Caldwell County Teens Charged with Felonies; Giddings Man Indicted for Fraud & Money Laundering

Burleson County Tribune • Four Caldwell High School volleyball players are charged with felony indecency with a child in connection with a September incident on a Caldwell bus passing through Milam County. Milam County sheriff’s deputies are handling the investigation, and the case has been referred to the Milam County District Attorney’s Office. Those charged include Sophie Goodman, 17, Katherine Hart, 18, Katie Hartman, 17, and Marina Brinkman, 17, all of Caldwell, according to the Burleson County Sheriff’s Office. The four are charged with forcibly removing another player’s clothing on Sept. 21 while on a bus ride back from a volleyball game at Little River-Academy according to a probable cause statement by the Milam County Sheriff’s Office. The case has sparked criticism and outrage from Caldwell ISD’s parents and students including two student walkouts at Caldwell High School last week, a protest at Davidson Creek Park and numerous Facebook posts. They are protesting the school district’s handling of the incident.

Yoakum Herald-Times

• The DeWitt County commissioners court publicly reprimanded district attorney Robert C. Lassmann for inappropriate conduct in the workplace when it met last week in Cuero. According to a complaint received on Oct. 14, Lassmann used disrespectful language toward an elected official in the DeWitt County courthouse. The court adopted a resolution publicly reprimanding Lassmann after hearing witness testimony. When voting, Judge Fowler made note to say he was in agreement with all four commissioners in this matter.

• An arraignment hearing was scheduled Nov. 4 at the Lavaca County Courthouse in the case against a young man from Yoakum accused of fatally shooting another man at a late night party held at camp house down FM 530 earlier this year. According to the indictment paperwork, the Yoakum native is accused of “intentionally and knowingly” causing the death of John Scott Callway by “shooting him in the head.”

Hallettsville Tribune-Herald

• The Hallettsville City Council met in a regular meeting Nov. 1, and following a 40-minute executive session, named Judge Hallie Hall as a temporary replacement for the Municipal Court Judge position. Hall, who serves as Lavaca County Pct. 4 Justice of the Peace, will replace Judge Mark Ivey, who passed away Oct. 28. The term for Judge Hall will run from Nov. 1 until Feb. 28, 2022.

Wharton Journal Spectator

• Three El Campo women died last weekend after they were reportedly involved in a one-vehicle accident in the Hungerford area, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. Miranda Deases, 19, Bianca Hernandes, 18, and Briana Hernandez, 20, all of El Campo, were pronounced dead at the scene by Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace Glenn Russell. DPS spokesperson Sgt. Stephen Woodard said the women were not wearing safety belts at the time the vehicle crashed early Sunday morning on US 59 near CR 214.

• The Wharton Police Department has received reports of catalytic converters being stolen within the city limits, leading law enforcement to urge residents to be cautious of their vehicle’s surroundings. Thieves are motivated to steal catalytic converters because they contain precious metals such as platinum and rhodium. Thieves often sell the car parts on the black market. “We received approximately four reports that pertain specifically to catalytic converters being taken from cars within our city limits over the last few weeks,” Wharton police Det. Ariel Soltura said. According to Wharton PD, one may contact www.P3tips.com with information about catalytic converter theft in the Wharton area.

Giddings Times & News

• A 72-year-old former Giddings resident has been indicted by the Lee County grand jury for first degree securities fraud, theft and money laundering. Larry Steve Bassett of Big Sandy, Texas turned himself in at 6 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 26 at the Lee County Law Enforcement Center where he was booked and later released on bond. The charges relate to his alleged unlawful sale of investments in a trading program to 15 victims for approximately $1.5 million. Bassett is accused of misrepresenting the success of the trading program and using falsified account statements and tax documents that reflected phony earnings and interest income, according to the Texas State Securities Board.

• A farm accident claimed the life of Rocky Spacek, 64, of Ledbetter on Wednesday, Oct. 31. Spacek was removing a deer blind with his tractor on the farm in the Flag Pond area near Newman’s Bottom when the mishap occurred. He had loaded the deer blind on his front-end loader and was in the process of moving it when it toppled over onto the seat of the tractor onto him. Spacek was thrown off the tractor, which kept moving until it hit a fence and came to a stop. The game warden was reportedly the first one on the scene.

• Ronald Handrick, 69, who was an instrumental member of the Feeder Volunteer Fire Department died when his truck ran off the highway and struck a tree on Wednesday, Oct. 27 at 1:40 p.m. Local firemen were dispatched to the one-vehicle accident scene on Hwy. 77 about one mile north of Giddings High School for a possible rescue attempt, but the driver had already died. Handrick was driving a white 2021 GMC Sierra C1500 pickup northbound on Hwy. 77 when he failed to drive in a single lane and traveled to the left across all lanes of travel, said DPS Trooper Cameron Janda. The pickup went into the west ditch and struck a concrete culvert, then went airborne before crashing into a tree, according to the trooper.

The Bellville Times

• Former Austin County Tax Assessor Collector, Marcus Alphonso Peña is expected to be released from prison in January of 2022. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles approved Peña for release during its Oct. 28 hearing. Peña has been serving a 10-year concurrent sentence in the Darrington Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for felony theft and misapplication of fiduciary funds. Peña has previously been denied parole three times.

The Navasota Examiner

• Navasota Police Department are actively searching for armedrobbery suspects accused of robbing PNC Bank (formerly BBVA Compass), 603 E. Washington Ave. in Navasota, around noon Tuesday, Nov. 2. Navasota Police Chief Shawn Myatt stated two African-American males wearing hoodies left the bank and fled into a wooded area behind the bank. Police are searching for those two suspects and a possible third suspect who may have been driving the get-away vehicle.

The Gonzales Inquirer

• Unemployment in Gonzales County was down from 3.9 percent to 3.8 percent in September 2021, the lowest rate of all seven counties which compromise the Golden Crescent Workforce Development Area, according to state Labor Market Information (LMI) figures release by the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC). The 3.8 percent unadjusted unemployment rate was also the lowest seen in Gonzales County since it was just 2.8 percent in February 2020 - one month before the beginning of COVID-19 shutdowns in the state of Texas.