East Texas Jury Awards $730 Million Wrongful Death Verdict - Personal Detectives believe the murderer likely dumped Trombley's body in Pasadena because she had worked several miles away in northeast Houston. He was also charged Thursday with the aggravated sexual assault of a prostitute that occurred several months before Pyatt's death, in August 2002. 11. Published: May. Houston Chronicle Obituaries (1985 - 2023) - Houston, TX - ObitsArchive Homicide investigators are examining the killings of 15 prostitutes in eastern Harris County to see if they are linked to Crosby security guard Steven Alexander Hobbs, whom they charged Thursday with murder in the death of a woman found near his home. . He was wearing a yellow jumpsuit, which signifies a high-security inmate. Copyright 2022 KWTX. HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- There would be no more waiting for a suspected serial killer's fate to be decided in a trial, even if it took 11 years to get to jury selections. Need help? Her remains were found in November 2002 in the San Jacinto River beneath the old Beaumont Highway bridge. 2023 FOX Television Stations, 86-year-old Houston man diagnosed with dementia staving off Alzheimer's with boxing gloves. TEXAS DEPT OF PUBLIC SAFETY: Arrest Location : FM 1097 AND CUDE CEMETERY RD: Offense Date: Offense Description: Related Incident: Court: Court Reference: Bail Amount: Steven Hobbs, a former security guard from Crosby accused of raping or killing six prostitutes, has pleaded guilty to two murders, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced Monday. Steven Hobbs, a former security guard accused of raping or killing six prostitutes, tops the list as the Harris County Jail inmate with the longest wait for trial: He was arrested in 2011. Steven Hobbs, a suspect serial killer said to be the longest current serving Harris County inmate, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison. Harris County. DNA linked him . Steven C. Laird, Seth D. McCloskey of Law Offices of Steven C. Laird PC. April 20,2021 Derek Chauvin trial verdict - CNN cases came out of Texas's two most populous and urban counties: Harris and Dallas Counties. They have been awaiting trial longer than any of the thousands of jail inmates, records show. County jail is just like groundhogs Day. Suspected serial killer to stand trial after 10 years in jail. Mallett was arrested for allegedly pulling a gun on his ex-girlfriend in March 2015 and released on a $30,000 bond, records show. District Court Judge Natalia Cornelio will rule over the next few weeks. Investigators filed another charge for the 2010 aggravated assault of 33-year-old prostitute Sandra Gunter. 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Prosecutors Sara Seely and Jennifer Meriwether said during an earlier hearing that Hobbs had applied for a job with a small local police department before his arrest and that several women who were attacked but survived were on their list of witnesses to be called to testify during the trial. She had been strangled. Post-Covid "Nuclear" Verdicts: What the Heck is Going On? 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Prior to his recent arrest, Hobbs didn't have any documented run-ins with the law, except for "a minor traffic violation that landed him in this jail for a couple hours in 2000," Bernstein said. Perkins allegedly gunned down three people in an apparently drug-related altercation in February 2015. 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That is when Harris County investigators linked him to the murders. @khou STORY >> https://t.co/JztMxoc3SJ pic.twitter.com/qQANXxcE0N, This defendant terrified and brutalized the women he attacked, but now families will be spared enduring a trial and he will be locked away until he is nearly 100 years old, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said. Security guard Steven Hobbs faces another murder charge; investigators Hobbs was arrested earlier this month by Pasadena police detectives, who charged him with kidnapping and sexual assaults against three female prostitutes. on April 29th, riots began in Los Angeles after the "Rodney King" verdict was issued. 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Miller was arrested in 2014 for a deadly shooting and was out on bond in July 2015 when he allegedly killed an apartment complex security guard. An experienced deputy of the Harris County Sheriff's Office and former TV Bailiff, Renard Spivey, is alleged of killing his wife during a fight over sex. One of them, a 43-year-old woman whose identity will remain anonymous, told investigators that in June a large white man with "reddish-blond hair and thick eyeglasses" had picked her up to go to a motel for sex, according to the Harris County District Attorney's Office. Jury selection is scheduled for May 2, with opening statements and testimony to start soon after. Question. The Covid pandemic effectively ended civil jury trials in Texas in early 2020. He will be eligible for parole at age 101. Steve graduated from Stamford High School in 1972. HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) A suspected serial killer is finally slated to stand trial after more than a decade in Harris County jail. East Texas Jury Awards $730 Million Wrongful Death Verdict - Lewis