By KERA News & Wire Services
Dallas, TX –
A man convicted over a 2008 robbery in Garland that claimed the lives of two Christian music record producers could be sent to death row. The penalty phase was scheduled Thursday in Dallas for 20-year-old James Broadnax of Texarkana.
A jury convicted Broadnax of capital murder in the fatal shooting of 26-year-old Stephen Swan of Carrollton. The other victim was 28-year-old Matthew Butler, who owned Zion Gate records.
Both victims were gunned down, in a parking lot, after leaving the studio on June 19, 2008.
Broadnax and his cousin, Demarius Cummings, were captured hours later in Swan's car during a stop by Texarkana police. Broadnax still faces a capital murder charge in Butler's death. Cummings is also charged with both killings but has yet to be tried.
Jury convicts defendant in Texas 'fight club' case
A Nueces County jury has begun deliberating punishment for a former Corpus Christi State School employee in the high-profile "fight club" trial. Jurors have suspended deliberations for the night in the case of Jesse Salazar. They'll resume work tomorrow morning in Corpus Christi.
Earlier today, jurors found the 25-year-old Salazar guilty of intentinoally causing injury to a disabled person. The third-degree felony is punishable by two to 10 years in prison.
Salazar is the first of six former school employees to go on trial for allegedly orchestrating fights among residents at the state facility for the developmentally disabled. Salazar's attorney is seeking probation.
Texas water district wants lawsuit upheld
A North Texas water district that is suing Oklahoma to get access to water in the state has asked a federal judge not to dismiss its lawsuit.
The Tarrant Regional Water District made the request in papers filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Oklahoma City. The state asked Judge Joe Heaton to dismiss the lawsuit last month.
The lawsuit, filed two years ago, alleges Oklahoma's moratorium on out-of-state water sales is unconstitutional.
Oklahoma's dismissal motion argues that a state law passed in May effectively repealed the moratorium and that the issue should now be decided by the Red River Compact Commission. However, the water district's general manager, Jim Oliver, says the new law changes nothing.
The district says Heaton denied a previous motion that raised similar points.
Lawsuit over Democratic Party delegates returns
A lawsuit against the Texas Democratic Party stemming from last year's close primary between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton is back in court.
A three-judge panel in San Antonio on Wednesday heard the case filed by Latino advocacy groups, who alleged that the complicated "Texas two-step" delegate system discriminates against Hispanics.
A federal judge last year dismissed the case headed by the League of United Latin American Citizens. But an appeals court ruling in February gave the lawsuit new life.
LULAC says the party's primary and caucus system unfairly dilutes Latino votes by awarding fewer presidential delegates to heavily Hispanic areas. The Texas Democratic Party says the system doesn't discriminate.
Both sides now await a ruling from the panel.
Boy Scout handbook goes high tech
The Boy Scouts of America are going high tech.
The Irving, Texas-based group's new handbook features sections on Internet safety, GPS navigation and an expanded online component. And an iPhone application of the Boy Scout Handbook will be available next month.
The handbook will continue to focus on subjects like camping, woodwork, leadership and citizenship. But the Scouts said in a statement this week that it's adopting "new and modern methods while maintaining the message of preparedness."
The 475-page 12th edition of the manual is available now.
The Boy Scouts serve more than 4.1 million youths between the ages of 7 and 20.