Occurred on 6/4/12 5:24 p.m.  Robbery  1235 Second St.  1206040125 

A 67-year-old man told Officers he was late paying his rent and a roommate’s friend threatened to cut off a finger per day until it was paid as they shopped at a local department store.  The suspect then chest bumped the victim and threatened to kill him.  The victim told the suspect Gregory Springer aka Eric Springer (10/22/93) he would pay his rent once he received his settlement and they returned home. 

The victim said he was shaving when Springer, a friend of his roommate’s grabbed him from behind and placed him in a chokehold.  Springer then used a knife and held it against the victim’s arm.  He demanded the victim’s car keys and cell phone.  The victim passed out and his car keys along with his phone were missing when he regained consciousness.  Springer finally returned the keys and phone after a trip to a nearby convenience store.  It was then the victim was able to leave and call police. 

According to the victim, his roommate was not involved in the robbery and kept telling the suspect to return the car keys and phone.  The suspect was found at 1235 2^nd Street and taken to the victim’s location where he was positively identified.  Springer was arrested and charged with Aggravated Robbery and Terroristic Threats.  His bond was set at $25,000 for the Aggravated Robbery and $500 for the Terroristic Threats.

Occurred on 6/2/12, 10:24 pm  Aggravated Robbery  3033 S. Port  1206020151/1206020155 

Officers responded to the H.E.B. on Port Avenue for a fight in progress.  Upon their arrival  they contacted the store’s loss prevention officer who reported observing Eric Longoria (09/29/84) attempt to walk out of the store with a loaded grocery cart filled with  beer and wine. The loss prevention officer who is disabled tried to stop Longoria by blocking his path with his wheelchair.  A witness took the cart away from Longoria and returned it inside the store.  Longoria retaliated by punching the loss prevention officer in the jaw as he sat in his wheelchair.

A store customer who observed the assault told Longoria he should not have hit the victim as he was only doing his job.  The customer then walked away and was punched in the back of the head and face.  The customer tackled Longoria and the fight was on.  Longoria who was bleeding from his face and nose fled the store, but was later apprehended by Lt. D. Garcia as walked on Sarita and Tarlton Streets.   He was returned to the H.E.B. where he was positively identified and arrested. 

Longoria became very combative, cursing and spitting at Officers.  He was taken to Spohn Memorial for medical clearance for injuries he had received in a fight prior to his arrest.  While being treated, Longoria kicked another Officer in the knee and threatened his safety.  Longoria was charged with Aggravated Robbery, Assault on a Public Servant, and Retaliation.

The loss prevention officer was treated at the scene minor injuries sustained in the assault.  The unidentified customer left the store after Longoria fled.  The stolen cart full of beer and wine was recovered.  The total value of the alcohol was $111.

The Narcotics Vice Investigations Division conducted an undercover prostitution sting as part of the on-going CCPD summer initiative.  The sting targeted the prostitutes within the area bordered by Morgan Street to Leopard  Street and Staples Street to Navigation.  Specific areas of concentration included Agnes and 19th, S. Alameda and Hancock and the 1200 – 5800 block of Leopard.  The sting was conducted between the hours of 06:30 am – 12:30 pm on May 31, 2012 and resulted in the arrest of eleven women.  They include:

• Davila, Olga  (11/04/71)
• Sanchez, Michele (08/29/76)
• Covarrubias, Cynthia (02/20/84
• Llanos, Tamika (08/05/76)
• Cantu, Rosemary  (07/19/60)
• Figueroa, Valerie  (12/02/86)
• Robles, Elizabeth  (06/22/79)
• Marmolejo, Sonia  (12/03/80)
• Ysassi, Stephanie (08/17/86)
• Jones, Felicia (11/17/84)
• Oelschlegal, Lucia  (11/09/73)

All eleven were booked at the City Detention Center and charged with Prostitution, which is a Class “B” Misdemeanor punishable by upto 180 days in jail and a $2,000 fine.

Occurred on 5/30/12, 12:16 pm  Robbery Aggravated  2800 Blevins  Case: 1205300063 

An 18-year-old Del Mar student walking home was approached by a Black male in a gold 4-door vehicle.  The man demanded the victim turn over her cell phone and iPod at gunpoint.  The victim afraid the suspect would kill her handed the suspect both items.  He re-entered his vehicle and fled on Brentwood toward Norton Street.  The victim approached a nearby witness to the robbery and asked her to call police.  The witness described the suspect as a Black male wearing a red hoodie and a Ray High School letterman’s jacket. 

Approximately an hour later Officers were advised the phone was being tracked by GPS to the area of 1400 Annapolis.  Officers checked the area and found Cedric Hall Jr. (01/24/94) standing in the front yard of 1425 Annapolis. Hall and a vehicle parked in the driveway matched the description given by both the witness and the victim.  

Further investigation revealed Hall was wanted for two outstanding warrants and had lied to Officers about his real name.  Hall was arrested and found to have a cell phone in his pocket.  The same phone rang when the victim’s cell phone number was called. Officers were able to recover the victim’s phone, the clothing used in the robbery, and the gun which turned out to be a BB pistol. 

Hall was charged with Aggravated Robbery, Failure to Identify as a Fugitive, and two outstanding warrants out of Nueces and Jackson Counties.  The gold Ford Crown Victoria used in the robbery was also impounded.

