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Guilty verdict in Ryno assault trialBrett Bednarek also faces murder charges in connection with her death06/18/2003By ROBERT THARP / The Dallas Morning News Dallas County jurors have convicted Brett Bednarek in the sexual assault of a 3-year-old Irving girl who went missing in April 1999. Cristy Ryno's body was found days after she disappeared from an Irving apartment complex where she lived. Jurors are now hearing testimony in the punishment phase of the trial. Mr. Bednarek, 27, faces up to life in prison. Brett Bednarek In closing arguments Wednesday morning, prosecutors stressed that DNA recovered from semen found inside Cristy's...

Mother of slain girl takes stand06/16/2003Associated Press The mother of a slain three-year-old Irving girl today testified she barely knows the suspect, who's a friend of a friend. Leticia Ryno took the stand in the Dallas sexual assault trial of 27-year-old Brett Bednarek. He's also accused of killing Cristy Ryno, but is currently on trial only for the sexual attack. WFAA-TVLeticia Ryno, mother of slain toddler Cristy Ryno, wipes her eyes during her testimony. Cristy Ryno disappeared in April of 1999. Her body later turned up in the Trinity River. Cristy's twin sister was in the family's Irving apartment...

Escapee sentenced to death for killing Irving policeman 06/12/2003 By ROBERT THARP / The Dallas Morning News Dallas County jurors on Thursday returned the death penalty for a prison escapee convicted of killing an Irving policeman. Randy Halprin was sentenced after jurors deliberated nearly five hours Wednesday without reaching agreement. By 6 p.m., air conditioning had been turned off at the Frank Crowley Criminal Courts Building and District Judge Vickers Cunningham made the decision to sequester the panel at a hotel and resume deliberations Thursday morning. Randy Halprin Mr. Halprin's trial marks the longest deliberations so far of the five...

Guilty verdict in escapee trial 06/09/2003 From Staff Reports Dallas County jurors deliberated for about two hours Monday before finding Randy Halprin guilty of capital murder in the death of an Irving police officer on Christmas Eve 2000. The punishment phase of the trial now begins. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. Randy Halprin Mr. Halprin, 25, was one of seven men who escaped from the Connally Unit prison near San Antonio in December 2000. The group ended up in Irving, where a robbery at an Oshman's SuperSports USA store turned deadly. Officer Aubrey Hawkins was responding to a suspicious...

Halprin denies shooting Irving officer 06/05/2003 By ROBERT THARP / The Dallas Morning News On the fourth day of his capital murder trial for the death of an Irving police officer, prison escapee Randy Halprin denied taking part in the officer’s shooting death during a botched robbery Christmas Eve 2000. Mr. Halprin, 25, briefly described the Dec. 13, 2000, escape of seven inmates from the Connally Unit prison near San Antonio. When the trial resumes Thursday afternoon, Mr. Halprin is expected to continue testimony, including greater detail of his role in the gang and involvement in the robbery. Prosecutors will...

Trial starts for prison escapee 06/02/2003 By ROBERT THARP / The Dallas Morning News Prosecutors reconstructed an Irving police officer's final moments on Christmas Eve 2000 as the latest death penalty trial began Monday morning for one of the prison escapees accused of killing the officer during a botched robbery. Prosecutor Toby Shook detailed how the seven escapees -- including defendant Randy Halprin -- broke out of the Connally Unit prison near San Antonio on Dec. 13, 2000, and ended up in the Dallas area in late December to perform a daring and elaborate robbery of an Oshman’s SuperSports USA...

Garcia gets death for killing police officer 02/13/2003 By HOLLY BECKA / The Dallas Morning News A Dallas jury has sentenced the fourth Texas prison escapee to death in the slaying of an Irving patrolman. Joseph Garcia, 31, was convicted of capital murder last week. The jury deliberated nearly three hours before returning with the verdict in his punishment late Thursday afternoon. Prosecutors argued that Mr. Garcia deserves the death penalty because he was the prison gang's enforcer who bullied hostages before joining the shooting frenzy, prosecutors argued. Joseph Garcia Defense attorneys argued Mr. Garcia deserves to be confined...

