Law enforcement say a man who barricaded himself inside a La Porte home after firing a gun in a domestic disturbance is now in custody.

Enrique “Ricky” Vela, a 40-year-old man from La Porte, was arrested on February 26 after a forensic search of his cell phones revealed video files of him sexually assaulting local underaged male children.

A young child was flown to a hospital Thursday after being found in a bay in La Porte, according to La Porte Police Department.

La Porte police say the man used the stolen debit card from ‘an elderly victim” at two separate ATMs in the Houston area in March 2024.

The La Porte Police Department is mourning the loss of its police chief following what the department says was a “fatal accident” in Milam, Texas, on Sunday.

A man and woman are dead after a crash in La Porte on Monday, the La Porte Police Department said.

A La Porte Police Department officer with three and a half years on the job is under investigation for the misuse of official information or bribery by the Texas Rangers, according to a search warrant obtained by KPRC 2.

A giant alligator was spotted and captured near Pecan Park this week in La Porte.

HOUSTON – A 4-year-old boy died Tuesday afternoon after his older sibling accidentally shot him, according to the La Porte Police Department. The incident was reported around 2:20 p.m. in the 10200 block of Old Orchard Road. La Porte police said the child was airlifted to the Medical Center for treatment where he later died. The circumstances surrounding the shooting are under investigation. Please check back for updates.

LA PORTE, Texas – A La Porte man convicted of seven felony counts related to sexual crimes against children was sentenced to 370 years in prison earlier this month, according to a release from the La Porte Police Department. He is to serve the 370 years consecutively with no chance of parole. In Dec. 2018, Crowell was arrested after being accused of sexually assaulting a 10-year-old child. “Evidence collected from those search warrants revealed additional child victims sexually assaulted by Crowell, spanning back decades into the early 1990s.”The Harris County District Attorney’s Office opened two extra cases against Crowell which were never prosecuted. The additional cases brought the number of Crowell’s victims to four.