Two firefighters injured in Northwest Houston blaze

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- At least two firefighters and a resident are being treated this morning after being injured in the fire that ripped through a complex on the city's northwest side.

It happened just after 4am at the Cancun apartment complex on Wirt and Amelia.

"I heard people screaming. They came knocking to my door," said resident Mario Lagunas.

Neighbors in and around the burning three-story building say they rushed out to safety moments after the alarms began sounding. The fire got real intense.

"I saw this man jumping out of the window. He broke the glass and he was hanging. He tried to jump out," said Lagunas.

As dozens of emergency workers raced to the scene, investigators say a complete wall of fire surrounded the place, forcing them to request additional help.

"At least four apartments fully involved, and they were extending, the flames were extending over to the second building," said HFD spokesman Jay Evans with the Houston Fire Department.

Firefighters say one side of the building began to collapse. A tenant trying to escape fell through a staircase and injured his back. A Village firefighter also suffered back injuries when he fell through a structurally unsound roof . Another Houston firefighter suffered a hand injury.

One family who lived in the now burned out building says the fire started after a boiler overheated causing flames to shoot out. They say they'd complained about the boiler to management last week.

"We had reported it to the office, and for them not to do anything, like it kind of sucks," said resident Jennifer Huente.

Now arson investigators are looking into the official cause of the fire. The Red Cross is helping those displaced residents.

This just in North American Defense Command (NORAD) has begun tracking Santa Clause as he zooms around the world bringing Christmas Gifts to good little boys and girls. Here's a photo of Santa's reindeer taking on some extra magic flying fuel from a KC-135 tanker over Australia.

 You can track Santa's flight HERE!

Merry Christmas to all from of us at Best Publications!

Man found dead in truck in NW Houston

THE CHRON: Police were investigating the death of a man who was found shot in a pickup truck parked along a road in northwest Houston Wednesday morning.

The body was discovered about 7:20 a.m. slumped behind the steering wheel of a black Chevrolet Silverado pickup in the 5300 block of Lost Forest near Pinemont and not far from Clifton Middle School, according to the Houston Police Department.

Details about the shooting were sketchy, said HPD Officer M.L. Stahlin. Stahlin said a resident spotted the man in the truck. The engine was idling. The resident tried to get the man's attention but couldn't and then discovered the man had been shot. The resident called 911.

No gun was found at the scene, Strahlin said.

Mike Vargas said he saw the truck parked at the curb and the engine idling when he came to pickup his friend to go to work. He said he looked inside and thought the man was passed out behind the wheel.

Vargas said he went to his friend's home and told him about the man. Then they both went outside to investigate. They knocked on the door and the hood but the man didn't respond. Then they opened the door.

"When we opened the door we saw a guy who had been shot in the head," said Roland Mendiola. "All the blood was coming out and blood was splattered on the seat."

Mendiola and other residents said they had never seen that truck in the neighborhood before. They said robberies sometimes happened in the area, but they had never heard someone shot to death in the neighborhood.

It was so close to their doorsteps, it was frightening.

"It makes me a little nervous," said Alyssa Bruemmer-Balboa.

Mendiola said the shooting saddened him.

"I hope they find out what happened to the guy," he said. "Nobody deserves to get shot like that in the head."

Dead pig found at Houston mosque

HOUSTON (AP) - Harris County authorities are seeking the public's help in determining who left a slain pig near a Houston-area mosque. Sheriff Adrian Garcia said Wednesday that investigators will consider whether to classify the incident as a hate crime. The carcass was found Tuesday night outside the Cypress-area Islamic Outreach Center, which opened in July. Bloodstains were near the door of the mosque. Imam Fahad Tasleem says mosque officials have introduced themselves to their neighbors to try to create a friendly environment. He says the pig incident shows how important it is to educate the public about Islam. Tasleem says he'd rather have people come to the mosque and get their questions answered. Pork is a forbidden food in Islam.

One dead in NW Houston wreck

Houston police say the driver missed a curve and hit a fence at the Willowbrook Mall at Tomball Parkway around 3:30 this morning. 

Three men were in the car. One passenger was declared dead at the scene. The second went to the hospital with non life-threatening injuries. The driver was not hurt.

Officers believe alcohol was involved.

