By KERA News & Wire Services
Dallas, TX –
Police have arrested a 17-year-old boy and charged him with murder in a triple shooting that left one man dead and two others wounded.
The Wichita Falls Times Record News quotes a police statement as saying Ruben Justin Hernandez also is charged with two counts of aggravated assault. A police spokesman hasn't returned a message left Thursday by The Associated Press.
The predawn Wednesday shooting at a house party left 18-year-old Andrew Gonzales dead. Twenty-year-old Alex Estrada was treated for minor gunshot wounds and released, while 22-year-old Martin Estrada's minor wound required no treatment. All three are from Abilene.
Police aren't releasing a motive. Wichita County Jail officials say Hernandez remains in custody Thursday. A jail spokesman says no bond has been set and there is no record of an attorney yet for Hernandez.
Gas prices slip 3 cents across Texas
The average retail price of gasoline across Texas slipped to $2.51 a gallon this week.
AAA Texas reported the price at the pump declined 3 cents since last Thursday. The association says nationwide gasoline prices also slipped by 3 cents, reaching an average $2.62.
Amarillo had the cheapest gasoline in the weekly survey, at $2.47 a gallon. El Paso had the most expensive price per gallon, at $2.62.
AAA Texas spokesman Dan Ronan says retail gasoline prices are still cheaper than one year ago, when a 14-gallon fillup cost nearly $50. Current prices would put the cost at about $35.14.
UTIMCO changes compensation plan after criticism
The University of Texas System is changing the way it pays bonuses to its investment managers after critics in the Legislature complained the incentive pay was excessive.
The UT Board of Regents approved changes Thursday that pegs compensation for portfolio managers more closely to investment performance.
Under the new package, bonuses paid to the staff of the University of Texas Investment Co., or UTIMCO, would be eliminated altogether if losses equal or exceed 14 percent. Bonuses could double if investment returns exceed 20 percent in a given year.
UTIMCO is the external investment corporation that manages the portfolios of the University of Texas and Texas A&M University systems.
At a time when earnings declined last year, UTIMCO paid out $3.4 million in bonuses last year. That included $1.05 million to UTIMCO CEO Bruce Zimmerman, prompting state legislators to urge compensation reform at UTIMCO.
Perry defends ceremonial bill signings
Gov. Rick Perry is defending his travel around the state to ceremonially sign bills that have already become law.
His defense comes in the wake of criticism from his 2010 Republican primary opponent, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. Perry was in an Austin Target department store on Thursday to ceremonially sign a bill that allowed for school supplies to be part of the upcoming tax-free weekend.
Hutchison's campaign questioned Wednesday how much taxpayer money is being spent for Perry's travel to Dallas and elsewhere in the state for ceremonial bill signings.
Perry said Thursday that part of being governor is going out and telling Texans what's available to them. He said some "would like for me to go home and be quiet and not say much." He says those "are going to have a hard time doing it."
3-time Dallas robber gets 23 years in prison
A three-time convicted robber is returning to prison after being sentenced to 23 years for a 2007 armored car robbery in Dallas.
A federal judge in Dallas on Thursday sentenced Donald Ray Williams, who was arrested in March in Rosebud. Williams pleaded guilty to interference with commerce by threats or violence, and to using a firearm related to a crime of violence. He must pay restitution of more than $1.3 million.
Freddy Lee Foots was arrested days after the robbery following a chase to Van Horn. Foots was convicted and last October was sentenced to nearly 30 years in prison. Records show Foots and Williams in 1981 robbed a Dallas bank and spent more time in prison.
The pair in 1988 robbed an armored car in Dallas, leading to Foots serving 18 years and Williams serving 15 years.