However, I do also wonder why you think he would be institutionalized after a decade. On the eve of trial, Hobbs pleaded to the reduced charge of murder from capital murder in the death of Sara Sanford and to murder in the death of Patricia Pyatt. Days later, Hotze, members of the Harris County Republican Party, and a number of Republican officials and candidates asked the Texas Supreme Court to strike the early-vote expansion in Harris and . I believe in an eye for an eye. (Pixabay image via Courthouse News) HOUSTON (CN) A Houston jury awarded more than $352 million late Monday to the family of a former United Airlines employee who was paralyzed when a van driver struck him from behind on an airport tarmac. The list is comprised of various case types that were tried either in state or federal courts of TX. VerdictSearch - Texas Legal Research for Civil and Criminal Court Cases ", Are you serious?! According to the Harris County District Attorneys Office, on the eve of trial, 51-year-old Steven Hobbs pleaded to the reduced charge of murder from capital murder in the death of Sara Sanford and to murder in the death of Patricia Pyatt. "The woman in that case consented, for money, to perform oral sex on Mr. Hobbs," McDaniel said. According to the Harris County District Attorney's Office, on the eve of trial, 51-year-old Steven Hobbs pleaded to the reduced charge of . But due to the minor nature of the crime, a DNA sample was not collected at that time. Thirteen Harris County Jail inmates have served more than 66 combined years behind bars, without ever standing trial for their alleged crimes. On September 22, 2011, Hobbs was pulled over . At the hearing, the court saw Hobbs in his uniform as the defense argued to suppress his 2011 videotaped statement to Pasadena police. ", "His oldest son came by one day to visit one day by the driveway and looked like he was very well taken care of," she said. . Steven Hobbs, who is the longest current serving Harris County inmate, pleaded guilty Monday before jurors could be chosen and sentenced to two consecutive life sentences. Irsan is the son of Ali Mahwood-Awad Irsan, 60, who was sentenced to death for a pair of 2012 "honor killings" that were part of an extensive plot to kill five people. Sheriff says the entire system needs to change. She joined the Chronicle in 2018 from the New York Daily News and after writing for The Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington. Sitting and waiting for trial for 10 years in county lockup must be close to unbearable. This case was filed in Harris County Justice Courts, Harris County Justice Of The Peace For Precinct 4, Place 1 located in Harris, Texas. Let him rot in the cramped, confined hell of county jail. "After 11 years, he was going to face the reality that he was going to have to listen to it all again, and he chose instead to take a plea deal," said Jennifer Meriwether, Harris County assistant district attorney. That location was next to a job site manned by security guards. Lazarine is accused of killing his wife, Deborah, in December 2013. Type above and press Enter to search. Total records returned from search is 433. Former security guard Steven Hobbs pleads guilty, gets life sentence in sex worker killings. The list is comprised of various case types that were tried either in state or federal courts of TX. The agreement ensures that Hobbs is not only convicted, but locked away for what will likely be the remainder of his life. Abbott calls Texas shooting victims illegal immigrants', Texas shooting: Suspected shooter possibly spotted, sheriff says, Shooting survivors: San Jacinto family only sought small favor, FBI briefly releases photo of wrong Francisco Oropeza, Sunday vigil, expanded manhunt and more on Cleveland shooting. He had been charged in connection with the sexual assaults of three prostitutes in Pasadena. "It's definitely been a long time and time for closure for all parties involved," added Meriwether. "The swabs from Steven Hobbs matched DNA evidence at the scene of two murders that took place outside Pasadena but inside Harris County," said Bernstein. Hobbs Steven B & Diana J is a resident of Tomball. . "The more we publicize this, the greater the chance that someone who would have not have come forward because of their illegal activities will come forward now," said Bernstein. I believe in life imprisonment over the death penalty.. Same thing with the MS-13 Thugs?! Hobbs was accused of attacking prostitutes has been charged with capital murder after DNA evidence allegedly linked him to a 2010 killing. At some point, she added, he put on a security uniform and spoke to someone on the phone who sounded like an employer. Ward is accused of six killings of homeless or impoverished women and transgender women in 2010 in and around downtown Houston. Here's what the data says. Oct. 22, 2011— -- Steven Hobbs, a married Texas father of two charged with killing and assaulting prostitutes for the past decade, may be linked to several other unsolved murders in the area . Victims picked Hobbs out of a photo lineup. Case: . Steven Hobbs is being held without bond at the Harris County Jail. Our office is at your fingertips. JPMorgan Chase Bank Na vs Steven B Hobbs | Court Records - UniCourt Hobbs, 51, pleaded to the reduced charge of murder