Hallettsville Man Charged with Child Abandonment And Endangerment
The Brenham Banner-Press
• The Washington County Commissioners Court approved a donation from Magnolia Oil & Gas for the Precinct 4 Constable’s Office to use for K-9 training. Ivan Faldyn and Brent Michalak with Magnolia Oil & Gas presented a check for $3,000 to the constable’s office during Commissioners Court on Tuesday. Precinct 4 Constable Greg Rolling said the donation will be used for the purchase of Randy Hare Detection Boxes, which are used in K-9 substance detection training.
The Colorado County Citizen
• A car chase that began in Colorado County ended in Austin County, and the fiery crash left one person dead. Columbus Police Department reports that on Tuesday, Feb. 1 at 8:10 p.m., CPD initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle in the 2100 block of Walnut St. for a traffic violation. The driver was identified as Alan Quan Tea Steward, 39 of Missouri City. During the traffic stop, the officer learned that Steward was wanted by Pardons and Parole for Felon in Possession of a Firearm. The report states that Steward evaded apprehension in the vehicle he was driving, leading law enforcement on a pursuit of approximately 30 miles. Spikes were deployed on IH-10 in Austin County, and CPD reports that Steward crashed the vehicle he was driving. The vehicle ignited into flames as a result of the crash. Steward was confirmed deceased by an Austin County Justice of the Peace.
Giddings Times & News
• Local law enforcement officers were searching for answers after arriving at a rural home to find a man dead in his pickup, a woman kidnapped and being held hostage, and another man who owns the property surrendering himself with the answers to what all had transpired. Lee County sheriff’s deputies responded to a possible shooting and kidnapping just after midnight last Saturday at a residence located at 1098 Deerwood Dr. in Elgin, near the Bastrop County line.
• Two juvenile males were rushed to an Austin hospital after a 4-wheeler rollover accident Monday night, Feb. 7. Sean Faire reportedly called 911 shortly after 6 p.m. to notify authorities about the crash on CR 121 near CR 430, about six miles south of Dime Box. A teenage boy and a four-year-old boy were reportedly in the accident. One of them had facial lacerations, and the other one was going in and out of consciousness. An AirEvac helicopter was summoned to the scene when the severity of the boys’ injuries were unknown, and Dime Box firemen were paged to set up a landing zone. Lee County EMS was also dispatched, along with local sheriff’s deputies. Once arriving at the scene, one of the deputies was able to talk to the boys, who were both conscious about 10 minutes after the crash. It was then determined that the injuries sustained were not as serious as first believed, and the Air Evac chopper was cancelled. Both children were taken by Lee County EMS to Dell Children’s Medical Center in Austin.
Hallettsville Tribune-Herald
• A Hallettsville man turned himself into the Lavaca County Sheriff’s Office, Tuesday, Feb. 1, regarding a warrant that was executed against him on two counts for abandoning or endangering a child with imminent of bodily injury. The warrant was executed on Louis Goode III, 25, around 11:41 a.m., and is related to the mobile home fire that occurred on Jan. 24 in Hallettsville that took the lives of two young children. Perishing in the mobile home fire, which had started around 8:39 a.m., were Carter Thomas Goode, age 3, and Louis J. Goode IV, 5 months. It had been initially reported that Louis Goode III, the father of the two boys, was at home at the time of the fire and had been taken Lavaca Medical Center. However, after further investigation, it was discovered that Goode was allegedly not present at the time of the mobile home caught fire. The warrant was issued by Pct. 4 Justice of the Peace Hallie Hall. It is a second degree felony and bond was set at $100,000. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
The Shiner Gazette
• A report of a suspicious vehicle at the Shiner Dollar General store parking lot led to a Gonzales man’s arrest on allegations of drug possession Saturday night. According to Shiner police reports, the reported vehicle pulled away from the parking lot as soon as police arrived, prompting them to initiate a traffic stop not long afterward. Upon further investigation, the driver was found to be in possession of some 3.7 grams of what officers believed was methamphetamine, Police Chief Kevin Kelso reported Monday. He remained in custody as of lunchtime Monday, awaiting $20,000 bail.