King Dunn
Joe Kazmar
Chuck Uzzle
Hard times, good times
Sports And More
Hunting and Fishing
Page 5A
Page 1B
OCARC Fishing Tournament Weekend
Page 2B
See Colburn Page 1B
County Record The Community Newspaper of Orange, Texas
Vol. 52 No. 18
Week of Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Baldwin sentenced to 50 years in prison Debbie Schamber For The Record
After a brief trial, Timothy Quentin Balwin, 40, of Vidor, was found guilty Tuesday and sentenced to 50 years in prison for the first degree felony of aggravated sexual assault of a child. A first degree felony carries a sentence of probation to 99 years in prison, but because of Baldwin’s three prior felony convictions the charge was enhanced and carried a penalty range of 15 years to life. Baldwin’s daughter was 13 years old at the time of the assault in October 2011, according to court testimony. She is now 14 years old and
was the first to testify during the trial. On the witness stand she told jurors what lead up to the events when Baldwin as- BALDWIN saulted her. The girl said she didn’t know her father until her mother returned home from the grocery store and informed her she had given him her phone num-
ber. Within a short time, he contacted the girl. Through phone conversations and text messages she began to get to know him. Finally after a few weeks she was ready to meet him at his residence. She told jurors a few weeks after their first meeting she was spending the night and she had a lot of fun “hanging out” and playing video games. However, during these visits she slept in the same bed
as her father because there was only one bed and his friends often slept on the couch. The pair would often watch TV until they fell asleep. “I liked visiting my dad,” she said. “It was different having a dad.” During testimony it was revealed he had assaulted her sexually more than once. Following a late night incident of sexual assault and still upset the following morning
she talked to him about the events. According to the girl, “he promised to never do it again.” The girl “desperate to have a father in her life” believed him and worked on their relationship by learning to trust him again. She testified she did not tell her mother or grandmother about the assault because “I really wanted a dad.” Within a month she was back to spending the night and
she began to trust her father more. On the final night she spent time with her father, he had picked her up from band practice. She later went to a football game. Around 10 p.m. she returned back to his residence. Together they watched TV until she drifted off to sleep. However, around 1 a.m. she felt him nudge her and tell her to take her pants off. She SEE BALDWIN PAGE 3A
Capital One bank robber suspect nabbed by OPD Debbie Schamber For The Record
Voter turnout heavy in runoff Voting was heavier than expected in Tuesday’s runoff election with 85 percent of the voters casting ballots in Republican races. In Orange County early voting a total of 2,717 votes were cast with 2,284 for Republicans and 433 Democrates. The Republican runoff was David Dewhurst vs Ted Cruz for U.S. Senator; Stephen Takach vs Steve Stockman for U.S. Rep. Dist. 36; Warren Chisum vs Christi Craddick for Railroad Commissioner; Greg Parker vs Barry Smitherman for Rairoad Commissioner, Unexpired Term; and John Devine vs David Medina for Supreme Court Justice Place 4. In the Democratic race Paul Sadler ran against Grady Yarbrough for U.S. Senator. At press time the Orange County vote was in, but the state tally was not complete. A total of 5,173 votes PRIMARY RUNOFF PAGE 3A
H • SHERLOCK BREAUX Page..................... 4A • Obituaries Page......................7A •Dicky Colburn Fishing...................1B •Outdoors Weekly Chuck Uzzle..........2B • CHURCH NEWS Page......................5B • CLASSIFIED ADS Page......................6B
The man who is reported to have robbed the Capital One bank located on 16th Street in Orange on Friday has been identified as James Hunter Bergeron, 22, of Sulphur, La. According to Capt. Cliff Hargrave of the Orange Police Department, they followed up on some tips, which led them to the suspect. An arrest warrant was issued and he remains in the Calcasieu Parish jail pending extradition to Texas. Bergeron was wearing a black cowboy hat and tattered blue jeans when he entered the bank about 10:30 a.m. He patiently waited in line behind other customers with a bank bag under his arm. When it was his turn he reportedly approached the teller and presented her with a note demanding money. She complied and he took back the note and left the scene. Witnesses reported he got into a
Security cameras at Capital One bank caught this image of robbery suspect James Begeron, 22, of Sulphur, La.
white pickup truck which was parked in an adjacent parking lot. It was unclear which direction he traveled once he left the scene, according to Hargrave. The suspect did not have a weapon visible at the time of the robbery and nobody was harmed.
