City Lawsuit

City of Dallas sues Texaco station in crime-ridden northeast neighborhood

The city is blaming the gas station.

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The city of Dallas has filed a lawsuit against a Texaco station in northeast Dallas, blaming it for tolerating drug deals and other criminal activity.

According to a release, the lawsuit was filed on July 22 against the owner of the Texaco at 11770 Ferguson Rd., blaming the gas station for its role as a hub for crimes such as drug dealing and robbery.

The station is located at the crime-ridden intersection at Ferguson and 635 that's right on the border of Dallas and Garland — making it a kind of no man's land in terms of law enforcement. Many homeless and panhandlers can be found camped there daily, harassing motorists getting on and off 635.

The entire neighborhood has had issues for years, with numerous shootings at the strip center next door. But the lawsuit seems to have been prompted by videos that were posted on Facebook in July showing a group of young men loitering at the gas station, selling drugs, and getting into fights.

The city cites 36 crimes that took place at the Texaco between July 2017 to July 2018, including robbery, aggravated assault, drug deals, and a shooting in February, when a security guard was killed and another person was critically injured.

But the company that owns the Texaco — Bajrangbali786 LLC in Houston, registered to Avish Patel and Sandeep Shah — bought the property in 2018.

The owners of an apartment building next door are among business owners who say the area is not being properly policed.

Geoff Henley, who recently bought the Meadows apartment building with his brother Hudson, wrote an editorial for the Dallas Morning News on July 2, listing the problems they'd encountered with drug dealers in the neighborhood and calling for a greater police presence and more arrests.

"While we have cleared out dealers on the property, the problem is much greater," Henley writes. "In front of the only driveway to the complex, dealers run an open-air drug emporium at the gas station next door. Right off the freeway and on the Dallas-Garland border, the site is a crime magnet."

Henley says that a police car drives through every half hour or so but the police are outnumbered.

The Texaco manager, Alex Mahomood, tells NBC 5 that he has called 911 nearly 100 times in the past three months, but police rarely respond; and that he has turned over dozens of surveillance videos to police that were recorded on the store's camera, with no action taken.

Henley's security staff has also called 911 without response.

This is not the first time the city has sued a property owner, alleging they are a party to criminal activity. In 2017, the city sued the Bent Creek Shopping Center at Forest Lane and Audelia Road, describing it also as a hub for criminal activity, and calling it a crime "enabler."

More recently, they managed to shut down Jim's Car Wash, a longtime business on Martin Luther King Boulevard, after 15 years of blaming them for crime in the area.

The release from the city says that the Dallas Police Department will maintain escalated patrols in the area and will be conducting additional operations in the coming days.

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Animal News

Wills Point, Texas man charged with cruelty for abandoning 18 animals

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Lucas Wayne Penrod, charged with animal cruelty

Another animal cruelty case has emerged from Van Zandt County, resulting in the arrest of a Wills Point man: Lucas Wayne Penrod was charged with Cruelty to Nonlivestock Animals, a 3rd degree felony.

It began on Friday, October 24, when the Wills Point Police Department performed a welfare check at a mobile home within the city limits. Officers became concerned when they heard multiple dogs barking along with a foul odor of animal waste.

On October 25, after obtaining a search warrant, Wills Point PD and the SPCA of Texas ACI Unit entered the residence and found multiple animals living in deplorable conditions.

The mobile home was filled with trash and animal feces. The team discovered a total of 8 cats, 2 guinea pigs, 4 adult dogs, and 4 puppies, cruelly confined to the unsanitary living conditions on the property.

Two dogs were confined to filthy crates with no access to water.
Three puppies were in a small bathroom covered in urine and feces; one of the puppies was deceased and decomposing.
The guinea pigs were found in a cage without access to food or water.

Most of the animals showed signs of long-term neglect and were in dire need of urgent medical intervention. The animals were seized by the SPCA of Texas and transported to the organization's Dallas location for veterinary care.

Dog in cage Wills Point Lucas Wayne Penrod Dog abandoned in Wills Point by Lucas Wayne Penrod.SPCA

On October 26, Lucas Wayne Penrod, the owner of the animals, contacted an SPCA of Texas Investigator regarding the animals. The Investigator determined that Penrod had unlawfully allegedly abandoned the animals, failing to provide them with proper care, resulting in the death of one of the puppies and the critical state of the surviving animals.

On October 28, the SPCA of Texas Animal Cruelty Investigations (ACI) Unit obtained an arrest warrant for Penrod, who was apprehended by Tyler Police Department and booked into the Smith County Jail with a $50K bond. Penrod was charged with Cruelty to Nonlivestock Animals, a 3rd degree felony.

On November 1, at a civil custody hearing at the Van Zandt County Justice of the Peace Precinct 3 courthouse in Wills Point, Penrod relinquished custody of the 18 allegedly abandoned, cruelly treated animals to the SPCA.

"The squalid conditions these beautiful animals were living in were abhorrent--locked in spaces without food or water, in their own excrement," said SPCA of Texas ACI Unit Chief Investigator Courtney Burns, CAWA. "This is some of the worst mistreatment of domestic animals I've seen in my extensive career in animal cruelty investigations. In no small part, these pets owe their lives to the Wills Point Police Department. If it wasn’t for their quick thinking to involve us right away, I don't think the animals would have made it."

"This case perfectly illustrates the team effort that investigating and prosecuting animal cruelty cases in Texas is," Burns added. "We are extremely thankful to the Tyler Police Department for their efficient assistance in apprehending Penrod so that he can be brought to justice in the timeliest manner possible. And we are especially grateful to the Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Office and court system with whom we continue to partner to get justice for abused animals in their jurisdiction."