HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Charges have been filed against a man for fatally shooting three family members in what he claimed to be a home invasion in a west Houston apartment on Saturday, according to officials.
The video above is from the initial June 22 report.
Bryan J. Fernandez, 27, is now charged with capital murder for the death of his mother Leonor Hernandez, age 65, his sister Karen Herrera, age 43, and his brother-in-law Thomas Kupriakov, age 38.
According to homicide detectives, Houston Police Department patrol officers responded to Fernandez’s residence at the 10500 block of Hammerly Boulevard after he called 911 to report a home invasion just before 3:15 p.m.
When officers arrived, they found all three victims dead from gunshot wounds. HPD said they interviewed Fernandez, who said he called 911 after shooting the alleged burglars.
“The home invasion deal, it’s not true. My mom, sister, and her husband were all executed in their apartment,” Carlos Flores, Fernandez’s half-brother, said.
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — On Saturday, a 33-year-old Bexar County man became the third inmate to escape from the Texas Department of Corrections Clemens Unit within the year.
Before his escape, Kidanny Robles was last seen at the Clemens Unit Trusty Camp at approximately 10 p.m. Saturday according to TDCJ Director of Communications Amanda Hernandez. Robles was discovered missing during a routine headcount around midnight.
Robles was apprehended at approximately 10 a.m. on Sunday inside an empty guest home on Jamison Drive near County Road 290, fewer than five miles from the camp. A young family occupied the main house on property at the time.
The homeowner told ABC13 her family did not realize Robles was inside their guesthouse.
Authorities tracked him along Oyster Creek, a creek that runs from the Trusty Camp to the home’s backyard.
Hernandez said authorities used dogs to trace Robles’ scent.
Hernandez said a TDCJ captain shot Robles in the arm as he was “refusing orders to stop” and “continued to flee.”
Chief Deputy Ian Patin of the Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office echoed that “at least one” TDCJ employee shot at Robles.
Robles was taken to UTMB Galveston for treatment.
According to records, Robles was serving a 20-year sentence for aggravated robbery, robbery, and burglary out of Bexar County. He was also serving a 180-day sentence for possession of a controlled substance from Nueces County in 2021. He returned to TDCJ custody after violating his parole in 2023, landing him in the trusty camp.
According to Hernandez, the camp is seperate from the Clemens Units which houses G1-G4 inmates. She said it is designed for inmates that require a lower level of supervision.
Preliminarily, Hernendez said authorities believe Robles “walked away” from the camp. Patin said it does not appear he had help.
“At this time we think all of our normal protocols and processes were followed so we think he just walked away being in a trusty camp is a little different than a normal prison, so we think that’s just what happened,” Hernandez said.
In October 2023, 20-year-old Cadarian Avery also “walked away” from the camp. He was serving a five year sentence for theft at the time.
In December 2023, Robert Yancy Jr.escaped from the higher security Clemens Unit with help from his mother, a former TDCJ corrections officer. Yancy was in prison for continuous sexual abuse of a child.
LOS ANGELES — Weekend number two was just as joyous for “Inside Out 2.”
The Pixar sequel collected $100 million in ticket sales in its second weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday, setting a new record for an animated movie in its follow-up frame in theaters.
The previous best second weekend for an animated title was the $92 million for “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.” Only six movies ever have had better second weekends.
In just a week and a half, “Inside Out 2” has become 2024’s highest-grossing film to date with $724.4 million globally, including $355.2 million in U.S. and Canadian theaters. That passes the $711.8 million worldwide total of “Dune: Part Two.”
“Inside Out 2” will likely blow through the $1 billion mark in about a week, which would make it the first film since “Barbie” to do so.
The extent of the “Inside Out 2” success startled Hollywood, which had grown accustomed to lower expectations as the film industry watched ticket sales this year slump about 40% below pre-pandemic totals, according to data firm Comscore, before “Inside Out 2” came along.
On The Red Carpet is taking viewers inside Pixar Animation Studios for a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the new film, “Inside Out 2,”
The record haul for “Inside Out 2,” though, recalled past years when $1 billion grosses were more commonplace for the Walt Disney Co. It is also a much-needed blockbuster for Pixar, which after experimenting with direct-to-streaming releases, reconsidered its movie pipeline and approach to mass-audience appeal.
