Sketch Released in Duncanville Slaying

Duncanville Police Dept.

A forensic artist produced the sketch for witness descriptions of a man seen running from Barbara Strain's home after she was shot several times on March 6.

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Duncanville Woman Shot Through Front Door

Duncanville police say 74-year-old Barbara Strain was fatally shot through the door of her home in the 1300 block of Highland Drive Wednesday morning.

Women Killed in Front of Her Home in Duncanville

Duncanville police are looking for whomever shot and killed a 74-year-old woman in front of her Duncanville home.

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Duncanville police have released a composite sketch in hopes of finding a man they believe is connected to the case of a woman gunned down at her front door on March 6.

A forensic artist produced the sketch for witness descriptions of a man seen running south from the home in the 1300 block of Highland Drive after 74-year-old Barbara Strain was shot to death.

Witnesses describe the man as 5-foot, 9 inches tall, thin and at the time he was wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans.

Oak Farms Dairy is offering a $10,000 reward and North Texas CrimeStoppers is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and indictment of the person(s) responsible for the crime.

Anyone with information about this incident to contact Detective Moon at 972-780-5037 Extension 14 or Crime Stoppers at 1-877-373-8477.

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Women Will Get $40,000 for Truck Shot by Police

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LA City Attorney Vows to Help Get Compensation for Delivery Women

Two women whose truck was riddled with bullets by LAPD officers who mistook the pair for a fugitive ex-officer have yet to get a new truck, despite a pledge from Chief Charlie Beck to replace it. LA City Attorney Carmen Trutanich is stepping in, saying the issue could be resolved in a matter of days. Hetty Chang reports from Downtown LA for the NBC4 News at 5 p.m. on March 13, 2013.

No New Truck for Women Shot During Dorner Manhunt

After the LAPD asked two newspaper delivery women to pay taxes on a truck the department vowed to donate to them, the victims – who were shot at more than 100 times during a frenzied manhunt for Christopher Dorner – rejected the replacement truck, worth more than $30,000. Hetty Chang reports for the NBC4 News at 6 p.m. on March 11, 2013.

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The Los Angeles City Attorney's office has reached an agreement to pay two newspaper delivery women $40,000 for the loss of their truck, which was shot up by police in a case of mistaken identity during the search for ex-LAPD officer Christopher Dorner.

The Los Angeles Police Department had said it planned to replace the mother-daughter pair's truck, which was shot at more than 100 times while they delivered newspapers in Torrance, according to the women's attorney.

But the women were told they would need to pay income taxes on the value of the truck after a private donor got an involved — and 71-year-old Emma Hernandez and daughter Margie Carranza refused that offer.

Details on the "property agreement" with Hernandez and Carranza to compensate them for the truck were announced at a 3 p.m. press conference by LA City Attorney Carmen Trutanich's office. Both Trutanich and the women's attorney, Glen Jonas, were at the event at LA City Hall.

The attorneys said the women will get a check for $40,000 for the value of the truck, and they will not have to pay attorney's fees or income taxes on the amount. Jonas will not be compensated for his work related to the truck.

The agreement releases both sides from liability for the property loss, and it allows the truck to be used by the city as evidence until it's no longer needed. Then the seriously damaged truck will be returned to the women.

The money will come out of the city's general fund.

Trutanich said he believed the agreement was a "fair resolution." Earlier in the week, he had said he wanted to find a way to compensate them for the truck, calling it a "no-brainer."

"It's going to be handled competently, it's going to be handled appropriately and in the best interests of the city of Los Angeles," said Trutanich, who faces reelection on May 21, on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Trutanich's office is examining a demand letter over the shooting sent by Jonas. The letter asks for compensation related to the shooting beyond to the value of the truck.

"I don't understand how they survived," Jonas said last month. "They're grappling with a lot of issues — the fact that they were almost killed by the police."

On Thursday, he said he's hopeful that the city and his clients can come to an agreement — based on the ease with which compensation for the truck was worked out.

"I'm pleased to have it done; my clients are pleased to have it done. Everybody gets to move forward, put this incident as far as the donation was concerned, behind us, and get down to business," Jonas said.

"If we don't, we do what lawyers do. We go to trial," Jonas said during the news conference.

The women were shot at Feb. 7 when they drove their blue Toyota Tacoma in the dark, early morning hours toward the Torrance home of one of the police officials who was under protection because of threats in an angry manifesto posted online by Dorner, who was later killed after an extensive manhunt.

