Witnesses- Denny's customer killed by robbers was trying to protect children

HOUSTON – A customer was fatally shot and an employee was injured during a robbery at a Denny’s restaurant in west Houston. It happened at the Denny’s along Interstate 10 at Washington Avenue around 10:30 p.m. Monday, according to officers with the Houston Police Department.

Police said three men wearing masks and bandanas went into the restaurant and ordered all customers and employees to the ground. A family member of one of the victims said the men took purses and cell phones, and even pointed their guns at small children. The men also stole money from the customers and the cash register.

Witnesses said the robbers became angry and started shooting before they left the scene. The bullets struck a customer and an employee who was trying to escape out the front door. The robbers escaped in a minivan, believed to be stolen.

Police spent several hours looking over the scene and the evidence, which included bullet holes in some of the cars parked outside. Police said the men wore masks, but the crime and the getaway vehicle may have been captured on video by surveillance cameras.

If they are putting a gun to a small kid’s head, they need to be stopped," said Drue Placette. Denny’s reopened a few hours after the deadly robbery. Regulars stopped by to check on the employees they’ve come to know.

"You never think it’s going to happen to somebody you know, or some place that you go, and it’s really sad when it does," said Peggy McMillan, a regular. "It’s horrible. We just want to check and make sure everybody is OK. I know somebody didn’t make it and we feel really bad about it."

4 - Years boy, drowns in Liberty County pond

HOUSTON -- A heartbreaking situation unfolded Monday in Liberty County which took the life of a 4-year-old child.

The sheriff’s office said deputies received a call from a grandmother around 12:30 p.m. to report that her grandson was missing from a residence in the 4500 block of Private Road 4501.

The grandmother, who is wheel chair bound, said the boy had been missing for 15 minutes before she called 911. A short time later, the boy's body was found in a nearby pond. 

Deputies responded to the pond, located near Indigo Road and PR 4501. Authorities recovered the child and performed CPR, but it was too late. Officials said it is possible believe the child had been in the water 30 to 40 minutes before he was found.

The Liberty County Sheriff's Office is investigating.

Bicyclist struck, killed by car at Memorial Park

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Authorities are investigating a deadly auto-pedestrian accident at Memorial Park.

Authorities are investigating a deadly auto-pedestrian accident at Memorial Park. It happened around 7:30pm in the 6700 block of Memorial Drive.

Witnesses say the bike rider had started to cross the street but then turned around to go back. That's when an oncoming car heading westbound on Memorial struck him then crashed into a light pole.

"I was walking around the corner and I heard a big thump, like the earth had shaken. So immediately, I knew somebody was in trouble and had a horrible crash," witness Charlotte Jolivet said.

Authorities say the bicyclist died at the scene, and the driver of the car was transported to a hospital in an undisclosed condition.

"Well you definitely have to be careful. This is a busy time of day; this is a busy park with a lot of people on bikes, people running and then the cars on the street. This is a pretty fast street," HPD Sgt. Johnnie McFarland said.

Other bikers at the park know agree.

"We stay on the back bike paths. We have the lights, we have the reflectors and try to have the hats but we try not to get on the streets because the cars can't see us all the time," a bicyclist at the park said.

The identities of the cyclist and driver of the cars have not yet been released. Officials have shut down the outbound lanes of Memorial at Memorial Loop as the investigation continues.

Mexican man on Texas death row loses appeal

HOUSTON -- A 43-year-old Mexican national on Texas death row for the beating death of a man at his Hill Country ranch near Kerrville almost 16 years ago has lost a federal court appeal, moving him a step closer to execution.

Attorneys for Ramiro Hernandez argue he was mentally impaired and ineligible for execution for the 1997 slaying of 48-year-old Glen Lich. The former Baylor University history professor was fatally beaten with a crowbar. His wife also was attacked but survived.

Hernandez, from Tamaulipas, Mexico, also argued he had poor legal help at his Texas trial, where he says verification of a previous murder conviction and prison term in Mexico was improperly allowed.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected each one argument. Hernandez does not yet have an execution date.