Year after year, most Texas police departments report zero hate crimes. Hereโs why.
A Texas Tribune analysis of hate crime data found that 82% of Texas law enforcement agencies that report to the FBI tracked no hate crimes last year. However, one suburban North Texas police agency is creating a new model of collecting hate crime data.
20-year-old Texarkana man added to Texas Top 10 Most Wanted list
Marques Jujuan Thompson, 20, has been added to the Texas Top 10 Most Wanted Fugitives list. TEXARKANA, Texas โ The Texas Department of Public Safety is searching for a man who they say is wanted for multiple crimes, including murder. Marques Jujuan Thompson, 20, is charged with murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a firearm, battery, stalking and intimidation and a probation violation and has been added to the Texas 10 Most Wanted Fugitives list. Thompson violated his probation and fled his last known address in Texarkana in August 2020, authorities said. Texas Crime Stoppers is offering a cash reward of up to $5,000 to anyone who provides information that leads to Thompsonโs arrest.
No job, no car and living on $85 a week: Some Texans are facing economic crisis months into the pandemic
Jessica Tyson, 34, is an out-of-work hair stylist in Texarkana who says she's struggling to get her full unemployment benefits. Credit: Jessica Tyson(Audio unavailable. Jessica Tyson says sheโs desperate for Congress to pass another federal stimulus package. The 34-year-old Texarkana native is an out-of-work hairdresser whoโs had her car repossessed, has struggled to keep her utilities on and says she spends her days trying to get her full unemployment benefits. Start your day with a quick take on the latest Texas politics and policy news.
Lawsuit: Private jail company caused Texas womanโs death
Holly Barlow-Austin's husband and mother filed the lawsuit in federal court against Bowie County, LaSalle Corrections, and several of the company's employees at the jail in Texarkana. They say LaSalle, which runs jails and immigration detention facilities in Texas, Louisiana and Georgia, violated Barlow-Austinโs rights and caused her death. โWhat happened to Holly was not an isolated incident," said Erik Heipt, a Seattle-based lawyer who's representing Barlow-Austin's family and has brought other cases against LaSalle. According to the lawsuit, Barlow-Austin died of sepsis, meningitis, HIV/AIDS and accelerated hypertension on June 17. Her death came two months after LaSalle reached an undisclosed settlement with the family of a man who died at the Bi-State Jail in 2015.