UPDATE: Four Charged In Houston School Bus Thefts

December 20, 2007

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The arrest of four men in connection with the case of several missing Houston school buses will calm the fears of many. There was growing concern that the stolen buses may have be part of a build-up to a potential terror attack.

While this part of the mystery has been solved, the threat of terrorists striking our nations schools remains. We caution you to remain vigilant and immediately report any suspicious activity in and around the schools in your community.

The principal of a local charter school said she wasn’t alarmed in late August after noticing that two school buses weren’t waiting in the usual parking spots.

“I just assumed that maybe somebody took the keys and parked them somewhere else,” said Avernia Waddle, with the North Houston Multi-Language Academy, 1126 W. Tidwell.

Then she learned the buses were not in the shop for maintenance work.

“We had to face reality,” she said. “Somebody had taken the buses.”

Houston police said the school was hit by a band of thieves that specialized in stealing school buses and selling them for scrap. Detectives said the group has been linked to at least eight bus thefts.

An anonymous tip led detectives on Dec. 15 to two members of the alleged group suspected ringleader Mauro Yanez, 36, and Bernabe Moreno, 40.

A third suspect, Samuel Morales, 20, was arrested earlier in the investigation, and a fourth man, James Leon Jackson, 23, remains at large, police said.

Yanez, Moreno and Jackson were charged with engaging in organized criminal activity, and Morales is accused of auto theft, police said.

Yanez, Moreno and Morales were being held Wednesday at the Harris County Jail without bail.

Police said thieves took the buses from churches and private schools and delivered them to a northeast Houston scrap metal dealer. The suspects received about $1,000 to $1,200 per bus, police said.

“They get paid by the weight of the vehicle. So the bigger, the better,” said HPD Capt. Don McKinney. “Buses were obviously substantially larger than any other vehicle.”

Detectives declined to identify the scrap metal dealer who paid for the stolen buses, citing their investigation.

Waddle said the school has replaced one of the buses for elementary students. However, many teenage students are forced to ride Metro buses.

“Some of the kids have to take two buses just to get to school,” Waddle said.

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