A Real-Life Villain

Most heartless hit-and-run driver ever? Creep runs over man — and goes back to steal his cellphone

Crime Stoppers of Houston is looking for the driver of a pickup who plowed into a man in Spring Branch . . . and then snatched the victim's cellphone to prevent the severely injured man from calling for help.

The dismal scene occurred the morning of July 14, when the 34-year-old victim was struck by a black Ford F-150 while crossing the Beltway 8 feeder near the intersection of Westview. The driver quickly pulled to the side of the road and walked back to the man as he writhed in pain with a broken leg and pelvic bone.

The suspect "has a bushy goatee and a distinctive skin condition causing white spots all over his face, neck and arms."

But rather than doing any number of things that might show he was a decent human being, the driver instead decided to rip the cellphone from his victim's hands as he tried to call an ambulance.

The driver returned to his truck — with his hit-and-run victim's phone, mind you — and promptly speed away from the scene. The victim was later spotted and rushed to a nearby hospital with severe injuries to his lower body, including a irreparable damage to his pelvis.

The culprit has been described as a 35-year-old male weighing 140 pounds and standing roughly 5-foot-5. Crime Stoppers notes that the suspect "has a bushy goatee and a distinctive skin condition causing white spots all over his face, neck and arms."

Anyone with information about driver is asked to contact Crime Stoppers online or at 713-222-TIPS. The organization is offering up to $5,000 for details leading to felony charges or an arrest. As always, tipsters will remain anonymous.

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Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

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Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”