The Odessa
Safety
TxDOT: Nearly half of child car seats are installed incorrectly
AUSTIN Is your child’s car seat secure? For many Texas families, the answer is no. Motor vehicle crashes remain a leading cause of death for children. Preventing these tragedies starts with parents ensuring their kids are buckled properly in the right car seat for their size and ...
Odessan killed in rollover Monday morning
A 30-year-old Odessa man was killed Monday morning in a rollover crash on US 385. According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, Francisco Roque Benitez was driving north on 385 in a GMC Denali when he veered into the center median for unknown reasons near mile marker 344 ar...
Woman accused of sexually assaulting 3-year-old
An Odessa woman was arrested Friday after being accused of sexually assaulting her girlfriend’s 3-year-old daughter during a bath. According to an Ector County Sheriff’s Office report, deputies were dispatched to Medical Center Hospital on Friday to meet with the mother of the ch...
Man accused of kidnapping, threatening former wife
A 41-year-old Odessa man was arrested last Wednesday night after his former wife told Ector County Sheriff’s deputies he held a knife to her throat and told her he was going to kill her. According to an ECSO report released Monday, a 47-year-old woman told deputies she was walkin...
Motorcycle passenger killed in crash
A 26-year-old Burnet woman was killed early Sunday morning in a two-vehicle crash in Ector County. According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, Mindy Lane Harris was on the back of a Harley Davidson motorcycle when a 22-year-old Midland man traveling west on East Cottonwoo...
Gov. Greg Abbott orders Texas water agency to penalize data centers that don’t report their water usage
Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at a press conference at the Texas Department of Emergency Management headquarters in Austin on Aug. 31, 2026. Credit: Jacob Lujan/The Texas Tribune By Alejandra Martinez and Alex Ford, The Texas Tribune Gov. Greg Abbott has directed the Texas Water Develo...
Trump guts climate rules for coal and gas power plants
The Trump administration on Monday gutted regulations that limited planet-warming emissions from coal- and gas-fired power plants. The move allows a sector that makes up a large share of the U.S.’s climate change contributions to release greenhouse gases unchecked by the governme...
Lawmakers to again consider Texas-wide emergency disaster response system after summer floods, wildfires
State Rep. Ken King, R-Canadian, chair of the House State Affairs Committee, speaks at a hearing in Pampa on the Panhandle wildfires on April 2, 2024. Credit: Maria Crane/The Texas Tribune By Jayme Lozano Carver, The Texas Tribune LUBBOCK Texas lawmakers will discuss Monday the p...
Traffic Alert: Closure at FM 1788 and I-20
Beginning Thursday, Sept. 17, at 8 a.m., the FM 1788 intersection at Mile Marker 127 will be permanently closed to northbound and southbound traffic until the new interchange is constructed. Motorists should follow posted detour signs and use the new turnarounds at CR 1300 and CR...
More details on arrested OPD officer
A Texas Department of Public Safety investigation revealed an Odessa police officer accused of sending inappropriate texts to women he arrested may have victimized five women, but only one said she wished to pursue charges. Jody Baer was placed on administrative leave without pay...
OPD detectives seize nearly 8 pounds of meth
Odessa police seized nearly 8 pounds of methamphetamine during a search last Wednesday along with several grams of cocaine, crack cocaine and psychedelic mushrooms. According to an arrest affidavit, Christopher Lee Carprew Jr. was arrested on suspicion of five counts of manufactu...
MFD responds to truck fire Saturday morning
MIDLAND, Texas (KMID/KPEJ) - The Midland Fire Department responded to a semi-truck fire Saturday morning. The fire occurred in the 1900 block of South Midland Drive. No injuries were reported....
Tip leads to arrest of Venezuelan child predator
AUSTIN A Texas 10 Most Wanted Criminal Illegal Immigrant is back in custody after being captured in Travis County. A Crime Stoppers reward will be paid for his arrest. According to a Texas Department of Public Safety news release, Fermin Alejandro Calles Garcia, 24, from Venezuel...
Rain drops needed relief on North Texas wildfire that’s been burning for two weeks
The Ross Fire started in Palo Pinto County on Aug. 24, 2026 and has since grown to more than 80,000 acres across Palo Pinto and Jack counties. Credit: A. Turner/Texas A&M AgriLife By Alejandra Martinez and Alex Nguyen, The Texas Tribune FORT WORTH Rain fell over and around the Ro...
Man accused of pistol-whipping girlfriend
A 33-year-old Odessa man was arrested after his girlfriend accused him of hitting her with a gun and threatening to shoot her. According to an Odessa Police Department report, officers were dispatched to an assault call on Oakwood Drive Monday and when they arrived, a 35-year-old...
1 OPD officer fired, one on leave
An Odessa police officer was placed on administrative leave without pay Wednesday after being arrested on suspicion of two counts of misuse of official information, a felony. According to officials, Texas Rangers and OPD investigators found that “Jody Baer purposefully obtained t...
Fire in eastern Congo kills at least 26 students at 2 schools
BUKAVU, Congo (AP) — A fire swept through two adjacent schools Thursday in the city of Bukavu in eastern Congo, killing at least 26 students and injuring dozens, the provincial government said. The South Kivu provincial government said in a press release that 19 girls and seven b...
Four arrested in drug bust
Four Odessa men were arrested last week following a drug investigation at a Howard Johnson Motel on Highway 80. According to an Odessa Police Department report, detectives received information methamphetamine was being sold by a man later identified as Christian Gonzalez. The det...
