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An Austin man and former Oklahoma City Zoo employee has avoided jail time after pleading guilty to charges involving trafficking endangered Galapagos tortoises.
<p>On Wednesday, Joshua Taylor Lucas was found guilty of a single count wildlife trafficking felony charge, according to Robert J. Troester, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.</p><p>Lucas was given three years probation, 100 hours of community service and a $32,500 fine to be given to the zoo.</p><p>Lucas who was a former assistant curator of herpetology at the Oklahoma City Zoo, was charged in violation of the Lacey Act after taking endangered animals from the zoo and then shipping them across state lines between April and June of 2016. In the hearing, Lucas said he stole several Galapagos tortoise hatchlings while with the zoo and shipped 21 of them to Kenneth Warren Foose II, who was charged with trafficking Galapagos tortoises in Texas before his death.</p><p>In a statement, Oklahoma City Zoo officials said that they were shocked at the news and made changes so trafficking cannot occur in the future.</p><p> "This highly unusual incident has shocked and saddened the entire zoo staff and has strengthened our vigilance to care for and protect the wildlife entrusted to us," officials said. "Since learning of the theft in March 2020, the Zoo has modified internal caretaking policies, security procedures and record-keeping for managing this species to prevent this from happening in the future."</p><p>Galapagos tortoises are highly valued in the illegal animal trafficking market and are the largest tortoises in the world, according to Phillip Land, Special Agent in Charge for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service </p><p>This iconic species is the largest tortoise in the world, with hatchling-sized juveniles carrying a black market value starting at $5,000 per animal," Land said in a statement. "Our Special Agents and Wildlife Inspectors make it a priority to identify, investigate, and dismantle illegal trafficking networks, and refer individual violators for prosecution under U.S. laws."</p>
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This story has been updated with the latest revealed information as of 4:45 p.m. Monday.
A Sunday night shooting at a North Austin apartment complex has left one dead after being shot by an unknown suspect.
Austin police arrived at the scene of Midtown Commons at Crestview Station apartments at West St. Johns Avenue around 11:30 p.m., where they found a man with a gunshot wound. Police performed CPR but the man died shortly after. The man has been identified as 27-year-old Marcel Tramon Pimpton.
Investigators talked to witnesses at the apartment complex and have a suspect in mind. No other information has been revealed at this time.
A new three-day search has begun for 21-year-old Jason Landry, a Texas State student who was working to get accepted into the school's Sound and Technology program before he disappeared two months ago on the way home for winter break.
<p>Despite numerous search efforts, no trace of Landry has been found since his car was found crashed in the Luling area on Dec. 13.</p><p>This weekend's search was prompted by a request from the Caldwell County Sheriff's office. Over 100 Texas Search and Rescue members kicked off their search at 8 a.m. on Friday and will continue through Sunday. TEXSAR will use water search resources, ATVs, search-and-rescue K9 units, drones, a helicopter and the TEXSAR Mounted Search and Rescue Team to attempt to find Landry.</p><p>TEXSAR previously looked for signs of Landry in a nine-day search effort that involved over 100 trained volunteers and various crews and technologies. The organization also scanned over 32,000 acres in a three-day aerial search around his crashed car. </p><p>Landry was on his way to visit family for the holidays when he was reported missing. He was supposed to drive from San Marcos to the Houston area but his car was found that night on Salt Flat Road near Luling. It is unclear why Landry went off course onto the off-route, isolated road.</p><p>Investigators believe that Landry hit two trees and later a barbed wire fence after over-correcting on the gravel road.</p><p><br/></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-height="1365" data-rm-shortcode-id="a69bba63f7650148d7ec0a2e75b61196" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTY5NDk5Ni9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzNzg0NDkyNX0.9o51sC3wZ5RCB9LVSDnpReu3hKih7bZh8YTwIWxj_A0/img.jpg?width=980" data-width="2048" id="6a44c" type="lazy-image"/>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Wood was found embedded in Landry's car, leading investigators to believe he crashed into a tree.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">(Caldwell County Sheriff's Office/Facebook)</small></p><p><br/></p><p>Perplexingly, Landry's keys were still in the ignition, his car's headlights were still on and the passenger door was locked. His phone and wallet were found in his car, while a backpack with his laptop, gaming equipment and a small amount of marijuana were found 900 feet away. Alongside the backpack were toiletries, a baseball cap and a container of his dead betta fish, while some of his clothing including a shirt, shorts, underwear and a wristwatch were spread further along the road. </p><p>Investigators think that the clothes found were worn by Landry prior to the crash, although they could have also been packed beforehand. Despite the crash, there was no blood found in the car, but a small smear of blood was found on his shorts.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-height="979" data-rm-shortcode-id="530b5b4203b65537592a29ad95fe0d37" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTY5NDcwNi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNzM3MDE5N30.2VIuXmntSemylOI0IQh6ogqQ5R4DNzoxLTR-8zVzOH4/img.jpg?width=980" data-width="1011" id="3389e" type="lazy-image"/>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Landry's backpack and clothes were found around 900 feet from his crashed car.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">(Caldwell County Sheriff's Office/Facebook)</small></p><p><br/></p><p>The reason behind Landry leaving his car is unknown, but some including his father Kent Landry have thought he might have been dazed after suffering from a concussion. Others think that road rage or foul play could have been involved, but no evidence has pointed to another person's involvement.</p><p>Although Caldwell Police were able to track his phone, the connection stops a few miles before Landry made it to Salt Flat Road. There is about an hour gap between when phone connection was lost and a volunteer firefighter found his abandoned car crashed on the side of the road.</p><p>"There are 67 minutes where we just don't know what happened," Kent Landry told Dateline NBC. "Was someone chasing him? Maybe. Did he just wreck and get out to find help? We don't know. Anything is a possibility."</p><p>The requests for continued search efforts has been conducted through the <a href="https://www.caldwellcountync.org/sheriff" target="_blank">Caldwell County Sheriff's Office</a>. Anyone with tips or information regarding Landry can call 911, contact the office at 512-398-6777 or email Detective Jeff Ferry at jeff.ferry@co.caldwell.tx.us.</p>
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(Williamson County)
Residents on the 2500 block of Santa Barbara Loop in Round Rock were evacuated from their homes on Tuesday morning after a man found with improvised explosive devices inside his house was arrested.
<p>The Williamson County Sheriff's Office reported that 47-year-old John Christopher Crawson was originally arrested for a third-degree felony charge of making a terroristic threat against a family member before they entered the home and found IEDs.</p>
<p>Neighbors in the immediate area were evacuated and were allowed to return to their homes in the afternoon.</p>
<p>Deputies said a long investigation had been conducted to achieve a warrant. Deputies discovered the IEDs after serving the warrant and were later joined by members of the bomb squad and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.</p>
<p>Though the Sheriff's Office did not disclose how many or what type of explosives were found, an investigation showed that Crawson had made the devices from inside the home. </p>
<p>Officials will remain on-site until the explosives have been safely removed from the scene and WCSO asks that the public avoid the area for the time being.</p>
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