APD releases details on Memorial Day aggravated assault on Columbine/Gardenia

On 5-28-12, at 8:40 PM, officers were sent to 1318 Columbine on a reported aggravated assault. Officers found two men injured and being treated outside that home.

 One was an Asian male age 36. An officer said that this man appeared to be unconscious and may have suffered some type of head injury.

 The second man, an Asian male age 17, had multiple facial lacerations. Initial information provided to officers was that brass knuckles were used in the fight in which the men were involved. One witness later mentioned clubs and sticks.

 Both men were being treated by paramedics and the unconscious man was transported to a local hospital. Officers found that the two men had been at a party at 1424 Gardenia. There was some type of verbal dispute or argument, and a fight involving the two men and an unknown number of other people broke out. The two men sustained their injuries during the fight.

 The initial information is that the fight happened inside the home. The two injured men apparently drove from the Gardenia address to the home on Columbine. Officers and investigators went to the Gardenia address and found several people still there, but others involved may have left before officers arrived. The officers secured consent and searched the home.

 At least three people were taken to the APD to be interviewed. Everyone was later released without charges and there have been no arrests. The most severely injured man’s condition was initially described as life-threatening. Investigators later learned the injuries were probably not life-threatening. They are in the process of verifying the man’s current condition at the time of this release. No names have been released pending additional investigation.                                                                                                                                      

Texas Panhandle War Memorial today

Photos from today's Memorial Day observances at the Texas Panhandle War Memorial.

All photos by Steve Douglass

Burglars busted ...

On 5-13-12, at about 4:40 AM, officers saw a black Dodge SUV type vehicle driving southbound in the 1500 block of S. Bell at a high rate of speed.

 As the officers continued to watch the vehicle, they were dispatched to the Kensington Apartments at 1524 Bell on a burglary of the office.

 A witness reportedly heard glass break, people talking, and then saw a black vehicle shaped like an SUV leave the lot at a high rate of speed. An officer stopped the vehicle in the 4300 block of W. IH-40. The driver was a female, and there were two passengers, a male and a female. The officer saw papers and checks from the Kensington Apartments.

 They also saw a damaged mail slot face plate in the vehicle. Two of the people in the car had fresh cuts on their hands. Officers sent to the burglary confirmed that the apartment’s office had been burglarized. They found a window broken out and the front door had been pried open.

 The night drop box was been broken open. Ashley Radawn Stauder WF 21 and Michael Christopher Bailey WM 25 of Amarillo were arrested and booked into the Potter Co. Detention Center for burglary. The female passenger in the car was released pending investigation.                                                                                    

BPI closing Amarillo plant due to pink slime controversy

Beef Products, Inc., of South Dakota has announced it will be closing three of its processing plants on May 25. BPI claims the "pink slime" controversy in March of this year was the cause of the closures that will affect 650 workers.

Plants affected by the closure are located in Amarillo, Texas, Garden City, Kansas and Waterloo, Ohio. A fourth plant in South Sioux City, Nebraska will remain open, but at a reduced level of production.

BPI came up with the process of making the additive, LFTB, in 1994 when concern was high over the way to kill E. coli, Salmonella and other pathogens sometimes found in ground beef. The process involves heating beef scraps with ammonia, which in turn effectively kills the pathogens. 

Called "lean finely textured beef", the product name, "pink slime", was coined by a microbiologist, Gerald Zirnstein, in 2002. At that time, Zirnstein worked for the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service.

Dog owner claims animal control abused her dog - not the case says Vet

AMARILLO, TEXAS -- An Amarillo dog-owner is breathing a sigh of relief after it was confirmed by a veterinarian that her dog was not abused by Animal Control officials.

Cassie Sims said Amarillo Animal Control picked up her 3-year-old Australian Shepherd, named Auston, on Tuesday because he escaped from her family's backyard.

"I got home from work and there was a note that my dog had been picked up," she said. "The pound had picked up Auston."

When Cassie went to retrieve her four-legged friend, she was surprised to see him covered in blood.

