Occurred Monday, July 30, 2012, 10:43am 4500 State Highway 286 Access northbound, Vehicle Crash C1205689
A police officer on a police motor cycle was stopped at a red light when he was struck from behind by a bus on the Cross-town Expressway access road Monday morning.
The police officer is recovering from minor injuries such as a few abrasions and a swollen ankle. The officer was off-duty having completed morning duty and was in uniform on a marked police motorcycle.
The police officer was on the access road for the Cross-town Expressway in the northbound lanes at the intersection of Gollihar and stopped for the red light. The Regional Transit Authority bus saw the light turn green and moved forward and struck the motorcycle from behind. The officer was knocked to the ground and suffered minor injuries.
No other person was harmed. The bus had two passengers on board who were not injured. The 40-year-old woman operator of the bus was cited for an Unsafe Start From A Parked Position which is a violation of the Texas Transportation Code section 545.402.
The officer was transported to the hospital by ambulance for his minor injuries and the motorcycle was towed as a result of the damages.
The Texas Department of Transportation has a motorcycle safety campaign called Share the Road in which motorists are urged to look twice for motorcyclists. Be careful when changing lanes, and at intersections which, according to the Texas Department of Transportation, are the two places where serious motorcycle collisions commonly occur.
On July 27, 1984, Sergeant Ruben Almanza was assigned to the Narcotics Division and responded to assist officers on an armed robbery of the H.E.B. at Kostoryz and Gollihar. The suspects fled in a vehicle and bailed on foot in the residential neighborhood at Harold Street and Carroll Lane.
Sergeant Almanza, working in plain clothes, walked through yards on Harold Street looking for the suspect when he was ambushed and shot through a hole in a fence board by the suspect. Almanza fell to the ground and the suspect climbed over the fence and straddled Almanza, taking his service weapon, and then appeared he was going to shoot him again. At that point, now retired Lieutenant Eric Wramp, peered over the fence and fatally shoot the suspect. Sergeant Almanza was rushed to the hospital where he later passed away from his injuries a few minutes after midnight on July 28th.
Ruben joined the department on August 28, 1975. He worked in patrol and was later assigned to Special Services. Ruben’s police radio call sign was #419 while assigned to narcotics. The number was retired upon his death.
There are a few officers still working today which had the privilege and honor to have worked with Ruben. Sergeant Almanza is survived by his wife, Irma and three daughters, Melissa, Jennifer, and Tina.
In 1984, Ruben’s family and LULAC Council #1 set up the Sergeant Ruben Almanza Scholarship for High School graduates pursuing a Criminal Justice career. The first recipient was our own Senior Officer Albert Leal.
Corpus Christi Police Officer Billy Browning talks with customer Amber Schkade about how she can help the Special Olympics
Occurred Thursday, July 26, 2012, 2029 South Padre Island Drive
Local Law Enforcement participated in the statewide “Tip-A-Cop” annual fundraiser Thursday night at the Texas Roadhouse in Corpus Christi to raise funds for the Special Olympics Texas athletes.
Corpus Christi Police Officers greeted customers then served water and tea. The officers volunteered their time to talk to the customers at the Texas Roadhouse about the Olympics. All the tips earned by the officers were donated to help special needs athletes for the Special Olympics.
Alice Fulton-Garza is the area director for the Special Olympics South Texas Area-2 and she was on site to coordinate the athletes and volunteer officers that participated in the Thursday fundraising event. Volunteers are considered the lifeline of the Special Olympics Texas program. More than 47,000 volunteers in Texas currently dedicate their time to Special Olympics. These volunteers serve as coaches, officials, committee members, competition assistants, speech coaches and much more.
Special Olympics Texas is a registered 501(c)(3), non-profit organization supported by private donations from individuals, corporations and organizations throughout the state. The funding supports year round training and competitions for 32,240 children and adults with intellectual disabilities in Texas.
Anyone interested to get involved with Special Olympics Texas can contact the organization at 1-800-876-JOIN or http://www.specialolympicstexas.org.
Special Olympics volunteer coordinator Kathryn Pattillo holds a Law Enforcement Torch Run t-shirt for sale at the fundraiser at the Texas RoadhouseThese envelopes were distributed for the “Tip A Cop” event Thursday
Lieutenant Raymond Lara embraces Chief FloydSimpson at the conclusion of Lara’s 40 year career in Corpus Christi
Corpus Christi Police Lieutenant Raymond Lara attended his last roll call of his 40 years of service as a Corpus Christi Police Officer Thursday, July 26, 2012.
