By Mary Jane Farmer, Scene In Town, for the Van Alstyne News
Note: Names are not used until or unless a suspect is indicted for the offense.
Indictment
On Aug. 31, the Grayson County Grand Jury indicted Van Alstyne resident Scott Nelson Bass on a charge of accident involving serious bodily injury. The vehicle crash happened on Jan. 27, 2022, according to the published indictment list.
Assault arrests
Arrest — About 10 p.m. Aug. 5, someone called police to a domestic disturbance on West Van Alstyne Parkway. There, police found a woman with cuts on her face, reported Van Alstyne Police Lt. Steven Hayslip. They determined that the husband and wife had been arguing and that she got into her vehicle. The suspect had broken the car window and that glass caused the facial injuries. Police sent for the Van Alstyne paramedics, but the victim’s injuries were not severe enough to cause her to be transported for treatment.
Police jailed the suspect on a charge of assault causing bodily injury/family violence.
Grayson County Jail records show that the suspect posted bail of $3,000 in surety bonds, which have conditions on them, and the Van Alstyne man was released on Aug. 6
Arrest — About 9 a.m. on Aug. 6, police were called to a disturbance in progress at a fast-food restaurant on the U.S. Highway 75 service road. There, Hayslip said, they found that a man had assaulted his mother. Her injuries were not severe enough to require medical help, and police jailed the suspect on a charge of assault causing bodily injury/family violence.
The following day, the suspect posted bail in surety bonds, with conditions set, for his release.
Arrest — The third arrest was on Aug. 16 a home on Columbia College. Hayslip said there the suspect assaulted his wife with his fists, but her injuries did not require medical attention.
Again, police jailed the suspect on a charge of assault causing bodily injury/family violence. Bail set at the jail was $2,500, which the suspect paid in surety bonds, with conditions set. The suspect posted that for his release later on Aug. 16.
According to jail records, this was this suspect’s 3rd arrest on assault charges.
Arrest — Police were called to a home occupied by siblings and others on Aug. 30. At this location, they learned that the brother and sister had been arguing when she obtained a kitchen knife and stabbed him twice in the leg. The victim declined medical treatment.
Police jailed the suspect on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon/family violence. As of Tuesday, Sept. 3, she remains in jail in lieu of $75,000 bail.
Other Arrests
Aug. 14 — Police jailed a Dallas man on charges of possession of marijuana and of unlawfully carrying a weapon. After being jailed on both charges, the suspect posted $4,000 bail in surety bonds and was released later the same day.
Hayslip said this came from a traffic stop on U.S. Highway 75 after officers saw a vehicle traveling with an expired registration.
Even though gun laws have changed to allow carrying a weapon, there are some restrictions in place which makes it illegal to carry a gun. One of those restrictions is that a person committing another crime of a certain level of severity (misdemeanor or felony) — in this instance, the possession of marijuana — cannot carry a weapon, Hayslip explained.
Aug. 14 — A Howe man went to jail following a 5:18 a.m. pursuit on U.S. 75. Hayslip said police were called because of a reckless driver on northbound U.S. 75 at FM 121 (Van Alstyne Parkway). The reporting party said the vehicle was going all over the road and had almost hit several vehicles. The caller gave the police a good description of the offending vehicle, and police spotted it quickly. They, too, saw it moving from lane to lane and barely missing one or more vehicles. They activated lights and sirens, but the vehicle’s driver did not pull over.
Instead, it continued to speed, then left the highway at Haning Street in Howe and pulled into a retail store’s parking lot. There, officers made the arrest.
The Howe resident had bail set on the two offenses at a total of $11,500, which he obtained in surety bonds for his Aug. 15 release.
Aug. 17 — A Van Alstyne woman remained incarcerated several days before making bail on a charge of violation of protective order. Police were dispatched to a business on the U.S. 75 west-side front road, where the person listed as protected under the order talked with the officers. They then contacted the suspect and jailed her on the charge.
Jail records show that the suspect was arrested earlier this year, on July 11, on a charge of assault causing bodily injury. It was the Grayson County Sheriff’s Office that made that arrest and the report has not been provided. She remained in Grayson County Jail then until Aug. 9, when she posted $3,000 in surety bonds with conditions set.
Aug. 24 — A traffic stop made about 10:13 p.m. led to the arrest of a Howe man on a drug charge. Hayslip said the suspect did stop for the lights and siren from the patrol car behind him. The officers learned that driver had no liability insurance, as required by law. Following protocol, the police completed an inventory inside the vehicle and discovered about two grams of heroin. The suspect went to jail on a charge of possession of controlled substance, Penalty 1, between 1-4 grams.
This suspect went free on personal recognizance.
Van Alstyne Police made numerous other arrests during August, often made from traffic stops and consisting of driving while intoxicated and illegal possession of weapons among other charges, and warrants issued in Grayson or other counties.
Mr. Petty’s obituary defines him as a son, a grandson, a great-grandson, a brother, and a father. Neighbors reportedly said he was a very caring and loving man.