Here are things to know for Wednesday, Oct. 20:
1. Burned body found in ditch in north Houston, police say
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Police are investigating after a burned body was found in a ditch in north Houston.
Houston police responded to reports of a body in a ditch in the 20800 block of Birnam Wood Blvd at 8:09 p.m.
Police are investigating the scene.
2. Prominent Houston homebuilder ID’d as plane owner, passenger aboard wrecked Brookshire plane
The plane that ran off a runway, rolled through a fence and caught fire in a field while attempting to depart from Houston Executive Airport in Brookshire near Katy on Tuesday, is registered to 987 Investments, LLC, according to FAA records.
State records show James Alan Kent owns the LLC of the 1987 McDonnell Douglas MD-87 and a number of other companies.
Kent was also a passenger on the aircraft at the time of the crash but was not flying the plane, according to reports.
3. Texas nurse convicted of killing 4 men with air injections
A Texas nurse was convicted Tuesday of capital murder in the deaths of four patients who died after prosecutors say he injected them with air following heart surgeries.
The Smith County jury deliberated for about an hour before finding William George Davis, of Hallsville, guilty of capital murder involving multiple victims. Prosecutors planned to seek the death penalty during the sentencing phase, which was scheduled to start Wednesday.
Davis, 37, was accused of injecting air into the four patients’ arteries after they underwent heart surgery at the Christus Trinity Mother Frances Hospital in Tyler in 2017 and 2018. During recovery from their surgeries, the four — John Lafferty, Ronald Clark, Christopher Greenway and Joseph Kalina — suffered unexplained neurological problems and died.
4. 471 dangerous criminals arrested, including 72 known gang members, during 10-week ‘Operation Triple Beam,’ officials say
Houston police commanders and U.S. Marshals Service officials and other law enforcement agencies held a news conference Tuesday to announce the results of a violent crime initiative called “Operation Triple Beam.”
During the operation, spanning 10 weeks, authorities said the area’s most dangerous and violent criminals were targeted with local and federal charges. The major focus of the operation -- the fourth installment of its kind -- were fugitives, including some of the most violent gang members sought by law enforcement in southwest Houston and Fort Bend County. The operation ran from July 19 through Sept. 24.
The operation netted 471 arrests, including 72 known gang members; 95 weapons were seized, as well as 541 kilograms of narcotics and more than $421,000, authorities said.
5. Klein Cain High School staff members credited with saving student’s life
Student Nolan Carr said he can only remember one detail about October 1.
“I was running and I passed out,” he said.
The sophomore’s lost time are moments several staff members at Klein Cain High School can’t forget.
“At that moment, he kind of wasn’t breathing or it looked like he was just still,” said Michelle York, the school counselor.
Klein Independent School District police Officer Joe Wooley said when he got to the scene, he saw Carr on the ground.