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WEDNESDAY • DECEMBER 14, 2022 JEANNE GREGORY REALTOR®, CRS, GRI, ABR
Fort Bend / Southwest • Volume 47 • No. 64 • $1.00
Area hospital earns state NICU designation By Ken Fountain KFOUNTAIN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
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Richmond man charged in cold case By Ken Fountain KFOUNTAIN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
A Richmond man has been charged with murder in what authorities say is a successfully reopened cold case. Johnny Minh Dang, 33, is being held in the Fort Bend County Jail on a $500,000 bond, charged in the death of Lorraine Diaz, a 21-year old Houston woman and mother of two who was found dead in the trunk of a burned car in 2017. According to a news release from the Fort Bend Sheriff's Office, on January 11, 2017, at around 1:42 a.m., Fort Bend County Sheriff ’s deputies were dispatched to a burning vehicle in a rural location off FM 762 in Richmond, south of George Ranch High School. After the fire was extinguished, deputies found Diaz's body. Dang was considered a prime suspect in Diaz’s death early on, but there was insufficient evidence to charge him with the crime, according to the release. Sheriff ’s detectives, with support from the Texas Rangers, reopened the case and continued the investigation. A break occurred in the fall of 2022 when additional information was gained which led to Dang's arrest by the Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Task Force on November 29, according to the release. Additional charges are expected, authorities say. “This was an especially brutal murder of a young SEE CASE PAGE 4
Dang
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Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit has received the Neonatal Level III designation of their Neonatal Intensive Care from the State of Texas, the hospital announced in a Friday news release. Houston Methodist Childbirth Center at Sugar Land is the first NICU in Fort Bend County to
be designated at a NICU Level III, according to the release. Designation levels are awarded by the state to hospitals that provide neonatal and maternal care. Hospitals are required to validate their level of care through a survey process every three years to ensure the best care is provided, according to the release. “We are incredibly proud of this designation and the ability to give this high-quality care to our
babies and their families,” NICU manager Theresa Walters, RN, MSN, RNCNIC, said in the release. “This allows some of the sickest patients to stay in their own community, which takes some burden off of new parents who already have plenty on their minds.” According to the state, a hospital that earns Neonatal Level III designation provides care for mothers and comprehenSEE NICU PAGE 4
Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital's Childbirth Center has received the state's Neonatal Level III designation. (Photo by Kelly Jensen)
Honoring the fallen
Officials stand next to the unveiled Gold Star Families Memorial Monument in Sugar Land during a ceremony on Dec. 7. The monument lists the names of Sugar Land residents who died while serving in uniform. (Photo by Ken Fountain)
Gold Star Families Memorial Monument unveiled in Sugar Land By Ken Fountain KFOUNTAIN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
With a golden late-afternoon sun peeking through scattered clouds, dignitaries and members of the pubic gathered on December 7 to see the unveiling of the latest addition to Sugar Land Memorial Park - the Gold Star Families Memorial Monument.
The monument, the culmination of about not quite two years of planning and fundraising, added a missing piece to the master-planned park a recognition of the family members of U.S. service members who have given their lives for their country. The monument, one
of 115 now at locations throughout the United States (with 67 others underway), sits near the front entrance to the park. The park alongside the Brazos River is also the home of the "Remembrance Tower," which lists the names of Sugar Land residents who died while serving in uniform. The monuments, which
resembles a segmented wall of black granite with a cutout sihloette of a saluting soldier beside a star, is a project of the Woody Williams Foundation, named after Hershel “Woody” Williams, a U.S. Marine veteran of WWII who received the Congressional Medal of Freedom for his actions in the Battle of Iwo Jima. Williams
died in June of last year. Sugar Land Mayor Joe Zimmerman, acting as master of ceremonies at the event, noted the prime location of the monument within the park. "This is a quiet place for families of those who have lost their loved ones in war to remember their SEE MONUMENT PAGE 4
FBCSO accepting Citizens Police Academy applications By Ken Fountain KFOUNTAIN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
The Fort Bend County Sheriff ’s Office on December 9 began accepting applications for the Citizens Police Academy scheduled to begin in the spring of 2023. The program will accept 35 qualified participants for the spring semester.
The Citizens Police Academy is designed for members of the community seeking to learn about law enforcement as well as individuals who are considering a career in the field. The 11-week program is free of charge and will be held at the Gus George Law Enforcement Academy, 1521 Eugene Heimann Circle,
Richmond. The program consists of two-hour sessions held on consecutive Thursdays from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The first session will begin on January 26 and conclude April 13. There will be no class March 13 to March 17 due to spring break. The focus of the program is to provide an overview of the criminal justice system and
various functions of the Sheriff ’s Office through classroom presentations and practical hands-on experience. Participants will have an opportunity to tour the Sheriff ’s Office, as well as learn about the inner workings of each division, including Patrol, Criminal Investigations, SEE ACADEMY PAGE 4