Raymond Lara began his career in the Corpus Christi Police Department July 18, 1972. Lieutenant Lara was promoted to Sergeant in 1979, then promoted to Lieutenant on August 19, 1991. Lieutenant Lara served on the Honor Guard, a supervisor of Special Services, and as a supervisor of the SWAT team. Lieutenant Lara concluded his career as a police patrol shift supervisor. The shift roll call was attended by the Uniform Division Commander Heidi Frese, Assistant Chief Jesse Garcia, Assistant Chief Mike Markle, and Chief of Police Floyd Simpson.
Chief Simpson explained that his decision to leave the Dallas Police Department after 25 years and 11 months of service was not easy and a life changing event. Chief Simpson said with that in mind, the entire department should celebrate the 40 years of service from Lieutenant Lara in a strongly meaningful manner.
Chief Simpson listed a few items of interest like the price of houses, and gasoline in 1972 to place in perspective the difference in time of 40 years. Chief Simpson concluded with the fact that Lieutenant Lara’s chief of police, Floyd Simpson, was just 9 years old in 1972.
Lieutenant Tim Brown will take over as shift supervisor for the vacancy caused by Lieutenant Lara’s retirement.
The Corpus Christi Police Department honors Lieutenant Lara’s 40 years of service and wish him well for the next chapter of his life.
Three people were arrested Wednesday after they filled a shopping cart full of merchandise at the Wal-Mart on Saratoga and left without paying for the merchandise that was valued at over $1,000.
Wal-Mart employees told Corpus Christi Police two men and a woman filled the cart with merchandise, then loaded the merchandise in a truck and then left the store without having paid for the merchandise. The woman, 18-year-old Brittany Martin (4/1/1994), was left behind by the two men and pointed out to police by the Wal-Mart employees.
Police detained Martin and then noticed the blue 2002 Ford Ranger pickup described by employees as the vehicle used by the thieves had returned to the parking lot. Police officers stopped the truck and detained 41-year-old Robert Martin (12/31/1970) and 37-year-old Justin Toole (11/1/1974) to investigate the theft.
Officers were directed to the merchandise that was stashed behind the Luby’s restaurant and the merchandise was returned to the Wal-Mart. All three suspects were arrested for theft.
The Corpus Christi Police Property Crimes Investigator supervisor, Lieutenant James Garrett, offered a new process to file shoplifting cases from local stores the monthly Corpus Christi Against Loss meeting hosted by the The Corpus Christi Police Department at the La Palmera Mall Wednesday.
The Corpus Christi Against Loss monthly meetings are held every third Wednesday at 10:00am at the La Palmera Mall. The meetings are attended by the loss prevention representatives, district managers for local businesses, and by Corpus Christi Police supervisors. The purpose of the meetings is to disseminate and exchange information about property crime trends and identify criminals.
Lieutenant James Garrett provided envelopes to the loss prevention representatives that outline needed material and evidence in order to successfully prosecute shoplifting cases. Lieutenant Garrett said this effort to streamline information will provide speedy trials and successful prosecutions for those arrested for theft. The checklist of items required for prosecution is printed on the outside of the envelope so that the items are to be placed inside the envelope for the district attorneys presentation in court.
The items required in the envelope for prosecution include store video and receipts which the police officers are unable to access without assistance from store employees. This checklist on the envelope is a system to prevent mistake or incomplete packages of information that delays and reduces the prosecution of offenders.
District Attorney Skurka made an appearance this Wednesday to provide the district attorneys office perspective on the new process to file criminal cases against those that commit theft. All in attendance agreed that the goal is successful prosectutions of all offenders.
Corpus Christi Police Dive Team Members typically wear a full face mask and a dry suit as seen here on Dive Team member Travis Tirado.Police Diver Ross Murray discusses the lift system with instructor Steve Salach and Dive Team supervisor, Lieutenant Tom Nichols
The Corpus Christi Police Dive Team completed 40 hours of professional water rescue training last week with newly acquired equipment which was used to recover a vehicle that went into the Corpus Christi Marina Sunday night.
The Corpus Christi Police Dive Team received grant money to obtain equipment for light vehicle recovery and to have a trainer provide instruction for the proper and safe use of the equipment. Steve Salach is a corporate trainer for Dive Rescue International and came to Corpus Christi from Fort Lauderdale, Florida for the week to train the Corpus Christi Police Dive Team.
Salach said the dive teams throughout the nation are not classified by the skill level of the divers, but rather they are classified by the equipment they possess. Salach said the individual diver can have a broad variety of skills and capabilities, but the equipment is what makes the diver useful for emergency operations like the Corpus Christi Police Dive Team. Salach is primarily employed by the Broward County Sheriff’s Office as a Chief Diver and Trainer and began the week of training with individual diver safety.
The Corpus Christi Police Dive team began the 40 hour training session on July 16 at Labonte Park with a three-day class called Public Safety Diver Survival. The divers in Corpus Christi have a variety of individual hazards to negotiate. One hazard is that the waters in this area are murky and have no visibility. The divers operate in water in which they cannot see their hand extended in front of them and light disappears four feet below the surface. Salach said this low visibility condition is common throughout the country and presents a first safety concern for manipulating submerged equipment.
