Well, here's something to be proud of: Houston's homicide rate is now the second-highest among large American cities, according to FBI figures released Monday. Keep in mind that this is the homicide rate we're talking about — Houston's was 18.2 per 100,000 residents last year, putting us second only to Philadelphia and ahead of Dallas (fifth place), which has had a higher homicide rate than Houston for each of the last 11 years. The numbers......

What's with all the Missed Connections going on at grocery stores this week? Among others, we had a probable stalker at Kroger, a guy who might be jumping the gun a little bit at a Galveston grocery store, and yuppie love at Whole Foods - originally sung by Donny Osmond. You guys need to get your hands on a how-to guide - picking up chicks at the supermarket is supposed to be easy. You:......

Rep. Ellen Cohen is all grown up and getting her legislation passed. The freshman Democrat from Houston proposed a bill that would add a $5 tax to strip club entry fees, and it passed in the Texas House yesterday in a 110-28 vote. The "sin tax" is expected to generate $87 million in revenue, $18 million of which will be used to fund women's crisis centers and sexual assault education. Strip club managers opposed the......

When we saw that KTRK had done a Crime Tracker report on Houston movie theaters, our first thought was "Tinseltown Westchase." And it turns out we weren't too far off: the Tinseltown theater located at 3300 West Sam Houston Parkway saw the most violent crime last year, including one rape and five robberies. However, the AMC Studio 30 at 2949 Dunvale reported the most crime overall, but none of them were violent. Infractions included possession......

There's so much going on across the Ist-a-Verse that it's almost impossible to keep track these days. Fortunately, we do it so you don't have to! Londonist took a walk through Oliver Twist's London, thanks to a gorgeous map layer for Google Earth. They also caught up with modern-day fictional London, with the Fantastic Four and 28 Weeks Later. It was a week of insanity over at DCist. They started the week off with......

There's an interesting legislative battle brewing in Austin over the appropriateness of a tax that would go toward funding sexual assault prevention, response and counseling. No one would oppose a measure supporting that work, would they? Ah, you'd be surprised: There's opposition when the funding is tied to the adult entertainment industry. At issue here is a $5 fee that would be added to price of admission to adult entertainment clubs, which was proposed in......

Spring appears to have, er, sprung, at least temporarily, in most of the Ist-A-Verse, so naturally, we're all feeling pretty good. (Yes, we know that spring doesn't officially start till later this month. Just let us enjoy our weather!) And that makes us that much more eager to share all of the nifty things we're up to... Over at Sampaist, spring has more than sprung: it's sweltering! But, as everyone knows, museums are an ideal......

A couple of weeks ago, KTRK set up a matchmaking segment on its morning news program — the goal, of course, was to match local singles, but what ended up happening was a lot more interesting: The first eligible bachelor turned out to be an admitted rapist. The guy in question is swingin' single Dean Duff, who went to the KTRK studio Feb. 8 along with 29 other singles to tape interviews as the first......

You might have heard about Baytown's serial rapist, the guy who attacked at least five young men last year — well, after making a break in the case last night, Baytown police arrested a suspect in the attacks. The arrest came quick on the heels of the rapist being featured on America's Most Wanted; we assume the chain of events wasn't coincidental. The attacks began as early as April, with the latest having been reported......

Gilbert Amezquita, a man who spent eight years in prison on what might have been a false rape arrest, has begun the process of getting $200,000 in state compensation for his jail time. Amezquita was arrested in connection with the 1998 rape and beating of Kathy Bingham at her father's publishing company, which left Bingham in a coma for 10 days. When she woke up, she told police that "Gilbert" had attacked her; based primarily......

A 16 year old Westbury High School student was gunned down in a reportedly gang-related drive by shooting this morning, between 8:35 and 8:40 a.m. in the 5400 block of Dryad, adjacent to the Westbury campus, reports the Chronicle. The student was transported to Ben Taub Hospital, where "he died on arrival,'' said Evelyn Flouri, of the homicide division of the Houston Police Department. Police were not releasing the victim's name. Police told HISD superintendent......

OK, we may be one of the the fattest, most polluted cities. We'll give you that. But finally, reports KHOU, a list we can be proud of: Houston is ranked only #47 on the list of most dangerous cities despite last year's rising crime stats. The study, published by Morgan Quitno Press, looks at more than just crime rate--also taken into account are individual crimes, such as rape and burglary, and their prevalence in various......

Police surrounded a house in the Heights this afternoon after a woman said her boyfriend shot her but it turns out she made a false report because she was mad at the guy A Fort Bend County judge has set Sean Brown's bail at $1 million; the teen is one of two accused of killing Ashton Glover Police are still looking for 13-year-old Marlena Carmen Esquivel, who was last seen early yesterday and is in......

Bilford Junious, an accused rapist and person of interest in a string of murders in the Acres Homes area, is facing three new sexual assault charges, KHOU reports. Junious was arrested Aug. 4; he appeared in court yesterday, and police say he's confessed to a total of seven sexual assaults. Junious has not been charged with murder, nor has he apparently been linked directly to any of the killings, but his basic description matches that......