"He is right now being detained and waiting to be charged with intoxicated manslaughter. He has been drinking, and we are awaiting the DA's office to confirm the charges can be filed on him," said Steve Sorge with HPD.

READ THE REST OF THE STORY HERE AT KTRK

Drunk dad with kid in vehicle fatally strucks another driver

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Investigators say a man was drunk and driving with his son when he hit a vehicle and killed another driver.

Just before 8pm Sunday, Harris County Sheriff's deputies say Shannon Smith was traveling southbound in the 9800 block of Barker Cypress in the first lane of traffic and passed a slower-moving vehicle. Smith failed to drive in a single marked lane, striking the slower vehicle, investigators say.

Smith then lost control of his vehicle, causing the vehicle to enter into the oncoming lanes of traffic, and striking another vehicle which was traveling northbound in the 9800 block of Barker Cypress.

The male victim suffered life-threatening injuries and died at the scene.

Investigators say Smith, who had his 10-year-old son in the vehicle with him at the time of the crash, was found to be intoxicated. He was charged with intoxication manslaughter and DWI w/child passenger, both felonies.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)

NW Houston chase ends in drug bust

HOUSTON -

A man was arrested early Wednesday morning, shortly after leading police on a chase.

Officers said they attempted to stop the driver because his car did not have a front license plate.  He sped off and officers gave chase. During the chase, officers said they saw the man throw beer and a small bag of marijuana out of the window.

He was arrested a short time later on West 31st Street near Alba in northwest Houston.  Officers said he admitted to running because he knew he had warrants out for his arrest.

Grandmother charged with letting dog maul her granddaughter

A grandmother and her boyfriend face felony charges after their dog mauled her year-old granddaughter last month, according to the Harris County District Attorney's Office.

Patricia Palmer Luddecke, 54, and Larry Martinez, 50, are each charged with endangering a child in connection with the Oct. 8 incident, court records show. A judge has set a $2,000 bond for each suspect.

The baby's mother told police that she left the baby with Luddecke and her boyfriend at their northwest Houston home, according to a criminal complaint filed Thursday. The couple agreed to baby-sit the child.

The mother received a phone call from Luddecke, who informed her that the baby was being taken to the hospital because she fell off the bed, the complaint states.

Doctors at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center treated the child for a large gash extending from the right corner of her mouth, over the bridge of her nose, to the edge of her left eye, investigators said. The injury was so severe that the baby "would sustain permanent injury and scarring on her face," a physician at the hospital told police.

The grandmother and her boyfriend offered a different version of events two days later, when questioned by Houston police.

NW Houston apartment complex plagued by mold

khou.com

Posted on October 26, 2012 at 11:41 PM

Updated Saturday, Oct 27 at 12:00 AM

HOUSTON—An apartment complex infested with mold and mildew has angry residents blaming, not just the landlords, but city officials as well.

“There’s so much mold and mildew inside this apartment,” said Charles Warren as he walked through his second floor unit at the Pines at Northwest Crossing Apartments in northwest Houston.

He said the unit’s roof is riddled with holes.

“It’s embarrassing to even have company,” he added.  “When it rains, I have to line my floor with buckets.”

Warren’s neighbors shared similar complaints.

Hanniffa Allen said her ceiling also leaks, and blamed the landlords for ignoring her complaints.

“If you care about your property, you’re going to fix it,” said Allen.  “They’re not fixing it.”

Houston’s code enforcement inspectors have cited the property numerous times for various violations, but in April they declared the place fit for occupancy.

The owners live in Los Angeles.

One of their representatives said they’re working hard to make the needed repairs but blamed the poor economy for setting the company back.

He said they’re trying to come up with a million dollars, the amount of money it will take to fix what’s wrong.

Recently, city inspectors cited the property again, ordering repairs to the leaky roofs.

The action comes too late to appease a former tenant, who said he moved out of his apartment when doctors discovered mold in his baby’s lungs.

“It was bad,” said Jimmy Guajardo.  “Actually, I stopped paying the rent after that happened to my son.  I said, I’m not paying the rent anymore.”

Unless conditions improve soon, some current tenants said they might also stop paying rent.

“We pay our rent on time but we never get anything accomplished,” added Warren.  “We never get anything done.

Public asked to help find suspect who killed war vet

Harris County homicide investigators need the public's help to track down a suspect who fatally shot an Iraq war veteran during a robbery Aug. 6.