Hernandez was shot in the back and still suffers from nerve pain, Jonas said.

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North Texas Tiger Snoozing After Hip Surgery

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A 13-year-old North Texas tiger is resting peacefully after undergoing delicate hip surgery.

Tacoma, a tiger at In-Sync Exotics in Wylie, with joint pain had an operation Thursday to cut nerves that signal pain from his hip.

"This tiger has a condition known as hip dysplasia, and so that's where there's an abnormal shape to the ball and socket joint of the hips," Dr. Doug Whiteside said. "And, as a result of that, it developed quite severe arthritis in both hips, and so the surgery that we did today was to help to take away the pain associated with that arthritis."

Two veterinarians from Calgary, Alberta, worked as a team to cut one of Tacoma's sensory nerves at a doctor's office in Wylie.

Vets to Perform Hip Surgery on Tiger

Veterinarians from Canada will operate on Tacoma, a tiger from In-Sync Exotics in Wylie.

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"He doesn't lose the feeling in his toes or anything like that," said Vicky Keahey, In-Sync Exotics founder. "I mean, if he's walking and he puts his foot on a rock, he's still going to feel that -- he's just not going to feel the pain in his hip."

It was the first time the surgery was performed on a big cat in Texas.

"We're hoping that, based on our past experience with this surgery, that he's got a good prognosis for getting improved function in his hip," Whiteside said.

In-Sync Exotics, a wildlife rescue for big cats, rescued Tacoma when he was less than a year old.

He has had pain and a slight limp for the last two years. Before the surgery, veterinarians said he should be up and moving a week after the surgery.

Keahey said she is thankful to finally find a solution to Tacoma's painful problem. She said in an interview Wednesday that she will be excited to see him play again.

"He'll be able to get back up on his platforms again, be able to play with his ball and do all the things that he used to like to do," she said.

Keahey said In-Sync Exotics has had a rough year, but the surgery has been a welcome bit of good news.

In-Sync Exotics is a nonprofit wildlife rescue that cares for big cats -- including lions, tigers, cougars and leopards -- that have been abused or abandoned.

Keahey rescued her first cougar in 1991. She added tigers in 1998 and established a nonprofit by 2000.

"This is my life's heart," she told NBC 5 in an interview in 2012.

She said her animals arrive after being rescued from breeding operations or even from drug dealers who use the animals for protection.

Keahey said she is licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, has a permit from Collin County and is registered with the state of Texas. She is also accredited by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries and the Animal Sanctuaries Association.

In-Sync Exotics has several fundraisers through the year to pay for the animals' care, including an Easter egg hunt scheduled for March 30.

More: In-Sync Exotics

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Complaints of Nighttime Jackhammering on LBJ

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Construction managers agreed Thursday to stop using a loud jackhammer at night along the LBJ Express project after neighbors complained they couldn't sleep and one man posted a YouTube video of the noisy work.

Neighbors say crews have used a "jackhammer on steroids" to tear down a large retaining wall on the south side of Interstate 635 near Welch Road in North Dallas.

"It's just a bam-bam-bam-bam-bam," Melissa Marco said.

It would start at about 3 a.m. or 4 a.m., neighbors said.

"We just couldn't sleep," Francis Stanush said.

But neighbors said their complaints fell on deaf ears.

"We're all excited about the finished product, what it's going to bring to the area," Dean Lee said. "But just some common sense for the neighborhood is all we're looking for."

In an email to one neighbor, LBJ Express spokeswoman Heather DeLapp wrote: "It would make it easier for everyone if in fact we could manage the hours so that we didn't disturb people but the honest answer is there is never a good time for construction."

Frustrated by a repeat of the loud noise at about 4 a.m. on Thursday, Stanush grabbed his iPhone, recorded a video and posted it on YouTube.

"This is compliments of LBJ Express and there's our house, right there," Stanush said in the video, pointing to his house.

Later Thursday, after seeing the video and being contacted by news reporters, construction managers agreed to limit the jackhammering from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

"That's much more tolerable for the community," Stanush said.

In a statement, DeLapp said other work would continue at night but crews would finish the jackhammering work during the day.

"Hopefully, this will help improve the current conditions and mitigate the impact to the neighborhood," she said.

LBJ Express is a private, for-profit toll road being built along Interstate 635 by a subsidiary of Spanish company Cintra. It is expected to be completed in late 2015.

