Authorities have confirmed that Montgomery County deputy constable Juan Chapa has been relieved of his duties, as of Friday.
The decision to relieve Chapa, a Precinct 4 deputy, was based on an investigation conducted by Texas Rangers and district attorney’s offices from Harris and Montgomery counties, officials said.
The Precinct 4 Constable’s office is also conducting an administrative investigation.
Montgomery County authorities declined to say what circumstances led to the decision to relieve Chapa.
“The integrity of the Montgomery County Pct. 4 Constable’s Office is of utmost importance to every employee and citizen. We will work diligently and quickly to make the correct decisions in this matter,” Precinct 4 Constable’s Office officials said in a news release.
Dallas Deputy Sheriff James Westbrook - This Week's Barney Fife Award Winner
Dallas, Texas
On Sunday, of Memorial Day Weekend, Chris Moore was riding his motorcycle southbound on Stemmons Freeway in Dallas. Moore was one of 50 to 100 sport bike riders. Although he was traveling below the speed limit, Moore happened to have a camera attached to his helmet and was pulled over by Dallas Deputy Sheriff James Westbrook.
Deputy Westbrook says he wanted to see what was on Moore’s camera. From there, things went downhill.
MOORE: "Was I doing something wrong? What am I being pulled over for?"
WESTBROOK: "The whole group of you guys."
MOORE: "No. I was not, individually. How can you pull me over?"
WESTBROOK: "The reason you're being pulled over is because I'm gonna take your camera and we're gonna use it as evidence of the crimes that have been committed by other bikers."
MOORE: "I have not committed any crimes, and you cannot take my personal property from me, sir."
WESTBOOK: "That's fine. Need to see your license and registration."
Once Westbrook returns, he arrests Moore for having a concealed license plate.
WESTBROOK: "You're under arrest for your license plate being obstructed. Place your hands."
MOORE: "Are you kidding me, dude?"
WESTBROOK: "Place your hands behind your back."
As Moore continued to protest, the deputy lost his patience.
MOORE: "Why'd you pull me over in the first place?"
WESTBROOK: "Have a seat, okay?"
MOORE: "Sir. Sir. What you did to me was not right. You know it."
WESTBROOK: "I'm going to ask you one more time to have a seat."
MOORE: "That's f'ed up. Where's my bike going?"
WESTBROOK: "Sit down.I'm telling you to chill out."
Westbrook is then seen on the video shoving Moore into his squad car and slamming the door forcefully.
The Sheriff’s office, after news reports surfaced, has decided to investigate.
Dallas County deputy sheriff James Yarbrough is enjoying a break from the hectic police pace after resigning Friday. However, if what his fellow comrades say is true, his leisure time may become more stressful soon.
Yarbrough’s resignation came after being confronted with allegations that he tipped-off a business that was going to be raided by a special task force. The business in question is an auto body shop. The special task force goes after businesses that sell counterfeit vehicle-inspection stickers and flout vehicle-inspection laws.
Sheriff Lupe Valdez said that when people know they’re going to be raided by the police, they could plan an ambush of their own, resulting in a potentially deadly situation.
“This could have been tragic for us,” Valdez said, adding that it thankfully didn’t happen in this case. “My officers could have been hurt.”
The sheriff confirms that the investigation of James Yarbrough is ongoing and could result in criminal charges if the allegations are true.
Robert Lee McChester Pleaded Guilty to Molesting 14-Year-Old Girl
Corpus Christi, Texas
A former Corpus Christi police officer who was arrested back in April for molesting a 14-year-old girl is back in jail, after his bond was revoked.
Robert Lee McChester Jr., 27, will be staying put this time around at the Aransas County Jail until an Aug. 30 sentencing hearing. The officer pleaded guilty last week to charges of using the Internet to sexually entice a minor.
McChester was arrested Friday on a warrant stating he perjured himself during a hearing the day before.