from capital murder in the death of Sara Sanford and to murder in the death of Patricia Pyatt. Texas Supreme Court denies GOP challenge to Harris County's In 1996 He enlisted in the Harris County Sheriff's Office in Texas as a detention officer and became a deputy in 1998. This is finally closure for all the families and the victims, Meriwether said. James Dousay works the case. This is a miscarriage of justice, Steven Alexander Hobbs Sentenced to 2 Life Sentences in TX Cold Case Murders of Patricia Pyatt and Sara Sanford, http://www.chron.com/news/houston-tein-2227974.php, http://www.houstonchronicle.com/newses-4927418.php, https://www.click2houston.com/news/dnst-4-suspects, https://www.houstonchronicle.com/newe-15826865.php. All Rights Reserved. Predator: With D.P. Hobbs had been jailed since his arrest in 2011, making him the longest-serving inmate of the Harris County Jail. Online Texas Death Indexes, Records & Obituaries Little did Hobbs's Texas neighbors know, but the 40-year-old man had been murdering sex workers for almost a decade. Arrendondo allegedly conspired to kill two people in July 2015. But most of all, this is for the victims.". That's where he discovered what Bernstein described as "the key to everything" -- the badly decomposed body of Wanda Trombley, 57, who had been missing since July. Court: Fifth Circuit Texas US District Court for the Northern District of Texas. 1956. Investigators say they are looking into crimes committed as far back as 1996 and will eventually widen their inquiry into unsolved cases outside that area. . Suspected serial killer to stand trial after 10 years in jail, Security guard faces another murder charge; 'fits profile of serial killer', 13 INVESTIGATES: 'Do your job,' victim tells judge in Harris County's slowest court. Holly E. Engelmann, Erik B. Fountain, Steven J. Pollinger, Kevin L. Burgess, Christine M. Woodin, Seth Hasenour, Samuel F . His other assignments for the Chronicle have included covering immigration and running a news bureau in the Rio Grande Valley. Investigators believe he used his job as an armed security guard to prey on sex workers in east Harris County between 2002 and 2011. He was later arrested in Mexico and extradited to the United States. I think thats important so that we can move our resources on to other cases and keep working to remove the case backlog. Make sure to check Harris county . A Texas state jury found that Union Pacific owes $557 million in damages to a woman who suffered brain damage and amputations following a collision with one of its trains. Steven Hobbs, 40, of Crosby, was already facing capital murder charges . Christopher Ray Mallett, 42, has been awaiting trial for 1,552 days (4 years, 3 months) on a charge of capital murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. For these people, a right to a speedy trial seems more like a privilege. If you havent noticed life pretty much sucks anyway. A jury held that Union Pacific was 80% responsible for the accident, holding plaintiff Mary Johnson 20% responsible. Alan Isbell, one of two attorneys appointed by the court to defend Hobbs' murder charges, told ABCNews.com, "He comes from a very solid background and is known as a solid citizen -- a college graduate -- and we are contesting all charges.". So the longer he suffers in county lockup the better.. The other defendant who no longer faces a death prosecution is Steven Hobbs, 49. The cases have piled up over the past three years, starting with Hurricane Harveys closure of the courthouse and exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. For now, detectives are asking other women who may have been assaulted to speak up. Authorities believe the former security guard from Crosby killed a third woman and assaulted several more before his 2011 arrest, prosecutors said. Cameron Langford / October 26, 2021. ", SEE ALSO: Suspected serial killer to stand trial after 10 years in jail. Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg is seeking a death sentence in the case, believed to be the first initiated by her office since she took over in January 2017.READ ALSO: Jail commission approves variance for 192 temporary beds in overcrowded Harris County jailThe MS-13 case joins four older cases most with multiple victims in . I can say from experience that it takes longer than that. Steven Hobbs, one of the longest-serving defendants in the Harris County jail, was sentenced to life in prison Monday after pleading guilty to raping and killing two sex workers. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? Four LAPD officers had been accused of using excessive force (assault) on . A Chronicle investigation reveals the extent of the ballot paper shortage in Harris County's November election, including how the shortages could impact the future of Texas' election laws. On Oct. 13 the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences matched Hobbs to the biological material left at the scene of the murder of Sanford and Pyatt, Nelson said. I think he finally, after 11 years, faced the reality that he was going to have to listen to (the case facts) again. Sara Sanford and Patricia Pyatt were . She added that Hobbs asked for a lawyer after just two minutes in the interview room and believes the rest of the statement should be thrown out.