Here are things to know for Friday, Dec. 10:
1. Pilot, passenger dead after small plane crashes near Katy Freeway in west Houston, HCSO says
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The Texas Department of Public Safety confirmed Thursday that two people have died after a single-engine Piper PA28 Cherokee crashed behind the Harris County Precinct 5 headquarters.
The small, white plane was found deep inside George Bush Park near the 17400 block of the Katy Freeway shortly before 2 p.m.
The male pilot and the female passenger were reported dead at the scene, Texas DPS officials said. The pilot was found ejected from the plane while the woman was still trapped inside, according to DPS.
During a news conference Thursday evening, the Texas DPS PIO, Richard Standifer, said the plane, which was headed to Pearland, departed around 7:55 p.m. on Wednesday and lost contact with the airport personnel five minutes later around 8 p.m.
2. ‘Somewhere in the wind’: Pimp skips out on 40-year sentence for sex trafficking teen on Bissonnet Track, DA says
A Houston pimp is now a fugitive after skipping out during his trial where he was convicted by a jury and got 40 years in prison for forcing a runaway teenager into prostitution, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced Thursday.
“He repeatedly forced a minor to have sex with strangers for money, and anyone who does that deserves decades in prison,” Ogg said. “Somebody out there knows where he is hiding, and could collect a reward for doing the right thing.”
A Harris County jury convicted DeAundric Jaquay Dorsey, 33, after a three-day trial. Dorsey, whom District Judge DaSean Jones had released on bond, didn’t come back to court after the first day of his trial.
“He is a dangerous pimp and now he is somewhere in the wind,” Assistant District Attorney Kenisha Day said. “When the victim showed up to testify, you could just see that he knew he was going to prison.”
3. 3 cases of the omicron variant reported in Fort Bend County, officials say
Officials from the Fort Bend County Health & Human Services department say three people in their area have tested positive for the omicron variant of COVID-19.
On Thursday, the FBCHHS reported that all three of the people had received both vaccination doses and had not traveled in the past 14 days.
Those three people with the variant did not have a booster shot, officials said.
4. Travis Scott says he was unaware of deaths until after show
Rapper Travis Scott said in an interview that he didn’t know that fans had died at his Astroworld festival in Houston until after his performance.
In a lengthy interview with TV and radio personality Charlamagne Tha God posted on YouTube on Thursday, Scott described from his perspective what happened at the Nov. 5 festival that left 10 people dead.
“It wasn’t really until minutes before the press conference until I figured out exactly what happened. Even after the show, you’re just kind of hearing things, but I didn’t know the exact details until minutes before the press conference,” Scott said.
He said he paused the performance a couple of times, but he couldn’t hear fans screaming for help.
5. Woman who refused to leave Galveston bank after mask dispute sentenced to 12 days in jail
The 65-year-old woman who was caught on video refusing to leave a Galveston bank was found guilty and sentenced to 12 days in jail.
On March 11, 2021 Terry Lynn Wright entered a Bank of America without wearing a mask, which at the time was required by the business. When the manager tried to give Wright a mask and accommodate her, investigators said she refused every offer and also refused to leave the business’s premises.
When a Galveston police officer arrived, Wright was caught on body-camera video arguing and tussling with the officer who asked her to leave the bank.
In the video, Wright was also seen pulling her hand away from the officer when he tries to detain her.