Kids caught on video stealing toys from church.

ABC: Some might call it cutting out the middleman. The police call it theft.
A group of youths stole two bags’ worth of donated toys from St. Helen Catholic Church, in Pearland, Texas, during Mass on Sunday, police said. A similar theft had occurred at Mary Queen Catholic Church, in nearby Friendswood, said police.

“You’d think toys for the needy would be safe at a church,” said Lt. Onesimo Lopez of the Pearland Police Department.

Lopez, who belongs to St. Helen, said parishioners had been leaving brand-new, unopened toys at a designated area in the church’s foyer to be given to needy children at Christmas. There was an estimated $600 worth of toys in the two bags, he said.

According to a police news release, just before 11 a.m. Sunday, two girls and a boy were filmed outside the church by surveillance cameras. After Mass began at 11 a.m., the suspects were seen entering the church and walking out with the two large bags. One bag was being carried by a girl whom police estimated was between 8 and 10 years old.

They were also seen panhandling outside the church, with at least one woman giving them money.
The video shows the trio getting into a gold Chrysler minivan with tinted windows and no front license plate.

Police suspect they are part of an itinerant group of thieves targeting holiday toy donations, Lopez said. The kids didn’t look familiar to the priest or anyone else police interviewed, he said.

Lopez said no similar burglaries had occurred during the holidays in recent years. The last time police caught itinerant thieves was last summer, when two men and a woman were arrested for stealing from cars outside day care centers, he said.
Lopez said none of the tips called in had proved useful.

Friendswood teens face charges in Thanksgiving Day vandalism spree

by khou.com staff
khou.com
Posted on November 25, 2011 at 10:15 PM

FRIENDSWOOD, Texas—Three teenagers are facing felony criminal mischief charges after Friendswood police say they went on a Thanksgiving Day crime spree.

Officers were called to the Wilderness Trails Subdivision for a report of vandalism around 2:30 a.m. Thursday.

Police said they found they found three boys, ages 14 and 15, who admitted to damaging property.
The boys are suspected of hitting 17 vehicles and five mailboxes, but that number is expected to rise as people arrive home from the holiday weekend.

Father arrested for child abuse in Friendswood

FRIENDSWOOD, Texas – Police say an 8-month-old girl could be permanently disabled from injuries she suffered at the hands of her father.

Anthony Michael Pittman, 23, is charged with injury to a child.
According to police, Pittman was home with the victim and a 2-year-old child on October 29, 2011, while the baby’s mother went to the store.

Pittman and the victim’s mother were dating at the time.
At some point while the mother was gone, Pittman said he found the baby lying on the bed.

He said when he picked her up, she got sick and stopped breathing, so he called 911.
The baby’s mother and a friend got home before paramedics arrived and started CPR.
Police and EMS responded to the home around 6 p.m. that day.
Paramedics called for an air ambulance, and the baby was rushed to Memorial Hermann.
The 2-year-old was put in CPS custody.

Later that night, Pittman was arrested trying to get the toddler back.
During a jailhouse interview several days later, police said Pittman told officers that he was tossing the baby into the air when he accidentally dropped her.

But investigators said Pittman’s account of what happened was not consistent with the injuries the child sustained.

Doctors believe the girl was shaken and may have suffered blunt-force trauma to the head.
She remained in the hospital on Monday with severe head injuries.
Pittman was being held in the Harris County Jail on $50,000 bond.

Seven sent to hospital from tanker crash

From staff reports
A tanker that allegedly ran a red light in Friendswood damaged four other vehicles and sent seven people to the hospital, including four children, Friendswood police said Tuesday.

At about 1 p.m. on Saturday, a 10-wheel tanker truck was traveling westbound on FM 528 at Moore Road when it ran a red light and struck a Suburban that was turning eastbound onto FM 528, police said.

The truck then collided with a Dodge pickup truck headed eastbound on FM 528. A Toyota passenger car and a Toyota pickup truck were also involved in the accident, as a result of the impact of the Dodge and tanker collision.
Although no injuries were reported to be life-threatening, four children and three adults were sent to the hospital. The driver of the tanker truck is charged with running the red light, police said.

Coach busted for selling steroids and cocaine

FRIENDSWOOD, Texas (AP) — Police say a veteran Southeast Texas teacher and volleyball coach has been accused of selling steroids and cocaine.

Friendswood police Chief Bob Wieners says there's a possibility that some of the customers were students.

Timothy Todd Porter of League City is jailed on charges of delivery of a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance. Authorities say oral steroids were confiscated Wednesday when the 45-year-old Clear Springs High School educator was arrested at his home.
Bond was set at $10,000. Friendswood jail officials Thursday did not have any information on an attorney for Porter.

A district spokeswoman says Porter, who taught physics and astronomy, has been suspended. He's been with the district for 22 years.
Two other men also have been arrested in the drug trafficking investigation.