The suspect has been identified as Keith Dewayne Dillingham, 28, who has been charged with capital murder, investigators said. A judge has denied bail.

The victim, Alexander Segura, 28, was shot while he chased two thieves who had robbed him and a woman as they sat in a vehicle at an apartment complex at 9001 Jones Road in northwest Harris County.

Segura was taken to Ben Taub General Hospital, where he later died, investigators said.

Detectives learned that two men were wearing dark clothing and hoodies when they robbed Segura and his friend, and Dillingham's name surfaced as one of the suspects.

Anyone with information about the suspect's whereabouts is asked to call Crime Stoppers of Houston at 713-222-TIPS (8477), or submit a tip online at www.crime-stoppers.org.

Tips can also be sent by text message. Text TIP610 plus your tip to CRIMES (274637).

Crime Stoppers will pay up to $5,000 for information that leads to an arrest and charges in the case. All tipsters remain anonymous.

Dillingham has a criminal history dating to 2005 that includes convictions for delivery of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance, unauthorized use of a vehicle, deadly conduct, burglary of a vehicle, trespassing and assault on a family member, court records show.

Segura leaves behind his wife and 2-year old son.

Texas says it's too costly to keep sex offender registry

HOUSTON — Texas is one of five states to shun a national sex offender registry created in 2006, citing cost concerns. The Houston Chronicle reported Saturday that officials say it would take an estimated $38 million to modify the state's existing registry program.

Therefore, the state is willing to risk losing about $1.4 million in grant money to help local agencies enforce the law, they say. "We couldn't afford the national program," Sen. John Whitmire, a Houston Democrat and chairman of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee, told the newspaper. Members of the state Senate Criminal Justice Committee made the decision to not participate in the registry following an interim meeting two years ago. Local law enforcement officials have testified that complying with the program would add more sex offenders to the state's already extensive registry.

Nearly three dozen states have failed to meet all conditions of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act because of concerns about how it works and how much it costs. Texas, Arizona, Arkansas, California and Nebraska have not taken part in the national registry.

 About 70,000 sex offenders were registered in Texas as of August, according to the state Department of Criminal Justice. The Adam Walsh law, named for a boy who was kidnapped from a Florida mall and killed in 1981, aimed to create a uniform way to register and track sex offenders around the country. But since its creation, many states realized they would have to overhaul their sex offender registration programs to comply, according to the Chronicle. States were required to comply by 2009, but the U.S. attorney general offered an extension until July 2011 after many objected to a requirement that all juveniles 14 and older who had committed aggravated sexual assaults register for 25 years.

The penalty for not complying is losing 10 percent of grant funding given to law enforcement agencies for crime prevention. But states not honoring the law still have the option to reapply for withheld money. Meanwhile, 29 states that are in partial compliance have asked to have their withheld money released to help them meet conditions of the law, the Chronicle reported. The newspaper says Texas juveniles are required to register for 10 years after they leave the juvenile system. The state, however, gives judges discretion to waive or remove a juvenile from the registry.

They also can defer a decision until after the juvenile successfully completes therapy. Those options would be removed under the federal law, according to the Chronicle. Also, to comply, Texas would have to add certain offenses that require registration under the federal law.

The state also would have to eliminate its use assessment to determine each offender's risk to the community. Currently, offenders are registered as low, moderate or high risk. Proponents of the federal law had hoped it would reduce the risk that states with less-strict registration could become havens for sex offenders. Whitmire told the Chronicle that Texas' system is effective, but said lawmakers will need to figure out how to ensure that only the most dangerous offenders are on the list. Many offenders are registered because they had consensual sex with a minor, he said. Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/texas-shuns-national-sex-offender-registry-article-1.1177458#ixzz28k5rplMu

by KHOU.com Staff

khou.com

Posted on September 25, 2012 at 6:19 AM

HOUSTON – A passerby stumbled upon a shooting victim’s dead body in a northwest Houston roadway, police said early Tuesday.

The discovery was made just before midnight on Peppermill Road at Pitner Road, according to the Houston Police Department.

HPD investigators said the body was that of a male who suffered one gunshot wound.

Police noted that nearby neighbors didn’t want to talk with police, so they have little information to go on.

Woman shoots man over road rage.