No West Nile found in Orange County Debby Schamber For The Record
In recent local headlines a case of the West Nile virus was discovered in Port Arthur. However, there are no findings of the virus in Orange County, according to Patrick Beebe, of the Mosquito Control District. Like those in Jefferson County, Orange County collects mosquitoes in traps for testing of the virus. It was a mosquito carrying the virus and not a person, Beebe said. “To date all the mosquitoes tested from Orange County have turned up negative,” Beebe said. “There is no indication of viral activity in the area.” Heavy rains in the area have helped to flush out the type of mosquitoes that transmit the virus, he added. The virus is transmitted when a bird with the virus is bitten by a mosquito. It then can bite a human or animals
and then they can contract the virus. The West Nile Virus is a potentially serious illness. People typically deBEEBEE velop symptoms between three to fourteen days after they are bitten by the infected mosquito. About one in 150 people infected with the virus will develop the severe illness. The severe symptoms include high fever, headache, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, vision loss, numbness and paralysis. These symptoms may last several weeks and the neurological effects may be permanent, according to the Center for Disease Control. Up to 20 percent of the people who become infected have symptoms such as fever, headWEST NILE VIRUS PAGE 3A
LCM HS Yearbook staff goes to camp Little Cypress-Mauriceville High School Yearbook staffers got the opportunity to tour Balfour publishing while in Fort Worth for a Yearbook conference at Texas Christian University. Students are, from left, Kenya Anderson, Skyler Authement, Hanna Sadler, Lexi Humphreys, Woody Carter, Mia Yellott, Charity Lawson and Emily Lyons. The Yearbook sponsor and journalism teacher is Lindsey Stanley.
Detectives seek help in solving cold case
Murder suspect still at large Debby Schamber For The Record
After 20 years of allegedly abusing his wife, Rogelio Vazquez put an end to it all and began a life on the run after reportedly murdering his wife, Sugie. Sugie Vasquez was 38 years old at the time of her death. She was ready to start a life on her own to raise her three children alone rather than to keep enduring the physical and mental abuse of her turbulent marriage. Like several times before she told her husband she was leaving. But, she would not live long enough to regret her deci-
Rogelio Vazquez
sion. Her body was discovered in a Newton County pond on May 16, 1997. The property where her body was found belonged to her husband’s employer. Au-
topsy reports concluded she died of blunt force trauma to her head in addition to being stabbed twice. Rogelio Guerra Vasquez, now 57 years old, is believed to have gone back to Mexico. Her three children were left behind to deal with the guilt for not stopping the life-changing event and to live a life without their mother. Sugie Vasquez would meet her future husband in Orange when he moved to the area. Rogelio who is a Mexican National and did not speak English when he first SEE COLD CASE PAGE 3A
LSC-O forming new choir for Fall 2012
Staff Report For The Record
Lamar State College-Orange will be forming a choir this Fall. The choir is open to students and the community. The first meeting will be held on Monday, Aug. 27. Students can register for MUEN 1141 Grand Chorus for college credit. The general public can reg-
ister for $25 in the Continuing Education department located in the Wilson Building at 506 Green St., or register online at http://www.lsco.edu/continuinged/registration.asp The choir will meet weekly on Monday Nights in the LSCO Student Center building. This Fall they will rehearse and present a classic Christmas program featuring car-
ols arranged by Robert Shaw and Gustav Holst and other Christmas favorites. The choir will be directed by Brad Holmes of North Orange Baptist Church. LSCO must have 10 people registered by Aug. 15. If you have any questions, email Brad Holmes at brad@nobcfamily.com or Don Ball at don. ball@lsco.edu.
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