Levelland and Hockley County News-Press (Levelland, Tex.), Vol. 17, No. 7, Ed. 1 Sunday, April 23, 1995 Page: 1 of 22
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Levelland And
Hockley County
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EL. F:‘ASO TX 79903-3789
N e ws-Press 50c
LUMP.
SOUTHWEST MICROPUBLISHING
L6L/ L. YANDt.LL. DH
Grand jury returns indictments
■
A Hockley County Grand Jury
returned 20 indictments, passed one
case and approved a juvenile court
petition in regards to a 14-year-Told
who has been accused of the murder
Case starts over for teenager
TOTAL LOSS--A mobile home was destroyed by fire Wednesday afternoon
in the 3000 block of East Highway 1585. High winds fanned the blaze that
destroyed the structure in a matter of minutes. The house belonged to Gregg
Methvin and was occupied by the Steve Rucker family. The Ruckers lost
all of their belongings and their pets, which were inside the house. Rucker
said his wife, Stacy, and their two-year-old, Chelsey, had gone to pick up
Even though they are starting over and hearings on the admissability of
with the case, Goff feels most of the the confession, can be transferred
work that has already been done, without having to be redone,
including the psychological hearings "I have hopes of getting this case
of a local man. Jackie Condren, on
September 19.1993.
The juvenile was 13 when the
shooting occurred. The 15 year-old
boy accused of killing Condren was
found responsible for his actions and
sentenced to 40 years confinement
as a result of a trial held in June of
last year.
The latest grand jury action is the
First of many steps which should lead
to the trial of the teenager as ear 1 y
as July. The youngster was released
from juvenile detention and turned
over to the custody of his grandpar-
ents by former county judge Don
Avery. He remains in their custody.
The youngster was scheduled to
be tried in Morton last fall but Judge
Andy Kupper’s decision to prohibit
the parents* attorney. Mike Brown,
from participating in the trial
resulted in an appeal which caused
the trial to be postponed. The new
grand jury action is a result of that
appeal.
"The appeal process was over the
issue of whether or not, in addition
to the attorney appointed by the
court to represent the child, that the
lawyer hired by the parents to
represent their interests in possible
monetary losses, could take full part
in the trial." says District Attorney
Gary Goff. "What we did was go
back and ask the grand jury to look
at a new petition which leaves out all
language that deals with monetary
liability to the parents and focuses
entirely on the homicide. We have
eliminated all other distractions from
the issue-the homicide-which is the
issue that needs to be tried."
He says some courts say the
language about financial liability
needs to be in the petition and others
say it does not.
By starting over, Goff feels it is
the teenager’s parents responsibility
to provide an attorney for their son.
To have an attorney appointed to the
case, they would have to petition the
court to do so. fat Metze had
represented the teenager as the court
appointed attorney up to this point.
to trial as early as July," says Goff.
He expects it to be moved to Morton
on a change of venue and says since
it is getting old, it should be tried as
soon as possible.
Indictments
Three men were indicted for
burglary of a building belonging to
their nine-year-old son, Corey, from Sundown School. A motorist told firemen
that he saw the porch on fire; within minutes the wind had fanned the blaze
under the trailer and had engulfed the structure. Here firemen pour water
onto an adjacent structure which also caught on fire. Visibility was reduced
to mere feet in places in the county as the wind gusts ranged from 20 to
50 mph. See related story on page 4. (Staff Photo)
Mark Massingill on March 19th.
Those indicted were William Boyd
Garrett, 36; Scott Allen Crandell, 35,
and Mackie Lee Washington, 38.
They are accused of stealing a color
TV and microwave during that
break-in. Bond was set at $2,500 for
each of the men.
Lisa Kay Shipley, 35, was
indicted fordriving while intoxicat-
ed. The offense is alleged to have
occurred on March 18th. She has
?rior convictions for DWI on June
5,1991 and on Dec. 8,1992 in the \
county court. Bond was set at
$15,000.
Juan Davalos Jr., 30, was also
indicted for driving while intoxicat-
ed. The offense is alleged to have
occurred on Feb. 26. He has prior
DWI convictions on May 23,1990
jn Terry County and September 1,
1992 in Lubbock County. Bond was
set at $15,000.
Ray Cirilo, 22, was indicted for
unlawful possession of a firearm by
a felon on April 4. The indictment
says that Cirilo had been convicted
of the felony offense of attempted
murder and did intentionally and
knowingly possess a firearm before
the fifth anniversary of his release
from supervision under community
supervision following his conviction.
Willard Earl Childers, 33, was
indicted for two counts of sexual
assault. The offenses are alleged to
have occurred on August 15 and Feb.
20th.
Lynn Diane Willeby, 34, was
indicted for four counts in regard to
the murder of George BobGaineson
April 6th. She is accused of stabbing
the victim with a knife, resulting in
his death. Bond has been lowered to \
$15,000 as a result of a hearing on
a writ of habeas corpus filed by
attorney Philip Wischkacmper.
