Judicial Corruption in South Texas (what else is new?); Trigger happy police chief in Williamson Co.; Fake War Hero/County Singer Star Wannabee

Woman says Florence police chief shot her dog and her son's dog By Claire Osborn AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Florence's (Williamson Co.) chief of police has been accused of shooting two dogs by a local resident, a claim the city will neither confirm nor deny. Louise Vybiral said Florence Chief of Police Julie Elliott-Abshire shot her dog, a Rhodesian ridgeback named Sassy, twice in the shoulders and shot her son Derrick's pit bull, Boomer, in the ear Friday. She also said a bullet went through the front window of her son's house, which is next to hers. Her daughter and her 2-year-old granddaughter were in Derrick's home at the time of the shooting, she said. A friend returned the dogs to Vybiral's backyard, she said. Vybiral's daughter, Caren, said she then heard gunshots and opened the front door to find the police chief yelling at her. The chief had shot Sassy, who had apparently escaped from the backyard, Caren Vybiral said. Caren Vybiral said she could not understand what the police chief was yelling at her except that "she used the B-word and asked me why I didn't open the door." SA singer accused of lying about war injuries A San Antonio singer who told viewers of “America's Got Talent” Monday that he was flown out of Afghanistan after being badly injured in a grenade blast was actually evacuated for an ear problem, according to National Guard records. Timothy Michael Poe, a sergeant who delivered supplies, had been in Afghanistan for just over a month in summer 2009, Master Sgt. Daniel Ewer, a Minnesota National Guard spokesman, said Wednesday. .......... It's not just dumb-ass redneck country types who lie about their military service. Prominent politicians and businessmen have gotten busted. There's a veteran's organization, Stolenvalor.org, that is a great resource for exposing these frauds............ Convicted judge to testify against alleged accomplice BROWNSVILLE — A former state judge who pleaded guilty to running his court as a cash-generating enterprise is scheduled to testify Thursday in the first case of an accused cohort to go to trial. Abel Corral Limas took a plea deal in March of 2011, soon after an indictment outlined how government investigators had, via wiretaps and other surveillance, caught him in the act of accepting bribes in exchange for favorable rulings, with payers ranging from a bail bondsman to high-profile attorneys and a now-indicted Cameron County district attorney, Armando Villalobos. Villalobos, who has pleaded not guilty to the charges, is likewise on the government witness list in the trial of Ray Marchan, a Brownsville-based attorney who is fighting to prove he was not part of the conspiracy. Twist in Lackland scandal Trainer admits to abuse of more recruits. Months after the Air Force accused an instructor of having illicit sexual contact with 10 women, it is grappling with the stunning revelation that another trainer admitted to improper involvement with 10 other fledgling airmen. Although Peter Vega-Maldonado admitted in a plea bargain to having sex with one woman after her graduation from basic training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, he told prosecutors after striking the deal that he actually had improper contact with 10 trainees............. just because someone wears a military uniform doesn't make him a hero. Any big organization is going to have its share of loafers, predators and losers. It's an insult to the soldiers, Marines, airmen, and sailors who are sacrificing to keep this nation safe.