., and Denver. They bought old homes, found new communities and then got to work creating. Listening rooms, live music venues, artist residencies, social spaces and live-work co-ops are all parts of the quiet movement happening in Colorado’s San Luis Valley.And if the artists are any indication — and they usually are — then the tiny southern Colorado towns of Saguache and Del Norte, along with more communities down valley, are on the verge of entering our collective imagination.Though, for some, these places have long been cemented.Colorado’s high alpine desert, the San Luis Valley is larger than the state of New Jersey with fewer than 50,000 residents and an outsized concentration of natural wonders — from the Great Sand Dunes to the headwaters of the Rio Grande.This swath of the West once comprised border territory between the U.S. and Mexico, and 175 years later, its land and water divisions remain complex, if...

Keeler: Sorry, LeBron. Sorry, Anthony Davis. Nuggets, Bruce Brown aren’t going anywhere. Except to L.A. for their close-up with destiny.

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:58:31 GMT

I know, America. I know. Gotta be a misprint. LeBron must be hurt. AD must be thinking about his golf game. Darvin Ham must be drawing up recipes on that white board instead of defensive sets.I mean, it can’t be that the NBA’s No. 1 seed in the West is, oh, the best team on that side of the bracket. Surely not.“Let them keep watching, man,” Nuggets defensive ace Kentavious Caldwell-Pope said of an America that’s largely discovering this NBA monster for the first time now that it’s handed King James and the Lakers a two-game playoff losing skid. “We (were) No. 1 (in the West) for a reason.”Know this, America: As good as they are, the Nuggets are twice as tough. And three times as stubborn.Kendrick Perkins wants them to go the (expletive) away. Nick Wright wants them to go the (expletive) away. Lisa Salters wants them to point out to her which one Nikola Jokic is.“I mean, if you don’t know (the Joker), I don’t know if you watch a lot of basketball or not,” Nuggets super su...