WFAA HARRIS COUNTY, Texas—An apparent case of road rage that turned fatal will be referred to a grand jury, according to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies said early Monday a woman opened fire on a man outside a northwest Harris County gas station, killing him. The incident, which was first reported as a possible carjacking, occurred around 7:15 a.m. on FM 1960 at Perry Road, according to the sheriff’s office.

Investigators said it all started when a woman driving a late model silver Toyota Camry was involved in a minor collision with the driver of a Chevy pickup truck on 1960. The two pulled into a Shell gas station where some kind of altercation occurred, deputies said.

“From what we understand it was maybe just a minor accident,” said Sgt. Felipe Rivera. “The information we’re getting is that it appeared to be a minor accident that turned into road rage.”

Sgt. Rivera said the pickup driver approached the woman’s car, yelling and hitting her vehicle. Deputies said the man tried to open the woman’s car door, and that’s when she shot him once in the chest through the driver’s side window. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

A passenger in the pickup truck witnessed the incident.

Apparently the woman was on the phone with 911 dispatchers when the shooting occurred, and she told deputies she feared for her life. She was later questioned by investigators and placed in the back of a patrol car.

Deputies said the woman is the mother of a young daughter and was on her way to work alone at the time of the incident.

A family friend and fellow church member arrived at the scene and spoke on her behalf.

“All we know is, she said it was self defense, and I really don’t want to go into details,” Bishop James Dixon told KHOU 11 News. “She’s a wonderful young lady, and she’s a church member at Community Faith Church, where I pastor, along with her mother. She’s just a good values-based person, a hard working young lady.”

As of 1 p.m., investigators were still at the gas station looking into the shooting.

Neither the victim’s nor the woman’s names were released

NW Houston man dies of West Nile

HOUSTON—A northwest Houston man is the city’s latest confirmed West Nile virus death, the City of Houston Health Department reported Thursday.

The man was between the ages of 75 and 84. No other information on the victim was released.

There have been a total of four reported West Nile deaths, and 49 total cases of illness in Houston.

Kathy Barton with Houston Department of Health and Human Services says the type of mosquito that carries West Nile is not very aggressive but breeds in storm sewers and finds ways into people’s homes.

“It only goes out of the storm sewers between dusk and dawn. It likes to come into your home though, and often times that is what we find, or investigators find. That is where people were bitten,” Barton said.

Mosquitoes get West Nile virus after biting infected birds. Symptoms of mild West Nile include fever, headache, sore throat, body aches, fatigue, skin rash and swollen lymph glands.

Most people under 55 can have the disease with no symptoms at all, and most other cases are very mild. The most vulnerable to the disease are people over 55 or with weak immune systems.

Symptoms of more severe West Nile virus infections - encephalitis and meningitis - include headache, high fever, stiff neck, disorientation, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, coma and paralysis. If you have these symptoms, contact your health care provider right away.

Cars in repair shop - uh need more repairs due to fire

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A few cars at a repair shop in northwest Houston are in need of even more repairs.

That's because they were damaged in an early morning fire at the Car Bach Automotive Shop on Hempstead.

The damage could have been much worse if not for a sharp-eyed Houston police officer. He was driving by when he noticed the flames leaping from the cars. He called for help and firefighters were able to contain the fire to two cars.

It's not clear if the fire was accidental or arson.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)

Hurricane warning issued for Isaac - Houston area

By Eric Berger, Houston Chronicle McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

Aug. 27--Tropical Storm Isaac moved into the Gulf of Mexico late Sunday, setting the stage for a midweek rendezvous with the northern Gulf coast.

In response to the growing threat, the National Hurricane Center issued hurricane warnings for the coast from Morgan City, La., to Destin, Fla.

Forecasters said it remained difficult to determine the storm's most likely track, but New Orleans was in the middle of the hurricane center's "cone of uncertainty."

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal called a state of emergency on Sunday and suggested that people leave low-lying parts of the state. A voluntary evacuation of New Orleans began Sunday, and mandatory evacuations could begin as early as Monday.

An emergency declaration was also issued in Mississippi by Gov. Phil Bryant amid concerns of storm surge threatening low-lying areas.