Now, “Inside Out 2,” which dipped a mere 35% from its $154 million domestic debut, is poised to challenge “The Incredibles 2” ($1.2 billion) for the all-time top grossing Pixar release. It could also steer the venerated animation factory toward more sequels. Among its upcoming films is “Toy Story 5,” due out in 2026.
For theater owners, “Inside Out 2” could hardly have been more needed. But it also reminded exhibitors of how feast-or-famine the movie business has become in recent years. Since the pandemic, movies like “Barbie,” “Spider-Man: No Way Home” and “Top Gun: Maverick” have pushed ticket sales to record heights, but fallow periods in between box-office sensations have grown longer. Ticket sales over Memorial Day last month were the worst in three decades.
Some of 2024’s downturn can be attributed to release-schedule juggling caused by last year’s writers and actors strikes. The biggest new release over the weekend was Jeff Nichols’ motorcycle gang drama “The Bikeriders,” a film originally slated to open in 2023 before the actors strike prompted its postponement.
“The Bikeriders,” starring Jodie Comer, Austin Butler and Tom Hardy, came in on the high side of expectations with $10 million from 2,642 venues in its opening weekend. “The Bikeriders,” which cost about $35 million to produce, was originally to be released by Disney before New Regency took it to Focus Features last fall.
The strong business for “Inside Out 2” appeared to raise ticket sales generally. Sony Pictures’ “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” held well in its third week of release, collecting $18.8 million. It remained in second place. The “Bad Boys” sequel, starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, has grossed $146.9 million domestically thus far.
Next week, the sci-fi horror prequel “A Quiet Place: Day One” and Kevin Costner’s Western epic “Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1” will hope some of the “Inside Out 2” success rubs off on them.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. “Inside Out 2,” $100 million.
2. “Bad Boys: Ride or Die,” $18.8 million.
3. “The Bikeriders,” $10 million.
4. “The Garfield Movie, $3.6 million.
5. “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” $3.6 million.
More than 1,300 people died during this year’s Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia as the faithful faced extreme high temperatures at Islamic holy sites in the desert kingdom, Saudi authorities announced Sunday.
Saudi Health Minister Fahd bin Abdurrahman Al-Jalajel said that 83% of the 1,301 fatalities were unauthorized pilgrims who walked long distances in soaring temperatures to perform the Hajj rituals in and around the holy city of Mecca.
Speaking with the state-owned Al Ekhbariya TV, the minister said 95 pilgrims were being treated in hospitals, some of whom were airlifted for treatment in the capital, Riyadh. He said the identification process was delayed because there were no identification documents with many of the dead pilgrims.
He said the dead were buried in Mecca, without giving a breakdown.
The fatalities included more than 660 Egyptians. All but 31 of them were unauthorized pilgrims, according to two officials in Cairo. Egypt has revoked the licenses of 16 travel agencies that helped unauthorized pilgrims travel to Saudi Arabia, authorities said.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief journalists, said most of the dead were reported at the Emergency Complex in Mecca’s Al-Muaisem neighborhood. Egypt sent more than 50,000 authorized pilgrims to Saudi Arabia this year.
Saudi authorities cracked down on unauthorized pilgrims, expelling tens of thousands of people. But many, mostly Egyptians, managed to reach holy sites in and around Mecca, some on foot. Unlike authorized pilgrims, they had no hotels to return to to escape the scorching heat.
In a statement Saturday, Egypt’s government said the 16 travel agencies failed to provide adequate services for pilgrims. It said these agencies illegally facilitated the travel of pilgrims to Saudi Arabia using visas that don’t allow holders to travel to Mecca.
The government also said officials from the companies have been referred to the public prosecutor for investigation.
According to the state-owned Al-Ahram daily, some travel agencies and Hajj trip operators sold Saudi tourist visas to Egyptian Hajj hopefuls, violating Saudi regulations which require exclusive visas for pilgrims. Those agencies left pilgrims in limbo in Mecca and the holy sites in scorching heat, the newspaper said.
