The DA’s Broken Promise on Burglars
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Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg promised “Operation No Mercy” on burglars when she ran for office to be the chief law enforcement officer, but an investigation by Dolcefino Consulting reveals her office has allowed hundreds of burglars to avoid jail time since taking office.
“We have examined the records of more than 22,000 criminals given deferred adjudication since Ogg took office, and that number is staggering,” says Wayne Dolcefino, President of Dolcefino Consulting. “Deferred adjudication essentially means convictions disappear if guilty criminals behave for a period of time. The results of this extensive data investigation should scare every home and business owner in Harris County.”
Nearly half of the 694 burglars given a break have broken their promise to behave. 44.1% have already failed to follow the rules or have committed new crimes. That’s almost half, and some of the burglars have only been behaving for a few months.
“What the DA’s office is doing is insanity, I mean it’s got to stop,” says Mark Stephens, a former HPD Public Corruption investigator now privately investigating construction industry thieves.
Two of those burglars given deferred by the Harris County criminal justice system are now accused of murder.
Harris County court records show the DA’s office agreed to give Gerald Washington deferred adjudication despite a violent criminal history, including assault and death threats to his girlfriend. After Washington was arrested for shooting three women, Ogg’s office failed to seek action that could have sent Washington to prison. A judge granted bond.
Last February, Washington was charged with the murder of 29-year-old Reginald Larry, shot at a corner store on the way to Sunday dinner with his grandmother.
“If this man was not allowed out of jail my brother would be here. I honestly believe that,” says Ebony Couttee, Reginald Larry’s sister, who has sharp criticism for the Democratic DA and judge in Washington’s case. “You steady just giving this criminal a chance to get out and commit more and more crime.”
The District Attorney’s office agreed to give Joshua Bourgeois a second chance. Now he’s charged with murdering and dumping the body of his girlfriend at a convenience store on the Katy Freeway.
“There is no question that soft on crime judges are contributing to the real criminal danger facing our city,” says Wayne Dolcefino, President of the Houston-based investigative communications firm Dolcefino Consulting. “Kim Ogg is clearly part of that because she has simply failed to do what she promised. Period.”
In her campaigns for office, Ogg pledged “Operation No Mercy” for burglars and claimed a plan to reduce burglaries.
“This will be a top priority because no other crime impacts us more than burglars, thieves and gang members who hurt small businesses with nighttime burglaries and break into our homes,” Ogg campaigned.
Now the records reveal just burglars released with the help of the District Attorney’s office have victimized hundreds more Harris County residents.
The news comes as Houston Police report a nearly twenty percent increase in commercial burglaries amid the COVID-19 crisis.
Ebony Couttee says Ogg has blood on her hands.
“I pray that they get somebody in office that will actually do their job to keep these criminals off the streets,” Couttee said in an interview with Dolcefino. The full interview is available on www.dolcefino.com and the Dolcefino Consulting on Facebook.
The Harris County District Attorney’s Office did not respond to our requests for comment.
Dolcefino Consulting is a Houston-based investigative communications firm. The video report in this ongoing Blood on Their Hands investigation can be found via this link and Dolcefino Consulting on Facebook.
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