News & Updates

  • Former HCSO deputy from Kingwood sentenced to 10 years for possession of child pornography

    Posted by · March 25, 2022 6:53 PM

  • A former Harris County Sheriff’s Office deputy was sentenced Friday by a judge to 10 years in prison for possession of child pornography, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced Friday.

    Donald Thomas Dehnert, 50, who worked as a sheriff’s deputy was sentenced by state District Judge Kelli Johnson after pleading guilty to possession of child pornography.

    He pleaded guilty in exchange for letting the judge determine punishment, and she handed down the maximum. Dehnert was facing a sentence ranging from probation to 10 years in prison.

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  • Man who murdered veteran during Cypress home invasion sentenced to life in prison without parole

    Posted by · March 10, 2022 8:27 PM

  • A Houston man has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for murdering a Marine Corps veteran during a home invasion in Cypress in 2018, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced Thursday.

    Dwayne Ernest Wharton, 22, was convicted by a jury of capital murder earlier this week for killing Leandro Morales Jr., 47, who was home with his wife when Wharton and another man smashed through the back door in November 2018.

    “A Harris County jury made the right decision in locking this brazen and violent criminal behind bars for the rest of his life,” Ogg said. “A person who breaks into a home at 11:30 a.m. on a Thursday with a loaded pistol with a laser sight obviously has bad intentions, and the consequences have to match the crime.”

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  • “Wobbly-wheel” scammer who victimized at least 25 people sentenced to six years in prison

    Posted by · March 08, 2022 8:30 PM

  • A Spring Branch man has been sentenced to six years in prison after pleading guilty to engaging in organized criminal activity for his part in a “wobbly-wheel” scam, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced Tuesday.

    “These fraudsters targeted innocent drivers by acting like good Samaritans to take advantage of people’s good nature,” Ogg said. “To add to the deception, they even used their own families and kids to bolster the lie.”

    Sam Yonko, 34, was one of six family members indicted for engaging in organized criminal activity for working together to pull off the scam.

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  • Man accused of murdering girlfriend and fleeing the country in 2017 extradited from Guatemala

    Posted by · March 04, 2022 8:33 PM

  • A fugitive has been extradited from Guatemala to Houston to face trial for murdering his girlfriend, hiding her body and fleeing the country almost five years ago, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced Friday.

    Miguel Angel Buezo, 32, is accused of killing his 26-year-old girlfriend Karen Ramirez after leaving a club together while quarreling on March 25, 2017.

    “We see once again that when we coordinate with our law enforcement partners, such as the FBI Fugitive Task Force in Houston and the Houston Police Department, a fugitive might be able to run, but they cannot hide,” Ogg said. “Now that this accused killer is back behind bars, we will seek justice for the victim’s family.”

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  • Salve una vida. Asegure sus armas.

    Posted by · March 01, 2022 5:53 PM


  • Gunman who was free on bond gets 45 years for shooting two security guards

    Posted by · February 26, 2022 8:35 PM

  • A Missouri City man was sentenced to 45 years in prison for shooting two security guards with an assault rifle outside a club in southwest Houston while free on bond in 2019, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced Saturday.

    Landon Kenrie “Ken” Johnson, 40, shot one security officer five times and the other once while running towards the club with an assault rifle, just 20 minutes after being forced to leave because he was fighting on February 1, 2019. He committed the offense in Harris County after a court in Fort Bend had freed him on bond for a separate shooting.

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  • DA Kim Ogg's statement denouncing labeling of transgender medical care as child abuse

    Posted by · February 25, 2022 8:48 PM

  • "As District Attorney of the most populous county in Texas, I oppose attempts by Gov. Abbott and AG Paxton to designate life-saving care for transgender children as 'child abuse.'

    As a member of the LGBTQ community myself, I am particularly sensitive to the invidious nature of this order—it turns family members against each other at the expense of their children. It is a remnant of a hateful past that I had hoped our society had matured beyond.

    I will not prosecute any parent, any facility, or anyone else for providing medically appropriate care to transgender children. I will continue to enforce the Constitution and the state’s criminal laws to assure the greatest degree of freedom and order that we can achieve."


  • 10-year-old Houston cancer patient sworn in at over 200 law enforcement agencies becomes honorary Harris County DA Investigator, deputy constable

    Posted by · February 21, 2022 8:49 PM

  • A 10-year-old who has well overshot his goal of becoming an honorary police officer at 100 area law enforcement agencies has badge No. 222 and a new title to add to his collection: Honorary District Attorney’s Investigator.

    Devarjaye “DJ” Daniel received the commendation in person Monday from Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg, who praised the youngster who is battling terminal brain and spine cancer, almost four years after he was diagnosed with five months to live.

    “We all have a lot of confidence that you, DJ, will fight to uphold our Constitution and our laws, like we do,” Ogg said at a ceremony with her leadership team and a dozen officers from other agencies applauding the boy. “The fact that you want to do this, as a young person, makes us feel great about the difficulties we face every day in fighting crime. To have a new, young, strong, brave ally is exactly what law enforcement needed.”

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  • Felon gets 15 years for illegal possession of shotgun

    Posted by · February 18, 2022 8:51 PM

  • A felon who wielded a shotgun as he demanded that space be cleared in the driveway of his girlfriend’s home in the Langwood neighborhood, so he could park his pickup truck, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced Friday.

    Ricardo Lemos Casares, 43, was sentenced after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a weapon and his fourth DWI.

    “He has repeatedly proven himself to be a danger to society and now he is off the streets,” Ogg said. “He pulled out a gun to settle an argument and we are all lucky he didn’t pull the trigger.”

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  • Mother and boyfriend indicted for capital murder of 8-year-old boy who sold muffins to help family

    Posted by · February 18, 2022 8:51 PM

  • A Houston couple has been indicted for capital murder in the death of an 8-year-old boy who died in a motel room bathtub after being severely beaten, handcuffed, and bound with duct tape in March 2021, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced Friday.

    “The way this little boy died is almost unthinkable and absolutely horrifying” Ogg said. “We believe he was handcuffed, bound at the ankles and legs with ligatures and duct-tape, had his mouth taped shut and was beaten so severely that he either died from blunt force trauma or suffocated on the blood from his broken teeth.”

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