Here's a daily list of recent activities drawing the attention of North Texas law enforcement. List compiled on Dec. 15, 2009.
POLICE BUST POSSIBLE IDENTITY THEFT RING
Dallas police said they discovered 61 pieces of stolen personal information inside a motel room on Finnell Street. Police arrested Mark Anthony, but investigators said they believe he may be part of a larger operative of identity thieves. Officers found credit-card applications, birth certificates, drivers licenses and Social Security cards in the motel room, according to a police report. Anthony was being held in the Dallas County Jail on $81,000 bail as of Tuesday night. Read this story on NBCDFW.com.
THIEVES SNATCH GIANT SANTA BALLOON FROM DEALERSHIP
Grapevine police said four thieves stole a 25-foot blow-up balloon of Santa Clause from a motorcycle dealership. Surveillance video shows four men going through the back lot. Investigators said they stacked tires, scaled the building and cut the steel cable that secured the 300-pound balloon. The dealership is offering a $500 reward for the return of the Santa. Read this story on NBCDFW.com.
GUN HIDDEN IN TEDDY BEAR AT DFW AIRPORT
Security screeners at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport late last month discovered a 9mm handgun hidden inside a hollowed-out teddy bear and stuffed into a passenger's suitcase. The gun was in a passenger's checked suitcase and was headed for the cargo hold. The passenger was pulled off his international flight and arrested on an export violation of failing to declare the gun when he checked-in. Read this story on NBCDFW.com.
HOMEOWNER KILLED DURING BURGLARY
Grand Prairie police are investigating a home burglary that turned deadly Sunday. Police said Johnie and Betty Stailey returned from church to find their home in the 1100 block of Ruea was being burglarized. Johnie Stailey sent his wife to call police and went into the house. She heard gunshots, found her husband had been shot and ran to a neighbor's house to call police. He later died at Methodist Hospital. Police has arrested a person of interest in the case on an unrelated warrant.
BODY DISCOVERED IN APARTMENT FIRE
Firefighters battling an apartment fire in the 4500 block of San Jacinto Street discovered a body Tuesday. Dallas Fire-Rescue said the body was discovered next to the front door inside a unit at the New Castle Apartments. Firefighters found the body after they were able to make entry. There was no word on how the person died.
FETUS FOUND IN GIFT BOX, TEXAS COUPLE CHARGED
Authorities allege a south Texas couple put an aborted 7-month-old fetus in a gift box under a Christmas tree after trying to flush the remains down a toilet. Ruby Lee Medina, 31, and Javier Gonzalez, 37, are jailed on abuse of corpse and tampering with evidence charges. Bond is set at $20,000 each. A woman at the San Juan city jail said she couldn't say whether either has retained an attorney. San Juan Police Chief Juan Gonzalez said police found the fetus inside the woman's trailer home Thursday after an anonymous tip. Gonzalez said police believe the woman used pills to induce an abortion, then called an ambulance and said she didn't know where the fetus was. Gonzalez said the couple first tried to flush the fetus, then cleaned it up and put it in the gift box.
