Back Talk Lakewood/East Dallas

Gangster linked to White Rock area home invasion tells all to police

I’ve been loosely following the story about this “highly organized” gang responsible for a series of home invasions around Dallas — perhaps most notable were two that took place at White Rock Area homes. During one of said attacks, masked robbers brutalized an 81-year-old retired lawyer William McGarvey in attempts to learn where he kept his money (they crushed one of his ears with pliers and poured water over his face to simulate drowning).

The mob's mastermind was supposedly William Sedric Autrey, 39, former owner of the North Dallas nightclub Club X, who might have used the club to get info about potential victims. Earnest Lynn Ross, 43, is accused of being Autrey’s brutish co-conspirator, the one who inflicted, allegedly, aforementioned attack. Then they had a slew of both white-collar and street thugs working under them. This Morning News piece does a pretty thorough job of telling the story behind the gang’s formation and how police brought ‘em down — in a nutshell, Autrey got busted and brought down the whole operation in an effort to spare himself a life in the penitentiary.

This is a pretty fascinating case — I figure I'll be more closely following what happens next.

Saggy pants II: Illinois town pulls up on Dallas to fine offenders $25

Remember a few months ago when Dallas mayor pro tem Dwaine Caraway came up with the bright idea of passing a city ordinance banning saggy pants? The idea wasn't exactly laughed away here, but suffice it to say that saner heads prevailed and today, Dallas has one less dopey, toothless ordinance than we could have had. In Lynwood, Ill., however, city leaders weren't quite as thoughtful as our own here in Dallas — that city passed an ordinance fining saggy pants offenders $25 for anyone showing three inches of more of their underwear in public. Predictably, the ACLU has jumped into the fray, claiming that the ordinance targets "young men of color", even though I've seen a veritable rainbow of skin tones and underwear colors in my observation of the Texas trend. Anyway, young adults in Lynwood don't like the ordinance, saying it infringes on their personal style. One prospective offender said the city, instead, should be focusing on making the area look better, assuming I suppose that looking at other peoples' underwear somehow contributes to that goal.

Dog bites postman: Our neighborhoods are among the U.S. leaders

Want to know the country's most dangerous routes for a U.S. postman? Just look around: The Dallas postal service region ranks third in the country in terms of dogs biting carriers, according to a DMN story (check out the accompanying video, too). In 2006, 35 dog bites were reported; in 2007, 41 dog bites were reported. In 75206 and 75214 alone, seven carriers were bitten by dogs apparently not properly restrained by their owners. And that, carriers told the News, is the problem: Some owners don't seem to care whether their pets take a chomp out of the postman; even if a dog does bite a carrier, Texas apparently leads the nation in lax penalties for offenders, postal workers told the News. Interestingly enough, if a carrier is bitten, the dog is quarantined for 10 days to check for rabies; if rabies isn't found, the dog is released to its owner, and the postal service is notified; then the postal carrier has to check for recidivism himself or herself. According to postal officials, threatening to stop home mail delivery stops the loose-dog problem 99% of the time; the other one percent, though, continue to create a big problem.

Cat killings in Dallas continue

Cat owners, keep an extra watchful eye your feline friends, especially if you live in Northeast Dallas. At least four mutilated pet cats have been found in the area.

Most of the cat attacks have reportedly happened in the neighborhood inside Skillman and Lovers.

Police Chief Jan Easterling talks to us about animal cruelty cases in the August Advocate, p. 53, and we will also have the full story on neighbor Martha Wertheimer, whose cat apparently fell victim to this maliciousness.

Wells Fargo bank robbery wasn't

Anyone near the Wells Fargo Bank building on La Vista and Gaston on Tuesday morning (which is also the home of Advocate magazines) might have noticed a bit of a commotion with police cars and flashing lights in the parking lot. Rumors were being thrown around about an attempted robbery of the bank, but our sources say otherwise.

Security personnel Mike Ashebir says that the alleged robber was simply a customer. The man, his name unknown, had an account with Wells Fargo and was just trying to withdraw some money, Ashebir says, but he wanted to withdraw more money than he had, and then became upset when the clerk would not give it to him. "He only had $2,900 and he wanted $3,000," Ashebir says.

The result? The angry customer created quite a ruckus before the situation was resolved.

Gas thieves fill up 15 cars

A gang of gas thieves made off with about $1200 worth of gasoline from a neighborhood Shell station around midnight last night, according to this DMN story. Police say the perps must have some sort of working knowledge about the fuel industry. I suspect we haven't seen the last of these guys.

Cookie-baking teen not a monster after all

A few days ago Keri wrote a post about this kid who allegedly delivered drug-laced cookies to police stations all over the Metroplex — you know, the teenager whose face was plastered all over every evening newscast and newspaper locally and nationally? Yeah ... well ... oops. There were no drugs in those cookies after all. Just an 18-year-old, by court order, repaying his debt to society (let's see where that part of the story lands in USA Today).

Do I need to pack heat for a trip along Santa Fe Trail

Although I wrote a short article about the Santa Fe Trail and its supporters in the June issue of the Advocate, I'm not too familiar with the day-to-day happenings since I don't really use it — though I'd like to once it's connected to White Rock Lake. Or at least I thought I would. This spot in the "Voices" section in the DMN makes me wonder. Is it that bad? This neighbor says she won't walk the trail without her gun.

NorthPark shooters arrested; Crimestoppers program credited

Two men suspected of shooting a Dallas woman in the face at NorthPark Center in May are in police custody charged with the shooting, according to the DMN. Police are saying the shooting appears to have been a random act; the woman was shot in the parking lot outside of Nordstrom while waiting to pick her daughter up after watching a movie. NorthPark says it's in the process of re-evaluating its security measures in the wake of this shooting and several other incidents at the mall. Meanwhile, the two suspected shooters were captured after a tipster called the information into a Crimestoppers telephone number; Crimestoppers is a program run by the North Texas Crime Commission (several neighborhood residents and businesses, along with the Advocate, are members of both the NTCC and the group's Crimestoppers committee). The program is a joint effort between the NTCC and area police departments; it's a tips program designed to encourage those who know something about a crime to report what they know to police anonymously. Typically, tipsters whose information results in an arrest/prosecution are paid between $500-$1,000 for their information. Membership in NTCC is open to any group or individual; contact Neal Devroy at 214-965-9000 for information.

Car theft update: Keep an eye on your catalytic converter

Here's a new car theft problem that sounds like an urban myth, but it's not: Thieves are targeting cars' catalytic converter anti-pollution devices in order to make a quick buck from the precious metals inside. Apparently, the devices can be removed quickly from a vehicle and often contain several hundred dollars' worth of platinum or palladium. The even worse news is that repairing the damage can cost up to $1,000. Here's what one victim said about the ease of stealing the converters by sliding beneath a car with a metal saw: "I could teach my 6-year-old how to do it in probably 15 minutes. It's like stealing from somebody while their windows are down."