Crime Time

Overall crime down, but homicides up in Arlington

Mayor: 'We need badges

and uniforms and guns ...'

Overall crime was down in Arlington for the first six months of this year, compared with the same period last year.

Violent crime was down 6.2 percent and property crimes 7.9 percent, according to police statistics. But with 14 homicides reported through June, the city could see more slayings than the record 26 in 1991.

"Clearly, we’re not satisfied with the homicide rate," Mayor Robert Cluck said.

Cluck said the city is adding police staffing.

"We need badges and uniforms and guns, people who can take forceful action if necessary," Cluck said.

Click here to read more of this report from Staff Writer Mitch Mitchell, including a slate of Arlington crime statistics.

-- Bill Miller

Nearly 2 million hits later, Crime Time turns 1

Happy birthday to us!

Today marks one year since the first words went online in this blog. Oh, how time flies.

Since then, the blog has had more than 1.75 million hits from loyal readers looking for what's happening in the world of crime. Sometimes it's really awful and sometimes it's just plain unbelievable.

So what started it all? Here's the first item we posted one year ago today.

'Woman with tats strikes again'

She's done it again, that tatted up woman with a gun. This time she hit a convenience store in Grapevine.

Smile, you're on surveillance camera."

Yes, It was the "Tattoo Bandit" who got Crime Time off to such a successful start.

To all of you, we say thanks.

-- Lance Murray

POSTSCRIPT: But what happened next to Phyllis Dawn Harvey, the Tattoo Bandit?

Harvey (left) was eventually arrested, and in April, she received 18 life sentences and a 75-year sentence for her 2007 crime spree.

In 12 days, Harvey robbed stores in eight cities and carjacked four people to feed her drug addiction. During her sentencing, Harvey said a previous prison sentence wasn’t enough to keep her out of trouble with drugs.

"I came home and made an attempt to do good, but I didn’t stay clean long," she said. "When it came down to how I was going to support my habit, I made some bad choices."

-- Bill Miller

Gruesome tale from small Texas town

From the AP:

ALBA, Texas -- A mother and two children were killed during a predawn attack on their remote East Texas ranch where police said another man was critically injured by gunshot wounds and the family's house burned to the ground.

Four people, including three high school students and one juvenile, were arrested. Said a 67-year-old man who lives a mile away: "All you read about out here are ticky-tacky crimes in the local paper. I never lock my doors. This is a quiet place."

>> Read more

-- John Metz

Cops are busy today in Arlington, Grand Prairie

The Arlington-Grand Prairie area seems to be ground zero today for breaking news, just ask Staff Writer Paul Bourgeois who has been juggling four stories all day.

His day began with an incident (pictured at right) involving a Grand Prairie plain-clothes police officer who got into a shootout 11:20 p.m. Thursday with a Beaumont man who tried to rob him. The man got the officer's wallet, but lost his life.

About 25 minutes later a 63-year-old pedestrian being dragged by car which struck him in the parking lot of a pool hall in east Arlington.

Next, one man was shot and another arrested during an incident at about 6:15 a.m. Friday at the Timber Ridge Apartments in the 1400 block of Elite Circle.

And now we're hearing reports of a barricaded person in north Arlington, near Texas 360 and the Mercado Juarez restaurant at Miller Road. Police have ordered news helicopters out of the surrounding air space.

-- Bill Miller

Feds bust pot-candy factory

Speaking of trick-or-treat ... how 'bout this tasty morsel:

DEA agents in San Francisco raided Tainted Inc., a "candy" factory that gives new meaning to the munchies. These stoners put pot into everything from Rice Krispies treats and Moonpies to PB&J and pretzels. They also came up with some punny names for their products.

Somewhere, Willy Wonka is jealous.

-- Rick Press

Tattoo bandit linked to Arlington

Police say that Phyllis Dawn Harvey may be connected to some of the robberies that started July 26 in Arlington.
“We feel like Harvey is going to be a suspect in several offenses that our detectives are working,” said Lt. Blake Miller, an Arlington police spokesman. “But we have at least one other case — a carjacking — that we feel like we have a different suspect.”
That suspect is also a woman. Both have reportedly displayed a handgun during the holdups.
Miller said that he wouldn’t comment on which robberies may possibly be connected to Harvey.
But, he said, “an armed suspect is off the street and now detectives in all agencies have time to spend their time filing good cases against Phyllis Dawn Harvey.”

-- Cynthia Neff

There's a million stories in the naked city ...

Welcome to the Star-Telegram.com's new crime blog.