Between May 8 and June 4, Van alstyne police received 890 calls for service, made 37 police reports and 23 offense reports, and investigated six accidents. One of those was a fatality, but there were no reported injuries in the remaining five crashes.
But, first, the fun news. On May 20, police provided several patrol cars to give a ride to first-grader James Mercer and his parents, Chris and Marianne, to Partin Elementary School.
They first went to the community center for breakfast, at which time they awarded James with a police Lego set and a t-shirt, and let them get acquainted with the department’s Hummer. It was Chief Tim Barnes who then drove James to school in the hummer.
This happened because his parents won a silent auction benefitting the Van Alstyne Education Foundation at its recent yearly banquet. The foundation was founded in 2012 to assist VAISD students and teachers and, since the nine years following its beginning has provide more than $500,000 in scholarships and grant to students and teachers.
Fatal crash — At about 2 p.m. Saturday, May 29, a motorcycle was traveling north on Henry Hynds Expressway (U.S. Hwy 75 service road) south of the northbound entrance ramp between Van Alstyne Pkwy and Farmington. Van Alstyne Police Sgt. Steve Hayslip said that a U-Haul truck was moving south on the same two-way road. The U-Haul stopped to make a left-hand turn into the Elite Storage parking lot. According to Hayslip, the U-Haul driver believed the motorcycle was about to enter the entrance ramp onto U.S. Hwy 75. Therefore, the driver of the U-Haul began to turn. However, the motorcycle continued straight on Henry Hynds and did not enter the highway entrance ramp. The driver of the motorcycle locked his brakes and laid the motorcycle on its side. The motorcycle and driver of the motorcycle slid into the U-Haul. The motorcycle driver was transported to Texoma Medical Center where he was pronounced deceased.
The accident is still under by the Van Alstyne PD & The Texas Department of Public Safety. At this time, Hayslip added, no criminal charges have been filed.
Arrests
May 27 — About 7:30 p.m., police were sent to a road rage between two drivers on U.S. Hwy 75. Hayslip said the incident began in the Sherman area, but had moved southward and both vehicles approved the Van Alstyne City Limits, where police got them both stopped. The investigation uncovered that one driver, an Allen man, had pointed a firearm at the other vehicle’s driver. Police also discovered that the suspect was in possession of methamphetamine.
Police jailed the suspect on charge of possession of controlled substance and deadly conduct. A magistrate set bail on the two charges at a total of $8,000, which the suspect posted in surety bonds for his release the following day.
May 16 — In the early morning hours, police were sent to locate a reckless driver who they found in the northbound U.S. 75 at Van Alstyne Parkway. The reporting party had told dispatcher the vehicle was driving all over the road. After they got the car stopped, Hayslip said, they determined the driver, an Allen man, was driving while intoxicated and had drugs in his car, which he had attempted to destroy in order to keep officers from finding them.
They jailed the suspect on charges of driving while intoxicated, possession of controlled substance between 3-28 grams (Xanax) and Tampering with Physical Evidence. Bail was set at a total of $14,000, which the suspect paid in surety bonds for his May 18 release.
May 15 —Police initiated a traffic stop on S.H. 5 and Village Pkwy about 11 p.m. They determined that the driver, a Kingsville woman, was driving while intoxicated and jailed her on that offense. Her bail was set at $1,500, and she posted a surety bond and was released the following day.
May 14 — About 12:20 p.m., police were sent to the 990 block of West Van Alstyne Parkway because of a possible domestic disturbance in a moving vehicle. They discovered that the male had left the vehicle and ran away. They found the suspect in a nearby field. When they gave him oral commands to stop, Hayslip said, he took off running from them. Officers pursued and apprehended the suspect, a Van Alstyne man.
The charge against the suspect at the jail was evading arrest or detention with a previous conviction. He paid $5,000 bail in surety bonds and was released the following day.
May 14 — At 7:50 p.m., police watched as parents conducted a custodial parent exchange in the parking lot of the police station. During the exchange, the father, from out of town, became angry and punched the mother’s vehicle’s windshield. They placed him under arrest on a charge of criminal mischief with value of damaged property between $100-$750. His bail of $1,500 was paid via surety bond the next day.
May 13 — It was a Howe resident who went to jail about 10:45 a.m. following a traffic stop at Henry Hynds Road and County Line Road. They found that the driver was in possession of methamphetamine in an amount between 1-4 grams. Once incarcerated, a magistrate set his bail at $10,000, which he posted in surety bonds two days later for his release.
May 12 — An early-afternoon traffic stop at the U.S. Hwy 75 and Blasingame led police to know that an occupant in the vehicle had several warrants for his arrested issued in Fannin County. They placed him under arrest on those warrants, each of which charged the Paris suspect with burglary of a building. Jail records show that the suspect was released “to another agency.”
May 8—Another reckless driver call from a U.S. Hwy 75 motorist had police sent to the highway. They found the driver, a Howe man, at County Line Road and Hayslip said that he was driving while intoxicated. Bail for the charge placed against this suspect was set at $1,500 at Grayson County Jail. The suspect made bail, via surety bonds, on May 9.