News
Helicopter crash at Texas A&M
kills 1, injures 5 including 1 student
KBTX News 3 Report
Austin American Statesman Report Photos
Local News
Educator with local roots receives
New Teacher of the Year honor
Police investigate two convenience
store break-ins
Texas' Most Wanted Child Support Evader Waives Arraignment; In Federal Custody
Troy Neel owes more that $725,000.00 in child support, was living on a resort island
1/21/09 Troy Neel, a
former professional baseball player who owes more than $725,000 in
unpaid child support, today waived arraignment and is being held by
federal law enforcement authorities on criminal non-support charges in
San Antonio. Neel's arrest in December ended the state's lengthy effort to locate him and hold him accountable for failing to pay court-ordered child support.
"Troy Neel faces criminal non-support charges because he failed to make more than $725,000 in court-ordered child support payments," said Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott. "After retiring from professional sports, Neel had the financial resources to purchase an island resort in the South Pacific, but he did not support his children. As a result, thanks to a lengthy effort by state and federal officials, Neel is being held accountable for failing to meet his legal and moral child support obligations."
Attorney General Abbott added, "We are grateful to the Dallas
Regional Office of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office
of Inspector General, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of
Texas and the U.S. Marshal's Office for their tremendous assistance with
this case."
Federal agents arrested Neel in December at the Los Angeles International Airport as he exited a flight from Sydney, Australia. The arrest reflected an eight year long joint state-federal effort to bring Neel into custody.
Neel, who played professional baseball for the Oakland Athletics from 1992 to 1994, owes $731,641 in unpaid child support. Later, Neel also played for professional baseball clubs in Japan and Korea. After retiring from professional sports, Neel purchased a resort island in the Republic of Vanuatu, where he has resided since 2000.
In 1998, Neel was ordered to pay $5,000 a month for the support for his son and daughter. The child support order was based on Neel's earnings as a professional athlete.
On March 2, 2005, a San Antonio-based federal grand jury indicted Neel. The indictment alleges that Neel has traveled in foreign commerce since December 1998 in order to avoid paying child support for two children. If convicted, Neel faces up to two years in federal prison and up to a $250,000 fine.
Rodney Reed's latest Appeal denied by Texas Court1/15/09 The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has again denied convicted killer Rodney Reed's appeal for a new trial. Reed is on death row for the 1996 slaying of Stacy Stites in Bastrop.
The unanimous decision found that Reed has again failed to provide proof of his innocence. The decision stated, "the totality of the evidence before us still supports a guilty verdict."
Reed's attorneys continue to point to Jimmy Fennell - Stites' fiancé at the time of the murder. Fennell was a former Georgetown and Giddings police officer who was convicted in September 2008 of kidnapping and improper activity with a person in custody in Georgetown.
The most recent appeal offered several instances in an attempt to show that Fennell had a violent past and had been involved in previous misconduct. The petition also claimed that a "culture of lawlessness" at the Sheriff's Department in Bastrop County may have swayed the investigation that followed the Stites murder.
The Texas court rejected the arguments saying that "the information did not exonerate Reed".
Reed's attorneys plan to petition the state court once more before appealing at the federal level.
