Houston man charged in cold case murders.

by khou.com staff
khou.com
Posted on August 25, 2010 at 10:22 AM
Updated today at 10:54 AM
HOUSTON – A man long-suspected of killing a Houston woman and an infant in 1984 was finally arrested and charged this week.

Charles Leon Smith, 56, is charged with capital murder in the slayings of 23-year-old Pamela Clarence and 1-month-old Tashona Clarence.

Twenty-six years have passed since the young mother and her baby were killed in their home in the 4300 block of Rogers, but even after the case went cold, investigators never gave up.

The murders occurred on August 2, 1984. Police said Smith and Clarence were in a relationship at the time and had recently had a child together.
But that night, when Smith went to visit his girlfriend, investigators believe Pamela Clarence confronted Smith about another relationship.
Police said Clarence had discovered Smith had another girlfriend, who’d just given birth to Smith’s son.

When Clarence told Smith they should end their relationship, police believe he snapped.
Investigators said Smith strangled Pamela Clarence with an electrical cord and then smothered Tashona with a pillow.

The bodies were later found by concerned family members.
From the beginning of the investigation, police said they thought Clarence knew her killer, and they originally identified Smith as one of two suspects in the murders.
But investigators were unable to collect enough evidence to charge either suspect, and case went cold, lost among more than 700 other killings in Houston that year.

Then, when HPD cold case investigators reviewed the murders this year and again identified Smith as a suspect, things changed.
Police said Smith was taken into custody on August 23 and confessed to his role in the crimes.
He was scheduled to appear in court Wednesday morning, and was behind held in the Harris County Jail without bond.


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Sleep Inn Motel nixed!

FRIENDSWOOD, TX (KTRK) -- The Friendswood City Council voted down on Thursday a plan to build a hotel next to a residential neighborhood.


The Sleep Inn Motel would have been built near the intersection of Farm Road 528 and San Joaquin.
About 100 people attended Thursday's city planning and zoning meeting, and many spoke out against the proposal.

Eventually, the panel voted against the land owner, who wanted to build the hotel behind a neighborhood and near a school.

Residents worried about child safety, and a drop in property values.

"It's a step in the right direction," Friendswood resident Jackie Gibson said. "It's not over yet; this just means he's got more time to submit another site plan, but it's a small victory."
The land owner did not attend Thursday's meeting, and can resubmit a site plan in 90 days.


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NW Houston toddler found in hot car dead

by Courtney Zubowski / 11 News
Posted on August 19, 2010 at 7:32 PM
HOUSTON – A 2-year-old boy has died after being found locked in a hot car in northwest Houston, according to authorities.

The incident happened Thursday around 2:30 p.m. at 13813 Dentwood.
According to police, parents were arriving home from the grocery store when their 7-year-old child, who is autistic, began having seizures. While the parents went inside their home to tend to the 7-year-old, the 2-year-old boy was left locked inside the vehicle.

After going inside to help the 7-year-old , the parents realized their younger child was missing and eventually found him in the back seat of their SUV. Police said the boy was trapped inside the vehicle for about two hours.

One of the parents called 911 when they saw the toddler was not breathing. The boy was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Investigators said the temperature inside the vehicle was 122 degrees when the toddler was found.
Neighbors of the victim’s family said it was an unfortunate incident that happened to good people.

"This is a good family, their children comes first with them," said Michael Carey. "I know for a fact that it was not intentional."

Investigators said the parents will probably not face charges, but the case will go to a grand jury.



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Houston Area Forecast: 100% Chance of Meteors

After a week-ling lead-up, tonight, August 12/13, 2010, is finally the peak of the Perseid Meteor Shower. Wit this event, meteor season 2010 will kick off in a big way.

Every August, Earth passes through the stretch of space junk shed by comet Swift-Tuttle, reaching the deepest concentration of debris tonight. According to some estimates, under ideal conditions (dark country skies), one can expect to see 60 meteors per hour. The reason the meteors are called Perseids is because the meteors seem to radiate from the constellation Perseus. The best time to view the shower is in the pre-dawn hours, with 3-5am being best.

