Thursday, September 2, 2010

MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO KILLING FORMER ROSEBUD-LOTT QUARTERBACK

(MARLIN)   A 20 year old Rosebud man pled guilty to murder Wednesday in Marlin in the July 2009 shooting death of former Rosebud-Lott High School quarterback Capp Sudduth, 19, of Lott.  Sudduth`s bullet riddled body found was found along a gravel road just outside of Rosebud.

Jesse Lee Whigham was sentenced to 40 years in prison after Sudduth`s family agreed to the plea in 82nd District Court Wednesday. 

Whigham was originally charged with capital murder in the deadly shooting.  He and Brittni Poile, 20, who authorities said was Whigham’s girlfriend, were arrested on July 29, 2009 four days after Sudduth’s body was found.

Poile was later released after investigators determined that she didn’t know that Whigham planned to shoot Sudduth.

Falls County District Attorney Jody Gilliam said Poile cooperated with authorities and submitted to a polygraph examination, which cleared her of any involvement.

Sudduth was shot seven times in the arms and chest.

Texas Ranger Marcus Cantu recovered the .357 Ruger used in the shooting on July 26, exactly one year after Sudduth was killed.  It was hidden in the wall of an apartment in which one of Whigham’s friends lived at the time of the murder.

Gilliam said Sudduth and Whigham had been friends, but had a falling out.  She said if the case had gone to trial, she would have presented evidence that Sudduth asked Whigham to meet him with the intention of jumping him.

Gilliam said “Whigham, however, never gave Sudduth that opportunity and immediately begain firing as he approached Sudduth who was standing on the side of the road as Whigham drove up to him.”

A person who was with Sudduth was hiding in a ditch and witnessed the shooting.  Afterward the witness ran through a pasture to escape.

Arrest affidavits released in August 2009 indicated the shooting death might have involved drugs.

The document that Cantu signed said Sudduth was last seen alive by Terry Holifield, who told Sudduth he had made arrangements with Jesse Whigham to buy a brick of marijuana.

According to the affidavit, Sudduth arranged to meet Whigham on Falls County Road 314 where the drug deal was to take place.

Holifield told investigators he went along with Sudduth to the site at about 6 p.m. but got out of the truck and hid in a roadside ditch because Sudduth had told Whigham he would be alone.

Holifield said when a second vehicle approached he asked Sudduth who was coming and Sudduth responded it "was Jesse and his girlfriend."

Holifield said the vehicle Whigham was driving approached Sudduth who was standing on the gravel road.  As the vehicle approached, Hollifield said Whigham fired several shots though the window, striking Sudduth.

Holifield explained in the affidavit that Whigham continued driving down the road after the shots were fired.  Then he saw Whigham`s red Chevrolet Impala SS backing down the roadway towards the place where Sudduth lay and when the car stopped, he heard more gunshots.

After the shooting, Holifield told Cantu he ran away through a field.

Whigham will be eligible for parole in 2029, but Gilliam said he probably would not win release that early.

WOMAN SEXUALLY ASSAULTED NEAR I-35

(TEMPLE)  Temple police were looking for a suspect Wednesday after a man grabbed a woman who was walking along the Interstate 35 access road, dragged her into a field and sexually assaulted her.

After the man left on foot the woman went to a phone and called police. 

The incident happened around 4:30 a.m. Wednesday in the 5100 block of South General Bruce Drive.

The woman said she didn`t know her attacker who she said was black, tall with a thin build and was wearing a white muscle shirt or tank top and dark shorts.

Investigators are asking anyone with information to call the Temple Police Department at (254) 298-5500.

TEMPLE STUDENTS STILL WAITING ON SCHOOL BUILDING

(TEMPLE)  A Temple charter school has been forced to squeeze its students inside of a local church while they wait for their new facility that still has not been completed.

School officials said the contractors they hired added $130,000 in unreasonable extra fees as recently as three weeks ago.  An agreement was reached late Wednesday that guarantees the students will be in their permanent building this month.

In the meantime, two weeks into the new school year, nearly 200 students at The Temple Education Center have been crammed into Sunday School classrooms.

The Temple Education Center was promised the new building would be done by August 1, but school administrator Jason Osburne said they had to scramble when that deadline was not met.