Kelly Denese Taggart, 30, was
indicted for possession of a
controlled substance, methamphet-
ami «e. on M*. 30^ Bond is $2,500.
rhe grind j”ry indicted Ysidro
Corpus Jr., 42, for driving while
intoxicated. The offense is alleged
to have occurred on March 18 th.
Prior DWI convictions occurred on
May 13,1987 in Terry County and
on October 6,1988 in Dewitt County.
See INDICTMENTS Page 2
Council advised crime statistics down
City gets good
audit report
has over $30 million in total assets.
during the quarter, an decrease of
one. Fourteen of those accidents
resulted in injuries, down four
Two visiters, each bearing good
news, spoke to members of the
Levelland City Council at their
Tuesday night meeting.
Assistant Chief Toney Cowan
of the Levelland Police Depart-
ment presented crime statistics for
the first quarter of 1995, and Keith
Downs, from the accounting firm
of Pate and Downs, presented the
city’s audit for fiscal year 1993-94.
Cowan told the council that
while there has been a slight
increase in some types of crime,
there has been a decline in the rate
of several others when compared to
the first quarter of last year.
"We’ve got some areas we’re
pretty proud of and some we need
to take a look at," he said.
On the positive side, the number
of assaults went from 32 to 26, the
criminal mischief rate went from
108 to 69, and instances of disor-
derly conduct dropped from 32 to
11.
However, there were also
increases in some areas. Sexual
assaults went from two during the
first three months of last year to
four in the first quarter of this year.
Cases of motor vehicle burglary
rose from ten to 25, and instances
of habitation burglary increased
from 11 to 20.
Thirteen vehicles have been
stolen for far this year, up from
eight last year, but Cowan said all
13 have been recovered.
Overall, 11 categories of crime
showed a decrease from 1994,
while nine categories showed an
increase and four stayed the same.
The police also had fewer calls
for service (down from 3,115 last
year to 2571 this year), made fewer
arrests (163 compared to 114), and
wrote more tickets (up from 474 to
515).
It was also reported that police
investigated 70 traffic accidents
from last year. A total of 27 people
were reported hurt, as compared to
25 hurt in accidents during the first
quarter of 1994. There were no
fatalities this quarter, compared to
one last year.
The major cause of accidents
both this year and last year were
failure to yield right of way.
The other visitor at the meeting,
Keith Downs, presented the annual
audit and pronounced the city to be
in good financial* health. The city
he said. This includes both cash
and property. The city had total
revenues of $3.7 million and the
fund balance only decreased by
about$17,000.
One area of concern was men-
tioned by Councilman Pat Mc-
Cutchin. Pointing out that the audit
shows that money generated by the
economic development sales tax
went to the Levelland Economic
Development Council, McCutchin
asked if the LEDC itself had ever
been audited.
He was told by Downs that the
LEDC, which got almost $300,000
of the money from the sales tax,
has not been included in the yearly
audit because they are not consid-
ered part of city government.
"I think it would be a good
idea," McCutchin said.
The council agreed to take a
closer look at how the corporation,
which has been struggling to keep
the Levelland Knitting Mill in
operation, has been spending
money. c
City Manager Greg Ingham said
Thursday that he has discussed the
matter with Downs, and a full audit
of the LEDC should be completed
by the end of May.
Accelerated reading program working
Students earn points
The school wide goal this
serves
school’s main hall where
to considered
hnniM while
Mamank* says the program
te needs of all kids, regardtoas
any class. They take the book home
See READING Pngs 2
positive programs we have had in
our school system," says Superinten-
dent David Foote.
Principal Tony Igo says the
progress from there and include
pencils, t-shirts, free certificates to
Putt Putt, pizza parties and more.
One student scored 500 points and
earned a free stereo system. The top
prize will be to be principal for a
a computer. It has really been a
motivating thing for our kids."
Last week the five youngsters
earned enough points to win trips to
the Omnimax in Lubbock and pizza
dinners.
He is quick to give credit for the
different number of points. When
they’re read it, they go down to the
computer lab and take a comprehen-
sion test If they pass it, they earn the
reward system to to motivate die
students to read and it to working.
An Accelerated Reader Program
is being acclaimed as a success by
tor.
Mrs. Mamantov says she started
using the program five or six years
ago. She was so impressed with the
results, that she told a couple of other
students, faculty
/ and administrators
at Whiteface El
ementary School.
Photo) *
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Levelland and Hockley County News-Press (Levelland, Tex.), Vol. 17, No. 7, Ed. 1 Sunday, April 23, 1995, newspaper, April 23, 1995; Levelland, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1219068/m1/1/?q=Lamar+University: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting South Plains College.