Corpus Christi Police Detectives have obtained an arrest warrant for a San Antonio man suspected of a brutal assault and carjacking that left a local woman with serious injuries late last year.  On November 9, 2011 a 30 year-old waitress was walking to her car after completing her work shift at a restaurant on Corpus Christi Beach when she grabbed from behind by an unknown man.   The suspect, who was armed with a knife, viciously assaulted the woman when she refused to leave the parking lot with him.   The suspect then fled in the victim’s car, leaving her behind severely beaten in the restaurant’s parking lot.  Her car was later found floating in the Inner Harbor of Corpus Christi Bay.  The suspect, despite an intensive search of the area by officers, was not found.

Corpus Christi Police Department Robbery Detectives assigned to the case submitted evidence found at the scene of the attack to the Texas Department of Public Safety Crime Lab.   Detectives were informed that DNA obtained from the crime scene matched that of a known offender from San Antonio.  As a result, Corpus Christi Police Department Robbery Detectives have obtained an arrest warrant for David G. Vasquez Jr. (D.O.B. 09-12-85), charging him with Aggravated Robbery.  Vasquez is an Hispanic male, about 5’7”, weighing approximately 150 lbs. with brown hair and brown eyes.  Vasquez’s last known address is in San Antonio, but he may still be in the Corpus Christi Area.   He is considered armed and dangerous.  Anyone having any information about his whereabouts is urged to call the Corpus Christi Police Department or Crime Stoppers at 888-TIPS.  The information could result in a reward up to $1000 in cash.

Occurred on 5/29/12. 6:47 am  Major Accident  400 17th Street  C1204093

A 51-year-old man who failed to stop for the stop sign at the intersection of 17th and Marguerite was struck by a white Nissan P4.  The driver of the Nissan braked, but was unable to stop in time, but struck the bicycle’s rear tire. 

The bicyclist was taken to Spohn Memorial for medical treatment with non-life threatening injuries.  He was issued a citation for Disregarding a Traffic Control Device. 

Please remember, bicyclists have the same rights and responsibilities as motor vehicle drivers.  They must travel in the same direction as vehicle traffic, stop for red lights, stop signs, and obey all traffic laws.

Occurred on 5/26/12, 5:55  Aggravated Assault  1330 Espinosa Street   120526

Officers responded to 1300 Espinosa Street for a shooting call with a victim being shot in the head.  Upon their arrival, Officers contacted the 13-year-old boy’s father who told them their neighbor had shot his son in the head with a BB gun.  The teenager was treated by CCFD Emergency Personnel for an embedded BB in his head and taken to Spohn Memorial for treatment.

Officers discovered the neighbor, Luis Velasco (12/03/56) became upset when the juvenile kicked him when he asked to stop bothering him.  Velasco grabbed his bb gun and shot at the victim, striking him in the forehead.  Officers arrested Luis Velasco (12/03/56) and charged him with Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon.

The Corpus Christi Police Department celebrated the graduation of five Metrocom Technicians Friday. Metrocom is the call center for the emergency services of Nueces County. Metrocom receives calls from individuals who need assistance from police officers, fire fighters, and Emergency Medical Services. The calls are prioritized and then resources are dispatched to provide the needed service. Metrocom is housed at the Corpus Christi Police Department building and is responsible for the direction of all emergency services 24 hours a day, 7 days per week.

The Metrocom training is a 6 week classroom course which consists of a Telecommunications Certification Course, Texas Crime Information Center and National Crime Information Center certification, basic dispatching skills by use of the Computer Aided Dispatch system, Intergraph, city geography, and police codes.

The Corpus Christi Police welcomes 5 new Metrocom Technicians:

Antelmo Aguirre Jr.;

Paul Hoepner;

Yvette Montoya;

Lorrie Morrin;

And Jennifer Onuoha

Congratulations to the Metrocom Class 2012-43 and good luck in your career.

Occurred on 5/24/12, 6:43 pm  Drowning  1400 Ocean Drive   1205240137 

Officers responding to a drowning climbed over a fence to reach the dock where a man and woman were in the water.  As they reached the dock they observed a security guard holding on to the woman.  Officers and the security guard assisted the woman from the water.

The man was pulled out of the water by Officers and CCFD Emergency Personnel and administered CPR.  He was rushed to Spohn Shoreline where he died.

Further investigation revealed the couple had climbed over the locked gate and were sitting on the dock drinking.  The man unexpectedly jumped into the water and did not resurface.  The woman entered the water in search of the man and began calling for help when she did not find him.  A security guard heard her yelling and hurried to help her.

The investigation is ongoing, but at this time, there appears to be no foul play involved.

Occurred on 5/22/12. 8:45 am  Aggravated Assault  3201 Leopard Street   1205220036/C1203919

A Miller High School student’s taco run turned violent when he cancels his order.  The 17-year-old student told Officers he stopped by Torres Taqueria at  3302 Leopard Street and ordered several tacos.  When he realized he was late for school, the student cancelled his order.  As he hurried to school, the student was chased down by a blue Dodge Ram pick-up truck in the Auto Zone parking lot.  The driver missed striking the victim with his truck, but did land several blows after confronting the student.  The student was punched in the face several times before he was able to escape and run to the welding shop.

The driver Guillermo Torres (05/13/93) re-entered his truck and kept trying to run him over as he fled.  Torres left the roadway at 600 Rose Street and struck the abandoned Republic Annex Building while chasing after the victim.  Neither the driver nor the student sustained any injuries as a result of the accident, but both were injured during the struggle.  The victim was treated at the scene by CCFD Emergency Personnel.  Torres was taken to the Spohn Memorial for a laceration to the head.  He was treated and medically cleared before being booked at the City Detention Center.  Torres was charged with Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon.