Occurred on 7/19/12, 3:33 am Driving While Intoxicated 1400 Airline Road 1207190029
Officers waiting for a prisoner transport were soon accompanied by a Supervisor conducting a traffic stop. The driver of a maroon 2003 Ford F-150 pulled into the Gulfway Shopping Center. Lt. P. McMenamy told the Officers he observed the female driver traveling at a high rate of speed as it traveled northbound on Airline toward the intersection at Airline at S.P.I.D. The driver slammed on the brakes to avoid hitting a vehicle that was stopped at the intersection causing the truck to fishtail.
The driver was able to stop and avoid a collision, but continued on until pulled over. When Officers contacted Sarah Mundahl (02/25/92) she appeared intoxicated and administered Standard Field Sobriety Tests and a Breath Test. Mundahl was arrested and charged with Driving While Intoxicated 3rd or More when it was found that she had two prior convictions for D.W.I. arrests in 2009 and 2010.
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.
Occurred on 7/25/12, 3:51 am Graffiti with arrest 3300 Cimarron 1207250024
Captain W. Weber believing Daniel Bingham (02/11/95) was violating curfew stopped to talk to him. Bingham quickly threw a spray paint can on the ground.
Further investigation revealed there were two separate fences and a Brighton Park ditch which Bingham had vandalized along with an AEP pole. All four areas had fresh graffiti paint on them. Bingham was also found to have matching spray paint on his hands. The graffiti matched several other locations in the Brockhampton area.
Graffiti Task Force Detective S. Smith was called to assist and the suspect was taken to the Criminal Investigation Division for questioning. Bingham was arrested and charged with Possession of a Graffiti Implement, Littering Prohibited in Public Places, and four counts of Graffiti.
Occurred on 7/23/12, 1:33 am Driving While Intoxicated 3500 Hwy 358 WB 1207230009/C1205545/1207230024
Officers responded to an accident in a yellow Kawasaki rear-ended a black Dodge Neon as they both traveled westbound on SH Hwy 358. Both vehicles were in the right lane when the accident occurred. The 36-year-old motorcyclist was ejected and thrown onto the roof of the Neon as a result of the impact. He was rushed to Spohn Memorial with serious injuries. He was cited for Following Too Closely, Failure to Maintain Financial Responsibility, and No Motorcycle License. Further investigation
Veronica Hernandez (12/10/57) the driver of the Neon appeared to be intoxicated and administered Standard Field Sobriety Tests and a Blood Specimen taken. She was medically cleared and arrested. Hernandez was booked at the City Detention Center and charged with Driving While Intoxicated and Driving While License Suspended. The D.W.I. is a Class “B” Misdemeanor is punishable by up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine, while the D.W.L.I. is a Class “C” Misdemeanor punishable by a $500 fine.
Further investigation revealed the motorcyclist was also intoxicated and a blood draw taken. Due to the motorcyclist’s injuries he was admitted to the hospital and not arrested, but Driving While Intoxicated charges are pending.
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.
Occurred on 7/19/12, 8:21 pm Robbery 2200 Agnes Street 1207190149
Police en route to a local department store for a robbery were provided with additional suspect information. Lt. B. Ward and Senior Officer M. Ayala detained a man matching the suspect description given as he walked eastbound on Laredo Street.
Officers contacted the victim he told them he was sitting at a bus bench showing his phone to another male when a green Chevrolet pulled up to the curb. A man got out of the car and approached him. Both men who were strangers to the victim began assaulting him, punching him in the face. The men took the victim’s phone and backpack. The suspect who took the backpack returned to the vehicle and drove off, leaving the other suspect to flee on foot.
Gilberto Reyes (03/18/63) who was detained by Officers was positively identified by the victim and a witness as one of the robbers. Reyes was also found to have the victim’s phone in his pant pocket and arrested. Reyes was charged with Robbery.
The second suspect is described as a Hispanic male, 5’6” to 5’7” feet tall and last seen driving a green four door Chevrolet. Anyone with any information on this crime is asked to call Crime Stop Stoppers at 888-TIPS or submit a tip online at www.888TIPS.com. Tipsters can earn a cash reward if the second suspect is arrested.
The victim sustained minor injuries which did not require medical treatment. His phone was recovered and returned to him.
Occurred on 7/22/12, 11:43 pm Major Accident 400 N. Shoreline C1205543/1207230011
Officers responded to a submerged vehicle at the Lawrence Street T-Head shortly before midnight. Upon their arrival, Officers found two of the concrete pylons along with the guide wires had been damaged. Officers report bubbles rising from the surface, but the white 2001 Ford Expedition was no longer visible.
Police were told contradictory accounts of the accident by the driver and the five occupants who told Officers a “dog” ran in front of them causing the driver to lose control as he swerved to avoid it. The driver jumped the curb, struck the pylons and guide wires landing in the bay.
The 23-year driver was issued a citation for Unsafe Change from a Direct Course, but the charge was changed to Reckless Driving when Marina Patrol provided surveillance video of the accident. The video showed the SUV following another vehicle with both of them swerving from side to side as they traveled eastbound on the T-Head. The driver of the Expedition lost control and either fell or jumped out the moving vehicle. The SUV continued on and landed in the bay with its five passengers still inside. All passengers, three females, 16, 19, 36 and two males 14, 18 were able to safely get out of the car before Officers arrived.
The Corpus Christi Police Dive was called to assist and marked the SUV’s location with a buoy to prevent any boating accidents. At 9:00 am this morning the Dive Team was able to retrieve the submerged vehicle with a Light Vehicle Recovery System which enables Dive Team members to move the sunken vehicle closer to the surface and shore.
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.
Senior Officer Denise Pace stands next to patrol officers Maria Pici, Olga Flores, and Imelda Benevides at the start of the Women In Policing seminar.
The Corpus Christi Police Department’s Training Division hosted a “Women in Policing” Seminar on Wednesday July 18, 2012 from 7:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m. at the Police Departments Training Center.
This seminar gave prospective female applicants an opportunity to hear from successful female officers and ask questions about how they juggle family life and a law enforcement career. Topics of discussion included; the application process, the police academy, career opportunities with the C.C.P.D. and other topics.
The Corpus Christi Police Department’s Training Division will host a second “Women in Policing” Seminar on Wednesday, August 1, 2012 from 7:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m. at the Del Mar College West Campus/ Emerging Technologies Building 4101 Old Brownsville Rd. Corpus Christi, TX 78405 Room # ET105.
Please join us for an evening to explore an exciting career in law enforcement and hear from women who have very successful careers with the Corpus Christi Police Department.
For additional information please contact Maryann Carrillo at (361) 826-4071.
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