Despite early reports of a possible connection between a man arrested in connection with raping a woman and a possible serial killer stalking women in the Acres Homes area, police are stressing that no positive link has been made between Bilford Junious and the killer. And, they say, there's still a good chance the murders weren't all committed by the same person. All of which means the cops may not be any closer to solving......

Police believe a man being held for raping a woman in late May could be the man who has murdered at least six women in the Acres Homes area, the Chronicle reports this morning. Bilford Dwight Junious, 35, was arrested Friday night and charged with aggravated assault; a criminal report says he was toting a shotgun when he sexually assaulted a woman in the 2600 block of Mansfield on May 31. What could link him......

Anyone remember Josiah Sutton, the guy who was exonerated in a rape case in 2004 thanks to foul-ups by the HPD crime lab? This weekend he was back in jail — briefly — for traffic violations, and he claims they were the result of more HPD mishandling. Police say Sutton was arrested just before 1 a.m. Sunday in the 8800 block of South Braeswood for driving with no license and no auto coverage policy. Though......

The U.S. Supreme Court overturned part of Texas' redistricting map today, saying some of the new divisions didn't protect minority voting rights Sheriff's officers are searching for Hector Caranza, a 5-year-old boy discovered to be missing from his northeast Harris County home this morning Orlando Sanchez, the newly named Republican candidate for Harris County treasurer, is suggesting that talk about eliminating the office of county treasurer is discriminatory against him Webster Smith, a Coast Guard......

A U.S. Coast Guard Academy cadet from Houston is involved in the first court-martial in the school's 130-year history — and it's a doozy, involving binge drinking, rape and race. Webster Smith, 22, faces accusations of misconduct from several female cadets centered on nights of heavy drinking. During one, in June 2005 in Annapolis, Md., Smith is accused of having sex with one of the women after she passed out. She claims Smith raped her;......

When David Carl Wormington was arrested in 2004 and charged with raping a tenant who lived on his Crosby property, he counted on his wife to post bail for him. When she not didn't, and ended up being a witness in the rape trial, he did exactly what you'd expect: He tried to hire a hit man to have her killed. We knew Crosbyites were watching too much HBO. Wormington, 47, was sentenced to 75......

The internet is full of ads for ways to reclaim one's virginity. From creams to prayers to motivational speakers promoting abstinence, the industry of secondary virginity is booming, but no "cure" has reinduced actual physical virginity. Until now, of course. San Antonio surgeon Dr. Troy Hailparn has built up a practice in reconstructive vaginal surgery, the Houston Press reports this week. According to the article she's treated wives who want their husbands to re-deflower them......

A news report from KHOU burst Houstonist's TV bubble this morning: It seems real-life police crime labs aren't really much like the ones on CSI. KHOU had HPD crime lab director Irma Rios and DNA division head Vanessa Nelson check out an episode of the hit crime drama, and they found a few inconsistencies between the show and real life — for example, tests that the show presents as conclusive really aren't. But the biggest......

All the publicity surrounding the Lay/Skilling trial has reminded Houstonist how much we like a good courtroom drama — the on-screen kind, that is. We started thinking about our favorite trial-related movies and were disappointed to realize that all the really good ones were made a long time ago. We suppose Hollywood doesn't think today's audiences have the attention span to watch that kind of thing, so instead of smart, gripping trial stories, we......

The family of a Houston teen who died of alcohol poisoning during a party at a UT fraternity house sued the fraternity and its members today Mayor Bill White is expected to urge local business to offer flexible work arrangements to help ease rush-hour traffic Arthur Mumphrey, who was cleared of rape charges by a DNA test, was released from prison today after serving 18 years for a crime he didn't commit A Pasadena police......

It's a story that sounds more like a TV movie than real life: A man is jailed for 18 years for a crime he didn't commit, then he's exonerated with DNA evidence. Now his brother has confessed that he actually did it and his family is accusing Conroe police of manipulating witnesses into testifying against the wrong guy. Lt. Russell Reynolds, who heads the Conroe police criminal investigation division, said it was identical statements from......

Charles Ray Mumphrey, the brother of a man recently cleared of rape charges by DNA testing, confessed to the crime for which his brother served 18 years in prison Police kicked dozens of homeless people out of encampments downtown today as part of an ongoing program to address complaints from residents and businesses A new county juvenile justice center is set to open downtown in April, but officials say it'll be overcrowded from day one......

In the wake of Wednesday's car chase, Mayor Bill White has asked HPD to review its policy regarding such chases Results of a DNA test have proved Arthur M. Humphrey, jailed for a 1986 rape near Dobbin, is innocent; Humphrey is expected to be released later this month Bruno, the Houston Zoo's sole male lion, was euthanized Tuesday after suffering kidney failure Police are trying to find the men who gunned down a local man......

Musician thriller writer humorist politician (?) Kinky Friedman made his bid for governor official yesterday, filing a declaration of intent to run as an independent candidate in 2006 and promising to put "a chill up the spine of every politician." Friedman's unofficial campaign has been under way since February, when he stood in front of the Alamo and announced his intention to run for governor. (By the way, Houstonist thinks the front of the Alamo......