"At the last minute we realized we were not going to be in our new facility," said Osburne. "So we began to search around and try to find a place so the kids could attend school."

The Temple Education Center paid contractors $270,000 in taxpayer money with the intention of meeting that August deadline.  Before work was even complete, the school was hit with $130,000 in extra fees. The school requested an itemized receipt of the fees and said they were finally provided with on Wednesday.

Lakeview Baptist Church had high praise for the students and said they`ve done a great job cleaning up after themselves.

The agreement reached Wednesday means students are expected to return to school by September 13.

If contractors do not meet the new deadline, they will be fined $1,000 per day for every day they fall behind schedule.

VIGIL HELD FOR MCGREGOR BUSINESS CLOSING

(MCGREGOR)  More than 65 people gathered Wednesday evening in McGregor to pray for the 139 employees of the Smead Manufacturing Co. facility, which will close early next year.

The McGregor Ministerial Alliance sponsored the community prayer vigil Wednesday in the parking lot of the plant.

Smead, a Minnesota-based office filing-products and records-management company, confirmed in August that it will close the 40-year-old production and distribution facility in McGregor, which opened in 1971.

Sharon Hoffman Avent, the company’s CEO and president said “Over the years, Smead has been reducing its costs through automation, lean initiatives and selected outsourcing.”

She said employees have been very supportive of Smead and have met and exceeded customers’ needs over the years, but it has not been enough to keep the company competitive in this global economy.

The company plans to work with employees and state and local officials to help the workers find new jobs.

The privately held company was founded in 1906, and was acquired by the Hoffman family in 1916.

SCOTT AND WHITE COMPLETES MERGER WITH JOHNS COMMUNITY

(TAYLOR)  Scott & White Healthcare announced earlier this month plans to merge with Johns Community Hospital in Taylor. The merger, which S&W said will improve services for the Taylor community, was finalized Wednesday. The hospital will now be Scott & White Hospital – Taylor. While most patients will see relatively few changes, a new board of directors has been selected.

S&W has had a Taylor clinic, which serves 12,000 patients annually, for almost 25 years, and this will remain open as the foundation of the partnership, according to Ernest Bovio, CEO of Scott & White Healthcare – Round Rock Region and the man in charge of the Taylor transition. The health center is a part of the hospital and will continue to accept all the insurance plans the hospital does, including Medicaid and Medicare. 

Bovio said S&W is working to make sure that the specific insurance plans Johns Community patients used will be streamlined with S&W.

For now, patients will continue to see “business as usual.” The Health Center is not accepting new patients at this time, however, as the independently contracting doctors and nurses who work there decide if they want to stay.

S&W also hopes to see more physicians and specialist in the future, including expanding the number of family practitioners at the S&W clinic within a year, according to S&W Chief Medical Officer Dr. Bud Chumbley.

TAXPAYERS INVITED TO TOWN HALL MEETING

(CAMERON) A local landowner is inviting Milam County taxpayers to a town hall meeting to discuss county tax issues.  A come and go meeting will be held today from 4-8PM at Bea`s Kitchen in Cameron.

The purpose of the meeting is to prepare for the special 15-minute Public Hearing scheduled for 9:45AM September 13th at the County Courthouse. Taxpayers are encouraged to come to the town hall meeting this evening to submit more issues and questions regarding the county taxes and budget.

YOEMEN CRACK AP TOP 10

(CAMERON)  The Cameron Yoe Freshmen and JV teams are on the road to Waco La Vega for football action tonight.  Both teams are coming off opening season wins over Waco Connally last week. 

Meanwhile, the Cameron Yoemen make final preparations for their home opener tomorrow night at Yoe Stadium against the Pirates.  Get more on the match-up tomorrow morninig at 9:05 on the Coach Rick Rhoades Show right here on The Ranch.

POLICE REPORT

(CAMERON) Cameron Police reported 8 arrests:
--Isreal Rangel for PI
--Quantanecia Haynes on Capias Warrants
--Sandra Haynes on Capias Warrants.
--Tanya Lopez on Capias Warrants.
--Jimmy Lee Simmons on a warrant for FTA Bail Jumping.
--Joe Lewis Rangel on warrant for Theft 50-500.
--Michael White on warrants for PI and FTA and Disorderly Conduct fighting.
--Another Cameron man for Disorderly Conduct Fighting.
Buckholts Firemen were called out at 1:18 p.m. to Highway 190 near the railroad tracks for a grass fire.

