Daily Police Blotter

Here's a daily list of recent activities drawing the attention of North Texas law enforcement. List compiled on Oct. 2, 2009.

FW FATHER CONVICTED IN STARVED BABY CASE
A Fort Worth man has been convicted over the 2007 starving of his infant son that left the 7-month-old baby weighing just 6 pounds. A judge in December is expected to sentence 38-year-old Michael Anthony Foster. A Tarrant County jury on Thursday convicted Foster of causing serious bodily injury to a child by failing to feed him and provide medical care. The penalty range is probation to life in prison. The boy's mother, Melisa Marez, is also charged with injuring the baby, named Euphrates. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports Marez, who in 2008 was ruled incompetent for trial, is expected in court Monday. A neighbor in 2007 called 911 to report the malnourished child. The boy, who was placed with Child Protective Services, has recovered and has been adopted. More in the Star-Telegram.

NEIGHBORS EVACUATED AFTER MORNING HOUSE FIRE
Dallas Fire-Rescue was in the area of Near Loop 12 and Marsh Lane on a smoke investigation when Dallas police spotted flames shooting through the roof of a home in the 3700 block of Manana Drive. Police went door to door evacuating neighbors while firefighers battled the fire. Dallas police say no residents were home at the time of the fire. The home was a total loss and there's no word on the cause of the fire.

POLICE WARN OF MAN FOLLOWING STUDENTS
Students at Colleyville Middle School as well as Colleyville and Bransom Elementary Schools took home letters from their principal warning of a potential stalker near the school. Colleyville police are investigating reports of a man in a red pickup in the vicinity of L.D. Lockett and McDonwell School Road following students home twice this week according to the Star-Telegram. A GCISD spokesperson tells the newspaper the letters went out to raise community awareness. More in the Star-Telegram.

WITNESS CHASES HIT & RUN DRIVER IN ARLINGTON
Arlington police say a witness chased down a car involved in a hit and run involving a student at Sam Houston High School Thursday. Police arrested the woman driver. The student was taken to the hospital and treated for minor injuries.

ARLINGTON MAN ARRESTED IN SOCAL ARSON ATTEMPT
The FBI says it has arrested a man in Texas on charges of attempting to burn a Southern California townhome construction site in a case that may involve environmental extremism. The FBI's Los Angeles office says 43-year-old Stephen James Murphy was arrested at his Arlington home on Wednesday after recently being linked by DNA evidence from the scene of the 2006 crime in Pasadena. FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller says Murphy appeared in federal court in Texas on Thursday and will soon be transferred to Los Angeles. The case began with the discovery of a crude incendiary device at the construction site. The device used cigarettes and failed to ignite. The next day workers were unable to start a tractor that had been tampered with. A message written on the side referred to the "E.L.F.," which police say is the radical Earth Liberation Front.

FLOWER MOUND ANIMAL SERVICES FINDS RABID BAT
Flower Mound's Animal Services reports a live bat found on the playground at Garden Ridge Elementary on September 28 tested positive for rabies. Animal Services picked up the bat after students saw it on a tree. The bad appeared unhealthy and since it was active during daylight hours it was sent to the Texas Department of State Health Services lab for rabies testing. Flower Mound advises residents to not approach wild animals, especially animals acting erratic or unusual.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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