Woman indicted in waitress's death 02/13/2003 From Staff Reports A 19-year-old woman was indicted Thursday on a charge of murder in the death of an Irving waitress. Sarah Foust told police she was driving the car on Jan. 3 when it struck Jennifer Sanchez, a 20-year-old college student. Ms. Sanchez was trying to get the license plate number from the car carrying a group of diners who had skipped out on a $131 tab at a Bennigan's restaurant. Ms. Sanchez was thrown from the car roof after being struck, and she died of head injuries. JUAN GARCIA / DMN...

Garcia guilty of Irving police officer's murder 02/06/2003 By HOLLY BECKA / The Dallas Morning News A Dallas County jury on Thursday found prison escapee Joseph Garcia guilty of capital murder in the Christmas Eve 2000 death of an Irving patrol officer. Sentencing is scheduled for next week. Lead prosecutor Toby Shook argued that Mr. Garcia, the fourth escapee to stand trial in the slaying of Officer Aubrey Hawkins, taunted and threatened people as he tied them up during a robbery. WFAA-TV Joseph Garcia When other escapees used walkie-talkies to alert Mr. Garcia that the group "had company," he...

Opening statements begin in 4th escapee trial 02/03/2003 By HOLLY BECKA / The Dallas Morning News Dallas County prosecutors on Monday portrayed prison escapee Joseph Garcia as a bully who taunted robbery victims at gunpoint before an Irving patrol officer was fatally shot on Christmas Eve 2000. Defense lawyers for Mr. Garcia, the fourth escapee to stand trial in the slaying of Officer Aubrey Hawkins, urged jurors to carefully listen to the evidence and "pinpoint what exactly Joseph Garcia did or did not do." As Mr. Garcia's death-penalty trial opened, lead prosecutor Toby Shook described the defendant's actions as...

Judge sets curfew for suspect in waitress killing 01/21/2003 By HOLLY BECKA / The Dallas Morning News A judge on Tuesday imposed a 5 p.m. daily curfew for a 19-year-old murder suspect who was able to post a bail bond this weekend in the death of an Irving waitress. Sarah Foust must remain at her mother's Grand Prairie home from 5 p.m. until 6 a.m., state District Judge Janice Warder ruled. Ms. Foust also is not allowed to drive or drink alcohol, and she must show up at every court setting. "They're reasonable conditions, and she will abide by...

Detective: Driver cursed at waitress Murder suspect heard laughing before arrest; bail reduction denied 01/17/2003 By TIM WYATT / The Dallas Morning News The 19-year-old driver charged in the death of an Irving waitress cursed the injured woman for hanging onto the trunk of the getaway car as it sped out of a restaurant parking lot, a detective testified Thursday. Minutes later, officers overheard the driver laugh and talk with her friends in the car before their arrest. The testimony was in contrast to defense attorneys' portrayal of Sarah Foust as distraught and remorseful over the death of Jennifer...

Bennigan's may face sanctions over service Restaurant gave alcohol to 3 teens before death of waitress, state says 01/16/2003 By STEVE McGONIGLE / The Dallas Morning News A Bennigan's restaurant in Irving where a waitress was killed Jan. 3 might face administrative sanctions for serving alcohol to three underage patrons whom the waitress was chasing for not paying their bill, the state's liquor control agency said Wednesday. If the restaurant is found to have violated state law, it could face suspension or cancellation of its liquor license, or a fine of up to $25,000 per day, said Sgt. John...

Chance encounter with troubled teens left waitress dead The consequences of a moment 01/12/2003 By MARK WROLSTAD and STEVE McGONIGLE / The Dallas Morning News The plan was to get something for nothing. The price turned out to be a life. When four aimless dropouts apparently decided the night after New Year's to eat and drink their fill, then skip out on the restaurant bill, it may have seemed to them an almost harmless theft. But this time, for a lost circle of friends already familiar with the effects of bad choices and bad habits, the crime would not...

Posted on Fri, Jan. 10, 2003 Driver seeks to talk with victim's kin By Ben TinsleyStar-Telegram Staff Writer The driver of the car that struck and killed a Bennigan's waitress last week in Irving is offering to meet with the victim's family to acknowledge her "responsibility and obligation" to them, her attorney said Thursday.Sarah Haven Foust, 18, of Irving is also seeking to have her $100,000 bail reduced to $25,000, said her attorney, David Scoggins of Mesquite. A bail-reduction hearing is scheduled for Thursday in Dallas County criminal district court.Foust is accused of driving the 1978 Chevrolet Nova that...