The fatalities also included 165 pilgrims from Indonesia, 98 from India and dozens more from Jordan, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria and Malaysia, according to an Associated Press tally. Two U.S. citizens were also reported dead.
The AP could not independently confirm the causes of death, but some countries like Jordan and Tunisia blamed the soaring heat. AP journalists saw pilgrims fainting from the scorching heat, especially on the second and third days of the Hajj. Some vomited and collapsed.
Historically, deaths are not uncommon at the Hajj, which has seen at times over 2 million people travel to Saudi Arabia for a five-day pilgrimage. The pilgrimage’s history has also seen deadly stampedes and epidemics.
But this year’s tally was unusually high, suggesting exceptional circumstances.
In 2015 a stampede in Mina killed over 2,400 pilgrims, the deadliest incident ever to strike the pilgrimage, according to an AP count. Saudi Arabia has never acknowledged the full toll of the stampede. A separate crane collapse at Mecca’s Grand Mosque earlier the same year killed 111.
The second-deadliest incident at the Hajj was a 1990 stampede that killed 1,426 people.
During this year’s Hajj period, daily high temperatures ranged between 46 degrees Celsius (117 degrees Fahrenheit) and 49 degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit) in Mecca and sacred sites in and around the city, according to the Saudi National Center for Meteorology. Some people fainted while trying to perform the symbolic stoning of the devil.
The Hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam, is one of the world’s largest religious gatherings. More than 1.83 million Muslims performed the Hajj in 2024, including more than 1.6 million from 22 countries, and around 222,000 Saudi citizens and residents, according to the Saudi Hajj authorities.
Saudi Arabia has spent billions of dollars on crowd control and safety measures for those attending the annual five-day pilgrimage, but the sheer number of participants makes it difficult to ensure their safety.
Climate change could make the risk even greater. A 2019 study by experts at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that even if the world succeeds in mitigating the worst effects of climate change, the Hajj would be held in temperatures exceeding an “extreme danger threshold” from 2047 to 2052, and from 2079 to 2086.
Islam follows a lunar calendar, so the Hajj comes around 11 days earlier each year. By 2029, the Hajj will occur in April, and for several years after that it will fall in the winter, when temperatures are milder.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A former Los Angeles-area gang leader accused of killing hip-hop music legend Tupac Shakur in 1996 in Las Vegas will ask a judge next week to let him out of jail to prepare for his trial on a murder charge.
Duane “Keffe D” Davis’ attorney filed documents Thursday and a judge scheduled a hearing Tuesday at which Davis will ask permission to post $750,000 bond to be freed to house arrest with electronic monitoring.
Davis’ defense attorney, Carl Arnold, and a spokesperson did not immediately respond Friday to email and telephone messages about the court filing.
Davis has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and has remained jailed at the Clark County Detention Center in Las Vegas since his arrest last Sept. 29. His trial is scheduled Nov. 4. If convicted, he could spend the rest of his life in prison.
Prosecutors asked Clark County District Court Judge Carli Kierny to require a “source hearing” for Davis to demonstrate that any funds used to secure his release are obtained legally.
Representatives at Crum & Forster Insurance and North River Insurance Co., the Morristown, New Jersey-based backer of the bond identified in the court filing, did not respond Friday to telephone messages.
Taylor Swift grabbed a perfect royal selfie ahead of her Wembley gig – posing with the Prince of Wales and two young music fans, Prince George and Princess Charlotte.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Kensington Palace posted a picture of the royal trio with the singer backstage before the concert on Friday night.
“Thank you Taylor Swift for a great evening!” the caption read.
For Prince William, taking his two eldest children to the hottest show in town was a way to earn maximum dad points on his 42nd birthday. It was a busy birthday week as he had just flown in from Germany, where he attended England’s Euro 2024 match with Denmark the previous evening.
Swift then posted another selfie, in which her boyfriend Travis Kelce joined in alongside Prince William, 10-year-old Prince George and nine-year-old Princess Charlotte.
“Happy Bday M8! London shows are off to a splendid start,” her post read.