"There was blood dripping everywhere," Cassie said. "It looked like a slaughterhouse."

Cassie said she believed her dog was possibly abused by Animal Control officials because she found wounds on his chest and his nose and mouth were bleeding.

"It's like they had just flung him trying to get him in the cage."

Animal Control said the injuries were not from any sort of abuse, but instead caused from a staff that officers use to restrain animals.

"They got one of the animals (Auston) on the end of a staff and the dog fought the staff, bit the staff, punctured its toungue or lip and probably banged its nose on the end of the staff," said Animal Control Executive Director Mike McGee.

The staff is used to protect both the animals and the Animal Control officers, McGee said.

McGee said Animal Control paid for a vet examination on Auston. He said he specifically asked the vet, Auston's local vet, to check the dog for any signs of abuse.

Results of the examination concluded the dog did not suffer any type of injuries from any sort of abuse, McGee said.

Cassie said she is content with the outcome and glad her dog was not abused.

As for Auston, Cassie said he is doing fine and getting back to normal.

She said her family now plans to ugrade their fence to ensure their pets do not escape again.

Man stabbed by beggar in Amarillo - suspect sought.

On 5-8-12, at 8:00 PM, officers were sent to a home in the 2200 block of SE 21st on a report of a stabbing victim there. Responding officers found a resident of a home there attempting to render first aid to the victim, Abel Delacruz Flores HM age 26 of Amarillo. Flores was still in his vehicle. He was suffering from stab wounds in his stomach, arm, and thigh. The victim was transported to the hospital by ambulance. At the hospital, he reported that he had been in his vehicle in the drive-up line at the Wendy’s at 2000 S. Ross when he was stabbed.

A Hispanic male he described as 5ft. 8, 140 pounds, bald, and clean shaven approached the open window on the driver’s side of the vehicle. The suspect asked him for spare change. The victim didn't have any but told the man that if he would wait until the meal was paid for, he would have change. The suspect stepped away. When the victim drove to the ordering area, the suspect approached the open passenger window again and stabbed him in the forearm. When the victim leaned over to get out of the suspect’s reach, the man stabbed him two more times.

 During this, a second Hispanic male about the same size as the first but wearing a black, derby style hat approached the right side of the car and tried to open the locked door. Flores feared he was being robbed and drove away into the nearby neighborhood. He did not know anyone at the address in SE 21st but said he knew people that lived in the area. Officers returned to the restaurant and obtained other details from a video and a witness. Officers believe that the two suspects had stepped out of what may have been a red four-door vehicle that pulled up beside the victim’s car before the stabbing. 


The victim’s injuries are not believed to be life-threatening. There have been no arrestsOn 5-8-12, at 8:00 PM, officers were sent to a home in the 2200 block of SE 21st on a report of a stabbing victim there. Responding officers found a resident of a home there attempting to render first aid to the victim, Abel Delacruz Flores HM age 26 of Amarillo. Flores was still in his vehicle. He was suffering from stab wounds in his stomach, arm, and thigh. The victim was transported to the hospital by ambulance. At the hospital, he reported that he had been in his vehicle in the drive-up line at the Wendy’s at 2000 S. Ross when he was stabbed.

A Hispanic male he described as 5ft. 8, 140 pounds, bald, and clean shaven approached the open window on the driver’s side of the vehicle. The suspect asked him for spare change. The victim didn't have any but told the man that if he would wait until the meal was paid for, he would have change. The suspect stepped away. When the victim drove to the ordering area, the suspect approached the open passenger window again and stabbed him in the forearm.

 When the victim leaned over to get out of the suspect’s reach, the man stabbed him two more times. During this, a second Hispanic male about the same size as the first but wearing a black, derby style hat approached the right side of the car and tried to open the locked door. Flores feared he was being robbed and drove away into the nearby neighborhood. He did not know anyone at the address in SE 21st but said he knew people that lived in the area. Officers returned to the restaurant and obtained other details from a video and a witness. Officers believe that the two suspects had stepped out of what may have been a red four-door vehicle that pulled up beside the victim’s car before the stabbing. The victim’s injuries are not believed to be life-threatening. There have been no arrests

Oklahoma man arrested after strange police chase in Amarillo

AMARILLO, TEXAS -- An Oklahoma man was arrested by Amarillo police after leading them on a chase Monday evening. 