By late Sunday Isaac remained a powerful tropical storm, with 65-mph sustained winds, and forecasters anticipated it would grow into a hurricane by Monday. The official forecast predicts Isaac will come ashore as a Category 2 hurricane along the northern Gulf of Mexico coast, although some forecast models strengthened it into a major hurricane before landfall.

Isaac could reach the northern Gulf coast by Wednesday -- the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.

Passing through the Florida Keys as a tropical storm, Gov. Rick Scott said Sunday evening that only minor damage was reported in Florida.

In Tampa, Republican National Convention officials said they would convene briefly on Monday, then recess until Tuesday afternoon, when the storm was expected to have passed.

Offshore, energy companies were preparing for the storm, as they stepped up evacuation of workers from the Gulf and shut down some production.

By midday Sunday, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement reported 24 percent of the current daily oil production in the Gulf had been shut down, along with just over 8 percent of current daily natural gas production.

Satish Nagarajaiah, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Rice University, said the evacuations and production shutdowns were routine. More platforms will be shut down by Monday, he said, most of them in the eastern Gulf. And once the storm passes, production will be restarted quickly unless the platform sustains damage, he said.

Drilling in federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico accounts for 23 percent of domestic crude oil production and about 7 percent of natural gas production, according to U.S. government statistics.

More than 40 percent of the country's refining capacity is located along the Gulf coast, too. So far, refineries are continuing operations.

BP said Sunday it had temporarily suspended production at all of its operated production platforms in the Gulf. Apache Corp. and Anadarko Petroleum Corp. both said they shut in some production. BP had begun evacuating workers Friday; by Saturday, Chevron, Murphy Oil, Shell, Exxon Mobil and other companies were evacuating nonessential workers.

On Sunday afternoon some forecast models suggests Isaac could move as far west as the Texas-Louisiana border before moving inland, possibly posing a hurricane threat to Texas.

But that scenario remained unlikely, forecasters said. "There's not a zero percent chance on Texas, but it certainly is still an outlier" that the state would get hit, said Bill Read, the recently retired director of the National Hurricane Center.

Depending how close Isaac moves to Texas, waters offshore Galveston could see some higher waves, and winds could rise over the region on Wednesday and Thursday. Some rain is also possible.

Staff writer Jeannie Kever contributed to this report.

Motorcycle slams into NW Houston home.

A motorist being pursued by a police officer smashed into a northwest Houston house Tuesday, pinning a man against a wall and sending debris flying that injured a teenage girl, police said.

The crash occurred about 1:10 p.m. at 2074 Antoine near Hempstead, Houston Police said.

The episode began when citizens flagged down a patrol officer on Long Point, saying they had seen a man breaking into cars, said Sgt. G.T. Hall of the vehicle crimes division. The officer spotted a man driving away and chased him, Hall said.

The officer briefly lost sight of the car, a Nissan Altima with Florida license plates, then saw a cloud of dust that arose after the Altima crashed into the house.

Police seeking NW Houston hit & run suspect

by KHOU.com staff

khou.com

Posted on August 9, 2012 at 7:36 AM

Updated today at 11:03 AM

HOUSTON—Houston police were searching for two hit-and-run drivers involved in a fatal traffic accident in northwest Houston Thursday morning.

Police said a 41-year-old man was trying to cross the street in the 500 block of Tidwell at West Montgomery around 5:30 a.m. when he was struck by a pickup truck and a passenger car. Both drivers fled the scene.

Police do not know the make and model of either vehicle at this time.

Anyone with information in this case is urged to contact the HPD Hit and Run Unit at             713-247-4065       or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS. 

Man charged in fatal NW Houston stabbing

THE CHRON: When Houston police found the fatally stabbed body of Ceceilia Sanders early Monday morning, her younger daughter was with her.

Her other daughter, a 3-year-old, was found in a bedroom closet in the family’s northwest Houston apartment.

Neither daughter was seriously injured in the deadly stabbing and authorities would hours later charge Sanders’ boyfriend in her death.

Ronald Deshaun Green is accused of killing the 27-year-old woman sometime Sunday, stabbing her with a knife, according to court records. Green, also 27, is also charged with abandoning a child. His is in jail on $100,000 bail.

Sanders was discovered about 12:10 a.m. Monday inside the apartment at Yale Village, 5637 Yale near Tidwell, Houston police said.