Funeral services held for Irving waitress Fall from car, not initial hit, killed waitress 01/08/2003 By JENNIFER EMILY / The Dallas Morning News Family and friends said goodbye Wednesday morning to an Irving waitress killed in a Bennigan's restaurant parking lot. Funeral services were held at Arlington Funeral Home for 20-year-old Jennifer Sanchez. Ms. Sanchez, who was struck and killed by the car of a patron who walked out on a restaurant tab, was thrown from the roof and trunk only after the driver braked and accelerated repeatedly for 200 feet, according to documents made public Tuesday. Jennifer Sanchez's...

Fall from car killed waitress Driver hit gas, brakes repeatedly to throw her off, documents indicate 01/08/2003 By JENNIFER EMILY / The Dallas Morning News IRVING - A waitress who was struck and killed by the car of a patron who walked out on a restaurant tab was thrown from the roof and trunk only after the driver braked and accelerated repeatedly for 200 feet, according to documents made public Tuesday. Jennifer Sanchez's fatal injury occurred when her head struck the pavement, not when the car driven by Sarah Foust, 18, backed into her, the documents show. Ms. Sanchez,...

Irving police seek 4th in death of waitress 01/06/2003 From Staff Reports Irving police are looking for a fourth person wanted in the death of a waitress at an Irving Bennigan's. Jennifer Michelle Sanchez, 22, was trying to write down the license-plate number of the car after its four occupants ran out on a $100 restaurant tab early Friday. She died later that day at Parkland Memorial Hospital from head injuries. Jennifer Michelle Sanchez The driver, 18-year-old Sarah Foust of Irving, is charged Saturday on suspicion of murder and driving under the influence, Irving police said. She's in jail...

Driver, 18, charged with murder 01/05/2003 By TIARA M. ELLIS / The Dallas Morning News The 18-year-old driver of the car that struck and killed a Bennigan's waitress was charged Saturday on suspicion of murder and driving under the influence, Irving police said. The waitress, Jennifer Michelle Sanchez, was trying to write down the license-plate number of the car after its four occupants ran out on a $100 restaurant tab early Friday. She died later that day at Parkland Memorial Hospital from head injuries. The driver, Sarah Foust of Irving, remained in custody Saturday at the Irving jail with...

Waitress hit by car dies 01/03/2003 By KIMBERLY DURNAN / Dallas Web Staff A 22-year-old waitress died from severe head injuries after she was struck early Friday by a car occupied with four people who had walked out on their restaurant bill at an Irving Bennigan's, police said. Jennifer Sanchez, of Grand Prairie, was taken to Parkland Hospital where she underwent surgery for her injuries. Ms. Sanchez had gone into the restaurant parking lot just after 1 a.m. to get the license plate number of four patrons who had just walked out on their $100 restaurant tab, Irving police...

Irving boy, 15, dies after illness Sister, 13, succumbed to same unexplained ailment 10 days ago 08/29/2002 By LEE POWELL / The Dallas Morning News IRVING - A 15-year-old Irving boy has died, 10 days after his younger sister succumbed to a still-unexplained illness. Matthew Johnson died Wednesday at Children's Medical Center, according to the Dallas County medical examiner's office, two weeks after he slipped into a coma. Hospital officials have declined to release information about the children, citing their parents' wishes. An autopsy was performed on Rachel Johnson, the boy's sister, but its findings have yet to be...

Police: Sexual assault evident in Ryno case DNA led to arrest of handyman in death of Irving 3-year-old 07/24/2002 By JENNIFER EMILY / The Dallas Morning News An Irving police detective testified Tuesday that investigators linked an apartment handyman to the slaying of 3-year-old Cristy Ryno through an examination that determined she was sexually assaulted. Detectives had previously declined to detail what evidence contained the DNA that ultimately led to the arrest of Brett Jonathan Bednarek. The child's naked body was found by two fishermen in the Elm Fork of the Trinity River four days after her disappearance on...

     Irving's home is repossessed as libel debts mountBy Jessica Berry and Chris Hastings(Filed: 16/06/2002) David Irving, the disgraced historian who was bankrupted after being branded a Holocaust denier in a failed libel action, has had his home repossessed and his personal possessions seized.The historian's Mayfair flat, which is believed to be worth around £750,000, was seized by his bank two weeks ago while he was in the United States because of mounting mortgage arrears. It has now been put up for sale.   David Irving in his London home before its repossession In a separate move, bailiffs acting...