Videos from later in the evening, widely shared online, appeared to show Prince William dancing to Swift’s upbeat song, Shake It Off.
Catherine, Princess of Wales stayed at home with six-year-old Prince Louis.
However, the couple’s youngest child did feature in an official photograph released earlier on Friday, to mark William’s birthday.
Prince William and pop sensation Swift, 34, have known each other for over a decade.
In 2013, they both took to the stage at a charity event at Kensington Palace to perform Livin’ On A Prayer with Jon Bon Jovi.
Image caption, It was all smiles as the royal trio met Taylor Swift and her boyfriend
Swift has been taking her Eras Tour across the UK with shows in Edinburgh, Liverpool and Cardiff, taking fans through her catalogue of hits, including from albums 1989, Red and Midnights.
Almost 90,000 fans packed into Wembley Stadium on Friday, with some queuing from just before daylight.
It was the first of Swift’s eight shows at the stadium, split between this week and August.
Other Swifties in the crowd on Friday included Bridgerton star Nicola Coughlan and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.
Queer Eye’s Jonathan Van Ness and model Cara Delevingne were also in the audience, as were Swift’s parents Andrea and Scott.
Swift called London, where she spent a period living earlier in her career, “the most exhilarating city in the world”.
Houston, TX – Nearly a month after the first positive sample of West Nile Virus (WNV) in a mosquito was reported this year, Harris County has seen a significant increase in positive samples. As of Tuesday evening, Harris County Public Health reported a total of 132 positive samples.
The positive samples have been collected from various locations across the county, including the City of Houston and extending to Tomball. Despite the surge in positive samples, no human cases have been confirmed in 2024.
Officials attribute the spike to recent heavy rains and high temperatures, conditions conducive to mosquito breeding. Mosquitoes, though present year-round, are most prevalent and active from June through October. Out of the 56 mosquito species in the area, only a few transmit diseases such as West Nile Virus, Chikungunya, Dengue, and Zika.
West Nile Virus often presents mild symptoms, such as low-grade fever and headache, in most infected individuals. Severe symptoms can include high fever, stiff neck, disorientation, encephalitis, and in rare cases, death. Residents experiencing symptoms should contact their healthcare provider.
To combat the increase in mosquito activity, residents are urged to remember the “Three T’s” for mosquito control:
Tip: Remove standing water from containers like pet bowls, flowerpots, tires, and buckets. Change water in birdbaths every three to five days.
Toss: Discard debris, trash, and other unwanted items to eliminate hidden mosquito breeding spots. Clean clogged rain gutters and keep outdoor trash bins closed. Do not sweep lawn clippings or litter into storm drains.
Take Action: Use EPA-registered mosquito repellents as directed. Avoid using repellents on babies younger than 2 months or products containing oil of lemon eucalyptus or para-menthane-diol on children under 3 years. Wear long sleeves, pants, and socks when possible. Treat standing water with larvicides where it cannot be covered or removed. Ensure outdoor faucets are not leaking and use tight-fitting screens on doors and windows.
For more information on protecting yourself from mosquitoes and preventing West Nile Virus, visit Harris County Public Health’s website or contact their office.
ABC13 obtained a body-worn camera video of the encounter through an open records request.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office explained that most of the video is black due to an “obstruction,” but the audio is clear.
Sgt. Colin McHugh made the initial stop.
Johnson: “I’m a judge.”
McHugh: “You’re a judge?”
Johnson: “A criminal district judge. Yes.”
The stop happened at about 8 p.m. on April 12, three days before Johnson found Brian Coulter guilty of murdering his girlfriend’s son, whose body was left to rot for a year. She mentioned the case twice during the 45-minute-long encounter and asked a second deputy, who arrived, to give her the Standard Field Sobriety Test (SFST) for a supervisor.
“If I do this test and you don’t think I do well, I lose my career and this,” she appealed to Deputy Sandy Mace. “I mean, can you call, like, a witness? Can we call Ben Katrib? I’ll call Sidney Miller. Sheriff (Ed) Gonzalez. This is a huge deal for me.”
McHugh went back to Johnson’s vehicle when Mace told him she requested a supervisor.
