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Man charged with Heights jewelry theft suspected of others County Precinct 1 Constable’s Office and charged with felony theft in the 180th State District Court. He is alleged to have stolen two diamond rings valued at $16,000 while trying out for a job at Rebecca Lankford Designs, a custom jewelry business at 703 Yale St. “He comes across very well-spoken, dressed very nicely, and he’s talented. That’s the sad thing,” Lankford said. “He certainly didn’t look like the photo when they arrested him.”
By Adam Zuvanich azuvanich@theleadernews.com He acted nice, dressed nice and drove a nice car. Rebecca Lankford said she was even more impressed when she watched Raul Hernandez work. Now, though, the Heights jeweler wishes she wouldn’t have been blinded by the man’s sparkling appearance and craftsmanship. Hernandez, 55, was arrested last month by the Harris
Raul Hernandez
Hernandez, who according to court records is a Mexico native also known as Raul Arcega Hernandez and Arcega Raul Hernandez, pleaded guilty to stealing two rings from a former employer, Broyles Jewelry in Northwest Harris County, in 2018. He received four years deferred adjudication and was ordered to community supervision on June 19, according to court documents. Less than two weeks later, Hernandez is alleged to have
Suspect dies in HPD custody after car chase into Heights
jasonk@greenwoodking.com GREENWOOD KING
PROPERTIES
By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com
See the NOW Lineup OPEN O PEN page 8A THEHEIGHTSTHEATER.COM
339 W 19th St, Houston, TX 77008
INSIDE.
Photo by Ana Guzman Phil Brayton, second from left, poses with three men trying to impersonate him during last year’s White Linen Night in the Heights event. The other men, from left to right, are event organizer Mitch Cohen, Steve Sellers and Mike Baker.
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School switch. A former assistant principal at Wainwright is the new principal at Stevens.
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Brayton unmistakable fixture at White Linen Night By Adam Zuvanich azuvanich@theleadernews.com If there’s a big social event on a weekend in Houston, there’s a good chance Phil Brayton is there. And there’s no chance you’ll miss him, because he’s often the center of attention and having his picture snapped with someone. Brayton is 6-foot-5 and looks like a bodybuilder, with chiseled muscles, a fake tan and no body hair. He shows off his barrel chest by wearing a sports coat without a shirt, and the rest of his wardrobe typically consists of shorts, some sort of hat, a silver necklace and a cigar in his mouth. Brayton said he usually dresses like that, unless he’s at work, and his job is the reason he’s such a partygoer. He said he works in the funeral business near the intersection of 34th Street and Ella Boulevard. “I see so much sadness that when I’m off, See Brayton P. 7A
Stuff of dreams. Zarah Parker reviews a local restaurant that specializes in chicken wings.
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THE INDEX. Calendar/Church............................... 4A Classifieds.............................................. 5A Coupons................................................... 3B Food/Drink/Art................................... 8A Obituaries............................................... 4A Opinion..................................................... 3A Public Information......................... 2A Puzzles...................................................... 3A
See Theft P. 7A
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Cabs for kids. A ride-sharing business catering to busy mothers is operating in Houston.
stolen jewelry from Lankford’s business, which provided surveillance video to the constable’s office. Lankford said the rings were family heirlooms belonging to customer Ann Singleton, who enlisted Lankford to repurpose the diamonds into earrings. Lankford said the constable’s office obtained the rings and returned them to Lankford when Hernandez was arrested July 5 at his Southwest Hous-
whitein the linen night Heights
Photo from Facebook
Official Event: 6-10 p.m. Saturday at 200 and 300 blocks of West 19th Street Admission: Free Estimated Crowd: 25,000 More info: theheightswhitelinennight.com Other locales include: Heights Bier Garten, Heights Mercantile, Jack Rabbit Gallery, We Olive & Wine Bar, White Oak Drive, Wicklow Heights
A car chase into the Heights took a dire turn last Sunday night when a suspect died shortly after being taken into custody by the Houston Police Department. HPD assistant chief James Jones said the suspect, identified as 28-yearold LaJuan Hardman by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Services, was apprehended after fleeing a truck he was driving in the 100 block of East 10th Street. According to Jones, Hardman then began experiencing medical problems such as shortness of breath, at which point Jones said HPD called paramedics from the Houston Fire Department to evaluate him. HPD said in a news release that paramedics later attempted CPR on Hardman, who was transported to Memorial Hermann Greater Heights Hospital and pronounced dead. HPD’s Special Investigations Unit and the Internal Affairs Division are investigating the incident, according to a news release from HPD. Shortly after 6 p.m. Sunday, Jones said officers pulled up behind a white GMC pickup truck towing a trailer police say was stolen. When officers attempted to stop the truck, Jones said Hardman and two other suspects in another vehicle briefly led police on a low-speed chase for about 2 miles from the North Freeway through the Heights to the 100 block of East 10th Street, where the two other suspects were apprehended. At that point, Jones said Hardman attempted to ditch the truck and flee on foot. A short time later, however, police located Hardman and took him into custody. The other suspects, Jaqualyn White, 20, and Tyrell Fredrick, 24, were arrested and charged with felony theft. Police say they are believed to be involved in the initial theft of the truck.
Oak Forest historian tells Houston history By Zarah Parker zarah@theleadernews.com If a story is told well, people will be interested. That is historian and Oak Forest resident Mike Vance’s outlook on teaching history. “History is storytelling,” he said. “People that say they don’t like history just have never had a good history teacher.” In his most recently published book, “Mud and Money: A Timeline of Houston History,” Vance set out to tell the city’s history in a compel-
ling way that will leave readers hungry to learn more. Vance said there were only two books that were billed as comprehensive Houston history books, and both are more than 40 years old. And both, as he put it, are “very white.” One is purely about society life, such as where the children of famous people went to school and who married who. “The other one is an attempt at writing a regular history book, so it’s less gossipy, but out of the entire book, and we’re talking a few hundred pages, I think there may be
three pages on African American history,” Vance said. Vance said the diversity of Houston is missing from those books, and it spurred him to write “Mud and Money.” “That’s another thing about Houston,” Vance said. “We have, for the most part, embraced that diversity. Now, that is not to say that it has been easy for all of those groups, because it has not.” Vance said that Houston has always been a hub of diversity, so in “Mud and MonSee Vance P. 7A
Contributed photo Oak Forest resident Mike Vance recently published his sixth book, “Mud and Money: A Timeline of Houston History.”
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