WIFE AND TEACHER SLEEPING WITH FIVE STUDENTS WITH FOOTAGE AT THE SAME TIME.

Texas Digest: Teacher accused of having sex with 5 students; Starbucks sued for firing dwarf
LATEST LOCAL NEWS »
Family, friends, classmates mourn 'amazing kid' after drowning on coast Updated 6:22 a.m.
Woman convicted of federal gun smuggling charge 9:33 p.m. Monday
Kent Butler's vision led to Balcones Canyonlands Conservation Plan 9:45 p.m. Monday
Video leads to many tips, arrest in 6th Street attack 10:18 p.m. Monday
Woman testifies that convicted killer held screwdriver to her throat in 2007 8:34 p.m. Monday
Latest local news and last 7 days of headlines
MORE ON STATESMAN.COM »
Baseball statistician Bill James turns attention to true crime
Las Vegas erupts early to beat Express
New gambling panel sparks dissent in Senate
A stricter version of conservatism takes root
National League roundup
American League roundup
Girlfriend's self-image has to change first
More
COMPILED FROM WIRE REPORTS
Published: 8:37 p.m. Monday, May 16, 2011
Post a Comment E-mail Print Share Larger Type
ARLINGTON

Teacher faces five sex charges

A North Texas teacher has been accused of having sex with five high school students at her home.

Arlington police said that the students are 18 or older, but it's a criminal offense for teachers to have sex with a student — no matter the age.

Kennedale High School teacher Brittni Nicole Colleps, 27, of Arlington has been charged with five counts of having an inappropriate relationship between a student and teacher, a felony. She was jailed on $125,000 bail after turning herself in Monday morning. She posted bail later that afternoon.

Police said detectives learned that the teacher and students had exchanged text messages that included sexually explicit pictures. The Kennedale school system's attorney, Mike Leasor, said Colleps is an English teacher who's now on administrative leave.

HOUSTON

Roommate charged in killing

A 32-year-old Houston man was charged Monday with killing his roommate, whose dismembered body was found outside a vacant house. Noe Gerardo Morin was in custody Monday on a murder charge.

A police statement said that the head of 35-year-old Marlon Thomas and one of his arms was found in a trash bag Sunday behind cinderblocks that supported the house. A chainsaw was next to the bag. The rest of the body, with a partially severed arm, was found in a backyard nearby. An autopsy has been ordered to determine what killed Thomas.

A woman, who lives next door to the vacant home where body parts were found, said she heard two gunshots just after 10 p.m. Saturday

Another woman who said she is the victim's former girlfriend told the Houston Chronicle that the man being questioned was the victim's longtime roommate.

Fire at mosque investigated

Security video was being reviewed by arson investigators after two masked suspects tried to burn a mosque Saturday in Houston.

Investigators said no one has been arrested in the weekend incident at Madrasah Islamiah in which some carpets were damaged by a small fire. Prayer services went on as scheduled Sunday night.

A fire alarm went off early Saturday at the mosque and school in southwestern Houston. Surveillance video indicated that a window had been broken and that an accelerant had been splashed on carpets. Elder Awni Kussad said a mosque member who was sleeping inside the building awoke to the fire alarm and called 911.

The video shows two people, apparently young men, running from the building and getting into a vehicle with a third person before driving away.

COURTS

Inmates' appeal reviews denied

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to review appeals from three condemned Texas inmates, two of whom were convicted of killing children.

The high court, without comment, rejected appeals from Guadalupe Esparza, Richard Vasquez and Steven Woods.

Esparza, 46, was condemned of kidnapping, sexually assaulting and strangling a 7-year-old San Antonio girl in 1999. In the appeal, his attorneys argued that the former bricklayer and cook was mentally impaired and thus ineligible to be executed.

Vasquez, 32, was convicted of beating his girlfriend's 4-year-old daughter to death in 1998 in Corpus Christi. Evidence also showed that the girl had been sexually assaulted before she died and that cocaine levels in the child's blood were double the lethal amount for an adult. In Vasquez's appeal, his lawyers argued that his trial attorneys did little to show jurors that Vasquez had a troubled childhood that could have swayed them to sentence him to life in prison, instead of execution.

Woods, 31, was convicted of robbing and killing a Dallas man and Denton woman in 2001. The two, who were shot multiple times and had their throats cuts, were found by golfers in May 2001 along a golf course road midway between Dallas and Denton.

Prosecutors said Woods lured the male victim to the isolated spot on the pretense of a drug deal and killed him. They said Woods killed the woman because she was an eyewitness. Woods' attorneys argued that his trial attorneys were deficient for not fully investigating and presenting mitigating evidence to the jurors.

EL PASO

Starbucks sued for firing dwarf

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is suing Starbucks for firing a dwarf who asked for a stool to perform her job as a barista at an El Paso shop.

