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RE-ELECT CYNTHIA GINYARD Chairperson, FBC Democratic Party Leadership that is Tested, Proven, Unprecedented and Blue www.ginyardforchairwoman.com ginyard@sbcglobal.net Early Voting: Feb.18-28, 2020 Election Day: Tues. March 3, 2020 Political Advertisement paid for by Cynthia Ginyard for County Chair Campaign
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Fort Bend / Southwest • Volume 44 • No. 78
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Families fear for safety of detained Citgo executives By Adam Zuvanich AZUVANICH@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
Four Fort Bend County families are worried about the wellbeing of their loved ones in Venezuela. According to relatives of the six former Citgo executives who have been detained by the Venezuelan government since November 2017, the men were abruptly rounded up and moved from house ar-
Carlos Añez of Richmond is the stepson of one of the six detained Citgo executives. (Photo by Adam Zuvanich)
rest the night of Feb. 5 by the regime of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro. Earlier that day, opposition leader Juan Guaido was in Washington D.C. to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump, who recognizes Guaido as the South American country’s legitimate leader. The six detained executives are Gustavo Cardenas, Jose Pereira, Jorge Toledo, Tomeu Vadell and brothers Alirio
Zambrano and Jose Luis Zambrano. Toledo has a home in Sugar Land, while Cardenas, Pereira and Jose Luis Zambrano are Katy residents. Toledo’s stepson, Richmond resident Carlos Anez, said in an email Feb. 6 that the men were taken to the SEBIN, which is the headquarters of Venezuela’s national intelligence
SEE CITGO 6 PAGE 3
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Ridge Point's Bobbie Kennett pops out of the water following a race earlier this season. She will lead Ridge Point qualifiers at the UIL State Swimming and Diving Championships in Austin on Friday and Saturday, competing in the girls 100 freestyle and 100 breaststroke events. (Contributed photo)
Ridge Point’s Kennett making waves in new event By Landan Kuhlmann LKUHLMANN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
By Landan Kuhlmann LKUHLMANN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
Police are searching for two men they say robbed an elderly woman in Richmond last week. The suspects also could be connected to a burglary of a motor vehicle that happened shortly beforehand. The Fort County Sheriff’s Office described one suspect as a short black male in his late teens or early 20s with a thin build who was wearing a hoodie pulled over his head. The other suspect was described only as a black male by the FBCSO. According to the FBCSO, deputies responded to an aggravated assault call in the 2000 block of Wren Meadow Drive in Richmond just after 3 p.m. Feb. 3, when an elderly woman said she was held
SEE SUSPECTS PAGE 8
Bobbi Kennett believed she was just a freestyle swimmer. Her coach and teammates knew something more was possible. The second opinion eventually won out, and Kennett is glad it did. Now the Ridge Point High School senior is in position to win her first state championship. Kennett will make her third consecutive trip to the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center in Austin for the UIL Class 6A state swimming and diving meet, where she will compete Friday and Saturday in
the 100-yard breaststroke and 100 freestyle events. The trek may seem like old hat for Kennett. She boasts finals appearances in the freestyle each of the last two years and finished fourth in the event last season. On the other hand, her best shot at a state championship appears to be in a stroke that was not in her competitive repertoire until this season. Heading into this weekend’s meet, Kennett boasts the state’s second-best 6A qualifying time in the breaststroke at 1 minute, 2.70 seconds – .01 seconds behind the time of Klein’s Charlotte Longbottom. “Before, I used to never
think I would ever be a breaststroke swimmer,” Kennett said. “But I worked on it more and realized my shot at winning is the best it’s been this year.” As the season wore on and she saw a consistent drop in short-course breaststroke times, Kennett began considering the possibility of state competition in the event. Following a time of 1:01 at a national juniors event last month, that chance became more real. “My teammates always watched me (do the breaststroke) during practice, and they always told me I
SEE KENNETT PAGE 7
SWIMMING AT STATE FBISD QUALIFIERS COMPETING AT UIL STATE MEET FEB. 14-15 IN AUSTIN CLEMENTS: boys 200-yard medley relay, boys 200 freestyle relay, boys 400 freestyle relay, Charles Bellotti (boys 100 freestyle), Jordan Dorado (boys 200 individual medley), Alex Fu (boys 100 butterfly), Christian Le (boys 100 breaststroke), Anthony Liu (boys 100 butterfly) DULLES: Beaux Hoffman (girls 200 IM, 100 butterfly) RIDGE POINT: boys 200 freestyle relay, Bobbi Kennett (girls 100 freestyle, 100 breaststroke), Michael Kohl (boys 100 backstroke), Taylor Murphy (girls 50 freestyle)
Good Samaritan saves life after Missouri City crash By Landan Kuhlmann LKUHLMANN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
In movies, heroes come in all shapes and sizes. An incident involving a good Samaritan in Missouri City last week proves that one doesn’t need superhuman strength to save a life – just superhuman compassion. Deputies with the Fort Bend County Precinct 2 Constable’s Office were dispatched around 5:45 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 6 to a
Precinct 2 Constable Daryl Smith presents John Greco with a plaque honoring his actions during an incident Feb. 6. Greco dove in and saved a man who crashed his car into an area creek. (Photo by Landan Kuhlmann)
one-vehicle accident on the southbound portion of the Fort Bend County Toll Road about a half-mile north of Lake Olympia Parkway in Missouri City, where a vehicle had careened off the road and into a creek. According to Precinct 2 Deputy Michael Murray and witnesses, the vehicle left the roadway to the right of traffic and traveled down the embankment before going airborne into a creek below. “I just thought, ‘God, please bring them down in
the water,’ because I knew if it hit the bank it was not going to be good,” 63-year-old Missouri City resident John Greco said. “That prayer was answered.” Greco, who often traverses the same route on Fort Bend County Toll Road while traveling to and from his job in the Galleria, said he was traveling just a few hundred feet behind the car at the time of the crash. He
SEE CRASH PAGE 8