Woman accused of hitting boy, 13, with bat
An Odessa woman was arrested last week after a 13-year-old boy told police she struck him with a baseball bat. According to an Odessa Police Department report, officers were dispatched to a disturbance on North Sam Houston Avenue around 10 p.m. Sept. 2. When officers arrived, the...
Motorcyclist killed in Saturday collision
A 32-year-old motorcyclist was killed Saturday afternoon in a collision at 61st Street and Grandview Avenue. According to the Odessa Police Department, Leeroy Gardea was traveling south on Grandview on a Kawasaki motorcycle when the driver of a Ford F250 failed to yield the right...
Investigators capture two of Texas’ Most Wanted
Abelardo Garza AUSTIN Two of Texas’s 10 Most Wanted Sex Offenders are back in custody following their recent arrests. Authorities captured Abelardo Garza in Brownsville and Elliott Reed in Benbrook last week. A Texas Crime Stoppers reward will be paid for Garza’s arrest. Abelardo...
Cargo jet tried to abort unsteady landing before Miami crash that killed 5, flight data indicates
MIAMI (AP) — Flight data suggest an Amazon cargo plane tried to abort an unsteady landing at Miami International Airport before smashing into a van and killing five people inside, according to information investigators released Tuesday. National Transportation Safety Board invest...
US strikes Iranian tankers plus other key Mideast news
The U.S. on Tuesday destroyed five Iranian tankers in response to attempted missile attacks on a Navy warship, marking the latest tit-for-tat strikes between the two countries. Earlier, Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia ignited fires at several oil facilities and wounded dozens of p...
Two weeks later, one of the largest recorded wildfires in North Texas history continues burning
The Ross Fire started in Palo Pinto County on Aug. 24, 2026 and has since grown to more than 80,000 acres across Palo Pinto and Jack counties. Credit: A. Turner/Texas A&M AgriLife By Alejandra Martinez and Alex Nguyen, The Texas Tribune FORT WORTH Two weeks after the Ross Fire br...
Wreath laying ceremony to honor to fallen officer
The Odessa Police Department will hold a wreath laying ceremony on Saturday, Sept. 12, at sunrise (approximately 7:31 a.m.), to pay tribute to Fallen Corporal Abel Marquez, who died in the line of duty on September 12, 2007. The public is invited to attend the wreath laying cerem...
OPD: 18-year-old used Snapchat to lure 12-year-old rape victim
An Odessa man accused of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl he met via Snapchat in July was arrested on an outstanding warrant last Tuesday. According to an Odessa Police Department report, the girl told authorities in mid-July she’d met an unknown man on Snapchat weeks prior...
HCVD on scene of large fire near Forsan
HOWARD COUNTY, Texas (KOSA) - The Howard County Volunteer Fire Department has reported that the fire is out. The Howard County Volunteer Department is currently on scene of a large fire outside of Forsan off of FM 821. The department says additional resources have been called in ...
At least 25 people dead in a bus crash in Cape Verde's Fogo Island, officials and media say
PRAIA, Cape Verde (AP) — At least 25 people — mostly teenagers — were killed in a traffic accident in the African island nation of Cape Verde, local media and officials said Sunday. The accident, which occurred on the Campanas de Cima route, a mountainous area in Fogo Island, occ...
Odessa Firefighter passes away aged 53, city says
An Odessa Fire & Rescue firefighter and paramedic has died, city officials announced Saturday.
HART: America’s new favorite monster is a windowless warehouse
A year ago, data centers were “the next big thing.” Experts predicted that artificial intelligence would surpass human intelligence by 2029 — maybe even sooner if DSA members kept lowering the bar. There used to be respectable things to fear and address at the ballot box: crime, ...
Man suffers life-threatening injuries, arrest made
A 33-year-old Odessa man was arrested Thursday in connection with a July crash that left a man with multiple rib fractures, spine fractures, a pelvic fracture and a lacerated spleen. According to an Odessa police report, officers were dispatched to a crash at Interstate 20 and We...
Slaton mayor defends Flock camera agreement
SLATON, Texas (KCBD) - Slaton Mayor Clif Shaw issued a statement on Friday addressing the city’s agreement to install Flock automated license plate reader cameras within Slaton. Here’s a brief summary of his statement: Agreement approved in July The City of Slaton and the Slaton ...
Wreath laying ceremony honors fallen officers
The Odessa Police Department will hold a wreath laying ceremony on Tuesday, September 8, at sunrise (approximately 7:29 a.m.), to pay tribute to Fallen Corporals Arlie Jones and Scott Gardner, who died in the line of duty on September 8, 2007. The public is invited to attend the ...
Man accuses wife of attacking him
An Odessa woman was arrested Wednesday morning after her husband of 28 years told sheriff’s deputies she attacked him. According to an Ector County Sheriff’s Office report, deputies were dispatched to a disturbance on South Westcliff Road around 8 a.m. Wednesday and when they arr...
Man facing sexual assault charge
An Odessa man was arrested last week on a warrant issued in June after a girl told authorities she woke up to him sexually assaulting her. According to an Ector County Sheriff’s Office report released Thursday, the child’s mother told deputies on June 14 that her daughter told he...
Teenager arrested and 5 others sought in deadly July 4 fire in Washington state
EAST WENATCHEE, Wash. (AP) — An 18-year-old in Washington state has been arrested for the investigation of manslaughter and arson in connection with a deadly July 4 fire, a county sheriff said Thursday. The teen from Kent was among a group of people setting off illegal fireworks ...