During the Thursday hearing, McChester answered questions about investigator’s findings, including nearly a dozen driver’s licenses found at his home.
McChester said he had obtained the licenses in 2007, while working as a doorman for a local nightclub.
Police investigators later discovered two of the licenses were issued in 2010, while a third was issued in 2011.
Senior Officer Christopher Lynch, an investigator with the Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, testified Monday he was able to reach two of the people whose licenses were found.
One woman told Lynch an officer matching McChester’s description took her license before letting her go in May 2011 during an early-morning traffic stop.
Another man said his license was confiscated by an officer matching a description of McChester during an April 2010 traffic stop in which he also was released, Lynch said.
Corpus Christi police records list McChester as the officer who made those stops, Lynch testified.
McChester exchanged sexually-charged messages online with a 14-year-old girl for about a year and met her for sex nearly half a dozen times before the teen made an outcry April 3 at a Corpus Christi hospital, according to a federal affidavit.
The girl said their ongoing relationship began when she met McChester while she was a freshman at Tuloso-Midway High School, where McChester worked as a security officer, according to court records.
McChester was arrested April 10 following the filing of a criminal complaint and resigned from the Police Department the next day. He faces 10 years to life in prison.
The first black police chief of an East Texas town made infamous for a 1998 hate crime dragging death has been fired over poor job performance.
The Jasper City Council on Monday night voted 4-1 to dismiss Chief Rodney Pearson, who was hired last year.
May elections put new members on the Jasper City Council, replacing some elected officials who backed Pearson. City council members planned to meet Tuesday afternoon and choose an interim police chief.
Caren Vybiral says she was watching a movie with her two year old daughter Lilly when gunshots rang out. She thought they were coming from across the street.
"Thought maybe Chevron was being robbed or something. I didn't have any idea what was going on," Caren Vybiral said. "And when I walked to open the door, there was another gun shot."
According to Vybiral, Chief Elliot-Abshire said, “Bitch, did you not hear me knocking on your front door?”
Apparently Sassy and Boomer got out of the back yard and walked to the Chevron. A city worker called the cops to report the loose dogs. A family friend put the dogs back into the yard, but Sassy got out again.
"It got out, I'm guilty of that, but it was laying on the porch when she shot it," Caren’s mother, Louise Vybiral said.
But what truly frightens this family, one of the shots went into the home. Fragments of a bullet still lie on the windowsill.
"For an officer of the law to come up into your yard, and fire a shot, or to draw her weapon and aim it towards a home. That shot could have hurt my granddaughter or my daughter, you know. I mean the bullet is in my house," Vybiral said.
"The bullet hole is only two feet from where we were standing, so I mean, it could have been us," added Caren.
Austin television station KVUE attempted to talk with the Chief of Police, but only found a locked door.
"She doesn't need to be an officer. She's not upholding the law. Just because she wears a badge doesn't mean she can pull her gun and just shoot anything," Vybiral said.
The Williamson County Sheriff's Office said they are aware that an incident involving the police chief happened in Florence, but it's not their jurisdiction. The Texas Rangers say they are not yet involved in the case.
A police officer is under investigation after a cell phone video that appears to show two officers hitting a man surfaced.
The video, which was given to a local TV station, appears to show at least two officers kicking and punching Matias Vera III following a recent vehicle pursuit. Vera was arrested and charged with drug possession, assaulting a public servant and evading arrest.
Captain Roberto Gonzales Jr. said a sergeant who assisted in the arrest told supervisors the next day that he was concerned another officer might have acted inappropriately during the struggle with the suspect.
The officer being investigated, whose name has not yet been released, has not been placed on any kind of administrative leave, Gonzales said. Although the video shows at least two officers involved in the struggle, only one is being investigated.
In addition to the video 6 News brought to the police department's attention, they are also looking at four dash camera videos from police cruisers to get a better idea of what happened.
Montgomery County, Texas