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Mesquite Mother Killed Family, Self: Dallas ME

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Mesquite Woman Killed Family, Self

Angelica Vazquez shot and killed her husband, Marcelo Vazquez, and two young adult children, 21-year-old Paulina Vazquez (left) and 18-year-old Alejandro Vazquez (right), before killing herself in their suburban Mesquite home, according to the Dallas County Medical Examiner.

Four Found Dead Inside Mesquite Home

On Thursday, we expect to learn the names of the four people found dead inside a Mesquite home.

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The Dallas County Medical Examiner's Office has ruled the cause of deaths of four people found inside a Mesquite home as a murder-suicide.

The Dallas County medical examiner said the deaths of 44-year-old Marcelo Vazquez, 18-year-old Alejandro Roman Vazquez and 21-year-old Paulina Belen Vazquez have been ruled as homicides.

The death of Angelica Vazquez, 43, wife and mother, has been ruled as a suicide. A handgun was located on the floor in the master bedroom near her body, according to Mesquite police.

Detectives are still investigating a motive.

Mesquite police say the four bodies were found inside the home in the1400 block of Paintbrush Street four days after receiving a 911 call reporting gunfire.

Police officials told NBC 5 that officers were called to the home at about 6:30 a.m. Saturday after someone reported hearing gunfire.

The responding officers said they did not see anything unusual and did not see signs of forced entry. They said they were unable to reach the residents.

The officers left after talking with a neighbor who reported hearing and seeing nothing out of the ordinary. Officers returned to the house two more times Saturday morning but were still unable to reach anyone who lived at the home.

Police said the same officer who initially responded to the call returned to the home Wednesday morning and noticed mail in the mailbox and newspapers in the yard. Officials then made the decision to enter the home. Once inside, police discovered the four bodies.

The bodies of two men and two women were found in four separate rooms of the house. Each victim had been shot, Lt. Bill Hedgpeth said.

Police identified the victims on Thursday.

"We process every death scene the same way," he said. "We look for any type of forensic evidence and any type of evidence at all that would lead us in a particular direction. We keep an open mind about it, because we want to see where that evidence will take us."

Police have released few details about the case.

A family friend told NBC 5 that Paulina attended the University of North Texas and that her brother Alejandro graduated from Mesquite High School last year.

"It was just what I thought was just a happy family," said Gustavo Herrera, who told reporters he went to his senior prom with the 21-year-old victim.

Herrera and other friends were gathered outside of the victims' home until well past dark Wednesday night.

"There wasn't anything bad going on with the family," said neighbor Alex Turrubiartes, who graduated high school with the 18-year-old. "There was nothing -- no trouble, nothing; normal."

The investigation into the deaths is ongoing.

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Father of Slain Baby to Cooperate With Police, Pastor Says

Jonathan Watkins, police said, has ties to the Gangster Disciples and has an extensive criminal record.

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Doctors Detail Slain Baby's Injuries

Six-month-old Jonylah Watkins died Monday after being shot while her father, Jonathan Watkins, changed her diaper. Kim Vatis reports.

Father of Slain Baby Arrested 39 Times

Chicago's police superintendent says shooting that killed Jonylah Watkins has "very strong gang overtones," adding that Jonathan Watkins was the intended target. Phil Rogers reports.

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A 28-year-old father injured in a Monday shooting in Chicago that killed his daughter was released from the hospital Thursday evening and went directly to a police station.

Jonathan Watkins stood silently as Pastor Corey Brooks, who has been acting as the family's spokesman, spoke to reporters outside the 5th District police station shortly after 9:30 p.m. Brooks said Watkins wished to "fully" cooperate with authorities and dispel misinformation that's been reported this week. He didn't offer specifics.

"His wounds haven't even healed yet and he's in a lot of pain and so we're going to go in and whatever the police need to know that he may know, we want to make sure that he fully commits himself to letting them know that," said Brooks.

Police said Jonathan Watkins told them he was changing the diaper on his 6-month-old daughter, Jonylah Watkins, on Monday when someone came up behind him and started shooting. Sources told NBC Chicago on Wednesday police had their doubts about that story.

The girl suffered multiple injuries to her little body and died the morning after the shooting. A medical examiner source told NBC Chicago the damage to her thigh, shoulder, lung live and bowels may have been caused by a single bullet.

