By KERA News & Wire Services
Dallas, TX –
A federal appeals court has ruled that billionaire R. Allen Stanford must stay in jail until his Texas trial on fraud charges.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans upheld a lower-court ruling Monday that revoked Stanford's bond on the grounds that he is a flight risk.
The judges wrote that Stanford "has the means, the motive, and the money to flee."
Stanford's attorneys had argued that the 59-year-old was not a flight risk, citing his family ties in Houston. Stanford and four executives of his now defunct Stanford Financial Group are accused of orchestrating a massive Ponzi scheme in a criminal indictment in Houston. Investigators said Stanford secretly diverted more than $1.6 billion in investor funds as personal loans to himself.
Dallas man died in hit and run, dragged 423 feet
Police say a Texas man who died in a weekend hit and run was dragged more than 400 feet by a vehicle before his body was ejected from beneath the car.
Dallas police on Monday said 36-year-old Carlos Ramirez Bartolo was pronounced dead late Saturday night, nearly 90 minutes after he was struck by a vehicle while crossing the road.
Witnesses told police that Bartolo originally landed on top of the vehicle and then rolled off in front of it when the car came to a stop. The suspect then fled the scene, running over Bartolo and dragging him for 423 feet.
Police say the suspect's vehicle is a small, red four-door sedan, likely with some damage to the windshield.
Safety agency warns of stadium light pole hazards
The government's safety agency is telling school officials and facility managers to inspect outdoor stadium light poles made by Whitco Co. LP because the poles can crack and fall, putting bystanders at risk.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission on Monday said it knew of nine incidents in which poles installed from about 2000 through 2006 fell, including one pole that went through the roof of a school gymnasium. On two occasions, a pole fell onto outdoor bleachers.
CPSC said it is not aware of any injuries. It is investigating the poles. The commission said most incidents occurred in Texas, but the poles have been installed in other states.
The agency says the Fort Worth, Texas, company is no longer in business.
Authorities studying infants' remains found at trailer park
North Texas authorities are investigating how the skeletal remains of what appears to be multiple infants ended up at a mobile home park.
Tarrant County Sheriff's Department spokesman Terry Grisham told Dallas-Fort Worth television station KTVT that the medical examiner and forensic anthropologists are studying the remains found Sunday. Grisham said authorities are not sure if a crime was committed.
Neighbors told the television station that the landowner's relative found the bones in a garbage bag among items left by a tenant who had moved out.
The mobile home park is in an unincorporated part of Tarrant County between the cities of Mansfield and Burleson, about 20 miles south of Fort Worth.
Governor Rick Perry says Texas is prepared for swine flu
As Texas schoolchildren head back to class, state officials are urging commonsense precautions but say they are prepared for an outbreak of swine flu.
Gov. Rick Perry said Monday in San Antonio that the state has 2.5 million courses of anti-viral medication on hand and has requested 800,000 more.
The vaccine for swine flu won't be available until October, but health officials are recommending that people get both the swine flu and season flu vaccines this year.
Despite the added precautions, Texas officials say the disease does not appear to be any more dangerous than seasonal flu. They are suggesting people take commonsense steps like washing their hands and staying home when they're sick.