4 August 2019 | parkcitiespeople.com
Crime S KU L D U G G E RY of the MONTH
LOST AND FOUND
From a home in the 3600 block of Asbury Avenue, this example of why you should always lock your vehicle: At 6:32 p.m. July 7, a woman reported the theft of her unlocked, 2016 Land Rover Sport containing an Orvis purse, two tubes of gun cleaner, 39 rounds of 20mm ammunition, sports and fishing equipment, an airsoft gun, a BOE Light jacket, four Kershaw knives, one Gerber knife, a Boyt-brand shirt, and identification. The silver lining? The emptied Land Rover was found on Harry Hines in Dallas.
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A TALE OF INFIDELITY, GREED, AND MURDER By Tim Glaze
People Newspapers
F
ire department captain Robert Poynter III was beloved in University Park. His wife, Chacey Poynter, was loved elsewhere. Their story – described by prosecutors as one of unfaithfulness and greed – left him dead, and her and one of her three boyfriends sentenced to life in prison. A few months short of three years since the firefighter was located in his wife’s Jeep with a gunshot to the head, a Hunt County jury found Chacey Poynter, 32, of Royce City guilty of her husband’s murder. Her boyfriend Michael Garza, identified in court as the shooter, was convicted in 2018 of murder. University Park fire chief Randy Howell reacted to news of the widow’s conviction by recalling how his colleague was “beloved” by co-workers, friends, and the city he served. “In making remarks to the media a few days after his death, and again during Bob’s funeral, myself and other members of the department spoke in clear and simple terms about the kind of man Bob was,” Howell said. “He diligently and expertly performed his duties as
BRAD KELLLAR/HERALD-BANNER
Chacey Poynter bows her head as the jury delivers the verdict. a firefighter, paramedic, lieutenant, and captain.” According to the Greenville Herald-Banner, prosecutors said Chacey Poynter and Garza lured and killed Robert Poynter on FM 35 in Hunt County on Sept. 9, 2016. The capital murder indictment in April read that Poynter and Garza planned on killing Robert Poynter for “money and financial assets and benefits owned or controlled by the
Robert Poynter
victim,” but the jury settled on the lesser charge of murder. Robert Poynter, according to testimony reported by the Herald-Banner, was planning on divorcing his wife for her infidelity, which would leave Chacey without any claim to the $680,000 death benefit provided by his insurance policy. During final statements following the guilty verdict, Chacey Poynter claimed she did not know of
Garza’s plan to kill her husband, saying she only sent Garza to “talk” to her husband about wanting a divorce. “He wasn’t supposed to kill him,” Chacey Poynter said. “He was just supposed to talk to [Robert], that’s it.” However, the prosecution pointed to text messages between Garza and Chacey Poynter, and Robert Poynter and Chacey Poynter that paint a picture of a woman intent on having her husband murdered. “Chacey Poynter knows the only way she gets [money] is by [his] death,” said Assistant District Attorney Calvin Grogan, during opening arguments. In the months leading up to Royce Poynter’s death, Chacey Poynter and Garza exchanged hundreds of intimate text messages, including ones that said Garza “would do anything” for her. Chacey Poynter had also told Robert Poynter leading up to his death that she “needed space” and didn’t want to have sex anymore due to an undisclosed illness. Yet, she continued to have sex with Garza and her two other boyfriends, prosecutors said.
CRIME REPORT JUNE 10 - JULY 7 JUNE 10
Reported at 10:58 a.m.: An unlicensed massage therapist at Snider Plaza was accused of sexual assault.
JUNE 14
A resident of the 4200 block of Lomo Alto Drive reportedly fell victim to the common gift card scams that have been popping up lately: A woman reported at 1:48 p.m. that she was double-charged for an item on Amazon, and when she called to be reimbursed, a man who went by the name of “James Liu” advised her to withdraw $500 in cash and purchase a $500 Google Play gift card to send to him. Liu said he would then use the cash, as well as the money on the Google Play card, to reimburse the victim for her double-charge. She never received any money.
JUNE 20
Reported at 1:50 p.m.: The back window of a blue, 2019 Porsche Cayenne parked at the 4400 block of Lovers Lane, was broken, and several bags were stolen from inside. The bags contained a $100 Equinox handbag, $1,250 worth of clothes, and a $200 Nike product.
JUNE 26
Talk about a surprise: A man walked into his garage at the 3500 block of McFarlin Boulevard at 9:50 a.m. and saw a stranger standing inside, holding $1,000 in sporting equipment and $300 in lawn equipment. The stranger bolted for a white Chevy Silverado which then drove off.
JULY 2
It’s never fun to receive a letter from a debt collector. It’s even less
fun when you never spent the actual money. A 58-year-old woman reported at 8:09 a.m. from the 2700 block of Westminster Avenue that her personal information was used to fraudulently set up a new loan account. She found out when the debt collector called her in regards to the loan.
JULY 3
A 40-year-old woman, who lives in the 3400 block of Cornell Avenue, reported at 9:32 a.m. that she lost a diamond earring at some point between June 1 and 6. The set of earrings, worth $40,000, have a large diamond-centered stone surrounded by smaller diamonds. The woman noticed on June 6 that the earring was missing from her purse.
JULY 5
A 20-year-old woman report-
ed that a vehicle reversed “unsafely” in the parking lot at Preston Center at 3:05 p.m. and struck her grey 2014 Jeep Renegade. The unsafe driver then fled the scene without leaving any information.
JULY 7
At 12:01 a.m., the front door of a business at the 6900 block of Preston Road was broken into, to the tune of $740 worth of damage. Stolen between 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.: Two bicycles – worth $500 – belonging to a boy and a girl from the 3500 block of Beverly Drive. A black Quantum BMX bicycle was found nearby, possibly belonging to the thief. One of the stolen bikes was a 20inch purple and black bike, and the other one was a 20-inch silver and blue bike.