The EEOC said in a statement released after the federal lawsuit was filed Monday in El Paso that Elsa Sallard was terminated after three days of training because Starbucks deemed she would pose a danger to customers and co-workers.

The commission argues that Starbucks violated the Americans With Disabilities Act by refusing to provide the stool or a small stepladder as reasonable accommodation to Sallard and then firing her. The agency also seeks lost wages and compensatory damages for Sallard and a court order that Starbucks adopt policies to correct and prevent disability discrimination.

Starbucks didn't reply to an email Monday.

Share this article:

What Do You Think?

New to the site?
To leave a comment, you need to sign up.

Signup
Already a member?
To comment, Please login.

Email address

Password

Login
Remember me


SHARE THIS PAGE WITH YOUR FRIENDS


Share
0
digg

LATEST NEWS GALLERIES »

Dating violence mock trial, 05.16.11

Photos of the day, May 2011

Balcones Canyonlands Conservation Plan

Areli Carbajal Escobar, 05.13.11

Rain in Austin, 05.12.11

Reader rain photos, 05.12.11

Obama in Austin, 05.10.11

Obama in Austin reader photos, 05.10.11

Officer-involved shooting, 05.09.11

MudQuest Family Adventure, 05.07.11

Texas Marijuana March, 05.07.11

Zavala Elementary's Reading Rally Day Parade

National Nurses Week, 05.04.11

Reactions to Osama bin Laden's death

Peace Officers' Memorial Service, 05.02.11

Death of Osama bin Laden, 05.02.11

World Trade Center attacks, 02.10.10

Cesar Millan visits Fort Hood

14th Annual Buda Wiener Dog Races

Ghost bike, 05.01.11
MOST POPULAR
Family, friends, classmates mourn 'amazing kid' after drowning on coast
Police: Fight between gangs led to shooting of Sixth Street bystanders
Video leads to many tips, arrest in 6th Street attack
House-Senate deal near on much of budget
LATEST AP TEXAS NEWS »
US Rep. Giffords picks wake-up song for shuttle Updated 4:11 p.m.
Texas Senate approves map of new voting districts Updated 3:49 p.m.
McCann homers twice, leads Braves past Astros 3-1 Updated 3:41 p.m.
AP NEWS: Texas | Nation | World | Sports | Business | Entertainment

FROM OUR NEWS PARTNERS
Unabomber personal items to be auctioned
Man arrested 1 hour after release from jail
Man put sick mom in tool shed to rent out her room, police say
Manslaughter charge for allegedly texting teen driver
Mental exam sought for mom convicted of killing baby in microwave
Inmate accused of stabbing lawyers makes court appearance strapped to chair
Man with HIV indicted for having sex with multiple women
Company receives profane mail from state of Ga.
'Bored' Wisc. teen arrested for bogus 911 calls to Fla.
Texas teens killed after ATV goes off cliff

NEWS

Local
Virtual Capitol
Williamson
State
Crimetracker
StatesmanWatch
Obituaries
Database Central
Nation
World
Lottery
BUSINESS

Technology
Personal Finance
Area Employers
Employment
Real Estate
AP Business
OPINION

Insight
Ben Sargent
SPORTS

Longhorns
Longhorns Gameweek
Aggies
HS Football
High School
Recruiting
Outdoors
Golf
Area Pro Teams
NFL
NBA
MLB
AP Sports News
LIFE

Style
Travel
Gardening
Green
Health & Medical
Raising Austin
Books
Faith
Life Guide
Weddings
Season for Caring
WEATHER

TRAFFIC

Traffic Cameras
MULTIMEDIA

Collective Vision
Interactives
Galleries
BLOGS

ENTERTAINMENT

A-List
Events
Music
Movies
Television
Arts
Recreation
Spas/Salons
Food/Drink
MOBILE/RSS

Statesman
Austin360
iPhone application
RSS
CLASSIFIEDS

Cars
Homes
Jobs
Find Austin Jobs
Merchandise
CUSTOMER SERVICE

Member Center
E-mail Newsletters
Subscribe to the Statesman
Sign up for the eEdition
Subcriber Services
Where to buy the Statesman
Buy Photos
Readers Panel
Careers at the Statesman
Internships
Newspapers in Education
Inside Line
News tips
Reader rewards
Site map
Ethics Policy
ADVERTISE

Print
Online
Classifieds (Print & Online)
eTearsheets
Newspaper Ads
MARKETING

Community Development
DoGood
Glossy
Concert series
Marketing
Readers panel
Special Sections
AFFLIATED SITES

Ahora Si
Hookem.com
Bastrop Advertiser
Cedar Park Citizen
Lake Travis View
Leander Ledger
North Lake Travis Log
Pflugerville Pflag
Round Rock Leader
Smithville Times
Westlake Picayune
Copyright © 2011 All rights reserved. By using