(ROCKDALE)  Rockdale PD reported 3 arrests
--23 year old Rockdale man on a Bell County warrant for Possession of Marijuana Less Than 2 Ounces.
--20 year old Rockdale man on Rockdale warrants for FTA and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia
--21 year old Rockdale woman for no DL
1 EMS run.

(CAMERON) The Milam County Sheriff`s Department reported 16 persons booked into the Milam County Jail:

--Israel Rangel, 34 of Cameron for PI
--Ismael Cody Vargas, 25 of Cameron for Manufacture/Delivery of Controlled Substance Under 1 Gram on 2 counts, Manufacture/Delivery of Controlled Substance 1-4 Grams, and Delivery of Marijuana 4 oz-5 lbs
--Hector Ray Garcia, 43 of Rockdale for Out of County Theft of Property with 2 previous convictions
--Thomas Wesley Owens, 20 of Caldwell for Theft of Property $500-1500
--Quantamesia Haynes, 21 of Cameron for Capias Pro Fines (no insurance x2 and Unrestrained Child)
--Geraldine Yorek Hamby, 50 of Waller for Assault by Contact
--Sandra Jrene Haynes, 50 of Cameron for Disorderly Conduct and multiple Capias Pro Fines (Theft, Fail to Maintain Financial Responsibility, Failure to Appear, Expired License Plates, and Bail Jumping)
--Tanya Ranee Lopez, 33 of Cameron for Capias Pro Fines (No DL, Running a Stop Sign, and FMFR)
--Jimmy Lee Simmons, 27 of Cameron for Bond Forfeiture and Bail Jumping
--Kevin Cain, 23 of Rockdale for Out of County
--Joe Lewis Rangel, 29 of Cameron for Theft of Property $50-500

Wreck about 5:22PM at Star Motel near Milano. No injuries.

There were 96 prisoners in the Milam County Jail this morning, including 7 housed for Cameron Police.

(Waco)  The 2010 Cameron Yoemen thumped Waco Connally to kickoff the season Friday on the road in Waco, paced by a high-flying offense that struck for 5 first half scores and an interception return that put the Yoemen in command by half-time, 42-0.

The Yoemen got in position for the first score of the night on the 2nd possession, after Jairo Campa jarred the ball loose, sacking Connally QB, Jordan Pruitt.  Edgar Luna fell on the loose ball, and 2 plays later, Cameron QB, Jack Rhoades hit DD Westbrook on the right side for a 10-yard TD strike.  The Yoemen missed out on getting on the board in the first drive of the night, when a Rhoades 39-yard field goal went just wide left.  But the Yoemen would score on their next 5 possessions.  Rhoades would hook up again in the first half with Westbrook on a 16 yard touchdown.  Thomas Rinn also hauled in a pair of scoring passes, and RB, Damyon Kelley broke away on a 63-yard score.

With the Yoemen up 42-0 at the half, the starters all returned to start the 2nd half, and punched in another score when Rhoades hit Justin Sapp for his 5th TD pass of the night.

Waco Connally finally got on the board in the 3rd quarter on a Ricky Gates score that capped off a 63-yard drive. 

The Yoemen tacked on a 30-yard Martin Rodriguez field goal to give the Yoemen a 52-7 win over Waco Connally.

Cameron will return home to Yoe Field to host 3A Waco La Vega this week.  The Pirates lost in the opening week against state ranked Prosper, 15-14.

#16 Jack Rhoades throws to DD Westbrook

Yoe "D" makes stop against Connally`s offense in first half

KMIL`s Bill Whitmire works game as Yoe sideline reporter

The Yoemen offense racked up 249 yards of total offense in first half

Yoe kickoff team got plenty work in 52-7 win

#17 DD Westbrook returns INT for TD in first half

Offensive Linemen; Ricky Dominguez, Josh Smitherman, Rey Rangel, Jacob Kostroun get rest