“Ma’am, here’s the thing. I am her supervisor, OK? She is asking you to exit the car so she can administer her SFST to you. Everything we do is recorded on that camera. This body camera. Everything here. We are not calling Lt. Katrib, and we are not calling Sheriff Gonzalez. This is an investigation into an impaired driver,” McHugh said.
“I could lose my entire career,” Johnson responded.
“And here’s the thing, your honor, I could lose my entire career if I let you use your position of you being a judge to do this,” McHugh said.
“I’m not using a position,” Johnson replied.
McHugh explained in the recording that he had stopped her for multiple traffic violations. He said he witnessed her driving on the wrong side of the road on Jackrabbit Road near U.S. 290, was distracted because she was eating and looking at her phone, was speeding, and made more than one unsafe lane change. McHugh then told her he smelled alcohol.
Johnson, who did not respond to an ABC13 request for comment, said she had not been drinking but rather had a long week because of the harrowing trial.
Last month, ABC13 reported that Johnson took a leave of absence from the bench in the 178th due to “personal matters.” A Houston police report from May 4 also revealed an incident involving a crisis intervention team at her home.
People who work at the courthouse, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation, said they had been concerned recently about her behavior. Johnson, who was elected in 2017, is well-liked.
The night of the traffic stop, the deputies agreed she failed a couple of clues, but it was not enough to warrant an arrest. She was given a warning for speeding, 77 mph in a 65-mph zone, and released.
“She’s probably been drinking, just not the level of,” the deputy said on the recording.
“She’s lucky she got off with a warning, considering the multiple traffic violations,” retired HPD Capt. Greg Fremin, who has seen the video, told ABC13 Thursday night.
HCSO said there is no evidence of any policy violations.
“Deputies use discretion with the issuance of citations,” Senior Deputy Thomas Gilliland said in an email. “A total of 64% of HCSO traffic stops result in either a written or verbal warning. The standardized field sobriety test (SFST) is a nationally recognized examination used to establish probable cause to assess for impairment. If there are not enough signs to indicate impairment, then an arrest would not be an appropriate course of action.”
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Looks like people from all over the country will be flocking to Houston this summer – at least according to a new report by Forbes Advisor.
The report listed the best and worst cities for summer travel and Houston fared surprisingly well, coming in as the No. 10 best summer travel destination in the nation.
The study, published June 1, compared 43 of the most populous U.S. cities across 16 metrics in three major categories: City experience, air travel experience, and driving experience.
To read the rest of this story, visit our partners at Houston CultureMap.
OMAHA, Nebraska (KTRK) — Texas A&M’s baseball team outlasts Tennessee in Game 1 of the Men’s College World Series Final on Saturday night.
Texas A&M outfielder Gavin Grahovac scored a lead-off home run in the first inning.
Later in the first inning, Texas A&M took a 2-0 lead when Aggies left fielder Caden Sorrell hit an RBI single.
In the second inning, Tennessee Volunteer infielder Dean Curley drove in outfielder Dylan Dreiling with a single to center field to cut the deficit to 2-1.
The Aggies turned it up the notch with an incredible five runs scored during the third inning.
Regarding the Volunteers, Tennessee was able to score a run thanks to hits from Dreiling, first baseman Blake Burke, and outfielder Hunter Ensley. The Volunteers trail 7-2 in the fourth inning.
In the seventh inning, Aggies infielder Kaeden Ken drilled a go-ahead two-run home run to give Texas A&M a 9-2 lead.
In response, Tennessee’s Dreiling hit a two-run shot to cut the margin to 9-5 in the seventh inning.
Game 2 of the CWS Final will be live on ABC13 on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Pre-game notes
The stage is set for the 2024 Men’s College World Series Game 1 between Texas A&M and Tennessee on Saturday.
The No. 3 Aggies will take on the top-seeded Volunteers at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska.
As for Texas A&M, the baseball team is aiming to win its first-ever College World Series championship. The team hasn’t lost a game since Tennessee ousted them from the SEC Tournament on May 23; they are also unbeaten in postseason play.
The Aggies and Volunteers will encounter for the 22nd time in program history and for the second time this season on Saturday in the championship series opener.