Don't want to stay up that late? Don't worry, Perseus rises in the Northeast around midnight and will climb higher as the night progresses. However, unless one lives out in the country, the early post-midnight hours will probably involve Perseus being low in a light pollution dome. To improve odds of seeing meteors, travel out of light-polluted Cleveland and to the suburbs or, even better, the country if you can. In the suburbs, just going from the front to back yard can make a dramatic difference as this will eliminate glare from those pesky street/house lights to a large extent.

Two things can ruin the meteor shower: clouds and the Moon. The clouds? Well, that's a regional thing. Check your local Clear Sky Clock to see what the clouds have in store for your location tonight. For us Northeast Ohioans, tonight is looking good. As for the Moon, that's an Earth-wide issue. The good news is that, this year, the Moon is just a few days past new, which means that there will be no Moon up during the time of the meteor shower. There will be a slight lunar glow in the South (opposite Perseus), but this will disappear about midnight, which is about the time Perseus clears the Northeast horizon.

So how about viewing tips?

First, plan to stay out awhile, as it takes the human eye about 15 minutes to get optimal night vision capability. The bad news is that, even one bright flash of white light will wipe out night vision, requiring you to start the process all over again. Next, grab a lawn chair or, even better, a lounge-type chair. Trying to lean back with a straight-back lawn chair can be a pain in the neck, literally! Eyes ready for dark and with something to sit/lay on, settle in for a night of hopeful meteor watching (or at the very least, stargazing), just try not to fall asleep and don't forget the bug spray!

Besides meteors, tonight can be a great time for binocular viewing, owing to your use of a chair. Under suburban (maybe) or rural skies (definitely), a pair of medium power (10x50) binoculars can yield some stunning wide-angle sights. For someone truly dedicated, why not try and keep a tally of how many meteors you see for every complete hour? Really ambitious? Why not try photographing the meteors?

Whatever you plan to do tonight, good luck and clear skies!

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AG seeks civil penalties against BP for leak

By T.J. Aulds
The Daily News
Published August 10, 2010
TEXAS CITY — The Texas attorney general on Monday charged BP’s Texas City refinery with violations of state air-quality laws over a 40-day release that sent more than 500,000 pounds of chemicals — including large amounts of benzene — into the air during April and May.

The legal action is the second by the state against BP since 2009. A Texas Commission on Environmental Quality investigation in July found the release was an “excessive emissions event” and referred the case to the attorney general’s office.

“The state’s investigation shows that BP’s failure to properly maintain its equipment caused the malfunction (that) could have been prevented,” Attorney General Greg Abbott said in a release. “BP’s own self reporting date indicated that seal filters protecting the compressor failed because of an iron sulfide buildup, likely because BP failed to properly maintain these devices.”

The attorney general also alleges that BP ignored the large amount of emissions.

“BP made very little attempt to minimize the emissions of air contaminants caused by its actions, once again prioritizing profits over environmental compliance.”

The lawsuit pinpoints six contaminants that were released by BP including benzene, volatile organic compounds, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide and carbon monoxide as violations.

The lawsuit seeks up to $25,000 a day per contaminant plus attorneys fees as penalties for the emissions, attorney general spokesman Tom Kelley said. That could cost BP as much as $6 million.

The company has argued its air testing at the fence line and monitors maintained by the state did not show high levels of emissions during the 40-day period that started April 6 and continued through May 16.

BP adamantly denied any dangerous levels of toxins could be found in the community and insists residents were never at risk.

“We will continue to cooperate with the attorney general’s office and the TCEQ to resolve their concerns,” BP spokesman Michael Marr said Monday.

BP would not directly comment on the attorney general’s actions but defended its air quality measures at the refinery.

“Independently verified air-monitoring data from our Texas City refinery clearly indicates a substantial and sustained improvement in air quality since 2004,” Marr said in July.

“BP Texas City is also moving forward with a number of measures that will further improve environmental performance and reporting. These measures include industry leading technologies and programs.”



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