Jonathan Watkins, police said, has ties to the Gangster Disciples and has an extensive criminal record. Police records show he's been arrested 39 times and was likely the shooter's intended target. Numerous weapons violations and an attempt to steal his car back from police after it was impounded are among the previous charges against the father.

"He paid for his crime. He's fine with that. We're not trying to hide from that. We're not ducking and dodging from that," Brooks said Thursday night. "But that's not the issue. The issue is a baby got shot and killed and we need everybody to stay on point and stay on focus on what happened."

Jonylah Watkins' funeral has been scheduled for March 19. Brooks said basketball star Derrick Rose has offered to pay for the services.

An $11,000 reward stands for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the shooter.
 

Pastor: Father Wants to "Fully" Cooperate

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Woman Arrested After Crashing into Police Officer

Jeff Smith, NBC 5 News

A Grapevine police officer is recovering after his patrol car was hit from behind as he was stopped and assisting another driver along state Highway 114 early Friday.

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A Grapevine police officer is recovering at home after a driver slammed into the back of his patrol car while he was helping out another driver early Friday morning.

The officer was parked on the side of state Highway 121, just past William D Tate Boulevard, when his cruiser was struck from behind at about 2:18 a.m. 

In a news release Friday morning, Sgt. Robert Eberling with the Grapevine Police Department, said the officer was assisting a motorist who had run out of gas along a shoulder-less section of highway and had positioned his cruiser behind the motorist. 

While he was sitting in the cruiser, with both his emergency lights and directional board illuminated, the officer was struck from behind by a 20-year-old female driving a Toyota Avalon.

The officer arrested the driver before he was transported to the hospital as a precaution. The officer has since been released and police said he suffered only minor injuries.

The officer's police vehicle had minor damage.

Police haven't yet released the driver's name, but did say that she was arrested for intoxication assault after failing a field sobriety test.

The crash remains under investigation by the Grapevine police.

NBC 5's Frank Heinz contributed to this report.

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4 Injured After LED Display Fell at Ultra Site

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4 People Injured After LED Display Fell at Site of Ultra Music Festival: Miami Fire-Rescue

Four people were injured, two critically, after a LED display that hung from a stage fell at the site of the Ultra Music Festival Thursday night, Miami Fire-Rescue said. Agency spokesman Lt. Ignatius Carroll discussed the incident.

Miami's Ultra Music Festival Expanding to 2 Weekends

Ultra Music Festival will be extending the party to two weekends in March 2013. Miami Police spokesman Sgt. Freddie Cruz and resident Carol Storms spoke about Ultra's expansion.

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Four people were injured, two critically, after a LED display that hung from a stage fell at the site of the Ultra Music Festival Thursday night, Miami Fire-Rescue said.

Two workers were trapped after the lighting display fell in Bayfront Park, while debris hit another person, Miami Fire-Rescue spokesman Lt. Ignatius Carroll said.

Firefighters were able to free the trapped people and rushed them to Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center, Carroll said.

Ultra Music Festival Road Changes

Early Friday, the workers were upgraded from critical to stable condition, Carroll said.

He said the LED display crashed at about 7:50 p.m. on the stage at the south end of the park. It is one of two main stages for the festival, which is scheduled to begin Friday.

Inspectors returned to the park Friday to check the main stage and make sure it's safe, Carroll said. They were also inspecting the other six stages where festival events will take place.

"We're gonna go inside, look at the main stage, see if we can try to determine why those light panels came crashing down," Carroll said.

The festival remained on schedule with the first event scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.

"Festival organizers are working with, and supporting, authorities as they investigate the details behind the accident," Ultra organizers said in a statement Friday.

One witness described the display as an approximately 30-foot-long rectangular video monitor that was suspended under the red "U" above the stage.

Authorities had initially reported that a stage collapsed.

Ultra Music Festival Expanding to 2 Weekends

Construction was almost complete on the stage where the incident occurred, but all operations were halted there Thursday night.

"And right now we're going to suspend any of the building on that stage until daylight, where we can be out here with structural engineers, OSHA as well, and then the fire marshal's staff, to make sure that this stage and all the other stages are going to be safe for the Ultra Fest," Carroll said.

One person who was injured refused treatment on the scene, Capt. Bill Christopher, a dispatcher with Miami Fire-Rescue, told NBC News.

PHOTOS: An Ultra Weekend

The 2013 festival is due to begin Friday, with its first weekend running through Sunday, to be followed by a second weekend Friday, March 22 through Sunday, March 24.

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