Texas and Southwest briefs

AUSTIN – A Central Texas man got a 30-day jail sentence for contempt of court after criticizing a judge in a Caldwell County Courthouse men's room.

State District Judge Jack Robison ordered Don Bandelman, 69, released after two days in jail after a state appeals court in Austin made inquiries into the matter. Officials said Robison had granted temporary custody of Bandleman's granddaughter to his son's ex-wife instead of his son. Bandleman then followed the judge into the men's room and berated him as "a fool," officials said.

Officer shoots, kills holdup suspect
SAN ANTONIO – A rookie San Antonio police officer fatally shot a suspect in a predawn gas station holdup Tuesday.

Police said Julio Molinar, 19, died at Brooke Army Medical Center shortly after the shooting in northeast San Antonio. They said Officer Michael Ruiz, who graduated from the police academy five months ago, drove into the parking lot of the gas station and shot Molinar after the suspect pointed a shotgun at him. He has been placed on administrative duty pending the outcome of the police investigation.

Prison guard fired after inmate's death
McALESTER, Okla. – A prison guard was fired and his supervisor suspended after an inmate was beaten to death after being placed in the same cell with a co-defendant he testified against.

Paul Duran, 23, was killed March 11 at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary and Jesse Dalton, 33, remains a suspect in the case, officials said. The two had been charged in an Oklahoma City murder case.

Judge accused of sex offer is suspended
HOUSTON – The State Commission on Judicial Conduct on Tuesday suspended a Harris County criminal court-at-law judge under indictment for allegedly offering to help a defendant in exchange for sex.

Judge Donald Jackson, 59, is accused of propositioning a young female drunken-driving defendant. His attorney has said his client is not guilty.




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