It appeared the Amarillo area was on course for an annual low of homicides headed into the month of July. However, since July 28 there have been five homicides, four occurring in the month of August alone.
According to NewsChannel 10, the Amarillo area averages about one homicide a month. There have been nine total homicides in 2013 up to this point. One of the most recent homicides, involving the dumping of 29-year-old Lance Lee Hooser’s body at the 200 block of South Bryan in Amarillo, has area citizens concerned that possible drug cartel activity is prevalent in the area.
Lieutenant Erick Bohannon, Commander of the Special Crimes Unit of the Amarillo Police Department, said drug cartel activity did not appear to be involved in Hooser’s death.
“We never rule anything like [drug cartel activity] out,” Bohannon said. “I can’t get into the details of why [Hooser’s murder] happened, but there was some initial concern that the uniqueness of the case might lead us down the road to gang activity; in the end that did not prove out.”
Bohannon said he most certainly would consider the Amarillo area and the Texas Panhandle a safe place to call home.
“I’ve heard the speculation, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s running rampant,’” Bohannon said. “I realize five homicides in a month is unusual, but when you look at the total, we are well within the range of homicides we have in any given year.”
Brent Harrison, Chief of Police at the Hereford Police Department, said he hasn’t come across any drug cartel activity personally, but authorities never rule it out at the beginning of an investigation.
“Over the years, with the warring factions in Mexico, it’s going to spill over to the US at some point,” Harrison said. “There’s a coalition of border sheriffs and they all try to stay very connected and utilize the same resources, as well as DPS. There’s obviously a concern.”
Harrison said the communication and cooperation between area police departments has always been healthy.
“We rarely work together, but when we do I’ve always gotten really good response from them,” Harrison said. “I’ve got [an acquaintance] who is a captain at APD, and I could get his take on [crime scene pictures] because he has seen so many different homicides. He can take a look at the pictures and tell me a little bit about it.”
Chief Shawn Burns, Chief of Police at WTAMU, said good communication is most certainly prevalent between area departments and the Amarillo area has a good system regarding the tracking of gang activity.
“Amarillo PD has a crime analysis that puts stuff out weekly,” Burns said. “The chiefs of police, we have a High Plains Police Chiefs Association where we meet every other month; a lot of the police chiefs are in the same room at the same time. In addition to that we have the Panhandle Police Officers Association, which is open to any officer in the Panhandle, it meets in the other months. So every month, there is a meeting of some law enforcement association going on.”
Burns said cartel and gang activity is less likely to effect Canyon and WT not only because of the high volume of law enforcement in the area, but because the citizens of Canyon are well aware of their surroundings.
“It’s harder to blend in,” Burns said. “[Cartel activity] isn’t gonna go two or three days before it gets reported. There’s a good chance it’s getting reported when they move in the first day. It’s just how this community is.”