A second hazard divers must overcome is the contaminated waters. Salach said the fluids from vehicles, pollution, and waterborne bacteria create an unsanitary and hazardous condition for divers. Salach said that years ago, divers wore shorts, a t-shirt, a small mask and a breathing hose; but, that has changed over the years because of water contamination. Divers now wear a full mask and a dry suit to protect themselves from pollutants and bacteria.
Other hazards in the water include the wildlife. Alligators, snakes, and other animals in the water can provide a significant hazard to divers especially in reduced visibility conditions.
Another hazard for divers is the heat. Salach said there is no emergency activity that taxes the body more than rescue diving. The divers must be in excellent physical condition to operate in the water. The water is hot and the work is like rigorous exercise, and the dry suit worn by the divers is a plastic bag over their body.
The final days of training were with the new light salvage and recovery system. The lifting system is basically bags that are connected to a submerged vehicle and then filled with air to make the vehicle buoyant. The vehicle can then be moved closer to shore or to a more advantageous location to extract the vehicle from the water with the use of a tow truck or crane.
The system was used to recover a vehicle that went into the Corpus Christi Marina Sunday night as a result of reckless driving. No person was injured in the vehicle crash when it entered the water. The Corpus Christi Police Dive Team recovered the vehicle Monday morning. The Corpus Christi Police Dive Team also recovered a vehicle from Packery Channel on July 4.
The next piece of equipment the Corpus Christi Police Dive Team will acquire is also through grant money. The Dive Team will obtain a remote operated vehicle next month. Team members will travel to San Diego California to gain the training for the new tool and bring back a new R.O.V. to belong to the Corpus Christi Police Department.
Salach said the one main obstacle for any dive team is funding. Dive teams are often neglected until they are needed. The Corpus Christi Police Dive Team have acquired much of their equipment and training from grants from which dive team members have applied.
Dive Team Member Eric Garza stands to watch for diver safety as divers manipulate a car raised in the Nueces RiverThis is a part of the new equipment acquired through grants to the dive team. This is part of the light salvage recovery system which is a bladder that inflates to provide buoyancy to submerged vehicles.
A 38-year-old man was arrested Saturday for aggravated assault after a 43-year-old man was stabbed at a house on Eklund Avenue, then rushed to the hospital.
A 43-year-old woman told police she and her 43-year-old boyfriend had a bar-be-que Saturday night when the 43-year-old woman’s ex-husband, Jesus Garcia (10/27/1973) arrived at the home, uninvited. The 43-year-old woman saw Garcia approach the 43-year-old boyfriend, then the boyfriend yelled for police to be called as Garcia walked away. The boyfriend had been stabbed in the abdomen and was directly transported to the hospital for treatment.
Police went to Garcia’s house and discovered evidence of the crime. Garcia was arrested for aggravated assault and delivered to the city detention center.
The Corpus Christi Police Department hosted an event called, “Operation: Safe Return” at West Guth Park Saturday to help prepare the children in the community to safely return to school.
The event was organized by police officers Brenda Garza and Emily Perez and had a variety of information about health and safety available for those who attended. Senior Officer Emily Perez did not have any estimated numbers of attendants, but said the event began at 10am and there were 750 bracelets given to children before noon.
The bracelets were provided to permit children to the pool at no charge. The Operation Safe Return provided free school physical exams, free school supplies, nutrition information, anti-bullying information, vision screening, and $10 immunizations among other benefits to participants.
Officers Garza and Perez said they were pleased with the response from the community and thank all the vendors that donated time, services, and products for the back to school event. A second event is in the planning stage that will be held on the south side of Corpus Christi in late August.
Officer Brenda Garza and Senior Officer Emily Perez organized “Operation: Safe Return” to promote school safety. A second event is planned for late August.
A 23-year-old man was arrested at his home on Sun Ray Friday evening for a murder that happened at South Bay Park in Corpus Christi.
Corpus Christi Police responded to a shooting call at 1013 Harbor Lights which is the address for South Bay Park. Police Officers discovered a man in his early 20’s laid in the road and had suffered multiple gunshot wounds. Corpus Christi Fire Department Emergency Medical Services provided care to the man in the road, but the man did not survive the injuries.
Corpus Christi Police Homicide Investigators arrived at the scene and conducted an investigation. Based on witnesses to the event and evidence at the scene, the investigators specifically identified a suspect.
Corpus Christi Police arrested 23-year-old Trinity Kane Ringlestein (10/15/1988) on Friday night for murder.
Corpus Christi Police continue to investigate this event and encourages anyone that knows details about this crime to call police to make the information available for detectives.
CCPD Blotter 
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