She had been stabbed more than once and was found by her mother in an upstairs bedroom. The 8-month-old was not hurt, but the older girl had a bump on her head, police said.

Relatives said the woman’s mother had not heard from her during the day Sunday and came to the apartment to check on her and found her dead.

HPD Sgt. Warren Meeler said Green was the last person seen with the woman.

Neighbors reportedly saw the couple enter the apartment together about noon Sunday. Meeler said no one saw the woman leave the apartment after that. But, he added, neighbors told investigators they later saw Green alone outside pacing back and forth in front of the unit and then he went back inside.

Suspect found at store

Green was found about 7:15 a.m. after one of his relatives told police he might be at a convenience store on Gulf Bank near Alabonson just outside Houston in northwest Harris County, Meeler said.

Meeler said Green willingly accompanied authorities to be questioned at HPD headquarters in downtown Houston.

Two suspects arrested in Houston cop shooting

HOUSTON – Two suspects have been arrested in the shooting of an off-duty HPD officer and a clerk Tuesday night at an erotica store in northwest Houston.

The suspects' names won't be released until formal charges are filed.

It happened at a Zone D’Erotica store in the 13000 block of Willowchase, around 9:40 p.m.

The whole robbery was captured by surveillance cameras.

Police said Officer Jessica Smith just happened to be inside the store when a man with a gun walked in and demanded money from the clerk. Seconds later, the second suspect casually strolled in, carrying a backpack.

The first suspect went around the counter and forced the clerk to the floor at gunpoint, while the second suspect started grabbing merchandise and stuffing it into his bag.

The clerk, who asked to be called "Garza" because he did not want his identity revealed, said he gave the armed man what he had – but apparently, that wasn’t enough.

The suspect shot him in the leg.

As soon as the officer heard the gunshot, surveillance video shows her running for the door. Police said Wednesday she was unarmed.

"She was in the wrong place at the wrong time," Garza said.

The suspects followed Smith outside to the parking lot and shot her twice in the shoulder.

"What they did is completely wrong. Nobody deserves to get shot," Garza said.

Smith managed to get into her car and drive down the road to call for help.

She was taken to Northwest Medical Center where she was treated and later released.

The suspects, who escaped with $240 in cash and about $400 worth of merchandise, were caught Wednesday

Clear Lake football fundraiser set August 9th

CHRON: The Clear Lake football 2012 Parents Meeting and Fundraiser is Aug. 9 in the Clear Lake High School Cafeteria commons area.

The mandatory meeting runs from 5:30-6:30 p.m. with a $15 per person fundraising meal fromCarrabba's Italian Grill available on site and to go from 6:30-8 p.m.

The Clear Lake Falcon Quarterback Club receives 60 percent of the proceeds, and for tickets and more information, contact Adrienne Mucha at 281-474-4044 or admucha@comcast.net, or Kristi Snow at 832-433-8445 or kjsnow63@aol.com.

Man kills his brother in NW Houston home

Click2Houston: A man fatally shot his 71-year-old brother-in-law at a northwest Houston home on Wednesday, investigators said.

Houston police said the shooting happened in the 5700 block of Saxon near the Northwest Freeway about 2:20 p.m.

The man police said admitted to shooting and killing his brother-in-law Wednesday afternoon has been released from police custody and for the time being, won't face any charges. Bruce Devine was briefly detained by Houston Police after he called them saying he had shot someone in self-defense.

"He threatened me," Devine said. "He was coming at me. He was going to hurt me. If he didn't kill me, he was gonna hurt me real bad."

When police arrived at the home on the 5700 block of Saxon Dr. in Northwest Houston at around 2:20 p.m., they found the 71-year-old victim inside a bedroom dead from a single 9 mm gunshot wound to the chest. 

The alleged shooter, Devine, and his wife were both inside the house at the time of the shooting police said. The victim had recently moved in with the couple.

"(The victim) had just been released from a long prison term in March and was staying with the family here,"  Houston Police Detective Bart Oxspring said.

Devine said that he has no regrets about shooting his wife's brother but he does feel bad for her.

"I'm sorry to say that my wife's relationship probably won't be the same because she loved her brother and I took his life," Devine said.

The District Attorney's Office has declined to file charges against Devine for now.  However, they add that a grand jury will now ultimately decide if Devine will face any criminal charges.