The suspect, 33-year-old Chad Alon Carpenter of Glenpool, Okla., was booked on preliminary charges of two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, evading in a motor vehicle, resisting arrest, unlawfully carrying a weapon and two counts of assault on a public servant, police said.

 At about 8:30 p.m., police said it was reported to them that a man in a white truck with Oklahoma pointed a handgun at a person on a motorcycle near the area of 45th and Western. The caller was able to supply police with a tag number and description of the vehicle.

 About an hour later, police said they received a report about a white 2000 Ford Explorer. According to police, the driver of the Explorer was seen pulling in front of another driver, stopping suddenly and nearly causing a collision near the area of 45th and Western. Police said two people in a black 1995 Honda coupe pulled up next to the Explorer and exchanged words. The driver then, according to police, fired a shot into the Honda's right fender.

 The Explorer fled and the two people inside the Honda followed it to a convenience store at 45th and Maverick, police said. Police arrived and attempted to take the suspect into custody but he reached toward his waistband, got in the vehicle and fled south on Western. Officers said they lost sight of the vehicle near Catalpa and South Western. The vehicle was then sighted near Interstate 27 and Georgia a short time later.

Police said they tried to stop the vehicle again but the driver sped away. Police said the pursuit continued south and west but was discontinued as the suspect approached the area of 45th and Bell.

 "At one point, officers had discontinued pursuit as he was approaching 45th and Bell at a high rate of speed so they pulled out of the chase," explained Amarillo Police Department's Sgt. Brent Barbee. "He was sited a few minutes later and again the officers tried to stop him."

 The pursuit continued when the suspect was seen turning westbound on Arden from Bell. The vehicle then continued to Coulter and then south of the Loop, police said. Tire spikes were set up near Hillside and Soncy. The spokes punctured three of the suspect's tires, police said.

He continued north to Interstate 40 where police blocked traffic. According to police, the suspect was driving on three rims and turned on the frontal road. Police said he drove over a curb and stopped just west of Bell Street. Police said the suspect then got out and ignored officer's commands to stop and started to walk away. He was tackled by office and resisted arrest, police said.

Officers used a taser to gain control of the suspect, police said. "He continued to resist pretty violently and had to be transported to the hospital and be medically cleared and then he was booked in jail with a number of charges," added Sgt. Barbee. 

A loaded .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol was located in the front of the suspect's pants. "It's always a balancing act between the risk to the public versus the risk of allowing this person to continue," said Sgt. Barbee.

 "This was an uncommonly high-risk situation where we had a guy we knew was involved in a shooting and we had to stick pretty close with him a little longer than we would for the average chase." Texas Department of Public Safety and Randall County deputies assisted the Amarillo Police Department with the chase.


Update: ****UPDATED 5-5-12******The Randall County District Attorney’s Office has accepted four felony charges against Chad Alon Carpenter. The first three are aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Two charges stem from the shot fired that struck the vehicle containing two people. The third charge was filed on behalf of the motorcyclist that had been the victim of the earlier assault. That man, a WM 40 of Amarillo, reported that he had been southbound in the 3200 block of S. Western when the suspect vehicle was behind him and nearly struck him.

 The victim changed lanes to get out of the man’s way. Both stopped at the light at 34th and S. Western. After an exchange of words, the suspect produced a handgun and pointed it at him. The victim drove away and later contacted police about the incident. Prosecutors also accepted one charge of evading in a motor vehicle. Prosecutors in Potter County are reviewing the reports of events at the arrest scene to decide if additional charges are appropriate.
STEN TO SCANNER AUDIO OF THE CHASE HERE