law enforcement news

By Lew K. Cohn

Managing Editor

The Highlander

Vandals broke into the former Burnet Elementary cafeteria and another building this weekend, causing a great deal of damage to property being refurbished by the county for use by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service.

Burnet County Judge James Oakley said workers arriving early Monday, Jan. 9, to the building discovered the damage, which included paint intentionally splattered on the floor, on signs, on walls, on windows, on the stage and on aluminum siding.

In addition, it appears the vandals also may have struck another building on the campus that is being used for storage by the Burnet Consolidated Independent School District. A broken window was discovered Saturday and reported to police, who had no reason to believe any other buildings were involved until damage was found Monday morning.

A Round Mountain man remains in the Burnet County Jail, charged with intoxication manslaughter for the vehicular death of a Round Rock woman last year in Llano County. Pedro Ortiz Hurtado, 66, of Round Mountain was transferred into the Burnet County Jail Jan. 5, based on charges of intoxicated manslaughter with a vehicle that followed his arrest by Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) troopers. Hurtado was the driver of a truck in an accident Nov. 1 on Texas 71 that claimed the life of Edwina Dillon Turner, a 56-year-old Round Rock woman. The accident occurred about three miles west of Horseshoe Bay at 8:23 p.m. when, according to Texas Department of Public Safety records, Hurtado's eastbound 2005 Ford F250 crossed the center line and swerved back, striking Turner's eastbound 2014 Volkswagen PTE head on. George Anderson, 51, of Round Mountain, a passenger in Hurtado's truck, was injured in the accident.

By Glynis Crawford Smith
The Highlander

By Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

As the year 2016 drew to a close, all but one man prosecuted on charges stemming from Operation Dream Catcher had been convicted and sentenced.

The Granite Shoals Police Department last Feb. 24 participated in a mass federal drug trafficking and money laundering bust spanning Burnet and several counties. A local resident was among 15 arrested in the investigation of widespread methamphetamine distribution ring and money laundering scheme with ties all the way to Mexico. Dubbed Operation Dream Catcher, the effort resulted in prosecution of each of them by the U. S. Attorney’s Office.

Aaron Bravo, age 39, of Granite Shoals, on Nov. 22, was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison followed by 4 years of supervised release for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of meth.

By Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

Burnet County Sheriff-elect Calvin Boyd introduced his choice for a new chief deputy Monday, Dec. 19, introducing Mike Cummings of Houston at a morning press conference.

“Mike Cummings has a great resume and he is going to be really good for the Sheriff's Office,” said Boyd. “There is a lot of excitement in the Sheriff's Office.”

Boyd, who won his post handily in the Republican Primary, will quietly take the oath of office at midnight on New Year's Eve to step into the shoes of retiring Burnet County Sheriff W.T. Smith.

He went on to enumerate the chain of command reporting to Cummings: Chris Jett, as the new administrative captain; Capt. Ricky Bindseil, continuing as patrol captain; Capt. Dwight Hardin, in charge of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Special Operations Unit (SOU), and Capt. Matt Kimbler, in charge of the Burnet County Jail.

By Glynis Crawford Smith

THE HIGHLANDER

The National Rifle Association (NRA) Foundation has awarded the City of Granite Shoals Police Department a grant of $2,880 for the purchase of ballistic helmets.

Interim Chief Gary Boshears said the grant would cover the cost of helmets for the department's full compliment of eight officers.